The more than ten men and women in the tavern were stunned.
Upper City? Law Enforcement Team?
Although the fortress's cleaning squad was stationed on the forty-ninth floor, suddenly having an Upper City Law Enforcement Team show up and shout about a routine inspection seemed... a bit outrageous, right?
In a corner on a circular sofa, several members of the Wanlijin gang were watching Wang Jixuan, gripping the handles of their guns tightly.
But Wang Daozhang remained calm and unafraid.
Why? Because he had plenty of Vajra talismans on him, the newly made green paper kind, and he was also wearing a bulletproof vest.
He scanned the room and noticed a few men and women whose souls had been tainted by demonic energy. A faint cold smile appeared on his face as he said, "I received a report that you are having an illegal gathering here. According to the fortress's laws prohibiting unregistered religions from holding gatherings of more than six people, I need to conduct a search. Please cooperate."
"This officer!"
A middle-aged man with a sinister face stood up from the corner and smiled, "Though this is a bit presumptuous, all of us here in Wanlijin are good people... Can we see your identification?"
Suddenly, a young woman next to him pulled out a gun from under the table and aimed it at Wang Jixuan, firing a shot.
Bang!
Wang Daozhang had dozens of ways to dodge that standard caliber bullet, but he chose to go with its momentum, pressed down on the Vajra talisman, and fell forward as if he had been hit.
The tavern fell silent instantly.
Most people showed signs of unease, and two young girls turned pale and trembled.
The middle-aged man looked at the woman who had just shot and shouted angrily, "Guang Siyao, what are you doing! It's the Law Enforcement Team! The Upper City's Law Enforcement Team!"
The woman's eyes glimmered with a faint green light, and she ignored the man's furious shout, instead tilting her head to stare at Wang Jixuan.
Calm, indifferent, and eerie.
She raised her hand to shoot Wang Jixuan again, but the middle-aged man lunged at her and punched her in the face.
The woman fell back onto the sofa but quickly raised her hand to fire again.
Puff!
A blood hole appeared in the middle-aged man's forehead, and his body fell limply.
The surrounding gang members were stunned for two seconds but quickly drew their guns, aiming at the woman. One of them, with red eyes, pulled the trigger, and several others fired at the same time!
The woman’s body was riddled with bullets, yet she still struggled to lift her hand to shoot Wang Jixuan, who was lying on the ground.
Wang Jixuan stood up straight.
The woman fired a shot that hit the ground, slowly stopped breathing, and her right hand fell weakly.
But her eyes remained open, her expression calm, and the faint green light in her eyes did not fade.
“Sure enough, the soul has been corroded beyond recognition. It's not just a simple taint of demonic energy, it’s something more…”
Wang Daozhang squinted slightly.
In the corner, three men and two women suddenly grabbed bottles and knives, rushing toward Wang Jixuan over the coffee table and jumping over the sofa.
A sharp sound of slicing air rang out!
Blood suddenly erupted from the backs of their necks!
Several bullets embedded themselves into the pink wallpapered wall.
The gang members looked at Wang Jixuan with confusion.
What just happened?
Wang Jixuan calmly said, "The cleaning squad will be here soon. I suggest you drop your weapons and squat down with your hands on your heads at the entrance."
He pulled out two large-caliber handguns from the holster at his waist, checked the magazines, and chambered the bullets.
Then, Wang Daozhang turned to the gang members and said, "Help me tell the cleaning squad that if I leave alive, there’s no need to kill anyone."
One gang member froze and raised his hands, about to squat down slowly when someone next to him kicked him.
Wang Jixuan didn’t bother with these ordinary people and walked straight towards the wooden door on the left side of the bar. He kicked it open and dashed into the downward extending corridor.
A few seconds later, gunfire erupted below like the beat of a dance.
The gang members snapped back to reality.
“Crap! He, he, he!”
“Should we squat down? Will the cleaning squad really come?”
“He got shot just now and is fine? Ah, it must be the bulletproof vest.”
“How did those guys... die? Was it the bullets? The ones embedded in the wall, are they the legendary kind?”
“Black Wind!”
“Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting! You want to die?”
“I knew it, this gathering was off. It’s too creepy!”
Gunfire continued to ring out beneath their feet, moving quickly.
The gang members exchanged glances, turned, and called to the few men and women hiding in the corner, then moved outside the tavern, huddling against the wall, hands on their heads, squatting down in unison.
Just a few meters below them.
Bang!
A bullet, accompanied by blood, shot out from the back of an old man with green eyes, who leaned against the double doors of the casino and slowly slumped down.
In the nearby corridor, a dozen corpses lay scattered, each with their weapons.
Wang Jixuan didn’t bring many bullets. He put his handgun back in the holster, slowly unbuckled the backpack on his back, took out three gun barrels, twisted them together, and checked the talismans he had stored.
The gun's body lit up with intricate patterns.
From behind the door came the sound of multiple people humming.
Wang Daozhang kicked aside a nearby corpse, opened a crack in the door, and slipped inside.
In the lower city of the fortress, it was rare to find such a luxurious hall. If one did, it was likely a high-end casino.
In fact, the casino was the main business of the Wanlijin gang.
The tables and chairs in the casino had been moved to the sides, leaving a huge red carpet in the center. Men and women, dressed either plainly or elegantly, sat cross-legged on the ground, singing soothing melodies, their bodies swaying slowly to the rhythm.
They wore expressions of happiness and intoxication.
A kindly old woman sat at the front of the crowd.
She was on a half-meter-high stage, dressed in a long white gown, looking benevolently at the 'believers' before her.
Beside her was a burly middle-aged man, who was staring at Wang Jixuan with his green vertical pupils.
As the singing continued, waves of faint green energy surged toward Wang Jixuan.
“Can they really unite these corrupted souls to unleash a mental attack together?”
“Though it’s nowhere near the power of entry-level demonic sound techniques…”
“A clever little demon.”
Wang Daozhang held the long gun upright in his right hand, lifted it three inches, and brought it down heavily.
Ding!
A visible blue shockwave spread out, knocking over the nearest dozen people to the door.
The green waves shattered one after another, and the singing stopped, with many people bowing their heads and gagging.
The old woman in the center of the stage opened her eyes.
With the spotlight shining on her, she appeared even more benevolent, but her shadow on the stage looked incredibly sinister, like a giant moth.
In a gentle voice, the old woman said, “Child, are you facing difficulties as well?”
“Is your crystal core still there?”
Wang Jixuan looked at the old woman with clear eyes and said, “Can you lend it to me? I have great use for it.”
The old woman’s expression stiffened instantly.
The burly man jumped off the stage, and the 'believers' stood up, turning to face Wang Jixuan.
In the bright light of this place, their eyes glowed green, their expressions gradually turning sinister.
Wang Daozhang raised an eyebrow and gripped the last bullet in his left hand.
‘These killings can’t be blamed on me.’
His left hand suddenly shot forward!
A loud sound of slicing air erupted!
A line of blood mist appeared among the crowd!
The burly man roared and lunged forward, as if his body was about to explode.
What a demon!
Wang Jixuan charged forward with his gun!
...
Three minutes later.
Zheng Shiduo, Wan Xiaoqi, Lin Bo, and Lin Yong arrived at the tavern entrance, looking at the group of people squatting with their heads held. They couldn’t help but exchange glances.
“Is it all taken care of?”
Wan Xiaoqi muttered softly, “It seems like you didn’t even need to fight, Zheng Team.”
Zheng Shiduo twitched the corner of his mouth but ignored the little girl who liked to play tricks, directly kicking open the tavern door.
The smell of blood rushed at him.
Zheng Shiduo scanned the bodies on both sides, calmly walking over to remove the bullet embedded in the wall.
Although Wan Xiaoqi had seen the battlefield of blade beasts a few times, seeing these staring corpses in the dim light still made her feel a bit scared, and she instinctively leaned closer to Lin Bo and Lin Yong behind her.
Wan Xiaoqi asked softly, “Are these all...?”
“They died in a gang fight.”
Zheng Shiduo replied calmly, raising his hand to signal, and the cleaning squad soldiers rushed in.
Lin Bo said, “This way leads down.”
“Xiaoqi, wait here!”
Zheng Shiduo sniffed, “What you see below might affect your impression of the officer’s boyfriend.”
Wan Xiaoqi rolled her eyes, “So what? I’ve been to the battlefield of blade beasts.”
“Then come on, Lin Bo, keep an eye on her, Lin Yong, guard the entrance. No one is allowed to come near without my permission... No need for weapons, I only smell one living person.”
Zheng Shiduo lightly clicked his tongue and led Lin Bo and Wan Xiaoqi into the downward corridor.
Two bodies lay at the corner, each with their weapons.
As they walked down the stairs and turned the corner, Wan Xiaoqi’s face turned a bit pale.
In front of them, the short corridor leading to the casino was filled with human corpses.
Most of the corpses had blood holes in their foreheads, and the walls were painted with bullet holes, blood, and brain matter.
“I told you not to come down,” Zheng Shiduo said, pouting.
Wan Xiaoqi remained silent, lowering her head to follow Zheng Shiduo and Lin Bo to the double doors at the end.
Lin Bo slightly pulled the large door, and both doors crashed outward, startling the three of them to jump aside.
Bang!
Behind the door lay a basic mimic blade beast, much stronger than the ones they had previously slain.
Its hind legs were still stuck in the back of the burly man, its head’s conjunctiva had exploded, and most of its mouthparts were blown off; it was dead beyond recovery.
Looking inside along the bodies of the blade beast and the burly man...
“Ugh!” Wan Xiaoqi turned away and gagged.
Lin Bo’s face was also pale.
Zheng Shiduo wore a sickly smile, looking with admiration at the stage where Wang Daozhang was intently studying that strange blade beast as if no one else was around...
“Don’t get me wrong,” Wang Jixuan’s voice came, “I’m not killing innocents. These people’s souls have already merged with this blade beast. Even if I were stronger, I wouldn’t be able to save them.”
Lin Bo immediately said, “Understood!”
Zheng Shiduo suddenly exclaimed, staring at the blade beast in front of Wang Jixuan.
This was still a mimic blade beast at its core, but its body was smaller, with two huge wings on its back, each covered in vertical pupil-like patterns.
“Preacher! Damn! You took down a preacher!”
Zheng Shiduo suddenly howled, his eyes wide, and he jumped over the pile of corpses to rush in front of the blade beast.
He turned to glare at Wang Jixuan, “You... you took it down?”
“Otherwise?”
Wang Daozhang smirked.
This thing was indeed tricky, specializing in mental attacks and soul control, constantly trying to disturb his mind.
But this thing...
Wang Daozhang was just a remnant soul with insufficient power; he hadn’t lost his Dao realm or forgotten his spells. He had faced tribulations and resisted the heart demons of the heavenly tribulations, so this level of mental control was a bit too childish.
“It’s not strong in itself; it just excels at manipulating hearts. You can take it down just by getting close.”
Wang Jixuan explained simply and quietly asked, “Do you want to take a picture?”
“Can I? I want to keep a memento!”
Zheng Shiduo shouted excitedly, pulling out his communication device, squatting next to the ‘fluttering moth’ and posing with a peace sign for selfies.
Lin Bo and Wan Xiaoqi tiptoed over, inevitably stepping on bloodstains.
Wan Xiaoqi also took a few pictures.
Wang Jixuan smiled with narrowed eyes.
Fortunately, he was clever and pressed the skull back after taking the crystal core out of this thing.
He had specially sealed that colorful crystal core with three sealing talismans.
After half a minute, Wang Daozhang reminded, “Let’s not delay too long; there should be one or two more mimic blade beasts on this floor. Let’s keep looking... I burned it.”
“This is an extremely precious specimen!”
Zheng Shiduo sighed, “There have been cases before where a preacher wiped out an entire fortress. Such blade beasts rarely appear.”
Wang Jixuan remained unfazed, bringing his hands together in a sword gesture and directly activating the true fire talisman he had secretly inserted into the body of the blade beast.
A dazzling white flame ignited, rapidly melting the blade beast’s corpse, and streams of spiritual energy dissipated, which Wang Jixuan secretly absorbed.
“Let’s go...”
Ding ding!
Zheng Shiduo’s communication device rang twice.
Zheng Shiduo looked up at Wang Jixuan, his expression a bit serious.
“Bad news.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The Spiritual Energy House suddenly issued a level three warning for blade beast attacks, and the fortress has activated the closure system on all floors. The spiritual energy users can now move freely within the fortress!”
Wang Jixuan immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.
This might mean their battle in the lower city had been noticed by the spiritual energy users from the Thirteen Institutes.
Wan Xiaoqi cursed, “These bastards aren’t helping and are making things worse!”
“It’s not just making things worse,” Wang Jixuan said, “This should be...”
Goo—
From the northwest, a distant place suddenly echoed with the call of the young king bug, followed by a piercing shriek!
Wow—
Wang Jixuan pressed his forehead with his left hand, unable to suppress a groan; his spiritual sense had actually suffered an impact from afar!
Was the young king bug this strong? Was it retaliating because the preacher was killed?
But the young king bug was too far away; he shouldn’t be hurt by that...
Wang Daozhang was puzzled;
Beside him, Wan Xiaoqi’s device emitted a series of beeping alarms. She pulled out a pocket watch-like instrument, looked at it, and shouted, “The officer’s status is problematic! Didn’t the team already retreat? The officer is unconscious!”
Wang Jixuan suddenly looked up.
After just suffering the impact from the young king bug, his eyes had bloodshot lines, his nostrils slightly quivering, and his expression was indeed a bit frightening.
(End of Chapter)