In Yangping Town.
Messy roars of beasts constantly echoed.
At this moment, Yangping Town was in ruins, the once prosperous town had turned into rubble, with no trace of its former prosperity visible.
Amidst the ruins, wild beasts constantly moved about, tearing at the scattered, broken corpses on the ground.
The black mist gathering in the sky grew thicker, almost enveloping the entire Yangping Town.
As a long, strange, muffled roar echoed from the black mist, the black mist in the sky transformed into countless small black snakes, burrowing into the bodies of the numerous strange beasts on the ground.
At the same time, all the strange beasts also stopped moving, their dark eyes looking up at the crescent moon in the sky.
Soon, streaks of blood appeared from the mouths of each strange beast, floating towards the sky.
Following that, the strange beast horde seemed to have received an order, leaving Yangping Town in a mighty surge, rushing towards the nearest town.
Among them were clearly those powerful Spirit Beasts.
And just as the horde of strange beasts had not yet left Yangping Town, in the distant night sky, four riders were already arriving in a cloud of dust.
"Myriad Manifestation Dragon Sound!!"
The armored elder leading the group, without waiting to get closer, roared up at the sky.
The roar was like a dragon and an elephant, carrying terrifying pressure, and with a single roar, it actually shook the dark clouds in the sky, forcing the black mist lingering overhead to retreat.
And the strange beasts charging at the front trembled violently one by one, then fell straight backward, like wheat stalks blown by a strong wind.
With just one roar, countless strange beasts fell to the ground, streams of blood flowing from their orifices, having been killed by the roar that shattered their internal organs.
However, the armored elder leading the group didn't even look at these heavily injured and dead strange beasts; instead, he looked up at the thick, rolling black mist in the sky, following the direction of the mist's spread, and finally looking towards the massive mountain body in the distance that was enveloped in the black mist.
"This Phantom Demon Beast's main body hasn't come out; it's probably still lurking in Yangping Mountain."
The elder's eyes flickered as if he realized something, and he spoke again.
"This Phantom Demon Beast is lurking in Yangping Mountain, clearly injured and has been sleeping. Now that it has awakened, it needs a large amount of blood and flesh to nourish itself. We cannot let it continue to acquire blood and flesh, otherwise its strength will recover quickly, and it will be quite difficult to deal with it then."
"General, the number of strange beasts before us is too large, and there are no fewer than a dozen Spirit Beasts among them, as well as the Phantom Demon Beast hidden in the shadows. With just the few of us, I'm afraid we might not be able to stop them."
Behind the elder, an armored strong man looked at the dense strange beasts before him, his face full of solemnity.
And just as he was speaking, a strange roar had already echoed from the black mist gathered in the sky.
The next moment, massive figures were already charging madly towards the few people.
"Even if we can't stop them, we must try."
Looking at these strange beasts that seemed to have no emotions, the elder's face was stern, and he let out a cold snort.
At the same time, his entire body began to change rapidly.
The black profound armor on his body tightened, clinging tightly to his skin, and the elder's figure also swelled accordingly, his originally pale skin dyed with a layer of blood color.
The profound armor on his body also seemed like a living thing, rapidly turning blood-red as it was infused and dyed by the elder's vital energy.
Whoosh...
The elder exhaled a wisp of white smoke, which actually ignited the nearby vegetation instantly, and his entire appearance had also drastically changed, no longer resembling a human.
At this moment, a long lizard tail appeared behind the elder, his entire body covered in scales, clearly turning into a half-human, half-lizard monster.
His scarlet eyes revealed a bloodthirsty, chilling intent, and his entire body exuded a wild, cold-blooded, powerful aura.
"Kill!!"
With a low roar, he had already charged towards those powerful Spirit Beasts first.
And the four people behind him also did not hesitate, taking a deep breath, their faces showing twisted pain, while their bodies also changed at the same time.
They also turned into half-human, half-lizard humanoid monsters, just like the elder, but the lizard-like parts were noticeably less than the elder's.
The four people also followed the elder and charged into the strange beast horde.
...
The next day, the sky was bright in Tongzhi County.
Following the long flow of people entering the city, Lin Sheng finally entered the city with Big Yellow.
At this time, his condition was clearly much better than yesterday. Although his complexion was still pale, the feeling of fatigue on his body had dissipated considerably, and the large and small cracked wounds all over his body had already scabbed over, likely to recover completely before long.
Such efficiency was naturally inseparable from the dried Spirit Beast meat. In addition, there were the powerful effects of the constitution and stamina boosts.
Looking at the bustling and lively street scene of Tongzhi County, Lin Sheng felt a sense of being in another world.
"It's temporarily safe here."
He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
"I just wonder what the situation is like in Yangping Town?"
Although he had only stayed in Yangping Town for a full month at most, he had quite a few acquaintances there, such as Wang Sanyang and others.
If he had the ability, he wouldn't mind lending a hand, but in that kind of environment, he could barely protect himself, so how could he possibly look after others?
"Yangping Town has a large population, and there are many experts among them. Some people should have escaped. Presumably, Lin'an County and Tongzhi County will soon take action. Involving a powerful monster like the Phantom Demon Beast, perhaps even Linjiang Prefecture City will be alarmed."
Thinking this, he already shook his head slightly, suppressing the random thoughts.
"Forget it, when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."
Thinking this, he soon saw groups of fully armed soldiers on the street hurrying towards the city gate.
Without paying too much attention to these, and not rushing to find Xiao Shi and Lao Zhou, he first found an inn on the street to stay at.
After a simple wash, he lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Last night's battle was the most difficult battle he had ever fought. It consumed not only his physical strength but also his mental energy.
Spirit Beast meat could restore physical strength, but it could not restore mental energy, so as soon as his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep.
He slept until dawn the next day before waking up.
After calling for the waiter and ordering a hearty meal which he finished, he then left the inn with Big Yellow.
Walking on the street, he could feel that the flow of people on the street was noticeably less than when he first arrived yesterday.
"Has the change in Yangping Town already spread here!?"
This thought flashed through his mind, and he wasn't surprised. He headed straight for Tongming Academy with Big Yellow.
As a base of the Dark Star Organization, with such a major event happening in Yangping Town, that old fellow Huang Quan must know a lot.
Upon entering Tongming Academy, it was still as quiet and deserted as the last time, with no customers.
Only Huang Quan was curled up with his thin body, hiding behind the counter. If you didn't look carefully, most people probably wouldn't notice that there was a living person here.
In his hand, he held a large book with the three characters 'Junzi Shuo' written on the cover.
However, from the lewd smile that occasionally appeared on his wrinkled face, it was clear that it wasn't that simple.
"Cough, cough."
Lin Sheng lightly coughed.
Only then did Huang Quan reluctantly shift his gaze from the large book in front of him. His eyes swept over, glancing at Lin Sheng's figure wearing a bamboo hat. After a slight pause, he quickly smiled and said.
"Welcome to my humble shop, esteemed guest. What kind of books are you looking for?"
Lin Sheng directly stated the secret code from his last visit.
Then he took out his emblem.
After a glance, Huang Quan stroked his chin.
"Ghost Face!?"
The old man's face showed a hint of surprise.
"You're actually not dead yet?"
Lin Sheng: "..."
His direct words left him momentarily at a loss for words.
"It seems you are smarter than those fools before. You curbed your greed and didn't Cultivate that Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm. That's not bad."
Without waiting for Lin Sheng to reply, Huang Quan, thinking he had guessed something, spoke playfully.
"Tsk tsk, it's just a shame you wasted an opportunity to choose a martial art for nothing. The organization doesn't have a policy of exchanging martial arts, not even for a Blazing Star Envoy."
Seeming to have guessed Lin Sheng's purpose for coming, he added another sentence.
Lin Sheng didn't pay attention to these. He was too lazy to explain and just spoke calmly.
"I came here this time to inquire about some information."
"Inquire about information?"
Huang Quan was startled, seemingly not expecting the other party to say this, but he quickly replied.
"Is it about what happened in Lin'an County?"
"That's right. I want to know what exactly happened in Lin'an County, and what the current situation is in Yangping Town?"
Lin Sheng found a seat and said seriously.
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, Huang Quan raised an eyebrow and looked over with some surprise.
"You actually know about Yangping Town? It seems you are indeed from Lin'an County. Don't tell me you came from Yangping Town."
Lin Sheng didn't speak, just stared steadily at the other party.
Seeing this appearance, Huang Quan was already certain of his guess. He carefully sized up Lin Sheng again from head to toe before saying.
"Yangping Town no longer exists, with basically no survivors. Furthermore, the culprit behind all this is an extremely powerful fierce beast."
"Basically no survivors..."
Lin Sheng murmured softly. Although he had already anticipated this outcome, hearing the other party say it at this moment still felt somewhat heavy.
"And then? What happened to that Phantom Demon Beast?"
"What else could happen to the Phantom Demon Beast? It has returned to lurking deep within Yangping Mountain. A monster of this level isn't that easy to deal with..."
Huang Quan spoke subconsciously, but quickly realized something. His eyes widened, staring straight at Lin Sheng.
"You know about the Phantom Demon Beast!!?"
At this moment, his heart was full of surprise, and there was a touch of inexplicable meaning in the way he looked at Lin Sheng.
"Yes, I do. Can you tell me the details of what happened?" Lin Sheng nodded slightly and said.
"This... naturally, is impossible." Huang Quan shook his head, and quickly changed the subject. "The information I just revealed to you was already a bit excessive. If you want to know more, you'll have to exchange it for merit points."
"Seeing as we're old friends, just ten merit points will do..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Sheng had already taken out a banknote with a denomination of 500 from his pocket and placed it in front of him.
"This is all."
"This... seeing as we're so familiar with each other, I'll make an exception this once, but not again."
Huang Quan's face showed a reluctant expression, but his movements were quick. He reached out and grabbed the banknote into his pocket.
"Cough, cough. It's better to arrive at the right time than early. I've just finished gathering the specific information here. It turns out that the reason for the beast tides happening every few years in Yangping Mountain is because a Phantom Demon Beast is hidden in the deepest part of Yangping Mountain."
"And this Phantom Demon Beast had been in a deep sleep before, likely due to some injury it sustained. It would briefly awaken every few years, and when it awakened, the various strange beasts and Spirit Beasts in Yangping Mountain would sense the dangerous aura and thus flee to the outer areas to be active."
"And unfortunately, this time the Phantom Demon Beast's injuries had improved somewhat, allowing it to fully awaken from its slumber. It also took control of all the strange beasts in Yangping Mountain, using them to gather blood and flesh for it to accelerate its own injury recovery, which is what caused this disaster."
When he reached this point, Huang Quan glanced at Lin Sheng, paused, and then continued.
"Fortunately, Linjiang Prefecture City happened to acquire a Monster Manifestation Mirror from the Imperial City a few days ago, which detected the abnormality in Lin'an County in advance. They sent experts over in advance and managed to arrive before the situation became uncontrollable, driving the Phantom Demon Beast back into the depths of Yangping Mountain and sealing it with the Blood Demon Grand Formation. For the time being, this Phantom Demon Beast won't be able to cause any trouble."
"Since it needs blood and flesh to accelerate its recovery, why doesn't this Phantom Demon Beast directly attack the many strange beasts in Yangping Mountain? Instead, it takes the risk of attacking Yangping Town."
Lin Sheng had some questions about Huang Quan's words, so he simply asked them directly.
Huang Quan glanced at Lin Sheng, took the pipe from his waist, lit it, took a satisfying puff, and then answered unhurriedly.
"Don't you know? No matter what kind of strange beast it is, compared to their own kind, they prefer human flesh and blood, especially the flesh and blood of human Martial Artists. To them, it is an irresistible delicacy, and consuming human flesh and blood can bring them even greater benefits."
"As for what specific benefits, I'm not sure, but one thing is certain: the higher the rank of the strange beast, the more they crave human flesh and blood. Of course, the Phantom Demon Beast itself doesn't like to devour beasts. Compared to devouring strange beasts, it prefers to control them."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng slightly furrowed his brow.
It was indeed the first time he had heard this statement. He didn't think Huang Quan would deceive him.
If that's the case, doesn't it mean that humans inherently carry an attraction for high-ranked strange beasts?
However, thinking that humans and strange beasts are inherently in a relationship of killing and being killed, humans are no different.
After thinking, he continued to ask,
"Who is this expert who came from Linjiang Prefecture City, capable of dealing with so many Spirit Beasts in Yangping Mountain?"
He was well aware of the number of strange beasts in Yangping Mountain, especially those powerful Spirit Beasts. Being able to suppress the Phantom Demon Beast even when it controlled so many powerful strange beasts, he was quite curious about this expert from Linjiang Prefecture City.
"The person who came is General Long Zilu, the Linjiang Prefecture Commander and the Commander of the Dragon Demon Army in Fu City."