Battle Demon Disciples

Chapter 45

"Y-you-you, who are you?!"

Qiu Buping sprang up from the ground in an instant, craning his head toward the source of the voice. Staring blankly at Su Changqing, he stammered out the question.

"Senior Brother Qiu, don't you think he looks remarkably like the Su Changqing we've been searching for?"

Song Dong was equally stunned.

But as he looked at Su Changqing's face, wasn't this the very person they had been seeking all along? How had he appeared behind them?

"Me? Aren't I exactly the person you've been looking for?"

Su Changqing leaped down from beneath the tree. Dressed in white beneath the moonlight, sword light flickering around him, he slowly approached the two step by step.

"Good! We were still wondering how to lure you out, yet you delivered yourself right to our doorstep!"

Hearing Su Changqing identify himself, Qiu Buping was instantly overjoyed.

He had thought Su Changqing would remain inside the Qingyun Sect, where the two of them could do nothing to him. Who would have thought this brat would come running over himself? What a windfall without lifting a finger.

A mere Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator dared act so arrogantly before a Core Formation Realm cultivator like him—wasn't that simply ignorance of the world?

A cryptic smile rose at the corner of Su Changqing's mouth. "Yes, I did come to your doorstep. But that depends on whether you have the ability to take me away."

Qiu Buping was immediately puzzled. Where had this brat gotten the confidence to say such a thing? Still, he remained cautious and did not strike first.

"Senior Brother Qiu, don't just stand there foolishly! Hurry up and capture this brat so we can go back and report!"

But Song Dong beside him could no longer hold back. As soon as the words left his mouth, several flying daggers appeared in his hand. With a flash of white light, they shot forth at high speed, fierce and swift as meteors streaking through the sky, hurtling straight toward Su Changqing.

In an instant, Su Changqing swept his longsword through the air, carving out a barrier of raging wind. The flying daggers all slammed into it with a series of clangs before falling straight to the ground one by one.

Song Dong froze. He had not expected his Swift Lightning Flying Daggers to be so easily blocked. Turning to Qiu Buping, he said, "This brat has some skill. Senior Brother Qiu, make your move quickly and end this early."

Prompted by Song Dong, Qiu Buping also took out one of his Black Wu Gauntlets. With a fierce burst of force beneath his feet, he leaped up and threw two heavy punches. Several fist phantoms formed from black mist swelled to enormous size, each as tall as a man. Behind him, Song Dong unleashed dozens more flying daggers in rapid succession.

Under their joint assault, the two clearly intended to put Su Changqing to death on the spot.

"I am the Thunder Emperor—summon the Thunder Dragon!"

Su Changqing's gaze sharpened as he formed hand seals. With a flick of his joined fingers, a Thunder Dragon covered entirely in purple lightning shot forth from his hand, its scales flickering with electric light as it drew in the thunder spirits of heaven and earth.

"Shriek!"

After letting out a long cry, the Thunder Dragon surged from Su Changqing's hand, soaring skyward with a deafening roar before opening its lightning-filled maw and charging toward the two men's attacks.

The next moment, the Thunder Dragon rammed forward without restraint, shattering the enormous fist phantoms. The phantoms dissolved into black mist and scattered between heaven and earth, while the flying daggers were swallowed whole by the Thunder Dragon without the slightest hesitation. Unimpeded, it charged at the two men once more.

Seeing purple lightning blaze across the Thunder Dragon's body, the two knew they would not have an easy time if struck by it. They hurriedly dodged to either side. The next scene proved their fears right: though the Thunder Dragon did not hit either of them, it smashed fiercely into the spot where they had been standing, blasting a huge crater into the ground.

Violet thunder surged into the heavens, dyeing the entire dark night purple.

"Senior Brother Qiu, is this brat really in the Foundation Establishment Realm? How can he wield a Lightning Technique with such power?"

"You're asking me? How would I know?!"

Qiu Buping and Song Dong were both deeply shocked, utterly unable to believe that this Thunder Dragon had come from the hand of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

"Senior Brother Qiu, this brat is far too strange. I say we forget it for now. Let's withdraw first and think of another way."

Song Dong had already begun to lose his nerve. They had clearly agreed to capture a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, but looking at things now, how was this Foundation Establishment Realm?

"A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him. Withdraw first! I refuse to believe a mere Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator can stop us."

Qiu Buping thought the same.

As Core Formation Realm cultivators, the two should not have feared Su Changqing. Even if Su Changqing's Divine Abilities were astonishing, he should not have been able to do much to them.

But most of their spiritual energy had been spent passing through the Qingyun Sect's formation and evading its divine sense scans, leaving them severely depleted. They were like burly men exhausted after a full day of labor, unable to contend with a young man in the prime of his strength.

They might not be able to capture him, but for a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator to stop them from retreating was nothing more than a fool's dream.

With that, Qiu Buping and Song Dong each used their Movement Techniques, turning into two black shadows as they prepared to flee the scene.

"Trying to leave? You're too late!"

As he spoke, Su Changqing formed hand seals once more. The formation that had long since been laid upon the ground around them rose swiftly at his command, transforming into a transparent barrier that trapped the two on all sides.

"Charge!"

Qiu Buping naturally saw this. With a loud shout, he instantly blasted out two fist phantoms that struck the barrier. As the phantoms collided with it, thunderous booms rang out in succession. The transparent barrier shook violently. Though it did not shatter outright beneath the punches, several cracks appeared out of nowhere. With only a few more strikes, it would surely be unable to hold.

Su Changqing frowned slightly, silently thinking that with his current Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation Level, the formation he deployed was indeed still somewhat weak against Core Formation Realm cultivators. Just a few moves were enough to smash it apart.

"Song Dong, attack!"

Qiu Buping smiled coldly.

This brat actually thought he could trap him with a formation? Though his spiritual energy was depleted, he was still in the Core Formation Realm. His raw strength remained—what could a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator possibly do to him?

At Qiu Buping's call, the two instantly unleashed their Divine Abilities, smashing them viciously toward the barrier.

Yet Su Changqing remained utterly unhurried. With a flick of his sleeve, a white figure flew out from within. After releasing a shriek, the figure rapidly grew enormous. Its ink-black scales gleamed in a riot of colors beneath the moonlight, purple lightning flickered over the horns on its head, and most peculiar of all was the pair of enormous wings upon its back.

With one sweep of its massive tail, it lashed toward Qiu Buping and Song Dong. Its might was immense, carrying a booming rush of wind that made the forest for a hundred meters around them tremble violently.

"What is that?!"

Qiu Buping was instantly dumbfounded.

Where had this strange beast, half snake and half flood dragon, come from?

And it was actually a Core Formation Realm strange beast!

One had to know that the higher a strange beast's Cultivation Level, the less likely it was to submit to the human race. Yet this Core Formation Realm dragon-serpent had been summoned by Su Changqing, who was only in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Before the two men who had attacked earlier could react, Little Ink's tail swept into them. The overwhelming force slammed into their bodies, sending them flying dozens of meters before they crashed into a massive boulder and finally stopped. A sensation as though every bone in their bodies had shattered struck them at once. Fortunately, they had hastily used spiritual energy to ward off the blow; otherwise, they would have been swatted to death on the spot.