Chapter 27 Cui Zhenghao

The people within Ivory Rock City were not the only ones who heard the warning horns.

At the same time, the loud horn blows spread across the forest, and every worker heard it loud and clear, even if they were currently outside of the city walls. That definitely included Lu Tianzi, Uncle Ye, as well as the other two demons.

"Tch!" the Intermediate Essence Building realm demon clicked his tongue in irritation before shooting his companion an uncertain glance.

Lu Tianzi saw the other demon nod in response, as though they had come to a consensus via voice conveyance.

Without another moment's hesitation, both demons simultaneously threw out their weapons towards Uncle Ye!

Lu Tianzi frowned upon seeing that, and immediately drew out the sabre that was still hanging by his side. This was the sabre that he had taken from the corpse of Nanhong Wuze.

Wielding a sword in his right hand and a sabre in his left, Lu Tianzi drove the Spiritual Essence in his inner world and stepped forth, swinging outwards with both hands!

He had no doubt that the reason why the demons timed their attacks together was to force him to choose one of the two attacks angle to defend. But Lu Tianzi was not intending to act as they wanted.

Instead, he was aiming to defend Uncle Ye from both directions with a single move!

Clang-!

Bang-!

Due to the difference in cultivation realm of their users, the two weapons thrown by the demons suffered completely different fates.

The sabre thrown by the Peak Essence Building realm martial artist was struck to the ground, but the one thrown by the other demon was actually directly blown into pieces!

A rain of metal fragments burst out in all directions, deeply embedding themselves into the surrounding trees. If any of these pieces were to strike a mortal worker, then there was no doubt that it would have pierced right through to emerge from the other end!

The powerful explosion resulted in both demons retreating a good distance, completely shocked by what they were seeing!

"What the hell just happened?" the weaker demon frowned.

"That is… Materialisation of Spiritual Essence!" the other demon did not have a good expression on his face either.

"What? Isn't that something that is only possible for Essence Condensation martial artists to achieve? Didn't you just say that he is at the Peak Essence Building realm?!"

"Don't ask me! I am just as confused as you are right now!" the stronger demon frowned. "Anyway, the warning horns of the city have sounded. Let's get out of here!"

The conversation was done completely through voice conveyance, so Lu Tianzi did not hear any of their conversation. All he saw was the two demons leaping backwards with a frown, hesitating for a moment before finally backing off into the forest once more.

Within moments, they were already well out of sight.

However, Lu Tianzi was not taking any chances. After all, it was far too easy to hide within the dense vegetation of the forest.

While his direct line of vision was blocked by the dense vegetation, Lu Tianzi was still able to follow the duo with his perception.

Lu Tianzi was only able to relax slightly after he was absolutely sure that the two demons, along with the other approaching demons, had left for where they came.

Now that the two demons had left, Uncle Ye was finally able to stop and catch his breath.

Unlike Lu Tianzi and the two demons, Uncle Ye was a mere mortal. Even though he had been getting good exercise by herb picking every day, there was simply no way that he could sprint all the way back to the city walls without pushing way past his physical limits!

But Lu Tianzi did not intend to just stop here and wait while Uncle Ye rested.

Who knew when the demons would return?

"Sorry for the disrespect!" Lu Tianzi picked up Uncle Ye even before waiting for his reply, and started running back to the South Gate.

While Uncle Ye was taken by surprise, he did not struggle on the way back. By now, if he still did not know that Lu Tianzi was far stronger than himself, then he would have lived all those years of his life in vain.

At Lu Tianzi's level, even carrying Uncle Ye would not have slowed him down by much. However, going at his top speed would be far too conspicuous. Just like the demons, he did not wish for the sentries atop the city walls to notice him.

Still, he maintained a decent speed as he cut through the forest, quickly arriving at a spot near to the South Gate before letting Uncle Ye down.

Now that they were this near to Ivory Rock City, Lu Tianzi had relaxed considerably.

When Uncle Ye finally stood with his own two feet once again, he could not help but shoot Lu Tianzi a complicated glance.

Seeing that, Lu Tianzi could only sigh helplessly.

"I know that you must be really confused right now, but I promise that I will tell you everything later. Let us just return to the safety of the city walls for now. Every moment that we are out here is another moment of danger!"

Safety first!

In his state of confusion, Uncle Ye was only able to nod in response. He almost died just a moment ago, so he was definitely not about to reject that suggestion.

Every single worker had headed back right upon hearing the warning horns, and all of them were quickly led through the gate.

However, after their safety was assured, everyone was then ushered into a long line.

The warning horns had already been blown, so it would be nothing but foolishness for the gate master to simply allow everyone into the city.

Carelessness like that might lead to demons infiltrating Ivory Rock City, and the gate master dared not bear responsibility for such a blunder!

Being only at the Intermediate Essence Building realm, the gate master was definitely incapable of managing the situation.

After all, except for their tails, demons had a physique that looked exactly like humans. It would be impossible to rely on the naked eye to discern if each individual was truly human or a demon in disguise.

To solve this problem, he had to specially call in someone from the Military District.

Cui Zhenghao, son of the District Head of the Military District, and Captain of a hundred men. At the age of 120, he had already taken a firm step into the Intermediate Essence Condensation realm, making him one of the most powerful individuals within the city in terms of personal strength!

He might be even older than Elder Huo, but he looked completely different from the latter.

His appearance was that of a man in his thirties, looking even younger than Uncle Ye. His long black hair was tied up into a ponytail that reached down to his back. His toned body was proof of the harsh training that he underwent on a daily basis, and his tall stature was able to easily tower over every single one of the workers gathered here in front of him.

This relatively youthful appearance of Cui Zhenghao's was an effect of having entered the Essence Condensation realm.

After martial artists entered into the Essence Condensation realm, their lifespan would increase by multiple times, able to live for hundreds of years.

This certainly did not mean that they would remain as old men for hundreds of years. Rather, it was their youth period that was extended the most, allowing them to retain their youthful vitality for the majority of the hundreds of years.

Nearing the end of their lifespans, their appearances would then age rapidly within a few years, until they finally passed on.

At the age of 120, Cui Zhenghao was actually still considered as being in his prime!

He was currently seated comfortably under a tent, with his attendant standing right next to him.

One by one, the workers were ushered before him, forced to pass through his discerning perception before they were allowed back into the city.

Of course, this was not a fool proof solution.

If there was a demon who had a high enough cultivation realm that Cui Zhenghao was unable to detect, then the demon would be able to slip through easily.

However, Cui Zhenghao was an Intermediate Essence Condensation realm martial artist!

What were the chances of a demon sneaking past his perception?

Such a demon must have been an individual of relatively high standing, and there were hardly any chances for such an individual to resort to sneaking into enemy territory!

Just like everyone else, Lu Tianzi was ushered to join the line as well, and he was naturally worried about the test that he was about to undergo.

He had a cultivation realm of Peak Essence Building, which was completely unnatural for a worker. If he were unlucky, then his identity might end up being revealed.

But at this moment, that was not even his main concern!

Lu Tianzi might not be a demon, but he possessed Slaughter Essence within him!

Even though no one had been able to detect it up till now, it was also a fact that he had never fallen under the perception of an Essence Condensation realm martial artist until now.

Previously when he had faced Nanhong Wuze, Lu Tianzi was a boundary lower. Despite that, the Slaughter Essence within him had not been discovered. However, that was still within the realm of Essence Building.

An Essence Condensation realm martial artist had a far more powerful perception than that!

If Cui Zhenghao were to really find any bit of Slaughter Essence within him, there was no way that he would let Lu Tianzi off easily.

But it was not as though Lu Tianzi had any other options left.

The guards were already on high alert right now.

Lu Tianzi had no doubt that if he were to turn and run, then he would be immediately subdued by the guards. With Cui Zhenghao present, there was no way that Lu Tianzi would be able to fight his way out of this.

Thus all he could do was to clench his fist and pray that even Cui Zhenghao would not be able to detect the Slaughter Essence within him.

"Next!"

Uncle Ye obediently stepped up when his turn was called.

Cui Zhenghao lazily investigated him with his perception before giving a slight nod.

Seeing his response, his attendant immediately waved Uncle Ye on before calling out once again.

"Next!"

Lu Tianzi managed his facial expression to appear as calm as possible. He then stepping up in front of Cui Zhenghao, with one of his eyes still wrapped crudely with a piece of cloth.

Once again, Cui Zhenghao did not bother saying anything, immediately going ahead with investigating Lu Tianzi with his perception.

However, his response was no longer the same as before.

Instead of the usual nod, Cui Zhenghao frowned and leaned forward in his seat.

His eyes looked straight into Lu Tianzi's, as though he was trying to see through Lu Tianzi's identity with a single glance.

After a few moments of nerve wrecking silence, Cui Zhenghao finally spoke.

"Who are you?"