BOOM!

An earth-shattering bang echoed through the cave.

A flash of fire erupted from the muzzle.

An iron ball, countless times more powerful than an arrow, shot toward the center of the Monkey Demon’s brow.

It all happened too fast.

Even the Monkey Demon was caught off guard. But its reaction was lightning-fast; in a split second, it twisted its body and dodged the fatal blow.

The iron ball embedded itself in the fur on the Monkey Demon’s chest.

Bai Yuan frowned.

’As expected,’ he thought. ’The firearm isn’t strong enough to break a Tier Six Demon’s defense. At most, it’ll cause a sharp pain, but it’s nowhere near a fatal wound.’

In his past life, a normal firearm wasn’t necessarily more powerful than a compound bow. Only something like a large-caliber sniper rifle would have stood a chance.

Against a Tier Six Demon like this Monkey Demon, which had long since forged a body as tough as steel, the firearm had almost no killing power.

Bai Yuan’s move had thoroughly enraged the Monkey Demon.

"You despicable Demon Hunter!"

It roared, wanting to tear Bai Yuan to pieces first.

Although that last attack couldn’t kill it, the threat was still significant when combined with Zhou Siming’s assault.

To eliminate the risk, it decided to first kill the Demon Hunter who had launched the sneak attack from a distance.

But how could Zhou Siming give it the chance?

"Hit him again."

Zhou Siming chuckled. He didn’t know what kind of trick Dong Wanjun’s apprentice behind him was using, but there was no doubt it was highly effective.

The Monkey Demon was getting desperate.

His attacks grew fiercer, giving the Monkey Demon no opportunity to pull away.

Just as the Monkey Demon was seething with rage—

It suddenly felt something bite its bare foot.

Soon, it knew what it was.

Snake venom!

The Monkey Demon could never have imagined that a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon of the same tier was hiding in this very cave.

The terrifying snake venom made its movements increasingly sluggish.

Zhou Siming seized the opportunity. His storm-like assault forced the Monkey Demon to reveal several openings.

Finally, the dagger in his hand plunged steadily into the chest of the man-like Monkey Demon.

"Aargh!"

It let out an indignant roar.

The man-like Monkey Demon glared at Bai Yuan with bloodshot eyes. It never expected to lose to a weak Demon Hunter.

This was an utter disgrace!

Zhou Siming’s expression was cold as he twisted the Hunting Dagger in his hand.

The Monkey Demon’s heart was completely shredded.

Without a heart, even a demon had to die.

The Monkey Demon collapsed weakly to the ground. Amazingly, its body began to shrink and sprout grayish-yellow fur. In a moment, the man’s form was gone, leaving only a mottled monkey half the height of a man.

Only the dagger stuck in its chest proved it was the same man from before.

Zhou Siming pulled out the dagger, and the Monkey Demon was finally dead.

Li Kang gulped. He stared at Bai Yuan beside him, almost wanting to adopt this man, twenty years his junior, as his godfather.

If it weren’t for Bai Yuan, the outcome of today’s battle would have been uncertain.

Zhou Siming gazed at Bai Yuan with his pupil-less eyes.

"A demon tamer. Not bad, kid."

As a Demon Hunter, he had recognized at a glance that the Little Cyan Snake that attacked the Monkey Demon was Bai Yuan’s Demon Pet. He also understood just how valuable a demon tamer was.

Demon Hunters were already rare, but for one in ten to be a demon tamer was absurdly lucky.

He hadn’t seen a Demon Hunter who could tame demons in many years.

Not to mention this kid had gotten incredibly lucky, taming a Snake Demon that had just molted—and a Tier Six Snake Demon at that.

Clearly, with Bai Yuan’s current strength, he must have picked it up on the cheap when the Snake Demon was at its weakest after molting.

A Tier Six Snake Demon... a Demon Pet that countless Demon Hunters wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

"Damn it all, his luck is a little too good."

Even with Zhou Siming’s cold temperament, he couldn’t help but curse.

He had already noticed the Little Cyan Snake that had just slipped back into Bai Yuan’s sleeve.

If not for that Little Cyan Snake’s venom, he really might not have been able to defeat the Monkey Demon. After all, the Demonic Qi was just too tyrannical.

Of course, a single Snake Demon that hadn’t yet recovered its full strength was far from enough to threaten the Monkey Demon on its own.

First, Bai Yuan used the firearm to draw the Monkey Demon’s attention. Then he secretly commanded Xiaoqing to launch a sneak attack. On top of that, he had to have a keen enough eye to judge the perfect moment to strike during a clash between two Entry-level Powerhouses.

These were all decisive factors; not a single one could be missing.

If any one of them had been absent, Bai Yuan’s ambush would never have succeeded.

’What a vicious mind,’ Zhou Siming thought to himself.

But it was devious, and he liked that.

It was just a shame the kid was Dong Wanjun’s apprentice. Otherwise, he would have insisted on taking Bai Yuan as his own disciple.

The thought that Old Dong had one-upped him again only made him more frustrated.

Zhou Siming picked up the Monkey Demon’s corpse from the ground and prepared to leave. The massive boulder blocking the cave entrance couldn’t hold him.

The reason he had appeared at the ruined temple was, in fact, for this very Monkey Demon.

A demon that had cultivated Demonic Qi was of great use to him.

Bai Yuan gazed at the corpse on Zhou Siming’s shoulder, feeling a little annoyed.

It wasn’t that he was upset about the Tier Six Demon flesh being taken. It was because he hadn’t gotten the last hit, losing out on a lot of enhancement points. But Zhou Siming had struck too quickly, giving him no chance to land the killing blow.

At that moment, Li Kang finally came to his senses.

He hurried to the back of the cave, where the man-like Monkey Demon had been.

There, he saw seven or eight iron cages lined up against the cave wall. A person was locked in each cage, chained by the neck like a dog.

Li Kang’s gaze swept over the prisoners.

It finally stopped on a naked woman who seemed to be delirious.

This woman was the Lord Prefect’s concubine, but it looked like she had been tortured to the brink of madness.

Li Kang sighed softly, raised his saber to slash open the cage, then took off his own robe and draped it over the woman.

A sliver of relief rose in his heart.

’Good, she’s not dead yet.’

As long as this woman was alive, his official post was safe.

As for the woman herself...

A look of pity flashed in Li Kang’s eyes.

Even if he returned her to the Lord Prefect’s residence, a woman who had lost her chastity would surely meet a miserable end. Even if it wasn’t her fault, she wouldn’t escape punishment, especially not in the strict household of the prefectural manor.

But these weren’t problems for a minor captain of the Demon Slayer Guard like him to worry about.

Bai Yuan only glanced over before turning his head away.

’The methods of these Demon Sect People are truly bizarre.’

Zhou Siming was punching the giant boulder blocking the cave mouth again and again.

An ordinary Martial Artist would never be able to break it; they’d probably just fracture their knuckles.

But Zhou Siming was an Entering Martial Artist, and his strength was immense.

In less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, he had actually smashed a large opening in it.

While Zhou Siming was focused on clearing the path, Bai Yuan suddenly spoke up. "Why does the Demon Sect imprison these people?"

Zhou Siming paused, his fist about to strike again. A meaningful smile spread across his face.

"Have you ever heard of the Ten Thousand Spirits Festival?"