He Yuzhu returns in Siheyuan

Chapter 827 Old Fourth Makes a Move

Seeing that Xiao Li's mother had suddenly fallen silent, the human cultivators' greed instantly turned into ruthlessness. The leading cultivator in hemp robes smirked, abruptly raising his hand. Three yellow talismans shot out from his sleeves like arrows aimed straight at her face. The talismans ignited with eerie blue flames in mid-air, instantly transforming into three foot-long blades of fire. The tips of the blades spewed scorching heat, whistling as they hurtled towards her, even scorching the surrounding air.

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Li's mother's eyes, her previous restraint vanishing. She abruptly leaped backward a few feet, her toes barely touching the grass, using the momentum to spin and swiftly clasp her hands together. In an instant, a dense, pale blue demonic aura surged around her, flowing outwards like a tide and coalescing into a half-foot-thick wall of energy in front of her, its surface faintly showing interwoven vine patterns. The fiery blade slammed into the energy wall, producing a piercing sizzle, sparks flying like fireworks, yet the energy wall only rippled slightly, firmly blocking the attack.

"Indeed, she has some skill." A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the hemp-robed cultivator, then he sneered, "But a demon is a demon, daring to be so insolent before us!" Before he finished speaking, Little Fox's mother had already formed hand seals and was chanting incantations. Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet cracked, and several thick, dark green vines with sharp thorns burst from the soil, writhing like serpents and coiling towards the cultivators' ankles. The barbs on the vines gleamed with an eerie light, clearly poisoned, and their movements were swift and ruthless, reaching them in the blink of an eye.

"Hmph, such a petty trick dares to call it demonic magic!" The hemp-robed cultivator drew his peach wood sword from his back. The blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight, its surface covered with densely packed runes. With a flick of his wrist, the peach wood sword drew a sharp arc, severing the coiling vines with a few "swish" sounds. Thick, green sap seeped from the severed ends, scorching the grass yellow as it hit the ground.

At the same time, the other cultivators also made their moves. The short cultivator on the left suddenly threw out a string of copper coins, which clattered in the air and formed a copper coin sword that gleamed with a copper light. With a dull hum, the sword pierced the lower back of the little fox's mother. The tall, thin cultivator on the right formed hand seals and chanted incantations. A thin layer of ice visibly formed on the ground beneath his feet, and the ice spread rapidly in all directions, trying to freeze her steps. Then there was the cultivator holding a compass, whose needle was spinning wildly and emitting a buzzing sound. Several golden halos shot out from the compass, and the air rippled wherever the halos passed. It was clearly a method specifically designed to counter demonic energy.

Although Xiao Li's mother fought valiantly, unleashing a burst of demonic power with her left palm to shatter the copper coin sword, her right hand was forced to defend, barely dodging the tall, thin cultivator's ice spikes. But in that fleeting moment, the cultivator wielding the compass seized the opportunity, a golden halo striking her right shoulder with pinpoint accuracy. With a "plop," dark blood immediately seeped from her shoulder, her demonic energy swelled like a punctured balloon, and she swayed.

She forced herself to turn around, enduring the excruciating pain in her shoulder, to avoid the sharp edge of the peach wood sword thrust by the hemp-robed cultivator. But a cold wind blew from behind her—another cultivator had seized the opportunity to throw out the Immortal Binding Rope. The rope was entirely red, covered with golden runes, and twisted around her waist like a living thing, tightening more and more until it felt as if her bones were about to shatter. She couldn't help but groan, and her body froze for a moment.

Seeing this, the monk in hemp robes' eyes flashed with a sharp light. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, he pointed his peach wood sword straight at her heart, the sword wind as sharp as a knife, and it seemed he was about to strike her down—

At this critical moment, an almost invisible black shadow suddenly flashed out from behind the ancient tree beside them, as fast as a gust of wind sweeping across the ground, causing even the leaves to tremble slightly. The shadow flicked out several fine silver needles from its fingertips, which drew imperceptible arcs in the air before striking precisely the three knots of the Binding Rope. With a few soft clicks, the rope, which had been tightening, instantly lost its grip and fell to the ground with a "thud," its runes fading.

At the same time, the dark figure slammed into the hemp-robed cultivator with such speed that the cultivator had no time to react. With a muffled thud, the hemp-robed cultivator staggered, his peach wood sword missing its mark. The blade grazed the shoulder of the little fox's mother, drawing a string of hot blood droplets that splattered onto the grass.

"Who?!" The cultivators were shocked and furious. They stopped what they were doing, gripped their weapons, and looked around. But all they could see were swaying tree shadows and grass swaying in the wind. They couldn't see a single person. It was as if everything they had just seen was an illusion.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xiao Li's mother broke free from her restraints. She glanced back at the empty ancient tree, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes—though she didn't know who had helped her, she knew this was her only chance to escape. Gritting her teeth, she suddenly unleashed the remaining demonic energy within her body, causing a surge of azure light around her. She transformed into a blurry azure shadow and sped towards the depths of the dense forest, her speed several times faster than before.

The dark figure lightly touched her back, and an invisible force subtly propelled her forward, increasing her speed and instantly widening the distance between her and the cultivators. Only after her figure completely disappeared into the dense bushes did the dark figure slowly turn around, look at the cultivators still searching, and then take out a few pebbles from her sleeve, flicking them with her finger. The pebbles whistled through the air, striking the backs of their knees with minimal force but perfect precision.

"Ouch!" Several cultivators' legs buckled, and they all knelt on the ground, their knees hitting the hard ground, causing them to grimace in pain. By the time they struggled to their feet, the demonic energy in the air had long since dissipated, leaving only severed vines and bloodstains on the ground, proving that the fierce battle just moments before was not an illusion. They could only curse incessantly at the empty forest, unable to even catch a glimpse of their enemy.

The dark figure—the fourth brother who had been lurking in the shadows—smiled with satisfaction, disappeared into the dense foliage, and muttered to himself, "You old fox, you're lucky to have run into me." With that, he vanished completely from the forest like a drop of water merging into the ocean, as if he had never been there at all, leaving only a gust of wind that swirled a few fallen leaves in the air.

The fourth brother went straight to He Yuzhu's side: "Sect Master, I've saved the fox, shouldn't we be leaving now?"

He Yuzhu looked at the human cultivators, wondering if they had really gone mad. They were arresting any demon they could find, but these things had nothing to do with him. He had only saved the fox because it was Xiao Li's mother.