Chapter 31

Qiao He Ding greedily lunged at the immobile Hong Laolao.

Shi Lingqing looked around with a smile, raised her head to gaze at Niu Yingxiong's huge frame for a moment, then struck out with a backhand palm.

A clump of scarlet flame condensed into a palm print that flew out, heavily smashing into Jiu Zhang Ling's body. Jiu Zhang Ling's shattered body was blown into the air by the explosion; Shi Lingqing gave a soft shout, her slender ten fingers rapidly moving as if playing a piano.

Countless thumb-sized fireballs whistled out, striking Jiu Zhang Ling's body like a downpour.

The thick black carapace on Jiu Zhang Ling's body was beaten to shreds, firelight bursting, the carapace breaking apart, large chunks of flesh flying. Jiu Zhang Ling's body jerked and flailed wildly in the air, and after the span of a full cup of tea, his body was blown to pieces.

"Quite sturdy, no wonder you're a master who has cultivated divine abilities." Shi Lingqing laughed, lowering her hands, proudly looking at her fair, tender hands that continuously flowed with a moving radiance.

"But what does strength matter?" Shi Lingqing laughed radiantly, utterly intoxicated as she turned in place once, deeply inhaling with satisfaction: "Wisdom is true strength... killing does not require one's own hand."

Wu Tie endured wave after wave of weakness rising from within, leaning on his spear as he slowly rose to his feet.

Shi Lingqing's heavy strike was indeed terrifying, but the defensive power of his set of tight-fitting armor was also truly formidable.

The heavy blow merely jolted his viscera a little, whereas the bone shards sucking away half his blood caused greater harm. He widened his eyes, vigorously shook his head to dispel the black mist before him somewhat, and Wu Tie stared fixedly at Shi Lingqing.

"So you mean Qiao He Ding was already persuaded by you?"

"Whether it's Nine Palm Order or Hong Laolao, you deliberately lured them here, didn't you?"

Wu Tie voiced his greatest doubt. Now it seems everything was Shi Lingqing's calculation. Although she appears no older than Wu Tie by a few years, having such scheming truly made Wu Tie feel fear deep in his bones.

Shi Lingqing spread her arms, deliberately showing Wu Tie her charming, beautiful figure. She then turned in place twice, lifting her chest toward him with a smile: "Of course, all the results before us are due to my plan."

Smiling, she took two steps toward Wu Tie, Shi Lingqing pointed at him with a blossoming smile.

"Hong Laolao, I've long wanted to strike her down. Outside, I dare not, for the Changsheng Sect's statutes are strict; if discovered harming a sect elder, even with a backing, I would surely die."

"Moreover, my strength is limited; although I obtained the soul-seizing secret art from another source, I could never be a match for Hong Laolao."

"But here, this secret realm is so hidden… If I hadn't been chased to desperation by Luo Lin and his companions, forced to flee with people through the dark river beside Qianyu City, I could never have found this place."

"Such a hidden secret realm is perfect for scheming against someone."

"The best part is, Luo Lin and his companions are assassins of the Mist Blade. Luring a Mist Blade expert to perish together with Hong Laolao… the chance of success, I have about a sixty percent confidence."

"Sixty percent is already worth a gamble."

Shi Lingqing stepped up to Wu Tie, reaching out to lightly caress the clean armor on his chest. She extended her scarlet tongue tip to lick her red lips, smiling at Wu Tie as her body uncontrollably trembled slightly.

Excited, aroused, Shi Lingqing's eyes filled with an extremely greedy, vicious light.

"A sixty percent chance to seize Hong Laolao's cultivation… this is already worth my gamble."

"What's more, little lord, the secrets on you simply make my mouth water."

"Armor seemingly an ancient treasure, spear seemingly an ancient treasure, inheritance seemingly from an ancient great one."

"Yo, yo, the greater surprise is, this ancient sage's body, plus the ancient treasure in the hall… I, Shi Lingqing, am indeed favored by heaven… all of this is mine, entirely mine."

Shi Lingqing smiled, her eyes narrowing to slits: "Young sir, could you take off that armor so I may examine it properly?"

Wu Tie fiercely thrust his spear at Shi Lingqing.

Flames blazed across Shi Lingqing's body; with a swish she turned into several afterimages, retreating dozens of meters. Before Wu Tie could see her move, she suddenly lunged forward again, a hook punch slamming into his chin.

Shi Lingqing's speed was too fast; amidst the surging flames her explosive power was astonishingly strong, a casual strike carrying tens of thousands of jin of force. Her cultivation clearly surpassed the Foundation Establishment level, reaching a higher stage.

The heavy blow sent Wu Tie flying upward; he shouted as he soared over a hundred meters into the sky, then vigorously shook his head, his body abruptly halting in midair.

An invisible force field exerted fully, lifting Wu Tie's body.

Shi Lingqing sighed with envy: "This must be… the legendary bloodline talent? Truly fortunate, to possess divine abilities while still at Foundation Establishment, making Lingqing both envious and jealous."

After a few laughs, Shi Lingqing softly said: "Young sir, why not, instead of fighting, just like Qiao and Ding, why not submit to me? Everything of Lingqing can be yours to enjoy… later, if Lingqing wishes to attain a higher position in the Changsheng Sect, she will naturally need a few confidants."

While lying atop Hong Laolao, using the newly learned soul-seizing art, clumsily siphoning her life essence, Qiao He Ding simultaneously lifted his head, looking at Wu Tie with both anger and apprehension.

On the wounds where Qiao's two thighs had been smashed by Nine Palm Order, large strands of flesh writhed rapidly, half a thigh already visibly regrowing. Hong Laolao's internal life energy was immense; Qiao's cultivation lagged far behind hers, but a bit of that energy was enough for his body to recover swiftly.

As his thighs healed, Qiao also regained his vigor, unable to help shouting: "Lingqing… what's so good about this brat… why treat him like this?"

Shi Lingqing turned her head and gave Qiao a cold, stern glare.

Qiao immediately shut his mouth, obediently lowered his head, and continued lying on Hong Laolao's neck.

Shi Lingqing glanced at Wu Tie with a light laugh, her voice full of charm: "Young sir, perhaps you don't know a woman's allure… why not come down and properly try with Lingqing? Perhaps you'll understand why Qiao and Ding willingly betrayed the Mist Blade and gladly serve me."

Wu Tie did not respond to Shi Lingqing.

The invisible force field churned violently; Wu Tie plummeted from the sky like a meteor, his spear whistling with a sharp crack as it thrust straight at Shi Lingqing.

Shi Lingqing snorted coldly, muttered a curse, and her hands lashed out like windmills in rapid succession.

Streaks of scarlet flame condensed into palm prints that heavily struck Wu Tie's spear; the wild, explosive force like a hurricane repeatedly sent him soaring over a hundred meters into the air, after which he would dive down again, thrusting wildly at Shi Lingqing.

Having seized part of Hong Laolao's life essence, Shi Lingqing's strength surpassed Wu Tie's by a notch; in direct confrontation she was no match for him.

But Wu Tie's armor possessed astonishing defensive power; no matter how Shi Lingqing struck, she could not affect him in the slightest.

Scarlet flames roiled and rose, the surrounding temperature continually climbing, yet inside his armor Wu Tie felt only a slight stuffy heat.

The dull, monotonous clash continued for a full quarter hour, neither able to best the other, when suddenly a voice rang out from within the hall: Lao Tie's: "Little brat, do you now know how terrifying a creature woman is?"

Wu Tie thrust his spear downward; Shi Lingqing seized the spearhead with a palm and ruthlessly slammed his whole body to the ground.

Large chunks of blue bricks shattered, the impact carving a human-shaped pit in the ground; Wu Tie lay miserably in the pit, after drawing a breath he leapt up and jumped back over ten meters, staggering to stand beside Lao Tie.

Lao Tie had just been sent flying by a single slash from Jiu Zhang Ling, that blow leaving no mark on him.

The composed Lao Tie stepped out of the hall one step at a time, shaking his head as he sized up Shi Lingqing.

"Are girls nowadays all as frightening as you?" Lao Tie's eyes flashed with bloodlight, moreover countless invisible rays enveloped Shi Lingqing: "Grandfather I recall, those girls of the past, though some were indeed spoiled and headstrong, were nothing like you…"

After a silence, Lao Tie said in a low voice: "In you I see none of the beauty a young girl ought to have."

Shi Lingqing clapped his hands, smiling until his eyes narrowed into slits: "The kind of beautiful little girl you mentioned…… oh, I roughly understood, Luo Lin's sister…… she must be the type you like……"

With a strange pursed-lip smile, Shi Lingqing's face suddenly darkened: "When I ordered her killed, she was still pleading for those other little girls…… utterly stupid beyond description, the beauty of the little girl you spoke of…… is that so-called 'kindness,' 'purity'?"

Lao Tie said nothing, he stood at the main hall's doorway, gazing deeply at Shi Lingqing.

Shi Lingqing looked at Lao Tie with interest: "My luck is really good, what are you then? A human head? A wolf's body?"

Lao Tie hurriedly said: "Human head, dog body, this is a dog's body, you must not get it wrong…… otherwise, the dog thing will be unhappy…… that guy, he has a big grudge against his distant relatives."

Shi Lingqing nodded: "No matter what you are……you strange thing like this can fetch a good price……the important person behind me also likes collecting oddities like you; offering you to her will surely make her happier."

Shi Lingqing's little face flushed, as if blood were about to seep from her pores: "Hong Laolao is dead, and I have offered you to her; my achievement this time, heh……is really not small."

Lao Tie charged forward without a word, throwing himself like a siege hammer, and slammed hard into Shi Lingqing.

Shi Lingqing lightly laughed and waved her hand; flames rose, heat surged, she slapped Lao Tie's forehead with a palm, he let out a muffled cry, was sent flying far away by the slap, headfirst crashing into a cluster of crystals, the blood light in his eyes suddenly dimmed, and he lay motionless on the ground.

"Lao Tie!" Wu Tie shouted.

Lao Tie showed no movement, lying motionless on the ground as if dead.

Wu Tie's heart instantly filled with great anxiety; he bellowed, leapt up fiercely, raised his spear, and thrust it at Shi Lingqing.

For no reason, Wu Tie recalled a line that Grey Master had especially admired in the past, and he shouted at Shi Lingqing: "You could have been a lovely person; why become a thief?"

Shi Lingqing, who had been smiling, suddenly heard Wu Tie's words……her movements stiffened for a moment, then her face twisted, her two arms spewed blazing blood flames, her clothes instantly burned to ash, revealing a body crystalline and translucent like blood jade.

"Why be a thief? I want to live!" Shi Lingqing's eyes spat fire; like a madwoman she rushed to Wu Tie, swept aside his spear with a palm, grabbed his neck and slammed him to the ground, then pounded his chest wildly with both palms.

Thudding impact sounds continued nonstop; Wu Tie's body trembled violently, the ground shook violently, the ground was blasted open into a deep pit several meters deep, and Wu Tie, unable to resist, lay limp in the pit, letting Shi Lingqing strike him at will.

"I……just want to go on living, to live beautifully, splendidly, gloriously—am I wrong?" Shi Lingqing ruthlessly stomped her foot on Wu Tie's head, grinding it hard.

"I also don't want to have anything to do with the Changsheng Sect……my grandfather's decision—when the Changsheng Sect first entered the Cangyan Realm, he defected to them, and I wasn't even born yet!" Shi Lingqing shouted sternly: "The patron behind me has taken a liking to me; what can I do?"

"I'm just a little woman; I only want to live properly—am I wrong?"

"Killing Luo Lin's sister is the mission the Changsheng Sect gave me; if I don't do it, I die……I'm not some legendary saint, so why should I sacrifice myself for women I don't even know?"

"I just want to stay alive……I was hunted so relentlessly that I threw caution to the wind, charged into the Yin He River and was washed here……a bunch of old masters pursued me without mercy, I just want to stay alive……to keep living, I even let those two men I utterly despise toy with me all day long!"

Here underground also sprouted tiny crystal clusters, making the ground extremely hard.

Wu Tie's helmet scraped the ground, producing a piercing sound.

Shi Lingqing trampled Wu Tie's head madly, screaming hoarsely: "You never gave me a real, free choice……can all this be blamed on me?"

"You say I'm a thief?"

"Then the other day, when I begged you for help, if you had wholeheartedly protected me from Luo Lin and his gang, I could never have made this decision……" Shi Lingqing shrieked with utter resentment: "Do you think that seeing a man and stripping yourself naked to seduce him is a quick way to happiness?"

"I'm not much older than you either!"

Shi Lingqing shrieked hysterically, desperately stomping her foot on Wu Tie's head.

On the ground, the left shoulder had completely vanished, and a large chunk missing from the left chest—Shi Dian—slowly inched over step by step.

Qiao He Ding were frenziedly devouring Hong Laolao's vital essence, intoxicated by the pleasure and stimulation of the essence-stealing art, unable to pull themselves away. Their cultivation surged rapidly, their strength grew swiftly, and endless pleasure suffused their bodies……

They didn't even hear Shi Lingqing's scream.

Shi Dian gripped his wooden staff tightly, walking step by step; he was still tens of meters from Qiao He Ding when he swung the staff, a mass of purplish-black smoke shot out, instantly enveloping Qiao He Ding.