Chapter 429 - 301: The Hour (2)

Zhao Xuanqi said to Zhong Maolin that the man’s skills were quite good, and it would be a shame to lose him so carelessly.

"I understand. You must be careful."

Zhong Maolin was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath and speaking to Zhao Xuanqi.

"After I find people, I will bring them back here. If I haven’t returned within half a day, then you should find your own way to survive."

Zhao Xuanqi said, and before Zhong Maolin could say anything more, his form flickered and he left the house.

Zhong Maolin watched Zhao Xuanqi’s departing figure, slowly calmed himself, then leaped onto the rafters. He concealed his presence and began to wait.

...

...

Meanwhile, after leaving the house, Zhao Xuanqi looked up at the sky, intending to estimate the time by the moon’s position.

It was only then that he discovered the bizarre Blood Moon was already climbing to its zenith. The moonlight it cast had deepened from its earlier pale red, now shifting toward a dark crimson.

’The moonlight’s color is changing...’

For some reason, a bad feeling welled up inside him, and he unconsciously quickened his pace.

He had already searched most of this block, but he couldn’t rule out the possibility that others had been pulled into this Realm after him. Still, the probability was low, so he didn’t plan on wasting any more time here. Instead, he prepared to search the next block, killing any lone Evil Spirits he encountered along the way to accumulate Merit.

Soon, he reached the end of the street. Faintly, he heard a rhythmic, chanting voice that seemed to carry a strange Magic Power.

He knew it was coming from the direction of the Shadow Puppet Stage. He glanced over warily and was about to leave when a strange sense of danger suddenly washed over him.

’This feeling is coming from... the sky?!’

Zhao Xuanqi shot his head up, staring at the Blood Moon in the sky.

At this very moment, the Blood Moon had silently risen to the zenith, bathing everything in crimson light.

BOOM!!

In an instant, Zhao Xuanqi felt the entire silent Ghost City erupt into chaos under the crimson moonlight.

Piercing roars, terrifying moans, the very ground’s Vibration...

It seemed as if all the Evil Spirits in the city had gone berserk.

But what made Zhao Xuanqi’s expression change most was that under the moonlight’s glow, a hazy layer of Pure Qi had formed around his body.

It was the aura of life. Even with his ability to conceal his presence, he couldn’t completely erase the aura of a living being. Otherwise, Evil Spirits wouldn’t even be able to target him if he walked right in front of them.

Now, this faint aura was being drawn out by the moonlight.

’This is bad.’

Zhao Xuanqi’s face turned grim. In an instant, an Evil Spirit rushed into his line of sight.

Its limbs were bent backward against the ground, its face a mask of savagery. It was a Demon Ghost.

And it wasn’t alone. In his perception, at least five more rampaging Evil Spirits were already closing in on his position.

The human aura emanating from him was like a beacon in the night, attracting the attention of all surrounding evil creatures.

’So they had a trick like this up their sleeve?!’

Zhao Xuanqi’s expression calmed as various thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

His human aura had been exposed because the Blood Moon reached its zenith, its light turning crimson. Based on his earlier observations, the Blood Moon moved just like a normal moon. This meant that as soon as it passed its highest point, the crimson light would likely weaken, and he might be able to conceal himself again.

Regardless, a fight was now unavoidable.

’Then let them come. I happen to need the Merit.’

A ferocious grin appeared on Zhao Xuanqi’s face. He bit the tip of his tongue, spat blood to instantly cover his palms, then clapped his hands together. Two Blood Qi Runes formed in an instant.

A Qi Surge enveloped him. His body instantly grew taller, his muscles knotting and bulging, transforming him into something like a Purgatory Asura.

HUM!!

As his Qi and Blood circulated, Blood Qi was stimulated and shrouded his body.

HISS!!

The Demon Ghost with the backward-bent limbs suddenly lunged at him. Bathed in the crimson moonlight, it had entered a frenzied state, possessed by an almost insane craving for blood and flesh.

SWISH!!

Before the Demon Ghost could reach him, Zhao Xuanqi took a step, his body shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow, striking toward the creature.

Unexpectedly, however, the Demon Ghost’s limbs suddenly shifted in mid-air with a loud CRACK of breaking bones. Its contorted body abruptly burst open, and bone spikes shot through its skin, flying toward Zhao Xuanqi.

Having just lunged forward, Zhao Xuanqi suddenly shook his arms. Like a bird circling in the air, he twisted his body in a trajectory that seemed to defy logic. At the same time, he held his hands up like blades and swung them around in a sharp arc.

Blood Qi flared, erupting from his palms in a crescent-shaped arc that struck the Demon Ghost’s body as they passed each other.

TZZZZ!!

The Blood Qi collided with the creature’s Yin Qi. A terrifying sizzle erupted from the Demon Ghost’s body as if it were being burned, and the next moment, it was sliced into three pieces and fell from the air.

A D-level scourge posed no threat to Zhao Xuanqi in a one-on-one fight.

Without a second glance at the slain Demon Ghost, Zhao Xuanqi used the momentum to leap onto the roof of a nearby house.

He saw the swarming shadows surging through the streets below. At this moment, the Ghost City had revealed its truly terrifying fangs.

Night Parade of Hundred Demons!!

Zhao Xuanqi took a deep breath. If he were to be swallowed by this tide of Demon Ghosts, even he would be in grave danger.

He didn’t linger. His body shot off in one direction, unleashing a powerful wave of Blood Qi that instantly shattered a Yaksha Ghost Soul flying toward him. He then charged toward an area he had previously scouted, one with relatively few Evil Spirits.