In Li Qingshan's hand was none other than the Crimson Dragon Sword, a top-grade first-tier magical artifact that had been enhanced by the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd. It looked unremarkable, yet its edge was peerless!
He had aimed for a one-strike kill, with as little commotion as possible!
But Chen Feng was an elite of the Demonic Sect. How could he possibly be without something to save his life?
Just as Li Qingshan's Crimson Dragon Sword was about to touch the small of his back, a hidden protective jade talisman at Chen Feng's waist suddenly activated on its own!
Humm!
A pitch-black barrier covered in strange runes appeared in an instant, barely blocking the fatal thrust!
Pfft!
The Crimson Dragon Sword's tip pierced half an inch into the barrier, but could go no farther!
The sharpness of a top-grade magical artifact ground fiercely against the automatically activated protective demonic light, producing a sound that made one's scalp crawl!
"What?!"
Chen Feng nearly lost his soul in terror. The icy killing intent at his back and the sudden attack jolted him out of his frenzy!
He had never imagined that the attack would come from the old loser he'd dismissed as an ant!
The protective jade talisman had saved his life, but the hastily activated barrier still couldn't fully dissipate the lethal sneak attack, concentrated at a single point and infused with the power of the peak of the ninth Qi Refining layer!
A vast, pure force slammed hard into his back through the barrier!
"Pfft!"
Chen Feng's vision went black. It felt as though his internal organs had been knocked out of place. He spat out another great mouthful of black blood mixed with bits of organ, and was sent flying forward like a broken sack. He crashed to the ground not far from Ye Lingshuang, his injuries worsening. Even getting back up had become extraordinarily difficult!
He struggled to turn his head. What he saw was the old man slowly straightening up, a broken sword glowing faintly in his hand, his gaze cold and composed—Li Qingshan!
"Y-You... who are you, really?!" Chen Feng's eyes filled with utter shock, disbelief, and a trace of fear!
How could a cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining erupt with such terrifying strength and speed? And how could he possess a top-grade magical artifact that could nearly pierce his protective demonic light?!
But the situation was urgent; he had no time to think!
He himself was gravely wounded and on the verge of death, while this hidden old monster's true strength was unknown!
He whipped around to look at Zhang Tie, who stood on the other side, stunned and at a loss after the successive upheavals. Summoning the last of his strength, he roared hoarsely, "Zhang Tie, you idiot! What are you standing there for? Quick, kill Ye Lingshuang! Kill her, and I'll return the jade slip and give you all my treasures. Hurry!"
Right now, all he wanted was to complete the mission! As long as Ye Lingshuang died!
The roar snapped Zhang Tie out of his daze. He looked at Chen Feng, gravely wounded on the ground, then at the old man who had suddenly become unfathomable, and finally at Ye Lingshuang, who was on her last breath. Greed, fear, and hesitation warred across his face. In the end, his longing for Foundation Establishment and his fear of Chen Feng overpowered his reason!
"Ah! Die!"
He let out a wild cry to bolster his courage, summoned his flying knife, and charged madly toward Ye Lingshuang, trying to strike first!
But since Li Qingshan had already made his move, how could he let Zhang Tie have his way?
The instant Chen Feng's roar rang out, Li Qingshan moved again!
This time, he no longer held back!
He unleashed the Flying Rainbow Technique at full power. His figure seemed to teleport, overtaking Zhang Tie and blocking his path!
At the same time, the Crimson Dragon Sword became an almost invisible streak of cold light. With an impossibly tricky angle, it shot straight toward Zhang Tie's throat, moving at extreme speed!
Zhang Tie saw a blur. A suffocating killing intent instantly enveloped him. He tried to control his flying knife and bring it back to defend, but the difference in speed was too great!
"No!"
Terrified beyond measure, Zhang Tie tried to beg for mercy.
Slash!
The dagger pierced the protective spiritual light he'd hurriedly raised without the slightest resistance, cleanly severing his windpipe!
Zhang Tie's charge abruptly froze. He clutched his bleeding throat with both hands, his eyes wide with shock and fear of death. His body crumpled to the ground, and he died on the spot!
An instant kill against a cultivator at the great circle of Qi Refining!
Clean and decisive!
Now only Chen Feng, gravely wounded and near death, Ye Lingshuang, barely clinging to life, and Li Qingshan, standing with sword in hand and an indifferent gaze, remained at the scene.
Watching Zhang Tie die in an instant, the last trace of hope in Chen Feng's heart vanished, replaced by utter chill and fear.
He looked at Li Qingshan, forcing down his shock and pain as he spoke rapidly in a hoarse voice. "Senior! Who are you, exactly? You've hidden your strength so deeply. You're surely no ordinary disciple of the Spring Autumn Sect! I'm an inner disciple of the Holy Sect, and my master is a Golden Core elder!
"If you're willing to stop here, I swear on my heart demon that I'll let today's matter go. I'll offer you all my possessions, and I can even recommend you to join the Holy Sect, where a Golden Core Patriarch will personally guide you. Wouldn't that be a thousand times better than keeping company with trash in the Spring Autumn Sect?
"Why make an enemy of my Holy Sect for the sake of a dying Ye Lingshuang?"
After seeing Li Qingshan instantly kill Zhang Tie, a cultivator at the great circle of Qi Refining, he immediately assumed that Li Qingshan was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had concealed his cultivation.
There was no other way he could be so strong.
His tone changed at once.
He tried to tempt and threaten Li Qingshan, while secretly preparing to bring out a treasure and launch a sneak attack.
Li Qingshan slowly turned around, wiping the blood from the Crimson Dragon Sword. He gazed calmly at Chen Feng, his eyes as still as an ancient well, as though he were looking at a dead man.
"Finished?" he asked mildly.
Chen Feng's heart sank. The other man's reaction made it clear he wasn't moved.
Li Qingshan gave him no further chance. Demonic Sect cultivators were cunning and treacherous. He couldn't let one live, or it would bring endless trouble!
His figure moved again, still at that ghostly speed, and the Crimson Dragon Sword in his hand went straight for Chen Feng's head!
Despair and madness flashed through Chen Feng's eyes. He tried to forcefully activate some kind of secret technique, but with his grievously wounded body, how could he be faster than Li Qingshan's thunderous strike?
Slash!
The Crimson Dragon Sword pierced Chen Feng's brow with pinpoint accuracy, completely shattering his soul!
The expression on Chen Feng's face froze in terror, unwillingness, and disbelief. His body twitched once, then fell completely still.
Thus, both cultivators at the great circle of Qi Refining had been slain!
Li Qingshan swiftly searched the battlefield, collecting Chen Feng and Zhang Tie's storage bags, as well as the protective jade talisman that had nearly saved Chen Feng. He flicked out a fireball and reduced the two corpses to ash.
Only after finishing all this did he hurry over to Ye Lingshuang.
Ye Lingshuang had witnessed the entire chain of lightning-fast twists and reversals. Li Qingshan's hidden strength and ruthless decisiveness in delivering instant kills had shaken her beyond measure.
She looked at Li Qingshan, crouching beside her, her beautiful eyes filled with the most complicated emotions.
The dazed relief of surviving a calamity, the shock of having her entire worldview overturned, deep confusion, and an indescribable trace of gratitude and... wariness.
She parted her lips. Weakness and shock reduced her voice to a thread, yet it was full of disbelief. "Li... Li Qingshan? Is it really you? You can actually kill cultivators at the great circle of Qi Refining? Your cultivation... what... what is going on?"
Li Qingshan looked at her pale yet still lovely face and sighed softly. He knew he could no longer completely hide his strength after today.
"Senior Sister Ye," he said in a low, steady voice, "it's a long story. This place isn't safe. I'll get you out of here first."
Before you continue