Covered in Ash and Dirt

"Miss! We are disciples of Shu Mountain, and now we work for the national security department. We came to the Monster Alliance to investigate something and thought you were demons, so..." Xiang Hui deliberately teased Zhou Chen. "What is Miss's name?" he asked. One is injured, one is unconscious. They can't fly out of my palm anyway. No rush to make a move. Teasing this little beauty first is quite a pleasant thing.

Zhou Chen suddenly smiled sweetly, like a hundred flowers blooming at once. It was as though the air around them rippled with the breath of spring, spreading a languid sensation through the air. Xiang Hui, Xie Xiaohong, Liu Zhihua, and Lu Hongchen all shuddered. Their bones went soft, and their entire bodies weakened. "This little sister is called Zhou Chen, four big brothers!" Her voice, like heavenly music, drifted into their ears. The four men's eyes opened wide, and a trace of drool actually ran from the corners of their mouths. They looked utterly pathetic.

"What a formidable Charm Technique. If my Second Primordial Spirit had not calculated that she was a high-ranking demon, I likely would have fallen for it too. I never expected my disciple to have such an advantage." While Zhou Qing used all his strength to wield true fire and drive out the Blood Demon Killing Curse Tianxuan Blood Demon had left in his Primordial Spirit, he could not help but marvel. The Blood Demon Killing Curse was like a mass of viscous crimson liquid lodged within his Primordial Spirit. Even when Zhou Qing fully invoked the Samadhi True Fire, the two forces were evenly matched.

"My name is Xiang Hui. He, he, and he are Xie Xiaohong, Liu Zhihua, and Lu Hongchen. We are all members of the Dragon Group. We came to the Monster Alliance to pick up bargains. Chenchen, you're so beautiful!" Xiang Hui suddenly jolted awake and roared, "Hey! Demon, you actually dared to bewitch us!" Xiang Hui had been drooling, and with one question from Zhou Chen, he had spilled all his secrets. Yet he was, after all, a disciple of a famous sect, steeped in Daoist arts for many years. Although Zhou Chen's cultivation had advanced greatly with Zhou Qing's help, she was only evenly matched with these four. Xiang Hui's cultivation was still a notch higher. He fiercely bit the tip of his tongue and regained his senses. Seeing the other three wearing foolish expressions and drooling, he remembered that he himself had looked the same moments ago. Humiliated into rage, he let out a furious shout. His Flying Sword transformed into a scarlet beam several yards long and slashed down at Zhou Qing's head.

Though Xiang Hui was enraged that Zhou Chen had used the Charm Technique, he could not bear to kill her. He vented all his fury on Zhou Qing, who was healing his injuries. The other three were also shaken awake by Xiang Hui's roar. Discovering their condition, they all drew their Flying Swords. Xiang Hui hurriedly shouted, "Don't kill them! You three restrain that female demon. Didn't she want to seduce me? I'll let her seduce me to her heart's content later!" Before his words had faded, the fiery red sword light collided head-on with Zhou Qing's great seal. Boom! Clusters of flames as large as bushel baskets erupted at the point of impact. The flames circled once and surged toward Zhou Qing. Zhou Qing was greatly alarmed. He had not expected even his great seal to be unable to withstand this fiery red Flying Sword. He hastily stopped operating his Second Primordial Spirit and threw out a Water Spirit Talisman. Threads of water spiritual energy gathered, forming layers of crystalline water curtains in the air.

Puff! Puff! Puff! The three water curtains Zhou Qing had set up shattered beneath the impact of the clustered flames. Only then did the flames exhaust their force and vanish into the air. This Flying Sword's fire energy is so heavy—so powerful! Zhou Qing sighed inwardly, secretly tossing out eight jade plaques. Once the jade plaques left his hand, they seemed to merge with the air and vanished without a trace. Xiang Hui was even more astonished. An Elder of Shu Mountain had taken the scorching fire energy from underground magma and infused it into this Flying Sword through a secret formation. Though its quality could not compare to Prime Gold of Taiyi, its power was exceptionally vicious. The fire-poison energy upon it could melt even steel! Yet it had been dispelled by a single talisman.

"Ah!" Just as Zhou Qing threw out the jade plaques, Zhou Chen had already been tightly trapped between three sword lights. Her clothes were slashed open in many places, exposing snow-white skin. The three men continued to leer. "Little demon, your skin is quite white!" "This demon has such a great figure! Tsk, tsk!" Zhou Chen's cultivation had originally been close to theirs, but without a weapon, she was helpless against the sword formation formed by the three men. Shu Mountain's sword cultivation was already tremendously powerful, and with all three attacking together, how could Zhou Chen possibly withstand them? Had the three not deliberately been toying with her, the battle would have ended long ago. Seeing more and more cuts appear on her body, a resolute light flashed through Zhou Chen's eyes. She made up her mind that even if she had to use the Disintegration Great Art, she would not allow herself to be humiliated. Screech! Another sword light shot toward her, thoroughly slicing the outer robe Zhou Qing had given her into tatters. The three men let out another round of whistles and jeers. Zhou Chen glanced at Zhou Qing, screamed sharply, and was about to use the Disintegration Great Art.

Suddenly! A huge Bagua Diagram appeared in the sky. Water, fire, wind, and thunder—four pillars of light condensed from elemental energy shot out from the Bagua Diagram and blasted toward the four men. How could they have known such a calamity was lying in wait? Caught completely off guard, they hastily circulated all their True Essence to defend themselves. Boom! The four figures were blasted rolling like gourds across the ground, dizzy and disoriented. Zhou Chen was also stunned by the sudden change. Zhou Qing grabbed her hand and said, "Take your younger sister and run. Go outside and find Xiao Jin!" "Master, what about you?" "I'll be fine! These four cannot do anything to me. I'll teach them a lesson and leave!" Zhou Chen nodded, picked up the Little Fox, and turned into a streaking figure that shot away.

Xiang Hui was struck by a Water Thunder. Fortunately, Zhou Qing's cultivation was damaged, and he could not fully bring out the formation's power. Moreover, Xiang Hui's Flying Sword was fire-aspected. Thus, he was not injured, merely crawling to his feet covered in ash and dirt. The other three were not so fortunate. Each was blasted to the ground and suffered light injuries, unable to move for the moment. Xie Xiaohong in particular had been struck by Fire Thunder. His entire body was charred black, giving off the smell of roasted flesh. Seeing Zhou Qing standing there with a smile that was not quite a smile, Xiang Hui was furious beyond measure. From childhood to adulthood, when had he ever suffered such a great loss? He bit through his tongue. Puff! Xiang Hui sprayed a mouthful of essence blood onto his Flying Sword. The red light flared brilliantly, and the fiery red Flying Sword twisted in midair. In an instant, it transformed into more than a dozen sword lights, each of them more than twice as large as the original.

Zhou Qing said, "Good! With your Qi Induction Stage - Mid Phase cultivation, you can actually use the Myriad Swords Technique to split into thirteen sword lights. That is not bad at all!" Hearing Zhou Qing's tone, Xiang Hui, already full of resentment, felt his lungs nearly burst from rage. His face twisted savagely as he shouted, "Then go die!" The thirteen sword lights became thirteen pillars of fire, enclosing Zhou Qing from all sides before crashing down viciously.

Though Zhou Qing spoke with utter ease, he was actually fully on guard. Seeing the fire pillars formed from the Flying Sword crash down, he hurriedly made a hand seal. The enormous Bagua Formation composed of the eight jade plaques suddenly reversed in the sky. An invisible, immense force firmly blocked the fire pillars' assault. Xiang Hui circulated his True Essence with all his strength. The fire pillars pushed forward more than a foot against the pressure, only to be bounced back. The two began competing in True Essence like this.

Xiang Hui had sharp eyes. Seeing a trace of blood suddenly run from the corner of Zhou Qing's mouth, he laughed loudly. "I knew you were injured! You can't hold on now, can you? I'll burn you into ashes!" He spat out another mouthful of essence blood. It crossed the ten-foot distance and sprayed across the fire pillars. Nourished by the essence blood, the fire pillars swelled somewhat larger, pressing to within three feet of Zhou Qing. Rather than being alarmed, Zhou Qing was delighted. He shouted, "Explode!" Suddenly, a voice came from far away: "Stop! Show mercy!" But it was already too late! The Bagua Diagram formed from the eight jade plaques suddenly expanded outward. The jade plaques shattered one after another, and an enormous force erupted, blasting the thirteen fire pillars back.

Zhou Qing had used the fire pillars' impact to detonate the Bagua Formation. Seeing the fire pillars flying back toward him, Xiang Hui was instantly scared out of his wits. His crotch went wet, and he was frightened into pissing himself.

The Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Yin Grand Formation was suddenly sliced open by a streak of light. Golden sword light rushed in and blocked the attack before Xiang Hui. With a fierce twist, it shredded all thirteen fire pillars with a single stroke. Seeing that a formidable figure had arrived, Zhou Qing did not dare linger. He slapped a Swift Travel Talisman onto his leg and fled, no one knew where.

Just as Xiang Hui was waiting to die, this savior arrived. Seeing the golden sword light, he hurriedly cried out, "Senior Brother!" Before long, a young man appeared before him—the very one who had previously appeared in the valley where Zhou Qing had gone into seclusion.