Chapter 293: Slaughter

Chu Qiguang preferred to hide behind the scenes and eliminate his enemies from the shadows. Ideally, his enemies would die without even knowing that he was responsible.

Hence, he had no desire to get involved in this battle, which was why he had Gao Yi doing the dirty work for him.

However, the agitation and discomfort in his body were rapidly growing more severe, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to remain a passive bystander much longer.

I have to at least alter my appearance first...

Gritting his teeth to endure the discomfort, he quickly made his way to a secluded area. After verifying that no one else was around, he immediately assumed his feline form, transforming into a huge silver cat.

Meanwhile, Gao Yi was under attack from several fifth-state martial artists. Unfortunately for his assailants, his special ability made him virtually untouchable, and despite their numerical advantage, they were the ones who constantly had to be wary of him.

By this point, three guards, a merchant, and a wujuren had already been killed, and the terrified bystanders had retreated as far away as they could.

"Is that man from the Tribulation Religion? He's taking on so many fifth-state martial artists at once!"

"Someone go and summon Abbot Zhang Fengyun! Hurry!"

Has Gao Yi gone insane?! What is he trying to accomplish?! Ning Chigong thought with a furious expression.

Right at that moment, more panicked cries rang out from another direction. Ning Chigong turned to discover a silver cat fiend the size of a tiger prowling across the rooftop and looking down at them.

The cat fiend suddenly grinned as its gaze swept over all the attendees of the martial gathering.

The Ba Manor was a secluded place far from the emperor's central authority. Furthermore, it was filled with mountains, forests, and tiger fiends, while its natives followed all kinds of different religions. All of this presented many opportunities for the Ba Manor's prominent clans.

Having had generations to establish themselves, these prominent clans now wielded immense power and influence in the Ba Manor, to the point that they were almost entirely above the law.

For example, among the four spearheads, the Cao, Miao, Bai, and Luo Clans, seizing land and exploiting the people was standard practice. The few kind-hearted individuals among them who sympathized with the people were immediately ridiculed and ostracized.

If Chu Qiguang wanted to establish himself in the Ba Manor, these clans would be the greatest obstacle in his way.

At the moment, many important figures from the four clans were gathered here. Chu Qiguang's original plan had been to have Gao Yi get rid of them. That way, he could clear these obstacles and pin the blame on the Tribulation Religion. However, now that his condition had flared up, he had no choice but to join in on the fun himself.

All everyone saw was a silver blur, and before they knew it, the giant cat fiend had already arrived directly in front of them, with waves of scorching heat radiating from its body.

Chu Qiguang wasted no time commencing his slaughter, and the martial gathering attendees around him were quickly torn limb from limb.

Screams of horror rang out as everyone fled in different directions, but compared with the cat fiend's speed, they might as well have been crawling at a snail's pace.

Ning Chigong was furious. He sprang at Chu Qiguang and swung his saber through the air with a loud roar.

In his feline form, Chu Qiguang was unable to use most of his human martial arts, but this form granted him far greater explosiveness, speed, strength, and dexterity.

In particular, Chu Qiguang already possessed an enormous advantage in speed, and that advantage became even more pronounced in this form.

Faced with the oncoming Ning Chigong, Chu Qiguang merely gave him a cold glance before swinging a paw in his direction, displaying a level of speed and power that Ning Chigong couldn't even hope to contend with.

A jolt of excruciating pain shot through Ning Chigong's chest, and the sound of breaking bones rang out as he was sent flying with blood spewing from his mouth.

Where did this fiend come from? He must be at the pinnacle of the fifth state! he thought with a bewildered expression.

With Ning Chigong incapacitated, the other fifth-state martial artists had an even harder time containing Gao Yi. With Chu Qiguang and Gao Yi working together, they began falling one after another.

Liu Yao let out a furious roar as he swung his saber at Chu Qiguang, but Chu Qiguang easily dodged the attack before casually pressing a paw against Liu Yao's chest.

A hint of incredulity surfaced in Liu Yao's eyes.

How is this cat fiend so fast?!

In the next instant, he was sent flying with an explosive boom as if he had been fired from a cannon. His body crashed into a wall, instantly toppling it and burying him beneath a pile of bricks and debris.

I'm actually much stronger and faster in this form, Chu Qiguang remarked to himself. Perhaps I should learn some fiendish martial arts from Qiao Zhi in the future.

By this point, Chu Qiguang's symptoms had finally subsided, and he heaved a faint sigh of relief as he allowed Gao Yi to continue wreaking havoc in the Ning Residence.

A suffocating, bloody odor permeated the entire courtyard, and all the survivors fled in a panic.

With no more bystanders around, Chu Qiguang began making his way toward Ning Chigong.

These padded paws are very comfortable, and they don't make any sound. It looks like this will be my stronger form until I reach the Dao Comprehension state.

Ning Chigong had suffered severe injuries from Chu Qiguang's paw strike, and a mixture of fear, despair, and indignation appeared on his face at the sight of the approaching cat fiend.

Is this where I die? I fought so hard to make it this far, yet I'm going to be killed by some cat fiend who came out of nowhere?

All of a sudden, the cat fiend vanished. However, before Ning Chigong could even heave a sigh of relief, it reappeared carrying two vials.

The cat fiend offered one of the vials to Ning Chigong and ordered, "Drink this."

A furious look of defiance appeared on Ning Chigong's face.

"I'm a deputy hundred-man commander of the Demon Vanquishing Department! If you think I'm going to follow the orders of a fiend—"

His voice was abruptly cut off as Chu Qiguang grabbed him by the jaw and forced his mouth open before making him gulp down the vial of animal blood.

Immediately afterward, Chu Qiguang administered a rapid series of paw strikes all over Ning Chigong's body. A faint smile appeared on his face as he watched a layer of fur grow over Ning Chigong's body.

He quickly used the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique again to suppress Ning Chigong's fiendification. Then, he dug Liu Yao out of the rubble and used the other vial of blood to perform the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique on him as well.

Shortly afterward, a loud cry from Qiao Chi rang out in the distance. Chu Qiguang jumped onto a nearby wall before quickly disappearing into the night, leaving Ning Chigong staring after him in bewilderment.

What did that fiend do to me?

Moments later, Zhang Fengyun arrived in a flash of golden light.