Slaying the Ghost Shadow, Lu Xuan's Doubts

In the West Courtyard, two figures chased each other madly, one in front and one behind.

With no one else around, Lu Xuan no longer had any reservations. Terrifying Qi and Blood spilled from his entire body, making him seem as though he stood within a scorching sun amid the vast darkness of night.

His Qi and Blood transformed into a crimson stream that wrapped around his entire body and surged straight above his head, like a dragon soaring through the sky.

The Black Shadow ahead, wrapped in a ghastly white cloth garment, seemed to have been affected by Lu Xuan's utterly terrifying Qi and Blood.

More than a hundred meters away, the Mysterious Humanoid Black Shadow continuously gave off black smoke that dissipated in midair, as though some force were forcibly melting it away.

As Lu Xuan steadily drew closer, the Humanoid Black Shadow's form gradually blurred, as if it were about to be completely evaporated by the powerful Qi and Blood spilling from Lu Xuan's body.

"Still trying to run?"

Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes at the Mysterious Black Shadow, which was about to leave Willow Ditch Village and reach the foot of the Great Mountains nearby.

Trying to flee into the deep mountains and wild forests?

If this thing got inside, it would become rather troublesome for Lu Xuan.

With that thought, Lu Xuan gripped the hilt of his blade tightly and watched the Black Shadow ahead as it was about to slip into the mountains.

In an instant, bewitching crimson flames suddenly appeared around the blade, burning fiercely.

The crimson blaze lit up several hundred meters around them, filling the air with an unsettling, heart-pounding dread.

The next moment, a crimson flame blade aura shot forth like a streak of afterimage light.

From afar, that crimson flame resembled a small snake twisting and winding through the air as it instantly struck the Black Human Figure ahead.

The crimson flames immediately spread, and the terrifying heat instantly burned the ghastly white clothing on the Black Human Figure to ash.

The remaining ash drifted through the air, while the Mysterious Black Shadow made no sound at all.

Within a few breaths, it too was burned completely away by the bewitching crimson flames.

The Black Human Figure evaporated into wisps of black vapor that drifted out and vanished into nothingness in midair.

Tap, tap, tap.

Amid the sound of footsteps treading over dry grass and branches, Lu Xuan slowly approached, still gripping his large blade tightly as his eyes cautiously swept over the surroundings.

With a thought from Lu Xuan, the Point Addition Panel appeared before his eyes.

Host: Lu Xuan

Realm: Blood Refinement Realm (Complete)

Cultivation Technique: Crimson Flame Blade Art 1/9 (Can Be Derived)

Points: 50

Please confirm, Host: spend 30 points to derive the Crimson Flame Blade Art?

As the information on the panel appeared, Lu Xuan's guarded movements relaxed as well.

However, when Lu Xuan looked at the System Points on the panel, his brows furrowed again in confusion.

What was going on? Although fifty System Points was a lot to Lu Xuan, why did it feel wrong?

By all rights, Lu Xuan had previously dealt with five dead people possessed by Yin Energy and gained ten System Points.

That meant each corpse invaded by Yin Energy would yield two System Points after Lu Xuan dealt with it.

Then why was the Black Shadow, the very source of the Yin Energy, worth only fifty points after Lu Xuan dealt with it? It was rather strange.

Could it be that this strange thing had not actually been killed by him?

Or perhaps such a strange thing could not be killed at all, and its true source remained somewhere else.

Thinking of this, Lu Xuan looked toward the ashes of burnt grass and branches remaining where the Black Shadow had been.

As well as the dry grass around them, speckled with embers and slowly burning.

Lu Xuan shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. There was no use thinking so much about it; he would not figure it out anytime soon anyway.

Boom!

A tremendous crash rang out.

Lu Xuan stomped hard on the ground with both feet, collapsing it into a deep pit as dirt and sand piled up around it.

The next moment, countless clumps of dirt and sand were flung into the air by some force, burying the dry grass that was still burning.

Set fire to the mountains, and you would rot behind bars.

Lu Xuan still remembered that principle.

A breeze swept past. Lu Xuan's ears twitched, and he raised his head toward the distance. He had heard some faint sounds.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Exceptionally loud footsteps came from afar. Several hundred meters away, there were dozens of figures, each holding a bright torch high.

They were rapidly moving in Lu Xuan's direction.

As they drew closer and closer to Lu Xuan, Liang Cheng, at the head of the crowd, spotted Lu Xuan at once and cried out in alarm.

"Cousin!"

"Xuan-ge, are you all right?"

"He's here! Hurry and follow!"

Before long, Liang Cheng led a group of people rushing over. Their torches gathered together, illuminating the surroundings as brightly as day.

Besides the Yamen Runners and Li San's group, the crowd also included villagers from Willow Ditch Village.

Lu Xuan looked at Liang Cheng and the others in surprise. He had not expected them to follow him out.

And they had even managed to find him. It seemed the commotion from his use of the Crimson Flame Blade Art had been rather great.

It was more than merely rather great. From several hundred meters away, Liang Cheng and the others had been able to see the strange crimson flames burning here.

The light cast by those crimson flames looked like ghostfire, frightening Liang Cheng and the others so badly that their souls nearly flew out of their bodies.

In the end, Liang Cheng forced himself to stay calm, gathered his courage, and took the lead as he brought everyone rushing over.

"I'm fine. Li San, catch my blade."

Lu Xuan's face remained expressionless as he tossed the blade in his hand to Li San.

Lu Xuan's blade was already ruined. He had not expected the Crimson Flame Blade Art to be so powerful; its terrifying heat far surpassed ordinary flames.

He had specially commissioned this blade to practice the Blazing Fire Blade Art.

Yet after using it only a few times to perform the Crimson Flame Blade Art, it was already about to be scrapped.

Hearing Lu Xuan's words, Li San hurried forward and caught the large blade from his hand.

Lu Xuan's blade was now somewhat warped and twisted, and upon closer inspection, there were even blackened marks on its body.

Li San's face filled with astonishment as he stared incredulously at the large blade in his hands.

He could not imagine what this blade had gone through to end up looking so close to being scrapped.

"Honored guest, are you all right? Why did you suddenly run out in the middle of the night?"

Several villagers helped the Old Village Chief over. The Old Village Chief looked somewhat haggard and deeply anxious as he spoke to Lu Xuan.

It could not be helped. After Liang Cheng saw Lu Xuan chase after it, he hurried to find the Old Village Chief and gathered the village's young, strong men to search for Lu Xuan.

"I'm fine, Old Village Chief. I saw something strange, so I ran out."

Seeing Lu Xuan's calm and composed manner, the Old Village Chief let out a breath of relief. "It's good that you're all right."

Standing to one side, Liang Cheng looked at the scene around them and felt incomparably shocked.

Just what level had Xuan-ge's Martial Realm reached?

Seeing that his cousin Lu Xuan was unharmed, Liang Cheng finally relaxed. Then he spoke as well, "Everyone, go back and rest."