Chapter 84: How Did You Discover Me? (6k)

“Fall back to the sides! Since the Blood Tai Sui chose this moment to appear, its target is clearly not us—damn it, we just got used as cannon fodder.” Yan Xiaohu swiftly issued orders.

Indeed, the crowd fleeing swiftly to one side soon heard the chilling chewing sounds emanating from the red mist.

Immediately after, a mountain of crimson flesh rolled out from within, two human skulls spinning lazily at its top, serving as its eyes.

The aura radiating from this Blood Tai Sui was unmistakably Nascent Soul realm.

The wounded Yin Spirit had also halted, its severed arm regrown—but now far thinner than before.

Upon seeing the Blood Tai Sui approach, the Yin Spirit immediately went on high alert; a massive black vortex appeared on its belly, spinning rapidly as it swallowed surrounding malevolent entities to fuel its recovery.

But the Blood Tai Sui would not grant it that chance—it charged forward with a deafening roar.

“Dogs fighting dogs, fur flying everywhere—finally it’s our turn to be the fishermen…” Yan Xiaohu exclaimed excitedly, but before he could finish, nine Golden Core human cultivators burst forth from the crimson mist.

They were coated in viscous slime, their eyes pitch black, immediately locking onto the group.

One of them wore the attire of Taiqingmen—no one else could it be but Feng Cheng, the official stationed in Qingmu City.

Without a word, the nine immediately launched their assault.

“This Blood Tai Sui is too greedy—it wants to trap us all!” Yan Xiaohu cursed loudly and rushed to defend himself.

The others charged forward as well.

Unnoticed, the surrounding crimson mist had grown denser, visibility now less than one meter—and these mists were strangely potent, even blocking spiritual sense and severely disrupting everyone’s sense of direction.

“Don’t add to the chaos—watch out you don’t end up as a chicken skeleton!”

After Zhou Qing clashed with a Golden Core beginner puppet, the thing suddenly vanished.

Holding his longsword, he remained on guard, while the old hen in his arms struggled to escape—he hastily shoved it deeper inside.

Fortunately, these puppets had grown much duller; otherwise, with his cultivation level, he might not have held out this long.

“Everyone here? I’ve taken control of Feng Cheng—the other puppets have gone to aid the Blood Tai Sui!” Soon after, Yan Xiaohu’s voice suddenly rang out from the left.

Zhou Qing’s eyes lit up, and he immediately moved toward the left.

Yet despite clearly sensing his third senior brother nearby, he could not locate him.

The others experienced the same.

“Third senior brother, these red mists are disrupting our senses—we must break out quickly!” Zhou Qing called out.

Yan Xiaohu immediately replied: “Alright, since the malevolent spirits and puppets are gone, everyone push upward with full strength… Wait, watch out!”

Suddenly, Yan Xiaohu shouted, and Zhou Qing and the others immediately ducked.

Shhh-shhh-shhh!

The next instant, over a dozen viscous tentacles erupted violently from the crimson mist, striking like lightning toward Zhou Qing’s vital points.

Zhou Qing’s expression changed—he flashed silver light beneath his feet and dodged swiftly.

But these tentacles were as cunning as venomous snakes, glimmering with eerie radiance within the red mist.

Wherever the tentacles passed, the air was torn apart with piercing whistles.

“You really think I’m easy prey!” Zhou Qing roared, his spiritual power surging wildly—he raised both hands, and a colossal silver dragon roared forth, charging with unstoppable might straight toward the dozen tentacles.

They collided with a deafening, earth-shaking boom.

Surrounding buildings and trees collapsed and shattered under the shockwave.

Zhou Qing felt dizzy—he quickly pulled out a mid-grade spirit stone and began absorbing it to replenish his strength.

“Since you helped me get an arm, I’ll tell you some bad news—though honestly, I just found out myself: there isn’t one Blood Tai Sui, but two. So if you don’t want to die, follow me right now!”

At that moment, Li Shitao’s voice echoed from all around.

Everyone’s hearts jolted.

“What about my other brothers?!” Yan Xiaohu asked anxiously.

Li Shitao replied: “You’re too scattered—but if you call me ‘Sister Tao,’ I might just bring them all out one by one…”

Before she could finish, Yan Xiaohu shouted “Sister Tao!” ten times in rapid succession.

Exactly matching the eight true disciples plus Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao—not one extra word.

Li Shitao burst into laughter.

“Still the same as back then. Fine—I’ll be generous this time. Follow me first!”

“I’m not in a hurry—take my brothers out first!” Yan Xiaohu hurriedly said.

“You’re testing me, huh? You’re the closest to me—why should I run an extra lap? Don’t forget, I’m also a target of the Blood Tai Sui now—move it!” Li Shitao cursed.

Yan Xiaohu had no choice: “Everyone, don’t scatter—stay right where you are!”

Then silence fell.

Zhou Qing, on guard while recovering, reflected: at a critical moment, it was still better to rely on someone familiar.

Thank goodness his third senior brother hadn’t caught her that night.

Time passed slowly, and Zhou Qing finally regained some strength.

But as he rose, the ground beneath him violently trembled, accompanied by the Yin Spirit’s furious screams and explosions.

The outcome had been decided.

But their situation had grown even more dire—now the Blood Tai Sui could turn its full attention to them, and there were two of them.

Boom!

Suddenly, the ground collapsed violently—Zhou Qing, reacting instinctively, leapt upward.

Shhh-shhh-shhh! From the mist around him, over twenty tentacles erupted, snatching Zhou Qing down before he could react.

Roar!

Another silver dragon appeared, shattering all the tentacles.

Two consecutive uses of the Silver Dragon Hand had drained Zhou Qing’s already meager spiritual power to near-total depletion.

“Is this some kind of independent space?” He felt no choking dust, but instead a strange, refreshing scent.

Yet he dared not relax—he continued absorbing spiritual energy, even swallowing the several vials of soul-repairing elixirs Cui Yingying had once given him.

“Fourth brother, fourth brother, where are you?” At that moment, his third senior brother’s voice suddenly rang through the thick mist.

Immediately, Yan Xiaohu burst forth—and upon seeing Zhou Qing, his face lit up with joy.

“Third senior brother, weren’t you already out?” Zhou Qing exclaimed.

Yan Xiaohu grinned: “You’re still here—how could I rest easy outside? Come with me quickly…”

Puff!

Before Yan Xiaohu could finish, Zhou Qing’s longsword shot out like thunder, piercing straight through his chest—then upward in one swift motion, cleaving him cleanly in two.

“You mimicked him well—but you forgot to add the disclaimer,” Zhou Qing murmured softly.

He stared at the two halves of the corpse—its face frozen in disbelief—then collapsed into a writhing pile of shredded flesh.

Zhou Qing staggered, leaning on his sword as he knelt on one knee, gasping heavily, while rapidly activating the Taiqing Xuanyi Jue to accelerate spiritual energy replenishment.

“Zhou senior brother, Zhou senior brother, where are you?” In his daze, Lu Yaoyao’s anxious voice echoed all around.

Then, the crimson mist churned violently as Lu Yaoyao emerged, sword in hand.

“Zhou senior brother, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!” Seeing Zhou Qing’s state, she ran over, voice trembling with tears.

Zhou Qing forced a weak smile, raising his hand: “Lu junior sister, help me up—just now someone impersonated third senior brother, just like you’re doing now…”

As Lu Yaoyao reached Zhou Qing, his sword instantly crackled with lightning—before she could react, it pierced straight through her forehead.

“You… how did you discover me?”

The next instant, the “Lu Yaoyao” standing before Zhou Qing’s eyes turned blood-red, emitting a genderless, questioning voice.

Zhou Qing sneered at the figure staring intently at him.

“Secret. Won’t tell you. But judging by how you’re trying to trick me now, you’re clearly injured—or maybe you’re busy absorbing the Yin Spirit? If so, don’t blame me for taking advantage!”

Zhou Qing spoke, then shattered its skull.

He then spun around sharply, eyes like lightning, fixed on the crimson mist before him—fear gone from his heart.

After killing the fake third senior brother, the writhing flesh had quickly burrowed into the ground and vanished.

So he’d kept a watchful eye.

He could now be nearly certain—the Blood Tai Sui was just behind him, quietly observing.

If so, then it was time for a fight to the death!

“You think my cultivation is weak, so you dragged me down as a snack? You’ve made a terrible mistake this time!”

Zhou Qing sheathed his sword and pulled out the Broken Wind.

With a mental command, the broken sword in his hand blazed with radiant light, threads of lightning flickering within—all his remaining spiritual power surged into the blade.

“Cang Lei Sword Art, First Form: Cang Lei Pierces the Void—Break!”

Silver light flashed beneath Zhou Qing’s feet as he shot into the crimson mist—his broken sword slashed out with full force.

Instantly, the sky twisted violently—dark clouds churned, and bolts of heavenly thunder like silver serpents darted through the heavens.

Boom!

Where the lightning sword qi passed, the crimson mist was ripped apart, emitting piercing shrieks.

Until, a hundred meters away, a mass of flesh riddled with holes was revealed.

Its two human skulls spun lazily, eyes wide with terror.

It immediately rolled to flee—but the thunder had arrived, the sword had fallen.

A piercing scream echoed through the air as the flesh mass began to disintegrate under the lightning sword qi.

It roared, thrashing wildly, releasing endless blood qi to resist—but all was futile.

In a flash, with a thunderous explosion, the Blood Tai Sui was obliterated into fragments.

The two human skulls rolled lifelessly onto the ground.

Zhou Qing’s vision went black; just as he was about to collapse, he grabbed a mid-grade spirit stone in each hand and rapidly activated his cultivation technique, barely avoiding complete unconsciousness.

Now, he had truly exhausted himself.

If the opponent was still alive, there was nothing he could do—he could only leave it to fate.

“Cluck-cluck-cluck—” The old hen jumped out of Zhou Qing’s arms and began pecking wildly around.

Whenever it happened upon scattered chunks of flesh, it spared none, swallowing them all.

Time slowly passed, and the mist around began to dissipate.

Zhou Qing regained a little strength and immediately scanned his surroundings.

Seeing the ground littered with flesh chunks and the old hen feasting nearby, Zhou Qing smiled.

It seemed the bastard had truly been killed by him.

Then he staggered forward, confirmed the old hen was unharmed, and finally let out the breath he’d been holding.

Gulp—

Just as Zhou Qing was about to stand, he saw the old hen lift its rear and drop a red spirit egg.

Zhou Qing froze, then burst into joy, carefully picking it up.

Unlike previous spirit eggs, this one was filled with an indescribable, extremely pure blood aura.

“My guess was right!” Zhou Qing realized and erupted in ecstatic delight.

Blood Taosui, this impure thing, was utterly useless to ordinary people—even making them desperate to avoid it.

After all, it was a mutated entity born from the blood aura of hundreds of thousands and the accumulation of countless negative emotions; it could never be absorbed.

But the old hen had been identified as possessing immense digestive capabilities, able to consume anything and purify it, then excrete it as an egg.

“Hen, you’re absolutely beautiful!” Zhou Qing found the old hen more pleasing by the moment, especially this blood egg—he could definitely absorb and refine it.

Looking at the scattered Blood Taosui flesh chunks, he eagerly began gathering them.

“That’s—”

As he stuffed the last piece of Blood Taosui into his storage pouch, Zhou Qing noticed, in a corner of this space, a pile of white bones.

Half the skeleton’s body was gone, yet its aura of pressure still lingered.

In its hand, it tightly clutched a red token.

Curious, Zhou Qing approached and observed from a distance.

Once certain the corpse was dead beyond revival, he slowly lowered his guard.

Beside the bones, blood had been smeared into four large characters: 【I refuse to die!】

“This was undoubtedly a great cultivator—the blood traces are still vivid!” Zhou Qing concluded in his mind.

He circled again—no storage pouch, no other clues, only the token.

For safety, Zhou Qing immediately performed his 【Daily Inspection】 to ensure no traps were on it.

【Key to the Divine Ruins Heavenly Palace: One of the nine keys to open the Divine Ruins Heavenly Palace. Its value is incalculable. As a top-tier secret realm, the Divine Ruins Heavenly Palace holds countless opportunities.】

Seeing the feedback, Zhou Qing narrowed his eyes.

He didn’t know where the Divine Ruins Heavenly Palace was, but looking at the skeleton’s condition, he vaguely recalled something.

This space had been dragged down by the Blood Taosui; the skeleton’s owner had died with unbearable resentment and grievous wounds.

If his guess was correct, this person had perished here because of this token.

And perhaps, when this city was slaughtered years ago, it was because the pursuers, enraged, had taken vengeance.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing felt a chill.

What kind of heartless monster would slaughter hundreds of thousands in a city merely as an outlet for rage?

He knelt down and carefully picked up the token.

As soon as the token left the skeleton’s grasp, the bones turned to dust before his eyes.

Watching this, Zhou Qing sighed softly.

Was this thing worth it?

Then he looked down at the token in his hand.

The token was entirely crimson, radiating an ancient, mysterious aura, as if it had endured endless ages.

Its material was neither gold nor jade, yet felt warm to the touch and possessed an indescribable resilience.

On the reverse side were two ancient characters: 【Divine Ruins】.

“Better not let Master or the others know about this—if that man is still alive, this could be a disaster for the entire Taiqingmen!”

After securing the token, Zhou Qing picked up the old hen and flew out of the space.

Outside, the red mist had thinned considerably, and Yan Xiao Hu and the others were calling out anxiously.

Zhou Qing struggled painfully out of the ruins and weakly shouted: “I’m here—”

……

“So you knew all along, didn’t you?”

On the collapsed city wall, everyone watched the distant figure of Niu Guangmo… no, the man whose swollen face had returned to normal—Master Mo Xingjian, now suppressing another Blood Taosui. Yan Xiao Hu, nearly in tears, asked.

Zhou Qing nodded slightly—the Blood Taosui was like a chick in Master’s hands, already fleeing in panic.

Behind Mo Xingjian floated five corpses, their heads drooping.

It seemed the Cangyan Dao Palace had been tailing them all along, but dared not act until they were certain there was no danger.

They’d finally emerged—only to hand Master a ready-made meal.

Zhou Qing turned to Yan Xiao Hu with an apologetic expression: “Third Senior Brother, I only realized later. When I tried to send you a message, Master gave me a real beating. After that, he stayed right beside me—I never had a chance…”

“Forget it, forget it. I was just too careless. Decided—I’m not going back to the sect. I’m going to wander outside!” Yan Xiao Hu whined.

But then he remembered something and quickly pulled out his identity token to send a message to Second Sister.

Zhou Qing did the same, but waited a long time—no reply came.

“Could Second Sister have already left?” Zhou Qing said.

Yan Xiao Hu shook his head, then looked at the unconscious official Feng Cheng—perhaps he’d know when he woke up.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Suddenly, a hand shot out from behind and grabbed Yan Xiao Hu’s arm.

Yan Xiao Hu turned—and upon seeing the face of the true disciple Liu Ru, pale and chattering with fear, he jumped back in shock.

“Big Brother, I—I kicked the Peak Master’s butt! We’re done, we’re really done!” Liu Ru’s eyes welled with tears.

The others, ignoring their wounds, frantically racked their brains, trying to recall every slight they’d committed against the Peak Master.

Yan Xiao Hu sighed, his face ashen: “Kicking once? I punched his neck dozens of times, kept yelling ‘Old Mo, Old Mo’ the whole way, and said who knows how many bad things about him. Now I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.”

Zhou Qing watched them weeping in despair, opened his mouth, but didn’t know how to comfort them.

Lu Yaoyao leaned on the low wall, swinging her legs, curiously watching Mo Xingjian slowly suppress the Blood Taosui.

“Oh my, there’s such a fine thing as Blood Taosui here? It’s mine now!”

At that moment, an old man with snow-white hair rushed from the distant horizon—no, he seemed to be fleeing from someone.

He spotted the just-suppressed Blood Taosui, his face lighting up with surprise and delight, and reached out to snatch it away.

“Impudent!”

Seeing this, Mo Xingjian flew into a rage.

But Zhou Qing, watching from afar, narrowed his pupils—the old man’s appearance had changed, yet above his head still floated a line of golden characters: 【Little brat with a touch of my old style】.

“Second Uncle!”

Zhou Qing’s heart jolted—he never expected to meet Second Uncle here.

Seeing his prize snatched away, Mo Xingjian was furious.

Though he had no use for this impure thing, his disciples were watching from afar.

As a Master, as the Peak Master, to have something snatched right from under his nose—what dignity remained? What face did he have left?

Mo Xingjian was about to act, reclaim his honor, when two whistling sounds erupted behind him.

The newcomers radiated overwhelming power—far beyond his own.

Mo Xingjian immediately lowered his head, pretending not to see.

Whoever could escape two such terrifying pursuers must be formidable. Better to avoid trouble—let it go.

Watching the three figures vanish into the horizon, Zhou Qing felt deep regret.

He’d been hoping to get his hands on that Blood Taosui—only to have it snatched away by Second Uncle.

Now, watching Mo Xingjian stand there awkwardly, Yan Xiao Hu’s small eyes darted, and he dashed forward, shouting at the retreating backs.

“Your mother! You’ve got the guts of a bear and a panther to steal from my Master!”

“Thankfully, my revered Master is too noble to hold a grudge against a lowlife. Since you’re being chased, I’ll spare you today—otherwise, you’d be dead.”

“But your habit of stealing small gains? You’ll never amount to anything. You’ve wasted your entire life!”

…………

Seeing Yan Xiao Hu spitting curses, the other true disciples instantly understood. Without hesitation, they rushed over and joined him, shouting at the distant figures.

Behind them, Mo Xingjian revealed a faintly satisfied smile.

Soon, Yan Xiao Hu returned, full of concern: “Master, don’t waste your temper on that old fool. He deserves to be chased.”

“Yes, yes, Peak Master, we’re too noble to care—consider it like shooing away a beggar.”

“Calm down, Master. Anger harms the body—I’ll rub your shoulders.”

“Get out of the way! This is my most respected Master—shouldering rubs are my privilege alone!”

“Master, you’ve hidden this from us so well! For our safety, you endured so much humiliation. If not for you, we’d have been murdered by those Cangyan Dao Palace scum.”

…………

Looking at Yan Xiao, who was rubbing his shoulders and pounding his legs with an eager, grinning face, Mo Xingjian cleared his throat, then patted Yan Xiao with a look of deep satisfaction.

Yan Xiao’s body trembled instantly, enduring the pain with gritted teeth, yet still forcing a touched smile onto his face.

Mo Xingjian said, “Your master doesn’t mind the effort—who else would I be if not your master? A disciple travels a thousand li, and the master worries. I simply can’t let go of my concern for you. Besides, you’re right: that Blood Tai Sui was barely worth chasing off a beggar. By the way, where’s the other Blood Tai Sui?”

Yan Xiao hurriedly replied, “According to Li Si, it apparently perished alongside the Yin Spirit.”

“For safety’s sake, I’ll go check again!” Mo Xingjian finally released Yan Xiao’s shoulders, then vanished in an instant.

Seeing this, the others hurried over.

Yan Xiao let out a breath and said, “Don’t worry—he’s probably not going to die.”

The group erupted in excitement.

(End of Chapter)