As soon as the demons were within the vicinity, Li Fei'er summoned her shikigamis back to preserve her spiritual powers and erected the barrier at once. She could only hope that Shen Minyao and Qin Zhi would be able to defeat those demons without getting injured.

The three of them waited outside the barrier and watched as the demons tried to break the barrier, only for the demons to be electrified upon contact.

Meanwhile, Shen Minyao and Qin Zhi didn't waste time and eradicated the demons once they were assured that the three humans wouldn't be able to interfere by then. Qin Zhi returned to his original form as a fox demon, with his long pale-blond hair standing out amongst the horde of black.

Shen Minyao remained in her human form and only heightened her speed as she clashed with the other demons. Just like Qin Zhi said earlier, these demons were weak, but because they came as a crowd, they proved to be a handful to deal with.

They were more agitated than the first two that arrived. Their eyes were blazing red and behavior more primal, something that Qin Zhi and Shen Minyao didn't fail to notice. A normal low-level demon would have run away to save themselves if they sensed Qin Zhi's presence, but these demons showed no terror as they attacked the fox demons mindlessly.

It also didn't help that they could sense the same eyes from afar, watching the two of them.

'Whoever it is, I will kill them with my own hands.' Shen Minyao grimaced, a little annoyed that she was being used as a source of entertainment. If she had the same power she had in her past life as a high-level demon, she wouldn't have a hard time locating that insolent being.

'Darn it. So troublesome!' The fox woman cursed inwardly. Still, she continued to kill and slashed her enemies with her blade.

"Ah, she's upset now." The man watching the fox woman laughed to himself and cupped his chin. "She remained the same. So prideful and yet so arrogant. Do you think she's upset because I don't want to meet her yet?"

As expected, his companions remained silent. They stood unmoving behind him as if they didn't care what he was doing to Shen Minyao at all.

"Let's spice up this game and see if they would be able to defeat these demons," the man said and snapped his fingers. "Imperial Consort Su, what would you do now?"

Suddenly, the demons that fell because of Shen Minyao and Qin Zhi's blades emitted a thick black fog from their bodies, forcing the two fox demons to step back from each of them.

"What is it now?" Shen Minyao asked in annoyance before covering her nose in disgust.

"Miasma," Qin Zhi replied. He didn't need to cover his nose and mouth as he had high resistance from any poison and venom, unlike Shen Minyao. He gave a reminder: "Be careful not to inhale it. Your human host wouldn't be able to tolerate it."

"I know," Shen Minyao answered. She would be able to hold her breath for a few minutes, but this also meant that she and Qin Zhi needed to eliminate the demons and stop the poisonous miasma from going outside the barrier.

Only then did she realize the purpose of this scheme towards them. The fox woman's hold on her sword tightened, her eyes narrowing dangerously. The more they killed these demons, the more the miasma in the air would become potent.

If she and Qin Zhi killed these demons with their blades and allowed Li Fei'er to bring down the barrier, the miasma would spread through the surrounding areas, killing innocent humans in the process. This would be a conundrum they needed to solve as soon as possible.

The fox woman sneered. She had enough of this already. She didn't care about the safety of the humans living near the area. Shen Minyao was more than upset; someone had the audacity to taunt her like this?!

She lifted her left hand and summoned a wisp of fox fire, effectively burning alive the demons that were caught by it. Their howls of pain as they rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire on their bodies, filled the area. Alas, it was impossible for any demon to extinguish it unless they were also a fellow fox demon who had the ability to summon fox fire.

Their bodies burned until there was nothing left; be it flesh or bones. The miasma emitting from their ashes were comparatively lower than what their blood produced if they were killed using the fox demons' blades instead.

Seeing that Shen Minyao had effectively lessened the miasma around them by burning the corpses, Qin Zhi cast a spell and electrified the remaining demons until no one remained standing, leaving a thick fog of miasma inside the barrier.

Meanwhile, the three humans waiting outside the front gaze noticed a dark fog inside the barrier Li Fei'er had set up. Sweat trickled along the side of her face when she realized what it was.

"What is that?" Lu Anqi asked. She could see the black fog getting thicker inside the barrier, but she had no idea what it was.

"A miasma. A poisonous one," Li Fei'er replied. She was worried about Shen Minyao and Qin Zhi that were left inside the barrier. Had she known this would happen, she wouldn't agree easily with Qin Zhi's suggestion. Now, it only put him and Shen Minyao at risk by getting them exposed to this miasma.

Of course, as a shaman, Li Fei'er was capable of purifying the place, but that would mean she had to remove the barrier first. However, doing that meant that the miasma would spread around unhindered by anything. Jiang Chen and Lu Anqi might even drop dead the moment they inhaled the miasma.

"What should I do?" She chewed her lower lip, aware of her spiritual powers running out so fast. Using her three shikigamis earlier had already consumed a lot of her strength earlier.

However, if she kept the barrier up, Shen Minyao and Qin Zhi would die from the poisonous miasma.

"Lady Li, you can leave the barrier to me. You can focus on purifying the place instead."

A familiar voice reached Li Fei'er's ears, and she couldn't believe her luck when Mu Qing had arrived just in time to save them from the trouble.

She turned her head, her lips breaking into a wide smile as soon as she saw Mu Qing standing near them.

"Lord Hell, it's been a while!" She greeted him.

Mu Qing only nodded in response before his eyes bored into the thick black miasma that accumulated within the barrier Li Fei'er was currently supporting.

"Let me set another barrier first," he said before casting a spell overhead.

Lu Anqi questioned her boss if he knew this person who suddenly showed up to help them.

Jiang Chen only shrugged. How was he supposed to explain that a demon like Shen Minyao and a shaman like Li Fei'er were involved with a grim reaper like Mu Qing?

"You can see him?" He raised a brow at his young assistant.

Lu Anqi frowned at that. Why would Jiang Chen doubt her now? historical

"Why wouldn't I? Is he a ghost or something?" She frowned at him.

They then lifted their heads as soon as a grayish veil slowly descended around the school grounds. It was visibly larger than the barrier Li Fei'er made, dwarfing it in the process. When it was done, it looked like the whole place was encased in a huge dome instead.

Li Fei'er released a breath she didn't know she was holding upon seeing what Mu Qing had done. She immediately lowered the barrier she made and wondered how Shen Minyao and Qin Zhi were faring inside the dome.

"Shen Minyao is inside?" Mu Qing asked as he noticed the worried expression Li Fei'er had.

Li Fei'er nodded and bit her lip.

"She went inside, along with Mr. Qin, to kill the demons that suddenly appeared in this area. I'm not sure what they were doing here when they didn't come here with us. They asked me to set a barrier to forbid the demons from fleeing around the city, but we didn't expect that they would produce such a powerful miasma."

"Don't worry about her. She can take care of herself," Mu Qing said nonchalantly, but it wasn't enough for Li Fei'er to calm her nerves.

Whether Mu Qing believed in Shen Minyao's abilities or that he just didn't care about her welfare, Li Fei'er wasn't sure.

"You should start purifying the place, Lady Li," Mu Qing reminded her. "While I can assure you that not a hint of miasma would be able to leave this place, I can only hold it for at least ten minutes."

"It's okay, Lord Hell.. It's more than enough for me."