Chapter 61: Single Horse Breaks the Line!

The cold moon hung high; the river wind howled fiercely.

A bloodstained white robe slashed across the endless black water like a flying meteor; a three-foot blue blade glinted with icy light beneath the silver moon!

Tap-tap-tap…

The boundless river surface rippled with faint waves, pointing toward the blood-red mist at the horizon—seen from afar, it resembled an unyielding arrow shooting toward a crimson beast ready to devour men.

The dimly glowing tower-ship within the mist was the beast’s single blood-red eye, fixed upon the river!

Xie Jinhuan’s white robe fluttered in the wind; his gaze fixed on the blood mist drifting atop the river. As he drew closer, he flicked open the bottle’s cap with his left hand:

“If this elixir works, what are my odds?”

Ye Hongshang hovered beside him, carrying a red umbrella, raising an eyebrow:

“If you’re scared, why go?”

“I can’t take back words I’ve already spat out. Besides, I don’t even know what I’ve been through these past three years—but failing to kill an opponent when I had the chance hurts more than losing silver.”

“Hmph~”

Ye Hongshang stared at the vast crimson mist ahead, weighing her words carefully:

“Relax. If the elixir truly works, as long as you don’t act like an idiot, you can hold out until the Wu Zu from the city arrive.”

“Even if my power doubles, I still won’t get a chance to turn the tables on that old bastard?!”

“There is one—but it’s extremely dangerous. If you can hold onto even a shred of sanity, keep maneuvering, don’t charge recklessly.”

Xie Jinhuan, seeing a chance, dumped the pills from the bottle straight into his mouth and tossed it aside carelessly:

My will is as unshakable as bedrock. Watch now—what true calmness and extreme maneuvering look like.

Plop~

The bottle fell into the river; his body surged forward with sudden acceleration!

Boom—

Xie Jinhuan raced across the river at full speed; with each breath, he felt a warm current surge through his lungs, then his blood and dantian ignited as if set aflame—rage and bloodlust flooded his mind instantly!

The first thought that flashed through his mind: find someone to fight—or fight all night…

“Huh…”

Veins bulged on his forehead; true qi surged wildly through his limbs and meridians; his body seemed to suddenly shatter a hidden bottleneck.

The boiling true qi then converged toward his dantian, condensing into mist.

Xie Jinhuan had already been at the peak of the Fourth Rank—there was no room for growth. Even a slight increase would push him into the Third Rank; that was the very reason he dared to turn back and strike!

After kicking open Linmen, his senses sharpened—hearing and sight expanded severalfold; suddenly, he experienced “inner vision,” faintly perceiving the true qi surging within his body.

His blood and essence were being squeezed dry, transformed into surging qi to fill the condensing mist of his dantian.

An overwhelming force flooded his entire body—but it gradually scrambled his mind.

Xie Jinhuan’s eyes turned blood-red; a flickering panorama began flashing in his mind.

The images in the panorama were not his dull sixteen years in Jingcheng—they were entirely unfamiliar scenes:

Strange buildings dissolved before his eyes into piles of unfamiliar ruins…

Strange faces turned into unfamiliar corpses…

Xie Jinhuan didn’t know where these places were or who these people were—but he knew they were his experiences from these past years.

He tried to trace their origin—but the crimson mist was already upon him!

…

Within the blood mist.

He Can stood on the deck, five hooded puppets behind him; through the thick fog, they closely watched the thunderous approach.

Boom-boom-boom—

Du Qingyi crouched on the rooftop ridge, drawing two red mist-snakes with his arms; seeing the blinding blades hurtling toward him, his eyes hardened in alarm:

“What the hell is coming?!”

“Don’t know…”

The bandits stationed across the ship, seeing the unknown monster charging from the river, gripped their weapons tightly and instinctively stepped back.

And the next instant!

Beneath the moonlit river, a thunderous roar erupted:

“Hah—!”

Xie Jinhuan stepped on the black water, gliding across the river’s surface; midway, he split his feet apart, tilting the Qingfeng sword backward.

Hss~

The boundless blood mist and flying spray were drawn by his qi, converging toward the three-foot blade!

But before the mist and water moved even a few feet, the blade slashed forward with the force to split mountains and sever seas!

Boom—

The blood mist enveloping the giant tower-ship split cleanly down the middle under the terrifying sword qi!

The once calm river surged as if a furious dragon had plunged from the heavens, carving a massive trench that stretched forward.

Splash-splash-splash…

Immense waves exploded to either side; the overwhelming qi crushed forward, shattering the ship’s railings and windows into fragments!

Boom—

He Can’s eyes widened in shock—he’d thought the attacker was the Sword Madman Li Jing. But when the white-robed figure shattered the mist, wielding boundless sword qi, he realized it was Xie Jinhuan, who had just escaped not long ago!

Compared to his earlier calm demeanor, Xie Jinhuan now looked utterly transformed—veins bulging on his forehead and hands, eyes blazing with terrifying fury and madness; his once composed words had turned foul:

“F**k you, dead faggot—daring to dirty my eyes!”

The crisp, refined diction of Daqian’s standard speech left the crew momentarily stunned.

He Can summoned his five puppets to block his front, bewildered:

“Has he gone mad? What drug did you give him?!”

Du Qingyi saw Xie Jinhuan charging like a rabid dog, bursting onto the tower with terrifying speed; his face paled as he frantically dodged:

“I don’t know—stop him!”

Boom—

Before the words were out, Xie Jinhuan shattered through the tower’s eaves and reached the dome, hurtling toward the red-clad demon like a thunderbolt!

He Can rushed to reinforce, but he’d never been Xie Jinhuan’s match—and now, how could he catch up? Seeing Xie Jinhuan seemed to have lost his mind, he spun his ghost umbrella:

Hss—

Instantly, ghostly aura filled the air above the tower!

But at the same moment, brilliant lightning erupted from the rooftop ridge!

Xie Jinhuan surged forward like a demon wreathed in smoke, dodging incoming poison darts and cursed insects; his right hand carved a blinding streak of lightning, closing the distance in an instant.

Du Qingyi had nowhere to flee; his cold eyes revealed bone-deep terror—he raised both hands and let out a piercing scream:

“Aaah—!”

The sonic wave scattered the surrounding blood mist; even the unstoppable Xie Jinhuan staggered—then a torrent of dark-red toxic mist crashed down upon him, swallowing him whole.

Du Qingyi belonged to the Poison and Curse sect; his blood poison was brutally potent—once exposed, a man would dissolve into sludge within half a minute.

Ye Hongshang had been watching from afar; seeing Xie Jinhuan charge straight into the poison mist, she felt a surge of helpless fury:

“You call this maneuvering?”

She even considered jumping in to fight for him!

But to her shock, as the torrent of poison mist descended, a muffled wind howl emerged from within:

Huh-huh-huh—

Du Qingyi had just struck, still mid-motion, when he realized Xie Jinhuan hadn’t fallen—he stood upright, left hand raised in sword-finger stance before his chest.

Violent true qi erupted from his entire body—not dissipating into the air, but swirling violently around him!

Huh-huh-huh…

True qi among martial artists was normally invisible—but now, entangled with the blood mist, both Du Qingyi and the pursuing bandits saw a crimson mist-dragon coiling around Xie Jinhuan!

The mist-dragon spun rapidly around him, greedily devouring the surrounding blood mist; yet Xie Jinhuan himself remained untouched, even finding time to boast:

“This move is called ‘Coiling Dragon Around the Mountain’—one of the Eight Drunken Dragon Forms. I’ve got seven more moves just as awesome as this!”

“Body Shielding Qi?!”

Du Qingyi had never heard of “Coiling Dragon Around the Mountain,” but the legendary Body Shielding Qi techniques were infamous among top martial arts schools.

Like Mu Yunling’s “Xuan Yang Ba Ti Jue,” or Wei Wuyi’s “Dragon Breath Without Form”—both could render their users invulnerable to all arts.

But mastering this ability demanded extreme control over one’s true qi; theoretically, even reaching the Third Rank made it nearly impossible.

Yet Xie Jinhuan’s technique was unmistakably Body Shielding Qi—its only flaw: the mist-dragon looked flashy but left massive gaps, failing to protect his entire body.

“Attack together!”

Du Qingyi, sensing danger, shouted urgently; He Can also blew his bone flute.

Boom-boom-boom—

The five puppets surged forward simultaneously; over a dozen bandits attacked from all directions!

Yet Xie Jinhuan, though appearing mad, fought with astonishing precision; seeing the dozen men encircle him, he flicked his left hand sideways as if firing a gun:

Bam—

The crimson mist, bound by his qi, erupted outward, exploding into a massive wave that slammed into the approaching bandits.

Several bandits had no time to dodge—they were swallowed by the mist, clutching their eyes as they screamed in agony:

“Aaah—”

As he struck, Xie Jinhuan surged forward, appearing to charge head-on against the five puppets, but after only three steps, his left palm unleashed a terrifying force, slamming down onto the roof ridge below!

Boom!

A shockwave radiated from his palm, hurling the black tiles around him into the air!

Du Qingyi, who had been lurking behind the puppets waiting for an opening, had no time to react before the ridge beneath his feet erupted in violent tremors.

Just as his foot touched down, his entire body was violently catapulted upward, lifted more than a zhang off the ground!

At the same moment, Xie Jinhuan moved with an almost inconceivable burst of speed, tracing a half-arc across the roof, his green-bladed sword weaving past the encircling puppets before he exploded forward!

Swish—

A flash of moonlit swordlight!

He Can strained to control the five puppets, but before he could even make out the figure, a white-clad form swept past with a single glint of cold light, slicing diagonally upward over the ridge and vanishing into the night.

“Ah—”

Du Qingyi screamed in fury the instant he was thrown upward.

But the cry cut off abruptly!

His vision spun wildly—he saw, midair, a colorfully clad torso without a head!

Blood erupted skyward!

Xie Jinhuan landed after his strike, his body showing no pause, surging at full speed toward the edge of the boathouse!

“Duuu—”

The Xuanmi flute’s melody ceased instantly.

He Can’s face turned deathly pale; without hesitation, he fled.

But how could a ghost shaman, unable to control his spirits, outrun a martial artist charging at full speed?

Almost the instant he turned, the white-clad figure with a blade in hand had already slid forward on the ground, one sword sweeping horizontally.

Swish—

The blade, sheathed in boundless sharpness, slashed across his waist and back, sending out blinding sparks and revealing armor beneath, scaled with black scales.

The finely crafted armor shards shattered instantly; as blood sprayed, He Can’s waist nearly snapped—he never even had time to scream before he was slammed into the boathouse hall.

At the very moment the sword swung, a bulge the size of a zhang rose beneath the roof below.

Then the tiles and framework exploded; the blood qi and mist, pushed to their peak, erupted like a volcanic geyser, shattering the ceiling and blasting skyward!

Boom—

Xie Jinhuan, directly above, was instantly hurled into the air by the violent force, crashing onto the opposite end of the roof.

Thud…

But the moment he landed and rolled, Xie Jinhuan sprang back up—his white robe torn, yet his eyes still blazing with arrogance:

“Old bastard, you finally showed your head!”

Whoosh—

Tai Shu Dan burst through the hole, landing on the ridge. His ritual had been interrupted again—he had no time left to reforge the Blood Demon Pill, and his face darkened with fury:

“Whelp, you think interrupting my ritual renders these people useless?”

As he spoke, Tai Shu Dan leaned on his vine staff and raised his left hand.

Whoosh~

The torrent of blood qi spewing from the hall was swiftly drawn into his left palm by the force of his qi, and the bloody demonic qi surged skyward at once!

Fed by the blood qi, Tai Shu Dan’s withered hands swelled with bulging veins; his once-silver hair visibly turned black, and his skin gradually hardened into black-blue keratin.

Ye Hongshang sensed the danger and whispered urgently:

“He sacrificed five or six hundred people—he can reach the peak of the Third Rank. Finish him quickly!”

But Xie Jinhuan’s gaze turned icy, his tone fiercely dismissive:

“Are you teaching me how to fight? Say another word and I’ll cut your tongue out!”

“Heh? You’ve got guts—even now you’re still thinking about killing men and raping women…”

…

(End of Chapter)