Escaping Death with a Broken Body, Murderous Intent Lurking Beneath

He Cheng, on Tao Yuan's back, smiled bitterly as he felt the dreadful state of his body and the crimson palm print close at hand.

He still had one breath left—one last thing he could draw upon, even if it meant staking his very origin.

"Brother Tao, just run."

Before his words had faded, the remnants of his qi and blood surged madly within him, all gathering at his fingertips in an instant.

This was He Cheng's trump card—Return-to-Origin Finger!

It condensed all qi and blood into one point, a technique of utter resolve. Once used, it would drain all of one's qi and blood, leaving life and death to the heavens.

A dark-red finger seal shot from He Cheng's hand and collided with the black-robed man's palm seal.

Gales erupted throughout the underground palace. Riding that blast, the two escaped into the passage without mishap.

The black-robed man was startled once more. This was the second time he had been surprised.

Three old relics in their forties or fifties had erupted one after another in front of him. Did they truly take him for some villain?

Liu Qi drew a deep breath, and dark-red light once again glimmered over both hands. His blade was gone, and little qi and blood remained, but his hands were still intact.

"Come," he said in a low voice.

The black-robed man stepped forward, crimson qi and blood transforming into a skyful of claw shadows that pressed down like the heavens collapsing. Rather than retreat, Liu Qi charged forward, meeting them with both palms as his qi and blood erupted to its limit.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths.

Liu Qi was like a broken drum, torn, battered, and hammered by countless claw shadows.

His qi-blood membrane shattered, re-formed, then shattered again. New wounds continuously appeared across his body, bloody marks crisscrossing until he became a man drenched in blood.

Yet he was retreating, inching toward the passage. Every time he blocked a strike, he took half a step back; after blocking another, he retreated another half-step.

The gap between three Blood Exchanges was simply too great. He did not even have a chance to counterattack. He could only use his flesh and blood to endure, dedicating every usable trace of qi and blood to protecting his vital points.

The black-robed man seemed to notice his intention. His brows twitched slightly, and his claw attacks abruptly quickened.

Liu Qi took a heavy blow to the chest and was sent flying. He rolled twice through the air before crashing heavily onto the bridge before the passage entrance.

He struggled to rise. His arms gave way twice, and only on the third attempt did he barely prop up his upper body.

The black-robed man stood not far away, looking down at him from above as though watching a dying beast.

"Can you escape?"

His voice drifted down from overhead, neither hurried nor slow.

Liu Qi did not answer. From the corner of his eye, he saw deep within the passage—Tao Yuan was carrying He Cheng as he staggered outward, already more than ten zhang away.

Enough.

He bared his teeth, his mouth full of bloody froth. "Whether we can escape isn't for you to decide."

The black-robed man seemed to have lost patience. Raising a hand, he formed a claw and aimed it at Liu Qi's back. If this claw landed, Liu Qi would undoubtedly die.

Just then, a thunderous boom rang through the entire underground palace.

Heavenly Thunder Seed!!!

Countless stones crashed down from the vault above. The entire passage shook violently, while spiderweb-like cracks split across the stone walls.

A falling boulder interrupted the black-robed man's raised hand. He twisted aside to evade it, and when he looked back, Liu Qi had already rolled into the passage, staggering after Tao Yuan's receding figure.

More and more rubble fell, and the passage began to collapse. The black-robed man stood at its entrance, watching the three vanish amid the billowing dust. In the end, he did not pursue them inside.

"Heh heh heh..." The black-robed man exuded a chilling aura, releasing a strange, rasping laugh as though his scheme had succeeded.

He withdrew his hand and lowered his gaze to the hair-thin crack on his fist—it had already healed completely, leaving not even a trace.

"The Liu Household... the Golden Flame Blade." He softly repeated the two phrases, as though savoring their flavor.

From afar came an exceedingly faint rattle of chains, as though something deep below had turned over in its sleep.

The black-robed man turned and walked toward the palace suspended above the abyss. Only when he reached the palace gate did he slowly halt.

His footsteps echoed through the empty underground space for a long while before darkness swallowed them.

"Move!"

Though covered in blood, Liu Qi was not slow. After catching up to Tao Yuan and He Cheng, he immediately shouted.

Tao Yuan sprinted ahead with the unconscious He Cheng on his back, while Liu Qi kept pace beside him.

After the Heavenly Thunder Seed's bombardment, the passage rocked as mountains and earth split apart, shards of stone blasted into the air.

The two exchanged a glance, and each saw the bitterness in the other's eyes.

"To encounter an old monster who has undergone three Blood Exchanges on a single expedition." Liu Qi gave a bitter laugh.

"Such a powerful expert can probably only be dealt with by the ancestors of our respective families," Tao Yuan said.

"Hurry. We don't know whether that old monster is chasing after us."

As soon as he spoke, Liu Qi quickened his pace and hurried outward.

An hour later, the three finally staggered out of Azure Radiance Mountain and returned to their camp.

The commotion they caused quickly drew Qin Anming and the others' attention.

"What happened?" Gu Zhao asked uneasily upon seeing Liu Qi covered in blood, savage wounds all over his body.

Tao Yuan set He Cheng down, then finally could not hold it in any longer. A mouthful of rebounding blood sprayed from his lips, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

His limbs went limp. Had Hong Tao not swiftly caught him, he would likely have collapsed to the ground.

Tao Yuan uttered a word of thanks before sitting cross-legged and circulating the qi and blood within him to regulate his breathing.

Liu Qi took healing pills from his robes, first feeding one to He Cheng before taking one himself.

Only after quite some time, when his breathing had steadied, did he slowly open his eyes.

Hong Tao, Wei Zheng, Gu Zhao, and Qin Anming had not left. Instead, they remained beside the three, standing guard.

"Thank you, everyone. Our three families will remember this favor," Liu Qi said, rising and cupping his hands.

"Think nothing of it."

"You're too polite."

Qin Anming waved his hand, clearly unconcerned with such formalities. His tone was grave.

"What happened to you all?"

At those words, everyone turned their gaze toward Liu Qi, their eyes filled with curiosity and inquiry.

Liu Qi glanced at Tao Yuan, who was still regulating his breath, and sighed inwardly. He knew the underground palace could no longer remain hidden.

Telling these people now could also be considered repayment for their protection.

With that thought, Liu Qi said solemnly, "The three of us obtained a map. It happened to point deep into Azure Radiance Mountain, so we decided to travel together and investigate it, while also gathering intelligence on Blackwind Stronghold."

"A map?" Gu Zhao's tone carried just the right degree of puzzlement. "What kind of map could stir such interest in you all?"

Hong Tao and Wei Zheng exchanged an imperceptible glance, then naturally looked away.

After a moment, Wei Zheng stepped forward. His gaze casually swept over Liu Qi's wounds as he asked, "Who could have injured the three of you so severely?"

After all, Liu Qi was a veteran qi-blood martial artist who had undergone two Blood Exchanges.

Along with Tao Yuan and He Cheng, who had each undergone one Blood Exchange, they had still been beaten into such a state.

Thick claw marks covered Liu Qi's body, his flesh torn open so deeply that bone could be seen.

Had it not been for the formidable physique forged through two Blood Exchanges, he would likely have fallen long ago.

As for Tao Yuan, he had few external wounds, but his pale and weakened complexion showed that his qi and blood had long since been depleted. There was no need to think further—this was the consequence of exhausting his origin.

And He Cheng's waist and abdomen were still slowly seeping blood, even though Qin Anming had already applied hemostatic powder to him earlier.

Wei Zheng could see clearly that his abdomen had been pierced by a terrifying strike.

Even with the physique of a qi-blood martial artist, the bleeding still had not stopped. This person had likely expended a great deal of qi-blood origin as well.