"..."
The lead martial monk frowned and tilted his head to listen for a while.
"It probably just ran over from somewhere else. Alright, alright, get back to work! If we miss the time, the Supervisor will blame us, and none of you will have a good time!"
Everyone dared not speak further.
They had no choice but to bury their heads and work hard.
The young novice monk was already young and weak to begin with; after digging for a long time, his arms were so sore and weak he couldn't lift them.
He gasped for breath, his face covered in sweat mixed with mud.
"Huu... huu..."
He stopped his movements, leaning on the shovel to catch his breath.
Just as he gritted his teeth and prepared to shovel another pile of dirt, a hand reached out from the darkness beside him and snatched the shovel handle.
"Tired?"
The young novice monk assumed it was some kind Senior Brother helping out, feeling a warmth in his heart.
He didn't look up, let go of the handle, and wiped the sweat from his face.
"Tha... thank you, Senior Brother. This soil is too hard; I really can't dig anymore."
"No need for thanks, you just rest."
The young novice monk's movements stiffened.
Wait...
Something seems wrong.
This voice... why is it so strange?
The young novice monk trembled and slowly turned his neck.
Inch by inch.
Until his gaze met the person beside him.
A pair of eyes glowing with a faint green light flickered in the dimness.
Seeing him look over, a long snout grinned open, revealing a mouthful of jagged, ghostly white fangs.
A hot, fishy stench sprayed all over his face.
"..."
"De... Demon... there's a Demon..."
A warm liquid instantly soaked through his grey monk's trousers.
The young novice monk collapsed to the ground, crawling backward using his hands and feet, his features twisted, snot and tears streaming down his face.
"Demon... Monster!!! There's a monster!!!"
The other monks heard the commotion and impatiently raised their heads.
"What are you howling about? Where would a monster come from here?"
However, in the next instant.
Their movements froze.
Within the heavy shadows of the surrounding dense forest.
Three massive figures slowly appeared, forming an encirclement, blocking the clearing completely.
The Wolf Demon casually threw the iron shovel aside.
It grinned.
Boom—!
Four black shadows pounced down.
They didn't even give this group of monks a chance to resist.
It was but the blink of an eye.
The forest returned to silence once more.
...
The night was deep.
The Supervisor of the Arhat Hall of Baosha Temple, Dharma name Yunkong, was currently carrying a lantern, patrolling the corridors within the temple.
His brows were tightly locked, and his mood was quite irritable.
Recently, things in the temple had truly not been peaceful.
First, Head Monk Forgetting Dust died, and then came the official document from the Demon Suppression Division, causing widespread panic.
"This bunch of trash, it takes them so long just to bury a few people..."
He cursed in a low voice.
He was about to head toward the back mountain to urge them on.
Suddenly.
An extremely thick scent drifted over with the night wind.
Yunkong's footsteps paused, his nostrils twitching.
What is this smell...
His heart jumped, and he subconsciously thrust the lantern in his hand forward.
The lantern light flickered, illuminating the area a few steps ahead.
Yunkong finally saw the true appearance of that black shadow.
"De... Demon?!"
His pupils shrank violently, his scalp tingling.
This is Baosha Temple!
This is behind the Great Buddha Hall, a place where Buddha's light shines!
How could a Demon break in?!
Before he could figure it out.
Roar—!
That Tiger Demon had already lunged from the shadows, a long blade gleaming with cold light, aiming directly for his face!
Yunkong was, after all, the Supervisor of the Arhat Hall, his cultivation having reached Bone Resonance.
At the critical moment, he roared, advancing instead of retreating; one hand raised to block with his arm, the other violently clenched into a fist and punched out.
Clang!
The blade slashed onto his left arm, sinking only half an inch into the flesh before it could advance no further.
A fierce glint flashed in Yunkong's eyes, his muscles and bones resonating, and with one punch, he actually blasted the Tiger Demon back several meters.
His own half-step hard qigong, while not having reached the Perfection of the several Head Monks, was ultimately not something these few Beasts before him could break.
Just as he prepared to pursue, a sound of tearing air came from behind.
"Not good!"
Yunkong was terrified.
This Beast still has help!!!
He rolled on the ground in a sorry state, narrowly avoiding this attack, but the tiger seized the opportunity and slashed down with its blade again.
This slash landed on his back.
As everyone knows, half-step hard qigong only trains the limbs and head; how could his back withstand this blade?
Puchi—
The monk's robe tore, a huge gash appeared, and blood sprayed out.
He couldn't care about his injuries, screaming at the top of his lungs: "Someone, come here!!! Are you all dead, dammit?! There's an enemy attack!!!"
This shout was no different from a thunderclap in the silent dead of night.
Immediately after.
Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!
The urgent sound of alarm bells suddenly rang throughout the entire Qituo Mountain!
The originally silent meditation rooms instantly exploded into chaos.
Countless monks threw on their robes, grabbing staves and precept knives as they rushed out, their faces full of panic.
"What happened? What happened?"
"What blind thief dares to come to my Baosha Temple to commit crimes?"
However.
What awaited them was not people from the Jianghu.
But four Demons of various appearances.
Among them, one Black Bear was quite familiar.
"That is..."
From the crowd, a middle-aged monk wearing a kasaya, his face full of flab, squeezed out.
He squinted his eyes, using the firelight to stare at that Black Bear Demon, a flash of disbelief in his eyes.
"Bear Lord?!"
This shout made the surrounding martial monks, who were originally about to charge up, all pause in unison.
Bear Lord?
This name was not unfamiliar in Baosha Temple.
This Beast's big brother was that great Demon in the temple who was in seclusion.
Moreover, this Black Bear usually had quite a good relationship with several Supervisors and Head Monks in the temple.
Sometimes when the mood struck, they would even drink and chat together in the meditation rooms, discussing Joyous Zen.
"Bear Lord! What are you doing?!"
Seeing that it was indeed an acquaintance, the fleshy monk relaxed his tight nerves a bit, quickly lowering the precept knife in his hand and stepping forward.
"It's me, Facai! We've often drank together, have you forgotten?!"
As he walked, he pointed suspiciously at the few Demons beside it.
"Didn't I hear you were killed by people from the Demon Suppression Division? Could it be that you luckily escaped?"
"Also, why are you bringing these strangers here to cause trouble? If this gets any bigger, even your big brother won't be able to protect you!"
Although he didn't know how the Black Bear, rumored to have long been dead, was now standing here unharmed, given the current situation, this Black Bear was likely having some kind of madness, or had drunk too much alcohol and came to the temple to cause a drunken ruckus.
As long as he brought up his big brother's name and gave him a way out, it would be fine.
Monk Facai walked up to the Black Bear, reaching out to pat its shoulder, "Alright, alright, everyone disperse, it's a misunderstan..."
Whoosh—
A foul wind rushed into his face.
Slap!!!
Facai didn't even have time to let out a scream.
His shiny, greasy bald head was directly slapped into his chest cavity.
"..."
Everyone widened their eyes, staring blankly at the corpse, their minds blank.
Dead?
Senior Brother Facai... was just slapped to death like that?
Wasn't this Black Bear one of our own?!
"Roar—!!!"
Responding to them was the Black Bear's deafening roar.
"The Black Mountain Bear Lord of the past is dead!"
"The current me is..."
Slap—
A heavy slap landed on its face.
A sturdy Pig Demon with red-glowing eyes slowly withdrew its palm.
"Idiot, why talk so much nonsense?"
"..."
The Black Bear covered its face, shrinking its head back in grievance.
The injured Supervisor Yunkong, clutching the wound on his back, looked ferocious.
"Kill! Kill them for me! What are you all standing there for!!"
"This Black Bear has gone mad! Form the Arhat Formation! Slaughter them!!!"