Chapter 145: Reinforcement

At this moment, Shangguan Ming first severely berated the department in charge of the Shangguan Family's secret intelligence collection.

Then, with tightly knitted brows, he pondered the countermeasures for the next steps.

At this moment, a group of experts from the Qingdan Sect had already secretly taken action.

The spies of the Shangguan Family had now completely lost track of the Qingdan Sect's experts.

However, at this very moment, Town-Demon Envoy Lü Qing was still within the line of sight of the Shangguan Family's spies.

This was not because the Shangguan Family's spies were all that formidable or could monitor Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's movements.

Rather, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing did not hide his tracks at all; instead, directly bringing a bunch of experts from the Town Demon Guard, he headed straight to reinforce Sun Xuan and Chu Lin.

This was not because Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing was careless and failed to hide his own whereabouts.

Rather, it was because Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing did not know what the exact purpose of this group of Baihuo Cult branches roaming into Qinghe County was.

Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing brought people in such a hurried manner to reinforce Sun Xuan and Chu Lin purely out of worry for Chu Lin's safety.

After all, Chu Lin was cultivated by him single-handedly; both in terms of intelligence and martial prowess, he was a top-tier choice within the Qinghe County Demon Suppression Guard.

Usually, he could also be considered Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's right-hand man.

In any case, nothing could go wrong with him.

When Shangguan Family Patriarch Shangguan Ming thought about how Town-Demon Envoy Lü Qing did not hide his whereabouts, his eyes rolled slightly, and an idea suddenly popped into his mind.

"Shangguan Yan, immediately gather the experts within the Family; this old man has important matters to command!"

Upon Shangguan Ming's order, a large number of experts from the Shangguan Family were gathered.

Without another word, Shangguan Ming led these Shangguan Family experts and pursued in the direction of Town-Demon Envoy Lü Qing.

However, because Town-Demon Envoy Lü Qing's party needed to go rescue others, they whipped their horses to go at full speed along the way. Therefore, although Shangguan Ming's group was not slow,

because they started a moment later, for a time, they simply could not catch up to Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's party.

As for Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing, because he was anxious to rescue Sun Xuan and the others, he did not notice the Shangguan Family members who were not far behind them.

And so, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing and the Shangguan Family's two groups raced forward one after the other toward the location where Sun Xuan and Chu Lin were.

Worried that the Baihuo Cult people would catch up, Sun Xuan and Chu Lin never slowed down their fleeing speed along the way.

Therefore, the distance between the two sides was rapidly shrinking.

Finally, after a short while, Sun Xuan and Chu Lin's group finally converged with the group of Town Demon Guard experts led by Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing.

The first words Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing said upon seeing Sun Xuan and Chu Lin were directly addressed to Chu Lin:

"What happened? Why are you fleeing in such a panic!"

The instant Sun Xuan and Chu Lin saw Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing, their hearts instantly settled back into their stomachs.

With Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's strength, the strength of that group of Baihuo Cult Disciples was nothing more than worthless scum.

Upon hearing Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's question, Chu Lin immediately gave Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing a rough account of what had happened in Wuling Town earlier.

Upon hearing that all the residents of the entire Wuling Town had actually been mutated into demons by the Baihuo Cult Disciples, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's expression instantly turned livid.

Such an act of slaughtering an entire town was something only this group of rebels could pull off.

After listening to Chu Lin's narration, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing also acutely discovered that something was amiss.

This branch of Baihuo Cult Disciples roaming into Qinghe County clearly had some ulterior motive around Wuling Town.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have mutated all the residents of Wuling Town into demons to cover up their purpose.

Thinking of this, a flash of Killing Intent flickered in Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's eyes.

Whatever the Baihuo Cult was plotting, it definitely wasn't anything good.

Now Qinghe County was his own territory; if the Baihuo Cult stirred up some heaven-shaking and earth-shattering commotion on his territory,

not to mention anything else, when the imperial court investigated later, he would definitely suffer severe consequences.

Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing came to this Qinghe County to serve as the Town-Demon Envoy originally because he offended someone in the commandery city and was thus demoted to Qinghe County.

If a huge blunder occurred in Qinghe County under his governance, then what awaited him would not be as simple as just losing his official post through demotion.

If things went wrong, he might even lose his little life.

Therefore, no matter what price he had to pay, he was bound to stop this plot by the Baihuo Cult Disciples.

Furthermore, the events that happened in Wuling Town needed to be played down and concealed as much as possible.

After all, an entire town's residents being slaughtered by the Baihuo Cult was no small matter; if the imperial court truly investigated, he would definitely suffer heavily.

Thinking of this, the gloomy expression on Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's face instantly grew even denser.

Next, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing said to the group of Town Demon Guard experts behind him, along with Chu Lin and Sun Xuan:

"Everyone, immediately march toward Wuling Town! This official swears to exterminate this group of rebels completely!"

With an order, all the accompanying Town Demon Guard experts, including Sun Xuan and Chu Lin, could no longer care about the fatigue and exhaustion of their dusty journey.

They immediately whipped their horses and hurried back toward Wuling Town following Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing.

However, between this going and returning, the states of mind of Sun Xuan and Chu Lin were different.

When they came, Sun Xuan and Chu Lin had been chased and hunted out.

The two of them had fled in panic all the way like stray dogs being hunted.

Yet at this very moment, with the top expert Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing leading the team, those small fries were no longer anything to be feared.

Sun Xuan and Chu Lin transformed from the hunted into the hunters, and at this moment they felt quite a sense of venting the stifled air in their chests.

Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing led the crowd like a torrent, rapidly approaching Wuling Town accompanied by the hurried pounding sound of horse hooves.

As for this group of people from the Shangguan Family, they were still following behind Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing and the others, eating dust.

However, Shangguan Ming didn't care about this at all.

All Shangguan Ming wanted were benefits. Upon learning that both the Town Demon Guard and the Qingdan Sect had taken action,

as long as his Shangguan Family wasn't left behind, that was fine.

Within Qinghe County, no matter what treasures were discovered, their Shangguan Family was qualified to have a share of the pie.

Just like that, the two forces rushed toward Wuling Town one after the other at high speed.

Meanwhile, the group of people from the Qingdan Sect arrived at Wuling Town a step ahead of the Town Demon Guard and the Shangguan Family.

At this moment, Wuling Town was already completely deserted.

Not to mention the Baihuo Cult Disciples, even the original residents had all vanished without a trace.

Sect Master Li Changtian frowned as he gazed at the empty town, feeling that an indescribable, eerie atmosphere was breeding within this town.

Dark Hall Head Xu Yin, who followed beside Sect Master Li Changtian, seeing Sect Master Li Changtian frowning as he gazed at the empty town,

immediately spurred his horse forward and explained to Sect Master Li Changtian:

"Sect Master, the reason why all the residents in this town vanished

is, according to this Disciple's interrogation of the captured Baihuo Cult Disciples, caused by a true spirit artifact called the Bestialization Mask controlled by the vice incense master of this Baihuo Cult branch.

That Bestialization Mask can bewitch and control a large number of ordinary people without martial arts cultivation, and can also transform these ordinary people into half-human, half-beast forms,

completely turning them into Puppets of the Bestialization Mask's holder.

The moment these residents were controlled by the Bestialization Mask, they were actually already dead.

Now that the town's residents have neither living people seen nor dead bodies found, it must be that after being controlled by the Bestialization Mask, they were driven away from this town by that Baihuo Cult vice incense master as a means to deal with enemies."

After hearing Xu Yin's words, Sect Master Li Changtian couldn't help clicking his tongue twice and said:

"No wonder everyone says the Baihuo Cult are rebel demons; with the things they've done, they truly live up to that title.

As a major force in Qinghe County, not to mention nonsense like protecting the borders and the people, our Qingdan Sect cannot let such demonic outsiders run wild.

Later when we encounter this group of demon brats, hit them hard! Firstly for the future of our Qingdan Sect,

and secondly to vent out the pent-up anger for the commoners who died at the hands of this bunch of brats."

As Sect Master Li Changtian's voice fell, it immediately welcomed a burst of echoing responses from the experts under his command.

Following that, Sect Master Li Changtian and the group of Qingdan Sect experts behind him did not linger long in Wuling Town.

Instead, guided by Xu Yin, they rapidly sped toward the Wuling Mountains.

Dark Hall Head Xu Yin of the Qingdan Sect had already obtained from the captured Baihuo Cult Disciples the specific location of that true spirit artifact ranked on the chaos myriad spirits ranking.

Originally, such top-secret information was better known by fewer people.

However, the person captured by Xu Yin was also a high-level member among this group of Baihuo Cult Disciples, and a confidant of their highest leader, the incense master.

That was why he was able to know the specific location of this true spirit artifact.

Seeing the Qingdan Sect's party whistling away into the depths of the Wuling Mountains, after not too long, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing, leading a group of Town Demon Guards, also arrived in Wuling Town.

Looking at the empty Wuling Town, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.

At this moment, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's Killing Intent toward this group of Baihuo Cult Disciples had accumulated to the extreme.

"Chu Lin, find the fleeing trail of these rebels! This official will definitely exterminate them completely!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Lin immediately acknowledged the command.

Then he dismounted from his horse and came into Wuling Town to carefully investigate.

A mirror emerged within Chu Lin's pupils, and then a strange radiance instantly radiated from Chu Lin's eyes.

With the survey of the true spirit artifact pohuan mirror in his hand, Chu Lin quickly found the trail of these Baihuo Cult Disciples.

This mirror naturally possessed the skill of tracking and revealing traces. Now, under Chu Lin's careful observation, even though those Baihuo Cult Disciples had meticulously erased their fleeing direction,

under the tracking skill of the pohuan mirror, the fleeing direction of the Baihuo Cult Disciples was still easily found.

However, besides the previous fleeing traces of those Baihuo Cult Disciples, there were unexpectedly the traces of another wave of people inside this place.

Upon discovering these circumstances, Chu Lin immediately reported to Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing.

After listening to Chu Lin's report, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's brows instantly knitted together.

There were actually other traces here; could it be that these Baihuo Cult Disciples had other reinforcements?

Seeing that matters were becoming increasingly labyrinthine, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing couldn't help feeling slightly irritated in his heart.

However, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing was extremely confident in his own strength; he felt that even if this group of Baihuo Cult Disciples had helpers arrive, with his strength, dealing with them shouldn't be much of a problem.

Thinking of this, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing directly had Chu Lin lead the way, and the group also headed toward the depths of the Wuling Mountains.

However, after entering the mountains, the terrain became increasingly complex.

In some places, there wasn't even a path.

The terrain at this moment was no longer suitable for horseback riding.

At Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's instruction, everyone directly dismounted and tied their horses in an open area close to Wuling Town.

They also left behind two Town Demon Guards to guard these horses here.

For this operation, all the Town Demon Guards brought by Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing were ranked ones; as for other reserves, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing didn't bring a single one.

Therefore, this horse-watching job that originally belonged to reserves could only fall upon the heads of those two Town Demon Guards.

However, these two Town Demon Guards had no complaints either.

Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing had always been clear with rewards and punishments; although they were left behind to watch now,

since they followed Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing into the Wuling Mountains, their share of the credit for finally annihilating the Baihuo Cult branch would definitely not be missing.

Moreover, watching horses meant they didn't have to face the danger when fighting was needed next. Although they might miss some opportunities to render great service, at least they were relatively safe.

Just like that, after dismounting, the speed of Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's party instantly slowed down.

Meanwhile, the group of people from the Shangguan Family was rapidly approaching Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's crowd.

Although the mountains were difficult to walk through, Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing's party were all ranked Martial Artists.

Although they couldn't reach the ability of flying through the air, by circulating true essence and stepping on grass leaves and tree branches to run swiftly, their speed was not slow either.

It was just that Chu Lin needed to stop from time to time to determine the tracking direction, which slowed down everyone's pace.

Not long after Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing and the others entered the Wuling Mountains, the group of people from the Shangguan Family who had pursued them all the way arrived in front of the Wuling Mountains.

Then they were directly intercepted by the two Town Demon Guards guarding the horses.

"Patriarch Shangguan, you've journeyed through dust and wind all the way, where are you going!"

The two Town Demon Guards recognized the Shangguan Family, which belonged to one of the three major forces of Qinghe Town along with the Town Demon Guard.

However, seeing their posture of moving out in full force and heading toward the Wuling Mountains, it couldn't help but make the two Town Demon Guards feel somewhat suspicious in their hearts.

Shangguan Ming had chased right on the heels of Town Demon Envoy Lü Qing and the others all the way here. Now that he was stopped by them, he didn't feel the least bit of embarrassment or blushing.

Shangguan Ming wore a solemn expression as he spouted nonsense to this Town Demon Guard:

"This old man has important matters that require entering the Wuling Mountains. What, does my Shangguan Family need to report to a mere little Town Demon Guard when doing things!"

As Shangguan Ming spoke, he released the Aura of his Seventh-Stage Middle Stage Martial Artist.

The one who stopped him was merely a Ninth-Stage Early Stage Martial Artist. Facing this Aura pressure that was several levels higher, his face immediately turned pale as he retreated several steps.