Chapter 336: Little Brother, Run Fast

Chapter 336: Hurry Up, Little Brother

The woman in red possessed a formidable cultivation level, her eyes gleaming with fierce intent, while a blood lake churned behind her, from which a single eye gradually emerged.

This eye, with its vertical pupil, radiated a menacing aura, its gaze seeming to carry a suppressing force, casting a blood realm around the area, all directed toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing disregarded it entirely.

This woman, a golden core cultivator, though her imperial-level technique was also second-order, and when combined with her combat power and the second palace, her strikes were sharp. If it weren’t for Xu Qing, she might have subdued him instantly.

But she still failed to comprehend Xu Qing’s true strength.

Xu Qing, who had two celestial palaces, usually concealed them, making his true power indistinct, and his second-order imperial-level technique had never been revealed.

Thus, without careful observation, it was difficult to discern his actual capabilities.

Therefore, the red-clad woman’s attempt to seize the opportunity would inevitably fail.

In an instant, Xu Qing, whose combat power had reached the three-palace realm, saw his cultivation explode, his speed surging as he ignored the woman’s strike, appearing beside the golden blood in a flash, grabbing it firmly.

He collected the blood, his body flickered, and sped away, aided by the area’s repulsion, further accelerating his speed.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The red-clad woman’s expression changed, watching the Dao blood being stolen, her eyes flashing with murderous intent as she raised her hand, causing the evil spirit scythe’s eyes to open again, radiating a crimson glow.

“Hidden deep, only three palaces—I can do it too!” The red-clad woman bit her tongue, spitting blood as she addressed the evil spirit scythe, her eyes tinged with the same crimson brilliance.

“Leave the path, difficult to trace the Dao, mysterious and majestic, I, the imperial way, grant you the blessing to guide, battle soul upon me, assist my disciples to depart!”

These words, chanted in an ancient, melodic tone, echoed endlessly, and the heavens and earth seemed influenced by some force, causing a series of oppressive winds to arise.

These winds ignored the area’s pressure, swiftly converging around the red-clad woman, or rather, around the blade of the evil spirit scythe in her hand.

The scythe’s eyes grew redder under the winds, as did she.

When the color reached its peak, the scythe suddenly opened its maw, biting down on her arm.

In the next moment, her body convulsed, as if empowered by some force, she lifted her head, revealing a cold glint in her eyes, and raised her hand, summoning Xu Qing who was speeding away, her voice a hollow whisper:

“Come back!”

The voice seemed to blend with an old woman’s, the sound overlapping in an unearthly manner.

This secret technique resembled the red-clad woman having summoned an ancient battle soul into her body, enhancing her strength.

At the moment the voice resounded, Xu Qing’s body halted, as if bound by invisible forces pulling him back.

“Brother, watch out—this woman is using the Leave the Path teaching’s secret method, summoning a battle soul into her body!” the captain warned from afar.

Xu Qing frowned, feeling the strange force resembled something uncanny. His inner spirit suddenly illuminated the Di Immortal, and in an instant, the peculiar force outside his body collapsed.

Xu Qing flickered, about to continue his departure, but the red-clad woman’s strike was not truly meant to pull him back—she clearly knew the chances were slim.

Her goal was to limit Xu Qing’s movement, buying time for herself to catch up.

In almost a breath, she had already sped away, charging toward Xu Qing.

Now that Xu Qing had just dispelled the strange binding force, the red-clad woman approached, her three-palace strength erupting within her body, forming a shocking impact, her scythe swinging violently, striking toward Xu Qing with a single cut that seemed to cleave the void, slicing toward his neck.

The blade was so fast it created a black crescent-shaped scar in the air, as if tearing the void itself.

The speed was blinding; in that instant, the red-clad woman’s murderous intent intensified, her confidence surging.

Three palaces, she too could overcome.

Her evil spirit scythe was a sacred object of the sect, unique and extraordinary, with a history beyond imagination, and according to records, it was linked to the sacred land.

This blade could bypass all defenses, even against opponents with protective abilities.

Howling, the captain’s voice rang out again.

“Brother, beware—this small woman is strange, this blade reminds me of one of the sacred objects of the Leave the Path Sect, said to be non-existent, yet it can bypass defenses!”

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, sensing the blade’s uniqueness and the woman’s astonishing technique. His body suddenly leaned back, narrowly dodging the blade’s strike.

Though he dodged, a crushing force radiated from the blade, destabilizing Xu Qing’s cultivation.

This was a first for Xu Qing.

After the woman’s strike, she swung again, a horizontal sweep aimed at Xu Qing’s neck.

Xu Qing’s eyes gleamed with cold intent, retreating while stabilizing his cultivation, observing the scythe, gradually realizing the blade was illusory, its true power derived from the techniques within.

By the time she struck her fifth blade, Xu Qing suddenly understood, his right hand raised to block the incoming scythe.

In that instant, the blade’s edge neared, and Xu Qing’s right hand turned transparent—a manifestation of his Di Immortal’s Soul Snatching Art.

The transparent state of his hand could bypass technique-based forces, a rare gift of the Di Immortal race.

In a flash, the scythe pierced through Xu Qing’s transparent hand, only for Xu Qing to grasp the handle, yanking it toward him.

The distance between them was but the length of the scythe.

With Xu Qing’s pull and momentum, they closed the gap instantly, and in the red-clad woman’s shocked expression, Xu Qing headbutted her mask.

Boom! The mask cracked, and Xu Qing’s left hand gestured, unleashing the Great Ha Ocean Ninth Array, a torrent of seas surging around him.

The first wave howled from behind him, striking the red-clad woman, who erected a protective aura to block it.

Xu Qing wasn’t surprised—given her status in the Leave the Path Sect, such a defense was expected.

So he remained calm as the second, third, and fourth waves arrived, each crashing against her defenses, distorting them.

Meanwhile, her attention was fixed on the waves and the scythe Xu Qing held, unaware that beneath the surface of her defenses, countless tiny black insects had crawled, now spewing toxins to corrode them.

She didn’t recognize Xu Qing’s attack method, nor understand his ruthless tactics, but she could sense that Xu Qing’s presence had changed. His grip on the scythe was like iron tongs, making it impossible for her to shake off.

Especially since Xu Qing’s hand had previously bypassed her scythe, which made her heart race.

For her, since receiving the scythe’s recognition and inheritance from the sect, countless evil people had died under her hands, for the Leave the Path Sect was no paradise, filled with eccentric cultivators and madmen.

To survive here, even with her relatives’ status, she couldn’t rely on them constantly.

Mostly, she depended on herself, gradually earning her place and freedom through effort and killings.

These years, she had done exactly that.

Relying on her own strength and slaughter, she climbed step by step, gaining status and respect, and some freedom to venture outside.

Though still far from her dream, the scythe had greatly aided her.

The more so, the more her heart was shaken, and the tighter she clutched it.

In an instant, her defenses collapsed under the insects’ assault and the ninth wave’s impact.

Xu Qing’s eyes gleamed with killing intent as he extended his right hand, conjuring a black dagger from his soul fire, slicing toward her white neck.

Blood spattered, but no head flew off.

As the dagger neared, a suffocating sense of life and death erupted in Xu Qing’s heart, his every fiber trembling.

The captain, watching the battle, widened his eyes, gasping in shock.

“Damn it!!”

“Brother, run! This witch is troubled—this is the most elusive and perilous Blood Intent Realm of the Tao Si Immortal Sect! Even if one were to achieve the smallest breakthrough, it would be fraught with immense difficulty. It is said that those who have comprehended this Blood Intent Realm possess over two personas!”

“With each additional persona, the world within one’s eyes loses a hue, until, upon reaching ten personas, only blood remains—then one may truly ascend!”

“What on earth is this person—a rogue from the Departed Path Sect or the Tao Si Immortal Sect? This is too bizarre!!”

At the moment the captain’s shout echoed, Xu Qing hesitated not at all, instantly loosening his grip on the scythe in his hand, his body retreating without the slightest hesitation.

Almost as he withdrew, a wave of crimson light erupted from the red-clad girl’s form, surging forth like a tempest.

In the instant the crimson radiance struck, the surroundings transformed into a blood-demon realm.

A grotesque laughter drifted from the red-clad girl’s mouth.

“Heh heh heh.”

As this laugh, tinged with an unspeakable malevolence, resounded, the girl raised her head.

Her neck still bled, the wound not fatal, and she touched her hand to the flowing crimson, gazing at the bloodstained fingers with a flicker of bewilderment, her eyes fixed upon Xu Qing.

“Is it you… who wounded me?”