Shedding Armor

With a loud bang, waves of fire and streaks of electricity splashed out.

Wu Tie grunted, sent flying dozens of meters by Shi Lingqing, and crashed headfirst before the steps of the great hall.

Shi Lingqing, transformed into blood-red flames and electric light, soared into the sky. After circling hundreds of meters high, she spun like a massive drill and roared toward Wu Tie.

Dazed from the initial impact, Wu Tie hadn't recovered from the violent collision when Shi Lingqing dove from the sky and slammed into him again.

The ground trembled violently, earth spraying up dozens of meters. Wu Tie grunted. Even through his armor, the impact sent his internal organs churning, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

A crater dozens of meters in diameter was blasted into the ground. The pond in front of the great hall was affected, sending large splashes of sparkling water flying into the air. Lotus leaves and petals were blown to smithereens, scattering far and wide.

Wu Tie lay sprawled at the bottom of the several-meter-deep pit, tilting his head to look at Shi Lingqing.

Having seized part of Grandma Hong's life essence and stolen Shi Dian's awakened innate Divine Ability through dark arts, Shi Lingqing's strength had surged significantly in a very short time, far surpassing Wu Tie, who had just broken through to the first level of Foundation Establishment.

Watching her move and fly in the air with such natural ease, Wu Tie couldn't even guess what level she had reached now.

What comes after Foundation Establishment? Wu Tie's head buzzed, unable to concentrate.

After being beaten down by Shi Lingqing for so long, his head had suffered too severe a shock. Countless golden stars swam before his eyes, and his head felt heavy and nauseous.

"Your fitted armor is very good." After a heavy blow, Shi Lingqing used the rebound force to fly dozens of meters high, landing slowly on a faint cloud of fire, looking down at Wu Tie.

"I think it should be mine," Shi Lingqing said with a seductive smile. "Your armor is mine; your spear is mine; the Ancient Treasures in the hall are mine; the remains of this Ancient Sage should also be mine."

"Heh, if you're willing, you can be mine too." Shi Lingqing looked at Wu Tie with a smile. "Qiao is dead, Ding is dead. I originally planned to make them my confidantes... Shi Dian, I won't even mention him. He coveted his master's position, and he deserved to die..."

"You're different. You obtained Ancient Treasures and inheritances. You're lucky; I like lucky people."

"You're also very handsome. Although you're a bit young, I don't mind..."

"Are you willing to become my person?"

Shi Lingqing smiled at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie staggered to his feet, tilted his head, and looked at Shi Lingqing, carefully recalling everything that had happened since Shi Lingqing and Luolin entered this secret realm.

He quickly reviewed everything in his mind and sighed.

"You people are too terrifying; your affairs are too complicated." Wu Tie gripped his spear and pointed it at Shi Lingqing. "I'm afraid I'll end up like Shi Dian, killed by you from behind one day without realizing it."

"I want to live a simpler life..." Wu Tie recalled the peaceful life in the Wu Family stone fort back then. He said in a deep voice, "When I have the strength for revenge, after I avenge my father and brothers, I will return to my family's stone fort..."

Wu Tie thought of Wu Zhan's rambling expectations for his brothers. He smiled and said, "I will find one or a few virtuous women, have children with them, and continue the bloodline... I'm sorry, you are not virtuous at all."

Wu Tie didn't know how much of a blow his words would be to a girl with such high self-esteem.

Especially since he was a few years younger than Shi Lingqing.

He said Shi Lingqing was not a virtuous woman.

What is called "a child's words are innocent," Wu Tie's words, coming from his heart, were even more devastating.

Shi Lingqing's face turned ashen. She roared with rage and suddenly lunged toward a cluster of crystal formations, more than a meter thick. She struck the formations repeatedly with her palms.

With loud bangs, the crystal formations erupted with dazzling light. No matter how hard Shi Lingqing tried, the formations remained unmoved, suffering no damage.

Wu Tie stared blankly. He watched Shi Lingqing's hysterical actions and laughed, "You want to break one off to smash me with it? Heh, it looks like you're wasting your energy? Isn't there something easier to get here?"

Wu Tie smiled and glanced back at the great hall behind him.

Shi Lingqing let out a long howl. She left the crystal formations somewhat disheveled and rushed to the entrance of the great hall. She wrapped her arms around a stone pillar under the eaves, about as thick as her embrace, and shook it with all her might.

The stone pillar, more than ten meters long, broke. Shi Lingqing raised the pillar, cursed loudly, and smashed it heavily onto Wu Tie.

With a deafening roar, the stone pillar shattered. Wu Tie was violently struck and sent flying over a hundred meters, crashing into a cluster of crystal formations. His body rebounded dozens of meters, twitching and unable to move for a long time.

Old Tie, lying on the ground, slightly raised his head and murmured with emotion, "As expected of the disciple I meticulously trained... this skill in talking trash has at least thirty percent of my power... Heh, he's really good at talking trash!"

Wu Tie lay on the ground, unable to move for a long time. Faint streams of light flowed across the fitted armor on his body. With faint "hissing" sounds, the armor turned into flowing liquid metal and slowly peeled off him.

With a "dong," the fitted armor transformed into a ball of pale white metal, about the size of a human head, and gently fell to the ground.

Wu Tie was stunned.

Shi Lingqing looked at the pale white metal ball with surprise and joy. "Huh? Without this armor, can you still escape my grasp?"

Wu Tie looked at Old Tie with surprise and fear. "Old Tie..."

Old Tie remained motionless, lying on the ground like a pile of scrap metal.

Wu Tie's cry attracted Shi Lingqing's attention. She looked at Old Tie, her hands suddenly moving. Two arm-thick streams of electric light, spewing blood-red flames, roared and struck Old Tie.

Old Tie was sent rolling all over the ground, sparks flying from his body.

He rolled and bounced on the ground like an inanimate object, without any reaction or sound.

"Dead?" Shi Lingqing smiled slightly. After observing Old Tie for a while, she relaxed.

Smiling softly, Shi Lingqing slowly walked toward Wu Tie.

Wu Tie, holding his long spear, stood up with difficulty, gritted his teeth, and looked at Shi Lingqing, instinctively retreating step by step. He knew clearly that he was no match for the current Shi Lingqing.

"Are you afraid?" Shi Lingqing smiled at Wu Tie, continuing to approach step by step. A faint shimmer appeared in her eyes, and an indescribable seductive aura was quietly released. "Why be afraid? Actually, if you just kneel before me now..."

Shi Lingqing extended her bare, delicate foot and said with a light laugh, "Look at my foot, fair and tender... If you kneel, lick my foot, and promise to serve me wholeheartedly, please me, and obey my every command from now on, I can let you enjoy all the pleasures a man can imagine..."

Shi Lingqing narrowed her eyes, the shimmer in them almost overflowing. "We, the Longevity Cult, are best at satisfying all the desires in people's hearts... whether they are men or women... Whatever you wish for in your heart, we can fulfill it..."

"Obey me and join the Longevity Cult, you won't regret it... I have high hopes for your potential... handsome young master!" Shi Lingqing said with a smug smile.

Wu Tie took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "You're not pure at all... in fact, you're a very, very bad woman... so..."

In a flash, Shi Lingqing appeared in front of Wu Tie.

Wu Tie instinctively thrust his spear forward. With a faint whistling sound, the spearhead grazed Shi Lingqing's shoulder.

Shi Lingqing swung her arms simultaneously, delivering dozens of slaps to Wu Tie's face in an instant.

Wu Tie's head was violently shaken from side to side. The flesh in his mouth was torn by his own teeth, and a large amount of blood spurted out. The blood sprayed several feet from the corners of his mouth, staining his upper body red as it flowed down with saliva.

The dozens of slaps almost made Wu Tie pass out. Then, his shoulders throbbed with pain as Shi Lingqing unceremoniously slammed her palms onto his shoulders, shattering them.

"Young master won't know regret until he suffers a bit," Shi Lingqing said with a brilliant smile. "You still have a little time to think carefully: will you obey me, or die here?"

"If you're willing to obey me, lick my feet... and hand over the ancient inheritance you obtained." Shi Lingqing looked at Wu Tie with a hint of greed. "You're only at the first level of Foundation Establishment, yet your physical strength can easily suppress Luo Lin and the others, who are much higher in cultivation than you..."

"Your inheritance should be mine, and only I, Shi Lingqing, the ultimate victor, am worthy of enjoying it all."

"The Ancient Treasures in the main hall, the remains of the Ancient Sages, your armor and spear, and the inheritance you obtained..." Shi Lingqing grabbed Wu Tie by the neck and eagerly strode into the hall. "Everything is mine... everything that only I, who laughs last, am worthy of enjoying."

"Young master, handsome young master, think carefully, shouldn't you give me your inheritance?" Shi Lingqing lifted Wu Tie and gently kissed his cheek. "I don't want to use violence on you..."

Even as she said that, Shi Lingqing punched Wu Tie in the abdomen.

A tremendous force struck him, causing his internal organs to convulse violently. The piercing pain made tears stream down Wu Tie's face. His stomach churned, and another large mouthful of blood mixed with stomach fluid erupted from his mouth, filling it with a bloody and indescribably strange taste.

Some of the stomach fluid surged into his nasal cavity, causing a sharp, burning pain. His nose throbbed, and Wu Tie's body spasmed violently. Thick fluid continuously sprayed from his nose and mouth, and he was in so much pain that he nearly fainted.

Standing at the entrance of the main hall, Shi Lingqing glanced at the thousand-meter-tall Ox Hero and swallowed with difficulty.

"You, are mine. Wait for me." She reached out and made a grasping motion towards Ox Hero's massive body, smiling softly. She then held Wu Tie by the neck, unable to move or make a sound, and walked into the hall.

On a futon, the only remaining golden skeleton sat cross-legged, with wisps of dim light and mist continuously spewing from the cracks all over its body, gradually dissipating into the air.

On the tattered golden lotus, wisps of dim golden mist tightly enveloped the bone fragment.

The thumb-sized bone fragment rotated slowly, like a caged bird that had eaten its fill, showing no urgency to escape the golden lotus's confinement.

Wu Tie struggled to widen his eyes, looking at the bone fragment suspended above the golden lotus.

It was this bizarre bone fragment that had absorbed half of his blood.

Shamelessly, it had absorbed his blood and fled.

Shi Lingqing threw Wu Tie to the ground and raised her foot, stomping hard on his knee. Wu Tie twitched violently, letting out a sharp cry of pain.

Shi Lingqing had violently crushed his knee, and his shoulders were also shattered. Now, he lay on the ground, unable to move, only able to lift his head slightly to watch Shi Lingqing's next actions.

She cautiously approached the golden lotus and squatted down, looking at the bone fragment with excitement.

"What a strange Ancient Treasure. Although I don't understand what it is, it must be... very precious."

Shi Lingqing said softly, "The Ancient Sage outside, this cave, the incredibly hard crystals within, this hall, the golden skeletons in this hall... if I'm not mistaken, they all exist for it."

"So, what exactly are you?" Shi Lingqing looked at the bone fragment and cautiously reached out her hand.

"What benefits can you give me?" Shi Lingqing trembled all over with excitement.

Wu Tie lay beside her. Shi Lingqing's body, stripped bare by the blood-colored flames that had burned away her clothes, was fully visible. Wu Tie saw that Shi Lingqing's body was covered in goosebumps, her hair standing on end, clearly indicating that her emotions were at their peak.

Just as Shi Lingqing's hand was about to touch the bone fragment, she suddenly stopped.

"Ancient Treasures, especially those untouched by human hands, carry immeasurable risks." Shi Lingqing smiled and turned her head, nodding at Wu Tie. "In the Azure Flame Domain, my Longevity Cult once surveyed three ancient ruins and acquired four Ancient Treasures, at the cost of over a thousand elite disciples."

"I don't want to die here." Shi Lingqing smiled brilliantly. "I still have a great life to enjoy... but if you die, it's no loss to me... Of course, I'll shed a couple of tears for you, after all, young master, you are so handsome."

Shi Lingqing roughly grabbed Wu Tie by the neck, her sharp fingernails cutting into his neck without hesitation, bringing the wound towards the bone fragment.

The bone fragment struggled violently. With a faint cracking sound, the weak light of the golden lotus's restraint was torn open by more than half. The bone fragment latched onto Wu Tie's wound, and Wu Tie's blood surged, pouring madly towards the bone fragment.

"Ah, it's a bloodsucker." Shi Lingqing's body trembled violently. She laughed with excitement, "Good, good, I didn't touch it rashly."

"Oh, young master, your blood vessels are all shriveled. Your blood is about to be drained, isn't it? Alas, you must hold on. You absolutely cannot have any problems before this treasure is satisfied!"

Shi Lingqing watched Wu Tie with a smile, her eyes shimmering with light, as if they were about to overflow with tears.

Wu Tie's body convulsed as his blood was continuously drawn away by the bone fragment. His vision suddenly darkened, and he completely fainted.

The remaining blood in his body had already crossed the danger line, reaching a life-threatening level.