The two evil spirits were arguing, both wanting to eat Hao Yun. As for the innocent old man, he lay on the ground with lifeless eyes, like a corpse.
"Since you all want to eat me, why don't we fight it out and whoever wins gets to eat me."
After listening to Hao Yun's words, the two evil spirits found them to be very reasonable.
"Alright, let's have a fight. Whoever wins eats!"
The two evil spirits were clearly lacking in intelligence; without saying a word, they started fighting, and the battle was incredibly fierce.
After passing the two evil spirits, Hao Yun squatted down beside the old man.
"Old man, are you alright?"
"Young man, you shouldn't have come in. The two evil spirits aren't paying attention to this place right now. Take this opportunity to run away, the farther the better."
After saying this, the old man pushed Hao Yun and then closed his eyes to await his death.
After several years of disasters and chaos, the common people had long lost the ability to survive. The strong and able-bodied had all fled to other places, leaving only the old and unable to walk in the surrounding villages to wait for death.
Without food, these elderly people simply cannot survive. The old man who has been captured and brought here is the only survivor from the surrounding villages.
Within a radius of a hundred miles, the grass roots and tree bark had all been eaten clean. This old man had long given up hope of living. Today, he was dragged here by evil spirits, and he was prepared to die.
"Old man, come with me."
Hao Yun sensed the old man's thoughts and couldn't help but sigh.
"Young man, don't worry about me, just run for your life."
The old man barely managed to raise his hand and push Hao Yun out.
The two evil spirits fighting now had a heated argument, and the fight turned from a battle of wits to a battle of life and death.
"How dare you use such a heavy hand on me! Die!"
The horned demon grabbed another demon, tore it apart, and swallowed it whole.
"Hehehe... Now it's your turn. Without him, you two are both mine!"
The evil spirit grinned as it approached the two, drool dripping from its mouth.
Just as Hao Yun was about to make his move, a noise came from underground, and a person emerged.
"Hahaha, finally found you! Let's see where you can run now."
Noticing that there were still people inside the earth god temple, the young man who emerged from underground shouted to them.
"Hey! You two, get out of here! I'm here to exorcise demons, I don't want to accidentally hurt you!"
Upon seeing that there was another person in the room, the evil spirit rushed forward without saying a word.
"Hey! You didn't even run away when you saw me, you actually dared to fight back! Demon-Subduing Order, Exorcising Evil!"
The young man shouted, and a string of yellow talismans flew out of the talisman bag behind him, sticking to the evil spirit with a crackling sound.
The evil spirit roared, threw off the yellow talisman on its body, and spewed out a stream of yin energy.
"Wow, that's awesome!"
The young man laughed heartily, took a step back, and quickly drew a talisman on his hand.
"Wind and Thunder Earthquake Command! Break it!"
A flash of lightning struck the evil spirit, tearing its skin and flesh apart.
"You stinking Taoist priest, how dare you meddle in my business! I'll devour you alive!"
The evil spirit waved its arms, and a cold wind swept through the room.
"not good!"
The young man took a step back and quickly took out two yellow talismans, sticking them on Hao Yun and the old man.
"You wouldn't leave when we told you to, and now look what's happened—none of us are leaving!"
"Stand behind me and don't move. If you stay too far away, I can't protect you. How did this evil spirit suddenly become so strong!"
The young man's expression turned serious. He couldn't understand why the evil spirits here had suddenly become stronger.
Seeing the evil spirit rushing towards him, the young man bit his finger and quickly drew a spell to freeze the spirit in his palm.
"Freeze spell! Freeze me!"
The evil spirit slowed its movements and stood still.
"Phew~ Luckily I have a secret weapon."
The young man wiped the sweat from his brow, turned to look at Hao Yun and the old man, and roared in a harsh tone.
"You all need to leave quickly. Don't wander around at night, or you might get grabbed and swallowed alive by evil spirits!"
"Thank you so much, Taoist priest, for saving my life."
With Hao Yun's help, the old man quickly expressed his gratitude.
"Enough with the nonsense, get out of here!"
Just as Hao Yun was helping the old man to leave, the evil spirit that had been immobilized by the spell suddenly broke free.
"Roar~ I'm going to eat you all!"
The demon's sudden attack caught the young man off guard, and he was bitten on the shoulder. The demon made a move to swallow him whole.
"Draw!"
Hao Yun drew his Yin-Yang twin swords from his waist and swiftly cleaved the evil spirit into eight pieces.
The injured young man lay on the ground, clutching his wound and roaring angrily.
"Hey! You're so disloyal! Why didn't you do it sooner!"
Chapter 224 Centipede Demon
"Sorry, I thought you could handle it."
Hao Yun shrugged. The young man in front of him was no weaker than the evil spirit, so Hao Yun thought he could handle him. Who knew he was so weak?
"Hmph! You, Zhi Qiu Yi Ye, a junior scholar of the Kunlun Sect, haven't you asked me for your guidance yet?"
Despite the pain, Zhi Qiu Yi Ye stood up, bowed, and began to question Hao Yun about his identity.
"Hao Yun, a wandering swordsman and independent cultivator, here are some healing pills as my apology."
Hao Yun took out a healing pill and tossed it over.
After taking the pill, Zhi Qiu put it under her nose and smelled it. Her eyes immediately lit up. What a good thing!
Thank you!
Hao Yun smiled and shook his head, then helped the old man sit down outside the earth god temple.
Hao Yun gathered some dry firewood nearby and started a fire to cook porridge, intending to give the old man something to eat. If he didn't get something to eat, the old man would really die.
While porridge was simmering in the pot, Hao Yun started digging a hole nearby.
While recovering from her injuries, Zhi Qiu Yi Ye opened her eyes and saw Hao Yun digging a hole. She couldn't help but ask him a question.
"Brother Hao, what are you doing?"
Hao Yun didn't even look up, and replied casually.
“Bury the bones inside the house, let them return to dust.”
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye laughed heartily, walked over to Hao Yun, and pulled him aside.
"Brother, what kind of world is this? There are dead people everywhere. Can you even bury them all? Why don't you come with me to fight demons and monsters? It would be a way to do your part for this world."
The dying old man leaned against the tree trunk and couldn't help but sigh.
“This monk is right. The court is incompetent. Even the emperor doesn’t care about us. In addition, demons run rampant and kidnap people to eat their flesh. In my village, many people have been eaten by evil spirits, and the rest have fled to other places.”
"Young man, if you have the ability, why not go and save those you can save? I've lived for sixty-three years, that's enough."
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye sighed. He was just a mage, skilled at exorcising demons and monsters, but in this chaotic world, he was helpless.
After burying the remains in the local temple, Hao Yun pondered a question: how should he end such a chaotic world?
If it were a national war, Hao Yun probably wouldn't even bother watching, but these evil spirits and demons eating people were something Hao Yun couldn't accept.
The rice porridge in the pot was cooked through, and Hao Yun ladled a bowl for the old man.
After the hot rice porridge entered his stomach, the old man's complexion became rosy.
"I never thought I'd be able to drink hot porridge before I die. That's enough, young men. You can drink the rest yourselves. This old man doesn't have much time left, so don't waste food on me."
Sitting to the side, Hao Yun shook his head slightly; the old man was dying.
Sure enough, after finishing the rice porridge, the old man leaned against the tree trunk, his eyes slowly closed, and his breathing became weak.
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye glanced at Hao Yun, then turned her head away, unable to bear looking at him any longer.
"I really don't know when this chaotic world will end?"
Carrying the old man to the pre-dug pit, Hao Yun felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
"A single autumn leaf, take me to the capital."
A cold glint appeared in Hao Yun's eyes, and his aura radiated outwards.
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye, whose cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, instantly collapsed to the ground, a hint of fear in his eyes. He had just encountered a powerful figure. Had he offended him with his words?
With his imposing manner gone, Zhi Qiu Yi Ye quickly got up, a fawning smile appearing on his face, looking every bit the sycophant.
"Hao, no, Master, shall we set off for the capital now?"
"That's right!"
Holding a leaf of autumn, Hao Yun took to the air.
An hour later, Hao Yun arrived in the capital with Zhi Qiu Yi Ye. Standing above the capital, Hao Yun looked at the soaring demonic energy within the palace and couldn't help but let out a cold snort.
"What an astonishing demonic aura! I never imagined there were demons in the royal palace."
Zhi Qiu Yiye exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening like copper bells.