Chapter 11

Boom!

From deep within the cave came a sound like exploding air currents.

The entire cave suddenly shook, and the air rang with a piercing buzz.

"Master broke through?"

Zhang Dashan, who had just entered the cave, heard the commotion and immediately rushed toward the innermost chamber.

Luo Qingchen's gaze sharpened as he looked over as well.

Zhang Dashan stopped at the entrance to the inner chamber. Just as he was about to respectfully inquire within, Tian Feng's voice came from inside. "I have broken through. I still need to stabilize my cultivation for one night. We leave at dawn tomorrow."

"Congratulations, Master!"

Zhang Dashan hurriedly offered his congratulations. Not daring to disturb him, he immediately lowered his head and withdrew.

Only after reaching the outer cave did he raise his head again. His gaze returned to Luo Qingchen, who sat in the corner. After a pause, he walked over and sat against the wall opposite him, but said nothing.

In the darkness, Luo Qingchen met his gaze without speaking.

They remained silent for a long time.

Only when the night outside had grown deeper did Zhang Dashan suddenly ask, "Junior Brother Luo, aren't you sleeping?"

Luo Qingchen said, "I'm not sleepy. Senior Brother, sleep first."

A faint sneer seemed to appear at the corner of Zhang Dashan's mouth. "I'm not sleepy either."

Luo Qingchen said nothing more. He glanced at the night outside the cave, then suddenly rose from the corner.

A cold gleam flashed through Zhang Dashan's eyes, and he rose as well.

"Senior Brother, are you going out to relieve yourself too?"

As though he had not seen Zhang Dashan's movements or the killing intent in his eyes, Luo Qingchen calmly walked toward the cave exit after speaking.

Zhang Dashan did not answer. With a cold expression, he followed behind him.

Luo Qingchen left the cave and headed directly down the slope.

Zhang Dashan immediately shouted, "Junior Brother Luo, where are you going?"

"To relieve myself."

Luo Qingchen answered, went down the slope, and continued toward the woods ahead.

"Stop!"

Zhang Dashan suddenly shouted harshly.

Not only did Luo Qingchen fail to stop, he abruptly quickened his pace.

Killing intent burst from Zhang Dashan's eyes as he immediately gave chase.

Luo Qingchen hurried into the woods, then suddenly began to run.

However, Zhang Dashan was even faster!

Bang!

As Luo Qingchen ran, he seemed to trip over something and fell face-first onto the ground.

Zhang Dashan caught up and slowed his steps. He looked at him mockingly, like a cat watching a mouse with broken legs. "Run. Keep running."

Luo Qingchen turned around on the ground and scooted backward, but a large tree blocked him from behind. He could only lean against it and stare at Zhang Dashan while panting.

Zhang Dashan stopped, his face full of ridicule. "As expected, Junior Brother Luo, you've been playing dumb all along. But what use is that? In the end, won't you still become a cold corpse?"

Luo Qingchen was silent for a moment before saying, "Senior Brother, we are fellow disciples. Why not go down the mountain together and help Master find a corpse? Why must we kill each other?"

Zhang Dashan sneered. "Too late. The moment you agreed to become Master's Blood Medicine, it was already too late. Disciples of the Demon Controlling Sect cannot casually kill innocents. They can only kill their own Blood Medicine."

"Senior Brother, do you believe that?"

"What does it matter whether I believe it or not? In Master's eyes, you were already a corpse long ago. Otherwise, why would he have kept using your blood?"

Luo Qingchen said nothing more.

Because he knew the other man spoke the truth.

Perhaps from the very beginning, when Tian Feng had taken him away from the small town, he had already decided Luo Qingchen's fate in his heart.

First his blood, then his corpse.

"But Senior Brother, I don't want to die yet. I want to live."

He looked at the young man before him.

Zhang Dashan gave a mocking laugh and looked at him coldly. "Other than you, there's only me here. If you don't die, then I will. I swallowed humiliation and bore heavy burdens, cultivating bitterly day and night. I never dared slack off in the slightest. I finally became a true cultivator. Do you think I'm willing to die?"

Luo Qingchen fell silent.

Yes. Who would be willing to die?

No one would.

"Junior Brother Luo, forgive me."

Zhang Dashan sighed. No longer hesitating, he clenched his fists and walked toward him. As he walked, he said, "Don't worry. One punch will end it. It won't hurt. When people die, it's like falling asleep. Once their eyes close..."

Whoosh!

Before he could finish, the ground beneath his feet suddenly gave way. He stepped into empty air and instantly plunged downward!

There was actually a pit beneath his feet!

A thin layer of turf concealed the pit, while sharpened branches filled its bottom!

Zhang Dashan reacted quickly. The instant he fell, both hands swiftly grabbed the edge of the pit, while both legs curled upward. His entire body quickly tucked into a ball.

With his current strength, he needed only half a second to push off with his hands and feet and leap out of the pit.

But between life and death, even half a second was long.

The instant he fell into the pit, Luo Qingchen had already leaped up from the ground. His fist, filled with power like a heavy hammer, smashed toward Zhang Dashan's head.

Zhang Dashan had panicked in the instant he fell, but after grabbing the pit's edge with both hands, he calmed down.

He knew his own strength, and he knew the other man's strength.

So when he saw Luo Qingchen actually dare to attack him with a fist, he nearly laughed.

With his current Bone Strengthening Realm strength, Luo Qingchen was simply seeking his own death!

Whoosh!

He freed one hand, clenched it into a fist, and viciously met the attack.

His fist could now shatter hard rocks, let alone the other man's mere flesh and blood fist.

This punch would surely leave the other man's skin split and flesh torn, blood streaming everywhere, perhaps even with broken bones.

Bang!

A muffled impact rang out.

The two fists crashed heavily together.

Yet the result Zhang Dashan expected did not occur. Instead, the collision of two immense forces jolted his body violently. The other hand gripping the pit's edge slipped before he could react, and he immediately fell downward.

This shock was no small matter!

At this point, there was nowhere to dodge and no other way out.

At the critical moment, he could only raise his right leg with all his strength in a flash of lightning and flint, while both hands desperately clawed at the wall of the pit.

Pfft—

His left foot landed on the ground and was pierced through by a sharpened branch.

Excruciating pain struck abruptly!

He could not help crying out miserably, but he had no time to process the pain. His right foot found a sliver of space among the sharp branches, and his toes stepped onto it. Then he bent his knees, gritted his teeth, roared furiously, and pushed off with both legs, jumping out of the pit.

The instant his left foot came free of that branch, agony struck him again.

This time, he endured it without screaming. He landed on the ground outside the pit, his face twisting from pain and shock as he looked at the youth opposite him with bloodshot eyes.

Everything had happened too fast!

Luo Qingchen's arm had gone numb from their earlier punch, forcing him back several steps. By the time he charged forward again, Zhang Dashan had already roared and leaped out of the pit.

The other man's desire to survive was no weaker than his own.

Zhang Dashan glared at him with bloodshot eyes. His twisted face kept twitching, and his expression shifted constantly, as though he could not believe that punch just now.

In Zhang Dashan's eyes, Luo Qingchen had merely been a pitiful wretch, bled continuously until his body was weak enough to fall even while walking. How could he suddenly...

The prey had become the hunter!

The two stared at each other. For a moment, neither moved, and neither spoke.

But both knew clearly that tonight, only one person could leave alive!

"Die!"

Zhang Dashan was finally the first to lose patience. Enduring the pain in his foot, he roared and charged at him.

His left foot was injured and still bleeding. The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for him.

Luo Qingchen clenched his fists and met him head-on.

At a time like this, whoever lost courage and tried to flee, whoever exposed their back, would be in the greatest danger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two exchanged several savage blows, each feeling the terrifying strength of the other.

When Luo Qingchen threw another punch to meet the fist Zhang Dashan aimed at his chest, a piercing pain suddenly shot through the back of his hand!

Bang!

Their fists collided.

A dagger concealed between Zhang Dashan's fingers drove deeply into Luo Qingchen's fist, piercing straight through his entire palm!

The pain made Luo Qingchen's movements stall for an instant.

Seizing the chance, Zhang Dashan violently tackled him to the ground and swung his other fist at his head.

Enduring the pain, Luo Qingchen raised his other hand. With a smack, he blocked the punch, then curled his five fingers tightly around it.

Zhang Dashan jerked his arm several times. When he found he could not break free, he gave a savage grin. The hand holding the dagger suddenly exerted force, dragging Luo Qingchen's pierced palm along as it stabbed toward his throat!

Luo Qingchen's eyes reddened as well. Bearing the intense pain, he gritted his teeth, closed his fingers, and clutched the dagger in his hand with all his strength, refusing to let it descend another inch!

Blood streamed down the blade and dripped from its sharp tip, faster and faster.

The clothes around Luo Qingchen's neck were quickly soaked crimson with blood.

As Zhang Dashan exerted force, the wound in his left foot continued bleeding without stop.

One hand from each of them gripped the dagger, while the other gripped a fist. Both gritted their teeth, their eyes red, their arms trembling as they endured agonizing pain and desperately strained against each other!

This was a contest between life and death!

Yet Zhang Dashan was straddling Luo Qingchen. His body was stronger, he held the dagger's hilt, and its tip was already about to touch Luo Qingchen's neck. He held every advantage.

The moment Luo Qingchen's strength faltered, the sharp dagger would cut open his skin and pierce through his throat!

"Junior Brother Luo, accept your fate."

As Zhang Dashan pressed the dagger downward, he still had the leisure to speak.

He could clearly see the blood in the youth beneath him flowing rapidly downward along the dagger that had pierced through his palm.

It was even faster than when Master had drained his blood.

Master had already drained so much blood from him, and now he had lost even more. How much longer could he hold on?

A cruel grin appeared on Zhang Dashan's face. Not only did he keep pressing the dagger down, he cruelly twisted it, making the blood flow even faster from Luo Qingchen's palm!

Luo Qingchen's body trembled in pain, yet he still held fast to the dagger that was about to cut his throat and take his life.

He could not die!

He absolutely could not die!

Time passed second by second.

Blood continued to pour rapidly from Luo Qingchen's palm.

And Zhang Dashan's foot continued to bleed because of the force he was exerting.

"What's going on?"

Very quickly, Zhang Dashan sensed that something was wrong.

Because by now, he was beginning to feel weak all over, and darkness swam before his eyes.

He had lost too much blood.

But the youth beneath him had clearly lost far more blood than he had.

Then why did the other man not seem weak or powerless from excessive blood loss?

Instead, he seemed even stronger?

He looked into the other man's eyes and suddenly discovered that, at some point, they had become brighter and fiercer than before.

A calm ferocity!

Fear, like a venomous snake, suddenly began twisting through his heart and crawling upward.

He began to grow afraid.

Once courage retreated, his weakened body could no longer hold on.

His hands began to tremble, his vision started to blur, and in the next instant, all the strength in his body suddenly vanished.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Luo Qingchen suddenly flipped over with force and pinned him beneath himself. Enduring the searing pain, he pulled his hand free from the dagger. Then he gripped Zhang Dashan's right hand with both hands, turned the dagger around, and viciously stabbed it toward his heart!

The blow was heavy and powerful!

Horrified, Zhang Dashan hurriedly raised his other hand to block it, but the sharp dagger pierced directly through his palm. Then, carrying his palm with it, the dagger continued downward. With a pfft, it plunged into his heart!

Zhang Dashan's eyes widened at once. His mouth hung open as he stared at Luo Qingchen in terror and despair.

Blood quickly gushed from his mouth.

His whole body convulsed, and death rattles sounded from his throat...

Within those pupils that gradually lost focus were fear, unwillingness, and an unshakable confusion and bewilderment.

Until death, he could not understand why the other man had suddenly changed from a weak Blood Medicine waiting to die into a cultivator like himself... Nor could he understand why, after losing so much blood, the other man still seemed completely unharmed...

Squelch!

Luo Qingchen forcefully twisted the dagger, shredding his heart and utterly extinguishing his life.