Chapter 171: Peerless in Artifact Control

In an underground cavern, two young women in their early twenties, with nearly identical faces, one clad in crimson armor and the other in pale blue armor, were battling a swarm of giant centipedes several feet long.

Though their features were delicate, both women had now transformed into miniature titans over ten feet tall; one's armor shimmered with roaring flames, the other's exuded a blinding white chill—every centipede either turned to charred ash or froze into icy statues.

…

Deep within a golden desert, a girl of sixteen or seventeen stood atop a cluster of crimson firelight, soaring through the air as she chased a group of over ten demonic sect disciples ahead.

She laughed like tinkling silver bells, holding a crimson gourd in her hand, from which she unleashed a stream of fire crows, half-purple and half-red.

Though each fire crow was only a foot long, the moment its wings spread, it shot forward with lightning speed, transforming into streaks of red light that slammed into the demonic disciples ahead.

Even as the demonic disciples frantically blocked with various artifacts and launched talismanic spells against the fire crows, the crows seemed indestructible—each time a purple flash appeared, it dissolved the attacks outright, then lunged forward to pierce through their protective auras, turning the disciples into human-shaped balls of flame.

"Semi-Supreme Spirit Flame"

"You demon sect witch—I'll fight you to the death!"

In desperation, one disciple of the Black Soul Sect spun around, activating a white-bone spear artifact, and charged headlong into the red-robed girl behind him.

The girl didn't even blink; she merely shook her crimson gourd, instantly spewing out three half-purple, half-red fire crows that struck the Black Soul Sect disciple in succession.

With three thunderous "boom" sounds, roaring flames reduced the Black Soul Sect disciple and his artifact to ash.

The remaining demonic disciples, terrified beyond words, abandoned all caution and fled forward, desperately employing all manner of escape techniques.

The red-robed girl, however, smiled cheerfully and followed at a leisurely pace.

…

Above another dense forest, a bizarre figure wrapped head to toe in tightly bound bandages, with a pitch-black coffin strapped to his back, faced a young man in a blue robe who carried two purple longswords.

"A true disciple of the Thousand Bamboo Sect?" The bandaged man glanced at the man's blue robe and asked coldly.

The blue-robed man, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, nodded calmly and replied, "I am Luo Hao of the Thousand Bamboo Sect. Are you from the Demon Luo Sect?"

"The top true disciple of the Thousand Bamboo Sect—the one famed as peerless in artifact control?" The bandaged man's pupils contracted sharply, his voice growing grave.

"Correct—I am indeed the top true disciple of our sect. As for 'peerless in artifact control,' that's merely a joke among our disciples. Don't take it seriously." Luo Hao smiled faintly.

"Hmph. I am Youmingzi of the Demon Luo Sect. I've long heard that the Thousand Bamboo Sect produced a prodigy who became top true disciple while still at the Qi Refining stage. If I kill you here, my rank among my sect's true disciples will rise dramatically." Youmingzi's eyes glowed with an eerie green flame.

"Youmingzi? The ninth-ranked true disciple of the Demon Luo Sect?" Luo Hao's expression shifted to one of sudden recognition.

"You know much about our sect's true disciples?" Youmingzi looked surprised.

"I knew little of your sect until my ancestral elder warned me before I entered: he told me which Qi Refining true disciples might come this time, and specifically cautioned me to beware the third-ranked one—he too is a Qi Refining cultivator who cracked the top three of your true disciples, and he's my greatest rival."

"What a pity. Compared to you, I'd much rather meet that fellow." Luo Hao said calmly.

"You want to meet that madman? You've lost your mind!"

"Our demonic sect's true disciple rankings are nothing like yours."

"Yours consider potential, cultivation talent, and other factors—that's why you have someone like you, a Qi Refining cultivator ranked first."

"But in our sect, the only thing that matters is strength. If you're strong enough, even if your cultivation talent is dogshit, you'll still rank first among true disciples."

"That madman is only at the Qi Refining stage, yet he ranks third among true disciples—that means several Foundation Establishment true disciples admit they'd die if they fought him one-on-one." Youmingzi stared at the blue-robed man as if he were an idiot.

"He can kill Foundation Establishment cultivators?" Luo Hao's expression changed for the first time.

"Heh, yes. To that madman, a prodigy like you is just a dish—meant to be eaten."

"If that's the case, then I might as well take your life." Youmingzi chuckled, yanked the black coffin from his back, and hurled it into the air before him. His eyes blazed with green light as he chanted incantations, fingers forming seals.

Instantly, the coffin lid slid open silently, and a humanoid monster covered entirely in white fur floated out.

"White-Furred Zombie"

Seeing the monster, Luo Hao raised an eyebrow. Without any visible motion, one of the two purple longswords on his back suddenly leapt from its sheath, streaking forward as a purple rainbow.

At the same moment, the white-furred corpse's body erupted with a layer of rusted iron armor; its fingernails grew wildly long as it stood rigidly to meet the purple rainbow.

Meanwhile, Youmingzi shook his sleeve, and a strange artifact resembling a spiked club flew out, wreathed in swirling, indistinct ghostly shadows that shrieked as it hurtled toward Luo Hao…

After a stick of incense burned out.

Youmingzi sat cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by a circle of tattered green banners, but both his arms and legs had been severed; a bowl-sized blood hole gaped in his chest, his bandages torn to shreds, revealing grotesque green blotches across his body. Around him lay over seven broken artifacts, yet his eyes were vacant—he was clearly on the brink of death.

With a thunderous "boom."

The white-furred zombie plummeted from the sky and crashed heavily to the ground, half its body gone, the rest riddled with wounds.

Before the zombie could rise again, a streak of purple light descended, piercing straight through its skull and pinning it to the earth.

Streams of black vapor surged from the zombie's body, struggling to claw at the short sword embedded in its head.

But instantly, the purple short sword erupted with countless purple threads; wherever they touched, all matter shattered into fragments.

The white-furred zombie was no exception—its entire body burst into clouds of blood mist as the purple threads swept over it.

Almost simultaneously, a purple rainbow shot down, circled once around Youmingzi's head, then soared back into the air.

"Gurgle…"

A severed head rolled to the ground, yet its eyes remained open, laughing wildly as it spoke two words:

"Peerless in artifact control—truly worthy of the name. But defeating that madman? Impossible. I'll wait below. We'll meet again soon."

No sooner had the words ended than a figure crashed down, Yijiao crushing the head like a watermelon into pulp.

"No need for taunts—I intend to meet that madman too." Luo Hao looked down at the red-and-white mess beneath his foot, speaking calmly.