When the young man's expression suddenly changed, and he uncontrollably unleashed surges of spiritual energy from his body.
A force of biting cold also swept out from that streak of light with a roar!
In an instant, the spiritual energy, imbued with dense water, solidified within the frigid power. Amidst the howling cold wind, a layer of frost even formed on the opponent's body.
At the same time, Ji Yuan, in his fury, hurled the long sword in his hand. There was no display of sword light or surging sword energy, only the plain, unadorned sword body streaking through the vast expanse of wind and snow.
With a "噗" sound, the long sword plunged into the earth, its hilt and blade still trembling slightly.
The next breath, the sky filled with wind and snow vanished abruptly. That streak of light flew back, manifesting beside Song He as a palm-sized shuttle, shimmering with an icy blue luminescence.
On the other hand, the young man exuding demonic energy remained in a pose with his arm extended, a layer of pale blue frost covering him, and frozen spiritual energy swirling around.
After a few breaths, his body suddenly trembled, the frost adhering to him shattered, and the frozen spiritual energy surged up again, coiling around him with a howling sound.
Just as anger surfaced on the young man's face, and he was about to strike forward with his palm, a bloody gash quietly appeared on his left shoulder.
噗！！！
Before he could react, his left arm flew into the air, spraying azure blood!
He turned back in shock and rage, his gaze falling on the long sword plunged into the ground. As his severed arm landed, he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a stream of light, seemingly trying to draw the long sword on the ground towards him.
At this very moment, an angry shout traveled from afar.
"Yuan Bao! Slay him!"
锵！！！
A sword's hum soared into the sky. The seemingly ancient and unadorned long sword suddenly erupted with streaks of sharp sword energy.
Amidst the countless sword energies, the long sword flew back into mid-air, tearing through the light spat out by the young man in an instant. It then spun in the air and immediately slashed down.
Having already experienced the sharpness of the long sword, how would the young man dare to face its edge head-on? Seeing this, he quickly dodged sideways, his figure transforming into streaks of afterimages, narrowly avoiding the swift slash.
唰！
After the attack missed, the long sword left a mess of sword energy on the ground and then flew back into the hands of Ji Yuan, who was rushing from a distance.
He looked at the young man whose arm he had severed. Seeing the intense demonic energy emanating from him and the fluctuations of water-attribute spiritual energy, he immediately realized that this was likely the demonic creature that had escaped them and hidden at the bottom of the Xi Yu River that day!
He just didn't know why, after losing a spiritual object considered his foundation and having the Golden Body Temple smashed, he hadn't lost his cultivation or died on the spot, but had instead ascended to the second realm.
And judging by his aura, he was likely at least in the mid-second realm!
Ji Yuan's expression darkened. It seemed the person orchestrating behind the scenes was indeed immensely powerful, capable of turning such a near-certain death situation around in just a few days and causing this demon's cultivation to skyrocket.
But just like the previously unresolvable question, what was this person's ultimate goal in doing so?
As his thoughts raced, Ji Yuan suddenly let out a cold laugh. Looking at the shocked and furious young man in the distance, he then grunted, "Kill!"
If he couldn't figure it out immediately, then he would simply kill all the enemies before him. If all the pieces on the board were gone, could the other party continue their game?
As his words fell, Su Hongzhu immediately darted out from the crowd. In a few flicks of her fingers, she appeared before the young man, her fists bringing forth dozens of fist shadows.
Seeing this, the young man's anger intensified. He didn't dodge the barrage of fist shadows; instead, relying on his robust physique, he allowed the punches to land on him.
Demonic creatures were inherently physically strong. Furthermore, the young man's true form was that of a catfish spirit, with a layer of mucus on its skin. Any attack would slide off its body, making it difficult to have any effect.
As a result, no matter how Su Hongzhu punched, she couldn't harm him. Instead, she was forced to retreat several times by his remaining arm.
At this moment, a demon and a specter were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand.
"Do you need me to act?"
Song He whispered.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan slowly shook his head. His gaze swept across the surroundings, his vigilance undiminished.
After pondering for a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Sun Youfang and the orchestrator are still hidden. You should try not to act unless absolutely necessary."
Although Song He's icy power was most effective against the demon from the Xi Yu River, who was currently stalemated with Su Hongzhu, there were still at least two people hidden who had not shown themselves: Sun Youfang, the county magistrate's secretary, and the mastermind who had planned all this. The weakest among them was likely a second-realm cultivator.
It was even possible that the orchestrator was infinitely close to the third realm, otherwise, it would be difficult to control such a group of second-realm beings.
However, a peak second-realm cultivator would be the limit. If the other party possessed third-realm cultivation, they could have directly suppressed all variables in the city, and there would be no need to watch their pawns being eliminated one by one.
But in any case, to guard against the worst-case scenario, Song He and his wife had to preserve their strength as much as possible, not wasting a single wisp of spiritual energy.
Fortunately, while they might not have the advantage in the current situation, they were at least not at a disadvantage. Xu Liuqing and Zhao Yuansong were facing some difficulties but were not completely unable to cope; there was still a chance of victory.
Before they could win, or before the hidden orchestrator revealed their true colors, there were some questions he had to thoroughly consider.
"Could Sun Youfang be the one orchestrating behind the scenes?"
Song He's wife suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan was taken aback. He hadn't considered this possibility before. After all, in his subconscious, the mastermind was someone who concealed themselves and rarely appeared in public.
And Sun Youfang, as the county magistrate's secretary, although he had a low presence and no rumors seemed to have ever surfaced, was at least openly visible to everyone.
Moreover, as a trusted confidant of the county magistrate, he naturally received considerable attention. Various powers in the city would likely pay attention to him.
This made it difficult for him to do many things, as even within the yamen, there were still many informants watching the every move of certain individuals.
"This possibility cannot be ruled out, but it is unlikely to be Sun Youfang."
Ji Yuan shook his head. Although he had no concrete evidence, his intuition told him that the mastermind was someone else.
If it were truly Sun Youfang, then everything would be too simple, not aligning with the ambition and scale displayed by the current mastermind.
"However, I didn't expect that during my three hundred years of slumber, not only would Luohun Slope gain a new mass grave, but also a 'red-powder skeleton' would be born."
Song He glanced at Su Hongzhu subconsciously and said with some emotion.
Recalling the past, Luohun Slope was quite famous around Qianyu City. Although the Song Manor only had the couple and an old Granny Zhang as cultivators, no force dared to underestimate them.
After all, back then, they were ruthless enough to contend for a spiritual treasure that even a great cultivator desired!
In those days, who would dare to treat Luohun Slope as a place to bury corpses at will, let alone eventually develop a mass grave?
Although there was no explicit decree from the imperial court, the entire Luohun Slope was considered Song Manor's territory back then. Even officials had to be respectful when entering.
"A red-powder skeleton, while not uncommon among specters, typically originates from places of immense resentment."
Zhou Yuyan, Song He's wife, chimed in.
Her appearance was youthful, looking only in her early twenties. She was once a lady from a prominent family, her every movement filled with elegance and dignity.
Seeing Ji Yuan's curious glance, she smiled and roughly explained the conditions for the birth of a red-powder skeleton.
Besides requiring vast resentment, the deceased must have been a courtesan or a person of loose morals in life. After death, if buried in a place with dense yin energy, there would be a slim chance of transforming into a red-powder skeleton over many centuries.
However, no one could be certain about this. Without human intervention, it was truly a matter of fate operating according to unseen rules.
"Human intervention?"
Ji Yuan frowned slightly, as if he had thought of something.
Hearing this, Song He picked up the conversation, "In the demonic and ghostly paths, there should be several secret techniques. With a great price, one can have a certain degree of certainty in forcibly interfering with the workings of heaven and earth to give birth to such a red-powder skeleton."
Generally speaking, only the top figures in the demonic and ghostly paths would spend vast resources to nurture some red-powder skeletons for their amusement or to entertain guests.
However, it was also not impossible for some second or third-realm demonic or ghostly cultivators, upon obtaining such a secret technique, realizing their own cultivation potential was limited, or lacking powerful assistance, to exhaust their wealth in nurturing one.
After all, red-powder skeletons, as an anomaly among specters, possessed extreme killing power. Among cultivators of the same realm, relying on their innate divine abilities and their indestructible skeletal bodies, they could almost rampage unchecked.
With such an assistance, they would naturally hold a significant advantage in combat, whether fighting others or protecting their own path.
However, such an undertaking not only required vast resources, often depleting the wealth of a third-realm cultivator, but also harmed cosmic harmony. Even demonic cultivators rarely resorted to it.
"What, do you think Su Hongzhu is problematic?"
Shen Lang, seeing his concern for the matter, couldn't help but ask.
Ji Yuan did not conceal his thoughts and indicated that he did have such suspicions.
It wasn't that he had discovered any clues, but rather a subtle, innate feeling that Su Hongzhu might be connected to the mastermind.
"I recall a secret technique in the demonic path that can shape the blood and flesh, and the ghostly path also has many secret arts of transferring death to life."
Song He frowned. "If the two could be combined, it might truly bring a specter back to life."
As his words fell, everyone's expressions froze. They instinctively turned to look at Su Hongzhu in the distance.
At this moment, they saw her plunge a bony palm into the young man's lower abdomen, extracting a demon core filled with water essence.