Longevity Childlike Face

As Wu Tie and Old Tie rushed towards Ox Hero, Shi Lingqing also wanted to follow.

Luolin gave her no chance at all. Qiao's skillful persuasion couldn't sway him. With a clean, swift slash of his saber at her waist, he enraged Qiao, who shouted in anger. Shi Lingqing's face turned ashen with fear.

Shi Dian grunted, waving his wooden staff. Three short staffs shot out from his sleeve, and a dim electric net crackled down towards Luolin.

Before the electric net landed, Ding had already moved, carrying Old Wu on his back.

Old Wu drove a stone pillar with one arm, and several short stone spears erupted from the ground, thrusting towards Shi Dian.

Shi Dian had no choice but to abandon his attack on Luolin and use his electric net to meet the stone spears.

The dim electric net and the small stone spears met with a slight collision. The net shattered, the spears broke. Shi Dian and Old Wu both let out a breath, Shi Dian stumbling back several steps. Old Wu couldn't help but gag, blood suddenly welling up in his mouth.

Both were utterly exhausted and could only stare at each other, no longer able to fight.

Qiao's chain blade let out a sharp whistling sound as it cut through the air. The long chain swung, and the sharp sickle tore through the air, sending streaks of chilling light dangerously towards Luolin's entire body.

Luolin swung his saber with one arm, completely ignoring the chain blades falling towards him, and instead desperately hacked at Qiao's vital points.

Qiao shouted in anger. Of everyone present, even Shi Lingqing had been pinned with three triangular nails to her face and afflicted with an unknown corrosive poison. Only Qiao remained completely unharmed, not even a speck of dust on his clothes.

But he was afraid of death.

Luolin adopted a desperate stance. Qiao didn't dare to confront Luolin head-on. Facing Luolin's fierce saber light, he could only retreat step by step, constantly trying to persuade Luolin to "let go of hatred" and "seize treasure together."

"Your sister is dead!" Qiao roared furiously. "For one dead person, you've already dragged so many brothers down! Luolin, wake up, don't be so stubborn. How many more brothers do you want to kill?"

"See that Ancient Sage's corpse? There must be treasure on him... no, the Ancient Sage's corpse itself is the supreme treasure," Qiao roared at Luolin, filled with frustration. "Perhaps, this is our chance... this is a chance for all of us."

"Luolin, you can disregard your own life... but do you want to drag Old Wu and Ding down with you to die here?" Qiao rebuked him heartbrokenly. "You're too selfish... Luolin, you're too selfish!"

Ding coughed, his right leg swollen and shiny, black blood seeping from his pores.

Licking his dry lips, Ding muttered to himself, "What Qiao is saying makes some sense. I actually have nothing to say."

Old Wu gripped his stone pillar and brought it down hard on Ding's head. "Here, do you want to make up with him?"

Ding shook his head and sighed, "Third Brother originally wanted to take revenge alone... it was we brothers who voluntarily came to help him. The fallen and injured brothers can't be blamed on Third Brother... if anyone's to blame, it should be Qiao, right?"

Qiao swung his chain blade, dodging one of Luolin's heavy slashes. The chain blade arced sinisterly, leaving a deep wound on Luolin's face. Hearing Ding's words, Qiao shouted in exasperation, "Blame me? Blame me? Is this my fault?"

"This can't be blamed on me... I just want a better future!" Qiao yelled loudly. "Not to mention, Lingqing and I are truly in love..."

Luolin, Old Wu, and Ding simultaneously spat. Luolin let out a hoarse roar, his body flickered, and two afterimages charged towards Qiao from left and right.

Qiao narrowed his eyes, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks.

He pursed his lips into a strange smile and slapped his belt fiercely.

Qiao's belt was half a foot wide, made of half-inch thick beast hide. In the center was a palm-sized black metal component. With a palm strike, the metal component, decorated with a beast head, suddenly exploded, transforming into dozens of tiny cold lights that shot towards Luolin.

"Luolin... Third Brother... I'll let you die quickly," Qiao said with a smug smile.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Luolin. He let out a low roar, and the air in front of him rippled violently like water waves. The dozens of extremely fine cold lights, still three feet away from the figure, shattered as if they had hit a copper wall and iron rampart.

Qiao let out an extremely terrified scream. He completely dropped his chain blade and, with a 'thud,' knelt on the ground, kowtowing heavily.

The figure, still kneeling and kowtowing, hadn't even raised his head when the figure grabbed him by the back of the neck and yanked him up.

"You were saying..." the figure said with a cold sneer.

Before he could finish, Qiao let out a strange cry. He repeatedly kicked the figure's abdomen with his feet. Two half-foot-long daggers sprang from the tips of his boots, their blackened blades clearly poisoned.

With two 'ding ding' sounds, the daggers broke before they were even half a foot from the figure. An invisible barrier enveloped the figure, and the intense recoil shattered Qiao's boots, twisting and cracking his feet, his bones shattering like tofu dregs.

"Commander... spare me!" Qiao screamed in utter terror, tears streaming from his eyes.

"You were saying, what is a better future?" the Nine Palm Commander, who had appeared out of nowhere, said with a strange laugh. He rained down dozens of slaps on Qiao's face.

Qiao's cheeks were torn and bloody, his teeth shattering simultaneously. Fragments of broken teeth sprayed out with blood, spitting several meters away.

'Hmph,' the Nine Palm Commander grabbed Qiao by the neck and slammed him hard to the ground.

Qiao's legs struck the ground heavily. His legs shattered like thin glass rods, flesh and blood exploding, bones pulverizing. In the end, only his upper body remained planted on the ground. The disfigured Qiao let out a shrill scream, his wails like those of a vengeful ghost.

"Shut up!" the Nine Palm Commander said calmly.

Qiao, wracked with pain, immediately fell silent. He clenched his teeth tightly, enduring the intense pain, daring not to make a sound.

Luolin and Ding got back on their feet and stood far to the side, watching the Nine Palm Commander with complex expressions.

A gust of wind blew, and six figures in black armor silently appeared behind the Nine Palm Commander. Then, with flashes of movement, they surrounded Shi Lingqing and Shi Dian.

"Truly in love?" the Nine Palm Commander looked at Shi Lingqing and laughed mockingly. "Do you believe that? Lin Qiao, I want to hear the truth."

Qiao panted heavily. He trembled as he looked at the Nine Palm Commander, his voice quivering, "Shi Lingqing told me she was a follower of the Longevity Cult, and Thousand Fish City was one of their branches... She said the Longevity Cult was powerful, and I was just an assassin in Mist Blades, working for money. If I joined the Longevity Cult, my future would naturally be broader than being an assassin."

Qiao looked at the Nine Palm Commander and said rapidly, "Disciple admits his guilt, disciple is willing to atone for his crimes, disciple is willing to infiltrate the Longevity Cult... for Mist Blades..."

The Nine Palm Commander snorted coldly.

Qiao immediately fell silent, not daring to make another sound.

"Not honest," the Nine Palm Commander poked Qiao's forehead forcefully with his finger, chuckling coldly. "Not honest... there must be another reason. Lin Qiao, among Wu Yan's team, you are the smartest, and also the most afraid of death."

"You know Mist Blades' methods, so you don't dare to betray them easily." The Nine Palm Commander walked up to Shi Lingqing, grabbed her chin, and lifted her face. "Longevity Cult? In the past few years, we in Mist Blades have also had contact with the Longevity Cult... though, we haven't interacted much."

"Tell me, what exactly is your Longevity Cult? You even managed to corrupt and betray the elite assassins I've trained since childhood with my Mist Blades?"

The Nine Palm Commander tightened his grip, deforming Shi Lingqing's jaw. Yet, Shi Lingqing smiled sweetly and said softly, "Commander Nine Palms, you're hurting me... Hehe, I look quite unsightly like this right now. Why don't you give me the antidote and restore my appearance, Commander Nine Palms? Then, I'll properly explain the ins and outs of the Longevity Cult to you?"

Just as Shi Lingqing was about to speak, a fierce gale swept through, and a wooden boat over twenty meters long flew by several meters above the ground.

An old woman with a youthful face and white hair stood at the bow of the boat. Upon seeing Shi Lingqing in the Nine Palm Commander's hand, she waved her hand without a word. From the wide sleeve of her blood-red robe, a crimson ribbon shot out, piercing directly towards the Nine Palm Commander's back with a piercing sound through the air.

The Nine Palm Commander let out a cold snort, dropped Shi Lingqing, drew the straight saber strapped to his back, and slashed down.

The straight saber glinted with cold light, emitting a beam of frigid light several yards long that struck the crimson ribbon. Accompanied by a sharp clanging sound, the ribbon recoiled, and the straight saber was also jolted up by more than three feet. Both the Nine Palm Commander and the old woman staggered.

"Azure Flame Domain, Ninth Altar of Mist Blades, I am the Nine Palm Commander." The Nine Palm Commander turned around, looking at the old woman with a youthful face and white hair, and sneered unhurriedly, "Old woman... Are you from the Longevity Cult? The Longevity Cult has a master like you?"

The old woman smiled charmingly and bowed to the Nine Palm Commander: "Commander Nine Palms knows very little about my Longevity Cult. My Longevity Cult... Hehe..."

Even if an old woman was extremely well-maintained, with skin as smooth and oily as a young girl's, she was still at least seventy or eighty years old. Such an old woman, learning from a young girl of sixteen and giving a 'puchi' laugh, made even the Nine Palm Commander, whose heart was like iron and who had killed countless people, shiver involuntarily.

"Twenty years ago, the trade route between my Azure Flame Domain and the outer regions was opened..." the Nine Palm Commander said coldly. "Five years ago, my Mist Blades had their first contact with your Longevity Cult... I never expected that your Longevity Cult would have already established a stronghold in the Azure Flame Domain."

The old woman nodded with a smile, and flirtatiously winked at the Nine Palm Commander: "A poor and remote place like the Azure Flame Domain is precisely where my Longevity Cult gathers the foundation for longevity..."

Mid-sentence, the old woman's gaze suddenly fell upon Ox Hero, who was dozens of miles away.

Shi Lingqing immediately spoke up: "Grandma Hong, that is the remains of an Ancient Sage... There is one person, and one... strange object. It has been quite some time."

Grandma Hong and the Nine Palm Commander exchanged glances. Grandma Hong's sleeve flickered, and the straight saber in the Nine Palm Commander's hand inexplicably let out a 'clang'. They nodded simultaneously, then shook their heads simultaneously.

The Nine Palm Commander took a few steps back, distancing himself from Shi Lingqing. He casually pointed at Qiao, saying, "My Mist Blades' traitor must be taken back and dealt with properly."

Grandma Hong glanced at Shi Lingqing.

Shi Lingqing let out a light laugh: "He's just a tool to save my life... Now that the matter is over, keeping him is of no use."

Qiao's body trembled violently. He raised his head in disbelief and screamed hoarsely, "Lingqing..."

"Idiot!" the Nine Palm Commander sneered, glanced at Qiao, suddenly leaped into the air, and transformed into a gust of wind, speeding towards Ox Hero's direction.

"Interesting." Grandma Hong smiled. The crimson ribbon flew out from her sleeve, wrapping around Shi Lingqing's waist, pulling her onto the wooden boat. She gently patted Shi Lingqing's head: "Lingqing'er, Grandma already knows the whole story... Hehe, you've done a great job this time. You must continue to work hard in the future."

Shi Lingqing gave a few constrained laughs and stood respectfully behind Grandma Hong.

The wooden boat stirred up a gale, quickly catching up to the Nine Palm Commander.

Bone Crusher had absorbed half of Wu Tie's blood and was slowly rising into the air. Just as it was about to fly out of the great hall, the Nine Palm Commander arrived at the entrance of the hall before Grandma Hong and her group.

Through the open doors, seeing how extraordinary Bone Crusher was, the Nine Palm Commander took two heavy steps forward, swung his straight saber, and let out a saber cry, laughing loudly: "This treasure belongs to my Mist Blades."

Wu Tie's body was weak and his vision blurred. He couldn't stand up for a while.

Old Tie turned around, blood light flashing in his eyes. He glanced at the Nine Palm Commander and the rapidly approaching wooden boat. Suddenly, his four legs went weak, and he fell to the ground with a 'thump': "Ouch, this damned door, I've exhausted all my strength..."

The Nine Palm Commander swung his long saber, and a saber energy slashed towards Old Tie.

With a loud bang and sparks flying, Old Tie was hit by the saber energy and violently sent flying over ten meters away. He crashed into the wall behind the offering table, smashing a large hole in it and falling out.

Grandma Hong stood at the bow of the boat, and multiple crimson ribbons shot out from both her sleeves, wrapping around Bone Crusher with sharp whistling sounds.

"Commander Nine Palms, a true man doesn't fight with women. This treasure should belong to me, Grandma Hong?" Grandma Hong smiled brilliantly. She pouted her rosy lips and blew a kiss at the Nine Palm Commander. From between her lips, a red long needle suddenly shot out, silently piercing towards the Nine Palm Commander's heart.

"A true man doesn't fight with women. Can that old hag still be considered a woman?" The Nine Palm Commander roared with laughter. He leaped up, dodged the red needle, gripped his long saber with both hands, and let out a loud roar.

The straight saber emitted a blade light over ten yards long, and with a mighty downward slash, it struck the wooden boat.

Grandma Hong seemed unable to react, or perhaps she was stunned by the saber light. She hastily took a step back. As the saber light flashed, two men and one woman among the young men and women behind her were grazed by the saber light, and their bodies instantly exploded into a mist of blood.

Grandma Hong let out a strange cry of "My poor children" and inhaled deeply, swallowing the three mists of blood in one gulp.

Grandma Hong, with her youthful face and white hair, trembled. Her white hair rapidly turned black, and her face quickly became young. In a breath, she transformed into the appearance of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.