Chapter 141: No, is this really how your

The scene before them, with its sheer cruelty, was hair-raising; it made Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu's stomachs churn, nearly causing them to retch.

For the Blazing Flame Dao Palace to act in such a way was simply heinous; were they not afraid of divine retribution?

It was no wonder those human puppets were all draped in black robes and wore masks, wrapped up tightly—it turned out they were terrified of being recognized by someone they knew.

Zhou Qing's brows were locked in a tight frown as he quietly took out an image stone, recording this tragic and inhuman scene in its entirety.

Once these images were made public, they would surely incite public outrage and cause everyone to unite against a common enemy.

Perhaps those sects that are hesitant and dare not take a side will also make the choice they ought to make.

Just then, Yan Xiaohu's expression changed abruptly; he tugged on Zhou Qing's sleeve in extreme nervousness and pointed to one side.

Zhou Qing looked in that direction, and in an instant, his pupils constricted.

He saw that on the very last row of iron racks, a female figure was hanging, her clothes tattered and torn, large patches of snow-white skin exposed to the air, her eyes filled with terror and despair.

"Shi, Shi Zhen Shijie—"

Zhou Qing's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Ever since Shi Zhen Shijie had broken through to the Soul Formation realm using the Soul-Forming Pill he had gifted her, she had left with her Senior Sister, Pei Yan.

It seemed she had gone to help pay off a debt, while he himself had been fully focused on sprinting toward the Soul Formation realm, followed by the Four Flowers Gathering at the Crown, the various factions coming to seek him out, and now, the war between the five major sects.

Pei Yan, the Chief Senior Sister of Jade Purity Peak, and Shi Zhen had never returned, yet he had not expected to suddenly find her here.

Shi Zhen Shijie admired the Senior Brother immensely; Yan Xiaohu had even addressed her as "sister-in-law," and she had always been extremely kind to both of them.

At this moment, their eyes met, filled with urgency.

Save her—they had to save her!

Never mind Shi Zhen Shijie; even if it were an ordinary Taiqing Sect disciple, as fellow sect members, they could not stand by and watch them be disemboweled.

At this moment, there were only three people left in front of Shi Zhen Shijie. The burly man, covered in blood like a butcher, flexed his thick wrists and looked at the man before him who had lost control of his bladder out of fear. He let out a cold snort, the cold light of the sharp blade in his hand flashed, and a shrill, miserable scream instantly echoed throughout the entire cavern...

"There—"

Yan Xiaohu pointed again toward several wooden crates in the distance. He saw several Blazing Flame Dao Palace disciples holding their breath and focusing, carefully lifting a mysterious object that emitted wisps of cold air from the crate, and then bit by bit, installing it into the abdominal cavities of those people.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing already had a rough deduction in his heart.

If his guess was correct, those magic arrays must have been prepared in advance, brought here by Song Yuan to be assembled into puppets in a unified manner.

The reason it wasn't done within the sect was that these people had all been captured in secret; trying to bring them back openly would likely attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

But once they became obedient puppets, that was another matter entirely.

"Too noisy—" Just then, a figure suddenly walked down the stone steps in the distance. He looked to be no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, his figure tall but slightly gaunt, his skin pale to the point of being sickly.

At this moment, he was digging at his ear with his hand and shouting in dissatisfaction.

This person was none other than Song Yuan, one of the five great prodigies of the Blazing Flame Dao Palace, whose cultivation had already reached the late Soul Formation realm.

Hearing Song Yuan's words, the disciples beside the iron racks immediately beamed with smiles, busily using their spiritual power to firmly seal the mouths of those few people who were screaming.

In an instant, the entire cavern fell into a deathly silence.

"Song Shixiong, the Spiritual Aperture Transformation Array is not enough; there are two people left."

One of the disciples hurriedly stepped forward, a fawning smile on his face, while pointing toward the last two people hanging there.

Song Yuan glanced over, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold sneer: "It seems I prepared too little after all. It can't be helped; the materials required for the magic array are expensive, and the refining process is extremely cumbersome. Other places need them too."

Afterward, his narrow, long eyes turned to look at Shi Zhen, his thin lips slightly pursed, a look of contemplation appearing on his face.

"Why does this person look so familiar? It seems I've seen her somewhere before?" Song Yuan muttered to himself.

The disciple beside him hurriedly explained: "She seems to be from the Taiqing Sect, with Soul Formation realm cultivation. Her specific identity is unknown, but she was captured personally by Elder Xuegu."

"Soul Formation realm? It looks like she's either a direct disciple or a core disciple. Interesting!" Afterward, he took a sharp breath, his eyes suddenly brightening.

"Her primordial yin is still intact; this is truly an unexpected joy. Tell me, Elder Xuegu, did you keep her for last on purpose, and without embedding the magic array beforehand, specifically to reserve her for me?" Song Yuan laughed aloud.

As soon as he finished speaking, an old man with sparse, graying hair and a hunched figure slowly paced down from the steps.

Within his deep-set eye sockets, a pair of blood-red eyes flickered with a strange and sinister light.

"Her name is Shi Zhen, the closing disciple of Tong Min, the Peak Master of Jade Purity Peak of the Taiqing Sect. She hasn't broken through to Soul Formation for long. Young Master has been traveling and working hard; I wonder if this small gift meets your approval?" The old man laughed sinisterly.

Upon hearing this, Song Yuan's eyes instantly flared with intense light. He then stepped forward, his gaze fixed tightly on Shi Zhen, who was hanging high by her hands with no power to resist, and he let out a series of clicks.

He then slowly reached out his hand, intending to touch the exposed snow-white skin. Shi Zhen endured the intense pain in her body and the humiliation in her heart, twisting her head with all her might, and spat a mouthful of bloody foam directly onto Song Yuan's face.

Shi Zhen opened her eyes wide and roared angrily: "A bunch of things worse than pigs and dogs! You will not die a good death; you will surely face divine retribution. Even if I turn into a vengeful ghost, I will make you pay in blood."

Song Yuan did not dodge; instead, he tilted his head slightly, stuck out his tongue, and slowly licked the spit from the corner of his mouth, a look of intoxication appearing on his face.

"I love breaking in such a fierce temperament the most!" Song Yuan's eyes were filled with twisted excitement.

But the next moment, the look of intoxication on his face suddenly turned into a ferocious, angry expression. He threw a punch, slamming it directly into Shi Zhen's abdomen.

Shi Zhen immediately spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of her internal organs. Her whole body trembled violently, yet she endured it without letting out a single scream, only staring at Song Yuan with bloodshot eyes, her heart filled with monstrous hatred, wishing she could peel his skin and eat his flesh.

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu, hiding on the side, witnessed this scene, their hands clenching into fists simultaneously, their hearts burning with rage, wishing they could rush forward immediately and hack Song Yuan into ten thousand pieces.

Elder Xuegu laughed sinisterly and said: "As long as Young Master is satisfied. Her internal spiritual power is sealed, so she cannot self-destruct or circulate it; Young Master can take your time to train her. But before that, there are two little mice that sneaked in silently; they need to be dealt with first."

As soon as his words fell, his figure suddenly flashed like a ghost. His withered, twig-like palm tore an arc through the air that exuded a strange aura, carrying the force of a collapsing mountain, and slapped fiercely toward the hiding place of Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu.

The two men's expressions changed drastically, and they retreated instantly.

With a boom, the stone wall in front of them turned directly into fly ash under this palm, and dust filled the air for a moment.

At this time, the other Blazing Flame Dao Palace members who had reacted quickly drew their weapons, and amidst the flashing cold light, they surrounded the two men.

"Zhou Shidi, Yan Shidi—" Shi Zhen endured the intense pain and raised her head with difficulty. When her gaze touched those two familiar figures, her eyes were filled with disbelief.

Afterward, she used all her strength to shout: "Who told you to come? Run away—"

Song Yuan, who had reacted, arrived quickly. Upon seeing their appearance, the corners of his mouth could not help but curl into a playful smile.

"I heard that there is a pair of Shixiong and Shidi in the Taiqing Sect who like to peek at their own Supreme Elder bathing. If I'm not mistaken, it must be you two. Sure enough, you look even more lecherous than in the portraits, especially this one with the round face and small eyes—why do you always like to do such sneaky things!"

Song Yuan teased wantonly, his laughter echoing in the cavern.

Upon hearing this, the two men's expressions immediately became extremely ugly.

Yan Xiaohu even stepped forward, shielding Zhou Qing behind him, pointing his finger at Song Yuan with wide, angry eyes: "If you mention that matter again, don't blame me for being impolite to you!"

Upon hearing this, Song Yuan was full of mockery and disdain.

"Being impolite to me? It's simply hilarious. What was your name again? Forget it, it doesn't matter. I'd like to see how you, an early Soul Formation realm, can be impolite to me?"

Elder Xuegu stood with his hands behind his back, slowly pacing over, standing shoulder to shoulder with Song Yuan.

To tell the truth, at this moment, he was actually a bit panicked. How did these two discover this place and sneak in?

If it weren't for the fact that Song Yuan's punch on Shi Zhen caused a slight leak of spiritual power, he wouldn't have noticed at all before.

You have to know, he had carefully probed the villa with his spiritual sense not long ago; how could this happen?

Zhou Qing's gaze flickered, scanning the surroundings rapidly.

The number of enemies surrounding them was not large, mostly at the Foundation Establishment and Jin Dan realms. If there were only these two Soul Formation realm powerhouses in front of them, it would be fine; the fear was that there might be other hidden experts lurking in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

If only Third Shixiong could hold one of them back, perhaps the two of them would still have a chance.

Song Yuan's gaze now turned to Zhou Qing, who was hiding behind Yan Xiaohu, and he was even more interested when he noticed that there was no spiritual power fluctuation on the other party at the moment.

"Zhou Qing, is it? So it was you who, after the Five Sects Treasure Exchange, accidentally ruined my Blazing Flame Dao Palace's plan?"

Before Zhou Qing could respond, Yan Xiaohu was already full of displeasure and protested loudly: "No, what do you mean by this? Why do you only recognize my Fourth, but can't even call out my name? This is simply naked discrimination!"

Yan Xiaohu shouted, causing Song Yuan and Elder Xuegu to look at him as if he were an idiot.

"Have you thought of a way?" Yan Xiaohu asked Zhou Qing urgently while stalling for time using sound transmission.

Zhou Qing's brows were locked in a tight frown. If they wanted to successfully rescue Shi Zhen Shijie and retreat unscathed, they had to find a way to take one of them out first.

That Elder Xuegu was old, cunning, and treacherous; calculating against him would likely not be easy. On the other hand, Song Yuan was full of arrogance and acted like a pervert, much like that Meng Xing.

Things had come to this; he could only gamble!

Zhou Qing slowly pulled out the Tetanus from behind him, gripped it tightly in his hand, and then pretended to be terrified.

After all, the fact that his cultivation had recovered had only been announced in the sect a few days ago. He gambled that Song Yuan did not know, and might even disdain it, too lazy to pay attention.

At this moment, Song Yuan looked at the rusty broken sword in Zhou Qing's hand, as well as the old hen poking its head out from his bosom that looked not very smart, and couldn't help but laugh.

"I heard your Jin Dan was crushed by someone and you've been practicing body refinement. It seems you've achieved a little something now, otherwise, how could you dare to come here with such an unreliable Shixiong? Did you really eat a bear's heart and leopard's gallbladder?" Song Yuan mocked wantonly.

Yan Xiaohu was just about to speak, but Zhou Qing suddenly rushed out with an angry look on his face.

"Don't you dare call my Shixiong an idiot, I'll beat you to death!" After Zhou Qing finished speaking, he picked up the Tetanus in his hand and threw it directly at Song Yuan with all his might.

Seeing this, Song Yuan's mouth curled slightly upward. He didn't have the slightest intention of dodging, and didn't even use his spiritual power, just casually raised his hand and steadily grabbed the rusty broken sword.

"Hmph, after becoming a cripple, your Taiqing Sect doesn't even give you a decent sword to use now? Truly ridiculous to the extreme..."

Song Yuan hadn't finished speaking when his brows suddenly locked tightly.

Just because a wisp of bright red blood was slowly dripping onto the ground along his palm, he was stunned for a moment.

Looking closely, he realized that a cut had actually been made on his palm.

He hadn't noticed that this broken sword, picked up from who knows what corner, was actually so sharp!

Seeing this situation, a flash of joy couldn't help but cross Zhou Qing's eyes.

He had gambled correctly!

This rusty Tetanus, though plain in appearance, would always be the best disguise.

"Shixiong, I hurt him, I hurt him..." Zhou Qing shouted, looking happy.

Yan Xiaohu looked at Zhou Qing's unusual appearance, not knowing what medicine he was selling in his gourd.

But he still couldn't help but say: "He just said I was unreliable, he didn't call me an idiot."

Zhou Qing: "..."

Song Yuan, on the other hand, frowned, looking at the silly chicken with bulging eyes in Zhou Qing's arms, and then looking at Zhou Qing's foolish appearance, feeling that he couldn't save face.

It was obvious that after this guy's Jin Dan was crushed, his spirit seemed to have suffered a severe blow.

But even so, he had actually been cut by a rusty iron sword thrown with full force by an idiot; it was truly too shameful.

He snorted coldly, his arm swung violently, and he threw the broken sword to the side.

"I won't lower myself to the level of an idiot!" Song Yuan snorted, muttering to himself, trying to save some face.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing didn't care about the other Blazing Flame Dao Palace disciples around him and hurried over to pick up his sword.

And the reason he pretended to be an idiot was precisely to ensure that Tetanus could safely return to his hands.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly!

As for the Blazing Flame Dao Palace people around, they didn't stop Zhou Qing either, just watching coldly, letting him pick up the rusty broken sword with a face full of smiles.

Never mind an idiot, even if he were normal, do you think he could escape from Elder Xuegu and Young Master Song Yuan?

Yan Xiaohu looked blankly at this series of unbelievable operations by Zhou Qing.

No, is this really how your "idiot" persona is suddenly established?

And what about me?

You have the "Void Realm Dharma Image" to cover your spiritual power, and now you're disguised as an idiot; they have no use for an ordinary person, but I, on the other hand, delivered myself to their door and became a high-quality human puppet material?

Isn't this just nonsense?

After Zhou Qing picked up Tetanus, he blew on the blade as if it were a serious matter, then let out the old hen from his arms, and said with an innocent smile: "Third Shixiong, it's so spacious here, I want to walk the chicken."

As soon as these words were spoken, the many Blazing Flame Dao Palace disciples were stunned for a moment, and then a burst of uproarious laughter erupted.

Yan Xiaohu's face couldn't help but twitch slightly.

Elder Xuegu, however, frowned, staring at Zhou Qing with eyes like torches, snorted coldly and said: "An ordinary person, even without spiritual power, doesn't mean they can hide from me, let alone escape my spiritual sense probing. Moreover, when I made my move just now, your eyes didn't look as foolish as they do now. Stop acting!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing immediately stopped walking the chicken and carefully tucked it back into his arms.

He had originally wanted to stall for time until Song Yuan had lost half his blood and completely lost his combat effectiveness, but it seemed that wouldn't work now.

An old fox is an old fox after all; it was fortunate he hadn't thrown Tetanus to him just now.

Song Yuan witnessed Zhou Qing's instantly cold eyes and seemed to understand something all of a sudden. He then burst into loud laughter, the laughter filled with a bit of self-mockery and playfulness, and then he actually started clapping.

"Your acting is truly not bad; I was almost fooled by you. But do you think you can escape from here safely by acting like an idiot? It's simply wishful thinking!" Song Yuan said with a face full of mockery.

Elder Xuegu suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Song Yuan: "Be careful, that sword might be poisonous!"

Upon hearing this, Song Yuan's heart tightened, and he immediately mobilized his spiritual power to check the injury on his palm rapidly.

Fortunately, after some investigation, he didn't notice anything unusual, and he breathed a sigh of relief secretly.

Looking at his palm that was still oozing blood, he frowned and immediately used spiritual power to repair it.

"Hmm?"

Soon, Song Yuan noticed something wrong, because no matter how he mobilized his spiritual power and blood energy, the wound was still bleeding uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Song Yuan's expression was not right, Elder Xuegu asked hurriedly.

Song Yuan immediately took out several high-quality detox pills he was carrying and swallowed them all at once.

But the wound was still oozing blood.

At this moment, he finally panicked a little, stepped forward violently, his eyes cold as knives, pressing directly toward Zhou Qing, and said coldly: "Antidote!"

Zhou Qing's mouth curled upward, pretending to be confused: "What antidote? What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Song Yuan snorted coldly, his voice like an ice knife, the chill bone-deep: "Good, very good. Since you won't give it, then this Young Master will take it myself!"

As the words fell, his massive late Soul Formation realm cultivation erupted, like a surging wave, and he arrived in front of him in an instant.

Zhou Qing had been prepared for a long time, his figure retreating like lightning, and he sent a sound transmission to Yan Xiaohu: "Drag it out, I'll come to help you later!"

Yan Xiaohu looked at the big yellow teeth that Xuegu had opened, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

This requires risking one's life to drag it out!

At this moment, Song Yuan's palms danced, spiritual power gathered in his palms like a tide, instantly turning into two scorching fire light balls, heading straight for Zhou Qing.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing's expression tightened, he stuffed the old hen into his waist, and then violently shook the Tetanus broken sword in his hand, shouting in a low voice: "Azure Thunder Sword Art, rise!"

In an instant, the broken sword flared with intense light, and the originally rusty sword body seemed to be wrapped in a layer of brilliant thunder light.

The sword energy carried by the thunder erupted, and Song Yuan, whose brain was clouded by anger, did not retreat, pressing forward directly, his eyes filled with madness.

As the fire and sword energy collided in an instant, for a time, the light was dazzling, and energy ripples spread in all directions like waves.

The entire cavern was shaken by this powerful force, and stones from the ceiling fell one after another, splashing up a cloud of dust.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Qing actually turned and fled, not lingering in the battle at all.

Why make himself so miserable? He had only luckily killed one late Soul Formation realm powerhouse, and that was by occupying the right time, place, and people.

But he was only at the early stage realm after all. Song Yuan, as one of the five great prodigies of the Blazing Flame Dao Palace, definitely had combat power far beyond what he was showing now; he might even be able to kill someone at the Perfection realm.

Heaven knows what kind of trump cards he still had hidden on him.

Anyway, Tetanus had already cut him. As long as he dragged it out for a certain amount of time, in the end, I'll chase you, and you'll flee.

As silver light flickered under Zhou Qing's feet, he arrived at the entrance of the cavern in an instant, and then leaped.

"Do you think you can escape?" Song Yuan was full of killing intent and also leaped down.

Zhou Qing, who jumped into the water, was like a dragon returning to the sea, his figure agile, and in the blink of an eye, he had widened the distance between the two sides.

"Brainless idiot, actually daring to catch a sword with bare hands, I wouldn't even dare. Someone like you can still be called a prodigy? Simply don't know the meaning of the word 'caution'!" Zhou Qing said mercilessly, mocking wantonly.

Hearing this, Song Yuan went completely crazy, especially feeling the right palm bleeding faster with the surge of spiritual power.

"I must make you wish you were dead!" Song Yuan's eyes were splitting, he roared to the sky, spiritual power surged out of his body, and he chased after Zhou Qing regardless of everything.

Looking at Zhou Qing, he moved freely in the water, like a leisurely stroll, controlling the distance between the two sides just right, swimming easily while continuing to provoke with words.

Song Yuan was so angry he wailed, but there was nothing he could do.

Clearly there was a huge gap in cultivation between them, but he just couldn't catch up to Zhou Qing.

"Is the temper of your Blazing Flame Dao Palace all this big? What a coincidence, actually I also know a little bit of fire-type divine abilities."

"Don't keep shouting if you can't catch up, look at this water, it's almost dyed red."

"It's fortunate there are no Flame Fire Crocodiles here, otherwise, if they smelled this bloody scent, you'd be miserable."

"Quietly tell you, Meng Xing was killed by me. To tell the truth, you two are quite perverted. Heavens, could it be that your five great prodigies are all of this temperament?"

Listening to Zhou Qing's cold sarcasm in front, Song Yuan was burning with rage, outputting spiritual power with all his might, only wanting to catch up and then tear him into pieces.

It was just that this action actually caused the wound to bleed like a fountain.

At present, a dead cycle was formed directly. If he didn't chase, this guy's mouth was really too broken, and there were so many disciples watching behind him.

If he chased, he had to use spiritual power, but the result was that this wound couldn't be stopped no matter what.

At this moment, Song Yuan's complexion had gradually turned pale, all due to the massive loss of blood energy.

"The wound is still too small, Third Shixiong can't hold on for long over there!"

Although Zhou Qing was still stimulating him relentlessly with his mouth, he was extremely anxious in his heart.

The only way to break the situation now was to take the initiative, either accelerate the bleeding speed of his wound or add another cut after getting close.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing stopped suddenly, a layer of scorching fire light surged around his body, and in an instant, it turned into a sea of raging fire.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 142 =====