After Xu Ziqing sent Su Xin toward the Blood Demon, the corpse demons surged around him once more. He had no choice but to swing the thousand-year Steelwood rapidly, smashing them apart while scattering leaves to drive some of them back and win himself a little room to maneuver.
In the midst of the fierce battle, he suddenly felt an intensely scorching gaze fixed on him. The hairs on his back stood on end, and a chill rose from the depths of his heart.
Xu Ziqing drew a deep breath and swiftly sent out two streams of green light, taking the opportunity to glance toward the source of that gaze.
As expected, it was the Blood Demon. The greed in his eyes was overwhelming, his gaze seeming to lick over Xu Ziqing inch by inch as though he were starving and wanted to swallow him alive.
Xu Ziqing shuddered.
…It was hunger. The Blood Demon was hungry for him!
But this was no time to think about such things. Xu Ziqing drew another deep breath, ignored the aggressive stare, and continued killing the corpse demons.
Just then, a figure came crashing heavily toward him. It was Su Xin, who had been knocked flying by the Blood Demon. He was about to fall straight into the mass of corpse demons, and the creatures were already lunging at him with all their strength. Xu Ziqing hurriedly reached out, seized Su Xin by the arm, and yanked him in front of himself. At the same time, he brought the Steelwood down in a heavy blow and smashed apart the corpse demons charging at them.
Su Xin had failed. The Blood Demon was not easy to deal with. Even after Xu Ziqing had sent Su Xin through, he was still no match for the old demon.
Xu Ziqing managed to ask, “Fellow Daoist Su, can you still hold on?”
The youth ground his teeth. “Fellow Daoist Xu, just keep fighting. This young master… I can hold on!”
After the Blood Demon knocked him flying, Su Xin’s throat had filled with the metallic taste of blood, and he had nearly coughed some up. But the situation was too dangerous for him to stop and tend his wounds, so he could only force himself onward.
He swallowed the blood in his throat, bit the tip of his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood essence onto his flying sword. The azure-blue fire abruptly surged. The flame, which had already dimmed, immediately blazed bright once more.
Su Xin ignored the pain throughout his body. Being knocked back like that by the Blood Demon had cost him tremendous face. If he did not win some of that dignity back, people would look down on him!
His unwillingness to concede, his youthful pride, and his blood feud all combined to rouse Su Xin’s fighting spirit. He pulled a pill from his robes, swallowed it, and threw himself into the battle again.
Green light circled Xu Ziqing’s body as Yi-Wood qi poured continuously outward. Countless green leaves formed several long ribbons around him, winding in ring after ring and creating a patch of fresh green amid the boundless blood mist.
He too wanted to end the battle quickly. The Blood Demon watched them like a tiger eyeing prey. Although controlling the formation prevented him from attacking them directly, the formation itself greatly reduced his expenditure. Xu Ziqing and Su Xin, however, had to keep fighting the corpse demons. No matter how abundant their spiritual power was, they could not sustain such consumption forever.
Seeing Xu Ziqing and Su Xin fighting with all their strength, the Blood Demon also understood Xu Ziqing’s intention and let out a strange cackle. He waved the blood flag twice, and the corpse demons moved in unison, their speed suddenly doubling.
Su Xin was driven into a fluster and gradually lured farther away by the corpse demons without realizing it. Xu Ziqing had even more trouble. At a single command from the Blood Demon, most of the corpse demons surrounded him instead.
Countless bony claws slashed toward him. As their skeletal wings beat, thick blood splashed outward. The instant it touched the green light protecting Xu Ziqing, it stained a patch black. Again and again, the darkness crept across the light until it was nearly upon his body.
Xu Ziqing was alarmed. He swung the Steelwood and cut away a patch of corrupted green light, but the movement made him pause for an instant. The corpse demons seized that chance and lunged right in front of him.
Just as those ghastly bone claws were about to seize Xu Ziqing, there came two sharp zzzt sounds. Sword qi pierced through the skulls of several corpse demons, reducing them to ash.
It was Yun Lie’s sword qi!
Joy rose in Xu Ziqing’s heart. He turned his head and saw a hazy figure not far away. Although the Blood Demon’s mist obscured most of him, indestructible sword radiance had transformed into long white streaks that darted around Xu Ziqing from every direction.
In less than a single breath, the hundred or so corpse demons that had surrounded him were all pierced through by sword qi and completely reduced to dust.
I owe Brother Yun my life yet again. Xu Ziqing sighed softly, but his heart settled.
He was not a fool. Yun Lie had refrained from acting earlier, likely so Xu Ziqing could fight the Blood Demon himself and gain combat experience. Only when Xu Ziqing truly had no strength left to protect himself did Yun Lie intervene. His intentions were painstakingly considerate.
Xu Ziqing naturally understood what was good for him. With most of the danger removed, when the sword qi ceased attacking, he resumed fighting on his own. After having just brushed against death, he now faced the blood-drenched corpse demons with considerably more composure.
Xu Ziqing calmed down, but the Blood Demon ground his teeth in fury. Everything happened within his formation, so how could he, the one controlling it, fail to notice?
He had not noticed earlier, but now he could see clearly that this heavenly soul of unknown origin carried sword qi that was tyrannical and razor-sharp, along with killing intent as keen as a blade. Every thread of it seemed capable of cutting a person apart.
Why did this bastard stay out of it before only to interfere now? Rage rose in the Blood Demon’s heart. A mere soul dares enter my formation? I’ll use the formation to turn him into fodder!
With that thought, he moved the blood flag through several gestures, and the formation changed instantly.
The blood mist beside Yun Lie abruptly emptied away and formed a blood tiger more than a man tall. It opened its enormous mouth and lunged at Yun Lie’s head.
Yun Lie did not move. He merely gave a cold snort.
That snort struck the Blood Demon’s mind like the tolling of a great bell and drum. At the same moment, the blood tiger let out a wretched howl and vanished into smoke.
A miscalculation! The Blood Demon’s expression changed drastically.
Who exactly is he?
The Blood Demon had never imagined that a mere wisp of heavenly soul could possess such power. Even an ordinary ghost cultivator would be suppressed to some degree inside this formation, yet this heavenly soul could do something like this?
He immediately abandoned any thought of attacking Yun Lie again. Remembering how the man had intervened when the green-robed youth was about to lose, the Blood Demon felt that today might truly end badly for him.
His thoughts raced. With a dark expression, the Blood Demon secretly formed a hand seal.
There was probably only one method left now. If even that failed… hatred surged through him. If it still fails, I’ll drag those two young cultivators down with me!
Xu Ziqing had just killed several corpse demons when his heart suddenly stirred.
The restriction he had laid down had been broken!
Anxiety surged through Xu Ziqing. Dongli Xi and Dongli Zhao were still inside the room. He had deliberately placed a restriction around them to offer some protection.
He had assumed that while he and Su Xin were fighting the Blood Demon, the demon would be too occupied to do anything to the brothers. He had not expected the Blood Demon to possess another method and somehow break the restriction.
But now Xu Ziqing was the one with no attention to spare. He could barely protect himself, so how could he go protect the brothers?
Xu Ziqing glanced toward Su Xin and saw that he had already been driven more than one li away. Even though the corpse demons were thinner there, forty or fifty still surrounded him, leaving him equally unable to break free and help. With no other choice, Xu Ziqing put away the thousand-year Steelwood, and a white vine rustled out from his palm.
The Bloodthirsty Demon Vine loved nothing more than flesh and blood. With such dense blood qi here, it would surely be able to eat its fill.
Xu Ziqing had originally known that all the blood within this formation had come from Southerners and had not wanted the demon vine to touch it. But if he wanted to save the brothers quickly, he had no other choice.
Once he made his decision, Xu Ziqing no longer hesitated. His expression grew solemn, and he raised his hand and flung the demon vine outward.
Sure enough, the white demon vine traced only a faint afterimage through the air before the dense blood mist immediately gathered into streams of liquid and rushed rapidly toward it.
Before long, every trace of blood mist within one zhang of Xu Ziqing had been sucked away, exposing everything that had previously been hidden by it.
As the white demon vine devoured the blood mist, it rapidly turned red. The more it absorbed, the brighter the red became, deepening from pale pink to crimson and then to brilliant scarlet, until at last it looked carved from red jade, glossy and beautiful. Looking closely, its veins were clearly visible, naturally sculpted, and blood seemed to flow within them as spiritual light circulated.
After devouring all the nearby blood mist, the demon vine remained unsatisfied. It had been ravenously hungry for a long time, and now that it finally had a chance to feast, it naturally refused to stop.
The blood mist farther away also transformed into streams that flowed toward it. The entire formation began collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The corpse demons that had been rampaging proudly through the sky lost the formation’s support, reverted to their original forms, and fell one after another.
In only a few breaths, the formation was broken.
At that moment, Xu Ziqing heard a muffled groan. He hurriedly turned and saw two corpse demons collapse into skeletons directly in front of Dongli Xi and Dongli Zhao. Dongli Xi, already badly injured, nearly fell with them, but Dongli Zhao caught him in time.
Seeing both brothers unharmed, Xu Ziqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had made it in time and neither of them had been hurt. Setting aside the fact that he had already formed some friendship with the brothers and absolutely did not wish to see them die, if anything happened to them during this contest between Dao and demon imposed by the Heavenly Dao, everything he had done might have come to nothing.
The corpse demons fell, but the Blood Demon reached out with one hand and tried to pull the brothers toward himself.
Xu Ziqing could not allow that. He had only just destroyed the formation. If the two brothers fell into the Blood Demon’s hands again, all his effort would have been wasted.
But the demon vine was already feeding with great enthusiasm, and Xu Ziqing certainly did not dare use it to wrap around the brothers. He immediately brought his palms together and recalled the demon vine into his body. Then he leaned forward and flung out several green cords, which wrapped directly around the brothers’ waists.
Su Xin had been briefly stunned when the corpse demons suddenly collapsed. Then he saw all the blood mist vanish from the formation. Although he did not know exactly what had happened, his mind worked quickly. Seeing Xu Ziqing and the Blood Demon fighting over the Dongli brothers, he curled his lips and shouted, “Demon, take this young master’s sword!”
Caught off guard, the Blood Demon was swept by Su Xin’s sword light. He twisted backward, but a bloody wound was still cut open along his arm, exposing ghastly white bone and burning with pain.
That retreat gave Xu Ziqing the opening he needed. The green cords tightened and pulled the brothers to his side. He caught one with each hand and descended to the ground together with them.
The Blood Demon’s eyes bulged in their sockets. He knew the situation was lost.
He had intended to take the brothers hostage, but now that he had failed, that option was gone.
Leaving aside the heavenly soul whose strength he could not fathom, the blood-red vine in the green-robed youth’s palm had somehow sucked every trace of blood mist out of his formation. It was far too bizarre. There was simply nothing he could do.
The Blood Demon’s face darkened. Only one thought remained.
With a flick of his wrist, he gripped the blood flag. The formation might be broken, but the flag was still a heavy weapon. If nothing else, he would fight these two brats to the death!
With his back against the wall, the Blood Demon bit through his finger and smeared blood along both sides of the blood horse. Two fleshy lumps immediately swelled from its back, burst open, and formed a pair of flesh wings.
The Blood Demon slapped the horse, and it immediately kicked off and charged straight ahead.
Seeing this, Xu Ziqing lightly tossed the Dongli brothers toward Su Xin, who caught them, while Xu Ziqing himself raised the thousand-year Steelwood and met the charge head-on.
The blood flag was extremely heavy, and with the blood horse flapping its wings and diving at full speed, its force became even more formidable. Xu Ziqing gripped the Steelwood with both hands and slammed it against the blood flag.
Thud! Thud!
The impacts were dull and heavy. The thousand-year Steelwood was incomparably hard, but Xu Ziqing lacked physical strength. The blood flag drove him backward again and again, his feet gouging two deep furrows into the ground.
Su Xin set the Dongli brothers aside and shouted, “Fellow Daoist Xu, I’ll help you!”
He charged forward with his sword and joined Xu Ziqing against the Blood Demon.
With the two of them facing the Blood Demon together, Su Xin’s swordsmanship was more than a little better than Xu Ziqing’s, and with Xu Ziqing covering him, he fought with tremendous spirit. Xu Ziqing knew his own swordsmanship was poor, so he carefully watched Su Xin’s movements.
Su Xin truly did have exceptional talent. Although the Blood Demon had knocked him flying earlier, he had now thought of another method.
A sword could cut through anything. A sword technique, if fast enough, could not be broken.
Su Xin raised his sword in both hands and moved his arms at blinding speed, compressing a hundred attacks into one. He targeted a single point on the blood flag and struck it over and over. What looked like one technique actually contained a hundred impacts, and as those impacts accumulated, they chipped away at the blood flag’s heavy momentum and dispersed its force.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
The rapid, crisp impacts rang without end. The Blood Demon’s techniques were overbearing, while Su Xin’s sword was swift and light. His long sword became a blur of blue shadow and blocked the blood flag head-on without giving ground.
Xu Ziqing’s blood surged with excitement at the sight. He drew a deep breath and mobilized the channels in both arms. His muscles vibrated once, then ten times, and those ten became a hundred.
It worked!
Xu Ziqing twisted his body into position beside Su Xin and struck the blood flag together with him.
Su Xin alone had barely been able to withstand the force of the blood flag. Now the two of them attacked together, doubling the pressure. The Blood Demon felt wave after wave of enormous force crashing into him. He could hardly stand against it alone. His arms felt impossibly heavy, almost too heavy to lift. These were mortal arms after all. No matter how much strength he forced through them, they could not withstand such an assault, and even the Blood Demon’s chest grew increasingly tight.
“Urgh!” He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of damaged liver. His hands trembled as he urged the blood horse backward.
Su Xin refused to let him retreat. A fierce light flashed through his eyes. His next sword strike did not target the Blood Demon but the blood horse instead. Slash!
The horse’s head flew into the air, blood spraying everywhere.
Its four legs buckled, and the blood horse collapsed to the ground.
The Blood Demon spun away and landed on his feet, his eyes filled with hatred.
Both his arms were ruined, leaving him unable to form hand seals. Jiao Tu’s body was riddled with wounds, and he still did not dare let his primordial spirit leave it. Every sign made the truth clear. He had reached the end of the road, with no possibility of turning things around.
At this point, even if he wanted to drag someone down with him, he could not.
Yet Xu Ziqing and Su Xin remained fully on guard. Both stared at the Blood Demon without relaxing in the slightest.
Just then, the Blood Demon suddenly tore open his robes and exposed his bare chest. He laughed wildly. “This old man has capsized in a gutter today and fallen into the hands of two little brats. Come on!” He slapped his chest. “Stab me right here!”
Where his palm struck, the smooth flesh of his chest began to twitch. Then a protrusion struggled outward, its features gradually becoming distinct until it resembled a human face.
Dongli Xi saw it and blurted softly, “Jiao Tu…”
The face seemed to hear him. It struggled to move, as though trying to turn its head. “Your Highness!”
A trace of pity flashed through Xu Ziqing’s eyes. “Your Highness, is that Jiao Tu?”
Dongli Xi nodded. “…Yes.”
The Blood Demon’s face was wild with triumph. “This old man anchored Jiao Tu’s soul here, and it is linked to my primordial spirit as well. If this old man dies today, then Jiao Tu can accompany me and have his soul scattered into nothingness!”
The moment he said this, several people present changed expression.
Xu Ziqing knew the Blood Demon was telling the truth. He had kept Jiao Tu’s soul only so he could seize his fortune, and naturally he would have used many methods to force Jiao Tu to obey. Threatening him with Dongli Xi was one. Linking Jiao Tu’s soul to his own primordial spirit was likely another.
The Blood Demon had accumulated countless blood debts and more than deserved death. Jiao Tu, however, had never been free to act as he wished. It was true that for Dongli Xi’s sake he had harbored selfish motives and had nearly helped place the Kingdom of Chenghuang in demonic hands, but he was ultimately only a mortal. With no power to resist, he could only act as he had. His circumstances were not entirely unforgivable.
If Jiao Tu merely died here, that would be one thing. But if his soul were annihilated as well… what crime had Jiao Tu committed to deserve that?
Xu Ziqing sighed inwardly, unable to keep himself from feeling pity.
That pity brought hesitation, and the Blood Demon immediately saw it and grew even more arrogant. He had only meant to torment the two youths before dying. He had not expected this cultivator to genuinely care about the soul of a Southerner. It was absurdly amusing.
Su Xin frowned. “Fellow Daoist Xu, I know this is unfair to that mortal, but eliminating the demon comes first. We truly cannot let soft-heartedness ruin everything now.”
How could Xu Ziqing not understand? But when he glanced sideways, he saw Dongli Xi’s face turn deathly pale. He could not tell how much of it came from his wounds and how much from grief over Jiao Tu.
The human face at the Blood Demon’s chest trembled instead and laughed aloud. “It is nothing more than the destruction of my soul. Immortal Masters, hurry and do it!” Once this wicked demon was eliminated, the Kingdom of Chenghuang would have nothing left to fear, and the person he loved… would likewise have nothing left to fear.
Since he was going to die anyway, who knew whether his next life would be as a human or an animal? Whatever it was, that person would no longer be Jiao Tu. Besides, he had stolen this brief stretch of time and shared physical intimacy with the one he loved. He was already satisfied and could die without regret.
Su Xin shouted, “Good! You Southerner have some backbone. This young master will give you a clean death!”
Xu Ziqing closed his eyes briefly, then nodded. “There is no other choice.”
The two agreed that one would strike Jiao Tu’s vital organs while the other pierced his Purple Palace and destroyed the Blood Demon’s primordial spirit, leaving the demon no chance at all to escape.
Xu Ziqing held the thousand-year Steelwood. Because his cultivation was higher, he was to destroy the Blood Demon’s primordial spirit. He and Su Xin exchanged a glance and prepared to act.
At that moment, a white figure suddenly appeared beside Xu Ziqing.
Xu Ziqing paused. “Brother Yun?”
Su Xin had been too occupied during the fierce battle to notice Yun Lie earlier. Seeing him now, he stared in surprise. “Who is this?”
Yun Lie did not answer him and merely said coldly, “His fire qi is fierce. If it strikes the soul, the soul will certainly disperse. Your wood qi is gentle. If you strike instead, Jiao Tu’s soul may survive.”
Xu Ziqing was overjoyed. “Brother Yun, is that really possible?”
Yun Lie said, “It may be worth trying. Go.” He said nothing more.
Su Xin was full of questions, but he knew this was not the time to ask them. With the two exchanging targets, he had no desire to destroy an innocent soul if it could be avoided, so naturally he did not object.
Thus, one attacked above and the other below, one striking the Purple Palace and the other Jiao Tu’s vitals.
Azure-blue fire blazed along Su Xin’s long sword as he drove it into the center of Jiao Tu’s brow. The Purple Palace was pierced through at once, and the primordial spirit within let out a howl before being completely burned away by the blue flame.
Xu Ziqing struck at the same time. The thousand-year Steelwood pierced directly into the place where the human face protruded.
Jiao Tu’s face opened its mouth, then vanished beneath the Steelwood without a sound.
“If there is a next life…” The voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum, and no one knew who had managed to hear it.