Although martial artists who cultivated the assassin's path were extreme, the power this extreme martial path could unleash was extraordinarily formidable.
Just like Lin Xueyi—Su Xin found even his methods rather troublesome to deal with.
Yet Li Huai's martial path was far more extreme than Lin Xueyi's. When he slashed out with this sword, Blood Fiend Qi and the power of death had fused into one. Though the Witch Miao elder was already advanced in years, at an age where he ought to have grown indifferent to life and death, an involuntary palpitation still rose from the depths of his heart.
The sword qi was already upon him. The Witch Miao clansmen had not even had time to react when the beast-bone cane in the old man's hand moved, and dozens of golden scorpions emerged from it to block the attack before him.
A clang rang out as immense power erupted in an instant. Yet those scorpions could actually devour true qi; whether it was Blood Fiend Qi or sword qi, it was all swallowed clean by the golden scorpions.
Moreover, no one knew what species these scorpions were. Their shells were incomparably tough. Even when Feixue Sword struck them, it could only leave a pale mark.
Su Xin asked quietly, "What are these things?"
He was asking Sun Buhai. Of everyone present, only Sun Buhai had studied such matters.
Sun Buhai frowned. "They seem to be the Spirit-Devouring Scorpions from ancient legends, a type of strange insect capable of devouring any kind of power.
"But these things should have vanished thousands of years ago. I never expected them to still be found in the mountains of Western Hunan.
"Still, Lord Su, rest assured. The Witch Miao clan's methods of controlling poisonous insects are merely a minor path. They cannot