The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 124 - 109: Not a Demon Fiend, a Sudden Attack

Chapter 124: Chapter 109: Not a Demon Fiend, a Sudden Attack

’The absence of a Demon Fiend’s aura meant there were no Demon Fiends. In that case, what were all these people running from?’

Yang An looked in the direction of the sounds. Countless people were fleeing in a panic, as if something was rapidly approaching from behind them.

But he saw nothing.

Then, in the next moment.

BANG!

An invisible force seemed to materialize, and something heavy slammed into the ground before Yang An and the others, instantly creating a large crater.

In that instant, fresh blood splattered everywhere, and bits of flesh flew through the air.

A few fleeing passersby were caught off guard and struck by the invisible attack, reduced to a pile of bloody pulp in the crater.

’Is there really a Demon Fiend?’

Even though the attack had occurred right before their eyes, they still couldn’t sense the presence of a Demon Fiend’s aura.

Yang An infused his eyes with Mana, activating his True Eye to search diligently for any trace of a Demon Fiend, but he still found nothing.

’But if there’s no Demon Fiend, what was that attack?’

"There’s no Demon Fiend!"

Wen Yin, at his side, said the same.

Compared to Yang An, she had been born blind, making her perception all the more acute.

Yet she, too, came up empty.

"To the Golden Martial Gang."

Ji Bu said slowly. He then ignored the people being attacked by the "Demon Fiend" and turned to walk deeper into the city.

The Golden Martial Gang was one of Liuyun City’s Sacrificial Powers. It was clear he wanted to question these Mortal Influences first to get a clear picture of the situation.

Yang An tried searching one last time but still found nothing. Giving up, he followed Ji Bu and Wen Yin.

The road to the Golden Martial Gang’s headquarters was chaotic, but they still saw no sign of any Demon Fiends.

Soon, they arrived at the Golden Martial Gang’s headquarters.

Many of the gang members had already been dispatched to fight the "Demon Fiends" in the city, so there weren’t many left at the headquarters.

Ji Bu led the other two straight inside. A gang member tried to step forward and stop them, but before he could even speak, he dropped dead.

"Summon the leaders of the four major gangs in the city."

Wen Yin said coldly from the side. This was how they always treated these Mortal Influences.

Someone immediately rushed off to do so, while the three of them entered a main hall within the Golden Martial Gang’s headquarters.

It wasn’t long before people came rushing from outside.

After ordering all their subordinates to withdraw, four people entered the main hall and bowed respectfully to Yang An and his companions.

"We greet you, Lord Upper Envoys!"

These Sacrificial Powers answered directly to the Life Crane Sect. Elder Life Crane would typically assign any issues to his disciples for handling, which was why they were called Upper Envoys.

The four who arrived were all middle-aged men. One of them was heavily injured, with a broken arm and a large gash across his chest.

Ji Bu was a man of few words, and Yang An had no experience handling such matters, so Wen Yin was the one to speak.

"Tell us what has happened in the city recently."

Wen Yin got straight to the point.

The Golden Martial Gang’s Leader was named Tai Shiyao. Among the four Gang Leaders of the Sacrificial Powers, he had the highest Cultivation Level, at the Middle Stage of Primordial Feeding.

The others all looked to him to explain.

It had all started half a month ago.

Liuyun City was guarded by four Sacrificial Powers, all of which served the Life Crane Sect. On the surface, they were amicable, so much so that even the old remnants of the Court within the city held virtually no influence.

Under the watch of the four Sacrificial Powers, incidents of Demon Fiend harassment in the city had become rare.

But half a month ago, for some unknown reason, rumors began to spread through the city that someone had seen a Demon Fiend.

The rumors immediately sparked panic among the city’s populace.

Upon learning of this, the various gangs sent men to patrol the city, but after several days of searching, they found no sign of any Demon Fiends.

However, as the rumors spread, more and more people claimed to have seen a Demon Fiend, and a series of bizarre civilian deaths began to occur in the city.

The number of panicked people grew, as did the number of deaths. Within just seven days, nearly a thousand people had died.

Yet even then, the gangs still hadn’t found any trace of a Demon Fiend. From beginning to end, they never saw how it appeared.

Therefore, after conferring among themselves, the major gangs reported the matter to the Life Crane Sect, which led to Elder Life Crane dispatching Yang An and the others.

And in the few days it took for them to travel to Liuyun City, the situation had escalated. The death toll rose, and the Demon Fiend had even begun to cause massive destruction within the city.

Given the current circumstances, they had no choice but to believe that there was indeed a Demon Fiend in the city.

Then, just the day before yesterday, the Demon Fiend finally revealed itself and began a brazen slaughter in Liuyun City.

The major gangs finally saw the Demon Fiend and joined forces to resist it before Yang An’s group arrived. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

But the Demon Fiend’s power was too great; they were completely unable to stop it. Even the Gang Leader of the Chaotic Burial Gang, one of the four major gangs, was injured and nearly lost his life at the Demon Fiend’s hands.

What happened next was the scene Yang An and the others had witnessed upon entering the city.

Faced with such a powerful Demon Fiend, the entirety of Liuyun City was helpless.

That was the entire story.

"We implore you, Lord Upper Envoys, to act! Exorcise this Demon Fiend for us and restore peace to Liuyun City!"

After speaking, the Gang Leaders once again bowed deeply to them.

Their words were naturally high-sounding and righteous. A vicious wolf had entered their sheepfold, and that was unacceptable.

"Senior Brother, what do you think?"

Yang An and Wen Yin both turned to look at Ji Bu. Even Wen Yin had never encountered a situation like this and had no idea where to start.

The four major gangs claimed a Demon Fiend was on a brazen killing spree, and it was true that a large number of civilians had died in the city.

But they hadn’t seen a Demon Fiend since entering the city, and that was the most peculiar part.

’Could it really be some kind of Great Demon Fiend?’ Yang An wondered.

Ji Bu, however, fell into deep thought. After a long moment, he finally spoke slowly.

"Not a Demon Fiend!"

Those four short words immediately captured everyone’s attention. Their faces were etched with astonishment.

’If it’s not a Demon Fiend, then what is it?’

After their initial shock, the four Gang Leaders were bewildered. After all, they had seen the Demon Fiend appear and wreak havoc in the city with their own eyes.

And so many others in the city had seen it too.

But now, an Upper Envoy from the Life Crane Sect was saying it wasn’t a Demon Fiend.

"It’s an Array!"

"Rumors, panic, belief... and the Demon Fiend becomes real. This is an Array!"

Ji Bu remained as succinct as ever. After a moment of thought, comprehension dawned on Yang An and Wen Yin.

No wonder they hadn’t detected a Demon Fiend’s aura or seen any sign of its presence upon entering the city, even though it was clear a Demon Fiend was causing chaos.

In other words, someone had set up an Array that covered the entire city of Liuyun, then spread rumors of a Demon Fiend to make the people of Liuyun City panic and believe in its existence.

This caused the Demon Fiend to gradually become real in the eyes of the people, leading to the current situation.

’To be able to cover the entire city with an Array, the person who set it up must be extraordinary!’

The Gang Leaders of the various gangs looked at each other, the realization dawning on them as well.

This explained why they hadn’t seen a Demon Fiend before. It was only after a large number of deaths occurred that they were forced to believe a Demon Fiend was responsible, and only then could they see it.

For a moment, all of them drew a sharp, cold breath.

This was a method they had never even heard of, something they probably couldn’t have conceived of even if they racked their brains.

"Then, Lord Upper Envoys, what should we do to break this Array and find the person who created it?"

They all turned to Ji Bu, having realized that this strange man wrapped in bandages was the highest-ranking of the three.

Yang An and Wen Yin also looked at Ji Bu.

"Find the Array Device and destroy it. Trace it back to the source and eliminate the caster."

Ji Bu said slowly, then turned to Yang An and Wen Yin.

"The Array is formless, but the Array Device has form and is easy to detect. You two will handle this. When you find the caster, I will come."

His high Cultivation Level lent his commands a crisp efficiency, leaving Yang An and Wen Yin no choice but to obey.

Besides, Yang An wanted to resolve this matter quickly so he could continue refining his Mana and break through to the Visceral Stone Realm as soon as possible, so he had no objections.

The group dispersed. The Gang Leaders went to give orders to their subordinates, while Yang An and Wen Yin decided to split up and search for the Array’s device.

Soon, Yang An left the Golden Martial Gang’s headquarters and was back on the city streets.

He guessed that if the Array, capable of covering all of Liuyun City, was created by a single Array Device, then that device must be located in the city’s central area.

But if the Array was created by multiple Array Devices, they would likely be in the areas closer to the city walls.

Yang An leaned toward the former theory and decided to check the central area, while Wen Yin headed for the outskirts.

He leaped into the air and flew, arriving shortly at the center of Liuyun City, where the tallest building in the entire city stood.

A tavern named "Colorful Fragrance Flowing Clouds."

Just as Yang An was about to fly to the highest point of the tavern to search for clues about the Array Device...

...a sound of something tearing through the air suddenly came from behind him.

Yang An hadn’t sensed a thing. By the time he registered the danger, it was too late to react.

A set of sharp claws appeared out of nowhere and slashed across his chest and abdomen, instantly slicing him in two. He plummeted to the ground below as his blood erupted into a shower of gore.

THUD!

Yang An’s body slammed heavily onto the ground. An expression of agony on his face, he looked up at the figure that had appeared before him.

It was a burly man. His thick right arm looked like it had a giant tumor growing on it, with blood vessels extending from it and connecting to his spine.

On that right hand, several sharp claws glinted coldly. A mocking expression was on the man’s face.

"I thought they’d at least send someone in the Visceral Stone Realm, but it’s just some trash from the Primordial Feeding Realm. For a mere Primordial Feeding Realm punk to dare interfere with our business... you’re courting death!"

Yang An was in too much pain to speak. His eyes widened as he watched the man walk slowly toward him, step by step, then raise his clawed hand and bring it down toward his head.

A cruel look appeared on the man’s face.