"Thump—"
Chu Ge charged forward like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, striding ahead. His spine crackled like an earth python turning over, each vertebra driving the next. His whole body seemed twisted into a single rope as he threw another vicious punch.
Crack—
The second burly man hurriedly raised his arm to block, only for it to snap and slam into his chest.
The bricks beneath their feet burst apart, scattering into countless shards.
The man let out a low growl, about to stir his blood and strike back.
Chu Ge surged with power, his blood churning as force burst from him.
Boom—
His fierce, overwhelming force crashed through like waves splitting stone, penetrating the man's body.
"Pfft!"
The burly man spewed a mouthful of green blood. A bloody mist burst from his back, his clothes shredded into fluttering scraps, and his body was hurled backward.
In the blink of an eye, Chu Ge had killed both Blood Change Realm martial artists on the spot.
Just then, angry roars rang out from the alley entrance in the distance, and two more burly men came charging toward him.
But at that moment, Chu Ge suddenly flipped backward like a huge civet cat.
His figure cleared the alley wall in an instant and slipped to the other side.
Both burly men let out long whistles and vaulted over the wall after him.
But the instant they crossed it, a figure wrapped in a cloak suddenly fled at speed from the other side.
Shadow Puppets.
The two men immediately turned to pursue it.
One of them even suddenly threw a punch, his force surging forward like a ferocious wave.
But just as they turned, a towering figure burst from the alley's corner. Its shadow stretched across the wall, looming huge and monstrous.
"Die!"
Taking advantage of the Shadow Puppets' diversion, Chu Ge strode forward like a dragon and lunged abruptly, his fingers spread wide as he struck with ruthless precision.
With a wet rip, his razor-sharp Crimson Scale Claws sank into the back of the burly man's heart and crushed it in an instant.
Yet a bizarre scene followed. Though his heart had been shattered, the man still roared and turned his head.
The muscles in his chest suddenly tightened, trapping Chu Ge's arm.
"Beast power!"
At this critical moment, the Beast Power Paper Talisman stuck to Chu Ge's back lit up.
The blood within him surged like a mighty river as he instantly unleashed the strange-power secret technique, Blood Rage.
His arm shook violently, and he punched.
Boom—
A hole burst through the burly man's body. His bones shattered, blood mist filled the air, and he fell backward with his face turned skyward.
By then, the fourth burly man had smashed the Shadow Puppets and turned toward Chu Ge, charging with murderous intent.
"Come on!"
Chu Ge's blood and energy soared wildly under the secret technique, his eyes blazing.
He suddenly spread his arms. His loose clothes were thrust apart by bulging muscles, bursting into countless flying scraps. Like a fierce tiger with wings, he surged forward.
Whish, whish, whish—
Streams of true energy raced through his body. Beneath his skin, blue veins coiled around him like earthworm chains, while his muscles and bones crackled in a rapid series of explosions.
Blood Rage!
It was as if an astonishing force had coiled inside him, desperate to erupt!
"Kill!"
Chu Ge's face flushed red like Guan Yu's, his fierce features gleaming. He raised both arms abruptly, and countless strands of force around him roared out like a catapult. His knotted muscles twisted like ropes as he turned at the waist and drove out a punch!
Crack—
The instant their fists and palms met,
an astonishing force erupted alongside his surging blood and energy.
The burly man's body shuddered violently. The bones in his hand shattered, his radius snapped, and his arm bent backward at a grotesque angle with a loud crack.
He glared at Chu Ge and asked with difficulty, "Who... are you, really?"
A fierce, surging force suddenly slammed into his body, attacking his heart meridians. His body stiffened at once.
Chu Ge strode forward and followed up with another punch, his expression icy and his lips sealed.
"Thump—"
The burly man's skull caved in, blood shot from his eyes, and he died on the spot.
The dead didn't need to know too much.
Whoosh!
Force surged and swirled around Chu Ge, scattering the blood mist.
He stepped out of it. Under the moonlight, his sturdy, towering body came into view, its knotted muscles and streamlined contours brimming with explosive power, like a leopard poised to pounce. Between the demon-mask-like ridges of his back, the golden talisman had dimmed and melted into a puddle of golden liquid that slid down his skin.
"Rustle, rustle—"
Chu Ge took off the Porter Mask and quickly calmed his blood and energy. The redness faded from his face as he swiftly ended Blood Rage, and the weakness that followed the decline in his blood and energy washed over him.
Fortunately, he hadn't maintained the secret technique as long as he had during his last attempt.
The battle had ended in the span of a single breath.
At the same time, he felt the bloodline energy of the Red Scale Claw Fish in his arms had been completely spent. The scales and the power filling his arms quickly faded, and he exited the talent state on his own.
"My bloodline's gone. I've lost one of my trump cards. And I've used up all the Beast Power Paper Talisman's charges."
Chu Ge sighed, hoping he could buy a suitable Spirit Fish in the prefectural city later to replenish this trump card.
He quickly began cleaning up the battlefield.
He offered all four corpses to the Dragon Clock and swiftly picked up the shattered Shadow Puppets from the ground.
The fight had been incredibly fierce, but from beginning to end, it had lasted no more than a dozen breaths.
So, despite the commotion, it hadn't yet drawn anyone from the vicinity.
Chu Ge had just finished clearing away the bodies when he heard movement in the distance. He immediately grabbed the kite nearby and leapt away.
Several dozen breaths later,
Chu Ge used the Thousand Mile Kite to observe the surrounding auras and avoid crowded areas.
He took off the Porter Mask and arrived behind Moon Xi Inn.
He leapt onto the inn's second floor and slipped through a window into his room.
"Whoosh—"
He had barely entered when a small figure pounced at him, fierce and cute, with a faint, bewitching mental attack.
"Xiao Qian, it's me!"
Chu Ge hurriedly called out.
Xiao Qian had been about to possess him, but when she recognized Chu Ge, she immediately threw herself into his arms instead, trembling and sobbing.
"P-pillar, you're back! Come on, we have to hurry and leave. Xiao Qian feels something's wrong. It feels like... like some bad people are here. They want to take Xiao Qian back..."
Chu Ge comforted her and lifted her paper body in his arms. "It's okay. I already spotted them. I took care of them on the way here."
Xiao Qian froze. Her delicate little nose twitched as she caught the faint corpse aura on Chu Ge. Her pretty face immediately paled.
"Pillar, you... you really ran into them. They're strong, you—"
"They really were strong. All four were experts. The Corpse Herding Sect is every bit as formidable as they say. I had to pay a price, and I caught them by surprise. Otherwise, I might not have been able to wipe them all out."
Chu Ge shook his head with a wry smile. He still felt dizzy, as if he were anemic. The side effects of the strange-power secret technique were severe.
Xiao Qian was deeply moved. She buried her little head against Chu Ge and rubbed against him, deciding that from now on, she would do everything in her power to satisfy his cultivation needs.
"All right, you're right. This place may not be safe. Let's find somewhere else to stay. By the way, do they have some way to track your location?"
"M-maybe. They might have used Corpse King Blood. Xiao Qian was brought back to life with Corpse King Blood, and they might be able to track her whereabouts through it.
"And... you have corpse aura on you too. You need to deal with your clothes quickly."
"Corpse King Blood and corpse aura? Those should count as evil forces too. Maybe the Auspicious Ruyi Charm can suppress them."
Chu Ge pondered.
He immediately took off his clothes and boots and offered them all to the Dragon Clock for destruction.
Then he took out an Auspicious Ruyi Charm, infused it with strange power, and had Xiao Qian approach it.
The moment Xiao Qian drew near the charm, her delicate body began to tremble, and discomfort crossed her face.
At the same time, the strange power inside the charm began to drain slowly, and the yellow paper started to scorch black.
This time, however, it wasn't giving an urgent warning by shaking wildly. It was performing its warding function.
"How do you feel?"
Chu Ge looked at Xiao Qian's pained expression, somewhat surprised.
Her little face was pale, but she managed a smile. "I-I'm all right. I feel like the Corpse King Blood implanted in me is being suppressed. Maybe it's working."
"Good! Just bear with it for now. Once we're sure we're safe, I'll find a way to deal with the Corpse King Blood in you."
Chu Ge breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began packing.
Though the Auspicious Ruyi Charm seemed able to ward off evil and suppress Corpse King Blood,
he didn't want to risk anything going wrong. He still planned to move to an inn in the city near the Demon Suppressing Division.
The Corpse Herding Sect was, after all, an unorthodox, evil sect.
It hadn't been listed among the evil sects that Great Zhou needed to suppress.
But after the Flying Head Zombie's attack on Linyuan City, the sect's situation might have become dangerous.
Even if the culprit had been a renegade disciple, the sect still bore some responsibility by association.
So, if they stayed near the Demon Suppressing Division in the prefectural city, even if more powerful Corpse Herding Sect experts were around, they might not dare to court disaster right under its nose.
Before you continue