Chapter 71: The Blood-Soaked Jiang Kun

On the other side.

Jiang Kun and his father, currently Elder Jiang Minshan of the Lingyu Sect’s Punishment Hall, were speeding away in a magical vessel.

Suddenly!

Both of their message talismans received a message from Elder Zhuang Xiran.

“Kun’er, I must go ahead—I must rush to support Elder Zhuang. You lead the others to flank from the perimeter. These bandits are no ordinary lot—do not act rashly, do you understand?!”

Jiang Minshan turned back, his face stern, giving him these instructions.

Jiang Kun hurriedly replied, “Yes, yes!”

Jiang Minshan then leapt into the air and vanished into the horizon at an unbelievable speed, heading toward the swamp where Elder Zhuang and the black-robed cultivator were fighting.

Afterwards,

Jiang Kun slowed the vessel and led the dozen or so elite Punishment Hall disciples in vigilance, contacting nearby sect members.

Yet he did not know that four masked, black-robed bandits were racing toward him at full speed.

……

Above the swamp.

Elder Zhuang was casting spells to bombard the ground, trying to break the illusion array by brute force.

At that moment!

Suddenly,

A black arc of energy, dozens of feet long, erupted from below the swamp and slashed toward him!

Elder Zhuang narrowed his eyes in shock and immediately tried to dodge, but his spine turned icy cold.

A vast tide of black energy surged from behind, strangling toward him!

He had nowhere to evade.

He reversed his hand and formed a seal—immediately, a square white barrier appeared in the sky, shielding him.

Countless black arcs struck the barrier but failed to break through, fading away.

Elder Zhuang now clearly saw his opponent, his eyes flickering with surprise as he said slowly, “I thought you were some formidable figure—turns out you’re merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stage.”

“Oh? Whether I’m formidable or not—let your hands prove it.” The black-robed cultivator wearing the Buddha mask spoke without a trace of emotion.

At that moment,

A distant aura of movement approached swiftly, drifting over and arriving instantly before them.

It was Elder Jiang Minshan, arriving to provide support.

Upon arriving, Jiang Minshan wasted no words—he unleashed a devastating spell directly at the opponent.

Even facing two Foundation Establishment cultivators attacking together,

the Buddha-masked black-robed cultivator remained calm, forming an unusual hand seal with his pure white hands.

BOOM! A torrent of black flames erupted around him; his aura surged instantly from early Foundation Establishment to mid-Foundation Establishment! In an instant,

Three Foundation Establishment experts clashed fiercely above the swamp.

Powerful spells erupted endlessly, colliding one after another, their might terrifying.

……

In midair,

Qin Ming’s face was grim; he spared no magic power, flying at top speed on his Spirit Light Flying Shuttle toward Qingyang Market.

‘What a damn stroke of bad luck!’

‘Why now? Why the hell now?’

Qin Ming seethed inwardly—he had finally managed to obtain a jade talisman, but before he could even secure Elder Zhuang’s recommendation, his plan was ruined.

He now only wanted to return to Qingyang Market as fast as possible.

‘Next time, I’m not leaving the sect until I reach Foundation Establishment.’

‘The outside world is too terrifying.’

‘They just blow through second-rank arrays like they’re nothing—who can handle that?’

He resolved firmly in his heart and pushed his Spirit Light Flying Shuttle to its utmost.

Suddenly,

Qin Ming was speeding forward when a severely battered cultivator flew straight toward him—the two nearly collided.

‘Did you drink too much? Can’t you watch where you’re going?’

‘Holy shit! Brother Jiang!’

He didn’t even look—then he saw, and nearly lost his voice.

Jiang Kun was in a pitiful state, stripped of his former glory as a core Lingyu Sect disciple; his body was covered in grievous wounds, even his entire left arm gone.

Jiang Kun was first startled, but upon seeing Qin Ming, his pale face relaxed slightly with relief.

“Brother Jiang… what happened to you?” Qin Ming feigned utter shock.

Jiang Kun pulled out a pill from his pouch, swallowed it, and gasped, “Ah, Brother Qin—it’s not safe to talk here. I’m being chased. Let’s return to the sect.”

“I’ve already sent word to our sect members.”

Qin Ming froze—he didn’t need to ask. Only those bandits could reduce a fully cultivated Qi Refining cultivator to this state.

“Ah? What about the others?” Qin Ming suddenly asked.

Jiang Kun stiffened. “Brother Qin, what do you mean?” Qin Ming laughed it off. “Nothing, just curious. I’m not going back to Lingyu Sect.”

“Brother Jiang, farewell.”

He bowed slightly, feigning intent to leave.

Jiang Kun frowned deeply—a sudden, strong premonition of doom rose in his chest; something was off.

This Qin Ming… was suspicious!

He immediately prepared to activate his vessel and flee.

But the moment he was about to channel his spiritual power, Qin Ming’s figure vanished right where he stood!

Jiang Kun’s heart leapt—he shattered a high-grade Spirit-Protecting Talisman. A blue barrier instantly surrounded him.

THUD! A violent impact rang out!

CRACK!

Jiang Kun looked up, eyes wide with shock and fury.

There stood Qin Ming, aura surging violently, gripping a black longblade whose blade burned with fiery edges.

Jiang Kun had tried to kill him multiple times—now was the perfect moment to finish him off while he was wounded!

With one slash, he nearly shattered the high-grade talisman barrier!

Jiang Kun instantly realized—he was frozen with dread. “Body Refinement cultivator!”

He didn’t need to be told—he now understood how Chen Ziang and the others had died.

Qin Ming’s eyes glinted coldly. He wasted no words, pulling out two high-grade attack talismans.

One: High-Grade Thunder Arrow Talisman. One: High-Grade Fiery Sun Talisman.

He hurled them both at Jiang Kun simultaneously.

Instantly,

Terrifying lightning crackled, mixed with flame spells shaped like firebirds, slamming into Jiang Kun’s position.

BOOM! A violent explosion erupted.

Jiang Kun staggered out, spitting blood; a pale purple spiritual pearl hovered beside him, its purple tassels swirling around his body.

It had absorbed most of the spell’s power.

Had he been at full strength, he wouldn’t have feared Qin Ming—but now, he was at his last breath. He knew continuing the fight meant certain death.

Jiang Kun acted decisively—he slapped a glowing blue talisman onto his chest and instantly transformed into a streak of light, fleeing.

Qin Ming was genuinely startled—Jiang Kun, barely alive, still had so many survival tools.

He immediately pushed his Spirit Light Flying Shuttle to full speed! WHOOSH! The shuttle’s top speed equaled that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator flying at full power.

Qin Ming closed the distance to Jiang Kun in an instant.

Jiang Kun felt Qin Ming catching up—his soul nearly fled in terror! A top-grade flying magic treasure!

How the hell did this kid get something like that?

As Qin Ming neared, he unleashed his bloodline power and slashed with a fiery blade. Jiang Kun barely raised his right hand, gripping a blue-green longsword; he gritted his teeth and spent his last spiritual power to thrust out a sword technique.

The sword aura flashed.

SWISH! ZING! The blue-green sword unleashed several sharp sword qi, barely blocking Qin Ming’s killing strike.

Worse still,

One sword qi pierced through the fiery blade, striking Qin Ming’s “Lustrous Armor” formed from his bloodline power—and pierced through, slicing a wound into Qin Ming’s arm.

“Top-grade magic treasure!”

Qin Ming winced in pain—he had strengthened his body for so long, and this was the first time a magic treasure had wounded him.

His eyes flashed with cruelty—he unleashed the full power of the “Bloodburning Blade Art.” The space around Jiang Kun was instantly engulfed in dense fiery blade edges.

SPLAT!

“Ahh!”

The blade edges flashed, severing Jiang Kun’s left calf clean off.

Qin Ming leapt forward, stomping Jiang Kun down beneath his foot.

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

“Brother Qin, listen to me,” Jiang Kun said, his face covered in blood, pupils suddenly dilating.

Flash! A flash of cold light passed through Qin Ming’s eyes; he struck with brutal force, slicing straight through Jiang Kun’s neck.

Jiang Kun’s head rolled to the side, his eyes frozen in shock and disbelief until death.

Qin Ming collected Jiang Kun’s blue magic sword and storage pouch, then flicked a black spiritual seed at the corpse and activated the Thorns Technique.

Black vines instantly engulfed Jiang Kun’s body, and soon it became a desiccated corpse.

Qin Ming gathered the blood droplets on the ground and fired a Fireball Technique at the corpse to destroy all traces.

He had just finished all this.

Suddenly, he sensed four powerful spiritual energy signatures approaching rapidly from afar.

Qin Ming’s heart tightened; he immediately activated his Spirit Light Shuttle and vanished from the spot.

PS: Thank you to “Reader20220329095731940” for the 200-coin tip—this is my first ever tip, and I deeply appreciate it! Thank you, great patron!

(End of Chapter)