Chapter 37
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Chapter 37: A Pack of Mad Dogs
Inside, Zhang Yang was in closed-door training, while Ling Yue and Xu Li were also focused on their cultivation.
Outside, the atmosphere was tense and oppressive.
Shang Zhu, Tang Zhuo, Chen Mo, and over a hundred members of the Divine Forbidden Gate rushed out.
At the gate, more than a hundred individuals stood, while outside, four to five hundred more surrounded the Divine Forbidden Gate, totaling two to three thousand people.
In the sky, nearly two hundred purple-eyed spirit birds hovered, each carrying a rider on its back.
Leading the group was a young man who called himself Lu Fang. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down from above.
Shang Zhu’s expression was grim. Not only was the Divine Forbidden Gate heavily surrounded, but he had just learned that the person he had been negotiating with from the Demon Slayer Team was merely an ordinary member, not the one in charge. The real authority rested with Lu Fang.
In other words, Lu Fang had never taken him or the Divine Forbidden Gate seriously.
Faced with such an overwhelming force, Shang Zhu had no choice but to suppress his anger and try to explain himself.
However, Lu Fang dismissively waved his hand and interrupted him. “The reason I’m speaking to you isn’t to negotiate. It’s to inform you.”
“From this moment on, your Divine Forbidden Gate must fully cooperate with the Demon Slayer Team in hunting down Zhang Yang.”
His arrogant attitude made Shang Zhu’s blood boil.
The members of the Divine Forbidden Gate also wore furious expressions—this was simply too much. They were a branch of the Divine Forbidden Gate, second only to the forces with saints in the Southern Region.
Shang Zhu took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. “Although we are a branch of the Divine Forbidden Gate, everything we do falls under the jurisdiction of the headquarters. Regular inspections are conducted, and we maintain a close relationship with them. Our actions represent the headquarters, so you must understand that the rules of the Divine Forbidden Gate state that we do not interfere in any conflicts in the Southern Region. We cannot comply with this request.”
Lu Fang sneered. “You are Shang Zhu, right? Old Shang, are you hearing me wrong? I said this is an order, not a discussion. You must cooperate. If you refuse, you will be seen as colluding with Zhang Yang and treated as an accomplice of the world-destroying demon.”
Shang Zhu could no longer hold back his anger. He shouted furiously, “Do you think I’m so easily intimidated?”
Lu Fang grinned menacingly. “Very well. The Demon Slayer Team needs to establish its authority by taking down a major sect. Let’s use your Divine Forbidden Gate to set an example!” He raised his voice and commanded, “Attack!”
A large number of archers emerged atop the surrounding walls.
Lu Fang coldly declared, “The Divine Forbidden Gate has defied the orders of the Demon Slayer Team and colluded with the world-destroying demon, Zhang Yang. They shall be punished!”
The moment he uttered the final word, punished, all the archers loosed their arrows.
This was something Shang Zhu had never anticipated. In fact, no one from the Divine Forbidden Gate could have expected that the Demon Slayer Team would attempt to annihilate them simply for refusing to cooperate.
Caught off guard, sixty or seventy members were struck down instantly.
Some had been unprepared, while the archers had already been given precise instructions, each targeting a specific individual.
This allowed the first volley to be devastatingly effective.
Shang Zhu’s eyes turned bloodshot with fury. He roared, forming a series of intricate hand gestures before pressing his palms forward.
Buzz!
A massive curtain of light, woven from radiant energy, materialized before them.
The second wave of arrows struck but was completely blocked, though the light curtain shattered upon impact.
Without hesitation, Shang Zhu, Tang Zhuo, and the others joined forces to cast another layer of forbidden laws.
The second light curtain was even larger and more solid.
Lu Fang simply watched with a cold smile.
In the next moment, a man standing beside him stretched out his hand and released a single arrow.
Whoosh!
As it flew, light converged at its tip.
“Not good! It’s a Forbidden-Breaking Arrow!” Shang Zhu’s expression changed drastically. He shouted, “Retreat to the palace! Activate the protective forbidden laws!”
He quickly executed over thirty hand seals before slamming his hands onto the ground.
Crack!
The earlier light curtain shattered as if it were made of paper before the unstoppable Forbidden-Breaking Arrow.
The arrow barely missed Shang Zhu’s head as it whizzed past.
Boom!
Shang Zhu struck the ground, and boundless light erupted from beneath him, activating the ground’s forbidden laws. Arrows materialized at each node, reflecting the attack back toward the enemy.
At the same time, the archers who had followed the Forbidden-Breaking Arrow through the shattered defensive barrier loosed their third volley.
Both sides exchanged fire.
Puff, puff, puff…
In an instant, blood sprayed through the air, and cries of agony echoed across the battlefield.
Another ten to twenty members of the Divine Forbidden Gate were struck down, slowing their retreat toward the palace.
The archers on the walls suffered heavy casualties as well, unable to escape the counterattack.
Lu Fang remained unfazed, his expression cold and indifferent, as if the deaths around him meant nothing. He caught sight of Shang Zhu, the last to retreat, and coldly ordered, “Kill him.”
Behind him, ten purple-eyed spirit birds soared into the sky in a tight formation, each carrying a warrior. Together, they held a massive beast bone bow. One of them gripped the bowstring while pressing a foot against the bow’s back, pulling it taut until fully drawn. The extra-long beast bone arrow was aimed directly at Shang Zhu.
The one drawing the bow let out a chilling laugh. “Shang Zhu, it’s me, Ning Feixiao! Today, I will kill you!”
His voice rang out as he released the string.
Buzz!
The bowstring snapped back with immense force. The ten warriors wielding the bow coughed up blood from the recoil, nearly falling out of the sky.
Sizzle!
The terrifying beast bone arrow tore through the air like a black curtain slicing the heavens apart, hurtling straight toward Shang Zhu.
Shang Zhu, who had been retreating to the palace, felt a sudden and overwhelming sense of impending death.
In this critical moment, he locked his thumbs together, pressed his index fingertips together, and thrust his hands forward.
From his center, boundless light surged outward, gathering at his fingertips before erupting into a brilliant beam that shot toward the incoming beast bone arrow.
Bang!
The light exploded upon impact.
Yet, no matter how powerful Shang Zhu was, within this Vast Forest, he remained only at Level Six of the Returning to Origin Realm. His strength had limits.
The beast bone arrow tore through his attack as though it had met no resistance at all, continuing its deadly trajectory—straight for Shang Zhu’s face.
“Lord of the Gate!”
Tang Zhuo, Chen Mo, and the others cried out in panic, their hearts pounding in terror. But the arrow was too fast—they couldn’t react in time.
Shang Zhu shut his eyes, bracing himself for death.
But the pain never came.
He hesitantly opened his eyes and saw the beast bone arrow suspended right before his nose. Its razor-sharp tip was so close that he could feel its chilling aura, yet it hadn’t moved forward even a fraction.
Following the length of the arrow, his gaze landed on the hand that gripped it firmly.
With a stiff neck, he turned to see the figure standing beside him.
It was none other than Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang looked at him calmly and said, “Shang Zhu, they’re after me. Leave this to me.”
Shang Zhu’s mind went blank as he stumbled back toward the palace, still overwhelmed by fear and disbelief. How could that beast bone arrow—something he had thought to be unbreakable—be caught so effortlessly?
And how had Zhang Yang gotten out? Hadn’t he sealed off the palace with forbidden laws?
Zhang Yang examined the beast bone arrow, then gripped it with both hands.
Crack!
The arrow snapped in half, and he tossed the pieces aside like discarded trash.
The sight left both the members of the Divine Forbidden Gate and the Demon Slayer Team horrified.
Brushing the dust from his hands, Zhang Yang calmly said, “This is a trap meant for me, isn’t it?”
Lu Fang sneered. “So, you actually figured it out. Yes, this was all a trap for you. We arrived yesterday and learned that the Divine Forbidden Gate had a sealed treasure that couldn’t be opened. I had someone bribe a member of the sect to suggest to Shang Zhu that you be invited to break the seal. That way, we could set up an ambush to kill you. Just as I predicted, your arrogance led you here with only two companions. You walked straight into my trap!”
The members of the Divine Forbidden Gate seethed with rage.
So they had been manipulated all along.
Zhang Yang’s expression darkened. “Since you set up the Divine Forbidden Gate, then they are not involved. They are innocent.”
“Innocent?” Lu Fang burst into laughter. “Hahaha! They disobeyed the orders of the Demon Slayer Team. That alone is an unforgivable crime. They deserve to die!”
Now, even Zhang Yang was furious.
“They are innocent! You used them in your trap, and now you want to kill them just because they didn’t follow your orders?” he shouted.
Lu Fang smirked. “That’s correct.”
Zhang Yang’s fury surged. “This is the logic of a mad dog! And you call that correct? You Demon Slayer Team members are nothing but a pack of inhumane beasts!”
Lu Fang hissed, “Disobedience means death. They must die, and so must you!”
