Chapter 152: Second Grade

"You—!"

He Hai's eyes bulged with rage; though this was his first meeting with Xie Jinhuan, he absolutely could not believe that this madman, who devoured his own kind, standing before him could be the righteous hero praised by all!

Seeing that Xie Jinhuan truly dared to refine a blood Hua Yao Dan using living people, He Hai immediately flew into a rage and charged forward, while more than a dozen cultists surrounded him from all four directions!

And the instant the vast blood qi invaded Xie Jinhuan's physique, his pupils suddenly dilated; it seemed a valve in his brain was triggered, transforming into a torrent that conducted from his nerves to every part of his body.

His heart rate suddenly accelerated to several hundred, and the speed of his qi circulation was instantly driven to the extreme.

Thump-thump-thump—

The sound of his heartbeat merged into a single roar, causing his cheeks to turn flushed red.

This sudden, forced activation of the physique was enough to cause any cultivator to die on the spot or even explode.

But the essence of blood and qi refined simultaneously from the Hua Yao Dan was precisely to make up for the deficit caused by the physique operating under such an extreme load.

At this moment, Xie Jinhuan holding the golden ball was like holding an endless resource repository; his body strengthened and stabilized internally and externally at any cost, every single muscle becoming more resilient under the support of the blood qi, with absolutely no need to worry about exhausting his primordial energy and shortening his lifespan.

Facing the more than a dozen demon bandits attacking, Xie Jinhuan held his sword in his right hand and retreated, his figure instantly becoming a afterimage dragging blood mist; the sword light was like a flying shuttle, sweeping horizontally across the necks of the few men from behind!

Whoosh-whoosh—

Four demon bandits had not yet reacted before they were already headless!

He Hai thought Xie Jinhuan wanted to eat his fill and then flee, so he drove his physique to the extreme, leaping violently in place to smash a heavy mace at Xie Jinhuan's back, but the result was:

Boom—

Before Xie Jinhuan could turn around, an invisible qi wind had already erupted to protect his spine!

When He Hai struck down with his mace, the Heavenly Might Mace was like smashing into a waterfall's torrent; under the impact, the heavy mace did not leave his hand, but was involuntarily deflected, followed immediately by a sword light striking from in front.

Whoosh—

Cling-cling-cling-cling...

He Hai struck repeatedly with his single mace, attempting to blast this boy to death and reclaim the blood Hua Yao Dan.

But Xie Jinhuan was a proper martial artist, specializing in killing techniques; every sword strike targeted the throat or eyes, forcing He Hai back several steps in just three or five strikes, not to mention his momentum climbing step by step, the sword in his hand visibly becoming faster and the contained force gradually strengthening!

Although Xie Jinhuan longed to elevate his realm, there was still a 'Vigorous Dragon Pill' about to be in his grasp; for this reason, he exerted every effort to suppress his qi sea to prevent merely rushing his realm and becoming a decorative pillow, letting the endless essence of blood and qi do its best to temper his muscles and bones, solidifying his foundation.

But even so, the growth was visible to the naked eye!

He Hai and the others surrounded him; at first, they forced Xie Jinhuan to dodge and weave.

As only seven or eight soldiers remained, falling beneath the thunderous sword light, He Hai's defense gradually became difficult; several sword lights pierced through the gaps, stabbing directly into his chest, abdomen, and throat, bringing forth splashing blood droplets.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—

Xie Jinhuan grabbed the golden ball with his left hand; his body was directly wrapped in blood mist, his pores greedily devouring all the blood qi.

Meanwhile, the sword light in his right hand was like a dragon or snake exhaling; in but an instant, it had already shaved He Hai's robes into tatters.

But He Hai was indeed different from ordinary people; although his experience and techniques were inferior to Xie Jinhuan's, his limbs were resilient to an hair-raising degree; with every strike, his skin turned yellowish-brown, the wound not deeper than a fingertip, and by the second strike, it had already begun to heal.

The two fought in such a manner, appearing fraught with danger and splashing blood.

But He Hai's wild swings with his heavy mace simply could not hit Xie Jinhuan.

Xie Jinhuan's every sword strike landed, yet he could not break this freak's defense; the two were forced into a stalemate!

Ye Hongshang floated nearby observing the battle, and after careful study, analyzed:

"This person seems to be a human-demon hybrid; he looks human, but his skin and bone structure resembles a 'Toothed Porpoise'. Attack the forehead; without surprise, the bone there is very thin."

Whoosh—

Hearing the analysis, Xie Jinhuan's sword had already bypassed the Heavenly Might Mace, striking directly at the forehead, which is relatively sturdy for a human.

Bang~

The three-foot sword pierced the forehead, yet still failed to pierce the skin and flesh, but the bone beneath the skin emitted a 'Crack~' sound of splitting.

He Hai stumbled as a whole, horror surging in his eyes; he flew back several steps, then discarded the useless Heavenly Might Mace and charged forward with bare fists, head-butting:

"Hah—!"

Boom-boom—

Xie Jinhuan intended to pursue, but discovered a cloud of black mist exploding from behind He Hai; he stomped heavily with one arm blocking his forehead, his entire body like an unstoppable wild ox, his speed even faster than a thundering gallop.

Seeing this, he sheathed his sword and gathered qi, colliding with the force of a black dragon striking a pillar, creating a tornado wrapped in black sand and dust within the mine; the sword light struck directly at the left arm shielding the forehead!

Boom-boom—

He Hai's left arm flesh was immediately pierced; the sword qi exploded, yet failed to shatter the arm bone; instead, an indescribable impact bent the Zhenglun Sword, and his figure subsequently crashed into Xie Jinhuan's chest and abdomen.

Bang!

Fearing the golden ball would be knocked away, Xie Jinhuan held his hand behind his back and withstood it with the force of a stone dragon crossing a ridge.

But amidst the explosive sound, his hemp robe tore into four pieces and five fragments; the ice-scale armor did not dent, yet his entire body flew out like a cannonball, crashing inside a shed behind.

Crash-crash-crash—

He Hai discarded his weapon and charged wildly like a demon beast; instead, his combat power skyrocketed; after knocking Xie Jinhuan flying, he took heavy steps like thunder and attacked wildly again, crossing his hands in front of his forehead and charging at Xie Jinhuan once more.

Boom-boom-boom—

The mine's building complex instantly had bricks and stones flying; from a distance, it looked like a wild ox rampaging within.

Xie Jinhuan dodged left and right; over a hundred strikes pierced He Hai's body from front and back, but since he couldn't hit the forehead's vital point, it was basically just scraping; it felt like dealing with a wild boar king with thick skin and flesh!

After such a continuous moment, Xie Jinhuan realized fighting this way was meaningless; the Zhenglun Sword returned to its sheath in the blink of an eye:

Clang—

His entire body subsequently flew through the air, landing in the center of the field.

The blood qi within the golden ball in his hand had already all flowed into his body, yet it had not been fully digested.

Xie Jinhuan discarded the golden ball and stood bare-handed in the mine; his muscles and blood vessels surged throughout his body, and his qi momentum even blew the surrounding sand and dust.

Seeing that He Hai was completely enraged and showed not the slightest intention of retreating, Xie Jinhuan twisted his neck, then charged forward to collide.

Step-step-step—

The two of them advanced with thunderous strides, rapidly closing the distance!

He Hai watched the Hua Yao Dan get eaten clean, rage and fury already scattering his mind. He cupped both hands over his forehead and let out an explosive shout as he charged head-on:

"Hah—!"

Xie Jinhuan, meanwhile, let his qi flow through his whole body, took a great stride forward, and unleashed a 'Black Bear Hard Lean', while bracing his frame with Coiling Dragon Horizontal Ridge.

Boom—

The earth shook and the mountains swayed!

The two collided, and the terrifying shock flipped the surrounding coal ash several zhang in an instant, revealing the original yellow earth beneath!

This was the first time He Hai hadn't sent his opponent flying. Under the Iron Mountain Lean, his whole body staggered back several steps from the impact.

Xie Jinhuan took the brunt with his arms, and his whole body slid back over three zhang. The skin and flesh on his arms were battered to a pulp, yet his expression didn't change as he strode forward:

"Come, keep going!"

"Hah—!"

He Hai belonged to the demonic path. In his fury he had fallen completely into madness—there was no thought of retreat. He swung his arms as he charged wildly forward, then delivered another head-on collision.

Boom—

Boom—

Boom—

In the dead-silent mine, ring after ring of ripples appeared.

Sand and dust rolled outward like waves, and the muffled booms sounded like distant thunder, one after another.

Xie Jinhuan's skin and flesh certainly weren't as tough as this monster's, but 'Coiling Dragon Horizontal Ridge' was a hard-clashing art. Though his arms were torn open, the inside wasn't much affected.

As for exhaustion, what the Hua Yao Dan replenished was essence, qi, and blood. Under the vast ocean of blood-qi's blessing, even if his qi sea ran dry, he could keep charging for another half hour on brute strength alone.

Boom—

Boom—

The muffled thuds of bodies colliding continued without pause.

The two of them slammed head-on into each other over forty times in the middle of the field.

Although Xie Jinhuan's shoulders were wounded, his physique was also being steadily tempered through repeated injury and self-healing.

Noticing that He Hai was relying purely on brute force and gradually tiring, his wild charge slowing, Xie Jinhuan charged straight at him again. At the moment of contact he dropped his stance and, from below upward, delivered an explosively violent rising elbow.

He Hai cupped his arms over his forehead and thrust forward, but the heavy elbow caught him off guard and smashed directly into his face.

Thud—

The elbow cut like a blade. Under the heavy blow his nose bridge snapped, and his whole body left the ground at once, flipping in the air, and by momentum crashed toward the other side of Xie Jinhuan.

And Xie Jinhuan, after that strike, bounced up with the momentum, spun in midair, and threw a whipping kick aimed at He Hai's forehead!

Crack—

The whipping kick shredded the trouser leg clean off in midair!

He Hai's airborne body spun backward, his face hammered and his head spinning, and before he could react, the heavy shin slammed into his forehead.

A sharp 'Crack—' rang out, and his forehead caved in almost instantly!

His whole body then slammed into the ground, plowing a long furrow into the yellow earth before barely stopping.

Xie Jinhuan's whipping leg landed, and he charged forward at full stride. Halfway there he kicked up the Tiangang Mace, angled it behind him, slid his stance open as he closed in, drew his body like a bow about to snap, and let out a thunderous explosive shout:

"Die—"

Boom—

The Tiangang Mace came down in a full-force overhead slash, sweeping the scattering sand and dust around him!

He Hai, his forehead caved in, had barely struggled up when the mountain-shaking weight of the heavy mace was already above his head.

The eyes filled with extreme fury also, at this moment, flickered with a sliver of clarity. His peripheral gaze shifted toward the direction of Yunling Mountain, where the Lei Guang was still flashing…

Boom—

The heavy mace fell on the crown of his skull, bursting open a cloud of blood mist!

He Hai's body was indeed superhumanly tough. Even so, his upper half wasn't smashed apart—only caved in about a chi—then, with blood gushing, he toppled backward.

Thud—

The body crashed into the dust, and the mine fell silent, leaving only the 'shhh-shhh' of settling dust and coarse and heavy panting:

"Huff… huff…"

Xie Jinhuan, wearing a sleeveless soft armor and ragged trousers, stood holding the mace in place. After waiting a moment and seeing no movement from the monster with only half a head left, he withdrew his stance and stood straight, wiping the sweat from his face:

"That bastard's tougher than Tai Shu Dan—thick-skinned and fleshy to a hair-raising degree."

Ye Hongshang, shouldering the red umbrella, examined the corpse nearby, looking somewhat puzzled:

"This person should be a very important figure of the Mingshen Sect. It seems that while still in the womb, some kind of dark art was used to fuse a human and a yao together. His limbs have the toughness of a yao beast, but his bones, skin, and flesh look exactly like a human's, and he doesn't show any half-yao body. It's hard to tell anything's off unless he fights."

"Could it be the offspring of a human and a yao?"

"Humans and birds or beasts can't have children. Even if they take human form, at most they can lie together. Of course, they can also lie together without taking human form."

"?"

Xie Jinhuan felt his ghost bride was being a bit cheeky. He put away the Tiangang and briefly examined his physique, and found that the Hua Yao Dan refined from slaughtering over a thousand people was indeed domineering.

His qi sea had originally been like mist, but now showed signs of liquefying. Because the early, middle, and late stages of 'Spirit Qi Realm' don't require crossing bottlenecks, this was probably the bearing of a second-rank martial artist.

And once the qi sea condenses like jade liquid, with no more roaming qi, that is the peak of first-rank—the watershed between mortal and immortal. Beyond that is entering the Dao through martial arts to seek longevity.

After a brief self-examination, Xie Jinhuan turned his head again to look at the mountain of corpses piled in the field.

Although most of those in the official mine were criminals who had committed offenses, clearly they didn't deserve death—let alone being used as human sacrifices to raise yao.

Xie Jinhuan thought for a moment, then cupped his fist toward the mountain of corpses:

"Gentlemen, I, Xie, have taken note of your blood feuds. You all fell victim to the Mingshen Sect. Within my remaining years, I will hunt down every last one of these bastards and avenge you all."

"You're quite particular."

"I did benefit in the end. If I walked away with a clear conscience, wouldn't that truly make me a demonic cultivator?"

"Fair enough."

Ye Hongshang shouldered the red umbrella and looked up toward Yunling Mountain, where Lei Guang still flashed:

"Something's off over there. The fight shouldn't have dragged on this long. Jingcheng's probably gotten into trouble again."

Xie Jinhuan had wanted to rush over immediately on seeing this, but killing a man required destroying his heart first!

If that Mingshen Sect leader wasn't dead, he definitely had to let the man know exactly what he'd just done.

So Xie Jinhuan first picked up the empty golden orb, then felt around He Hai's waist, pulling out his money pouch, jade token, and other personal items, before dashing toward Yunling Mountain...

—

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