Chapter 23 Gaoyang's Identity
Although he wasn\'t clear about what level a Demon General\'s strength actually was, the Wolf Demon that had almost killed him and Gaoyang before was merely at the level of a Demon Soldier.
Clearly, the strength of this Demon General was much stronger than that of the Demon Soldier from before.
With the strength he and Gaoyang had recently gained, if they encountered a Demon Soldier, Jiang Liu could still muster the courage to fight.
But now, knowing that this Three-Eyed Crow was as powerful as a Demon General, Jiang Liu felt utterly disheartened.
"Jiang Liu, run!"
Facing the Demon General, although Gaoyang also knew there was absolutely no chance of winning, she didn\'t intend to surrender without a fight. Instead, she drew her long whip and lashed it towards the Three-Eyed Crow while shouting loudly.
"Run? Flee for our lives?" Hearing Gaoyang\'s words, and in this moment of life and death, the thought of escaping indeed arose in Jiang Liu\'s heart.
After all, one only lives once. Fear of death is natural, and facing an insurmountable demon, Jiang Liu felt that fleeing wasn\'t a disgraceful act.
However, after reflexively taking a step, Jiang Liu looked at Senior Brother Xuankong, who had lost an arm, and glanced at Senior Abbot Faming and Brother Xuanming, who were powerless to resist. His feet suddenly felt as heavy as lead. He wanted to run, but he just couldn\'t move forward.
Jiang Liu clearly understood that if he ran away, these people would undoubtedly die.
That day, Senior Abbot Faming tried to facilitate Esquire Zhang accepting him so that after a failed Incense Offering Ceremony, he could have a livelihood. Jiang Liu kept this favor in his heart.
That day, Senior Brother Xuankong secretly found him and taught him the martial art of Arhat Fist so that he wouldn\'t be bullied after descending the mountain. This kindness, too, Jiang Liu remembered well.
Moreover, the vows made between him and Gaoyang to marry after the Incense Offering Ceremony and have many children—how could Jiang Liu possibly run away from this commitment?
Although Gaoyang\'s spirit was strong, the gap in strength could not be bridged by mere conviction.
Facing Gaoyang\'s attack, the Three-Eyed Crow merely flapped its wings, and with its movement, blue Wind Blades appeared, not only severing Gaoyang\'s whip into several pieces but even throwing Gaoyang backwards, leaving her with several deep wounds that bled profusely.
Jiang Liu moved quickly to catch Gaoyang and looked at the cuts inflicted by the Wind Blades with great distress, which also ignited a raging anger within him.
"Jiang Liu, you, you must run. We are no match for this Demon General. A Demon General is a demon creature that has learned spells, not something ordinary martial skills can withstand…" In Jiang Liu\'s arms, seeing that he hadn\'t taken the opportunity to escape, desperation filled Gaoyang\'s expression.
In response to Gaoyang\'s words, Jiang Liu remained silent, simply pulling out a blood-red potion from within her embrace and pouring it into her mouth.
This was from the time they had killed the Wolf Demon, which had dropped a Blood Bottle that Gaoyang had kept. Now, as she was severely injured and her health bar was only about a quarter full, Jiang Liu gave it to her to drink.
"It\'s, it\'s useless…" As the potion was consumed, although her injuries were rapidly healing, the Demon General was still present, and drinking the potion seemed completely ineffective.
"It seems that today, dying together as lovers doesn\'t seem so bad," Jiang Liu whispered while looking into Gaoyang\'s anxious eyes.
As he spoke, Jiang Liu stood up and rushed towards the Three-Eyed Crow.
"Courageous indeed, your brain must taste the best!" Watching Jiang Liu charge over, the Three-Eyed Crow cawed loudly, its voice grating.
As it spoke, the crow\'s wings vibrated.
Although they were merely small wings, as it moved, they stirred up a violent wind. These winds compressed, forming several huge Wind Blades.
"Silencing Zen!" Watching the Three-Eyed Crow\'s movements, Jiang Liu shouted inwardly and pointed at the crow.
The Silencing Zen skill activated, and the silencing effect instantly caused the gathered Wind Blades to dissipate into nothing.
"What!? How is that possible!? Just a minor Qi Refinement Realm youngster…" The Three-Eyed Crow cried out in disbelief, seeing its spell disappear without a trace.
Capitalizing on the moment the Three-Eyed Crow was stunned, Jiang Liu charged to its front and then threw a fierce punch at the crow.
Although it possessed the strength of a Demon General, the Three-Eyed Crow was not large in size; otherwise, it wouldn\'t have been possible to infiltrate and control a human body.
With a loud thud, Jiang Liu\'s fist solidly landed on the Three-Eyed Crow\'s body, and then Jiang Liu felt as if his punch had struck something incredibly tough.
A rock could be shattered, but the crow in front of him seemed utterly unharmed.
At the same time, Jiang Liu also noticed that the health bar above the Three-Eyed Crow\'s head had slightly moved; it looked to be about 60% full.
It wasn\'t that Jiang Liu\'s punch had reduced the Three-Eyed Crow\'s health bar to 60%, but rather that the Three-Eyed Crow\'s health bar had already been around 60% to begin with.
This also indicated that the Three-Eyed Crow had been in a wounded state from the start.
As for Jiang Liu\'s attack? It seemed to have done no significant damage to the creature.
"Interesting ability, but too weak..." Despite being punched by Jiang Liu, the Three-Eyed Crow appeared completely unscathed and spoke in a shrill, piercing voice.
As it finished speaking, a strong gust of wind hit him head-on, and Jiang Liu felt like he had been struck by a high-speed train.
The world spun around him. He fell to the ground, his body aching all over, feeling as if his skeleton had come apart. He struggled to stand up, but failed.
And his health bar instantaneously dropped to about 10%.
Strong. The strength of a Demon General was truly terrifying.
Even a wounded Demon General had almost instantly defeated him!
"Gaga, your ability is quite magical. Then let me start by eating your brain!" Flying up, the Three-Eyed Crow, with a greedy look in its eyes, focused on Jiang Liu and swooped down toward him.
It was a strange feeling. Although the Three-Eyed Crow looked no bigger than a palm, as it swooped down, Jiang Liu felt as if a massive beast was descending.
He felt like he had become an incredibly tiny insect.
With only 10% of his health remaining, if this hit were to land, Jiang Liu would surely die.
Whoosh!
Just then, a figure suddenly rushed out and stood in front of Jiang Liu.
"Princess Gaoyang!" Seeing the girl who had dashed out, Jiang Liu was shocked.
The fatal attack landed on Princess Gaoyang, making Jiang Liu\'s eyes widen in horror.
However, in his current state, Jiang Liu was already struggling to protect himself and could only watch helplessly at this scene.
Just as it seemed that Princess Gaoyang\'s head was about to be pecked open by the Three-Eyed Crow, suddenly, a faint sound of dragons chanting filled the air, and a strand of golden light emerged from inside Princess Gaoyang, forming a dragon-shaped protective shield around her.
The seemingly thin light successfully blocked the Three-Eyed Crow\'s attack.
"What is this? Young Dragon Talisman? You are from the Li family!" Its attack thwarted, the Three-Eyed Crow shrieked, as if it had seen something unbelievable.
In the midst of its screeching, the Three-Eyed Crow turned and fled hastily into the distance, decisively choosing to escape.
"Young Dragon Talisman? What is that? A person from the Li family? Isn\'t Princess Gaoyang\'s surname Gaoyang?"
Watching the previously invincible Three-Eyed Crow suddenly turn and flee, and hearing its screaming words, Jiang Liu felt a deep sense of bewilderment.
Swish!
Just then, in the night sky, a dazzling sword light swept across like a falling star, distinctly visible against the dark.
Although it was still far away, it reached Jinshan Temple in the blink of an eye.
A screeching cry resounded as the Three-Eyed Crow, attempting to escape mid-air, was instantly killed by this sword strike, its health bar also instantly emptied.
As the sword light retracted, it landed in front of Jiang Liu and Princess Gaoyang; it was an elderly man with a vigorous spirit, carrying a long sword on his back.
"Greetings, Princess Gaoyang!" The elder bowed slightly.