Chapter 390: Skinning

Yuan Tingshan's expression was ferocious as he ran frantically through the mountain forest.

He could not die here.

Even if he had to crawl, he would crawl to a place above ten thousand people.

There, there was the World's Second, Wang Xianzhi; there was the Peach Blossom Sword God, Deng Taie; and there was the peerless strategist Cao Zhangqing. There were even countless secret manuals, divine weapons, and peerless beauties who looked down on everyone, waiting for him to trample them. In such a wonderful Edo, how could he bear to die?

Even while fleeing, Yuan Tingshan's mind remained meticulous; he smeared his body with withered leaves, grass, and mud to mask his Qi.

At the same time, he could not help but recall Murong Tonghuang's three strikes.

The first time, he killed two attendants; the second time, he flicked his sleeves to kill all the remaining attendants; and the third time, he reached for Murong Qingsong's heart.

These three strikes were all light and breezy, leaving no trace to be found.

His previous estimate was wrong; this was at least a Second-Rank Small Grandmaster, perhaps even stronger.

"Damn that Murong Tonghuang. Once I, your father, have mastered my martial arts, I will definitely take revenge. First, I'll ruthlessly ravage that woman called Murong Wuzhu in front of him, then I'll pull his tendons and peel his skin, making him taste what it's like to wish for death," Yuan Tingshan cursed and swore, venting the resentment in his heart.

This resentment was not only directed at Yu Liancheng, but also at his own family background and birth.

Those disciples born into martial arts families, who the hell wasn't having their meridians massaged and bones set by experts within the clan at four or five years old, or even in their swaddling clothes, laying a deep foundation, achieving twice the result with half the effort, and choosing any peerless technique they pleased?

Yet he was born at the bottom, a natural beast of burden, with no one to rely on. For over a decade, in order to learn martial arts and obtain a single blade technique manual, acting like a grandson and playing the dog for others was just a common occurrence, risking his life time and again to seek wealth.

If he were a disciple of a great family, he was confident his strength would be far beyond what it was now; the one who should be fleeing in a wolf-like, wretched state like a wild dog would be Murong Tonghuang and Murong Wuzhu.

"You run really fast. Are you a dog? No, that's not right, you are a mad dog yourself."

A cold, mocking voice rang out. A black-clad figure appeared three zhang in front of Yuan Tingshan, a playful smile on his handsome face, as if he were a cat toying with a mouse.

"Damn you, go to hell!!"

Yuan Tingshan's figure paused, a look of ferocity immediately appearing on his face as his Qi surged. As he lunged wildly, he pulled out the long blade in his hand, the blade's edge carving out a semi-circular brilliance, the killing intent rushing toward Yu Liancheng as if it were tangible.

He was a ruthless blade-wielder who had carved a bloody path from the marketplace; he cherished his life, yet dared to risk it, skilled at both pestering his opponents and unleashing his strongest killing move in an instant.

And yet, Yuan Tingshan's killing move suddenly congealed three feet away from Yu Liancheng. The blade light shattered, and the blade itself was clamped between two fingers. With a twist of those slender fingers, the tempered long blade turned into countless fragments that shot outward.

Yuan Tingshan used his arms to block the fragments shooting toward his chest; ignoring the pain, he turned to flee, but a hand had already pressed down on his shoulder.

An intangible, formless True Qi surged violently into Yuan Tingshan's body along the palm, scattering all his Qi and rendering his entire body limp and powerless, as if he had no bones. If not for being held up by that hand, he would likely not even be able to stand.

"Mad dogs that bite people at random will end up becoming dead dogs."

Yu Liancheng's other hand tapped his index finger against Yuan Tingshan's forehead; his fingernail was as sharp as a blade, and a wisp of blood trickled down.

"Stop, what... what are you doing?" Yuan Tingshan felt the pain on his forehead, and looking at the handsome, demonic face before him, the fear in his heart could no longer be suppressed, erupting like a mountain torrent.

Yu Liancheng revealed a chilling smile: "I am very fair in how I treat people. You wanted to have my foolish sister and wanted to pull my tendons and peel my skin, so of course I must return it all one by one. It's a pity, with your looks, even if you had a sister, I would still be at a huge loss."

The fingernail slashed down abruptly, blood gushing out, and screams echoed through the forest: "I have never peeled skin before, is this how you peel it?"

……

Not long after, Yu Liancheng's hands were stained with blood, and on the ground lay a blurred human shape, constantly groaning and wailing.

"You fellow, I asked you if this is how you peel it, but you won't say."

Yu Liancheng's smile grew increasingly demonic, resembling a legendary Demon.

But he suddenly froze, his brows furrowed slightly, and he couldn't help but look at his blood-covered hands: "What has happened to me... could it be the influence of the Evil Emperor Relic?"

Though he had always repaid kindness with kindness and grudges with grudges, he had previously carried the demeanor of an expert, possessing a certain breadth of mind.

There were not a few people who had offended him and been spared by him.

And for a small fry like Yuan Tingshan, if he escaped, he escaped; even if he had the heart to hunt him down, it would have been a matter of a casual palm strike.

But now, there seemed to be a baleful energy in his chest, his methods becoming increasingly cruel, and he was someone who would seek revenge for the slightest grievance.

Yu Liancheng walked to a stream, the water reflecting the figure of a youth with blood-stained hands, lips pursed, killing intent still lingering between his brows, his handsome face like a bloodthirsty, cruel monster.

"It seems the evil nature within the Evil Emperor Relic is indeed having a deep influence on me."

Yu Liancheng frowned in thought. Although the Evil Emperor Relic had been refined by him once and the energy it contained had become purer, it was, after all, formed from the life essence of generations of Evil Emperors.

Furthermore, his previous innate wisdom had not been awakened, and his soul was weak, so his mind had been tainted, his temperament becoming somewhat extreme, vengeful, and bloodthirsty; for these years, he had been suppressing it intentionally or unintentionally.

But as his martial arts reached completion, boasting that he could roam the world, he had become uninhibited, and the baleful energy had subsequently erupted.

"Phew, I should restrain myself a little more in the future; I must maintain the demeanor of an expert, or it won't be good if I suffer a Qi deviation."

Yu Liancheng flicked a wisp of finger wind, ending Yuan Tingshan's life. Immediately, he tapped his toes and drifted toward Guniu Hill on Huishan.

Restraint was necessary.

The demeanor of an expert must still be maintained.

But the revenge that needed to be taken could not be compromised in the slightest.

……

Jianzhou was divided into two by the Shejiang; west of the river was Longhu, and east of the river was Xuanyuan.

Longhu Mountain in Jiangdong was the ancestral court of the Daoist Canon, which naturally went without saying.

And although the Xuanyuan of Jiangdong was not of the Daoist gate, it occupied more than half of Huishan, and thus possessed the Tianmuyincen, the sixth of the blessed lands, with infinite, beautiful scenery.

In particular, the main peak, Guniu Dagang, was entirely a massive blue stone, shaped like a green ox lying quietly, supporting the sky.

Below the mountain were the Liudie sister waterfalls; every summer, tens of thousands of carp would leap and swim against the current, a spectacular sight that shared the same ingenuity as the "Ten Thousand Carp Emerging from the Water" at the Beiliang Prince Mansion.

Because of the legend that a Dragon King was imprisoned at the bottom of the pool, it was also called Longmen or the Heavenly Gate.

The Sword God Li Chungang once used a sword to make six waterfalls flow against the current, collapsing the gate of the Xuanyuan Mansion built on Guniu Dagang, which the world called "One Sword Opens the Heavenly Gate," and it was precisely from this that the name originated.

Today was the birthday of the old master of the Xuanyuan family.

The entire Huishan was much livelier than usual, with a constant flow of people.

A young man in black drifted over, a smile on his lips, muttering to himself: "Holding a joyous event and a funeral together, it doesn't conflict, it doesn't conflict."