Chapter 30

Heat waves rose outside the hall's gate.

When the blazing flames were about to rush into the hall, eighteen golden skeletons suddenly emitted a dim golden light; the entire hall was wrapped in a layer of extremely faint golden light, and when the flames touched the light they were instantly extinguished, while the temperature within several zhang outside the hall remained unchanged.

A low sigh of lament faintly came from the air.

Among the eighteen golden skeletons, seventeen seemed to have exhausted their last strength; their bones shattered, exploding into countless tiny golden specks that drifted down to the ground. Though extremely fine, these golden specks had weight, and as they landed they kept making a 'ding ding' sound.

Hundreds of thumb‑sized golden, silver, and jade‑colored granules fell from the disintegrating skeletons, clinking 'ding ding dang dang' as they bounced on the ground; these emitted a faint glow, the larger ones thumb‑sized, the smaller only bean‑sized, and they too began to disintegrate.

Strands of thick light were slowly released from the disintegrating granules, quietly merging into the surrounding hall.

The hall, originally somewhat dilapidated, subtly changed in hue, appearing much clearer, and some cracks in the walls quietly healed.

With a 'crack crack' sound, the last golden skeleton split open with countless cracks; its emitted golden light gradually dimmed and vanished completely.

Wu Tie looked with reverence at the sole remaining golden skeleton; an inexplicable emotion welled up in his heart, and he solemnly bowed to it.

"I don't know who you are…… well, sooner or later Lao Tie will tell me." Wu Tie straightened his body, turned around, and looked upward.

In the center of the hall, the nearly shattered golden lotus merged with the light emanating from a few strands of granules; the cracks on the lotus surface healed in three or five places, and golden light rose from several petals like ropes snagging the broken bones.

The broken bones hovered in mid‑air, trembling slightly, like a bird tied by threads, eager to break free from the golden light's restraint.

Light flowed across the surface of the golden lotus; extremely fine, faint golden light contracted, pulling the broken bones bit by bit, gradually drawing them to a point just over a foot above the lotus.

"Stay put, I'll deal with you later." Wu Tie glared angrily at the broken bones.

Having drained so much of his blood, Wu Tie now felt waves of dizziness and blurred vision, darkness flashing before his eyes, his body weak and cold, cold sweat continually seeping out. This is all the broken bones' fault; as Lao Tie would say, this guy ate his fill and now wants to run… truly a complete scoundrel.

He turned, spear in hand, and walked step by step to the hall's gate, where Wu Tie looked out.

He turned around, spear in hand, and walked step by step to the hall's entrance; Wu Tie gazed out toward the outside of the hall.

Truly, how miserable.

The six mist‑blade experts brought by Jiu Zhang Ling had already been burned into drifting black smoke, and Jiu Zhang Ling himself was scorched all over, his form unrecognizable.

However, even before being burned, Jiu Zhang Ling was already inhuman—whether it was his earlier six‑armed form or later the huge insectoid shape with extraordinarily long blade‑like arms, he did not look human at that time.

But the Jiu Zhang Ling before him now was even more miserable.

His two legs were reduced to two charred black bone sticks; his upper body fared better, a thick black carapace had grown from his flesh, covering his arms and entire upper torso, so his upper body remained largely intact.

Only one of his eyes had been melted away; black pus continually oozed from the charred socket.

His other eye seemed also severely injured from smoke; he kept blinking, and blood and tears constantly streamed from the corner.

Granny Red's condition had clearly improved considerably.

She lay naked and askew on the ground, her pale flesh crisscrossed with at least a hundred deep knife wounds reaching to the bone, especially several heavy slashes to her waist and abdomen that had nearly cleaved her body; now only a few tendons barely held her together.

She lay naked, twisted and askew on the ground, her pale flesh crisscrossed with at least a hundred knife wounds deep enough to reach the bone; especially, she had suffered several heavy blows to her waist and abdomen, the blade's light almost splitting her body, and now only a few tendons barely hold her together.

A tremendous non‑human vitality surged within her; even Wu Tie several hundred meters away could clearly sense this immense life force. Every pore of Granny Red exuded a rich Blood Light, her wounds writhed, and countless minute strands of flesh continually grew.

Strands of flesh interlinked and pulled at each other, the torn skin writhing as it knit together; Granny Red's injuries were healing rapidly.

Wu Tie even heard the sound of bones colliding inside Granny Red's body.

She didn't know how many bones Jiu Zhang Ling had chopped off; under the stimulation of the immense vitality, these bones were growing rapidly.

Such non‑human vitality reminded Wu Tie of the Changsheng Sect followers who would explode into blood mist at the slightest attack. Granny Red had consumed the blood mist they produced; her vitality surely came from there.

Terrifying, evil—Wu Tie's disgust toward Granny Red and Shi Lingqing grew ever stronger.

"Commander Sir!" Several hundred meters away, behind a huge crystal cluster, Ding set down Lao Wu, whom he had been carrying on his back, and staggered over.

Just now Granny Red and Jiu Zhang Ling fought high in the sky; they gave their all, and both ended up wounded. Granny Red's inner flames raged everywhere, while Ding, Lao Wu, Luo Lin and the others hid behind the crystal cluster, which was how they narrowly escaped the terrible fire.

"Commander Sir." Luo Lin also staggered out from behind the crystal cluster.

He clutched his stomach; as he walked, his facial muscles twitched violently, stopping after each step—clearly the punch Jiu Zhang Ling had landed on his belly earlier had left him with a serious injury.

The two approached the battlefield, one after the other.

Jiu Zhang Ling suddenly lifted his head, took a breath, and spat out a stream of black smoke smelling of burnt charcoal, then coughed up several chunks of charred blood.

He widened his single eye, fixed Ding and Luo Lin with a cold stare, and said in a icy voice: "Halt, do not come closer… go, kill that old demon woman."

Luo Lin and Ding stared, then halted cautiously a hundred or so meters away, glanced at each other, both nodded, turned and walked toward Granny Red, who lay on the ground unable to move, her body almost split apart.

Granny Red lay on the ground; her wounds were healing quickly, but she had completely lost all ability to act.

She lifted her head with difficulty, gave Luo Lin and Ding a seductive glance, and said: "You two young lords, why not give serious thought to joining my Changsheng Sect? Hee, the greatest benefit of entering my Changsheng Sect is to live forever without worry… not to mention countless beauties, immeasurable wealth, boundless power…"

She took a breath, spat out a mouthful of blood, and softly laughed: "Any hero who has taken refuge in my Changsheng Sect has never regretted it; each one of them… I don't know how much they enjoy it."

Shi Lingqing also jumped down from the wooden boat, right hand gripping a slender, delicate short sword, swaying gracefully as she approached Ding and Luo Lin: "Luo Lin, Ding, why are you two lords so tense with swords drawn?"

Shi Lingqing also jumped down from the wooden boat, right hand gripping a slender, elegant short sword, swaying gracefully as she went up to Ding and Luo Lin: "Luo Lin, Ding, why are you two young masters so tense, swords drawn?"

"Hee, all this killing and slaughter is such a spoilsport. Why not, Lingqing, accompany the two young masters to a side and have some fun?" Shi Lingqing, with a charming allure, threw flirtatious glances at both of them: "Young Master Luo Lin, if you insist on avenging your sister, why not let Lingqing compensate you with herself?"

With a soft moan, Shi Lingqing simply tore off her outer robe, revealing her close-fitting undergarments, and twisted her waist as she lunged into Luo Lin's embrace.

"Young Master Luo Lin, could you really be so stubborn and dull?"

"Here lies an ancient sage's corpse, here are ancient relics, here are ancient treasures left behind… such a great opportunity and fortune, must you really insist on killing and slaughter?" Shi Lingqing's face was half rotted and ruined, half as white as jade; she turned her face, presenting her intact half toward Luo Lin.

Her face was glowing, really glowing.

In an instant, Shi Lingqing, who already possessed eighty or ninety percent beauty, now exuded twenty percent, thirty percent charm.

Luo Lin's body swayed; gazing at Shi Lingqing's half-face that was truly glowing, beautiful skin, his eyes suddenly grew unfocused and his steps came to an abrupt halt.

Hong Laolao laughed brightly; watching Shi Lingqing rush past her side, she praised: "Girl, well done."

Before her words even faded, Shi Lingqing suddenly turned and, like a starving wolf pouncing on food, lunged at Hong Laolao, ruthlessly thrusting her short sword into Hong Laolao's heart. She opened her small mouth and bit down hard on Hong Laolao's neck.

Amidst the hissing sound, Shi Lingqing was as if a pump valve were installed in her mouth, madly drawing the abundant blood and vital energy from Hong Laolao's body.

Hong Laolao screamed hoarsely, her body thrashing violently, but the injuries inflicted by the Nine Palm Order were too severe; she could not move at all. Moreover, the short sword in Shi Lingqing's hand had pierced her heart, and strange red light kept spurting from the blade, quickly piercing her whole body, causing all her strength to collapse instantly.

Luo Lin suddenly awoke.

The Nine Palm Order let out a strange cry mixed with shock and anger.

Ding waved both hands fiercely, sending over a hundred poison-coated triangular darts flying out silently; they struck Luo Lin, who was less than three meters ahead of him, with brutal force.

These triangular nails flew extremely fast with tremendous force, and Luo Lin's body was actually sent flying by them.

The triangular nails pierced Luo Lin's body, carrying blood as they flew out from in front of him. Luo Lin incredulously glanced back at Ding once, then his body heavily crashed to the ground, making no sound at all.

"Old Three, don't blame me… this is what Qiao taught me." Ding shouted, stepped back a few steps, waved his hand, and a weighted triangular nail flew out, striking Luo Lin's temple heavily.

His skull shattered, plasma sprayed, and this blow completely cut off all of Luo Lin's vitality.

"Go!" Ding laughed loudly, waved his hand, and thirty-six triangular nails with a faint black gleam, carrying black smoke, shot out from his waist pouch like lightning toward the Nine Palm Order lying on the ground.

The Nine Palm Order roared in anger, he slammed both hands hard onto the ground, trying to leverage a lift.

An earth-yellow stone pillar flew from afar and smashed heavily onto the back of the Nine Palm Order's head. The earth rumbled, a powerful suction surged from the ground; as the Nine Palm Order had just leapt half a meter, the pressure from the falling pillar and the ground's suction slammed him back down.

The thirty-six triangular nails accurately struck the Nine Palm Order's face, piercing his sole remaining eye, then arcing to enter through his ears, nostrils, and mouth.

The Nine Palm Order let out a muffled groan, and black blood quickly flowed from his seven orifices.

"So it seems only the smart survive to the end… Nine Palm Order, you insist that only the strong have the right to live." Qiao's voice came from behind a crystal cluster hundreds of meters away.

Both legs crushed by the Nine Palm Order, Qiao supported his body with one hand and crawled over here, limping.

In his other hand he gruffly held up the head of Old Wu.

Old Wu's eyes widened, his facial muscles twitched, wearing an expression of disbelief.

"When I killed him, he still couldn't believe I'd really strike him." Qiao laughed triumphantly: "Ling Qing, look at his face—he still can't believe I'd actually do it."

Wu Tie stood stiffly at the hall's door, dumbfounded as he watched the scene unfolding outside.

All of this completely exceeded his imagination.

Why did it turn out like this?

How could this be the result?

It turned out to be Shi Ling Qing, Qiao, and Ding… it was actually the three of them.

Hong Lao Lao convulsed violently on the ground, her fair, plump skin now resembling orange peel, covered in unsightly wrinkles.

She screamed at the top of her lungs toward the increasingly aura-filled Shi Ling Qing: "Ling Qing… how could you know the Seizing Essence Secret Art? How could an outer sect disciple like you possibly learn it?"

Shi Ling Qing ignored Hong Lao Lao, merely lying on her and greedily gulping the vital blood essence emanating from her body.

Qiao and Ding laughed at the same time, greedily and ruthlessly watching Shi Ling Qing's body as he lay upon Hong Lao Lao.

Wu Tie trembled violently, a sudden surge of inexplicable anger rising from his chest, almost bursting his chest open.

"Enough! You… can't be this shameless!" Wu Tie gripped his spear and strode toward Shi Ling Qing: "Are you even human? You three… what exactly do you want? Shi Ling Qing, stop!"

The spear tore through the air, thrusting straight at Shi Ling Qing.

Shi Ling Qing chuckled, tilting her head slightly; the half of her face that had been rotten and ugly turned fair as jade, fully restoring her original peerless beauty.

"Young Master Wu Tie, would you really hurt me?" Shi Ling Qing smirked: "Or would you strike a woman who can't resist?"

Wu Tie stared blankly.

Seeing Shi Ling Qing's flower-like smile, he abruptly halted his spear.

"Fool." Shi Ling Qing snorted, a thin layer of blood-colored flame erupting from her skin; her body flickered, splitting into nine afterimages that rushed toward Wu Tie with a howling gale.

Shi Ling Qing slammed both palms heavily onto Wu Tie's chest.

With a booming blast, two clusters of blood-red flame exploded; Wu Tie let out a strange cry, being knocked backward by the heavy blow.

He flew backward dozens of meters, Wu Tie slammed heavily into the ground, bounced up, and crashed headfirst into the steps before the hall, blasting a depression in the blue‑brick steps, lying spread‑eagled in the pit.

Shi Ling Qing wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said softly: "I've reached my limit; without more than a year of bitter cultivation, I can't digest the vital energy within me. This old demoness's vital energy must not be wasted…"

Shi Ling Qing gave a flirtatious glance to Qiao and Ding: "Qiao brother, Ding, suck up as much as you can… hurry."

Lifting his head, he saw the massive frame of Niu Ying Xiong, and Shi Ling Qing trembled with excitement.

"Here, there are countless treasures waiting for us."