Human Clan Defender
Chapter 57: Quite a Few in Number

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Quite a Few in Number

"The commotion outside the city has even caused the Earth Dragon’s Turnover. As the acting County Magistrate, I naturally cannot stand idly by."

Shen Changqing only needed a glance at Ming Zhengyang’s expression to understand his thoughts, but he didn’t explain much. As the County Magistrate of Lin’an City and a member of the Demon-Subduing Division, when had he ever needed to report his actions to the people of Jianghu?

Upon hearing this, Ming Zhengyang didn’t ask further.

"Lord Shen is compassionate towards the common people, which I admire. We two still have other matters to attend to, so we won’t linger. Farewell!"

After speaking, he and the other person left.

The emergence of the Demon’s Essence Blood had attracted more than just the Qiyao Sect’s forces. If they were too late and the Essence Blood fell into someone else’s hands, the trouble would be significant.

In response, Shen Changqing didn’t stop them.

He simply activated his Tianwu True Qi, lightly tapped the ground with the tip of his foot, and his body soared into the air like a large bird. When he touched down again, he had already covered a considerable distance.

When I have the time, I must go back to the Demon-Subduing Division and find a Qinggong technique!

Shen Changqing felt a little helpless. Watching the people of Jianghu, each possessing Qinggong techniques and moving with elegant ease, he then looked at himself, relying entirely on the explosive force of his robust True Qi, like some brute.

However, Qinggong was a minor issue; he could always train in it slowly later when he had time.

The most urgent matter at hand was the emerged Demon’s Essence Blood.

As Shen Changqing himself had said, he had no intention of fighting for the Demon’s Essence Blood. His only concern was the problems its emergence could cause.

The spectacle of the Earth Dragon’s Turnover and that earthshaking roar both highlighted something extraordinary. The Mass Burial Mound outside the city wasn’t very far from Lin’an City, at most only three to four miles away.

It didn’t take long for Shen Changqing to arrive before the Mass Burial Mound.

At this moment, he saw collapsed forests and fallen trees, as if a huge beast had trampled down a large area. A strong stench of blood permeated the air.

Shen Changqing grew wary and stepped into the area. After entering the Mass Burial Mound, the scent of blood in the air grew even more intense. At the same time, it felt as if a voice was arising from the depths of his heart, making him involuntarily irritable.

There’s a problem!

Shen Changqing immediately realized something was off. He stopped in his tracks and steadied his mind. The voice from the depths of his heart vanished instantly.

Shen Changqing was now certain that this voice was definitely related to the emerged Demon’s Essence Blood.

According to the information from the Heavenly Inspection Guard, the Demon’s Essence Blood should have fallen to a lower tier by now, but even lower-tier Essence Blood possesses such power?

He took several deep breaths, reassessing for the first time the potency of the Demon’s Essence Blood.

Back in the Demon-Subduing Prison, Shen Changqing had seen both the remnants of a Demon Evil and a living one. Though the cells in the Demon-Subduing Prison seemed simple, they contained various prohibitions. The power of the Demon Evils imprisoned within was almost completely sealed.

The reason the Demon’s Essence Blood could emerge was that the seal had been broken. That is to say, the emerged Demon’s Essence Blood was uncontained.

Collecting his thoughts, Shen Changqing continued to delve deeper.

Since it was the Mass Burial Mound, discarded corpses could be seen everywhere. He didn’t pay them much attention.

Walking over the bones, he headed towards the location of the Demon’s Essence Blood.

As he proceeded further, the view around him began to open up.

Finally, Shen Changqing stopped.

In front of him, the ground had cracked open, forming a seemingly bottomless canyon, and endless blood-red light reflected from deep within. A power that would alarm even Innate Martial Artists was slowly rising.

The Demon’s Essence Blood is right below the canyon!

Shen Changqing thought to himself, now understanding why the emergence of the Demon’s Essence Blood had caused the Earth Dragon’s Turnover. Just the sight of such a large fissure in the ground was enough to show how immense the commotion of the Essence Blood’s emergence was. With Lin’an City not far away, it was natural for it to feel the tremors when such a large rift formed here.

His gaze retracted from the canyon, and Shen Changqing looked around. He saw Cui Cheng, Ming Zhengyang, and others, each standing to one side, their expressions very solemn. Some Jianghu individuals had already drawn their swords, ready for action at any moment.

"Lord Shen, are you also here to contend for the Demon’s Essence Blood?" someone from Jianghu asked with a sinking heart upon seeing Shen Changqing’s arrival, cupping his hands in a salute from afar.

As he spoke, almost all eyes were on Shen Changqing. They all understood that among everyone present, the strongest was this official from the Demon-Subduing Division.

Upon hearing this, Shen Changqing chuckled lightly. "You needn’t worry about me. I have no interest in contending for the Demon’s Essence Blood. Whoever has the ability can take it and leave. However, if none of you has the capability to take the Essence Blood, then as an official, to prevent the Demon’s Essence Blood from causing harm to the world, I will have no choice but to intervene and take it back to the Demon-Subduing Division."

Upon hearing these words, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Shen Changqing’s words were very clear: if they could take it, they were welcome to it. If they lacked the ability, then there was nothing more to be said.

No one considered themselves incapable. The atmosphere immediately became deathly quiet.

The ground had cracked open; the Demon’s Essence Blood was sealed deep within the earth. This was only the first step of its emergence. Every martial artist could feel the Demon’s Essence Blood, deep underground, rapidly ascending. They waited, waited for the Demon’s Essence Blood to truly surface.

As the Demon’s Essence Blood continued to rise, Shen Changqing felt that elusive voice re-emerging from the depths of his heart, igniting an urge to kill indiscriminately.

Alarmed, he looked around at the others. Indeed, some of the less powerful martial artists or those with weaker mental fortitude unconsciously had a reddish glint in their eyes, though they were still trying hard to restrain themselves. The hands holding their swords and blades trembled slightly.

Suddenly, someone made a move, slashing their long blade toward the person next to them.

"Second Liu, you sneak-attacked me last time; I haven’t settled the score with you yet! Today you dare to compete for the Essence Blood? You’re seeking death!"

"Hmph, you’re the one seeking death!"

As if prepared, Second Liu was calm in the face of the attack and struck back directly. The instant the two of them made their moves, other martial artists with old grudges finally couldn’t help but join the fray.

The originally calm scene suddenly descended into chaos.

Watching the turmoil before him, Shen Changqing’s expression remained calm. He neither spoke up to stop them nor had any intention of intervening, watching everything unfold like a mere observer.

Also watching from the sidelines were people from the five major forces and some individuals from Jianghu.

"Such weak strength, yet they dare to compete for the Demon’s Essence Blood. They’re really courting death!" Ming Zhengyang shook his head and sneered. "These people don’t even have the strength to resist the allure, yet they dare come here to court death! Not to mention with us here, even if we weren’t, they would have no right to take the Demon’s Essence Blood, even if it was right before their eyes."

The fighting continued, and before long, people began to die.

Shen Changqing stood with his hands behind his back, silently waiting for the Demon’s Essence Blood to appear.

Suddenly, a frenzied Jianghu martial artist brandished his sword and charged at him. The Nine Rings Broadsword slashed down, bringing with it a ferocious gust of wind.

Shen Changqing calmly stretched out his hand, easily catching the blade between two fingers. Activating his Tianwu True Qi, a twist of his fingers shattered the blade into two halves.

Immediately following, he flicked his wrist, sending half of the broken blade flying. It directly embedded itself into the attacker’s chest.

"Ah!"

The man screamed and fell backward, fresh blood pouring from the wound in his chest. The sudden turn of events jolted some back to their senses, their gazes towards Shen Changqing now filled with fear. Killing someone was as effortless for him as picking a flower or flicking a leaf; his power was terrifying in the extreme.

At that moment, Shen Changqing’s gaze fell upon the cracked earth in front of him. A shrill, dense sound could be heard, as if something was slowly climbing up from beneath the ground.

Could the Demon Evil not be dead! That sound made his face change color. The Demon’s Essence Blood should just be blood. It shouldn’t be able to climb out of the abyss as if it had a fleshly body. Even flying up would be more believable.

"Be careful, something is climbing up from below!" Shen Changqing shouted coldly, his voice reaching everyone’s ears.

In an instant, the ongoing clashes ceased. All eyes were now intensely focused on the ravine before them.

Before long, a rotting, bloodstained hand emerged from beneath the ravine, followed by a corpse crawling out.

As soon as the corpse emerged, it lunged at the nearest person.

"What is this thing!" the man exclaimed, aghast.

The stench of decay mixed with the scent of blood exploded outwards as the corpse lunged, making one feel nauseous. Though terrified, he did not hesitate. His long blade swung out, and the corpse was immediately cleaved in two in mid-air.

Thereafter, the bisected corpse fell to the ground, its two halves slowly writhing like worms, not entirely dead.

Shen Changqing’s face soured as the undead corpse before him reminded him of certain things.

Corpse Puppet! But this one is different from the Zhang Family’s man-made Corpse Puppets. In fact, there are many kinds of Corpse Puppets. The Corpse Puppets of the Zhang Family are one kind; the ones before us are another.

"These are Corpse Puppets, likely resurrected because they were contaminated by the Demon’s Essence Blood," Shen Changqing spoke aloud, revealing the identity of the corpses. "To kill them, the simplest and quickest method is to sever their heads. Otherwise, Corpse Puppets are difficult to render completely lifeless."

As he spoke, even more Corpse Puppets began to claw their way out of the ravine.

Despite the horrifying appearance of the Corpse Puppets, the people of Jianghu, who lived life on the edge of a knife, naturally had no reason to be scared. Particularly as the Corpse Puppets, despite looking frightening, were actually quite weak—no stronger than ordinary people. Once their weakness was known, those present had little difficulty dealing with them.

The only issue was the sheer number of Corpse Puppets.