Road Encounter, Soul Snatching

Master's breakthrough gave Lu Qing even more confidence for this trip to Cloud Province.

He has reached the Innate Lesser Completion Peak, and possesses dual-elemental Innate True Qi, as well as the Innate Domain he has comprehended.

Lu Qing estimated that even if his master were to face a true Great Perfection of the Innate Realm, he might not necessarily be at a disadvantage.

Even if the Innate Realm Flowing Cloud Sect are strong, they probably wouldn't be as exaggerated as those Great Perfection of the Innate Realm.

Otherwise, the Flowing Cloud Sect wouldn't just be one of the three major sects in Cloud Province.

After having breakfast, Lu Qing and his group continued their journey.

It's a bit strange, but now that they've officially entered Cloud Province territory, they've been traveling on official roads.

However, after several days, they did not encounter anyone from the Flowing Cloud Sect.

It's unclear whether the Flowing Cloud Sect hasn't sent anyone to search for their Young Sect Master yet, or if they've gone somewhere else.

If it's the latter, it's not good news for Lu Qing and his group.

Just as Lu Qing was pondering whether to find an excuse to rush back and check on the situation, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked ahead.

Soon, they saw billowing dust ahead, and a group of powerful Martial Artist riding tall horses galloping towards them.

"It's like everything I wish for comes true."

From afar, Lu Qing noticed that the clothes worn by the leading group looked very familiar, and couldn't help but smile.

"A Qing, what's wrong?"

The Old Doctor lifted the curtain of the carriage and asked.

Before Lu Qing could answer, the Martial Artist on horseback in front of him started shouting.

"Get out of the way, carriage in front! If you don't move out of the way within three breaths, you'll die!"

Three breaths passed in the blink of an eye. Ma Gu only had time to stop the carriage, not enough time to move it off the road.

Upon seeing this, the Martial Artist opposite him immediately turned fierce, and a gust of wind suddenly arose, with several long whips already lashing out at the carriage.

Judging from the whooshing sound, if the carriage were struck solidly, even if it didn't break apart, it would probably be overturned and thrown off the road by the Great Strength contained in the whip.

Upon seeing this, Ma Gu's expression changed. Just as he was about to stop him, he heard several hissing sounds from beside his ear.

Suddenly, the Martial Artist had attacked shouted, a spray of blood splattering from their foreheads. They tumbled off their horses, their whips completely exhausted, failing to reach the carriage.

"What?!"

This sudden turn of events clearly took the other side completely by surprise.

The sight of several Martial Artist falling from their horses, in particular, took them by surprise.

Fortunately, the opposing force consisted of martial arts masters with exceptional horsemanship. At the critical moment, they leaped forward on their horses, avoiding the horrific fate of their own men being trampled.

As a result, it was inevitable that everyone would be stopped.

However, even if they weren't stopped, these Martial Artist wouldn't be able to leave so easily.

They discovered that their fallen companions, though not trampled by the horses, also did not get up, and did not even move.

Upon closer inspection, he was already dead! "Junior Brother Zhao!"

"Huang Senior Brother!"

"Junior Brother Wang!"

This was truly a shock.

It should be noted that the dead were all highly skilled martial artists, at least at the Tendons and Bones Realm, yet they died in an instant.

In an instant, all the Martial Artist' expressions changed drastically.

"Who dares to launch a sneak attack? Are they tired of living?!"

A tall, burly man with a ruddy complexion and a long sword at his waist suddenly changed his expression and shouted at the carriage.

"The people of the Flowing Cloud Sect are indeed like dogs that can't change their nature. No matter where they go, they are always so domineering and tyrannical, treating human life like dirt."

Before the group of Martial Artist could fully recover from their shock, Lu Qing slowly stepped down from the carriage and said coldly.

"Brother Lu Qing, you're saying these people are from the Flowing Cloud Sect?" Ma Gu asked.

"Yes, look at their clothes."

Ma Gu looked closely and found that the clothes worn by the Martial Artist in front of him were indeed familiar, especially the flowing clouds on the sleeves and collars, which were exactly the same as those worn by the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples they had killed in Clear Wind Town a few days ago.

"They really are scum from the Flowing Cloud Sect," Ma Gu said in realization.

"You arrogant brat!"

"Act recklessly!"

"Court death!"

Seeing that the two dared to insult them to their faces, all the disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect were furious.

The ruddy-faced man at the head of the group had a cold glint in his eyes. With a clang, his long sword was drawn from its sheath, flashing with cold light, and in an instant, it had already slashed in front of Ma Gu.

The ruddy-faced man could tell that Lu Qing's cultivation level was not high, only at the Qi Blood Realm, and even Ma Gu was only at the Tendons and Bones Realm.

It's impossible for either of them to ambush and kill their comrade in an instant.

There's only one explanation: the person who came to ambush them is still hiding inside the carriage.

He originally wanted to continue observing the situation, but Ma Gu's arrogant words suddenly stirred up murderous intent in his heart.

"Good timing!"

The sudden slash did not frighten Ma Gu.

On the contrary, he looked excited, and his War Blade was instantly drawn from its sheath, blocking the fatal blow in a very dangerous situation.

"What?"

The man with the ruddy face showed surprise, but before he could make another move, Ma Gu had already jumped off the carriage and pounced on him.

"Haha, Brother Lu Qing, don't make a move yet. Stand aside and let me have some fun first!"

"I'm in mid-air, "Ma Gu laughed heartily.

With the force of a collapsing mountain, the War Blade in his hand slashed down at the man with the ruddy face.

"This swordsmanship?!"

The man with the ruddy face felt the power of Ma Gu's strike, and the look of surprise returned to his face.

Without a second thought, he instinctively pushed off the horse and backed away.

Whoosh!

A strong stench of blood filled the air. Ma Gu's powerful slash had actually cut the tall horse in half! Having killed a tall horse with a single blow, Ma Gu didn't stop at all. He lightly touched the ground with his feet and chased after the man with the ruddy face, slashing down again.

"Master Ma, be careful, your opponent is a master of the Inner Organs Realm."

Lu Qing offered a reminder.

However, there was no sign of worry on his face.

Upon hearing Lu Qing reveal his cultivation level in a single sentence, the ruddy-faced man, who had originally intended to conceal his abilities to guard against the mysterious expert in hidden weapons in the carriage, was once again shocked.

But he abruptly stopped retreating, a fierce look appearing on his face, a powerful aura erupting from him, and the speed of his War Blade increased dramatically.

Clang! A piercing metallic clang rang out, and amidst the intense energy radiating outwards, Ma Gu's forward-leaning body was suddenly sent flying backwards.

"Can they escape?"

Seeing that his powerful strike had failed to kill Ma Gu, a strange light flashed in the eyes of the ruddy-faced man.

His killing intent surged, and with a bang, he chased after Ma Gu, who was unable to gain any leverage in mid-air, intending to cut him in two.

Swoosh! Just as the ruddy-faced man was about to catch up with Ma Gu and cut him down, a piercing whistling sound rang out.

An extreme sense of danger suddenly arose in his heart, causing his heart to contract painfully.

The man with the ruddy face was shocked. Before he could do anything, his honed Martial Artist instincts kicked in, and he raised his War Blade to block between his eyebrows.

With a loud bang, the man with the ruddy face was violently shaken. His forward-moving body not only came to a complete stop, but he was also forced to take several steps back before he could barely regain his footing.

When he came to a stop, he looked at the War Blade in his hand with horror in his eyes.

All he could see was his thick, Thousand-Forged Saber, which he had acquired at great expense; its thick blade was now bent and deformed.

At the bend, a cloud of exploding stone dust stuck to it, almost piercing through the War Blade.

Elder Hong!

The other disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect exclaimed in surprise.

"Good reaction, it actually managed to block my pebble."

Lu Qing was somewhat surprised to see the ruddy-faced man block the attack.

"Brother Lu Qing, this red-faced fellow's swordsmanship is really fierce, I'm no match for him."

With a quick roll, Ma Gu landed safely and exclaimed in amazement.

At this moment, his hands holding the knife trembled slightly, and blood seeped from the tiger's mouth.

Those were injuries sustained during the clash of swords with the opponent.

"The opponent is at the Inner Organs Realm, and his swordsmanship is also extremely high. It's normal that you are no match for him, Master Ma," Lu Qing said with a smile.

In fact, if Ma Gu hadn't been practicing the Mountain Sea Saber, which was personally taught to him by Wei Shanhai, a master of the Innate Realm, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand even a single strike from his opponent.

"Who exactly are you, and why are you making trouble for my Flowing Cloud Sect?"

The man with the ruddy face forcibly suppressed the boiling blood pressure in his body and looked at Lu Qing with a look of horror.

At this moment, he realized that he had misjudged the situation.

The kid in front of me is not some novice in the Qi Blood Realm at all, but a master who is pretending to be weak while actually being strong, and who is hiding his true strength.

With a single pebble, he was able to destroy his Thousand-Forged Treasure Blade, nearly causing his vital energy to dissipate.

Such a master must be at least a top-tier Martial Artist above the Martial Dao Grandmaster, someone they absolutely cannot afford to provoke right now.

Recalling Lu Qing and Ma Gu's attitude when they mentioned the sect earlier, the man with the ruddy face secretly groaned in his heart.

The mysterious figure before them seemed to have a strong aversion to their Flowing Cloud Sect.

"Flowing Cloud Sect? I thought you were really indifferent to your Young Sect Master, but your reaction is a bit too slow, only showing up now."

Lu Qing looked at the note that appeared above the man's head, his face flushed, and said calmly, but there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"Do you know our Young Sect Master?"

The man with the ruddy face feigned surprise, but a chill ran through him.

Because he knew that the Young Sect Master was dead; the Grand Elder had said so himself.

If these people mention the Young Sect Master now, doesn't that mean...?

"I don't know him personally, but I killed him a few days ago."

"Run!"

Upon hearing this, the man with the ruddy face felt a chill run down his spine and immediately shouted back.

At the same time, the body also moved backward rapidly.

The other Flowing Cloud Sect disciples were still somewhat stunned, but the next moment, they heard a series of hissing sounds, and one by one, the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples felt a pain between their eyebrows and lost consciousness.

The man with the ruddy face kept an eye on the movements behind him as he fled.

Seeing his disciples being shot dead one by one by the young man with his terrifyingly powerful stone projectiles, he was so shocked that his heart trembled.

With a gritted teeth, his aura suddenly intensified, and his escape speed increased dramatically.

He didn't hesitate to expend his vital energy and unleash an explosive secret technique to escape.

At the same time, he secretly resented that this section of the official road was surrounded by farmland on both sides, without even a grove of trees, making it impossible for him to hide. He could only run straight away.

At that moment, the man with the ruddy face felt deep regret.

I shouldn't have volunteered to search for the Young Sect Master's whereabouts.

Unexpectedly, by randomly choosing a direction, he actually ran into a ruthless star like Lu Qing! Bang! The man with the ruddy face was running away at top speed when suddenly he felt a pain in his legs and could no longer exert any force. He lost his balance and fell forward.

Even with his hands braced against the ground, he couldn't steady himself and rolled like a gourd on the official road.

"So you're not going to run away anymore?"

A detached voice rang out, and Lu Qing appeared.

"Your skill with hidden weapons is unparalleled; I admire you greatly."

The man with the ruddy face glanced at the fallen Flowing Cloud Sect disciples behind Lu Qing, then at his own leg bone broken by a rock, gave a bitter laugh, and looked at Lu Qing.

"However, there is one thing I don't understand, and I hope you can answer it for me so that I can die in peace."

"What is it?" Lu Qing looked down at him.

"Who exactly are you, and what deep-seated grudge do you hold against our Flowing Cloud Sect? Why did you try to kill our Young Sect Master and then turn on us so ruthlessly the moment we met?"

"Don't act so innocent," Lu Qing said calmly. "Weren't you the ones who attacked us first? If we were ordinary people, those few lashes you threw would have at least resulted in a fatal accident, right?"

The man with the ruddy face paused.

"In the end, you're all just a bunch of cowardly bullies, so stop pretending to be pitiful," Lu Qing sneered. "What I'm doing now is exactly what you all admire most: the survival of the fittest."

The man with the ruddy face turned pale and was speechless.

"As for your question about what grudge we have against your Flowing Cloud Sect, strictly speaking, we have no enmity with the Flowing Cloud Sect."

The man with the ruddy complexion beamed with joy.

However, before he could truly feel happy, Lu Qing's next words made his face stiffen again.

"It's just that your Young Sect Master and some Flowing Cloud Sect disciples committed an unforgivable crime in a small town, and we happened to run into them, so we just killed them all."

"Your Excellency, that was merely the Young Sect Master's personal action, and has nothing to do with our Flowing Cloud Sect. If I had been there at the time, I would certainly have stopped the Young Sect Master! Our Flowing Cloud Sect is a righteous sect, and we will absolutely not tolerate anything that violates the righteous path..."

The man with the ruddy face hurriedly tried to explain.

Although he didn't know what the Young Sect Master and the others had done in that small town to anger this mysterious expert so much.

But he knew that he had to dispel Lu Qing's murderous intent right now, otherwise he would surely die.

"A righteous sect?" Lu Qing's lips curled into a sneer. "Hong Houyi, is it? Do you remember how your sister-in-law died?"

"How could you..." The man with the ruddy face shuddered, his eyes widening suddenly.

"Your parents died early, and your brother and sister-in-law raised you with great difficulty. Yet you took a lustful view of her, and when you failed to humiliate her, you strangled her to death. You even killed your drunken brother, didn't you?"

"Who are you? How do you know about this?!"

Having kept his greatest secret hidden for decades, the man with the ruddy face could no longer contain himself and shouted wildly, "I am the one your brother and sister-in-law asked me to come and take your life!"

A strange expression suddenly appeared on Lu Qing's face.