“Heh-heh-heh-heh!”
Several shrill bursts of laughter sounded. A bloody shadow suddenly shot out, streaked across the entire gathering ground, and raced to the opposite side.
A trail of blood lay behind it, still steaming with warmth. A figure of skin and bones collapsed to the ground, blood pooling beneath it.
Someone nearby immediately recognized the remains as a Golden Core Perfected One. His entire flesh and blood had been torn away, leaving nothing but bloody skin and a skeleton. The cruelty was appalling.
Several wet thuds followed, and another four or five such husks fell. These too were Golden Core cultivators whose bodies had been drained of blood essence. Even their Golden Cores had been taken!
The stench of blood rose sharply. Some female cultivators with shallow attainment turned pale, their teeth chattering as they nearly screamed.
Many male cultivators were equally horrified, especially those who had accompanied their elders merely to broaden their horizons.
If even Golden Core Perfected Ones could meet such an end, how could their own lives be preserved?
The entire gathering had descended into chaos.
Xu Ziqing’s eyes widened. He saw several hundred black shadows burst from the dantians of brightly dressed female cultivators and lunge fiercely at the unsuspecting Perfected Ones and other cultivators around them. A mere brush against one of these shadows was enough to drain a victim’s flesh and blood and take their life!
Such vicious methods were enough to make anyone’s blood boil with outrage.
Demonic qi rampaged through the grounds. Two cultivators who had won Posuo Fruits were caught off guard while chatting with several women. Bloody shadows fell upon them, taking not only their flesh and blood but also their precious fruits.
Yun Lie flickered into position directly in front of Xu Ziqing, shielding him within the small space behind his back.
Xu Ziqing gritted his teeth but did not dare move.
He knew the situation was terribly ominous. If he rashly tried to display his strength now, he would not help his senior brother in the slightest. Instead, he would become a burden.
Even so, how unwilling he was to remain idle!
Xu Ziqing clenched his fists. A faint blue-green radiance gathered between his brows.
Whatever happened, he had to remain on guard. While Senior Brother watched the front, Xu Ziqing would protect his back. The Azure Cloud Needle was his strongest means of attack; even if it could not withstand the enemy, perhaps it could delay them for a moment.
He even awakened Rongjin, who had long been sleeping within his dantian, preparing to release the vine at any moment. If he had to unleash a slaughter, then so be it!
Perhaps because the two martial brothers had withdrawn to a secluded spot, no women had come to strike up conversations with them. For the moment, no bloody shadows had appeared nearby.
Still, Xu Ziqing could not fathom how such a disaster could have erupted while they were guests at Ruyi Immortal Estate.
Back amid the chaos, many cultivators had been caught by surprise at first and lost their lives. Once the survivors put up their defenses, they could no longer be killed so easily.
But it was already too late for many. After several miserable screams, the five fourth-grade sects whose disciples had won Posuo Fruits suffered particularly grievous losses. Almost none of their talented young representatives survived. Even Xiaoshui Immortal Sect, a third-grade sect, lost one of its three prodigies.
Only Wuling Immortal Sect fared somewhat better. Although ten of its disciples were attacked, something unexpected happened when the bloody shadows appeared.
Several extremely ordinary-looking cultivators stepped forward and spread their hands. They struck the shadows down and smashed them into pulpy masses.
One of them snorted coldly. “So they’re people from the Blood God Sect. They’ve used demonic seeds to hide inside women’s bodies. No wonder we failed to detect them!”
Ou Mubai and the others, still shaken, were astonished to hear that the person’s voice sounded different from before.
Ling Susu whispered in surprise, “Elder Qin?”
The others noticed as well. Those they had believed to be juniors accompanying them had turned out to be Nascent Soul ancestors. Counting carefully, they realized there were as many as five.
Elder Qin did not reveal his true appearance, continuing to wear the face of a low-level disciple. He ordered quickly, “Gather together at once! Don’t scatter. The Blood God Sect’s demons are especially good at exploiting openings!”
The disciples did not dare argue and gradually drew close together.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie were too far away. Although they noticed the Nascent Soul ancestors taking action, they could not immediately join them, particularly because Yun Lie had to protect Xu Ziqing and could not readily leave their position.
Fortunately, their remoteness also meant that no one targeted them for the time being.
In the midst of the gathering, the female cultivators whose bodies had just released demonic seeds immediately summoned flying swords and struck at another group of women. Their attacks were ruthless, showing no mercy and plainly intended to kill.
Their movements were so swift that the victims were taken unawares. Many women died in quick succession.
Among the twelve Ruyi Envoys, the Pure Maiden Envoys laughed sweetly and stepped back several paces before sweeping their hands across their dantians.
Black light shot out from each dantian and fell to the ground, transforming into several gaunt men dressed in blood-red garments. Their faces and eyes were filled with sinister bloody qi.
All of them had cultivation at the Nascent Soul stage or above!
The blood-robed men sprang into the air and intercepted several unaffiliated Nascent Soul ancestors overhead. The ancestors’ expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly brought forth their magic treasures and cast defensive spells around themselves.
Several female elders who were attending the guests shouted, “People of the Blood God Sect! How dare you run wild in Ruyi Immortal Estate!”
But in the next moment, the void split open behind them. Seductively beautiful women thrust their slender fingers into the elders’ dantians and ripped out their Nascent Souls.
The Pure Maiden faction of Ruyi Immortal Estate had rebelled!
The six Jade Maiden Envoys reacted swiftly. They had long harbored reservations about the Pure Maiden faction, and when they saw demonic seeds emerging from those women’s bodies, their greater experience allowed them to recognize the danger at once. They immediately attacked.
Grievances between the Pure Maidens and Jade Maidens had accumulated for years. Neither side showed the slightest mercy, and they fought desperately to the death.
As the eldest senior sister, Mu Ronghua stood back to back with Rui Rou. Both ranked among the strongest of the Ruyi Envoys, and years of sisterhood had given them flawless cooperation.
If Mu Ronghua embodied the firmness of water, Rui Rou embodied its softness. One wielded a long sword and the other a long silk sash; one fought at range while the other engaged at close quarters. Their long and short attacks combined, hardness and softness complementing one another, and together they occupied four Pure Maiden Envoys. Elsewhere, four Jade Maiden Envoys blocked the remaining two Pure Maidens, obtaining the advantage.
Chaos rose on every side. The Immortal Fruit Gathering, once suffused with an otherworldly atmosphere, transformed in an instant into a hellish slaughterground.
Countless demons appeared and fought viciously against the immortal-path cultivators. Thanks to their surprise attack and the help of the Pure Maidens, they steadily gained the upper hand.
The immortal path was waning as the demonic path rose. Savage laughter and frightened cries filled the gathering. The young talents who had come in high spirits were now in utter disarray.
With demonic flames raging skyward, even Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie’s secluded corner could no longer remain safe.
Soon someone noticed that two people were still there, seemingly without anyone to rely on. The discovery filled the attackers with delight.
Several demons gave piercing howls, raised gusts of bloody wind, and rushed straight toward them!
Yun Lie’s gaze turned icy. A murderous aura of overwhelming intensity erupted from his body.
He moved his arm, and a long sword glowing with spiritual light appeared in his palm. Its sword qi was so bitterly cold that it seemed capable of freezing whatever it touched.
The demons moved with incredible speed, reaching them in the blink of an eye.
Yun Lie’s expression remained frigid. He raised his sword and cut the foremost demon in two at the waist!
His sword cultivation followed an exceptionally cold and merciless path, and his sword qi was equally fierce. As soon as it broke through the demon’s body, it ground the Golden Core inside him to pieces, ensuring he could never rise again.
Yun Lie did not pause. Though he used only the simplest sword techniques, each stroke killed another demon, and none could approach even half a step!
Xu Ziqing held his breath, not daring to let his concentration wander for an instant.
His senior brother moved at the front, the reach of his sword protecting an area one zhang in every direction. Sword force surged, sword intent pierced the sky, and murderous qi spread in an impenetrable curtain, dense as mercury.
Within that range, no demon could break through.
How astonishing was the power of this one man and his sword!
All the demons concealed in demonic seeds within the Pure Maidens’ dantians were evil-path cultivators. Their appearances were strange and twisted, and under the name of the Blood God Sect they were utterly ruthless.
Their cultivation was also remarkably high. Alongside several hundred Golden Core demons were several Nascent Soul cultivators. They strengthened themselves by seizing cultivators’ blood essence, and the more vicious among them simply devoured people, fiercer even than demon beasts.
At the same level of cultivation, evil-path techniques were often more powerful than their orthodox counterparts. But even setting strength aside, their bloody and insidious methods caught many inexperienced sect disciples completely unprepared.
Yun Lie had clearly faced evil-path cultivators many times. His strikes were decisive and precise, repeatedly landing on vital points and directly destroying his enemies’ Golden Cores.
Yet the more fiercely he fought, the more bloodthirsty the demons became. They charged forward fearlessly, one after another. They spewed poisonous vapors, and their treasures carried corrosive demonic properties capable of eating away and melting anything they touched.
Behind him, Xu Ziqing grew increasingly anxious.
He wondered how the endless stream of demons could ever be stopped. After all, Senior Brother was still only a Golden Core cultivator. No matter how great his potential or how brave he was, surely he could not withstand this relentless tide of attacks. If his true essence ran out…
The more worried he became, the more his thoughts circled around that dreadful possibility.
Xu Ziqing silently circulated his technique and lifted his hand a little. A short length of white vine had already emerged from his palm and was beginning to extend.
Yun Lie killed a demon with a backward slash and said heavily, “Do not release Rongjin.”
Xu Ziqing grew frantic. “But, Senior Brother…”
Without interrupting his sword strokes, Yun Lie continued, “The immortal and demonic paths are fighting one another. Rongjin thirsts for blood. If you release it now, it will be mistaken for an evil demon.”
Xu Ziqing’s face turned pale.
How could he not understand? The entire battle had begun because orthodox cultivators had unwittingly let evil demons among them. If he brought out Rongjin, he would immediately be taken for an accomplice. No amount of explanation would clear him.
Yet his senior brother’s white robes were already stained with blood, and Rongjin’s bloodthirsty nature made it the perfect counter to the bloody shadows. He could clearly be of use, but he dared not act. How could he bear it?
After holding himself back again and again, Xu Ziqing finally said, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. Unless it comes to the very last moment, I won’t…”
He clenched his fists bitterly and withdrew the vine.
At that moment, the void began to shake violently.
Mu Wuxin’s voice rang out, as cool as before but filled with anger. “Yu Nongqing! You have actually colluded with the evil demonic path. How can you face the founders of our estate?”
Yu Nongqing’s languid voice rose in reply. “Our founders ascended long ago. Why would they care about the affairs of our cultivation world? Your Jade Maiden faction has produced every Estate Mistress for generations. Why should we Pure Maidens always be kept beneath you? Life here is miserable anyway. We might as well join the demonic path and live more freely!”
Elio’s Notes: The original Chinese uses an unclear size comparison for the blood-robed men. As the official text contains the same wording, the translation describes them without guessing their size.