Chapter 98: No Duck Escapes

“Master, this demonic beast… it spoke!”

The shock in his heart was greater than any other emotion at this moment. Meng Yingxing’s eyes widened, and he subconsciously clutched Xiu Qingcheng.

Although Xiu Qingcheng was also incredibly surprised that the demonic beast spoke, she still needed to maintain a Master’s image in front of her disciple.

“Ahem, a demonic beast speaking, though rare, absolutely doesn’t mean it’s not speaking! It’s speaking words!”

Meng Yingxing was shocked, but he had truly heard the demonic beast’s words clearly.

The giant said that the culprit behind the disappearances of women was the Xu family.

If Xiu Qingcheng and Meng Yingxing made yet another assumption, that the demonic beast also wasn’t lying, then all their previous suspicions about the Xu family would come true.

The Xu family, outwardly taking concubines, was secretly gathering people to kidnap lone women around the towns, ostensibly to achieve some purpose with these women.

At this moment, Xiu Qingcheng and Meng Yingxing’s hearts understood a little better. The white-robed men behind Meng Yingxing were even more surprised to hear the demonic beast they had pursued for so long actually speak. Their faces shifted from green to pale, then settled into a fierce expression.

“This demonic beast is speaking utter nonsense! How dare it slander our Xu family like this! We must slay this demonic beast right here!”

The leader of the white-robed men roared, leading his brothers past Meng Yingxing, and aggressively surged towards the gigantic demonic beast.

The gigantic demonic beast lowered its body, adopting a fighting stance, and let out a roar.

Meng Yingxing watched as the white-robed men completely ignored him and rushed past. In that instant, he saw the fierce expressions on their faces.

“Disciple, time to make a choice.”

Xiu Qingcheng, with eyes that didn’t exist in her sword form half-closed, reminded Meng Yingxing.

Meng Yingxing’s head tilted slightly, then the Ting Tian Sword in his hand suddenly spun.

Just as the white-robed men’s swords clashed with the giant beast’s claws, Meng Yingxing leaped into the air, twisting his body to focus all his strength into his right hand and unleashed a sword qi strike downwards.

Sword Kill Sword, complete.

A massive, slightly reddish arc of sword qi descended from the sky, piercing straight down between the white-robed men and the giant beast.

Both sides immediately noticed this sword qi and abruptly stopped their forward movements, watching as the sword struck the ground before them. It left a trench about half a centimeter deep in the ground.

“The power is a bit small, Disciple.”

Xiu Qingcheng looked at the single strike of the Demon-Slaying Sword that hit the ground, only causing such minor damage, and was slightly displeased.

“I enlarged the sword qi… so the power diminished,” Meng Yingxing scratched his head mentally.

“You still need to diligently cultivate your spiritual energy.”

“Yes, Master!”

Meng Yingxing landed, stepping directly into the trench he had created. He held his sword tightly, facing the white-robed men of the Xu family.

The leader of the white-robed men frowned, his facial muscles tense.

He thrust the sword in his hand forward forcefully, its tip pointing directly at Meng Yingxing, who had suddenly caused trouble.

“Young Hero Meng, what is the meaning of this?!”

He loudly questioned Meng Yingxing.

The sword qi Meng Yingxing had just unleashed was clearly aimed at them; any discerning person could tell.

“Your enemy should be this ill-intentioned demonic beast; yet you actually attacked us?! Please get it straight, we are on the same side!”

‘The leader is Upper Star-Grade, one is Middle Star-Grade, and several are Lesser Star-Grade. Be aware.’

Xiu Qingcheng glanced at the strength of this group from the Xu family, then gave Meng Yingxing some pointers.

“Try to use the Cloud Come Four Swords, which is good for both offense and defense. If they surround you, you can still advance and retreat freely.”

“If the demonic beast behind you doesn’t backstab you and also helps you fight, it will be much easier for you to defeat them.”

Meng Yingxing’s gaze swept over the white-robed men before him, and he spoke in a deep voice: “Why I attacked you, you yourselves know.”

Facing the white-robed men’s questioning, Meng Yingxing didn’t explain further but threw the question back at them.

The white-robed men were startled, but they still feigned ignorance.

He put down his sword, softened his tense expression, and smiled slightly.

“Young Hero Meng, what are you saying? I don’t understand.”

“If there’s any misunderstanding, I can explain. Please, Young Hero Meng, don’t choose the wrong path.”

Xiu Qingcheng spat.

“Explain? Explain what? Explaining is covering up, covering up is the truth, and the truth is that it happened!”

“Putting all facts aside, don’t you have any problems?”

The gigantic demonic beast behind them still maintained a battle-ready stance, but its surprisingly clear demonic eyes were now filled with immense confusion.

‘Among humans, why do they just start fighting after talking?’

‘So, humans are truly interesting, huh…’

Facing the white-robed men’s words, Meng Yingxing remained unmoved.

“Tell me, why does the Xu family need so many women? What is their purpose?”

Meng Yingxing raised his sword, pointing directly at the white-robed men, and also towards the Xu family in Zhongyang Town in the distance.

At these words, the white-robed men knew that Meng Yingxing had somehow already learned something.

According to Old Master Xu’s instructions, if the Tianfeng Sect guy discovered anything amiss during his search for Young Miss Xu, he was to be silenced immediately.

Afterwards, the Xu family would report to the Tianfeng Sect that Meng Yingxing was killed by a high-cultivation demonic beast during his investigation.

“Purpose…”

The leader of the white-robed men’s voice was chilling, each word squeezed out as if through clenched teeth.

“You’ll find out when you go to the underworld!”

Before his words faded, the white-robed men surged forward, forming a killing array.

Facing the white-robed men who pressed in like a tide, Meng Yingxing wielded the Ting Tian Sword, blocking their every move.

The enemies were numerous, their moves vicious and relentless, giving Meng Yingxing almost no breathing room.

Seeing this, the white-robed men showed twisted smiles on their faces.

“Melee combat favors us!”

“A Middle Star-Grade, does he actually think he can get out of here alive under my hands?!”

“The Tianfeng Sect’s mistake was sending someone of such low cultivation!”

Meng Yingxing swung his sword to parry a downward cleave, a few beads of sweat forming on his face, but his expression wasn’t particularly strained.

“Huh? What idiotic nonsense is he spouting? If my disciple’s cultivation realm is considered low, then aren’t they even worse? Competing to be worse, are we?”

“Master, I… I shouldn’t be that bad, right…”

“Of course, Disciple, you’re not that bad. Alright, alright, you’ve been fighting for two minutes now. Have you figured out their moves? Counterattack quickly!”

Meng Yingxing’s expression sharpened. He gripped the Ting Tian Sword’s hilt and unleashed the fourth style of Cloud Come, Flowing Mist Cloud.

After a few more moves, the white-robed men were surprised to find that Meng Yingxing, far from being gradually stalemated under their encirclement, was becoming even more aggressive in his attacks.

Although the young man before them was only a Middle Star-Grade, the power of the sword techniques he wielded far surpassed many others at the same cultivation realm.

He and his sword seemed to be one, every move and strike as natural and effortless as eating, sleeping, or drinking water.

And his reactions were swift. Amidst the interwoven sword shadows, every attack from the white-robed men was easily seen through and blocked by him.

He was like a prophet, discerning all situations in battle.

The longer the fight continued, the more pressure the white-robed men felt.

Genuine cultivators like Meng Yingxing often had unexpected encounters, and their true strength couldn’t be judged merely by what appeared on the surface.

The leader of the white-robed men knew they had underestimated Meng Yingxing.

Fearing that continuing the fight would lead to disaster, the leader immediately chose to avoid combat and flee.

“Disciple, they’re running! These guys, do they always run when they know they can’t win? Running last time was one thing, but this time you can’t let them get away!”

Xiu Qingcheng, seeing that the white-robed men intended to retreat, immediately shouted.

“I know!!!”

Meng Yingxing shouted, immediately drawing his sword and lunging in pursuit.

The white-robed men, defeated and fleeing, were like a scattered pile of sand; their combat power was far less than when they were assembled.

With no more worries, Meng Yingxing directly attacked with the Demon-Slaying Sword, felling the retreating white-robed men one by one.

The leader of the white-robed men, with his higher cultivation, was also the fastest runner.

When he turned back to check the situation, his brothers behind him had all fallen to the ground, and Meng Yingxing appeared behind him like a ghost.

The white-robed man was shocked to his core. Before he could react, Meng Yingxing kicked him to the ground.

He fell face-first into the mud, then quickly tried to turn and get up.

The moment he turned, the Ting Tian Sword was already at his face, blocking all his subsequent movements.

“Now, can you answer me? Why does the Xu family capture so many women? What is their purpose?”

Meng Yingxing was expressionless, his gaze coldly fixed on the man before him.

Xiu Qingcheng had only ever seen Meng Yingxing with a gentle smile, and she hadn’t expected her seemingly always polite disciple to have such a firm and imposing side when dealing with others now.

‘Hmm, he’s quite handsome, with some of her own demeanor when killing people or demons.’

‘As expected of her disciple.’

The white-robed man stared intently at the sword tip, mere millimeters from his eyes. Cold sweat unconsciously dripped from his forehead.

Meng Yingxing pursed his lips, waiting for the white-robed man’s reply.

However, the white-robed man gave a cold laugh, “Want to know? Come, I’ll tell you in the underworld!”

Meng Yingxing’s eyes suddenly narrowed. The white-robed man before him suddenly flickered with a dazzling light.

“Run! He’s going to self-destruct!”

Xiu Qingcheng shouted urgently, immediately detaching from Meng Yingxing’s hand and flying out, carrying Meng Yingxing directly away with her sword body in the opposite direction.

Mere seconds after Meng Yingxing flew away, a deafening explosion and a dazzling white light, blinding even in peripheral vision, erupted behind her.

She actually felt a bit of admiration for these white-robed men.

To be so loyal to Old Master Xu, willing to activate a hidden emergency energy source for self-destruction rather than betray any information.

Xiu Qingcheng truly couldn’t understand what benefits Old Master Xu had given them. They were just workers; was it necessary to risk their lives?

Xiu Qingcheng almost shed tears for them.

After Xiu Qingcheng brought Meng Yingxing to the ground, Meng Yingxing stared somewhat blankly at the crater on the ground left by the self-destruction.

The white-robed man’s self-destruction had also blown up the other people Meng Yingxing had knocked unconscious earlier.

This meant they had no way to obtain crucial information from these individuals.

“Master, the clue we had is gone.”

Meng Yingxing looked at the Ting Tian Sword floating nearby.

“It’s alright, no big deal. Don’t we still have a talking demonic beast we can ask?”

Xiu Qingcheng tilted towards Meng Yingxing, comforting him.

“Judging by what it said before, it should know something.”

So, Xiu Qingcheng and Meng Yingxing turned back to find the giant beast that had been protecting a woman.

But they found that the gigantic demonic beast and the woman had long disappeared.

“Master, they ran away.”

Meng Yingxing said calmly.

“Ran away? Then hurry and chase them!”

Xiu Qingcheng pushed Meng Yingxing.

‘Surely, they couldn’t let the duck they had in hand fly away again?!’