Chapter Twenty-Four: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind; The Evil Cultivators of the Myriad Evil Sect!

Qin Feng was instantly delighted. He had been fretting over finding a suitable excuse to drain the blood of Deacon Liuyang, and it turned out that help had arrived just as he was nodding off. This fellow was truly a talent; if Deacon Liuyang were still alive, he would surely be thanking him profusely.

"I'll tell you after we deal with the thousand-year ginseng," Qin Feng said to Xuanyu. It was too crowded and bustling here to drain any blood. If he were to drink Deacon Liuyang's blood in front of everyone, he would never be able to clear his name.

"Understood, thank you, Senior Qin Feng!" Xuanyu bowed in gratitude. With tears of joy in his eyes, he looked at Deacon Liuyang's corpse and said, "Deacon, please bear with it for a little longer; you will be resurrected soon."

While they were talking, the rest of the Taoist practitioners had already left the cave along with the thousand-year ginseng. Qin Feng took Xuanyu and picked up the pace. When they arrived at the cave entrance, the array flags were already floating in mid-air. A massive net made of red rope had ensnared the thousand-year ginseng. The flags radiated golden light, casting it upon the plant, which struggled in vain, unable to break free from its confinement.

"Hmph, let's see where you can run now!"
"The deacon and the others were truly farsighted to set up this array at the entrance in advance."
"I wonder how things are inside; they should have killed the toad demon and emerged by now."

As the crowd murmured, their talk was interrupted. As if summoned by their words, Daoist White Crane and the others emerged from the cave like ghosts.

"Thud!" The corpse of the toad demon was dragged out by another deacon and tossed onto the ground. It was riddled with holes, pierced by countless sword strikes.

"Go!" Daoist White Crane threw a yellow talisman. It ignited in mid-air and landed on the toad demon. Immediately, a roaring fire erupted. "Crackle, pop!" The toad demon's body emitted sounds like firecrackers.

Qin Feng watched, secretly clicking his tongue. This was the fate of demons and vengeful spirits when they encountered practitioners of the Tao. It was simply miserable—not only were they beaten back to their true forms, but they were also burned to a pile of ash. He was glad he had been quick-witted; otherwise, he would have been killed by Daoist White Crane as well.

"The toad demon is dead, and Deacon Liuyang can rest in peace. The thousand-year ginseng has been captured, so now, let everyone compete based on their own abilities." No sooner had Daoist White Crane finished speaking than he lunged toward the ginseng.

"Do it!" The others swarmed forward. Those who had been comrades-in-arms only moments ago were now turning their blades against each other, unleashing a barrage of techniques.

Qin Feng retreated to a distance with Xuanyu, wanting no part of the fray. Regardless of who won, they would be forced to cut off a piece for him anyway, which would be enough to heal his aunt's injuries.

Before long, the Taoist disciples were suffering heavy casualties. Even Daoist White Crane was struck by a sword, though he reacted in time, taking the blow to his shoulder rather than his chest. These disciples were truly ruthless; they belonged to different sects, and it had been agreed upon beforehand that if anyone was killed here, it was merely a result of their own inferior skills. Even if they died, their sects would not dare to complain.

About five minutes later, the battle concluded. An old Daoist had secured the thousand-year ginseng. "Hahaha!" he laughed, his hair disheveled. Just as he reached out to grab the prize, a pitch-black banner struck like an arrow. The old Daoist’s pupils constricted, and he scrambled backward.

"The Myriad Soul Banner!?" The old Daoist’s eyes narrowed with apprehension.

"Whoosh!" Simultaneously, three men dressed in black robes, exuding a frigid aura, appeared. One of them flicked his right hand, and the banner flew back into his grasp with a sharp whistle.

"Evil cultivators from the Myriad Evil Sect!" the old Daoist growled.
"How did they find out?"
"Damn it, we were the ones acting as the mantis stalking the cicada, but now we've ended up as the prey ourselves!"
"What do we do now? We're all severely wounded; forget the ginseng, we might not even make it out alive." The faces of the injured Daoists turned deathly pale.

"Kill!" the evil cultivator holding the banner hissed. The other two surged forward, cloaked in thick, malevolent energy.

"Fight them to the death!" Daoist White Crane wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and quickly formed hand seals.

"Myriad Souls Devour the Heart!" The evil cultivator holding the banner waved it. Instantly, icy winds rose, and countless ghostly shadows shrieked, laughed, and wept as they burst forth from the banner, turning the once-quiet mountain forest into a cacophony of wails.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" The ghostly shadows swarmed toward Daoist White Crane and the others.

"Nine Heavens Profound Thunder!" an old Daoist shouted. A bolt of purple lightning roared down from the sky.

"Talisman Control Art!" Daoist White Crane unleashed his signature technique.

"Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams!" another old Daoist cried out. A massive Bagua symbol appeared in the sky, descending slowly like a giant millstone.

"Hmph, if you were at full strength, I might fear you, but now that you're all crippled, what do you have to resist us?" The evil cultivator sneered, throwing the banner into the air. With a sharp "Pfft!", it pierced directly through the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams.

The old Daoist coughed up blood as his technique was shattered, his body staggering back as he grew pale and listless. In the end, it was Daoist White Crane who turned the tide, using his Talisman Control Art to protect the group while launching a counterattack against the three evil cultivators.

"Talisman Control Art? Impressive, impressive. You must be the talented Deacon White Crane of the Five Elements Sect." As the evil cultivator spoke, he reached out and recalled the banner, lunging at the Daoist.

"Celestial Master’s Protection Incantation!" Daoist White Crane channeled his internal energy, forming seals with his hands. A golden light erupted from his body, forming a golden bell-shaped shield.

"Clang!" The banner struck the shield with a deafening ring.

"Talisman Fire!" Daoist White Crane produced a yellow talisman and blew on it, spewing a tongue of fire like a flame-breather. It instantly wrapped around the Myriad Soul Banner.

"Ahhh!" The searing fire caused the ghosts within the banner to scream in agony.

"Bastard, my Myriad Soul Banner!" the evil cultivator roared in fury, frantically channeling his malevolent energy to extinguish the flames. But the banner was already scorched, and the ghosts within had suffered heavy losses.

"Dammit! Dammit all to hell!" The evil cultivator gnashed his teeth, his rage reaching a boiling point. He had spent hundreds of days and nights of hardship, even killing thousands, to refine that banner, only to have it ruined by White Crane in a moment of carelessness.

"Go!" Seizing the opportunity, Daoist White Crane grabbed the wounded and fled. He no longer cared about Qin Feng or Xuanyu; he was struggling just to save his own skin.

"Follow me! I’ll capture him alive and make him wish he were dead! Ahhh!" The evil cultivator, driven to madness, chased after them with his remaining companion.

At the scene, only a hopping zombie and a disciple in the early stage of the Qi-Refining realm remained. The third evil cultivator, who had stayed behind, was at the mid-stage of the Spirit-Channeling realm—a level of power more than sufficient to make short work of the zombie and the disciple.