Beating a Ninth-Level Qi Refining Cultivator to Tears

Li Sanshun turned his horse's head and charged into the West Mountain coal transport path.

The official road wound around the mountain, taking at least half an hour to reach the foundry. The coal path cut through two abandoned mines, saving half the distance.

Zhao Rui led his men in pursuit behind him.

"Which furnace site does Li Jiu live in?"

"Blackwater Ditch, the abandoned No. 7 furnace."

"That place was sealed ten years ago!"

"The Old Rascal owes a mountain of debt; if he didn't live in a derelict furnace, his creditors would have stripped him bare long ago."

Horse hooves thundered over gravel as a section of the mine path ahead suddenly collapsed. Several broken timbers lay across the road, and Detonation Talismans were buried within the stone crevices.

Zhao Rui reined in his mount.

"Someone sealed the road in advance!"

Li Sanshun vaulted off his horse and scrambled through a drainage ditch beside the stone wall.

"You take your men to clear the talismans; I'm going ahead."

"The people on the other side are Sealing Registry assassins. You're going to throw your life away alone?"

"By the time you finish clearing those, the Old Rascal will already be in a coffin!"

The drainage ditch was only wide enough for one person to crawl through while hunched over. Sewage washed over his insteps, and coal dust fell from overhead from time to time.

Li Sanshun ran for over a hundred yards before a fork appeared ahead.

The left path led to the No. 7 furnace, and fresh footprints remained on the ground.

Two people.

The soles of their shoes were stained with the anti-slip sand standard to the Law Enforcement Peak, and their stride spacing was steady; their cultivation levels would not be low.

He leaned down and inhaled.

[Detected two traces of residual cultivator energy.]

[Realm: Ninth-level Qi Refining.]

[Residual energy is tainted with Soul-Severing Powder.]

[Target distance: 320 yards.]

Two ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators.

Xu Zhenchuan was truly willing to pay the price.

Li Sanshun covered his nose and mouth, stepping along the edge of the mine path as he charged out of the fork. The No. 7 furnace appeared in the mountain hollow; most of the courtyard wall had collapsed, and the furnace mouth was still belching fire.

Two Foundry Puppets lay outside the courtyard gate, their chests pierced through.

The sound of iron hitting the ground echoed from inside the house.

"Li Jiu, hand over the Seal of Destiny, and I'll leave you a whole corpse."

"When I was casting swords for you lot, you were still picking coal cinders in the boiler room. If you want to take something from my hands, tell Xu Zhenchuan to come himself!"

A short arrow pierced the window paper and nailed into the room.

Li Jiu kicked over an iron table and ducked behind the furnace platform. The arrow grazed his shoulder, tearing away a chunk of flesh.

The two assassins closed in, one after the other.

The man in front wielded a narrow blade, his cuffs embroidered with half a black mountain seal. The other guarded the back door, six Spirit-Locking Nails held in his hand.

Both men were masked, yet they made no effort to hide the body-tempering techniques of the Law Enforcement Peak.

They had no intention of leaving anyone alive.

The blade-wielding assassin raised his foot and kicked the furnace platform aside.

Li Jiu grabbed a red-hot iron billet and smashed it toward the man's chest. The narrow blade sliced horizontally, snapping the billet in two.

The tip of the blade lunged straight for Li Jiu's throat.

A stone brick flew in from outside the door.

The assassin withdrew his blade to shatter the brick, then turned to look at Li Sanshun.

"Imperial Blood Fifteen."

"You recognize me?"

Li Sanshun stepped into the courtyard, picking up half an iron rod as he moved.

"That makes things easier. None of you are leaving tonight."

The assassin at the back door raised his hand and flung the Spirit-Locking Nails.

The six iron nails split into two rows, sealing Li Sanshun's path of retreat. As the nails hit the ground, black chains erupted from the Array Patterns, coiling around his legs.

The blade-wielding assassin pressed the attack.

The strength of a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator poured into the narrow blade, which slid against the iron rod. The rod snapped in two instantly, and the blade cut across Li Sanshun's shoulder.

Fresh blood splattered onto the ground.

The two worked with practiced coordination.

One locked the target, the other killed. Anyone below the ninth level of Qi Refining wouldn't last three moves.

"Number Fifteen is only at the sixth level of Qi Refining; the intelligence was correct."

The blade-wielding assassin stepped on the chains, gripping his sword with both hands.

"Decapitate him, take the left foot."

Li Sanshun glanced at the wound on his shoulder.

"You want to trade my foot for a bounty?"

He yanked the chains, his legs sinking into the earth.

Earth-elemental energy poured into the courtyard flagstones. The Spirit-Locking Nails sank along with them, and the Array Patterns snapped in two places.

The assassin at the back replenished the trap with two more nails, sealing the breach.

The narrow blade was already descending upon Li Sanshun.

Li Jiu grabbed an iron hammer and smashed the wooden latch of the quenching trough.

Boiling water surged into the furnace pit.

The iron slag that had accumulated at the bottom of the furnace for years reacted to the heat, and a massive cloud of steam erupted from the fissures in the ground, shrouding half the courtyard in an instant.

The two assassins retreated several steps.

Li Sanshun inhaled a deep breath of the steam.

The heat drilled into his lungs and viscera, stinging even his throat.

[Detected Black Iron Quenching Spirit Vapor.]

[Life energy recovering rapidly.]

[Immortal energy replenishing.]

[Current status: Full.]

The bleeding from his shoulder wound stopped.

The earth-elemental energy he had exhausted was also restored.

Li Sanshun took another breath and stomped his foot down.

Crack!

The flagstones in the courtyard flipped up in unison.

All six Spirit-Locking Nails were caught in the stone crevices. The blade-wielding assassin had just charged into the steam when a stone wall rose from beneath his feet, slamming into the back of his blade.

The edge of the sword deflected.

Li Sanshun grabbed his wrist and pinned it against the furnace platform.

The assassin drove his knee into Li Sanshun's abdomen, and his companion behind him threw a Spirit-Binding Rope, preparing to snare Li Sanshun's neck.

Li Sanshun ducked beneath the rope, his right foot sinking into the mud.

Earth-elemental energy surged out along the ground.

The assassin guarding the back door felt the ground vanish beneath him, his entire leg sinking into the mire. Just as he tried to pull free, two furnace bricks closed in, pinning his waist.

Li Sanshun swung the blade-wielding assassin and smashed him into the furnace bricks.

Bang!

The two collided.

The blade-wielding assassin spat out a mouthful of blood, and before he even hit the ground, he flicked his wrist to deliver a strike. The narrow blade stabbed toward Li Sanshun's ribs, the tip already touching his clothes.

Li Sanshun did not retreat.

He clamped onto the blade, smashing a fist into the man's chest.

The protective spiritual energy held for half a breath.

A second punch followed.

The protective spiritual energy shattered.

As the third punch landed, the assassin's chest caved in, and he flew into the quenching trough.

The other man tore himself free from the furnace bricks and lunged at Li Jiu with a Spirit-Locking Nail.

He knew the mission had failed and only wanted to silence the witness before he died.

Li Jiu was injured and couldn't dodge in time.

Li Sanshun stomped his right foot from five yards away.

A stone platform arched up from the ground, knocking the assassin's landing point off-course. The Spirit-Locking Nail grazed Li Jiu's ear and embedded itself in the furnace pillar.

The assassin tried to strike with his palm, but Li Sanshun had already arrived.

He grabbed the back of the man's neck and shoved him into the wet coal ash beside the quenching trough.

The assassin struggled, his jaw working to bite down on his molars.

Li Sanshun pried his chin open and punched, knocking out four teeth.

"Fang Shao tried this trick on me just recently."

"I don't fall for the same trap twice."

The assassin tried to form a seal, but Li Sanshun snapped two of his fingers and ripped off his belt to bind him.

The other assassin in the quenching trough crawled out halfway, his chest already collapsed. He reached toward the Message Talisman at his waist.

Li Sanshun kicked the narrow blade upward.

The blade pierced through the man's palm, pinning him back to the edge of the trough.

Footsteps echoed from outside the courtyard.

Zhao Rui led the main peak disciples in, seeing first the six Spirit-Locking Nails on the ground, then the one dead and one wounded assassin.

"Two ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators?"

"One is alive, though I pulled his teeth. Take him back and interrogate him slowly."

Zhao Rui inspected the black mountain seal on the assassin's cuff.

"Dark Patrol Guard of the Law Enforcement Peak. This unit was disbanded twenty years ago; the roster has been kept by Xu Zhenchuan all this time."

Li Sanshun ignored him and walked quickly behind the furnace platform.

Li Jiu sat down against the wall, a piece of a short arrow still embedded in his shoulder. He pulled open his collar and shoved a small, personal iron box into Li Sanshun's hands.

"Take it. That's what those bastards are looking for."

The iron box had no lock; inside was only a scorched wooden seal.

The base of the wooden seal was carved with three red petals, identical to the birthmark on Li Sanshun's left foot.

Li Sanshun crouched down to pull the arrow out for him.

"What is this?"

"The master mold for the Seal of Destiny."

"Fifteen infants, one for each?"

Li Jiu pressed down on his hand, pointing to the rubbing paper in Li Sanshun's pocket.

"Who told you there were fifteen people?"

"There were fifteen vials of infant blood in the old Imperial treasury."

Li Jiu leaned against the furnace platform and caught his breath.

"The infant blood is real, and the children are real, but Xu Zhenchuan has been investigating for twenty-one years, and he was wrong from the very beginning."

Li Sanshun stared at him.

"Old Rascal, speak clearly."

Li Jiu gripped the scorched wooden seal.

"Sanshun, among the fifteen children, you were the only one who was ever meant to be sent out of the Imperial City."