Confession

Qiao and Ding greedily pounced on the immobile Grandma Hong.

Shi Lingqing smiled as she glanced around, then raised her head to study Ox Hero's massive body for a while before striking out with a backhanded palm.

A palm print formed from blood-colored flames flew from her hand and slammed heavily into Nine Palm Commander's body. His battered body was blasted into the air. Shi Lingqing gave a soft shout, her slender fingers dancing rapidly as if playing a zither.

Countless thumb-sized fireballs whistled out, pelting Nine Palm Commander like a torrential downpour.

The thick black carapace covering Nine Palm Commander's body was battered to tatters. Firelight exploded, his shell shattered, and great chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere. His body convulsed and spun wildly in midair. After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, his body had been blasted into fragments.

"He really was tough. As expected of an expert who had cultivated supernatural abilities." Shi Lingqing smiled and lowered her hands, proudly examining her fair, tender palms, where a mesmerizing radiance continuously flowed.

"But what good is strength?" Shi Lingqing's smile was dazzling. She turned in place, utterly intoxicated, and took a deep, satisfied breath. "Wisdom is true power... To kill someone, you don't need to dirty your own hands."

Wu Tie forcefully endured the waves of weakness and discomfort welling up inside him. Leaning on his long spear, he slowly rose to his feet.

Shi Lingqing's heavy blow had certainly been terrifying, but the defensive power of his close-fitting armor was also truly formidable.

The blow had only jolted his internal organs slightly. Bone Crusher draining away half the blood in his body had caused him far greater harm. He widened his eyes and shook his head hard, dispersing some of the black haze before his eyes, then stared straight at Shi Lingqing.

"So Qiao and Ding had been persuaded by you long ago?"

"Whether it was Nine Palm Commander or Grandma Hong, you deliberately lured them here?"

Wu Tie voiced the greatest doubt in his heart. Looking at things now, everything seemed to have been part of Shi Lingqing's calculations. Yet she did not appear much older than Wu Tie. The thought that she possessed such scheming made Wu Tie feel fear seep from his bones.

Shi Lingqing spread her arms, deliberately displaying her alluring, beautiful body to Wu Tie. She spun twice more in place, then smilingly thrust out her chest at him. "Of course. Everything before us is the result of my plan."

She smiled as she walked two steps toward Wu Tie, then pointed at him with a flower-like smile.

"Grandma Hong—I had wanted to make a move against her long ago. Outside, I wouldn't dare. The Longevity Cult's laws are strict. If anyone discovered that I had dealt ruthlessly with an elder of the cult, even if I had someone backing me, I would surely die."

"Besides, my strength was limited. Though I obtained the Essence Stealing Secret Art through other means, I could never have been Grandma Hong's match."

"But here, in such a hidden secret realm... If Luolin and the others had not chased me until I had nowhere left to go, forcing me to flee for my life with people through the underground river beside Thousand Fish City, how could I have found this place?"

"Such a hidden secret realm was simply perfect for plotting against someone."

"Best of all, Luolin and the others were assassins from Fog Blade. Lure a powerful Fog Blade expert here and let him perish together with Grandma Hong... I had about a sixty percent chance of this plan succeeding."

"Sixty percent was already worth a gamble."

Shi Lingqing walked step by step before Wu Tie and gently stroked the smooth armor over his chest. She extended her scarlet tongue to lick her rosy lips, smiling at Wu Tie as her body trembled faintly beyond her control.

Excitement and exhilaration filled Shi Lingqing's eyes with an immensely greedy, ferocious gleam.

"A sixty percent chance of taking Grandma Hong's cultivation... That alone was worth gambling on."

"Not to mention, little young master, the secrets on your body are enough to make me drool."

"Armor suspected to be an Ancient Treasure, a spear suspected to be an Ancient Treasure, an inheritance suspected to come from an ancient great power."

"Oh, oh, and the even greater surprise—the body of this Ancient Sage, and the Ancient Treasures in that hall... I, Shi Lingqing, truly am favored by destiny... All of this is mine. Every bit of it is mine."

Shi Lingqing smiled until her eyes narrowed to slits. "Young master, could you take off that set of armor you are wearing and let Lingqing properly examine it?"

Wu Tie suddenly thrust his spear at Shi Lingqing.

Flames surged around Shi Lingqing's body. With a swish, she transformed into several afterimages and retreated dozens of meters. Before Wu Tie could clearly see her movements, she abruptly lunged back forward and drove an uppercut into his chin.

Shi Lingqing was far too fast. Amid the surging firelight, her explosive force was astonishing. A casual strike carried tens of thousands of pounds of force. Her cultivation had clearly surpassed the Foundation Establishment realm and reached a higher level.

The heavy blow sent Wu Tie flying. He shouted as he soared more than a hundred meters into the sky, then shook his head violently, and his body abruptly stopped in midair.

The invisible force field activated at full power, supporting Wu Tie's body.

Shi Lingqing sighed enviously. "This is... the legendary bloodline talent, isn't it? How fortunate. Still in the Foundation Establishment realm, yet already possessing supernatural abilities. Lingqing is truly both envious and jealous."

After laughing softly a few times, Shi Lingqing said, "Young master, how about we stop all this fighting and killing? Like Qiao and Ding, why don't you submit to me as well? Everything Lingqing has can be yours to enjoy... If Lingqing wishes to gain a higher position in the Longevity Cult in the future, naturally I will need several trusted aides."

Qiao and Ding, who were sprawled atop Grandma Hong and awkwardly using the Essence Stealing Secret Art they had only recently learned to seize her life essence, raised their heads at the same time and looked toward Wu Tie with both anger and wariness.

At the wounds where Qiao's two thighs had been smashed apart by Nine Palm Commander, large strands of flesh wriggled rapidly. Half of his thighs had already regrown. The life energy within Grandma Hong was too immense. Qiao's cultivation was far below Grandma Hong's, and just a little life energy was enough to rapidly restore his body.

As his thighs recovered, Qiao regained his vigor as well. He could not help shouting, "Lingqing... What is so good about this brat... Why must you treat him like this?"

Shi Lingqing turned around and shot Qiao a cold glare.

Qiao immediately shut his mouth, obediently lowered his head, and continued lying across Grandma Hong's neck.

Shi Lingqing looked at Wu Tie with a light smile and said gently in a voice brimming with seduction, "Little young master, perhaps you do not know a girl's delights... Why not come down and properly try them with Lingqing? Perhaps then you will understand why Qiao and Ding were willing to betray Fog Blade and willingly let me command them?"

Wu Tie did not answer Shi Lingqing.

The invisible force field churned violently. Like a meteor, Wu Tie dove from the sky, his spear bringing a sharp howl through the air as it stabbed straight toward Shi Lingqing.

Shi Lingqing sneered, muttered a low curse, and sent both palms striking out in rapid succession like windmills.

Palm prints formed from blood-colored flames slammed heavily against Wu Tie's spear. The wildly erupting force was like a hurricane, blasting Wu Tie more than a hundred meters into the air time and again. Then Wu Tie dove down again and again, repeatedly stabbing wildly at Shi Lingqing.

Having seized part of Grandma Hong's life essence, Shi Lingqing's strength surpassed Wu Tie's by a measure. In a direct confrontation, Wu Tie was no match for Shi Lingqing.

But the armor on Wu Tie's body possessed astonishing defensive power. No matter how wildly Shi Lingqing struck, she could not harm Wu Tie in the slightest.

Blood-colored flames rolled and rose, and the surrounding temperature climbed constantly, yet Wu Tie felt only a slight stuffiness within his armor.

The dull, monotonous clash continued for a full quarter of an hour. Neither Wu Tie nor Shi Lingqing could do anything to the other when Old Tie's voice suddenly rang out from inside the hall. "Little fellow, do you understand now what terrifying creatures women are?"

Wu Tie thrust down with his spear. Shi Lingqing seized the spearhead with one palm and viciously slammed Wu Tie's entire body into the ground.

Large stretches of blue bricks shattered, and a human-shaped crater was smashed into the floor. Wu Tie lay sprawled in the pit in utter disarray. Only after taking a breath did he spring up, leap more than ten meters backward, and stagger to a stand beside Old Tie.

Old Tie had just been sent flying by Nine Palm Commander's slash, yet that strike had failed to leave any trace on him.

With the calm composure of an old god, Old Tie walked step by step out of the hall, shaking his head as he sized Shi Lingqing up and down.

"Are all girls these days as frightening as you?" Bloodlight flickered in Old Tie's eyes, while countless invisible rays shrouded Shi Lingqing. "Grandpa remembers that the young girls back then, though some were indeed somewhat spoiled and willful, were nowhere near as..."

After falling silent for a moment, Old Tie said heavily, "I cannot see any of the beauty a young girl ought to possess in you."

Shi Lingqing clapped her hands, smiling until her eyes narrowed to slits. "The sort of lovely young girl you speak of... Oh, I think I understand. Luolin's younger sister was probably your type..."

She gave a strange pursed-lip smile, then her expression suddenly darkened. "When I gave the order to kill her, she was still pleading for several other little girls... Stupid beyond description. Is the beauty you speak of in young girls that so-called 'kindness' and 'purity'?"

Old Tie did not say anything. He stood at the hall entrance and gazed deeply at Shi Lingqing.

Shi Lingqing studied Old Tie with great interest. "My luck truly is good. And what sort of thing are you? A human head? A wolf's body?"

Old Tie hurriedly said, "Human head, dog body. This is a dog's body, do not get it wrong... Otherwise, that dog thing will be unhappy... That fellow has strong opinions about his distant relatives."

Shi Lingqing nodded. "Whatever you are... A strange thing like you could fetch a fine price. The lady behind me also enjoys collecting strange playthings like you. If I offer you to her, it will surely make her even happier."

Shi Lingqing's little face flushed red, as if blood might seep from her pores. "Grandma Hong is dead, and I will offer you to her as well. Hehe... My merits this time are truly not small."

Without a word, Old Tie lunged forward, using himself as a battering ram as he viciously rammed toward Shi Lingqing.

Shi Lingqing chuckled and waved her hand. Flames rose and heat spread in all directions. She struck Old Tie's forehead with one palm. Old Tie gave a muffled cry and was slapped far away, crashing headfirst into a cluster of crystals. The bloodlight in his eyes abruptly dimmed, and he lay sprawled on the ground without the slightest movement.

"Old Tie!" Wu Tie shouted.

Old Tie did not move. He lay on the ground as if dead.

Wu Tie's heart instantly filled with extreme anxiety. He gave a great shout, suddenly leaped up, and thrust his spear at Shi Lingqing.

For no reason, Wu Tie recalled a sentence Master Hui had particularly appreciated back then, and he roared it at Shi Lingqing. "You were born a beauty, so why become a thief?"

Shi Lingqing had been smiling all along, but upon suddenly hearing Wu Tie's words... her movements stiffened for a moment. Then her face twisted, and blazing blood flames erupted from both arms. The clothes over her entire body were instantly burned to flying ash, revealing a crystal-clear body like blood jade.

"Why become a thief? I want to live!" Flames burst from Shi Lingqing's eyes. Like a demon gone mad, she rushed before Wu Tie, knocked his spear aside with one palm, grabbed him by the neck, and viciously hurled him to the ground. Her palms repeatedly pounded his chest in a frenzy.

Dull impacts rang out without end. Wu Tie's body shook violently, and the ground trembled fiercely. A pit several meters deep was forcibly blasted into the floor. Wu Tie lay helplessly in the pit, allowing Shi Lingqing to strike and smash him as she pleased.

"I... only wanted to live. To live beautifully, gorgeously, gloriously. Was I wrong?" Shi Lingqing viciously planted one foot on Wu Tie's head and ground down hard.

"I never wanted anything to do with the Longevity Cult either... It was my grandfather's decision. In the first year the Longevity Cult entered the Azure Flame Domain, he pledged allegiance to them. I had not even been born then!" Shi Lingqing cried sharply. "The backer behind me took a liking to me. What could I do?"

"I am only a little woman. I only want to live well. Was I wrong?"

"Killing Luolin's younger sister was a task assigned to me by the Longevity Cult. If I did not do it, I would die... I am not some saint from legend. Why should I sacrifice myself for women I had never even known?"

"I only wanted to live... I was hunted so relentlessly that I ignored the danger and rushed into the underground river, only to be washed here... A pack of grown men chased me without relenting. I only wanted to live... To survive, I even let these two men, whom I did not think highly of at all, toy with me as they pleased for an entire day!"

Tiny crystal clusters had grown underground here as well, making the ground incomparably hard.

Wu Tie's helmet scraped against the ground, producing a piercing screech.

Shi Lingqing stomped madly on Wu Tie's head and screamed herself hoarse, "You never gave me a real chance to choose freely... Can all of this be blamed on me?"

"You call me a thief?"

"Then when I begged you for help a few days ago, if you had wholeheartedly protected me from Luolin and the others, I would never have made such a decision..." Shi Lingqing screamed hoarsely with boundless resentment. "Do you think stripping naked to seduce every man I meet is something enjoyable?"

"I am not much older than you!"

Shi Lingqing screamed hysterically, desperately stomping on Wu Tie's head.

On the ground, Shi Dian, whose entire left shoulder was gone and whose left chest had caved in deeply, slowly dragged himself over step by step.

Qiao and Ding were still madly devouring Grandma Hong's life essence. They were so intoxicated by the pleasure and thrill brought by the Essence Stealing Secret Art that they could not pull themselves free. Their cultivation was rising rapidly, their strength growing swiftly, and endless ecstasy flooded their bodies...

They had not even heard Shi Lingqing's screams.

Shi Dian tightly gripped his wooden staff and walked over step by step. While still dozens of meters from Qiao and Ding, he waved the staff. A cloud of dense purple-black smoke flew out and abruptly enveloped them both.