Chapter 188 - 121: Demon (3)
From here on out, one had to be extremely careful.
As it stood, anyone who made it off Nine Waves Island had their hands soaked in blood.
....
「Deep within Nine Waves Island, in a dense forest.」
Song Ming clutched a bone-deep saber wound on his side, panting heavily as he leaned against a tree trunk.
His face was ashen, and his lips were cracked and dry.
Just half an incense stick’s time ago, he and two other disciples from the Li Fire Institute had been ambushed.
The two had fought to the death to cover his retreat and were now just two stiff corpses in the snow nearby.
’That was too close...’
Song Ming spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
After confirming there were no more threats, he fought through the intense pain and staggered toward the bodies of his two fellow disciples.
He deftly searched them, quickly pulling out a few blood-soaked leather pouches and a small bag of loose gold and silver coins.
Next, he turned to several other corpses nearby and stuffed all their valuables—a Jade Ring, a Gemstone-inlaid Short Dagger, a few bottles of Elixirs, and even a high-quality Jade Pendant—into his robes.
’If I were just a Defender of the waterways, I’d never get a haul like this.’
A sharp glint appeared in Song Ming’s eyes. ’Once I save up enough silver coins, I’ll buy a Scripture Breaking Pill. Then I’ll have a forty percent chance of breaking through to the Mid-stage Embracing Pill Power.’
The thought made his heart burn with excitement.
.......
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ruined stockade.
The True Qi in Xiao Ruize’s Li Huo Saber surged, its blade enveloped in scorching waves of heat.
The blistering Saber Qi transformed into a roaring Fire Dragon, instantly slaying two resisting Water Bandits up ahead.
"AHHH—!"
Shrill screams filled the air, along with the stench of burning flesh.
Flames engulfed the two Water Bandits as they collapsed, writhing in agony.
Lin Wei’s figure appeared behind another Water Bandit.
The Profound Water Snake on her arm shot out silently, transforming into a streak of cold, blue light that bit precisely into the back of the Water Bandit’s neck.
A terrifyingly cold poison invaded his body instantly. The man fell stiffly without so much as a grunt, a layer of white frost quickly forming on his skin.
"Senior Brother Xiao, the left flank is clear!"
Lin Wei’s voice was cold and clear as she recalled her Profound Water Snake.
Her True Qi formed a thin protective barrier around her, instantly melting any snowflakes that landed on it.
Just then, a Li Fire Institute disciple hurriedly shouted, "Senior Brother Xiao, we’ve spotted Zheng Hui over there!"
"Quick! After him!"
A sharp glint appeared in Xiao Ruize’s eyes when he heard this.
Zheng Hui was Zheng Yuankui’s direct heir; the Zheng Family’s greatest treasures were likely on his person.
Lin Wei and the others were also stirred by the news.
Xiao Ruize’s group then leaped into action, chasing in the direction Zheng Hui had fled.
The last direct descendant of the Zheng Family had his brocade robes tattered and his topknot in disarray. Blood gushed from a bone-deep saber wound on his chest, staining the snow beneath his feet red.
Like a startled bird, he fled in a panic down a hidden path.
"Zheng Hui! You can’t escape!"
Xiao Ruize roared, his voice like thunder, shaking the accumulated snow from the surrounding trees.
His Li Huo True Qi erupted from beneath his feet, and his speed surged. In just a few leaps, he had closed the distance to within ten zhang of Zheng Hui.
Lin Wei and three other Early-stage Embrace Pill Power experts from the Li Fire Institute followed close behind, fanning out to encircle him.
"Block him!"
Xiao Ruize pointed with his saber, and a searing slash of Saber Qi cut through the air, blocking off Zheng Hui’s left flank.
With perfect coordination, Lin Wei waved her hand, and the Profound Water Snake transformed into a streak of cold blue light, shooting toward Zheng Hui’s right leg.
The other three used their own techniques—Sword Qi and Fist Gang weaving into a net—instantly forcing Zheng Hui into a dead end, a corner surrounded on three sides by jagged rocks!
"PFFT!"
The impact forced Zheng Hui to spit out another mouthful of blood as he staggered back against the cold rocks.
With his back against the rocks, he stared deathly at Xiao Ruize and the others as they closed in.
"Zheng Hui, surrender now!"
Xiao Ruize said, "Tell us where the Zheng Family’s secret treasures are hidden. In consideration of the Zheng Family once being a prominent clan in Yunlin, we might leave you with an intact corpse and allow your bloodline to continue!"
The Zheng Family’s centuries of accumulated wealth couldn’t possibly be limited to what was on this island.
Their core fortune must have been in the hands of Zheng Yuankui and his son. Now that Zheng Yuankui was dead, Zheng Hui was the only key!
"Heh... heheh..."
Zheng Hui gave a miserable laugh, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes burned with bone-deep hatred and venom. "Secret treasures? You think you’re worthy of knowing?"
Xiao Ruize’s eyes turned cold, his patience exhausted. "Since you’re so stubborn, you can take your secrets to hell! Attack!"
At that critical moment!
Suddenly, everything changed!
A Li Fire Institute disciple standing to Zheng Hui’s side, one who had been silent the whole time, suddenly had a strange, bloody glint flash in his eyes!
"SHK!"
It was a faint sound, so fast it was like an illusion!
The man’s right hand was held straight, fingers together like a blade. A wisp of dark red Astral Force coiled around his fingertips as he, without any warning, pierced through the back of Xiao Ruize’s heart.
Xiao Ruize’s face was filled with utter disbelief. He looked down at the fingers, wreathed in dark red Astral Force, protruding from his chest, and then collapsed heavily to the ground.
The turn of events was too sudden!
"Junior Brother Wang?! What are you doing?!" Lin Wei’s face drained of color as she cried out in shock.
The so-called Junior Brother Wang pulled back his blood-drenched fingers, leaving behind an afterimage.
With a flick of his left hand, three condensed, blood-colored streams of Finger Gang shot out like Poison Needles—silent, yet as fast as lightning—toward the other two Li Fire Institute disciples.
Two streams of Finger Gang precisely pierced their foreheads!
He killed two people in an instant!
"You... you’re not Junior Brother Wang!"
Lin Wei felt a suffocating, bloody Evil Qi wash over her, and it felt as though the blood in her veins was about to freeze solid.
She desperately channeled her True Qi while her Profound Water Snake lunged out again in a final struggle.
"CRACK! CRACK!"
The Blood Astral Sharp Claw tore through layer after layer of her ice shields as if they were rotten wood!
"PFFT!"
The Blood Astral claw accurately grabbed the Profound Water Snake by its vital spot, and the snake’s body was instantly crushed by the terrifying Blood Astral!
"NO—!"
Lin Wei’s pupils contracted as she let out a desperate scream.
The blood-red claw passed through her Protective True Qi without any resistance and viciously clamped down on her slender neck!
"CRACK!"
The cringe-inducing sound of cracking bone rang out.
The light in Lin Wei’s eyes instantly extinguished. Her body went limp and fell, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
In a flash, several of the most outstanding disciples of this generation from the Wutai Sect’s Li Fire Institute had been slaughtered with lightning-fast, devastating brutality.
Leaning against the cold rocks, Zheng Hui witnessed the bloody and shocking scene, completely stunned.
"You...?"
’Junior Brother Wang’ tore the human-skin mask from his face, revealing an old, weathered visage.
"Zuo... Zuo Feng!?"
Zheng Hui’s voice trembled.
He never would have imagined that in his moment of desperation, it would be this ruthless Demon from the Demon Sect who came to his rescue!
Zuo Feng slowly turned around, flicked the blood from his hands, and wore a sinister smile.
Zuo Feng said coldly, "The matter with the Zheng Family happened too quickly. The Altar Master and the other Protectors are all in secluded Cultivation, so they couldn’t arrive in time."
His tone was so flat that it was impossible to tell if he was telling the truth.
"The Liu Family was fanning the flames behind the scenes. Otherwise, how could the Four Great Sects have uncovered everything so quickly!?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Hui gritted his teeth and said, "I, Zheng Hui, swear to the heavens that if I can escape this, I will avenge this blood debt! I will tear them to a million pieces!"
He struggled to stand and gave Zuo Feng a deep bow. "Left Protector, I, Zheng Hui, will never forget this life-saving grace for as long as I live! As long as you can get me out of here, Protector, all the wealth, Secret Manuals, and Treasure Medicines in my Zheng Family’s secret vault will be yours! I am willing to serve the Demon Sect like a loyal dog, asking only that I can slaughter the entire Liu Family with my own hands!"
"Heheheh..."
Zuo Feng let out a low chuckle and made a gesture to help Zheng Hui up. "Young Master Zheng, you speak too gravely. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Your Zheng Family and my Demon Sect should have been united against a common foe from the start."
"The Liu Family? They are nothing but dancing clowns."
"This is no place to linger. We should leave as soon as possible."
Zheng Hui nodded heavily.
Zuo Feng grabbed the heavily injured Zheng Hui, and with a flicker of his form, vanished from the spot.
.......