Ju Li followed behind Hei in silence as he walked leisurely through the walkway of the underground cells and up the stairs the building above, where some of the other captive women were being held. It seemed the building functioned as a brothel, where Crimson Moon disciples would spend merit points to choose their cultivation partners.

Ju Li wasn’t able to get much more information than what was apparent on the surface because, by the time her eyes had adjusted to the higher levels of light, the place was already in chaos.

They didn’t stay there long either. Hei walked past the chaos and through the crowds of scrambling disciples, steadily through the streets of the main sect, until they reached another building. It was a tall building, cylindrical in design where each floor was a smaller disk stacked on top of the one below it.

There were two guards standing outside of the main entrance, but even as Hei and Ju Li walked past, they did nothing to impede their path. Ju Li knew that this was because Hei had activated some kind of barrier which was keeping them hidden from the sight of others.

After entering the library, Hei extended his flames, causing disruption among the disciples who were studying there. In no time at all, he had taken every book from every shelf, desk and hand on the ground floor. Of course, he didn’t go uncontested. Having revealed his presence, the guards outside the library rushed in to assess the situation. The elder in charge of the library also made his move.

Just as quickly as Ju Li had seen them go in for the attack, they disappeared from her view.

It took her a moment to realise that they were all on the ground, unconscious.

They didn’t waste any more time on the ground floor. He continued on his way up to the stairs, effortlessly incapacitating those who tried to block him and overcoming any barriers and defensive formations in his way.

There wasn’t anything anyone could do to prevent him from taking whatever caught his eye. And it seemed everything in the place fit that description.

After walking an unimpeded path to the top, he had obtained every resource within the entire building, and, to Ju Li’s surprise, he returned to the ground floor and found a quiet corner behind some bookshelves. It was a study area of sorts populated with desks and chairs. There, he pulled out a chair and took a seat. Then he turned to the chair next to his and pulled it out.

“You can take a seat. We’ll be here for a while.”

“No thanks. I would rather stand.”

“Very well.”

He was too short to use the adult-sized desk, and so he extended the legs of the chair to elevate himself. Then he pulled a book out of his sleeve and placed it on the table before taking a sheet of paper and a pen and placing them on the table. He then rested his head on his hand, opened the book and started reading it, occasionally taking notes.

Meanwhile, Ju Li could hear all manner of chaos occurring outside.

“Um… Can I ask you something?”

“Now isn’t the best time.” He answered while flipping to the next page.

“Why are we here?”

“Information gathering.”

“Why do you need information. Can’t you just leave?”

“I like to do things thoroughly.”

“Hm?”

“If you want more details then look at my notes for yourself.” He placed his fingers over his eyes and adjusted his mask. “My mind is currently occupied with other things.”

“I see.”

That was right. According to what she had heard earlier, he was currently monitoring the situations of eight different individuals simultaneously. The fact that he had moved around with such ease had caused her to forget that fact. She had no idea what kind of a strain splitting one’s spiritual perception into eight parts would put on a person’s mental energy. It can’t have been small.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Ju Li decided to take that seat after all. It was just that, she was also too short to see the desk from it. She was just about to stand on it when it elevated itself. When she looked down, she saw the same black extensions on her chair that were on his.

Turning her gaze to the sheet of paper in front of him, she could see that there were already several full pages. She placed her hand on one and turned to the masked one who had no reaction. With his approval or at least lack of objection, she brought the sheet of paper closer to herself and started reading it.

The sect-protecting formation they have used is centred in one of the underground areas. There should be two, maybe three elders placed there for repair work.

Judging from the schematics available in the book “Guardian Formation: Theory and Practice”, it should be primarily metal-based. Unit two, a fire-based cultivator would be a good match for at least one of the elders. I’ll send unit five as well. With her wind element base, she can act to supplement unit two’s abilities.

Ju Li assumed that the term “unit” was referring to the eight women who were synchronised with him.

The sect also has teleportation formations. Most likely to be used in an escape. A high priority for disruption. Unfortunately, the schematics for those are not held in the library. Instead, they’ve been placed in the formation hall. Sending units one and seven would be sufficient to retrieve those.

The sect seems to be following a loose structure. There is no one leader, and instead, a group of great elders, eight in total. They act as the governing body and have the highest seniority within the sect. All of their cultivation achievements are listed in public records.

The sect also has a variety of battle formations. Some of which are large in scale. In a situation where the sect is faced with overwhelming power, the great elders are likely to make use of these to channel the power of the disciples into themselves. Units three and four will work on disrupting cohesion and preventing the disciples from converging.

While Ju Li was still reading, another person entered the scene, waved her hand, and left just as quickly as she had arrived. Ju Li had managed to see that it was Matriarch Radiant Jade. She had placed a stack of books on the desk before disappearing once again.

Ju Li looked at Hei who had now switched to one of the new books.

She took one of the more recent sheets of notes to read.

Most of the captives have now been freed. Units six and eight will soon be available to handle the external scouts. Unfortunately, the movements of the Zhu Clan have already been discovered. They unexpectedly brought a hundred extra units. Perhaps I can use them to test the battle formation I thought of after analysing those of the Crimson Moon.

Units two and five have successfully captured the guardian formation. They will now repair it and bring it under our control.

Units three and four have been more effective than expected. The large-scale battle formations have been rendered inoperable. They can be reallocated to the transport of captives.

Unit seven is now unoccupied. She will monitor the overall situation.

Before she could finish reading that sheet, she heard his voice speak quietly.

“The targets have been secured. Feel free to act with impunity.”

Along with his announcement came a large disturbance, and after a while, he spoke again.

“Be at ease, Honghuo. She’s safe and sound.”

After that, Ju Li heard a very familiar voice. Her heart jolted and many images flashed past her mind.

‘Brother.’

When she looked back down, she saw that Hei had completed another sheet of notes, which she grabbed and started reading. At the bottom, it said that all of the captives had been freed and were currently outside under the protection of a defensive formation.

She turned her attention to the new sheet he was actively working on.

The guardian formation is now under our control, freeing units two and five. According to the information delivered by unit one, the teleportation formations are integrated into the guardian formation. When they are used, they siphon energy from the guardian formation, causing it to become inoperable for a time. This cannot be allowed to occur. Units two and five will disable the teleportation formations, sealing all exit paths.

Units three and four have successfully eliminated the external scouts, cutting off the information supply. They have also made contact with the Zhu Clan, relaying my instructions.

Unit seven has intercepted an evacuation order. The situation of the guardian formation will soon be discovered. I will relocate the core of the formation to the library.

All units except unit two have been recalled. Unit two has been instructed to make contact with Honghuo.

Auntie Yimin has made her move, she has taken on two opponents. Jing’er is currently facing two opponents. Honghuo has yet to make a move. Xiaoli doesn't seem capable of contributing at this level.

Four out of eight of the great elders have joined the battle, one remains on standby and three have yet to emerge. Their likely current target is the centre of the guardian formation, the library. And they are likely to come in numbers.

Unit two has made contact with Honghuo and has relayed my instructions.

The remaining three great elders have joined the fray. Honghuo has made his move, eliminating one target. He has held two back and allowed the last to pass.

Impact imminent.

Initiating barrier.

From there, he stopped writing. Ju Li took a moment to realise, and when she looked up, she saw him facing the front entrance of the library.

On the other side, she could hear an angry yell.

“Break!”

The front of the library burst open. The bricks used to build it were crushed into powder, kicking up a cloud of dust. Even the shelves were obliterated. Shards of them flew past Ju Li and Hei in the cloud of dust. Not wanting to be hit, Ju Li made sure to position herself such that nothing would get to her without going through Hei first.

After the dust had settled, there was nothing left of the previous library except the floor and that one desk they were seated at. Other than that, Ju Li saw a furious old man suspended in mid-air. He was wielding a sword which was glowing with a menacing blood-red aura.

“Die!”

The old man dashed straight at them, swing his sword viciously, hoping to get rid of them and the formation in one fell swoop. As he approached, his sword seemed to grow to the size of a building, casting a shadow over Ju Li and Hei as it fell towards them.

When Ju Li turned to Hei, she couldn’t see any sign that he was going to make a move. And, in fact, he didn’t. Before the sword could land, a silhouette appeared in front of them, wielding a sword of its own, which it swung upwards, halting the momentum of that giant blood-red sword and even pushing it back slightly.

Just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared again, and another took its place. This one was wielding a spear and thrust three times in quick succession before disappearing. This attack caused the sword to shrink back down to its original size.

But it wasn’t over. That figure disappeared and another took its place.

This time, Ju Li could see that it was a woman dressed in familiar clothing. She had a sword, but hers glistened with an icy sheen and caused condensation in the air around it. This sword struck the blood-red sword, causing it to lose that blood-red property, reverting back to an ordinary sword, coated in a layer of ice.

After completing her attack, she disappeared and another woman took her place.

This one had a sabre which she used to strike the now icy blade, and following her, two more women each launched their own attacks.

After the fifth landed her blow, the great elder spat out a mouthful of blood to increase the strength of his blade. Unfortunately for him, the sixth knocked the sword out of the way before it could receive the benefits.

The seventh landed a blow which finally exceeded the sword’s ability to withstand. It crumbled to pieces, leaving nothing but its hilt.

Finally came the eighth, who wielded a sword emitting blinding white light. She stood in a sword-drawing stance and the radiance of her sword continued to grow until the entire sect was blanketed in white light. On top of that, the guardian formation, which had previously displayed a night sky was now swirling with myriad colours. Those colours all seemed to be converging on that woman, turning her white sword into one of many colours.

The great elder knew he couldn’t withstand a blow from that sword, so he relied on his prized possession, a defensive treasure he had found as part of an inheritance from an ancient demonic cultivator. To date, he had never faced an attack which could so much as scratch its defence, but it came with a caveat. The treasure had a finite number of uses before it would become a worthless trinket. Fortunately, he still had three uses to go before that would happen.

Using one of the three remaining activations, he erected a barrier around himself and prepared to sacrifice his own vital essence to launch an all-out attack. He would do it as soon as her sword was blocked. The moment she would be most vulnerable.

She stayed in her stance until the world was drowned by her sword’s radiance.

“Our very own Radiant Slash and the Zhu Clan’s legendary Evil Slaying. One attacks the fleshy body and the other attacks the spirit. I may not be worthy to give a name to their marriage, but if I may be so bold, then I’ll call it-”

She drew her sword, swinging it in a smooth arc as she dashed forward.

The great elder smiled as her sword came ever closer to his barrier. He had already ignited his vital essence and was ready to counter immediately.

If he had been listening closely, he would have known what was coming, but alas. His smile was quickly wiped away and replaced with a look of complete and utter horror. That sword sliced through his ultimate defence like it wasn’t there at all.

“Impossible!”

He watched helplessly as the sword tore through his flesh, completing its path unimpeded. As his body split into two and the upper half fell towards the floor, he noticed that his defence hadn’t been broken. That attack had simply ignored it.

‘She- she said it was Evil Slaying! Damn it!’

Behind him, he heard a metallic sound. A sound he knew all too well. He knew it to be the sound of a sword entering its sheath and, just before it clicked into place, he heard the last words he would ever hear.

“Demon Hunter.”