Chapter 543: Ghostly Night of Demons

Li Ruozhou fell into the dense forest on the mountain peak; raising his eyes, he saw Lv Qingzhu standing under a tree not far away, holding a dim, bean-sized lamp.

Li Ruozhou was surprised in his heart and looked around; the dense forest was completely silent, with no unusual movements. "Miss Qingzhu, why have you brought me to this desolate mountain and wild ridge?"

Lv Qingzhu stood holding the lamp, looked at Li Ruozhou, smiled slightly, and said, "Isn't a desolate mountain and wild ridge a good place to get things done?"

Li Ruozhou's breathing hitched, and his gaze became somewhat fixed.

In this desolate mountain and wild ridge, in the pitch-black dense forest, was the person standing there holding the lamp a ghost or a fairy?

Li Ruozhou did not know if she was a ghost or a fairy; he only knew that the Lv Qingzhu before his eyes was stunningly beautiful.

In this desolate mountain and wild ridge, she stood alone holding a lamp, and the surrounding desolate night added a touch of mystery and temptation to the beauty before him...

Li Ruozhou had hunted for beauty countless times, yet he had never experienced such a desolate and tempting atmosphere. What was even more fatal was that Lv Qingzhu was walking toward him at this moment, holding the lantern, her sleeves fluttering, the dim light of the dusk reflecting on Lv Qingzhu's exquisite face. Are a fairy and a devil not the same person after all?

Lv Qingzhu had already walked in front of Li Ruozhou. Li Ruozhou stared blankly at Lv Qingzhu; for the first time in front of a woman, he was as wooden as a chicken.

The Lv Qingzhu before his eyes was breathtakingly beautiful!

Lv Qingzhu suddenly raised her left hand and touched Li Ruozhou's face.

When her fingertips touched his cheek, Li Ruozhou couldn't help but tremble. Lv Qingzhu's fingertips were icy and smooth, just like the icicles under the eaves in winter.

"Miss Qingzhu..." Li Ruozhou looked at the Lv Qingzhu before him and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

He had just wanted to say something, but suddenly stopped, because his soul seemed to be trembling slightly. Lv Qingzhu's icy and smooth fingertips traced along his cheek to the back of his neck, rubbing there.

A sensation of itchiness, numbness, and coldness spread; he saw the Lv Qingzhu before him pursing her lips, her eyes earnest as if looking into the void, while her hand rubbed the back of Li Ruozhou's neck...

Because the duration of this action by Lv Qingzhu was a bit long, after the initial soul-trembling passed, a flash of doubt appeared in Li Ruozhou's eyes.

Just at this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of a spring mechanism clicking.

"Click!"

The sound was not loud, but in the quiet night, it sounded very harsh to Li Ruozhou's ears, like a muffled clap of thunder.

Lv Qingzhu had already leaped up and flown backward, lamp in hand, sleeves fluttering. The dim light reflected on her face; her cold, exquisite face had not a trace of expression at this moment.

Li Ruozhou's heart jumped; he saw that Lv Qingzhu's left hand was holding an object with an ancient bronze luster and an old-fashioned design.

He was all too familiar with that thing, because it was the Longevity Lock he had carried since childhood; for over twenty years, it had never left him for a moment.

"How is this possible!?"

Li Ruozhou's whole body felt a chill. How complex and secret was the spring mechanism of that Longevity Lock? How could Lv Qingzhu have unlocked it in such a short time!?

But at this moment, there was no time for him to think!

That Longevity Lock was extremely important to him!

"Miss Qingzhu! This item is extremely important to me, please return it!"

Li Ruozhou gave a light shout and had already leaped up, his figure as fast as a ghost, already reaching out to grab the Longevity Lock in Lv Qingzhu's hand!

But just at this moment, a silver light suddenly flashed before his eyes. A hand flashing with silver light flicked at his wrist, then followed the momentum to twist, and slapped him on the chest.

Li Ruozhou's Qi was thrown into disarray, and his whole body flew backward. After landing, he took two steps back before steadying his figure.

He looked up with an astonished expression, only to see a tall person standing beside Lv Qingzhu. That person's hands seemed to be wearing some kind of strange gloves, flashing with a white, shimmering cold light. The person was wearing a green skirt and had their hair styled like a maid, but under the light, one could see their face was extremely ugly; even among men, it could be called fierce and terrifying!

Li Ruozhou's astonishment lay in the fact that the person had arrived suddenly and repelled him in just one move! Clearly, they were an expert!

"Who are you?" Li Ruozhou looked at the person standing beside Lv Qingzhu and shouted coldly with a ferocious expression.

That person only looked at Li Ruozhou with a pair of cold eyes, seemingly having no intention of answering him at all.

Lv Qingzhu said, "She is my personal maid, A Mo, who has been with me since I was a child! Young Master Li suddenly attacked me just now, so naturally, she would not watch me be bullied!"

Li Ruozhou's expression softened. He had an impression of the name A Mo; he had seen it in the files before. It seemed she practiced a kind of hard-body technique called the Eight Part Diamond Technique from a young age; she was indeed Lv Qingzhu's personal maid.

At this time, Lv Qingzhu was toying with the Longevity Lock in her hand by the light of the lantern.

Li Ruozhou said coldly, "Miss Qingzhu, this item is an heirloom of my ancestors, I ask that you return it!"

Lv Qingzhu said, "An heirloom? I think it looks quite ordinary!"

Li Ruozhou frowned tightly and suddenly flashed his figure, intending to attack again, but just as he moved, A Mo suddenly stood in front of him, blocking his path.

Li Ruozhou looked at Lv Qingzhu and A Mo before him, his thoughts churning: How exactly did Lv Qingzhu unlock the spring mechanism of his Longevity Lock? Was it just triggered by accident?

Li Ruozhou suddenly released his Divine Sense, covering the surrounding area. He realized there was nothing unusual in the surrounding dense forest, so he looked at Lv Qingzhu and asked with hidden anger, "Miss, you brought me here in the middle of the night and took the ancestral Longevity Lock of the Li family of my Tianyan Sect. May I ask, what exactly is your intention?"

Lv Qingzhu gripped the Longevity Lock in her hand and said, "What is my intention? Good question! I don't care for this broken lock of yours at all. I brought you here for the sake of the marriage alliance between you and me!"

Seeing Lv Qingzhu's solemn expression, Li Ruozhou couldn't help but let his gaze flicker; Lv Qingzhu had said the same thing on the platform halfway up Cuiwei Peak.

Lv Qingzhu said, "Qingzhu doesn't care about those worldly formalities at all! To marry me, Lv Qingzhu, one must be able to defeat A Mo. This is a rule that A Mo and I set when we were young!"

"If Young Master Li can defeat A Mo, Qingzhu will naturally serve you! If you cannot defeat her, Young Master Li, our marriage will be called off right here!"

"Qingzhu does not like cowards!"

"As for this broken lock, I don't think much of it at all!" As Lv Qingzhu said this, she threw the Longevity Lock in her hand onto the ground in front of her.

Li Ruozhou's gaze shifted, and he was about to flash over to retrieve the lock.

A Mo moved again, blocking his path like a ghost, and said coldly, "Defeat me! Then take the lock!"

Li Ruozhou's gaze froze. A Mo's voice sounded like a broken gong, very harsh. Hearing such a sound suddenly in this desolate mountain and wild ridge really made one's hair stand on end.

He glanced at the Longevity Lock on the ground not far away, and then at A Mo blocking his path, and finally drew his blade.

Whether it was the ancestral Longevity Lock or his marriage alliance with Lv Qingzhu, both were extremely important matters.

More importantly, the Eight Part Diamond Technique that A Mo practiced was a type of hard-body technique. Although all hard-body techniques have astonishing power, they also have many flaws!

Li Ruozhou came from a prestigious family; he had long been systematically taught how to deal with hard-body techniques. Therefore, he felt that if he really were to fight this person named A Mo, he might not necessarily lose!

Li Ruozhou leaped up, his blade flashing, and slashed horizontally toward A Mo's face!

In mid-air, Li Ruozhou's gaze tightened; on the edge of the blade, Blade Radiance suddenly appeared, as if it were solid!

Although Li Ruozhou was lecherous and dissolute, his talent was good, and he was willing to work hard in his cultivation; this was also the reason why Li Yunjing had always doted on him.

He was only in his early twenties, yet his understanding of Artistic Conception was quite profound! Otherwise, how could he have such Blade Radiance that looked as if it were solid?

But just at this moment, A Mo suddenly raised her hand. Her right hand, wearing the Phosphor Silk Gloves, flashed with a white, shimmering cold light. With her bare hand formed into a palm, she slapped toward the incoming blade!

Li Ruozhou sneered in his heart. No matter how hardened a technique was, could it really block a full-strength strike from his Intent Blade Glow? How truly ignorant!

Lv Qingzhu's expression also grew tense; she knew Duan Rong's current martial arts realm was no longer what it once was, but Li Ruozhou's blade radiance, which seemed almost tangible, still made her heart ache with worry.

She pressed her lips together tightly, watching the changes in the arena with focused eyes, ready to strike at any moment!

Just then, seeing the blade edge about to collide with A Mo's palm, Li Ruozhou's expression changed abruptly! "This..."

On A Mo's palm, an IntentLight suddenly flashed!

Invading like fire, it instantly became a prairie blaze!

In the blink of an eye, A Mo's entire body was flashing with IntentLight!

That IntentLight shot up with a swish, like dense, bristling thorns standing on end!

At this instant, Li Ruozhou's eyes widened like copper bells, shocked beyond measure!

In this world, how could there be such a tangible IntentLight, like bristling thorns standing on end?

Why would a person's hands flash with IntentLight?

No! Not just the hands! The whole person?

What on earth had happened?

At this moment, A Mo slapped her palm onto Li Ruozhou's blade edge; the blade flashing with blade radiance instantly flew out of his hand, spiraling away, and blood gushed from the web of Li Ruozhou's thumb!

A Mo moved her body again, ghost-like, and slammed a fist into Li Ruozhou's abdomen.

Li Ruozhou flew diagonally up into the pitch-black night sky like a sandbag!

A Mo flashed again, suddenly appearing in mid-air, and aimed a punch at Li Ruozhou's back, knocking him down into the dirt.

Li Ruozhou's entire body sank into the ground, leaving a human-shaped character mark on the earth!

A Mo leaped down and hauled Li Ruozhou up!

At this time, Li Ruozhou's Qi flow was shattered; while spitting out the dirt in his mouth, he muttered, "Isn't this a hardened technique? How can there be IntentLight? What is going on?!"

A Mo held her fist, which was flashing with a white, shimmering cold light, before Li Ruozhou's eyes, and asked in a voice like a broken gong, "Are you still going to marry my Young Lady?"

Li Ruozhou's eyes were filled with fear; the humanoid monster before him could actually flash with IntentLight all over its body, and it had shattered his Qi flow completely with just two punches!

He came from a prestigious family and was considered well-traveled, but he had never heard of such a hardened technique in this world.

Could a person practicing a hardened technique also comprehend Artistic Conception, and such a profound, incredible Artistic Conception at that?!

Li Ruozhou had no will to fight left; he understood that he was absolutely no match for the person before him!

If the opponent truly wanted to fight, within five punches, they could break all his meridians and shatter his dantian!

"I won't marry," Li Ruozhou cried out. He remembered Lv Qingzhu saying that if he did not defeat A Mo, their marriage would be called off. At this moment, he naturally said he would not marry.

As Li Ruozhou spoke, he even squeezed out a flattering smile at A Mo, who was hauling him up, despite his bruised and swollen face!

"You won't marry!?"

A Mo shouted and once again punched Li Ruozhou, sending him flying.

Li Ruozhou flew into mid-air, and A Mo leaped, flashing to his side; this time, A Mo slapped her palm onto his back. Because at this moment, Li Ruozhou's back had no Yuan Qi to protect it, and if A Mo used her fist again, she could smash his spine with one blow!

If that happened, Li Ruozhou would surely die on the spot!

A Mo controlled the surging Yuan Qi in her palm and gently slapped it onto Li Ruozhou's back!

"Bang!"

Li Ruozhou landed again, smashing out another character mark not far from the original one!

He was hauled up by A Mo again. A Mo asked, "Asking one more time, are you still going to marry my Young Lady?"

"I will!..." Li Ruozhou cried out in a panic, one word after another.

A Mo threw another punch, sending him flying up again!

Li Ruozhou flew backward into mid-air, and A Mo flashed over; in mid-air, he called out, "Big Sister, am I supposed to marry her, or not?"

"You guess!" A Mo slapped her palm onto the back of Li Ruozhou in mid-air!

With a bang, and a flurry of flying dead leaves and dust, Li Ruozhou sank into the ground again.

A Mo landed and hauled the sunken Li Ruozhou up as if he were a chick.

Li Ruozhou was terrified; he turned his head to look at the three deep character marks he had smashed into the ground, looked at A Mo with fearful eyes, and shouted with a trembling voice, "Big Sister, that's enough! Any more and you'll kill me!"

A Mo looked at Lv Qingzhu not far away and nodded at her.

Li Ruozhou's entire body's Qi had been completely shattered by her, but his dantian and meridians were undamaged; this was an extremely delicate control of force, just like slapping tofu with palm power—the inside of the tofu was smashed to mush, but the surface remained intact.

Lv Qingzhu carried a lantern and walked over slowly; she picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground not far away!

That was Li Ruozhou's weapon!

After all, it was the weapon of the Tianyan Sect Young Sect Master; it was cold and sharp, naturally extraordinary!

At this time, Li Ruozhou was held in A Mo's hand, his clothes in tatters, his face covered in bruises; he looked at Lv Qingzhu, who had come before him holding a lantern in one hand and the sword in the other.

Li Ruozhou said, "Miss Qingzhu, whether our marriage is called off or continues, I will listen to whatever you say. Just don't let A Mo hit me anymore!"

Lv Qingzhu waved the cold, sharp blade edge across Li Ruozhou's crotch!

Li Ruozhou broke out in a cold sweat and shrank back!

Lv Qingzhu suddenly pressed the blade against Li Ruozhou's neck and said softly, "I said, to marry me, you must first defeat A Mo. I say this for your own good. Otherwise, when I arrive at the Tianyan Sect, I will have A Mo beat you every single day!"

A Mo used her broken-gong voice to laugh, "Jie-jie-jie." With her fierce, demonic appearance, laughing like this was truly like an evil ghost.

Li Ruozhou shivered several times and said with a trembling voice, "Miss Qingzhu is a celestial fairy from heaven. I dare not accept such a blessing!"

Lv Qingzhu glanced at A Mo, and A Mo delivered a palm-blade strike to the back of Li Ruozhou's head, instantly knocking him unconscious.

Duan Rong threw the unconscious Li Ruozhou onto the ground, reached out, and grabbed the skin on his face, peeling it off to reveal his true appearance.

Although he was currently wearing a maid's hairstyle and a skirt, looking quite strange, Lv Qingzhu beside him still looked at him with gentle eyes.

At this moment, a figure suddenly flashed out from the depths of the dense forest and, like a large bird in the night, landed not far from them!

(End of chapter)