World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 42: Evil-Banishing Rooster Blood

The alchemy pill shattered at the back of his throat, nearly choking Wang Sheng. However, as soon as his true essence enveloped it, the pill instantly dissolved and turned into a sweet, cool liquid that slid down his esophagus.

Every pore on Wang Sheng's body opened up, and he felt a surge of energy course through him. However, he had no time to savor his first experience of consuming an alchemy pill.

Sword in hand, Wang Sheng stepped forward and dashed toward the fierce spirit like a shooting star chasing the moon.

The fierce spirit leaped once more, already closing in on the group of armed policemen. It spread open its two massive arms, covered in reverse-facing spikes, and slammed them down toward the two officers all the way at the back!

"Scatter! Scatter!" Fu Ai roared with all his might. Despite having served as a police officer for many years and weathered numerous dangerous situations, this was the first time he had ever felt so powerless.

Brimming with hot-blooded vigor, the young officers instinctively stopped to fire at the monster. However, Fu Ai immediately grabbed them by the collar and forcefully yanked them back.

"I said fall back!"

The armed policemen had undergone systematic military training and had stronger mental resilience than ordinary people. Still, witnessing a fierce spirit firsthand overwhelmed them.

Several were already panicking, their minds thrown into disarray. They instinctively scattered to the sides, with some unable to resist opening fire again. However, the looming threat made their guns seem utterly feeble.

Fortunately, Wang Sheng waited for the fierce spirit to reach the apex of its leap before charging in from the side. Otherwise, stray bullets could have hit him.

Noticing Wang Sheng moving in from the flank, Fu Ai quickly reached a decision. Now, he had no choice but to trust Wang Sheng—the young Daoist priest who had been fighting the monster before they had even arrived.

"Hold your fire and stop drawing the monster's attention! Retreat immediately!"

Right after, a person dashed past Fu Ai, charging straight toward the fierce spirit.

Zhou Yinglong, whom the cops had just been aiming at, took a few steps forward. Standing in front of the two cops, he faced the oncoming fierce spirit.

By the power of True Martial, dispel demons!

When facing violent criminals, armed policemen would step forward to shield civilians—it was their sworn duty. Similarly, when facing malevolent ghosts and fierce spirits, cultivators were meant to stand before the defenseless. This was the precept passed down by the Daoist sects.

Zhou Yinglong channeled all his true essence, preparing to take on the spirit's attack head-on. As he braced himself and the spirit lunged at him, he shouted, "Bullets are useless against that creature! Secure the perimeter and keep civilians away!"

Right after, the monster's sharp and deadly claws came crashing down on his head! He forcibly gathered all his true essence into his longsword, making it tremble in his grip. He then swung his sword diagonally upward with all his strength!

Heaven's Gate Shatterer!

As the fierce spirit's razor-sharp claws sliced through the air, a wave of chilling, sinister aura rushed toward Zhou Yinglong. At such a close distance, he could vaguely make out a figure hidden within the spirit's form.

He could feel an instinctive, bone-deep fear rising from within him. Fortunately, Wang Sheng arrived from the side just in time.

As Zhou Yinglong's longsword clashed with the fierce spirit's arm, a dazzling burst of sword radiance struck the spirit squarely in the face. Having channeled as much true essence into Abyss Listener as it could take, Wang Sheng consumed a significant amount of true essence in just one attack.

The massive spirit tilted to the side just enough to prevent Zhou Yinglong from taking the full brunt of the attack. However, he still felt the tremendous impact and an eerie aura coursing through his sword.

His legs buckled, and a metallic taste welled up in his throat, but he gritted his teeth and persevered. Refusing to fall to his knees, he managed to take half a step back, dissipating some of the impact.

Wang Sheng chanted another exorcism incantation, infusing Abyss Listener with pure true essence. He then cut through the fierce spirit's tough exterior, making it shift its entire focus and begin attacking him relentlessly.

Zhou Yinglong immediately retreated.

"Fall back! Leave this to my junior brother!" he called out to the others as he ran. Fresh blood had stained his teeth, making the sight rather unsettling. "Don't get in his way—ugh..."

The dozen or so armed policemen had already moved back in unison, withdrawing over twenty meters away. They had even taken Li Shishan with them.

Well, at least their retreat was coordinated.

Zhou Yinglong worriedly glanced at Wang Sheng. Noticing that his junior brother had once again trapped the fierce spirit within a sword formation, he finally sighed in relief and stepped back further.

The armed policemen looked at Zhou Yinglong with newfound respect. A few of the young officers blushed slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed. The fact that he had been the first to rush in and block the monster's attack was enough to earn their admiration.

However, while they looked at Zhou Yinglong with respect, they looked at Wang Sheng... with awe.

Seeing Zhou Yinglong return, Fu Ai habitually pulled out a cigarette and offered it to him. Though his voice still trembled, he then remarked, "Daoist Master, I apologize for our rudeness earlier. This is the first time we've encountered something like that. What exactly... is it?"

"A fierce spirit," Zhou Yinglong answered.

Though he only had a rough understanding of it himself, he maintained an air of profound wisdom. No matter what he said now, they would believe him. After a brief moment of thought, he clasped his hands in a formal Daoist salute and gave them a quick and concise summary.

"My junior brother and I are Daoist cultivators from the Wudang Mountains. Yesterday, Patron Li entrusted us to perform an exorcism here.

"During the ritual, we discovered an unusual number of wandering spirits in this area, leading us to believe that someone had been raising and releasing spirits here in secret to harm Patron Li's family.

"We then devised a plan to catch the culprit. While our martial uncle returned to the Wudang Mountains to request reinforcements, we set up an ambush outside.

"As we had expected, we encountered the culprit behind the ghost attacks—a security guard of Patron Li's household. He attempted to kill Patron Li, but we intervened, which brings us to here."

Beside him, Li Shishan nodded. "That's right! Daoist Zhou is telling the truth."

Fu Ai rubbed his face for a moment and then glanced at the fierce battle still underway in the distance. He signaled his team to retreat even further, backing up all the way to the main gates.

Then, he made a phone call. After speaking in a hushed tone for a few moments, he turned back to Zhou Yinglong.

"Please repeat everything you just said."

Zhou Yinglong recounted the story again. Li Shishan chimed in once more, vouching for its authenticity. "I can confirm everything! It's all true!"

The call fell silent for a moment before they heard a voice laced with disbelief.

"Are you all drunk? Old Fu, you're a senior officer—don't let your imagination run wild."

"When have I ever misled you, Chief Zhan?" Fu Ai snapped. "I'm at Li Shishan's residence right now—he's a well-known local businessman. There really are Daoist priests performing an exorcism here. I'm telling you, it's real! The video I'm about to send isn't some internet hoax! Just start a video call and see for yourself!"

Fu Ai loaded his pistol in frustration, held up his phone, and ran outside. On the screen, a middle-aged man wearing a jacket appeared.

Not long after, Fu Ai focused the camera at the fierce battle between Wang Sheng and the fierce spirit. Nevertheless, the chief of police remained remarkably composed. He took a sharp breath and paced back and forth in his living room.

The nearly retired deputy chief of police muttered his disbelief under his breath.

—I didn't expect this to be real. No wonder the higher-ups kept emphasizing it during the meetings...

The fierce spirit twisted its head and glared at Fu Ai, making him step back.

Wang Sheng launched a fierce assault and chanted his incantations even louder. He also unleashed more spiritual consciousness, instantly recapturing the fierce spirit's attention.

Officer Fu felt a surge of frustration. "Deputy Chief Zhan, did you already know about the existence of these things?"

Instead of replying, the deputy chief of police authoritatively issued orders.

—Control the situation and make sure the news does not spread. I'll just contact the related departments, then I'll head over to handle this. Also, do everything in your power to assist those two Daoist masters, but your top priority is to keep the public from panicking! If word about this gets out, I'll come after you first, Old Fu!

"Yes, sir!" Fu Ai responded firmly.

After ending the call, his brow furrowed deeply. Growing increasingly troubled, he lit another cigarette and watched the intense battle between Wang Sheng and the fierce spirit.

In this peaceful and orderly era, how did the world suddenly become infested with demons and spirits?

Fu Ai sighed again and began making arrangements.

"All units, check your weapons and stay alert! No one is allowed to take photos or videos except through your body cams! You two, make sure the Li family stays put! Support will arrive soon. Do we have anything with high firepower in the vehicles?"

"We only brought our standard-issue firearms as per regulations, sir. We don't even have that many spare rounds."

Fu Ai was speechless. They had already learned that their rifles were completely useless against the spirit. How were they supposed to assist?

At that moment, Zhou Yinglong suddenly asked, "Can you help us find something with strong yang energy?"

"Like what, exactly?" Fu Ai immediately asked.

Before Zhou Yinglong could answer, a young armed policeman hesitantly answered, "Black dog blood, maybe?"

Zhou Yinglong shook his head. "Black dog blood can suppress ghosts and dispel evil, but it is still a yin-aligned substance. It might end up affecting my junior brother as well."

"What should we look for, then?"

Recalling some old tales, Li Shishan couldn't help but suggest, "Male virgin's urine?"

The young policemen's faces immediately turned red, but with a strong sense of duty, they still stood up. "Use ours, Captain Fu!"

Fu Ai and Zhou Yinglong's foreheads were instantly covered in metaphorical black lines as this thought crossed their minds[1], is it really this difficult for cops to find partners these days? That shouldn't be the case.

The Wudang disciple cleared his throat. "Ahem. That would have to come from a boy who's under twelve years old and has never engaged in sexual activity. Even if none of you have been with a partner, surely you've at least... uh... gone solo?"

The young officers' expressions collectively darkened as they glared at Zhou Yinglong.

Zhou Yinglong recalled the exorcism methods that his master had taught him and pondered briefly, wondering if there were any suitable substitutes.

He then said, "Use rooster blood, preferably black-bone chicken blood."

Fu Ai, who always focused on efficiency, immediately started a search for rooster blood.

Fortunately, the Li family happened to have two live roosters. It was an elderly housekeeper's idea, based on a hometown tradition that rooster blood could ward off evil.

Though they never got the chance to butcher the chickens before the Wudang group arrived, they at least lived long enough to be put to good use.

The armed policemen were not skilled in exorcism, but they were certainly efficient at slaughtering chickens.

In less than two minutes, two burly officers ran back, each holding a rooster that had been swiftly slit at the throat. The blood had been carefully collected into plastic bags, with barely a drop wasted.

"What do we do next?" one of them asked.

Zhou Yinglong paced back and forth as he pondered.

Wang Sheng was still locked in fierce combat with the spirit. Though Zhou Yinglong had seniority, he wasn't strong enough to assist in direct combat; he had to come up with other means to provide support.

While Zhou Yinglong was still struggling to come up with a plan, a young policeman clapped his hands excitedly and shouted, "Use balloons! Fill balloons with rooster blood, then throw them at the ghost!"

As the saying went, "Three lowly cobblers with their wits combined can equal the mastermind Zhuge Liang."

"Find balloons! Go!" Fu Ai immediately ordered. "If you can't find any, use plastic bags!"

Before long, several rooster blood packets, neatly wrapped in plastic, were prepared. Over ten policemen, each carrying firearms, then followed behind Zhou Yinglong, who charged toward the battlefield at full speed.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Wang Sheng couldn't help but glance at them a few times.

What are they up to now?

"Junior brother! We're about to throw rooster blood at it!" Zhou Yinglong shouted.

Wang Sheng was rendered speechless.

1. The phrase "额头挂满黑线"(foreheads were instantly covered in metaphorical black lines) is a common Chinese internet/novel trope to depict someone's visible frustration, speechlessness, or exasperation ☜