Bai Mo watched as the night deepened.
There was no moon tonight. The whole of Immortal Arrival City was shrouded in darkness, especially the long streets.
BANG!
The gates of the Li Mansion flew open and the bloody, mangled body of a servant was thrown out. His breathing had already stopped.
Lanshan spared it only a single glance before looking away.
"The Patriarch of the Li family has finally gone mad."
He said coolly, "Families like these value their reputation above all else. They hate having their doorstep sullied."
Qin Ying silently handed out several sets of clothes, one for each of them.
Bai Mo looked at his portion, a little surprised.
Qin Ying smiled and whispered, "I had them made based on your size. They should fit."
The group took one last look at the entrance to the Li Mansion, then retreated down a narrow alley between the residences.
They wordlessly found a place to change into their night gear.
Shen Yang then took out a porcelain vial and sprinkled something on everyone.
Seeing Bai Mo's unfazed expression, Shen Yang was a little taken aback.
"Shopkeeper Bai, aren't you going to ask what this is?"
Bai Mo pulled on his mask and replied calmly:
"It's a specially mixed medicinal powder that can conceal a person's scent."
"If there were any profit in it, you'd be able to find it in my shop."
As he spoke, he took out a pill vial from his robes and distributed its contents.
"Something to save your lives. Qi Blood Pills."
Shen Yang snatched the vial and chuckled. "My apologies. I was teaching a fish how to swim."
Everyone else chuckled as well.
Seeing that everyone was ready, Lanshan's expression turned serious.
"Let's go!"
With that, he led the way, sticking to the darkest shadows.
The path was filled with flickering shadows and a constant RUSTLING sound.
Bai Mo's heart tightened, but like the others, he tacitly ignored it.
As they were about to round a street corner, a sudden loud CRASH made them all turn their heads.
They saw the main gate, the very symbol of the Li Mansion's prestige, fall flat to the ground. A figure in gray robes scrambled to his feet.
Just as he was about to flee, a slightly plump man in brocade robes kicked him back down, planting a foot on his spine.
"Miaofa Sect!! You've gone too far!!"
"And you scum, rolling around in the mud! You dare covet what's mine!?"
The man in brocade screamed, then whipped his head around to look at the butler on the ground.
"I raised you for forty years! How dare you betray me!?"
The butler wailed in agony.
"Patriarch! I've been wronged!"
"It was that bitch, she…"
CRACK!
The Li family Patriarch withdrew his hand and looked into the eyes of the butler, whose head was now at an unnatural angle. He whispered:
"It doesn't matter anymore."
His face was ghostly, his expression as savage as a demon's. His pupils were different sizes, and blood vessels snaked across his eyes.
Bai Mo looked at the man's exposed hands. They were cracked and stained with blood—his own blood.
'He's a lost cause.'
The man wasn't much different from the Cultivators he had seen who had suffered a qi deviation from a Blood Curse entering their mind.
The only difference was that the danger posed by the Li family Patriarch was far, far greater.
A powerful figure stepped forward, looked at the Li family Patriarch, and sneered:
"We're not interested in your hundred-odd pounds of flesh, Your Excellency. We just want to learn from your example and drink a little blood ourselves."
"We've come from the mountains to witness your great skills!"
Before the words had even faded, and before he could make a move, a silver glint shot toward the Li family Patriarch, zig-zagging through the air.
"Break!!"
The Li family Patriarch kicked the butler's corpse into the air, using it as a shield against the silver glint in a flash of movement.
A spray of blood filled the air. The silver glint's momentum was broken, revealing its true form: a silver chain.
"Kill him!!"
A powerful fighter roared, leading the charge toward the Li family Patriarch.
Even from such a great distance, Bai Mo and the others' faces turned a little pale.
Lanshan forcefully suppressed his unease and urged them on.
"Go!"
Only then did the group follow him, moving away.
Lanshan and his team were all hardened experts from Celestial Barrier Mountain. Their reaction only proved that the power gap between them and the fighters at the gate was significant.
Lanshan had already memorized the route, and he led the group swiftly through the city.
The sounds of battle had originally been confined to the Li Mansion's entrance, but after the fighting began, the clamor of combat spread rapidly.
Before long, it reached Bai Mo's position.
Suddenly, two men wielding long sabers burst out from a corner ahead and attacked Bai Mo's group on sight.
The cold gleam of a long saber traced a curved arc through the night as it chopped down toward Lanshan.
They were clearly trying to eliminate the strongest member first.
Before Bai Mo could even register it, Lanshan's body was already pressing forward.
He dodged the attack from the left. The joints of his tall frame crackled, and a beast-like grunt rumbled from his throat.
His palm struck forward with ferocious momentum.
The opponent directly in front of him had no time to defend. A look of horror flashed in his eyes as he placed all his hope in his companion.
The other long saber did not disappoint. Its forward momentum spent, its wielder redirected it, pulling it back and aiming for the nape of Lanshan's neck.
The two attackers had excellent coordination. A hint of triumph flashed in both their eyes.
CLANG!
Qin Ying twisted her body and suddenly appeared behind Lanshan. Holding her daggers in a cross, she pressed up, managing to block the long saber for a split second.
WHOOSH!
Stirring up a gust of wind, Shen Yang rushed forward. A short blade dropped from his sleeve, and he slashed horizontally at the saber wielder's hand.
The two assailants were terrified.
"You..."
CRUNCH!
Lanshan's hand, shaped like a claw, struck his opponent's throat. The man's neck was severely dislocated, and his body went limp on the spot.
Shen Yang and Qin Ying's opponent dropped his saber. They closed in, and after just two moves, he was stabbed three times and died on the spot.
Wang Hu and Han Meng stood guard by Bai Mo's side, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
To this battle-hardened Demon Hunting Team, such attackers were mere child's play.
As Lanshan withdrew his hand, Shen Yang knelt down and quickly searched the two bodies, wrapping anything valuable in a cloth and tying it to his waist.
"They're all from the Li family," Lanshan said.
The Li family had deep roots and had cultivated many experts.
With so many people after them, it was clear they hadn't escaped and were also trapped here.
"If they can last for two hours, these people will survive," Bai Mo said.
The law enforcement team wouldn't dare delay for too long.
"If anything goes wrong tonight, we'll be in for a tough fight. From now on, let's not engage unless we absolutely have to."
The group proceeded with caution and didn't encounter any more members of the Li family.
Occasionally, they would run into other groups on the same mission. They would pass each other without a word, each going their separate ways.
The Li Mansion soon appeared before them.
When they arrived, they saw a group of attackers being cut down and scattered.
The overwhelming stench of blood was carried in all directions by the wind.
A man being pursued saw Lanshan's group, and with a glint in his eye, he ran toward them.
The group intended to move aside, but the man suddenly flicked his wrist.
"Help me!"
He threw an iron pellet, which exploded, sending a spray of ox-hair needles in all directions.
Lanshan's face darkened. He raised an arm to shield his eyes and, with a jolt of his body, deflected the incoming needles.
The needles weren't powerful, but they were enough to halt the group's advance.
The man's face lit up with joy. A group this large would surely be enough to draw the attacker's attention.
He sidestepped, preparing to slip past the group.
"Many thanks, everyone! I'll leave the one behind me to you!"
Lanshan's expression was icy. He could tell the pursuing Li family member was on par with him in strength.
He held out his large hand, took Shen Yang's short blade, and took several long strides, ignoring the Li family member to get behind the fleeing man.
Amidst the whistling wind, the short blade came down.
"Ah!"
The man fell into a pool of his own blood. He looked back in disbelief and said in terror:
"Spare me..."
The blade flashed again. Only when he saw the man was no longer breathing did Lanshan sheathe the blade.
The Li family member stopped and stared at them coldly.
Bai Mo took out a piece of jade at the right moment and tossed it to Lanshan.
Lanshan caught the jade and gave it a little shake.
"We came down from the mountains, risking our lives to be here."
"The boss said that once this is over, the favor will be repaid."