One more catty, one more attribute point

"On the day when the Red Flame Demon King was dying, he had said that Lord Tuo Long would descend, flooding Jiangzhou with water. We've found a lot of data from several clans about transactions with the Corpse Mountain demons, which seems to confirm this matter."

Wang Xindong took a step forward, slightly bowed, and was the first to speak.

"Although the primary forces of the clans have been annihilated, the centipede dies but does not stiffen. Furthermore, a family like the Hong Family has been operating in Baihua County for thousands of years, leaving countless covert manipulations." Another elder supplemented his statement.

"However, even so, reaching a partnership with Corpse Mountain is not easy."

Zhao Jinling spoke solemnly from the side, "I've checked the information. Corpse Mountain is a forbidden zone for demons, isolated from the outside world. It's very difficult for outsiders to enter, and the major demons inside cannot easily come out. If they wish to descend, they must rely on a ritual to infuse their power into an incarnated flesh vessel."

"And preparing for the ritual and finding a vessel would surely cause a great commotion."

"By following this clue to investigate, we can locate the exact position of the ritual and destroy all the plans of the clans." Zhao Jinling spoke crisp and clear, clenching her fists.

"Well done,"

Su Heng nodded in approval, "So have we had any concrete findings during this time?"

"I've sensed the aura of a death-level great demon, but I'm not sure if it's Lord Tuo Long." Zhao Jinling scratched her head with some distress.

She handed Su Heng a map of the surroundings of Baihua County, where a location was marked with a red circle.

"Shipu Village"

"In that case, we should not delay and head over now to take a look." Su Heng felt that things were not so simple.

But he also trusted Zhao Jinling's judgment, which would not be aimless.

Moreover...

Looking at the pouring rain outside the window and the thunder streaking across the sky.

Su Heng's heart also felt a spell of gloom.

Regardless,

Going out was always better than staying here doing nothing.

"I'll go with you," Zhao Meiying hurriedly said, for slaying demons and eliminating evil was precisely the duty of the Demon Suppression Army.

Moreover, as this matter might also involve her senior fellow apprentice, Zhao Meiying naturally would not miss out.

"Good," Su Heng nodded, "Just don't hold me back."

...

...

...

Shipu Village was not far from Baihua County, merely tens of kilometers away.

With the speed of Su Heng and Zhao Meiying, they arrived quickly.

Shipu Village subsisted on fishing.

It wasn't like the villages on even ground that one would usually imagine.

This fishing village was astonishingly built upon numerous black wooden boats. Crude tents were erected on the smaller boats, while the larger boats bore old bamboo houses and plank buildings. Su Heng glanced over and saw an overwhelming expanse of them.

These included not just homes but also specialized marketplaces, repair shops, and even large taverns—all erected over water.

It had everything one could wish for.

This was Su Heng's first encounter with such a sight, and his face showed a hint of curiosity.

"It seems this is a danmin village," Zhao Meiying explained, "Danmin are people who live on boats. They believe that building houses on land is unlucky and spend their lives wandering on rivers and seas."

"You know about these things."

"Well, I'm nearly two hundred years old. I've traveled far and wide, so it's normal for me to know a little more." Zhao Meiying waved it off.

The rain poured down from the sky.

It splashed on the river, creating ripples upon the water, and upon hitting the wooden boats, made a dull sound.

Several cormorants flapped their wings and descended from the sky, perching on the boats and tilting their heads to tidy the feathers beneath their wings.

Seemingly noticing a shadow passing by in the water,

the cormorant opened its large beak and plunged in, only for a black fish to leap out from beneath the river's surface.

The black fish wasn't large, but it looked exceptionally ferocious. It had bony scale armor, its eyes glowed red, and when it opened its mouth, there appeared to be countless sharp teeth inside. The speed of the black fish was extremely fast, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

It bit fiercely onto the cormorant's neck.

With a twist of its body,

Rip!

Blood splattered, and the entire head of the cormorant was brutally torn off.

The remaining half of the body stumbled and fell into the river.

Plop!

The scent of blood dispersed.

A swarm of black fish, attracted by it, gathered together. The river surface seemed to boil as large splashes erupted. In a few breaths, the cormorant, the size of a wild dog, didn't even leave a single bone behind and completely vanished.

"Damn it!" Seeing this scene, Zhao Meiying's expression turned extremely unsightly.

"The long river has been polluted, and the creatures within have mutated. Moreover, everyone in the entire village has disappeared."

"They must have been taken away not too long ago," Su Heng first closed his eyes, then reopened them, "The smell of blood is fresh in the air, but not strong. Those who took the villagers are conducting a blood sacrifice at a specific location."

"Let's go and see!"

Boom!

He stamped on the ground with force, instantly exploding the air beneath his feet.

His massive frame, carrying a powerful gust of wind, broke through the veil of rain like a black meteor, rushing towards distant mountains.

Zhao Meiying, meanwhile, floated in mid-air.

Stunned, she watched as the ring of force from Su Heng's feet slowly merged into the river.

The river water bubbled furiously as if boiling, with a multitude of bizarre black fish being shocked to death. Their white bellies floated on the surface, the eerie red glow in their fish eyes also disappearing without a trace. The entire river surface was pitch black, indiscernible how many had died.

Not only were there a large number of black fish, but there were also some ferocious giant creatures, seven or eight meters, even over ten meters long, floating throughout the river section.

"Gulp!"

Zhao Meiying swallowed dryly.

"A casual strike wiped out all the transformed creatures in the river, such power!" If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Zhao Meiying couldn't have imagined it.

By the time she managed to snap out of her shock, she looked up.

Su Heng's figure had already disappeared from her sight.

"Crap!" Zhao Meiying slapped her forehead, only then remembering there was urgent business, and she hastily followed behind. Fortunately, her sense was extremely sharp, and following the faint blood scent left on the road, she managed to successfully arrive at her destination.

...

In a hidden earth fortress within the valley.

The fortress was surrounded on three sides by steep rock walls, while the only side connected to the outside world was barred with a thick wooden wall more than ten meters tall.

Watchtowers were erected around the wooden wall, with archers equipped with crossbows above.

The entrance was patrolled by Martial Artists, and inside the fortress were various crude houses made of wood, from which the faint sounds of women and children crying could be heard.

This level of defense.

To a Martial Artist with a certain level of cultivation, it was nothing much.

But for those weak commoners who were kidnapped and imprisoned here as ritual sacrifices, trying to escape by climbing over the wall amid the fierce and sinister guards, it was a task more daunting than reaching the heavens.

"Hurry up, why are you dawdling at a time like this?" Pang Sheng swung his long whip, emitting a sharp, piercing sound as it cut through the air.

The surrounding guards shuddered, their faces showing fear.

They quickened their movements.

They kicked open the doors.

Like catching pigs, they grabbed the sacrifices held inside.

Without a word, they forcefully pushed them onto carts, and then the wheels rolled toward the direction of the mountain wall.

After seeing this group of people being sent away, Pang Sheng finally stopped and took a rest. He looked down, his reflection in the muddy puddle mirroring a monster that shared his name.

A muscular body, exposed muscles covered with fish scales. Gills grew on his chin, allowing him to breathe freely underwater, and his gaping maw was filled with sharp fangs.

After receiving the offerings from the lords.

Without a doubt, he had become the monster spoken of in common folks' tales.

But Pang Sheng felt nothing wrong with this; the power of the demon made him stronger than he had ever been before. And his fearsome and dreadful appearance made the mortals tremble.

He was originally a side-branch descendant who had not cultivated, but now he had a status that put him on par with the direct descendants.

This was the change brought about by the gifts.

Furthermore, once this mission was complete, he would receive even more offerings.

By then, his power would certainly have grown even further, perhaps reaching a level comparable to the elders of his family.

"Big Brother Pang Sheng!" A scrawny figure appeared before him, Pang Sheng's face showing a barely concealed disdain.

"What is it?"

"It's time to prepare the next batch of sacrifices," the person replied.

"Understood," Pang Sheng nodded. "How many more times do we need to do this to complete it?"

"Based on the current situation, another seven times should suffice," the disciple replied respectfully.

"Good."

Pang Sheng nodded and was about to push open the prison gate.

But he suddenly noticed that the disciple in front of him was standing still, mouth agape, full of horror.

"What do you mean by this?" A surge of elation welled up in Pang Sheng's mind. "Got scared by me?"

"No, Big Brother Pang Sheng, it's above your head!" the person screamed in terror, retreating continuously.

"Above my head?"

Pang Sheng then realized the rain around him had vanished.

Belatedly, he raised his head, and then tilted it further back, until his jaw was at a ninety-degree angle to his neck.

An expanding shadow in the sky quickly filled his vision. Before the shadow could even touch down, the howling wind blew his whole body, fluttering his clothes wildly, and the pain on his skin felt like piercing needles.

"Damn it! What the hell is this!"

Bang!

Pang Sheng's words were cut short as the shadow fell.

Mud and blood splattered, and the mere impact force of the fall tore the ten or so disciples of the Pang family into pieces. Su Heng slowly stood up from the crater formed by the impact, his expression indifferent, only noticing at this moment what he had just stepped on.

"Who!?"

A roar came through the curtain of rain.

It was the surrounding guards, drawn by the commotion, together with a succession of arrows flying through the air.

Su Heng squinted, noting that these people all had various degrees of transformation. Some had mouths full of sharp teeth, others had grown scales and gills.

Their bodies were also misshapenly strong, and their eyes were full of madness and disease.

Seeing Su Heng, these monsters were not at all afraid.

Crack!

Su Heng stretched out his hand and squeezed forward.

Splurt!

Under the distorted force field, the weight of three hundred tons bore down on them.

Before they could react, their heads exploded one after the other, their bodies twisting into bloody, crimson knots!