Fearsome Reputation 2

Fearsome Reputation 2

At this moment, if someone had stood in the air and surveyed the whole situation, they would have discovered that among the more than one hundred Mystic Pill Sect disciples in the encampment, it was not only Lu Su's squad that had suffered a devastating blow. The other nine squads had been hit just as hard.

Even among the only three Qi Refining Layer 9 cultivators, one had been killed in a single exchange, while another had been grievously wounded.

The severely injured one had tried to retreat in terror, only to be blasted to death on the spot by a Mid-grade Magic Artifact.

The Mystic Pill Sect's third—and strongest—Qi Refining Peak cultivator wielded a high-grade Magic Artifact as he faced two Qi Refining Layer 9 Blood God Sect Cultivators alone. From time to time, Qi Refining Layer 8 Blood God Sect Cultivators freed up their hands to join the siege. As time passed, his fate had become increasingly grim.

This encirclement and slaughter had been launched by the Blood God Sect, and judging by their numbers, they had less than half as many people as the Mystic Pill Sect.

Yet the Blood God Sect's individual strength utterly crushed that of the Mystic Pill Sect in every respect, resulting in a one-sided massacre—and an easy one at that.

Less than a quarter of an hour later,

the Mystic Pill Sect's third Qi Refining Peak cultivator let out a desperate, unwilling roar. He entangled the two Qi Refining Layer 9 Blood God Sect Cultivators and detonated his Magic Artifact, intending to perish together with them.

Unfortunately,

the Blood God Sect Cultivators possessed immensely rich experience in battle. At the critical moment, they threw out two Mid-grade Magic Artifacts, blocking the other party's self-detonation. Of course, the two Qi Refining Layer 9 cultivators besieging him were both injured to varying degrees and coughed up blood without cease.

"Damn it, he actually detonated his Magic Artifact. Good thing I reacted fast, or I'd have been in trouble. Fuck, I lost money on this job."

One of the Qi Refining Layer 9 Blood God Sect Cultivators wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spoke viciously. A fierce gleam filled his eyes, and his killing intent seemed almost tangible.

"Exactly. I'd only just gotten my Mid-grade Magic Artifact warmed up. Luckily, I'd only refined it initially, so it doesn't hurt much that it blew up. But it was still a Mid-grade Magic Artifact—I spent no small amount of effort snatching it. Senior Han, will the sect compensate us?"

The other Layer 9 cultivator spoke regretfully.

After the two Layer 9 cultivators finished speaking, they turned their gazes toward a cultivator standing behind them, whose expression had remained calm from beginning to end.

This cultivator's surname was Han, and he was at the Qi Refining Peak. Throughout this battle, he had never made a move, merely watched from the sidelines.

Yet he was the leader of this encirclement mission.

The reason he had not acted was that, on the current battlefield, there had been no one worthy of his intervention.

The cultivator surnamed Han did not respond to the two men. Instead, he swept them with a cold glance. That sharp, indifferent gaze immediately shut their mouths. Then he looked over the battlefield, which had already fallen quiet.

"You two, come with me to the Blood Flame Crystal Mine."

"Rest assured, that is tonight's true feast. This place was merely an appetizer."

"Luo Yunxiao, Yuan Bai, Shi Heng—you three will lead your respective teams and remain here. Hunt down the fleeing Mystic Pill Sect members one by one. Leave no one alive."

"Everyone else, come with me."

As soon as his words fell, he turned and left, heading straight for the city gate.

The two named Qi Refining Layer 9 cultivators did not dare say another word. Their faces looked disgruntled, their little schemes having been seen through. Yet greed quickly surfaced in their eyes again. The Blood Flame Crystal Mine—rob the hell out of it. They promptly followed after him.

Tonight,

Heavenfall City was completely open to both sects. The Great Qian officials simply shut their gates and pretended nothing was happening outside. No matter how thunderous the sounds of battle became, they acted as though they could not hear them.

This was an order personally issued by the official Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed in Heavenfall City.

Nor was Heavenfall City alone. In Taibai Commandery, every city along the entire front between the two sects had adopted the same attitude.

After all, the Mystic Pill Sect and the Blood God Sect had completely torn off all pretenses.

And for some unknown reason, the Great Qian Immortal Kingdom had not issued a single decree, utterly ignoring the conflict between the two sects. Until the lower-ranking cultivators understood the hidden workings behind this, they naturally would not court death by rashly interfering.

The vast temporary encampment of the Mystic Pill Sect instantly fell silent.

Half their forces had been taken away. Only the three Qi Refining Layer 8 cultivators named by the cultivator surnamed Han, along with roughly twenty Qi Refining Layer 7 cultivators, remained behind to hunt down the fleeing Mystic Pill Sect members.

"Trash. These Mystic Pill Sect cultivators are barely any better than trash. How did they survive all these years?"

"If they ran into the fiends within the Blood River, they'd probably be killed in a single exchange."

The Icy Youth holding the Golden Light Shuttle narrowed his eyes. The corners of his lips curved slightly as he spoke with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"Heh, with strength like this, if they were in the Blood God Sect, the grass on their graves would already be ten feet high. No, that's not right—where would they get graves? Once they fell into the Blood River, even their ashes would be refined into scraps."

Another Layer 8 cultivator, a middle-aged scholar holding a silver folding fan, shook the fan in his hand. It was his Magic Artifact. Though it was only mid-grade, its power was astonishing.

Just now, it had been this middle-aged scholar who had entered the battle and slain Lu Su with a single sweep of his fan.

"Enough nonsense. Senior Han has given the order: kill every Mystic Pill Sect disciple. If even one gets away, be careful you don't find yourselves unable to bear the consequences when Senior Han holds you accountable."

The third Qi Refining Layer 8 cultivator was a female cultivator. She too wore a blood-colored robe, but her figure was graceful and alluring. Every step she took brimmed with seductive charm.

Yet none of the Qi Refining Layer 8 cultivators or the other disciples present dared look at her twice.

This was because the female cultivator was not only highly skilled, but also cruel in her methods.

She most enjoyed gouging out the eyeballs of anyone who looked at her twice, drying and refining them into ornaments. Rumor had it that countless glowing beads adorned her cave abode, making it bright and resplendent.

Those beads were all refined from the eyeballs of cultivators she had killed.

Whether the rumor was true or not was unknown, but her close relationship with Senior Han was real enough. They ought to give her some face.

And Senior Han was one of the current Blood God Sons of the Blood God Sect. Though his cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Peak, his strength rivaled that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his combat prowess was astonishing.

Thinking of the consequences of offending Senior Han, the middle-aged scholar with the fan's expression changed slightly.

Even the youth with a powerful background and the Top-grade Magic Artifact Golden Light Shuttle would not openly defy the command of a Blood God Son of the Blood God Sect.

Neither man said a word, but they immediately led their teams in separate directions to begin the pursuit.

After confirming that no one remained alive here, the female Qi Refining Layer 8 cultivator chose a third direction and led her people after them.

On the other side,

after Han Yi turned and fled, he never looked back.

To him, the battle behind him had been completely one-sided.

The disparity in individual strength was simply too vast.

Defeat was already certain.

He had not seen Lu Su's corpse severed in two, nor had he seen the three Qi Refining Layer 9 cultivators slaughtered.

But less than a minute after he fled, the sounds from the encampment abruptly ceased amid a terrifying explosion. From that alone, he could guess that the battle had already ended.

The Mystic Pill Sect members who had not escaped were surely doomed.

"Damn it, what kind of bullshit policy is this? Did they send us here to die?"

While fleeing, Han Yi thought of how, less than a day after joining this expedition, the team had already been crippled. Fury surged through him in waves.

Beyond his anger, he also felt somewhat lost.

"What should I do now?"

"Wait. Calm down."

Han Yi forcibly suppressed his brief confusion, and his mind began spinning wildly.

"There are two choices. One is to remain in the city, and the other is to leave it."

"Leaving the city is even more dangerous. If I run into the Blood God Sect's main force, I'll be serving myself up on a platter. Besides, where could I even go after leaving the city?"

"Then I can only remain in the city."

"But the temporary encampment has been destroyed. Uncle Gu, the Foundation Establishment cultivator, was lured away, and his whereabouts are unknown. The other disciples are likely either dead or scattered in flight. Everything has become a heap of loose sand."

"No, I can still seek the Great Qian officials' protection."

"At a time like this, I can't worry about all that. I'll go wherever is safe first and borrow their power afterward."