Heavenly Devil Sect

Night was as dark as ink, and the bamboo forest outside the inn rustled in the wind. Qian Shisan sat in a corner of the lobby, gnawing on a chicken leg and listlessly counting the cobwebs on the rafters.

"One, two... this lousy inn is so unhygienic..."

Suddenly, the inn door was thrown open, and Song Qingfeng stumbled in, his Taoist robe covered in mud and his face bearing several bloody scratches.

"Senior Sister Leng! Senior Brother Bai!" he shouted, gasping for breath. "I've discovered traces of the Heavenly Devil Sect! They... they crippled Senior Brother Zhao!"

Leng Rushuang, who was meditating to regulate her breathing, suddenly opened her eyes, a flash of cold light in them: "What did you say? What happened to Senior Brother Zhao?"

Song Qingfeng fell to his knees with a thud, his voice choked with sobs: "I followed the clues and found them in a dilapidated temple five miles away... Senior Brother Zhao's tendons in his hands and feet were severed, and his martial arts... his martial arts are completely ruined!"

"Bang!"

Leng Rushuang smashed the wooden table beside her with a palm strike, her eyes filled with murderous intent: "Heavenly Devil Sect!"

Bai Lusong was relatively calm and asked with a frown: "Junior Brother Song, were you able to see how many of them there were?"

"About seven or eight, all of them skilled." Song Qingfeng wiped the sweat from his forehead. "They took Senior Brother Zhao to the north, saying they were going to... going to use him as a sacrifice..."

"Bastards!" The Wudang disciples were furious and drew their swords one after another.

Leng Rushuang made a decisive decision: "Senior Brother Bai, take two people to stay and guard the inn, and take care of the injured junior brother. The rest of you, come with me to save him!"

Qian Shisan narrowed her eyes, quietly sizing up Song Qingfeng. This Wudang disciple, who had been arrogant just now, was now full of grief and indignation, but his eyes were flickering, and there was blood on his clothes, but no wounds...

"Something's not right..." Qian Shisan's alarm bells were ringing.

As soon as the Wudang disciples hurried away, Qian Shisan immediately ran upstairs and slammed open Li Chen Zhou's door.

"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"

Li Chen Zhou was studying Frost Heaven Six Annihilations, without even looking up: "What's the commotion?"

Qian Shisan said anxiously: "There's something wrong with that Song Qingfeng! I just saw his eyes darting around, and the blood on his clothes is fake! The Wudang disciples are probably going to be ambushed!"

Li Chen Zhou finally put down the book, his brow furrowed slightly: "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" Qian Shisan was so anxious that she stamped her feet. "And the news he brought back is too coincidental, it just so happens that Senior Brother Zhao, one of the Wudang Seven, had an accident... this is clearly to lure them out!"

Li Chen Zhou pondered for a moment, then suddenly his ears twitched: "Too late, they've already started fighting."

The sound of weapons clashing and screams faintly came from afar. Qian Shisan's face changed drastically: "It's in the northeast direction!"

"Let's go!"

Li Chen Zhou grabbed the Blood Demon Blade, his figure darting out of the window like a ghost. Qian Shisan quickly followed, only to see the Earthly Fiends Four already guarding the courtyard.

"My lord, go ahead, we'll be right behind you!"

Three miles away in the burial mounds, the moonlight was bleak.

Leng Rushuang's long sword was stained with blood, and three Wudang disciples had already fallen beside her. Bai Lusong had taken an arrow to the chest and was panting as he leaned against a tombstone.

"Song Qingfeng! You traitor!" Leng Rushuang shouted sharply.

Song Qingfeng stood aside with a grim smile: "Senior Sister Leng, a wise man submits to circumstances. I was poisoned with Seven Insects Seven Flowers Paste, and the Heavenly Devil Sect promised to give me the antidote and teach me the Heavenly Devil Art..."

"Shameless!" Leng Rushuang rebuked, but staggered due to her injuries.

Song Qingfeng grinned and raised his long sword: "It's too late to know now! None of you will live today!"

"Kill!"

More than a dozen men in black attacked at the same time, and the flashes of blades and swords instantly enveloped the remaining three Wudang disciples. Leng Rushuang fought desperately, but was caught off guard by a cold light coming from behind—

"Pfft!"

Song Qingfeng's sword pierced her from behind, coming out through her chest!

"You..." Leng Rushuang spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering as she turned around, only to see Song Qingfeng's face full of twisted pleasure.

"Wudang's Winter Plum Sword? Nothing more than this!" Song Qingfeng laughed wildly and pulled out his long sword, about to deliver another blow, when suddenly—

"Boom!"

A bloody blade light descended from the sky, directly cutting three men in black in half! In the rain of blood, Li Chen Zhou descended like a demon god.

"Soul Absorption Art!"

His right hand formed a claw, and five streams of black energy shot out like vipers, instantly entangling five men in black. Before the five men could even scream, they visibly withered away, turning into five dried corpses in the blink of an eye!

System notification: Internal energy increased by 15 years.

Li Chen Zhou frowned: "Apart from the leader, the others are too weak."

Song Qingfeng was so frightened that his soul flew away, and he turned to run.

"Want to leave?"

Li Chen Zhou grabbed with his left hand, and an invisible suction force pulled Song Qingfeng back into the air. Song Qingfeng struggled desperately, but could only watch helplessly as his internal energy flowed away like a burst dam...

"No! Spare me! I'm willing to be your slave—"

Before he could finish speaking, he had already turned into a withered corpse.

System reminder: Internal energy increased by 5 years. Current internal energy value: 212 years. Current lifespan: 43 years.

Li Chen Zhou sheathed his power and stood, surveying his surroundings. Apart from the heavily injured Wudang disciples, the Heavenly Devil Sect members had been completely wiped out.

Qian Shisan arrived, panting for breath, and upon seeing the ground littered with dried-up corpses, she couldn't help but click her tongue, "My lord, you're really too..."

"Careful!"

Li Chen Zhou suddenly pushed Qian Shisan aside, while simultaneously blocking in front of himself with the Blood Demon Blade.

"Clang!"

A beam of sword light, as white as a rainbow, struck the blade fiercely, sending sparks flying! The attacker's sword momentum was like a rainbow, and before one move was finished, the second arrived, employing none other than Wudang's ultimate skill, "Heaven Reliant Dragon Slaying Skill"!

"Fiend! Return the lives of my Wudang disciples!"

Wielding the sword was an exquisitely beautiful woman, about eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in snow-white robes, her picturesque features filled with murderous intent. Her swordsmanship was incredibly refined, each move aimed directly at vital points, forcing Li Chen Zhou to retreat three steps!

Qian Shisan exclaimed, "It's Zhang Zhiruo of Wudang! Madman Zhang's direct disciple's granddaughter!"

Zhang Zhiruo's sword momentum didn't stop as she coldly shouted, "Devil! You absorb people's inner force and harm my Wudang disciples; today, I will surely take your life!"

A trace of surprise flashed in Li Chen Zhou's eyes, "Good swordsmanship." He stopped retreating, and the Blood Demon Blade suddenly erupted with dazzling blood-colored light, meeting her attack with the "Falling Cold Star" from the "Frost Heaven Six Annihilations".

"Boom!"

Blade and sword clashed, and the air surged. Zhang Zhiruo was forced back several steps, a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, but she stubbornly stood her ground, sword in hand.

"Junior Sister... stop..." Leng Rushuang called out weakly, "It's Senior Li... who saved us..."

Only then did Zhang Zhiruo notice the corpses of the black-clothed men all over the ground, as well as Song Qingfeng's dried-up corpse. Her expression changed, but she still refused to sheath her sword, "Then why did he absorb Senior Brother Song's inner force?"

Li Chen Zhou said calmly, "Just a traitor."

Qian Shisan quickly ran over to explain, "This young lady, you've misunderstood! It was Song Qingfeng who colluded with the Heavenly Devil Sect to set up an ambush, almost killing your senior sister. My lord came to save people!"

Zhang Zhiruo was dubious, turning her head to look at Leng Rushuang. Seeing her senior sister nod with difficulty, she slowly sheathed her sword, but the wariness in her eyes still hadn't dissipated.

"Cough cough..." Leng Rushuang spat out another mouthful of blood, "Senior Li... thank you... for saving us..."