Desperate Breakout, Blood-Red Palm Shadow Chasing Souls

He Cheng echoed, "With a single strike, this man shattered the attacks of Liu Qi and me."

Liu Qi's expression was grave as he said in a deep voice, "Look at that crimson Qi-Blood around him. This man has likely undergone Blood Exchange three times and reached the perfection of the Qi-Blood Realm."

He Cheng said in shock, "Three Blood Exchanges?!"

Liu Qi stared fixedly at the black-robed man and swiftly added, "Every Blood Exchange in the Qi-Blood Realm brings an enormous transformation."

"Not only does one's Qi-Blood become several times more abundant, but the might of Qi-Blood power itself also grows considerably."

Tao Yuan frowned. "Among the three of us, only Brother Liu has undergone Blood Exchange twice. Brother He and I have only done so once. Against this man, I'm afraid..."

"Have you finished discussing who will die first?"

Just as the three were about to continue, the black-robed man's voice suddenly drifted over, laced with icy coldness.

"If we split up, we'll likely be defeated one by one. I'll face him head-on. You two support me from the sides."

Liu Qi only had time to throw out those words.

Because the black-robed man had already vanished from his sight.

The next instant, a sinister crimson blood claw swept across half the bridge and slammed down at the three of them.

Seeing how lightly the black-robed man regarded them, Liu Qi snorted coldly, and the Qi-Blood around his body erupted.

His Qi-Blood rose from his body and formed a dark-red longsword three inches above his head. The blade trembled, letting out a low hum.

Liu Qi raised his right hand as though gripping the sword's hilt, then seized the moment to slash forward.

The longsword, radiating terrifying blade Qi, collided with the crimson blood claw.

The Liu Household was best known for its blade arts. It possessed no fewer than five superior blade techniques, as well as one complete ultimate art.

The black-robed man's crimson blood claw crashed fiercely into Liu Qi's longsword.

With a muffled boom, the stone bridge shook violently, and the iron chains clattered and swayed.

Liu Qi felt a mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force surge through the blade. His arm went numb, and the dark-red longsword nearly flew from his grasp.

He staggered back three steps, his soles plowing two white marks into the stone bridge. Qi-Blood churned in his chest, and a metallic sweetness rose in his throat.

He forcibly swallowed that mouthful of blood.

More than half of the crimson blood claw was scattered by the slash, but its remaining force did not fade. It grazed Liu Qi's shoulder and carved a massive crack into the stone wall behind him.

"Brother Liu!" Tao Yuan cried out.

Liu Qi waved a hand, his eyes locked on the black-robed man in the middle of the bridge. He had used every ounce of strength in that strike, yet his opponent had merely stood where he was and moved a finger, not even shifting his feet.

The black-robed man withdrew his hand and lowered his head to glance at his palm—there was a faint white mark there, which vanished at once.

"Not bad blade work," he said indifferently. "A pity the man is too weak."

Before his words had faded, the black-robed man swayed and vanished again. This time, Liu Qi saw it clearly. It was not that he ran fast—he was truly so fast that he left behind not even an afterimage.

"Left!"

Liu Qi only had time to shout those two words.

Tao Yuan reacted swiftly, twisting aside and rolling away. A crimson claw mark skimmed past his scalp, shearing off several strands of hair.

He Cheng closed in from the right flank, thrusting out both palms. Palm wind wrapped in red Qi-Blood power slammed toward the black-robed man's back.

The black-robed man did not even turn his head. He struck backward with an elbow, and before He Cheng's palm attack could land, a tremendous force blasted him away. He crashed heavily into the stone wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"He Cheng!" Tao Yuan's eyes nearly split with fury.

Liu Qi clenched his teeth and condensed his blade once more.

This time, he brought his palms together. The dark-red longsword swelled by another thirty percent, and a faint layer of golden patterns appeared across its blade, like burning flames.

This was his trump card—the Liu Household's secret inheritance, the Golden Flame Blade.

With one slash, blade light illuminated the entire stone bridge.

At last, the black-robed man gave him a proper look.

The raised right hand was no longer formed into a casual claw. Instead, it clenched into a fist as crimson Qi-Blood gathered over its surface into a blinding red glow, like a miniature sun.

Fist and blade collided once more.

This time, the entire underground palace trembled.

Broken stones rustled down from the ceiling, while a dull echo rose from the abyss beneath the bridge, as though something had been awakened by that blow.

Liu Qi was sent flying backward. The instant he landed, he dropped to one knee, and at last could not hold back the mouthful of blood that sprayed from his mouth.

The dark-red longsword shattered inch by inch, becoming scattered fragments of Qi-Blood that dispersed into the night sky.

The black-robed man remained standing where he was. The crimson Qi-Blood on his fist rippled slightly before returning to normal.

He lowered his head to look at his fist. A hair-thin crack had appeared there and was slowly healing.

"Interesting." He spoke softly, his gaze falling on Liu Qi. "You are a little stronger than those two pieces of trash, but only a little."

Liu Qi pushed himself upright with a hand on his knee. A line of blood hung at the corner of his mouth as he shielded Tao Yuan and He Cheng behind him.

He Cheng leaned against the stone wall, the clothes over his chest soaked through with blood. He had already lost the ability to fight. Tao Yuan knelt halfway on the ground, his right arm hanging limp, clearly broken.

With difficulty, Liu Qi cupped his hands and forced out a faint smile before speaking.

"Senior, the three of us stumbled into this place by mistake and disturbed your cultivation. We will leave at once. If we have offended you in any way, please speak freely."

"As three of Verdant Grain County's three great Lineages, our families still possess a modest amount of wealth."

"Hehe..." The black-robed man gave an unreadable laugh. "Three great Lineages—what an impressive title. Disturbing this old man's cultivation is a most heinous crime."

"This old man hates nothing more than apologies after the fact!"

"Run!" Liu Qi barked. Then, without looking back, he charged forward.

Tao Yuan froze.

"I'll hold him off for a while. Take He Cheng and go."

Liu Qi did not turn around, his voice lowered. "Hurry."

The black-robed man was already walking toward them, his pace neither hurried nor slow, as if strolling through his own backyard.

Tao Yuan gritted his teeth, scooped up He Cheng, turned, and sprinted wildly toward the passageway.

The black-robed man did not even lift his eyelids. With a casual motion, he sent out two claw marks that blasted toward Tao Yuan and He Cheng.

Hearing the disturbance, Tao Yuan looked back and saw that the black-robed man did not regard He Cheng or him as worthy of notice, as though they were stray dogs by the roadside that he could casually dismiss.

"You old bastard, you've gone too far!"

Before his words had faded, Tao Yuan disregarded his injuries and erupted with Qi-Blood. Red Qi-Blood surged from every limb and bone, gathering above his head like wisps of clear smoke.

This was the mark of a Qi-Blood martial artist—Qi-Blood Beacon Smoke.

Then he swung his remaining arm, and Qi-Blood shot forth like a raging storm, colliding with the onrushing blood claws.

Qi-Blood splattered, and the blood claws shattered.

That strike had actually ended in a draw. Tao Yuan violently spat out a mouthful of blood, then turned and fled for his life with He Cheng.

A flicker of surprise crossed the black-robed man's eyes, and his tone turned chilling. "You have some backbone. But after cursing this old man, do you think you can still leave?"

As he spoke, a palm condensed from crimson Qi-Blood suddenly shot forth, bearing down on Tao Yuan as he leaped away with He Cheng.

"Faster, faster." Feeling the Qi-Blood palm rapidly closing in behind him, Tao Yuan mobilized all the Qi-Blood in his body, not daring to pause for even an instant.