The Matter Is Settled

In a corner of the alley.

Flow-Ring Blade's eyes widened in shock, a thought rising in his mind.

Lu Li's expression remained blank. His five fingers spread and dropped, his pale palm taking on a bronzed hue, like a clamp forged from refined iron as it tightly gripped Flow-Ring Blade's entire face.

He had never intended to defend. He carried out the core principle of the Demon Martial Path: trading injury for injury, fighting head-on and crushing through.

Besides, he had not been injured at all. Empowered by Intransigent Qi, his body had no fatal weak points or openings. It was exceptionally well-rounded.

Flow-Ring Blade could not evade this strike. His pupils dilated as five fingers sank into his facial flesh, tearing away half his face and exposing ghastly teeth and bone.

"Aaaah!"

Unbearable pain struck him. Flow-Ring Blade's hands loosened around his twin blades, his mind thrown into chaos as he tried to shield his face.

Before he could react, however, Lu Li's other hand seized his throat and punched through it. Poison Blood Hand activated.

Before this, he had only absorbed the blood qi of a single Qi Solidification martial artist. Now that he used it all at once, the effect was unexpectedly powerful. His fingertips were like blood pumps, frantically drawing the blood qi from his opponent's body.

Flow-Ring Blade's throat let out a hoarse gurgle. His eyes bulged as five fingers pierced his neck, blood vessels swelling beneath his skin one after another. In the blink of an eye, he became a dried corpse.

"Whew."

Lu Li dropped the corpse and assessed himself. He had not expended much blood qi in the battle, perhaps around half a tenth, and absorbing Flow-Ring Blade's corpse had instantly replenished nearly three-tenths.

Even counting the blood qi consumed in his previous cultivation, he still retained roughly eighty percent of it.

After reviewing the battle in his mind, Lu Li crouched down and began looting the corpse. With its blood drained, Flow-Ring Blade's body showed no obvious abnormalities. It merely looked like a sheet of human skin lying on the ground.

"Three taels of silver... not bad."

In the end, Lu Li found three taels of silver in the inner pocket of his clothes. He then completely extracted the durability from the twin blades before dusting off his hands.

Taowu's demonic passive, Intransigent Qi, was directly connected to the Weapon Lord. He had a vague feeling that once he absorbed enough weapon durability, Intransigent Qi would undergo an upgrade and evolution.

If I had to put it in terms of levels, my Intransigent Qi is at the first level and close to perfecting the second...

Lu Li pondered silently when Tong Xinghe's voice came from behind him.

"I never expected Flow-Ring Blade to have been lying in wait in secret. We truly brought trouble upon you, little brother."

Lu Li glanced sideways. The newcomers were Tong Xinghe and Qiao Xiong. The latter held a net in his hand and froze slightly upon seeing Flow-Ring Blade's corpse before putting it away.

Tong Xinghe also saw the corpse on the ground and asked in surprise, "Cicada Shell Escape?"

While the two had been fighting their way into the alley, he had vaguely seen Lu Li gaining the upper hand, though he had nearly been ambushed.

How had only a skin been left after such a short while?

Tong Xinghe stroked his chin and studied the corpse. He had heard that the Myriad Life Sect possessed many strange and ingenious martial arts, especially techniques for deceiving the eye and escaping alive.

Still, he had only heard that the Cicada Shell Escape technique was practiced by certain Miao Sect martial artists of the Southern Wasteland.

He had not expected the Myriad Life Sect to possess such an obscure technique as well.

"Hm?"

Lu Li looked over in surprise but remained silent. It was better to let others fill in the blanks than waste breath explaining.

After all, draining a person's blood was not exactly something the outside world would consider righteous behavior.

Just then, a black figure suddenly darted toward the second floor of the inn.

Noticing the movement, Lu Li followed the sound with his eyes. It was Flow-Ring Blade's other accomplice, Red Ghost Buddha.

After seeing Flow-Ring Blade lose and die, Red Ghost Buddha immediately rushed toward the guest room. He was clearly after Liu Yueling.

Before he could enter the inn, however, Qiao Baichuan appeared in an instant to block the only path. Holding a long saber, he brought it down in a fierce cleave at Red Ghost Buddha!

A powerful gust rose. Red Ghost Buddha's body stalled slightly as he threw out a palm, striking the side of the blade. The force sent Qiao Baichuan staggering several steps back.

But it also slowed Red Ghost Buddha down.

"Cast the net!"

At Tong Xinghe's command, Qiao Xiong flung the prepared net over Red Ghost Buddha.

The net was clearly made of extraordinary material and was incredibly tough. Red Ghost Buddha struck it with a palm, but its gaps caused the palm force to pass straight through.

His expression changed slightly. He then reached out to tear it apart, but the net was like a fishing net, its gaps tiny and its threads extremely fine, yet as tough as steel cables.

As he reached out to grab it, Qiao Xiong yanked hard on the end of the net. In an instant, it bound Red Ghost Buddha tightly.

Just as Red Ghost Buddha tried to resist, Qiao Baichuan stepped forward and kicked him hard, looking thoroughly pleased.

"Behave yourself!"

Lu Li also took three steps in two, using the speed of the First Layer of Meridian Opening. His feet tapped repeatedly against the wall as he vaulted into the second-floor guest room.

He looked back once. The two men from the Myriad Life Sect had clearly set their sights on Liu Yueling, a six-year-old girl who was only half-grown.

Remembering the Myriad Life Sect's vile deeds, Lu Li frowned slightly. Seeing Liu Yueling's brows furrow as though she was about to open her eyes, he hurried over.

"Mmh..."

Liu Yueling's little face was slightly flushed. She showed signs of waking, though her consciousness still seemed somewhat muddled.

Lu Li examined her and found no injuries, which finally put him at ease.

He then looked outside.

Tong Xinghe and the other two were escorting Red Ghost Buddha, trapped in the net, into the alley.

Red Ghost Buddha was wrapped all over in the net's threads. His rough face glared angrily at Tong Xinghe as he gritted his teeth.

"If I'd known, I should have killed you first!"

"Red Ghost Buddha, even if you had killed me first, someone in the martial world would still have upheld justice for what you have done."

Tong Xinghe shook his head. Then his tone sharpened, his eyes turning stern.

"Speak! Where did you take the infants from Gaoliu Town last month?"

At that, Red Ghost Buddha's expression turned sinister. He glanced at the net around him and burst into laughter.

"If you caught me because of those children, then let me go! Once I'm a hundred paces away, I'll tell you where they are!"

"You bald donkey, do you really think we'd believe you?"

Qiao Baichuan sneered, grabbing a stick and swinging it toward the back of Red Ghost Buddha's head.

Before the stick could land, Red Ghost Buddha suddenly rammed into Qiao Baichuan. He raised his head, his tattered monk's robe falling open to reveal his neck. Below it, his body was covered in suppurating sores, red in color.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

The festering sores burst apart like snakes flicking their tongues, spraying poisonous blood everywhere.

Everyone in the Myriad Life Sect was a deformed freak. Red Ghost Buddha's face was intact, but his body had long been covered in sores that had cultivated a poisonous physique.

If one was struck by his poison and lacked an antidote, they would inevitably end up covered in festering sores as well.

Qiao Baichuan stood directly in front of him. At such close range, he had no time to evade, but a force came from behind and pulled him away.

That pull allowed him to narrowly avoid the spray of poisonous blood.

The crimson poison blood splattered against the earthen wall, producing corrosive popping sounds.

If it had landed on someone's body, it would likely have rotted straight through flesh and skin!

Still shaken, Qiao Baichuan looked back and saw that the person who had pulled him away was Lu Li.

Qiao Xiong only then realized what had happened and tightened the net. Its fine threads nearly cut into Red Ghost Buddha's flesh. He then kicked out, stomping Red Ghost Buddha's face into the ground.

Tong Xinghe stepped forward, shot Qiao Baichuan a reproachful glance, and cupped his hands toward Lu Li. "Thank you for coming to his aid, little brother."

Qiao Baichuan also stepped forward and bowed with clasped fists, gratitude filling his heart. "Thank you for saving my life, brother. Should you ever have need of me, just say the word. I will repay you a hundredfold."