WHOOSH!

A piercing shriek tore through the air.

Gu Zheng flicked his hand, shooting out two streams of Powerful Qi that struck the burly figures brandishing long blades from a distance.

PUFF! PUFF!

With two strange sounds, gaping holes were punched through the chests of the burly figures.

But!

The two burly figures didn’t fall. They merely staggered and took a few steps back.

The next instant, they swung their long blades again, slashing at the servants on the ground.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Gu Zheng once again shot out his Powerful Qi from a distance. As his Divine Wondrous power surged, he imbued it with Sword Qi.

This time, he aimed for their heads.

PUFF!

PUFF!

With another two strange sounds, the Powerful Qi pierced their skulls, blowing off half of their craniums.

Yet, the burly figures still didn’t fall. They swayed silently, took two steps back, and in the next moment, raised their blades to chop down once more.

WHOOSH~

The night wind blew.

Gu Zheng’s figure flickered. He leaped from the rooftop to the main gate, unsheathed his Red Abyss Blade, and slashed out in an arc.

SCHLICK! SCHLICK!

Two heads were lopped off and fell to the ground.

The headless bodies stood stock-still, wreathed in a miasma of malevolent, Yin, and corpse Qi that refused to dissipate.

The heads that fell to the ground sprayed no brains or blood. Nor did any blood spurt from the severed necks.

"What the..."

WHOOSH!

A foul wind suddenly gusted. The two motionless, headless bodies abruptly clawed at Gu Zheng, lunging fiercely at him from point-blank range.

SLASH, SLASH, SLASH!

With a flash of his blade, Gu Zheng lopped off four arms.

SLASH! SLASH!

His blade flashed again.

The two headless bodies’ thick legs were also severed, falling to the ground.

Limbs and heads all separated, only the torsos remained. They bounced on the spot—THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—a dozen or so times, shaking until all the corpse, malevolent, and Yin Qi had completely dissipated before finally going still.

"What are these things?"

Gu Zheng sheathed his blade, frowning as he examined the dismembered corpses.

He waved a hand behind him, beckoning the steward over.

"Steward Liu, where did these damned things come from?"

"I... I don’t know." Steward Liu, a man in his fifties, trembled as he wiped the sweat constantly trickling down his pale face, stammering his reply. "Around... around noon, the sky suddenly went dark. Then... then these things that are neither man nor ghost just appeared. The streets outside are full of them."

"We hid in the house and bolted the main gate, but they could still smell us and find their way here. If it weren’t for you, Sir..."

"It’s alright now," Gu Zheng comforted him. "Has Lord Zhuge returned?"

"N-no." Steward Liu shook his head. "The master hasn’t been back since he left the day before yesterday. Sir, about this..."

"I’m going to find Lord Zhuge. You all lock the main gate and go hide in the cellar."

Gu Zheng said calmly, "Don’t worry about any commotion on the surface. It’s best you don’t leave the cellar until I return."

"Understood!"

Steward Liu was instantly relieved.

Before Zhuge Tianxing left, he had instructed that in his absence, everyone was to follow Gu Zheng’s orders.

With Gu Zheng’s words, they wouldn’t be held responsible even if the mansion was damaged or reduced to ruins.

Steward Liu gratefully thanked Gu Zheng, then hurried with the other servants toward the cellar where the grain and vegetables were stored.

Gu Zheng closed the main gate and also took a moment to clear away the chunks of flesh on the ground.

As he was cleaning, a thought struck him, and he performed Spirit Capturing on the corpse pieces.

[Demon Points +1]

[Demon Points +1]

Hah!

’They really do have Demon Points!’

These two strange, Puppet-like beings, half-human and half-corpse, were clearly man-made.

Gu Zheng’s test had confirmed it. ’They actually yield Demon Points. Interesting.’

SWOOSH!

He leaped into the air, leaving the Zhuge Mansion behind.

Gu Zheng sped across the rooftops.

SHING, SHING, SHING!

He released the Chaotic Heaven Shield, which broke apart into three hundred and sixty blades that orbited his body.

"Help, save me!"

"Block them, block them!"

"Kill! Die, you monsters!"

BAM! BAM!

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

"AHHH!!"

In the alleyways and on the main streets, one Puppet after another, half-human and half-corpse, battered down doors and attacked the crowds.

Once they broke into a house, they swung their long blades, effortlessly slaughtering men and women and creating rivers of blood.

No pain, no fatigue, no fear. Only slaughter.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Anything living was a target for their blades.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Gu Zheng flew through the streets and alleys, unleashing all three hundred and sixty of his blades.

SCHLICK! SCHLICK! SCHLICK!

Amidst piercing shrieks, glints of cold light shot out in all directions, lopping off heads, arms, and legs.

And then...

Spirit Capturing! Spirit Capturing! Spirit Capturing!

Although each Puppet only provided one Demon Point, their sheer numbers made up for it.

After speeding through two streets, Gu Zheng had killed and dismembered three hundred Puppets.

That was three hundred Demon Points in the bag!

...

BOOM!

A loud explosion echoed from the street ahead.

It was accompanied by a suppressed roar.

"Go! Xiaoqi, you go first!"

Amid the sounds of sobbing, a delicate figure ran out from the end of the street.

SWISH!

A black shadow struck, fast as lightning.

The delicate figure had only just noticed it when she was hit.

BAM!

With a dull thud and a spray of blood, the delicate figure was sent flying, crashing through a wall and slamming hard onto the ground.

"BLERGH—"

Qing Yimei coughed up a mouthful of blood. Pinned under rubble, her disheveled face was deathly pale, and her eyes were filled with panic, terror, and despair.

SWISH!

The black shadow attacked again, descending upon Qing Yimei’s head with an icy killing intent.

"No..."

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A piercing shriek abruptly tore through the air.

Flashing blades of cold light danced around the black shadow, circling it once and slicing off its head, two arms, and two legs. The remaining torso fell to the ground, bouncing—THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Qing Yimei stared, dumbfounded.