Chapter 245: Encirclement

On the sixth night:

“The west,” Ge Huai’en said, looking at the divination result with cold sweat on his forehead.

Meng Qi frowned. “Why the west again?”

Whenever they asked about fortune or misfortune, the result was ominously dire. When inquiring about directions, the answer was always west. Meng Qi began to doubt whether Ge Huai’en had truly mastered his skills. However, the consistent result also indicated something significant. Either the situation was genuinely as dire as the divination suggested, or Ge Huai’en himself was manipulating the results, which seemed unlikely given the risk to his own life.

“I don’t know either,” Ge Huai’en replied helplessly.

“Then should we head west?” Fu Zhenzhen asked hesitantly.

“Of course not,” Zhang Yuanshan, Luo Shengyi, Qi Zhengyan, and Meng Qi all answered in unison. They had already decided not to go west the day before.

After defeating the “Great King of Emerald Waves,” Bao’erba, the first few days had passed smoothly. The demons were not densely concentrated, and their targets were all temples. By carefully concealing their movements, they had advanced steadily. However, on the fifth day, they noticed that the demons ahead had begun searching meticulously, as if combing through every inch of the ground in search of something. Under such circumstances, they were forced to take detours. After changing routes several times, they found demons heavily guarding every direction—too many to slip past unnoticed. Thus, they had no choice but to ask Ge Huai’en to divine their path once more.

“Let’s head in that direction. If we come across any lone demons, we’ll capture and question them,” Meng Qi said solemnly.

As long as they could hold out for two more days, they would complete the deadly task. No one wanted to give up now, so they all nodded in agreement.

Meng Qi’s mind was clear and focused, his spirit extended outward, perceiving the surroundings. He then activated the Undying Seal Art, using his spirit and true qi to sense the subtlest details nearby.

A bird perched on a tree, watching from afar. Inside its withered body, worms crawled. A snake slithered through the bushes. In the shallow layers of the soil, insects and other creatures appeared and disappeared. Life’s energy was everywhere.

This was the limit of his perception. Anything further away, deeper underground, or more subtle, he could not detect.

But he had no choice. If their enemies were human, such meticulousness wouldn’t be necessary. However, their foes were demons, and birds, insects, and animals might all be their true forms, seeking and hunting them down. Therefore, he had to remain fully focused, roughly sensing their presence—either eliminating them or avoiding them to prevent exposing their hiding place, just like the earthworm demon earlier.

It was precisely this caution, combined with Jiang Zhiwei’s already attained, and Meng Qi’s barely achieved “Subtlety” through his spirit and the Undying Seal Art, that had allowed them to survive smoothly until the sixth day.

Qi Zhengyan stepped forward, and the surrounding sand, mud, rocks, dust, and mineral iron shot out, striking some suspected targets and driving others away. Even the insects in the soil were affected by the “Earth Kunlun,” clearing the surrounding area.

“Move,” Luo Shengyi called out. Everyone concealed their auras and advanced cautiously.

After a while, a surge of demonic aura rushed toward them, and the chaotic noises flooded into their open ears. Many monsters were also meticulously searching the area!

“There’s something strange…” Meng Qi exchanged a glance with Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Zhengyan, and others. They decided to capture a live one instead of blindly hiding anymore.

He signaled to Qi Zhengyan—the only one among them capable of long-range attacks without relying on external tools—and they stealthily approached the search line using the Illusory Demon Stepping Technique, hiding right under the noses of the minor demons.

After a while, one of the minor demons moved ahead of the group.

Meng Qi signaled to Qi Zhengyan. He activated the Undying Seal Art, moving like a ghost toward the minor demon. Surprisingly, the surrounding demons seemed to ignore them completely!

After a year of joint training, Qi Zhengyan was perfectly in sync. He swung his Dragon-Patterned Red Gold Sword from a distance, focusing the Dragon’s might entirely on the minor demon.

The little demon trembled all over, its legs went weak, and it was about to collapse when Meng Qi approached effortlessly, knocking it out and carrying it back into hiding.

This entire action was swift and precise, and no one nearby noticed. The Undying Seal Art and the Illusory Demon Stepping Technique truly lived up to their assassin origins!

After retreating to a safe distance, Meng Qi revived the little demon, extended his spiritual sense, and with Dragon Wei by his side, questioned it: “Why are you searching in this area?”

The little demon trembled and replied, “Grandson of the Dragon, it was ordered by our Kings.”

“Why did they issue such an order?” Meng Qi pressed, not showing any cleverness, asking one question at a time!

“The Kings of various mountains and caves only found a broken piece of wood in the temple, with no sign of the treasure. The Great King of Emerald Waves said that if any strangers had arrived first, they must have taken it, so we are searching everywhere,” the little demon replied. It had also followed its King into the temple.

Meng Qi listened with a frown. “Where is the Great King of Emerald Waves now?”

“The little demon answered honestly, ‘He went back to the mountain to recuperate from his injuries. He’ll return within these two days.'”

Meng Qi inquired about the search scopes of the demons from various mountains and caves. The more he listened, the more he furrowed his brow. They all relied on their Kings’ winds to get ahead? How could they intercept the group, who had been traveling outside the temple for several days, and conduct inch-by-inch searches from the outside inward, gradually tightening the encirclement?

“In other words, at most by tomorrow, if we don’t break through the encirclement, the space we can maneuver in will become extremely limited. With tens of thousands of minor demons swarming in, they could crush us just by trampling over us,” Meng Qi concluded after finishing his interrogation, sharing his assessment with Jiang Zhiwei and the others.

Jiang Zhiwei’s injuries had already healed, and she nodded slightly. “We must find a weak point to break through. As long as we pass the demon’s search range, the sky will be vast and open, and there’s a great chance we can survive the last day and a half.”

As long as the sun rises on the eighth day, everyone can return.

“In the northeast direction, there are a centipede spirit and a snake spirit… the southwest has three yellow bull demons… apart from a few exceptions, the rest are all at the half-step External Scenery level. It seems that with the Demon Saint’s attack on Ling Mountain, the former great sages and true demon kings have vanished,” Meng Qi explained the encirclement distribution obtained from the captured minor demons.

Zhang Yuanshan pondered. “Even if we combine our strength, we won’t have the advantage if we encounter external scenery. We must avoid them.”

“It’s best to choose those with ordinary innate spiritual abilities who cannot attack from a distance,” emphasized Luo Shengyi. If they encountered half-step external scenery demons with long-range attack capabilities, combined with their wind-riding skills, aside from using the monster-revealing mirror again, there would be no way to avoid being hunted down.

Under normal circumstances, half-step external scenery can borrow a little of the power of heaven and earth, but they still have to engage in close combat, like the previous Dorchad.

After analyzing for a while, they decided not to choose those with special innate spiritual abilities or those with a cluster of half-step external scenery. Finally, they settled on the direction of the three yellow bull monsters. They were known for their brute strength and preferred close combat, making them the team’s favorite opponents. Moreover, there were only three half-step external scenery monsters in that entire direction. Even if they were discovered during their stealth, as long as they didn’t encounter all three at once, they could calmly deal with them and break through the encirclement.

After making their plans, Meng Qi and the others changed direction and headed southwest under the cover of night.

Although there were monsters skilled in stealth and nocturnal hunting, under the circumstances of a large-scale search, the cover of darkness still proved more advantageous.

Jiang Zhiwei, Qi Zhengyan, and others each used their shape-shifting techniques to take care of Fu Zhenzhen, Ge Huai’en, and Luo Shengyi. Meng Qi, on the other hand, activated the Undying Seal Art, extended his spirit, and covered Ruan Yushu.

They advanced cautiously, step by step, perpetually on high alert, occasionally brushing past demons. If they drew any nearer, even with spiritual interference, they might not escape detection by their senses.

In the darkness, it seemed like demons were lurking everywhere. Everyone held their breath and concentrated, striving not to let worry and fear cloud their minds.

“Moo! I knew they’d underestimate us brothers and try to break through!” Just as the demons thinned out and they were about to escape the encirclement, a bull’s roar suddenly resounded from above. Three bull-headed, human-bodied monsters riding black winds descended upon them from the sky.

Their ox-like eyes were wide open, bloodshot veins clearly visible. Their faces bore exhaustion and weariness, as if they had been tirelessly patrolling their designated territories for days on end, searching just like the little demons under their command. Such dedication truly made them worthy of being called Yellow Oxen!

(Note: “Yellow Oxen” is retained as a proper noun based on the original Chinese context, assuming it refers to a specific title or group name. If it’s meant as a general term, it could alternatively be translated as “yellow oxen” in lowercase.)

“All three converging at once…” Meng Qi’s scalp went numb. Despite the Zen-like tranquility cultivated through the Golden Bell Shield and the Ananda’s Breaking Precepts Saber Technique, as well as the composure tempered by previous perils, his heartbeat still accelerated, and waves of unease surged within him. He truly wanted to curse both the heavens and the Six Paths of Reincarnation—how could such an improbably rare occurrence happen to them? Could this be the so-called mission of certain death?

Cursing aside, it couldn’t affect their judgment. They had to fight for their survival!

“I’ll hold off one. You quickly deal with the other two. Don’t hesitate to use any means necessary!” Jiang Zhiwei transmitted her voice to Meng Qi and the others. She leaped forward, an eagle striking the sky, her sword meeting the bronze club of a yellow-headed monster.

Yellow bull monsters may not have had much, but they possessed immense strength. Accompanied by black winds, their attacks caused the air currents to collapse, as if space itself were trembling, something no ordinary human body could withstand.

Yet, Jiang Zhiwei’s sword, light and unyielding, gently redirected the bronze club aside, and she and the yellow bull monster landed on the ground together.

Just as Jiang Zhiwei was about to unleash the “Strike the Vast Sea” technique, she suddenly felt her legs grow heavy, as though shackled by some invisible force, severely slowing her movements.

Could it harness a portion of the power of heaven and earth, the might of the earth itself? Could it induce the phenomenon of the ground becoming heavier? Jiang Zhiwei suddenly realized why the yellow bull monsters favored close-quarters combat. Only by standing firmly on the ground could they unleash their full strength!

Such unique abilities of half-step external scenery were not uncommon in martial arts, and there were ample records of them within the Washing Sword Pavilion. Jiang Zhiwei guided her sword again, once more redirecting the heavy bronze club. Seizing the momentum, she slashed downward like a butcher dissecting an ox, cutting through the bindings along their path.

Then, before the yellow bull monster could once more draw upon the power of heaven and earth, she sprang into the air, her blade sweeping downward, cleaving through the vast sea!

The sword radiance was dazzling, akin to the morning sun descending, boiling the seas and drying the oceans. With a single slash, the vast sea split left and right, carving a profound sword scar into the earth before and behind the yellow ox demon.

This was precisely when the yellow-headed monster’s move had reached its peak. Jiang Zhiwei seized the timing perfectly, as if she had been waiting for this opportunity, for this flaw!

Bang! The demonic aura surrounding the yellow bull monster was torn apart, one of its horns crashed to the ground, and its head gushed with blood, sending it into a furious rage.

Meng Qi and the others all knew that Jiang Zhiwei had the ability to fight a half-step external scenery one-on-one, so they suppressed their worries and divided into two teams. One team consisted only of Fu Zhenzhen and Zhang Yuanshan, while the other was led by Meng Qi, joined by Luo Shengyi, Qi Zhengyan, Ruan Yushu, and Ge Huai’en.

The yellow bull monster charged toward Fu Zhenzhen but was met with an ancient bronze mirror she pulled out, shining its light on its face.

In the mirror, the yellow bull monster’s image became prominent, rapidly transforming, revealing its giant yellow bull form.

In reality, the yellow bull monster let out a loud cry, fell from the black wind, rolled on the ground, and transformed into a monster three times the size of a normal yellow bull.

Zhang Yuanshan rushed forward, and while it was helpless, he beheaded it with one sword strike.

The monster-revealing mirror cracked and shattered into fragments.

They had to finish this quickly!

Meng Qi unleashed his full power, dark gold energy swirling around him like a bronze Buddha statue. He slashed nine times in a row, each strike faster and more powerful than the last, the sound like thunder, as if heavenly lightning had descended, fierce and domineering!

Luo Shengyi joined him, unleashing his famous iron fist, powerful and grand, without any flourish.

A loud explosion occurred. Meng Qi took several steps back, leaving deep footprints in the ground. If it weren’t for the Undying Seal Art transforming death into life, redirecting or transferring the force to his feet, he would have been severely injured by that single strike. Even so, his tiger’s mouth was slightly torn, and blood seeped out.

The yellow bull demon’s strength far exceeded that of the previous wolf demon!

Luo Shengyi was sent flying backward, his protective aura completely scattered, his fists bloody and mangled. If it weren’t for Meng Qi sharing the impact, he would have been gravely injured.

However, working together, they managed to block the yellow bull monster’s attack. Ruan Yushu remained calm and composed, her delicate hand plucking the strings of her zither, unleashing a sharp and deadly sound.

The yellow bull monster was stunned, its movements slowing slightly. Ge Huai’en crushed the Eye of Breaking Spirit, releasing a beam of dark light that struck the monster’s head directly.

Aaah! The yellow bull monster screamed in pain, blood flowing from its eyes and nostrils. It opened its mouth and spat out a yellow object, lightning-fast and indestructible, striking Ge Huai’en’s head with a single blow, shattering his skull.

A cow gallstone? Meng Qi was both shocked and furious, but he had no time to think further. Taking advantage of the yellow bull monster’s wounded spirit and confused mind, he drew out Zi Shang and swung it.

Life and death hung in the balance in that fleeting moment!