Chapter 453: The Momentum Is Right—Time to Strike! [Request Monthly Tickets!!]

A cave in the forest beside the Chijiangjiang.

Qingwei Sect

Blood Shadow Ancestor listened to his subordinate's report and furrowed his brow slightly.

How laughable.

He had come south to cause trouble for the Yu Kingdom and the Qingwei Sect, but he never expected that before he even moved, the Qingwei Sect came to him.

And claimed he had killed Su Xuan Yu's favorite disciple.

Ridiculous.

Blood Shadow Ancestor had been falsely blamed.

"Pretending to be a righteous sect, yet all they do is resort to underhanded tricks."

In Blood Shadow Ancestor's view,

the Qingwei Sect was clearly just looking for an excuse to deal with him.

Of course,

it might also be someone secretly framing him.

It didn't matter either way—he would investigate anyway. He would deal with the Qingwei Sect, but if anyone dared use him to strike at the Qingwei Sect, he would drag that person out and grind their bones to dust.

Want to use him as a knife to kill?

See if your hands are strong enough.

If the blade breaks and you lose your life, you deserve it.

Blood Shadow Ancestor had roamed the martial world for over a hundred years, and he had never been the type to suffer losses.

If he took advantage of others, anyone who tried to take advantage of him would pay with blood.

Ever since he overthrew the Northern Pole Immortal Sect, he had been clearing out the Zi Jin Palace remnants, and now he had built a formidable force. He lay hidden by the Chijiangjiang, waiting for a chance to strike at Tian Niu Zhu Ha.

During this time, he had stirred up some disturbances.

But none of them were major.

Before he could make a big move, he was already spotted by the Qingwei Sect and Tian Niu Zhu Ha.

"Looking for death?"

A flash of cold light passed through Blood Shadow Ancestor's eyes.

He had never been an easy man to deal with.

Since the Qingwei Sect's people wanted to kill him, he might as well strike first.

"That damned frog demon!"

Blood Shadow Ancestor had also heard that Tian Niu Zhu Ha, the traitor who fled from Zi Jin Palace, had become the God of the Chijiangjiang and was now sending out people to search for them.

Compared to the Qingwei Sect,

Blood Shadow Ancestor's hatred for Tian Niu Zhu Ha ran deeper.

If not for Tian Niu Zhu Ha, he would never have been so severely wounded, and the last remnants of Zi Jin Palace would still stand.

Thinking of how he now lived like a stray dog, while Tian Niu Zhu Ha thrived in the River God's Palace,

since ancient times, the most hated have always been traitors.

So even though the main enemies who destroyed Zi Jin Palace were the Yu Kingdom's imperial court and the Qingwei Sect, Blood Shadow Ancestor didn't hesitate—his first target upon returning was Tian Niu Zhu Ha.

He hated until he went mad.

"Kill them all!"

"Brother Li, those demon cultists are truly despicable."

True Person Zi Yang stormed up to Li Rui.

"Brother Zi Yang, what happened?"

Li Rui said.

True Person Zi Yang: "We just received word—another disciple of our sect has been killed. This time they didn't even bother hiding it; they not only murdered him, but left behind a Zi Jin Palace token. How arrogant!"

Upon hearing this,

Li Rui's eyes flickered with surprise.

Killing someone was one thing, but leaving the token—

Given Blood Shadow Ancestor's nature, he was likely to continue his killings.

But something about True Person Zi Yang's words felt off.

It almost looked like someone was deliberately framing Blood Shadow Ancestor—though it couldn't be ruled out that Blood Shadow Ancestor was doing it deliberately to send a message.

True Person Zi Yang gritted his teeth: "Brother Li, we can't delay the crackdown any longer. Please consult with the God of the Chijiangjiang—we must strike soon."

He was truly afraid that if they waited, Blood Shadow Ancestor would do something even more insane.

If his favorite disciple were killed, True Person Zi Yang would be heartbroken.

Li Rui paused thoughtfully:

"Brother Zi Yang speaks wisely. We can't let this demon run rampant any longer."

Tian Niu Zhu Ha had already located Blood Shadow Ancestor's hiding place.

Originally, the two of them and the demon had planned to gather their forces together before acting.

But now it seemed,

the Qingwei Sect could wait no longer.

Soon,

the two arrived at the pavilion where Tian Niu Zhu Ha resided.

After hearing Li Rui's words, Tian Niu Zhu Ha showed little enthusiasm: "Zi Yang, it's not that I'm unwilling—I just can't risk another failure. If we don't have enough strength and let Blood Shadow slip away again, catching him will be next to impossible. We should wait until everything is fully prepared before acting."

Upon hearing this, True Person Zi Yang's eyes flickered, then he clenched his teeth:

"My Lord, the River God need not worry—I'll return to my sect immediately and bring my senior brothers. I swear I'll cut down that demon!"

Tian Niu Zhu Ha immediately brightened.

"That's excellent."

He bore a great grudge against Blood Shadow Ancestor.

Not only did Blood Shadow Ancestor want to kill him, but he also wanted to exterminate Blood Shadow Ancestor as soon as possible.

But to face him alone?

Impossible.

This wasn't his problem alone—the Qingwei Sect and the Yu Kingdom's imperial court must also contribute.

So this whole time, he had been waiting for reinforcements to arrive before acting.

Now the Qingwei Sect was more eager and willing to send more people.

He was more than happy to see it.

With the Qingwei Sect's strength, sending ten or eight Tian Xiang cultivators would settle the matter.

Moreover, Tian Niu Zhu Ha also feared Blood Shadow Ancestor might go mad.

In fact,

it wasn't just Qingwei Sect disciples who had been attacked—several of his own subordinates had also been killed yesterday.

He had suppressed the news.

He had heard about the Qingwei Sect's losses; if True Person Zi Yang hadn't come, he would have found a way to strike early himself.

Now that True Person Zi Yang was eager, he was perfectly content to sit back and relax.

After the discussion ended,

True Person Zi Yang summoned his magic banner and rode it toward the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Watching True Person Zi Yang depart,

Li Rui turned to Tian Niu Zhu Ha: "Brother Frog, Blood Shadow Ancestor is no weakling—how confident are you?"

This involved Tian Xiang cultivators.

He obviously couldn't fight himself.

Tian Niu Zhu Ha was the strongest force in this operation.

"Don't worry. Blood Shadow only reached Tian Xiang thanks to external aid—what's he compared to me?"

Tian Niu Zhu Ha looked utterly unconcerned.

Hearing this,

Li Rui grew curious: "There's external aid that can help someone break through to Tian Xiang?"

Tian Niu Zhu Ha nodded:

"Yes."

"But it harms the Dao and is the worst possible method. Blood Shadow broke through because Si Feng used great power to replace his bones."

"Replace his bones?!"

Upon hearing those two words, Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

Tian Niu Zhu Ha continued: "With Blood Shadow's talent, reaching Tong Su Xuan was already a stroke of luck—he had no chance to advance further. But Si Feng forcibly used the Soul-Swap Bone-Replacement Technique to elevate Blood Shadow's innate constitution dramatically, allowing him to succeed."

"Brother Li, have you heard of the Wind Listening Blade God?"

Li Rui: "Of course. A century ago, he was immensely famous in the northwest—a barbarian warrior ranked among the top hundred on the Martial List."

Tian Niu Zhu Ha: "Si Feng captured him and transferred Blood Shadow's soul into his body."

Li Rui drew in a sharp breath.

This is nothing but soul possession from the cultivation world!

Si Feng is truly a great cultivator from the cultivation world; his methods are truly unfathomable.

Seeing Li Rui listen with interest.

Tian Niu Zhu Ha sneered: "Just a stronger puppet. The Dao is impartial; though Blood Shadow used the Soul Transfer and Bone Replacing Technique to cross into the Heavenly Phenomenon realm, it also means he can never reach the First Rank—this is a dead end, and his strength is inferior to other Heavenly Phenomenon cultivators."

Li Rui nodded silently.

If there were no restrictions, chaos would reign.

Those peerless prodigies without background would simply become resources, used by the disciples and offspring of great cultivators.

Tian Niu Zhu Ha smiled proudly:

"Don't worry—once Qingwei Sect sends a few people, Blood Shadow will have no allies and is certain to die."

Zi Yang Dao Ren handled affairs with extreme efficiency.

Just one day.

He returned.

With him came Su Xuan Wei Dao Ren and Jiu Zhen Dao Ren from Qingwei Sect.

Both were Heavenly Phenomenon!

Add Tian Niu Zhu Ha and Zhou Zhou Dinghai, who was about to arrive, and they had mustered four Heavenly Phenomenon cultivators in total.

All for one decisive kill.

Leaving no chance for Blood Shadow to escape.

That evening, Zhou Zhou Dinghai arrived at the Chijiang Riverbank with the elite of An Nan Town.

The group assembled.

They marched toward the hiding place of Blood Shadow Ancestor.

"Old Brother Li, this time Blood Shadow Ancestor is surely dead, right?"

Nie Nie Siming stared at the four men walking at the front.

Four Heavenly Phenomenon cultivators.

Qingwei Sect really went all-in, sending two at once.

Tian Niu Zhu Ha's claim of seven or eight Heavenly Phenomenon was exaggerated; getting four to act together was already extremely rare.

After all, any Heavenly Phenomenon cultivator was among the top figures in the world.

It was rare for them to join forces.

Li Rui: "About a seventy percent chance."

Nie Nie Siming raised an eyebrow slightly.

Only seventy percent?

"Old Brother Li is truly cautious."

He had heard that today's gathering of so many experts owed much to Li Rui's efforts.

Li Rui's influence in the imperial court was now considerable.

Otherwise, even though Zhou Zhou Dinghai was also under An Nan Town's jurisdiction, he would not have agreed so readily to act.

All because of Li Rui.

As the two spoke,

the group marched swiftly to a cave deep in the woods beside the Chijiang River.

Arrived!

This was the hiding place Tian Niu Zhu Ha had discovered for Blood Shadow Ancestor.

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly.

The cave was concealed by a formation and buried deep in the mountains—no wonder Qingwei Sect had sent many and still failed to find it.

Quite cautious.

But it was all useless now; the Zi Jin Palace was yesterday's news. Even with support from the Northern Pole Immortal Sect, it was far from its former strength. Blood Shadow Ancestor could hide, but his subordinates could no longer match their former capability.

He himself had left no trace, but finding clues through his subordinates was not difficult.

At least for Tian Niu Zhu Ha, the God of the Chijiang River, it was easy.

Tian Niu Zhu Ha grinned.

"Blood Shadow, our grudge has come to an end."

(End of Chapter)