From the bamboo grove came a bizarre, guttural roar. A colossal black silhouette pounced straight onto the dead pig, ravenously tearing and chomping into it with wet, snorting grunts.
Wuming saw that the wild boar was as massive as an ox, covered in thick bristles. What stood out even more were its fiery crimson eyes and a pair of long tusks curved like scimitars.
After advancing to the eighth rank, she had accompanied her master on outings to slay demons and eliminate evils, so she possessed some understanding of monstrous creatures.
A demon beast transformed from such a colossal creature possessed immense physical strength; ordinary blades could hardly inflict fatal injuries on it.
If one were struck head-on by this boar demon, bones would shatter and tendons snap. If gored by those tusks, one's belly would be ripped wide open.
Even though Wuming was mentally prepared, facing such a massive monstrosity still made her flesh crawl.
She pinched a Golden Light Talisman in one hand and gripped her sword in the other, instinctively sidling closer to Zhou Wuji.
Zhou Wuji, empowered by his Six Yang Dharma Eyes, could clearly see Wuming's deathly pale complexion. Her watery almond eyes gave her a delicate, vulnerable look that naturally stirred pity.
Yet he took two steps back to maintain his distance and said, "We strike from the left and right. Standing together will only get in each other's way."
"Oh." Wuming felt both embarrassed and annoyed by Zhou Wuji's words. Her face burned as though feverish, but unable to lash out, she had no choice but to pull further away from him on her own.
On the altar, Wuzheng set down the Seven Stars Sword and picked up the Tianpeng ruler to prepare to cast Yin Thunder. He shouted to Wuming, "Junior Sister, draw the boar demon over with a Golden Light Talisman!"
The altar was roughly twenty-odd zhang away from the boar demon, yet the Yin Thunder he wielded could reach at most five zhang.
The boar demon had to be lured closer before he would have a chance to blast it to death with Yin Thunder.
Wuming acknowledged the order. Taking a deep breath, she silently chanted the incantation, circulating true qi through her hands to activate the talisman.
The Golden Light Talisman turned into a streak of golden light and flew over ten zhang before bursting with a roar into a sphere of golden brilliance, illuminating the feeding boar demon.
Startled, the boar demon instinctively shrank back several steps. Once the golden light faded, its crimson eyes caught sight of Wuming, Zhou Wuji, and the others not far away.
It had not awakened its sapience for long, yet it already knew that such creatures posed no threat—and their meat was tender and delectable.
With a bizarre screech, the boar demon dug into the ground with all four hooves and charged straight at Wuming.
The boar demon ran faster and faster, whipping up a violent, foul-smelling wind wherever it passed.
From afar, Wuming caught the putrid stench, which left her dizzy and sent panic surging through her heart.
She knew a crowd of people was watching from behind; as an eighth-rank Daoist, she could not turn tail and flee without a fight.
Wuming raised her sword, hoping to land a strike on the boar demon, but the moment Zhou Wuji saw her stance, he knew things were looking grim.
To be fair, Wuming's swordcraft was respectable and could be considered proficient. It was just that she could not yet make her qi move with the blade.
Thrusting forward like this against a thousand-plus-jin boar demon would at most scrape the creature's hide, while Wuming would be sent hurtling through the air from the impact—whether she lived or died would be up to fate.
Zhou Wuji called out a loud warning: "Fall back, quickly!"
Wuming had only been steeling herself to strike; with Zhou Wuji's warning behind her, she snapped back to her senses, realizing how reckless it was to face the boar demon head-on.
Hastily channeling her true qi, she trod the Seven Stars Dipper Steps and retreated in rapid strides.
Wuming was deeply versed in this footwork. Stepping backward in a linked sequence of seven steps, she was astonishingly swift.
The crowd hiding behind the altar could not see the boar demon clearly; they saw only Wuming's apricot-yellow Daoist robe fluttering in the wind, accentuating her graceful, ethereal figure.
Many among them were admirers of Wuming, and someone even called out in applause.
Wuming heard it too, feeling mortified and vexed.
With the boar demon right in front of her, she dared not turn her head or lose focus, only cursing inwardly: *Fools!*
Having warned Wuming and seen her retreat obediently, Zhou Wuji refrained from casting the Fire Bell Incantation.
The spell lacked devastating power, but its advantage lay in instant activation. A burst of flame blasted into the boar demon's eyes might not wound it severely, but it would suffice to make the beast fear to open its eyes momentarily.
However, it would also violently agitate the boar demon, with unpredictable consequences. Unless a critical moment arose, it was best not to use it recklessly.
Zhou Wuji also stepped aside, clearing the line of sight to the central altar.
On the altar, Wuzheng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wuming out of danger.
He had placed his junior sister at the front to give her some practical experience, never expecting her to be so green. She had nearly come to grief, which had given him quite a fright.
Wuzheng dared not wait any longer. Regulating his breath, he barked fiercely, "Monster, meet your death!"
His voice was resonant and full of vigor, instantly drawing the boar demon's attention.
Fixing its crimson eyes on Wuzheng, the boar demon pawed the ground and charged straight for the altar.
Wuzheng remained calm at this moment. Raising the Tianpeng ruler, he pointed it at the boar demon, calculating its speed and distance.
Just as the boar demon pushed off with all four hooves to leap onto the altar, Wuzheng uttered a low shout: "Tianpeng, Tianpeng, command the thunderbolts—swiftly as the Northern Emperor decrees!"
The cumbersome rituals required to activate Yin Thunder had already been prepared in advance. After chanting the incantation rapidly, Wuzheng discharged the Yin Thunder directly.
A streak of translucent, water-like lightning flashed and plunged straight into the boar demon's body.
The boar demon's body convulsed violently as the strength drained completely from its limbs. Its body, which was about to leap high, slammed headfirst into the altar instead.
With a crash, dust billowed. The boar demon smashed away a corner of the heaped earth platform, its bull-sized bulk collapsing into the mound, limbs twitching and shaking spasmodically.
Seeing this, the onlookers hiding behind the altar cheered in unison.
Zhou Wuji, however, noticed something amiss. His Six Yang Dharma Eyes were still active, revealing the bloody baleful qi churning over the boar demon like boiling water. Though the baleful qi had dispersed completely, its vital blood qi remained unbroken and resilient.
"Senior Brother, be careful! The boar demon isn't dead!" Zhou Wuji warned loudly.
Wuzheng also sensed faintly that something was off, though he had not been entirely sure.
With Zhou Wuji's warning, he hesitated no longer and raised the Tianpeng ruler once more: "Swiftly as the Northern Emperor decrees—let thunder strike!"
A stream of water-like lightning surged from the Tianpeng ruler, crashing directly onto the collapsed boar demon.
Struck by Yin Thunder a second time, the boar demon shuddered violently and sprang abruptly to its feet.
Possessing a glimmer of intelligence, the boar demon knew how formidable Wuzheng was, so it turned and bolted.
Unfortunately, Wuming happened to be standing directly in its path of escape.
Believing the boar demon had already died, Wuming was frightened into dodging back in a hurry, but fleeing for its life, the beast burst forward at incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, the boar demon was right upon Wuming.
Unable to dodge in time, Wuming could only thrust her sword straight at one of the boar demon's eyes.
Her swordsmanship was proficient after all, and even in this panicked rush, her aim remained true.
The boar demon, fleeing madly for its life, cared nothing for that and charged headlong forward with its snout lowered.
Wuming knew disaster loomed: even if her strike wounded the boar demon, she would still be slammed and flung away by the beast.
In her terror, only one thought consumed her mind: *I'm going to die...*
At the critical juncture, Zhou Wuji suddenly flashed in from the flank: "Back!"
Zhou Wuji shoved Wuming by the shoulder, sending her sliding sideways seven feet, perfectly evading the boar demon.
Wuming's martial arts were solid after all; midair, she instinctively regained her balance and drifted lightly to the side.
Before her feet even touched the ground, she saw Zhou Wuji draw his blade and slash in a swift arc.
Amidst a piercing sword whistle, the blade carved a brilliant semicircular arc of light through the air.
The sharp, luminous sword light severed the darkness of night, throwing up a spray of bloody mist and leaving a dazzling, unforgettable sword trace burned into Wuming's eyes.
By the time Wuming touched down, the boar demon's bulky head had rolled onto the ground. The headless trunk barrelled forward for another twenty-odd paces before violently collapsing into the dirt, never to stir again...
Wuming stepped forward in disbelief and saw that the hideous, ferocious head was as large as a bushel peck. The wound where the neck had severed was red on the outside and scorched within, remarkably clean and smooth—obviously severed by a swift sword.
The more clearly Wuming saw it, the more shocked she became.
With a casual stroke, Zhou Wuji had actually cleaved the boar demon's head off in one blow. This swordsmanship was simply terrifying!
Involuntarily, she looked toward Zhou Wuji. Zhou Wuji twirled his sword to flick away the blood on the blade, then sheathed it with effortless grace.
Paying no heed to the astonished Wuming, Zhou Wuji walked over to the boar demon and subtly formed a hand seal inside his long sleeve to collect the boar demon's yin spirit.
Only demons like this, with powerful spirits, would transform into yin spirits upon the death of their flesh rather than dissipating immediately.
Refining the Five Yin Pouch required such robust yin spirits as materials.
Collecting a yin spirit was actually a complicated affair; normally, one would need to erect an altar and prepare magical instruments specifically meant to nurture and store yin spirits.
Zhou Wuji lacked those conditions, but having the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, he could attempt to gather it. Yet he realized in the next instant that it wouldn't work.
There was no lingering yin spirit left in the boar demon at all; it must have already been absorbed by the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment...
Suppressing his disappointment, Zhou Wuji turned and cupped his hands to Wuzheng. "Senior Brother's thunder arts are divine. The boar demon has been executed..."
Wuzheng was momentarily taken aback, then quickly returned the salute and said earnestly, "It was Junior Brother's supreme swordsmanship that truly slew this demon!"
In truth, he wanted even more to thank Zhou Wuji for saving Wuming, but it was awkward to do so openly without causing his junior sister to lose face.
Zhou Wuji shook his head. "Senior Brother's two blasts of Celestial Pivot Yin Thunder wiped out the boar demon's vitality and blood qi. I only succeeded by luck."
Listening to their polite exchanges, Wuming felt deeply conflicted.
Originally, she had looked down on Zhou Wuji somewhat, finding him frivolous and uninhibited. Yet today, Zhou Wuji had saved her life and beheaded the boar demon, claiming this great merit!
She clearly had a protective Northern Culmen Heavenly Dipper Divine Talisman on her, yet at the crucial moment, she had completely forgotten to activate it.
Compared to Zhou Wuji's composure in the face of peril, she fell far short!
Looking at Zhou Wuji again, she felt that he was refined and clear-spirited, pure and lustrous as jade, untamed and dashing—the more she looked at him, the more pleasing he became to her eyes...
Chapter 23