A Golden Qilin Is No Creature of the Pond?!

"Worthy of being a direct-descendant genius of the Xie Household—his foundation is absurdly deep."

The blood-robed man who had spoken calmly earlier spoke again, his cold gaze sweeping over Xie Jinlin, trapped within the cage in the Blood Pool. Greed tinged his voice. "He has been eroded day and night by the Blood Pool's baleful chill for nearly ten days. His meridians are shattered, his cultivation scattered, and he has suffered every torment of thorns—yet he still clings to a single breath. His abundant essence and blood continue to nourish the Blood Pool without end, solving our urgent shortage of fuel."

"Hahaha, so what if he is a genius of the Xie Household?"

Another man sneered, malice churning in his eyes. His tone was cruel and unrestrained. "That Xie Jinghan relied on his bizarre strength to kill our branch leader and ruin our grand plan! We cannot do anything to him, so we will drain his elder brother's blood dry! Let this direct-descendant genius of the Xie Household become nourishment for our Blood Pool, making up for our losses and feeding our cultivation!"

"No! Keep him alive for now. There is no need to drain him dry in such haste."

The leading blood-robed man said coldly, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. His thoughts were meticulous. "The new branch leader has yet to arrive. A supreme swordsman like Xie Jinghan is an immense hidden danger and could trace us here at any moment. Xie Jinlin's life is our bargaining chip for survival. With him in our hands, the Xie Household will be like rats afraid to break the vessel, and they will not dare wipe us out completely."

His tone shifted, turning venomous. "As for nourishing the Blood Pool, that Wang Household disciple we captured earlier possesses excellent martial essence and blood—just right for advancing our cultivation. That old bastard Wang Zhongze has always kept himself aloof and watched with cold eyes. He is of no use to us, and keeping him would be superfluous. We can use the blood of the Wang Household to replenish the Blood Pool's losses and quietly await the arrival of the sect's new branch leader!"

The blood-robed men all voiced their agreement, greed and viciousness surging in their eyes.

Xie Jinghan, hidden in the shadows, already had killing intent blazing in his chest.

These Blood Slaughter Sect scum had lost every shred of conscience. They used the essence and blood of living people to cultivate, maimed martial artists of the martial world, and treated human lives like grass. Worse, they had plotted against the entire Xie Household and tortured Xie Jinlin until he was neither dead nor alive, cutting off one of Xie Jinghan's arms. Every one of their crimes was unforgivable!

Suddenly, in the deathly silent stone chamber, one blood-robed man frowned sharply, his heart inexplicably palpitating. "Something is wrong! Have you noticed anything strange? Why is there not the slightest movement outside? It is far too quiet!?"

"Not good!!!"

Hearing this, the leading blood-robed man's face turned deathly pale as he cried out sharply!

But everything was already too late. The blood-robed men had no time to react.

Xie Jinghan's Innate True Qi erupted, and his body became a fleeting afterimage.

Leaping Art!

In an instant, he swept forward several yards and closed in before the blood-robed men.

Whoosh—!

A distance of inches was crossed in a blink!

"Shiiing~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A brief, piercing sword cry exploded through the secret chamber.

Sword-Drawing Technique!

Xie Jinghan drew his sword. The instant the Thunderclap Sword left its sheath, boundless radiance seemed to burst from its blade. It was as though heaven and earth had suddenly darkened, leaving only the gleam upon that blade.

That gleam was like a long sword, arriving in an instant. Its brilliance was so dazzling that the blood-robed men were struck blind and dizzy, seeing only a vast expanse of white before their eyes.

In that instant, the Thunderclap Sword flew from its sheath, streaks of white light shooting skyward!

The Sword-Edge Flowing Light of the Thunderclap Sword shone brilliantly, piercing through the darkness!

The blood-robed men could not tell whether it was light or sword.

One sword-drawing, one sheathing sound after another rang out.

The moment a thought arose, one sword would surely kill!

"Shiiing~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Shiiing~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Shiiing~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Clang—!

Xie Jinghan sheathed his sword, and the light abruptly vanished. The blood mist filling the Blood Pool dispersed as well.

Too fast. Too powerful!

The blood-robed men desperately circulated their inner force to protect themselves, raising every weapon before them, yet they still could not block that sword—that overwhelmingly tyrannical sword.

Draw Sword Technique: Flowing Light!

This was a killing move derived from the Sword-Drawing Technique! It was also the ultimate killing sword Xie Jinghan had newly comprehended after breaking into the Innate Realm!

The blood-robed men who had just been sitting around the Blood Pool, cultivating evil arts and harboring vile schemes, all perished in an instant.

The middle-aged blood-robed leader who had controlled the whole situation, whose thoughts had been the most meticulous, still wore panic on his face when a fine sword mark appeared across his throat.

Vast sword intent instantly rushed into his body, shattering the inner force within his dantian. The malice he had condensed over many years around his body collapsed with a crash. Clutching his throat, he did not even have time to cry out before his burly body crashed heavily beside the Blood Pool. The instant he struck the ground, his life force was completely severed.

The slaughter came to an end. More than ten blood-robed corpses lay sprawled in every direction beside the Blood Pool.

Xie Jinghan's indifferent gaze swept over the corpses strewn across the ground without the slightest ripple.

These evil fiends of the demonic path had committed every evil imaginable. Their deaths were no loss.

Sheathing his sword, he strode toward the iron cage deep within the Blood Pool, its surface covered in thorns. The heavy iron bars were cold and hard, locking the person within tightly inside.

Xie Jinghan flicked his wrist, and the Thunderclap Sword flashed from its sheath. Snow-bright sword light flowed lightly as an incomparably condensed strand of sword intent struck precisely upon the chains of the cage door.

The thick chains forged from refined iron snapped at the sound and crashed down.

He pushed open the cage door and entered. The cage was cold and damp, and a stench of blood mixed with rot rushed at him, oppressive enough to suffocate.

With one sweep of his gaze, he saw that all three people in the cage were barely clinging to life, their bodies covered in grave wounds. Aside from Xie Jinlin, whose breath was faint, whose limbs were broken, and who hovered at death's door, the other two were likewise covered in wounds, their meridians utterly shattered and their cultivation completely ruined.

Xie Jinghan bent down and lightly touched the centers of the three men's brows with his fingertips, slowly transferring Innate True Qi into their bodies.

The pure, gentle Innate aura instantly suppressed the Killing Intent eroding their bodies, stabilized the three men's life forces that were on the verge of extinction, stopped their continuously draining blood and qi, and barely dragged them back from the gates of hell.

After finishing all this, he bent down and securely carried the heavily wounded, unconscious Xie Jinlin onto his back. With both hands, he supported the other two martial artists, who were exhausted and on the brink of death. Steady and unhurried, he ascended the stone steps, soon leaving the dark, damp, blood-soaked underground space and returning to the surface.

Outside, the daylight was just right, the evening breeze crisp and refreshing. The clean, pure scent of mountain grass and trees thoroughly dispelled the cold bloodiness clinging to them.

Xie Jinghan gently settled the three men on a level, clean patch of open ground. After confirming that their breathing had temporarily stabilized and their lives were no longer in immediate danger, he turned and returned to the entrance of the courtyard, entering the underground space once more.

The underground stone chamber contained a sinister Blood Pool, steeped in the essence and blood of countless martial artists and breeding baleful chill and murderous malice. It was the root of the Blood Slaughter Sect's evil and could not be left behind. The corpses of black-clad assassins scattered across the ground, along with the implements of evil arts, would sooner or later be used by the remaining demonic sect scum to stir up disaster again if left intact.

Xie Jinghan raised his hand and gathered qi, a strand of blazing, condensed Innate True Qi converging in his palm. His fingertips moved slightly, and the true qi, carrying the force of a prairie fire, shot precisely into the Blood Pool.

In an instant, flames erupted throughout the entire underground space!