Chapter 153: Isn

The valley shimmered with lightning, sword qi and sandstone raging like yellow and white dragon-serpents within the imperial tomb, having destroyed part of the completed structures in two quarters of an hour.

Li Jing's robes were torn to shreds, his body crisscrossed with multiple blood wounds, his salt-and-pepper hair wild and disheveled; his sword, Jinjiao, had been wielded continuously and now glowed hot as a branding iron.

Zhang Guan, as a cultivator of the Immortal Dao, held advantages in spell power, range, and abundance of divine arts—but his weakness lay in his qi reserves, far less enduring than those of a pure martial cultivator. His qi sea was drained, his offensive speed clearly slowed; without certainty of a hit, he dared not strike again, and dared not use the Ten-Thousand-Li Divine Step spell for evasion unless in mortal peril.

The two-meter-tall hulking figure's bodily injuries continuously repaired themselves; even now, his long black-and-red hair still streamed wildly, his skin crimson and scorching hot. The only difference from the start was that the surrounding blood aura had been utterly consumed, and faint blood mist now steamed off his body—he looked like a blazing fire ignited.

After fighting for so long, Li Jing realized this demonic cultivator was acting strangely—he seemed to be deliberately stalling and dragging things out, not fighting to the death, yet also not fleeing.

Seeing Zhang Guan on the verge of losing combat capability, Li Jing asked grimly:

"Didn't the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's immortals notice anything amiss here?"

"Unclear."

……

Meanwhile, the massive figure dragging the red mist, even amid battle, kept glancing toward the north.

Before the mine operation was complete, if he let his blood-sha energy rise, nearby high-level cultivators would immediately detect the anomaly.

Thus, he must fight to the death until He Hai obtained the Blood Demon Core and sent a signal—only then could he cease and flee.

According to timing, half a quarter-hour had passed since the core was formed; the towering smoke should have already blazed above the Huai River.

But beyond the mountains, silence reigned—no first-rank immortal official arrived, and no signal had been sent.

The immortal official didn't come because thirty-six of them were mostly patrolling Lanhe and Zhen'an counties; just then, the Emperor had been assassinated in the palace and could not respond swiftly or dispatch reinforcements.

And the retreat signal didn't come—only because the blood sacrifice had gone awry, interrupted or sabotaged, delaying the core's formation…

Realizing this, the half-demon dragging the red mist suddenly accelerated, attempting to swiftly slay the two strong foes and go investigate.

But Li Jing and Zhang Guan were the second-in-commands of Danzhou's two major factions, the dual-flower red sticks beneath their sect leaders; they might not kill this half-demon quickly, but their resilience was extreme—they shifted to a defensive stalemate, and weren't easily slain.

Boom—boom—boom…

The commotion within the valley intensified abruptly.

Nangong Ye had been lying in wait beyond a hundred zhang, and seeing the abnormal situation, his heart grew solemn.

After all, the longer the battle lasted, the greater the chance of a mistake—and for any high-level cultivator, a single error was enough to be killed or crippled.

If either of the two inside were lost, she could not bear the loss—but to slay that ferocious half-demon, she had to unleash her full strength.

With her current condition, activating all her meridians to full power would kill her instantly; taking Yin-Yang Strange Qi Powder might spare her life, but would drop her realm by half a grade—equally dangerous.

Thus, she could not act unless pushed to the absolute brink.

And just as all four wished to stop fighting yet were forced to fight to the death, a change emerged from the valley's northern side.

Boom—

A powerful wind tore through the distance, like a dragon-serpent smashing through dense forest and mountains, hurtling toward the valley at speed.

Li Jing and Zhang Guan, sensing the approach was from the wrong direction, immediately turned their heads, wary of another demonic raider's ambush.

The fierce half-demon, thinking He Hai had disobeyed orders and come to rescue, turned his crimson eyes beneath the mask.

Nangong Ye rose swiftly, preparing to intercept any other demonic raiders that might appear.

Boom—boom—boom—

The sound rapidly closed in; in the blink of an eye, dust and shattered leaves exploded over the ridge.

Boom!

Then a figure, swift as thunder, shot up from the ridge and plummeted from midair, crashing onto a stone cliff at the valley's edge!

Thud—

The figure landed on one hand, absorbing the brutal momentum, then stood upright slowly and calmly. His eyes, cold as spring water and moonlight, looked down upon the three combatants, his aura like a mountain-top titan surveying three ants beneath his feet.

?!

What an imposing entrance and stance!

Facing a first-rank cultivator in battle, who dares to hold such a rigid posture? This can't be some nobody!

The three combatants paused, instinctively drawing back to inspect the newcomer, judging friend or foe.

Nangong Ye was also startled, but after closely examining the "sleeveless fitted tunic, torn pants…"

Isn't this my Huang Mao?

"You damn brat!"

Nangong Ye, seeing Xie Jinhuan putting on a show to intimidate others in this setting, bristled with fury—she nearly charged to electrocute him until she noticed something odd: Xie Jinhuan's body steamed with sweat, his robes torn, his arms crisscrossed with wounds, yet his aura had surged dramatically since before…

Clearly, he had just endured a brutal battle and his strength had leapt sharply…

Nangong Ye was filled with confusion, glancing toward the mountaintop, thinking:

Didn't I tell him to wait?

What did he go do?

Zhang Guan had never seen Xie Jinhuan before and was now bewildered.

Li Jing held his sword slanted toward the ground, his gaze strange:

"You scared the hell out of me—I thought Wei Wu Yi had arrived."

The half-demon, his blood mist still steaming, surged with boundless killing intent, glaring at the figure on the cliff:

"Xie Jinhuan?"

Xie Jinhuan's heart still pounded like thunder, though it had slowed considerably; now standing tall and straight on the cliff, he said nothing, only tossed something forward with his left hand.

Huh~

A hollow golden sphere and a white jade pendant arced through the valley, landing in the yellow earth between the three combatants.

Ding-ding-ding~

The sphere and pendant bounced a few times, rolling to a stop near the blood-stained figure.

The vast valley fell utterly silent.

The trio of the Righteous Path recognized the golden sphere as a magical artifact carrying blood essence.

For this object to appear in Xie Jinhuan's hands, it must be that the Mingshen Sect played a 'feint left, strike right'—while engaging in battle, they secretly refined a Blood Demon Core elsewhere, only for Xie Jinhuan to discover it and go alone to wipe them out!

No wonder this half-demon has been persistently fighting...

Li Jing and Zhang Guan suddenly realized the truth; looking at Xie Jinhuan, their eyes conveyed a sigh of 'the younger generation is formidable!'

A rare trace of shock and doubt also appeared in Nangong Ye's eyes.

Meanwhile, the figure with blood-streaked hair dancing focused its gaze on the jade pendant inscribed with 'Ya Tun'.

The black mask hid his expression, but after a frozen instant, a terrifying killing intent that made the heart tremble rose from his body; his muscular frame surged, and his voice was nearly hoarse:

"Xie Jinhuan!"

His tone was like the King of Hell summoning a soul, calling his name in a low whisper.

Xie Jinhuan stood atop the stone cliff; originally, he only wanted to tell this demon bandit—your minions are dead, your plot has failed.

This could disrupt the demon bandits' formation, or completely enrage them into losing their sanity, thereby giving the two old men a chance to strike them down.

But he quickly discovered that this 'striking at the heart' seemed to have struck too hard!

The path of the demon Dao body cultivator is like a beast, relying on fanaticism, bloodlust, and killing nature to stimulate the physique and boost combat power; although it is easy to lose control, the heavier the killing intent, the stronger the aggression must be.

And the most intense killing intent in the world is none other than an elderly man losing his son in middle age, his grandson dying violently in old age, with the enemy right before his eyes!

After uttering a single low sentence, the tall figure with flying blood-streaked hair exploded into a mist of blood all around him!

Boom—

His skin and even his full head of hair instantly turned crimson; the bones of his hands deformed, resembling a beast's sharp claws, and then:

Boom—

A huge circular pit appeared where he stood; everyone saw only a blood arrow shooting toward the stone cliff, raising a wind so strong it scraped their faces along the way!

"Damn!"

Xie Jinhuan truly did not expect the mocking effect to be so outstanding; immediately, he sprinted at full speed, pulling to the side.

Boom—

Almost the next instant, the stone cliff where he landed was smashed into a massive gap; the blood-stained afterimage turned at a right angle and pursued again, his qi state nearly demonic!

Li Jing had fought for a long time without disrupting the half-demon's rhythm, but Xie Jinhuan casually threw an object, directly pushing this demon bandit into its third stage; his eyes were also incredulous as he cut in from the side to intercept, asking in confusion:

"Xie kid, did you kill his whole family?"

"Judging by the situation, it's probably about right!"

"Kill him quickly, kill him quickly..."

Although the demon bandit, at the cost of burning his own life, suddenly surged in momentum, bringing mountain-like pressure to the two old men, this was not a bad thing.

The demon bandit, enraged to this point, had completely berserked, turning into a fully mindless mad dog; even if a mountain of blades stood ahead, he would crash straight into it.

As long as he is not instantly killed, such a mad dog will exhaust himself to death in a short while, achieving victory without fighting.

But being pursued by a fully berserk Grade One demon bandit, achieving the goal of not being instantly killed is indeed not easy.

Xie Jinhuan knew he was not the main force; he only sprinted at full speed to the side, giving the two old men a chance to strike.

However, having rushed out no more than ten-plus zhang, the terrifying blood qi directly pressed down nearby, like a bottomless giant mouth about to swallow everything appearing behind him!

Boom—

While Xie Jinhuan was flying, he cast Black Dragon Strikes the Pillar, instantly surging forward ten-plus zhang to create distance.

And Li Jing had already arrived at his side; the three-foot green sword wrapped in brilliant sword light struck the figure's waist and abdomen, instantly smashing the half-demon into the side mountain rock, creating a pit over a zhang in diameter.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Zhang Guan followed closely behind; seven magical swords dragged Lei Guang through the air, pinning the area around the pit to form a sword array, and then:

Boom boom boom—

A thunder pillar as thick as a bowl, the moment Li Jing leaped out, struck the half-demon like an electric lock, causing the blood-stained figure to instantly stiffen, yet he dragged the electric lock forward step by step, emitting a howl like a vicious beast:

"Roar—!"

The sound was deafening!

Xie Jinhuan's figure landed; seeing the blood-stained half-demon trapped, he immediately unleashed his full power; the Tiangang heavy mace was raised high, every muscle in his body strained to the limit, and then:

"Die for me!"

Boom—

The Tiangang heavy mace transformed into a spinning blade, wrapped in strong wind, tearing a long groove in the yellow earth ground before smashing into the pit glowing with Lei Guang.

Boom—

The mountain wall behind trembled, sending rocks rolling down!

But the half-demon in the pit was not instantly pulverized; instead, he caught the spinning heavy mace with one hand; his whole body was smashed deep several chi into the mountain wall, then struggled forward again.

But coming straight at him was Li Jing's terrifying sword qi!

Boom boom boom...

Xie Jinhuan did not dare to charge into the Lei Chi either; seeing this, he fetched a hoe and hammer, using 'Throwing the Dragon Old Mother' to beat the fallen dog from a distance.

Nangong Ye behind could no longer hold back; knowing Zhang Guan could not lock down this completely crazed demon bandit, if he broke free, the two old men could hold him off, but Xie Jinhuan might be eaten alive.

But if she acted, Xie Jinhuan might recognize her identity; after a brief consideration, she simply flashed behind him, grabbing Xie Jinhuan's arm:

"He wants to kill you; hide first, don't continue to provoke his killing nature."

Whoosh!

Her voice was sweet like a soft girl's, but Nangong Ye's movements were not soft; grabbing his wrist, she sprinted at full speed, dragging Xie Jinhuan horizontally through the air.

In an instant, the two rushed to the other end of the valley; Xie Jinhuan was thrown into a repaired tomb chamber, and Nangong Ye slapped her single palm against the Dragon-Breaking Stone.

Boom—

The Dragon-Slaying Stone slid sideways, sealing the entrance in an instant; the light vanished at once, plunging everything into a lightless death zone.

In the blink of an eye he had run several li away, and the tomb chamber's soundproofing was excellent, so even the distant rumbling became a muffled drone.

Rumble rumble rumble…

"Hey?"

Xie Jinhuan had been fired up with hot blood, but was suddenly forced to calm down; he couldn't help but spread his hands slightly and muttered to himself:

What does that mean?

Using a support skill to open a portal and teleport away a teammate to steal the kill, is that it?

……

After tossing Xie Jinhuan into the tomb chamber, Nangong Ye galloped toward the other side of the valley; halfway there his whole body rose off the ground, his hands lifted upward, his black skirt and gauze hat stirred without wind, and then:

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh—

The seven law swords embedded in the cliff face immediately tore free, and like shuttles flew back to hover above Nangong Ye's head.

The blood-colored figure broke free of its restraints and immediately charged wildly in the direction Xie Jinhuan had vanished, but it had barely rushed out ten zhang when a tyrannical pressure came crashing down from the sky!

Hum—

The seven law swords trembled violently, flashing blue-white Lei Guang, and as his hands pushed forward, a piercing sword-song dragged Lei Ting as they blasted forth!

Seen from the air, it was as if seven Lei Dragons tore apart the yellow earth, slamming toward the blood-colored figure ahead.

Boom—

The blood-colored figure's eyes were filled with bloodthirsty frenzy; it did not dodge at all, but raised both arms and charged forward madly.

Yet the moment the first Lei Dragon struck its body, both arms were torn open, flesh splitting, and the whole figure went rigid.

Boom boom boom boom…

Sword-light was like a machine gun, strafing across the blood-colored figure's body.

Zhang Guan and Li Jing were on the flank, and could see the blood-colored figure being battered like a battering ram against a city wall; by the time the second Lei Dragon struck, it had already been smashed into a hole in the cliff face.

The subsequent Thunder Dragons directly swallowed its form, sending up towering debris and a mist of blood, and even the entire cliff face was covered in cobweb-like cracks.

Crack crack crack—

When the rumbling and the cracks finally stopped, a giant crater several zhang deep had already appeared in the cliff face.

And the seven law swords that had blasted in flashed with brilliant Lei Guang, instantly turning the breach into a Lei Chi.

Crackle crackle—

The electric static was like ten thousand birds crying at once.

The half-demon that had been bristling with killing intent moments ago, under such an onslaught, almost instantly went still.

Li Jing watched with taut nerves; only after confirming the demon marauder's blood qi had been scattered, its body riddled with holes and motionless, did he finally exhale in relief, and after a thought commented:

"Now THAT's what you call the 'Immortal-Slaying Formation.' What was that broken thing you did earlier? Not a shred of power."

Zhang Guan wasn't the sect master, and his cultivation was also a bit lacking, so he certainly couldn't produce that immortal-slaying might. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Nangong Ye had landed on the ground, her figure swaying slightly, and he hurriedly asked:

"Is the sect master alright?"

Nangong Ye had taken the Soft Maiden Powder!

But there was no time now to worry about appearances; gritting her teeth and forcing her voice coarse and heavy, she replied:

"Xie Jinhuan doesn't know I'm acting as his Dao Protector. Pretend I'm not here, don't let it slip. He seems to be injured—I'll go check."

With that, she galloped toward the center of the valley.

Whoosh—

Zhang Guan was utterly bewildered; clearly he was doubting whether this soft-spoken Miss was really his own domineering Grand Sect Master.

Li Jing was also a bit baffled:

"Dao Protector… is that kid Xie injured?"

"The sect master's cultivation is high; if she says he's injured, then he must be injured."

"Oh…"

Li Jing wasn't blind; just from the voice alone, he could tell Nangong Ye seemed more like the one with a problem.

But a man and a woman going off to heal injuries, he naturally couldn't tag along to watch the fun, so he raised his sword and came before the cliff face.

Crash crash~~

Within the breach, rubble still fell from time to time; the tall figure, its chest and abdomen riddled with holes, lay deep inside leaning against the rock, its wounds still healing, but already very slowly.

The black Asura face-guard was mostly shattered, revealing a face that looked to be in the prime of life, but those eyes were heavy with the dusk of death, like an old man in his final years.

Because the difference in appearance was so great, Zhang Guan didn't recognize who this was. Now he rode the Lei Formation to pin the figure down, lest it rise from the ashes, and asked coldly:

"What is your identity? Why do you practice the demonic Dao in Jingzhao Prefecture and harm the common people?"

"Haa…"

The figure breathed coarse and heavy, stared at the two standing at the entrance, and after a moment of silence rasped:

"Tell His Majesty to come over. I have some things I want to discuss with him."

……

(End of chapter)