Human Turns Ghost

A few minutes earlier, with the "main course" still nowhere in sight, Flower Vajra flew into a rage. He led his men toward the kitchen, ready to kill someone and make an example of them. They had gone through great trouble to invite a sect Dharmapala to Wancheng, and at the critical moment, someone was trying to throw a wrench in the works?

Yet when he pushed open the door, he found corpses scattered across the floor. Every single one had been pierced through the brow by a powerful finger strike. It immediately reminded him of the Secret Blood Warrior mentioned by the former Vajra Hand's subordinates—a nameless man who loved to ambush people.

The discovery delighted him. That person's hands were stained with the blood of the sect's higher-ups. Capturing him would be a tremendous merit.

Flower Vajra hurried back to the main hall and knelt, begging the Left Guardian to act.

In but a moment, the group caught up.

He Zhao frowned. How they had learned his whereabouts was not important. What mattered were the fleeing children behind him.

"One man dared oppose our Golden Cicada Sect? Hehe. In a while, this old man will send people to capture them and eat their hearts and livers bit by bit right before your eyes." The Left Guardian's voice was hoarse, and he looked every inch like a living pervert.

"Didn't you hear Lord Dharmapala?" Flower Vajra roared from the side, inwardly cursing these stupid subordinates for having no sense at all. "Go after them, now! Ride horses, and don't hurt them. If even one hair is missing, I'll take every last one of you into my chambers as concubines."

"Yes!"

Flower Vajra's Follower immediately ran off to relay the order.

As everyone knew, being a leader's concubine meant not only that one's little yellow flower would suffer endless devastation, but that one's manhood would be lost as well.

He Zhao ignored the furious Flower Vajra. Instead, he stared gravely at the Left Guardian. A flash of golden Spirit Power occasionally flickered over the man's body, brimming with an overbearing aura.

The old fellow's realm was higher than the Hetu Dao Master's. That vast presence, like a blazing sun, made one's scalp go numb.

"Ban!"

"Buzz—"

A strange ripple swiftly spread outward. Everyone present could use only the power of their physical bodies. Other than He Zhao, no one could mobilize Spirit Power or use Sacrificial Vessels.

"Die!"

Ruthless He Zhao pulled out the Bone Dagger and viciously stabbed it into his own heart.

As a cautious person, how could he possibly have failed to leave himself a backup plan?

Beyond the city walls lay Blood-Colored Footprints everywhere, left behind when he had repeatedly darted back and forth.

"Pfft—"

The string of actions sounded slow when described, but in truth, it had taken no more than a blink.

Most people had yet to react to what was happening when their hearts were pierced through by an invisible force. Their eyes widened, their faces filled with unwillingness, and they toppled backward.

"Crack!"

"Boom!"

Among the crowd, only the Left Guardian remained calm in the face of danger. With a slight activation of his Spirit Power, he instantly broke free from the Spirit Banishing Seal's suppression. The next second, his entire body was wrapped in a dazzling golden sphere.

A strange force slammed into it, denting the sphere downward. The two sides remained locked in a tug-of-war.

"Did your Master never tell you not to casually strike at an Unusual Scholar in the Flying Scenery Realm? It is merely the iron rule of a low-grade Sacrificial Vessel. Is that your reliance?

"Oh, no. The Tourmaline Seal is a high-grade Sacrificial Vessel. Unfortunately, its user is utterly beneath notice and cannot completely bind me. Hehe, I thought you were some blind little brat, but who would have imagined you were a fortune-bearing boy?"

The depression on the golden sphere's surface gradually sprang back. The Bone Dagger's extraction of several people's life force also rapidly weakened.

"For the sake of the two Sacrificial Vessels you have delivered to this old man, I shall give you a few pointers. The Riding Light Realm can avoid one fatal iron rule from a Fierce Ghost or Sacrificial Vessel.

"As for the Flying Scenery Realm, it can rely on a great amount of Spirit Power to contend against the Iron Rules of both. At least before this old man's vast and boundless Spirit Power runs dry, you cannot kill me!"

As his words fell, the Bone Dagger's effect vanished.

He Zhao looked at the Left Guardian inside the golden sphere, his face full of helplessness.

That damned Simulator—why were the bosses he encountered each fiercer than the last?

He had finally clawed his way up to the Riding Light Realm, yet before he could even strut his stuff, he was immediately suppressed by an Unusual Scholar of a higher level.

Just wait, Old Immortal. In the next Simulation Scenario, I'll definitely crush you to death.

"Clang!"

He Zhao put away the Bone Dagger and took out the formidable broken saber.

The Left Guardian's eyes lit up. The little brat had quite the fortune.

The next instant, he suddenly frowned.

"You are an Unusual Scholar of Hetu Dao?"

"!!"

When his identity was exposed, Ruthless He Zhao felt an inexplicable jolt in his heart.

Ever since he had put on the Divine Concealment Ring, this was the first person to see through him.

"The Life-Slaying Saber is the Hetu Dao Master's Sacrificial Vessel. Where is he? Back then, we agreed to exert force from within and without at the same time, seizing Wancheng. Yet when the moment came, he vanished.

"You country bumpkins forced us to use Cannons just to barely blast through the city walls. Do you know how many taels of gold one Xilai Kingdom shell costs?

"Ten taels!!"

What did ten taels of gold mean?

Even if you scraped the Black Market three feet deep, you could not find a single tael.

The Golden Cicada Sect did not have much in reserve. Every shell expended was like letting blood from the sect's main artery.

"..."

What did that have to do with me?

"Buzz—"

Catching him off guard, He Zhao poured in a massive amount of Spirit Power and fiercely swung his saber.

The invisible blade burst forth. As the city gates opened, dozens of cavalrymen charged out from within. Before they could even leave the gate, both men and horses were cleaved in two.

Only the Left Guardian stood still where he was, his face contemptuous, as though the saber aura could not harm him.

In truth, the invisible blade swept past him, yet not even a single hair fell from his head.

"??"

Ruthless He Zhao was utterly dumbfounded. Could the Sacrificial Vessel in his hand be a counterfeit? Otherwise, there was no explanation for why the other man was completely fine.

"The Life-Slaying Saber's iron rule is to kill living creatures in motion. Against a living creature that does not move, it cannot inflict the slightest harm. The Hetu Dao Master must have been blind to take in an idiot like you!"

Everyone knew He Zhao was a Wolf Extinguisher. Not only was his temper rather poor, but he also loved to throw Heavy Punches in Simulation Scenarios.

After being insulted to his face time and again, even a clay figure would have three parts anger, let alone him.

"Whoosh!"

His figure flashed, and He Zhao arrived above the Left Guardian. His left palm came crashing down like a millstone.

Hengshan Fist Technique—Boulder Crush!

So long as the other man took even one step, the Life-Slaying Saber in his right hand would unleash a fatal strike.

"Until one reaches the Yellow River, one refuses to give up."

The Left Guardian's Spirit Power could only resist Iron Rules originating from Fierce Ghosts and Sacrificial Vessels. Against physical attacks, it was as fragile as paper. But that did not mean he had no solution.

He had lived for several decades and fought countless battles, large and small. Without some skill, he would have died long ago.

His foot moved, and he stepped back, evading He Zhao's left palm.

"Buzz—"

The invisible blade slashed out!

Golden Spirit Power appeared once more, wrapping the Left Guardian tightly from head to toe.

The saber aura struck it without breaking through its defenses, leaving only a groove.

"Hmph! In a little while, you will die!"

Indeed, he did not even need to act. The Life-Slaying Saber's backlash alone would be enough to send Someone surnamed He to his death here.

Yet something beyond the Left Guardian's expectations happened again. Ruthless He Zhao seemed to have fallen into madness, slashing again and again, spraying Spirit Power as though it cost nothing.

"The final frenzy."

The Left Guardian, sweat beading on his forehead, continued to mock him with greater force.

In reality, he was not having an easy time either.

Did he really think the Spirit Power of the Flying Scenery Realm was an ocean, inexhaustible and unending?

Fortunately, he could endure it. Even if his Spirit Power ran dry later, it would not matter. The other party would die beneath the backlash of the countless saber auras anyway.

"Buzz—"

A crimson color suddenly spread across the blade.

"?"

"Fuck!!"

The Left Guardian's expression drastically changed. He turned and fled, utterly unable to maintain his previous air of superiority.

"Madman! You fucking madman! Your Master, the Hetu Dao Master, is one—and you are even crazier than he is!"

He Zhao?

A scarlet vicious light shot from his eyes, and his reason was completely swallowed by killing intent.

His entire body was shrouded in black mist. The broken saber in his hand dripped bright red blood, while a nauseating stench of gore swept through the vast city like a violent gale.

Ferocious killing intent shot into the sky, waking countless sleeping soldiers within Wancheng. They each frowned, covered their noses and mouths, and looked at one another.

In the instant before awakening, they seemed to have seen a pair of blood-colored eyes staring at them with utter malice.

Two chapters, over 5K words. I'm pretty conscientious.