After finishing the incantation, a golden radiance instantly shot out from my fingertip, dispersing the demonic energy on the spot. At the same time, I quickly stood shoulder to shoulder with Shabiao, on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Mao Shan's technique?"
The newcomer looked at me with surprise and suspicion, then frowned. "Who are you, Left Qing Mei?"
"Left Qing Mei? The previous Mao Shan sect leader?"
Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but be stunned, thinking that this demon seemed to have quite a background if it even recognized the previous leader of Mao Shan. But seeing its furious look, I knew. This guy probably had an old grudge with that Left Qing Mei.
This was not the time to boast connections, so I shook my head directly: "I've never heard of him!"
"Hmph!"
The guy snorted coldly: "What a pretense. Since you're a Mao Shan disciple, how could you not know Left Qing Mei?"
Big brother, when did I ever claim to be a disciple of Mao Shan? Must one be a Mao Shan disciple just because they know a bit of Mao Shan's technique? Are you stupid?
Looking at the newcomer speechlessly, I couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "I really don't know who Left Qing Mei is, and I'm not a Mao Shan disciple. I just happened to learn a bit of it by chance. You can take the treasure, as long as you don't harm anyone. My previous offer still stands!"
As soon as I finished speaking, the newcomer sneered: "Heh heh, not knowing is good. In that case... killing you should be no big deal!"
What the heck! What did he mean by that? It seemed like he was just testing me earlier, whether or not I had any backing. If I didn't, could he just wantonly kill us?
"Wait a minute!"
Thinking about this, I quickly said, "Although I don't know Left Qing Mei, I do know Wang Lingfeng! Do you know Wang Lingfeng? The old man next door. That's my grandfather!"
"The old man next door?"
Sure enough, as soon as he heard this, the person frowned and instinctively asked, "Your grandpa's the old man next door?"
"Absolutely!"
Seeing his frowning expression, I couldn't help but feel a little proud. I thought that my grandfather's reputation really worked. It immediately silenced this demon.
"That changes things..."
The newcomer nodded secretly. However, at that moment, a hint of killing intent instantly locked onto me, and he sneered, "Then I can't let you go!"
What?
As soon as I heard this, I was dumbfounded. So, he had no intention of letting us go from the start. Regardless of whether we had any backing, he wanted to eliminate us directly?
"Oh, do you really think your grandfather is afraid of you?"
Thinking about this, I couldn't help but feel angry, quickly urging the qi within me, and at the same time, shouting to Shabiao, "Protect them!"
"Got it!"
Shabiao quickly nodded, at the same time running towards Zhang Ge and the others and hurriedly handing the giant butcher knife to me: "Take this! This is a real killing tool! Lao Wu used to be our village's butcher!"
No wonder it was so long. It turned out to be a cattle-slaughtering knife, not a pig-slaughtering knife!
I took the butcher's knife, and indeed did I feel a burst of malevolent energy coming from inside! Shabiao was right; this butcher's knife must be quite old, having butchered not just a hundred, but probably eighty or more cows and sheep!
"Haha..."
While I held the butcher's knife, the man couldn't help but burst into laughter, then sneered, "Do you think that with your measly butcher's knife, you can deal with me? It's utterly ridiculous!"
"Humph! Try it and see!"
I didn't take his mockery to heart; it was better than nothing, at least it was a weapon, better than bare-handed combat.
The man fumed, "Since you seek death, I will oblige!"
Before I could react, a powerful surge of malevolent energy burst forth. He took a stride forward and his right hand suddenly generated a black stick nearly a meter long, which he swung fiercely, aiming for my head.
"Kill!"
With no way to retreat, I had to fight to the death!
With a roar, I quickly brandished the butcher's knife in my hand, directly facing the black stick.
The opponent's black stick almost turned into a residual image, but it was still captured by my energy field. I swung the butcher's knife, colliding with the stick on the spot.
With a clang, I felt a shock in my arm, a tingling sensation that made me involuntarily take two steps backward.
Before I could comprehend, the man incredulously roared, "Impossible! The mere butcher's knife is not a true weapon, how can it hurt me?"
"Moron! Who said the butcher's knife only killed cows? Do you know what it was used for before? It was used to kill the Japanese invaders!"
Only when Shabiao burst into laughter did I come to my senses, feeling delighted that the butcher's knife had such a history. Since it killed invaders, it was a genuine weapon!
"Accept your death!"
Without hesitation, I activated the remaining energy inside me and infused it into the knife, using the "Forcefully Splitting Mount Hua" move, swiftly striking at the man's face.
"Damn it!"
The man cursed and instinctively raised the black stick in his hand to block!
The sword energy was overwhelming, almost unstoppable, and with a crack, the man's black stick was broken into two pieces. Simultaneously, the surging blade energy directly tore through the malevolent energy covering its body, leaving a ten-centimeter long bloodstain on its chest.
"Roar..."
The man roared in pain, revealing that the black stick in his hand was not a weapon, but some kind of organ that grew directly from his hand. The severed piece lying on the ground was still oozing black blood!
"Death! All of you will die!"
The voice, full of killing intent, seemed to come from the depths of hell, making the scalp tingle. A terrifying scene unfolded; what had just seemed normal now showed its true form!
Damn it! It was actually a giant centipede, nearly two meters long!
A centipede spirit?
With a sneer, a burst of orange smoke instantly sprayed out from its mouth, enveloping me directly!
"Not good! It's toxic gas!"
Without hesitation, I quickly shouted to Shabiao and the others, "Run! This thing is highly poisonous!"
After speaking, I held my breath and swung the butcher's knife so that no air could penetrate, barely resisting the invasion of the poisonous gas!
However, in that split second of speaking, I inadvertently inhaled some of the toxic gas. Over time, I felt dizzy, and even my vision began to blur!
Feeling lightheaded, my actions with the knife naturally slowed down. Seeing the giant centipede approaching me, I became anxious.
Just as I felt anxious, I suddenly felt someone pull me- it was Shabiao! Before I could react, I heard a rooster crow in my ear.
"Hmm?"
Hearing the crow, the centipede noticeably hesitated, almost reflexively retreating a few steps back.
Right! Centipedes are afraid of roosters!
Seeing this, I was filled with a sense of relief. Without hesitation, with Shabiao's support, I quickly moved several meters away!
As the saying goes, "one thing restrains another"; centipedes fear roosters as a natural instinct, despite becoming a spirit. Their inherent fear of chickens remained!
The "New Guangdong Language" records this: "The millipede, although short, has many segments; it is called 'centipede'. It fears roosters, and if seen by people, calling a rooster will immediately make the millipede stiffen."
It means that when people see a centipede, calling a rooster will make the centipede stiffen even before the rooster arrives! Therefore, centipedes genuinely fear chickens!
"So clever!"
At this moment, I wanted to give Shabiao thirty-two thumbs up. So clever! It's really so clever! Despite his rough appearance, it was unexpected that he could be so helpful in a critical moment. If not for him imitating a rooster in urgency, I might have already been knocked down by the centipede. The consequences could be imagined!
"Hey, even a blind cat can stumble upon a dead mouse!"
Hearing me say this, Shabiao was a bit embarrassed, and then rubbed the back of his head, saying, "I didn't expect the folk legend to be true! The centipede indeed fears chickens. Otherwise, should I really get a mother hen for you?"
"Useless!"
I shook my head, looking serious. "This centipede has already become a spirit; the reason it retreated from you is because it momentarily had a brain malfunction. Now... unless you can obtain a cock spirit, an ordinary mother hen cannot deal with it at all!"
"The cock spirit is here!"
As soon as I finished speaking, Zhang rushed out of the kitchen and threw something at me. Looking closely, I felt both amused and exasperated. The bag was labeled with big characters: "Shamai Chicken Essence!"