Chapter 132: The Demon Hunter

"Where did you get the weapon in your hand?" Bai Wan'er asked, her eyes red, her tightly clenched fingers turning pale, as she stared intently at the ink blade held in Dao's hand.

Dao watched Bai Wan'er walking slowly toward him, feeling somewhat puzzled. Could it be that she recognized or had previously seen the ink blade?

This was the first time Dao carefully observed Bai Wan'er's appearance. Her fair skin was delicate, with a natural coldness, yet the trace of resilience between her brows resembled a plum blossom blooming in winter—solitary, stunning, and alluring.

"Hoo~."

Suddenly, Bai Wan'er's advancing steps came to an abrupt halt. A powerful force of the earth attribute erupted in the air, and the ink blade in Dao's hand seemed stimulated, frantically radiating ink-colored threads outward, which converged toward the space in front of Bai Wan'er.

Sensing a fierce aura suddenly manifest in the air and strike toward her waist while she was walking toward Dao, Bai Wan'er instantly condensed the earth attribute power across her body's surface, and a set of defensive armor materialized around her.

At that moment, a streak of white blade light appeared out of thin air before her. The earth attribute power acted like fragile wooden boards, offering only a slight hindrance without providing much actual protection.

Bai Wan'er's expression changed drastically. She never expected that the earth attribute armor she usually relied on for survival would be so fragile. Not far away, shadows flickered continuously, hurtling frantically toward her position.

Without the protection of the earth attribute armor, Bai Wan'er would wither away in a matter of moments. Through her clothes, she could already feel the fierce aura closing in on her waist. Having wasted the optimal dodging time earlier just to condense the earth attribute armor, was she going to perish right here? Slowly, Bai Wan'er closed her eyes, giving up resistance as scenes of her and Xiao Ou continuously flashed through her mind.

"In every afterlife, I will still wait for you." All her yearning and all her reluctance ultimately transformed into a single plea for the next life.

Feeling the pain already reaching her waist, Bai Wan'er frowned. She knew that everything was about to end.

Meanwhile, Dao was already filled with utter astonishment. The ink blade in his hand trembled violently, and more and more ink-colored threads appeared in the sky. In a sudden flash, the appearing ink threads converged toward the space in front of Bai Wan'er.

Only then could everyone finally see the monster attacking Bai Wan'er. Like a fishing net in the invisible air, the ink threads captured a creature resembling a mutated praying mantis beast.

The monster was entirely wrapped in ink-colored threads, making it look as though it had donned an ink-colored coat. The enveloped monster attempted to continue its attack on Bai Wan'er, but the ink threads tightened like a restrictive hoop, contracting fiercely.

With a crisp snap, the entire mantis monster was crushed into countless fragments by the ink-thread coat, scattering across the ground.

Seeing this scene, the figures darting through the air changed direction and concealed themselves among the trees once more. Bai Wan'er reopened her closed eyes. Her clothes at the waist had been slashed open, blood was oozing out, and the power of the earth attribute enveloped the wound.

"It didn't die." Lang Xin's expression was exceptionally solemn, carrying an unmistakable sense of helplessness. Even after being sliced into countless fragments, it still didn't die? Could it really be as the people of Zixing Academy said—that four-dimensional creatures cannot be killed?

The monster that had just appeared continuously circled around them before disappearing, only to materialize directly once again. Had it not been for the blade light flashing through the air, perhaps no one would have detected the arrival of the attack.

If it worked this time, what about the next? Lang Xin glanced at Hui Xin, a trace of fear inadvertently stirring in his heart.

"What should we do?" The sudden, unexplainable attack instantly made the surrounding atmosphere exceptionally tense. Tian Xin, Bai Wan'er, and everyone else looked at Dao, waiting for an answer.

"Run."

Dao's ink blade returned to normal. Without a shred of hesitation or doubt, he uttered a course of action that these proud sons and daughters of heaven had never previously considered.

"Demons cannot be slain—at least, not by me right now; perhaps my master could. You all saw the attack just now; they can only be perceived, and we can only counterattack, at the very exact moment they strike. The demons might be right beside us right now, but unless they launch an assault, we have no idea where they are."

"Then where are they?" Hui Xin asked aloud.

"Nodal space, what you call the sub-four-dimensional space. The barriers of the fourth dimension can only be broken by high-level four-dimensional creatures like Yadamu. These low-level demons cannot return to the fourth-dimensional space, so they can only hide in the nodal space and attack us."

Dao never expected to encounter the kind of demons his master had never crossed paths with in his entire life, nor did he expect these demons to be four-dimensional creatures, proving to be so thorny and difficult to deal with.

"Only kings can briefly enter the sub-four-dimensional space, and they can cross the entire space in an instant. Running away anywhere is useless." There was only a single-word difference between the sub-four-dimensional space and the four-dimensional space, yet it was far beyond anything they could get involved with. Tian Xin knew this all too well.

"There." At this moment, Dao's eyes became pitch-black, matching the exact color of the ink-colored threads emitted by the blade.

In Dao's vision, the ink-colored fine threads emitted by the ink blade were no longer as chaotic as when the four-dimensional creatures had first appeared; instead, they began to retract back into the blade. When they emerged from the blade once more, they transformed into a single, extremely thin thread.

This thread slowly elongated, extending deep into the forest as if guiding the way for them.

"This way." The threads emitted by the ink blade were exceptionally clear within his ink-black pupils. Dao walked entirely in the front, with the others closely following behind him.

"Careful." Just a few steps in, the ink blade in Dao's hand slashed straight up into the air. None of them saw anything appear in the air, but the sound of metal clashing was piercingly harsh.

Tian Xin glanced back at Lang Xin. The angular pupils in Lang Xin's eyes were operating at maximum capacity; his blood-red eyes looked like pupils bleeding tears, and crimson droplets continuously slid down the corners of his eyes.

"There's nothing." Lang Xin found nothing in his vision. Before Dao's ink blade slashed into the empty air, he hadn't detected a thing. Lang Xin knew that his angular pupils were not yet fully developed—or rather, they were only just beginning to show their edge.

If his angular pupil vision could reach the level of the first-generation prophets, Lang Xin was certain he would be able to spot the four-dimensional creatures hiding in the sub-four-dimensional space.

Lang Xin understood Tian Xin's intention. Tian Xin did not want to place their fate in Dao's hands; after all, those who are not of our race must surely have different minds. If several four-dimensional monsters launched a sudden ambush, would Dao choose to protect humans or the Terran race? The outcome went without saying.

The route Dao led them on had no path to speak of. He would turn left for a moment, turn right the next, and occasionally retrace his steps by a few paces, looking as though he were choosing the path entirely on a whim.

However, although the route Dao led frequently encountered attacks from four-dimensional creatures, no more than three ever attacked simultaneously. Thus, while the atmosphere remained tense, no casualties had occurred.

Ye Bai tightly gripped the Jinghong Blade in his hand. That had been one of the rare instances where two four-dimensional creatures launched an attack, and one of those strikes had been aimed directly at him.

Dao's attention had been drawn away by the first four-dimensional creature's assault, and by the time the ink blade indicated the presence of a second four-dimensional creature, it was already too late to warn Ye Bai.

At that moment, Ye Bai felt absolutely nothing. It wasn't until the attack reached within ten centimeters of his throat that the Jinghong Blade in his hand went wild, frantically draining the attribute power from his body. With a loud boom, Ye Bai's consciousness felt as though it had been struck by a bomb.

When his consciousness finally recovered, there were fewer than five battle-mark inscriptions left slowly dissipating on the Jinghong Blade.

"Alright, we've arrived." The ink-colored threads in Dao's eyes had vanished. He had no idea where this place was, nor did he know whether four-dimensional creatures still existed here, but he had no choice except to trust the ink blade and trust his master.

As soon as they arrived, before Dao could even relax his intensely concentrated focus, Bai Wan'er walked over.

"Where did you get the weapon in your hand?" Posing the exact same question, Bai Wan'er had nearly paid with her life just to get the answer, and now she was asking it once again.

Dao, with his pitch-black eyes, looked at the crazed woman before him. He could not understand why Bai Wan'er was so obsessed with this matter, nor had he ever heard his master mention having any family members.

Dao stared at Bai Wan'er, and Bai Wan'er's icy pupils gazed back at Dao. It was only then that Dao noticed a faint resemblance between the contours of Bai Wan'er's brows and those of his master.

In Dao's memory, his master had always been unkempt, with stubble permanently gracing his slightly darkened chin. The sorrow and regret etched between his brows were things Dao still remembered vividly to this day.

"It was left to me by my master." Dao harbored a vague guess in his heart, and the look he gave Bai Wan'er shifted slightly.

"And who is your master?" Not getting the answer she desired, Bai Wan'er's tone grew increasingly questioning.

Dao shook his head and said, "We have no names. Neither my master nor I had one. My master only told me that we were born in troubled times, and we slay demons between the realms of hell. We are Demon Hunters."

Dao's words were calm and light, yet carried a trace of heroic spirit and a sense of pride.

"Demon Hunters?" Questions arose once more in Ye Bai's mind. He knew of mutated beasts, but he had never heard of demons.

"It really is him." Upon hearing that title, the heart that Bai Wan'er had been holding up finally settled, though her face was filled with a desolate expression.

"Then where is he now?" A name? What need did Demon Hunters have for names? Perhaps even the name "Dao" was something he had casually chosen for himself.

"He's dead."

Demon Hunters taught each other nothing of the worldly ways; they only cultivated resolve and state of mind. His master had told him not to grieve for him, because their profession was destined for loneliness from the very moment of its birth. For thousands of years, only a single Demon Hunter would appear in each generation. He did not know if there were fiends and demons in this world, but when the ink blade in his hand lit up once more, it would mark the beginning of a Demon Hunter's solitary battle.

"Dead? How is that possible?" Bai Wan'er's eyes reddened, finding it hard to believe what Dao was saying.

"Before leaving, my master handed the ink blade to me and told me that if he didn't return after half a year, I shouldn't wait for him anymore—he would never come back. If there was ever a chance in the future, I should go to the Abyss of Heavenly Demons to find his corpse and bring it to a family surnamed Bai at the guard station in the northeast corner of Muyang City."

Upon hearing the mention of a family surnamed Bai, Bai Wan'er felt a roaring explosion in her head. Her entire body stumbled back a few steps as she muttered, "How can that be? Impossible... Mother said Father would come back."