Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs

Tang Zhouxie began to calculate in his heart. "I once told the innocent souls you killed and drained of blood that I would make you taste their pain, but since the Blood God Sect has many methods, your disciples will have to suffer in your stead!" Hearing his words, Bai Qiuran looked down at the hilt in his hand and chuckled. He tossed the remaining hilt aside, his figure moving like lightning as he plunged into the formation composed of the sixteen Venerables.

To harm others for one's own benefit, to seize and utilize everything one can get to strengthen oneself—this was the essence of cultivation recorded in the fragmented scrolls of the Blood God Sect. Blades and spears formed a forest; in the distance, the archers drew their bows, the green strings pulled taut like full moons, unafraid of hardness, and the arrows they loosed fell like rain. Tang Zhouxie was stunned, but Bai Qiuran had already begun to execute his techniques.

"Ah?" Bai Qiuran sneered as he swept his gaze over the remaining sixteen Venerables.

"Bai Qiuran!" Tang Zhouxie let out a sharp shriek, his body suddenly disintegrating into a pool of blood mist. He wanted to escape, but just as his body was collapsing, Bai Qiuran reached out, grabbed one of his arms, and dragged him out of the blood mist.

Bai Qiuran pressed forward. The Venerables were terrified and attacked him in unison, but his hands transformed into thousands of phantoms—fists, fingers, claws, and palms—sometimes turning fists and palms into blades and swords. Every move and every stance carried an aura of extreme evil and toxicity, ruthless and vicious, striking the bodies of these Venerables.

Bai Qiuran reached out to intercept, easily catching the streak of blood light in his hand. The blood light turned out to be a small, glass-like, blood-colored flying sword, which he held between his five fingers, playing with it back and forth.

"B-Brother Bai," Sima Yingbo called out to him, his voice lacking vigor, "Give up! You don't even have a sword anymore!"

The third sword strike was delivered. The sea of clouds churned, the dark clouds shattered, and a biting gale rose as if a giant Kun were in the clouds, tossing waves and spraying clouds and thunder. The sword Qi pointed directly at the final army between the Imperial Mausoleum to the north and Bai Qiuran. With a series of crisp sounds, the bodies of the last thousand Imperial Guards of the Shangxuan Kingdom were shredded by the sword Qi, leaving no corpses behind.

Tang Zhouxie felt a bead of cold sweat seep from his forehead. He gestured with his hands behind his back, and two black command flags burst out from the headless corpse of Sima Yingbo, attacking Bai Qiuran from behind and unleashing infinite flames.

The smoke and dust kicked up by the sword Qi gradually dissipated, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of blood. Bai Qiuran continued to step forward, walking toward Tang Zhouxie on the altar in front of the Imperial Mausoleum.

Seeing this, he forced himself to calm down and continued to direct the formation of the Venerables.

A claw light flashed, and the Venerable let out a painful cry. Three claw marks on his chest suddenly erupted with a massive amount of blood. The blood gushed out like a spring, accompanied by intense pain. No matter how the Venerable tried to seal it with his True Qi, the blood continued to spurt out uncontrollably. Soon, his blood was drained, and his body collapsed like a deflated balloon, falling to the ground.

Soon, only Sima Yingbo remained in front of Bai Qiuran.

The Venerables who were struck died in an extremely painful and miserable manner: some had blood spraying from every pore, some had their internal blood rampaging, and others had their blood surge into their hearts and Qi Sea, bursting their own vital points.

He reached out and pointed, his sword finger piercing the chest of a Venerable. The man suddenly convulsed and fell, his eyes wide open, yet there was not a single wound or drop of blood on his body. One could only see his skin gradually turning blue and his aura fading away; his death was agonizing.

"How much True Qi do you have left?"

"Gurgle..." Bai Qiuran answered with a smile, "In any case, I haven't reached the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Ah, ahhhhh!"

"You guess."

"Fellow Daoist."

"Hmm? What is this?"

The first sword strike was delivered. The earth cracked a thousand feet deep, and the eastern mountain of the Imperial Mausoleum was ground into powder. The army on the east side was devastated by the sword Qi. Amidst the sky full of blood flowers, what fell from the sword wind were piles of white bones stripped of flesh and blood, surging like waves as they collapsed onto the ground.

"This is Qi Refining?"

"Blood Coagulation Technique, very familiar, right? The Blood God Sect technique you used to fake your death."

Seeing this scene, which looked like the handiwork of an Immortal, the first-rank Venerables were dumbfounded.

Bai Qiuran smiled slightly, then mercilessly slapped his palm onto his forehead.

Sima Yingbo's blood suddenly gathered toward his forehead. The young man's entire head swelled up, and then, with a bang, it exploded.

Tang Zhouxie stood in a standoff with him for a few seconds, then suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a streak of blood light.

Sima Yingbo looked and saw that, indeed, after the three sword strikes, only the hilt remained of the long sword in Bai Qiuran's hand.

"Calm down." His hands split into shadows filling the sky—fists, fingers, claws, or palms—striking every vital point and meridian on Tang Zhouxie's body. The True Qi transformed into the most malevolent evil energy, entering his body and causing the blood within Tang Zhouxie to boil and surge back and forth. Amidst unspeakable agony, his meridians, bones, and spiritual roots were shattered into powder.

Tang Zhouxie took a step back and said, "I don't think we need to make things so rigid."

"This..."

"Have you heard of the secret martial art of the Blood God Sect, [Myriad Gods Wither Blood Soul Sever]?"

The second sword strike was delivered. The sky opened with bright light, and the clouds were torn apart for several yards, revealing the high-hanging sun. The western army could not resist; thousands of soldiers were sliced in half at the waist, dying in a mass.

Tang Zhouxie's expression was grave, but he still said, "He knows a great deal, and his background is likely not simple. It is normal for him to know some extraordinary techniques, but Qi Refining is ultimately Qi Refining. Such an attack must have consumed a lot of his energy. Besides, look, his weapon is already gone."

Facing the rain of blades and arrows, Bai Qiuran raised his sword.

After speaking, he raised his hand into a claw and swiped at the Venerable attacking him.

Tang Zhouxie's expression tightened.

The True Ancestor Emperor of Shangxuan let out a terrifying scream, but he could not find release. After Bai Qiuran finished his set of moves, he reached out and pulled, twisting one of Tang Zhouxie's arms into a knot before forcibly turning him to face him.

Bai Qiuran's background was likely not simple; he knew that, of course. But no matter what, he was ultimately just in the Qi Refining Stage. Those moves were powerful, but they must have been very draining on his True Qi. He would not be his match now. Once he killed him, he would take his blood as food, use secret methods to extract his memories, and then he could fly away far and wide.

Bai Qiuran ignored him, simply walking toward him with a kind smile.

Tang Zhouxie narrowed his eyes, his body tensed, and cold sweat broke out on his back as he secretly grew vigilant.

He looked terrified, tears and snot streaming down his face. His handsome appearance was gone, and he pleaded, "I was forced into this."

"I know."

Three swords were struck, and the thousands of elite Imperial Guards of the Shangxuan Kingdom vanished into thin air. Only then did the sixteen Venerables, led by Sima Yingbo, manage to set up their formation.

In truth, Sima Yingbo and the others had always been deceived by him, believing that Tang Zhouxie's goal was to strengthen Shangxuan. But in reality, ever since he accidentally obtained the fragmented scrolls of the Blood God Sect and embarked on the path of cultivation, he had never cared about the Shangxuan Kingdom at all.

The final palm strike descended from the crown of his head, slamming onto Tang Zhouxie's skull. Blood sprayed from the seven orifices of the True Ancestor, and the True Qi forced his internal blood to flow in reverse, shattering his Nascent Soul and soul, which had yet to awaken within his Spiritual Platform, into powder.

Stepping over the corpses of the Venerables, Bai Qiuran left a bloody footprint with every step, slowly arriving at the altar and locking eyes with Tang Zhouxie.

Once this matter was settled, he would slaughter everyone present and consume them. As for whether someone from the forces behind Bai Qiuran would come looking, at most, the Shangxuan Kingdom would suffer, which had nothing to do with him.

But Bai Qiuran turned his head and blew, and his massive True Qi instantly extinguished the sea of fire. He then grabbed the two command flags and tore them into pieces.

Tang Zhouxie gave an order, and the thousands of troops formed a formation, surrounding Bai Qiuran from three sides.

Clutching his arm to suppress Tang Zhouxie, Bai Qiuran gave him a gentle smile.