She scanned the city wall but couldn't see where the miasma could have originated. All she felt was the overpowering heaviness it emitted. "We've reached the west walls, but there's nothing here."
Xing Zhi reached over and pulled a strand of her hair. Although it didn't hurt, it was a strange thing for him to do. "What?" she asked.
He smiled at her question as he nimbly shaped her hair into a b.u.t.terfly. "I'll show you the trick." Xing Zhi released her hair and it fluttered lazily through the air, having changed into a white b.u.t.terfly. It soared through the miasma cleaving a trail of clear air in its wake.
A red door, much like the one they encountered when rescuing the immortals held captive in the cave on the outskirts of the city, emerged from the wall.
"See? Now it's here."
Shen Li shot him a side glance. "Next time pull your own hair." She materialized her spear as she stepped to the door. There was no doubt in her mind it had to lead to Fusheng Men's headquarters. She wasn't the least hesitant or polite, kicking the door intending to open it with one swift kick.
Though the panels shook, it remained firmly closed. Shen Li was about to try again, this time with qi in her kick, but before she could a loud "Thwomp!" sounded and the double doors opened wide. The miasma released hit her square in the face.
White b.u.t.terflies, matching the one from earlier, shot past her ear. No longer erratic, they flew with intent and great speed to the door. Like before, they dissipated the miasma in their wake.
Shen Li went in ahead and stepped into a grand hall, fitting of an imperial palace. It was hard to believe the door hidden behind magic camouflage could lead to such a beautiful place.
There wasn't much time to admire as the moment she stepped through black clad figures emerged from the walls like ravenous monsters intent on killing their prey. Shen Li cut every one of them down with her spear, severing their heads cleanly and easily. Her face was a blank mask as she fought, not heeding the blood splattering around or the drops dripping from her spear.
She would not forgive anyone who slandered or dishonored the Demon realm.
She mercilessly killed everyone in her path. When she couldn't continue straight anymore and faced a fork in the hall, she grabbed one of the men and indifferently hit his chest hard, aggressively ramming qi into his body and rupturing his internal organs. He stood dying in front of her.
In a voice that sounded like it came from h.e.l.l she demanded, "Where is your master?"
The man was truly frightened and was shaking all over. "Right… right."
"Where does the left go?"
"The land G.o.ds."
Shen Li released him, but before he could even turn to run away she grabbed his hair and threw him against the wall like a rag doll. Just like that his life was snuffed out.
Xing Zhi came up behind Shen Li just as she did this. His brow furrowed. "Killing with such bloodthirst is not good, even if the other is an enemy."
The blood that ran down her spear had already stained her hands red. She coldly looked at Xing Zhi. "Don't bother preaching. The left path leads to the imprisoned immortals. High G.o.d will have to go down that path alone. I intend to capture the culprit behind this. I only hope that high G.o.d is willing to do a joint investigation of the matter. The Demon realm is innocent. Please do not let the heavenly immortals run away with unjustified speculation."
This made Xing Zhi wrinkle his brow. Shen Li turned and took the rightward path.
He stared at the path she took for some time before turning and taking the left path.
...The frequency of attacks increased dramatically as Shen Li neared the final room. Once there she forced it open with her spear. Light poured out of what appeared be to the main hall of a temple.
She looked around from the doorway before entering. Though it seemed empty she still proceeded inside cautiously.
Not a single of the black garbed guards were in sight. The silence was only broken when the ground shook. Shen Li had to readjust her footing as she looked upwards.
Three ma.s.sively brawny men dropped out of thin air from above. They surrounded Shen Li in a triangle formation. She stared at them, a.s.sessing. They looked sinister with sharp wolf-like fangs and red eyes that lent them an air of savageness, making them resemble animals more than men.
They roared at her, covering her with spittle and a raw metallic smell.
Shen Li was outwardly calm but her heart had been rocked. She had never met such opponents before. They were like men transformed into beasts.
At first the four stared at each other in a stalemate with neither party making a move. Finally one rushed forward. Shen Li lifted her spear and pointed it directly at his eye. Instead of avoiding her attack he continued forward and grabbed the blade of her spear. He used brute force to pull the spear out of Shen Li's grasp. His hand was sliced open and gus.h.i.+ng blood, yet he didn't seem to notice. He roared and tried to bite her neck.
Shen Li stared in shock. She liked fighting, but even she had never seen someone use so much brute force. She successfully defended against the bite but her back was left open. Taking advantage of the opening another man attacked. The blow landed hard and forced to her into a roll. She barely had time to catch her breath and summon her spear back to her hand.
The formation broke and the three men where now between her and the door. She was effectively trapped inside.
These three were proving difficult to handle…
