Chapter 34

Even as they entered the Cave, Su Jiu and Mo Yan acted as though they had noticed nothing.

Yu Yin slowly turned around, revealing a decidedly unfriendly smile. Then the surroundings inside the Cave changed dramatically.

The Cave, which had seemed somewhat rich in spiritual energy, was suddenly wreathed in demonic qi that filled every corner. The stone platform in the center became a Blood Vat. Bubbles occasionally rose within it, releasing waves of nauseating, bloody stench. Four bound Qi Refining cultivators sat in a corner. Judging by their clothing, they were Outer Gate disciples of the Azure Tide Sect. All four struggled incessantly, but rags stuffed into their mouths left them unable to speak, allowing only faint whimpers to escape.

Another Azure Tide Sect disciple lay on the ground, and Su Jiu could no longer sense any life in him.

The demonic qi in the air slowly condensed into the shape of an old man. To Su Jiu, his appearance was ugly enough to sear her eyes.

As Su Jiu sized up the demonic cultivator, he sized her up in turn.

"You're young, little girl, but you certainly have some nerve."

Su Jiu smiled. It was not as though she had never witnessed more terrifying scenes in her previous life.

She slowly drew the longsword from her back.

She had already deduced that this demonic cultivator's cultivation could not be very high. At the very least, he could not have reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. He was at the great perfection of Qi Refining at most, because if he had truly reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could have slipped into the Outer Gate undetected.

Of course, if a demonic cultivator could reach Foundation Establishment, these Qi Refining disciples of the Outer Gate probably would not be his targets.

Seeing a mere fifth Qi Refining layer cultivator like Su Jiu dare to draw her sword against him, the demonic cultivator narrowed his eyes.

Yu Yin stood to one side, enjoying the show. She was certain Su Jiu was finished.

The demonic cultivator twitched his fingers, and two streams of demonic qi immediately shot toward Su Jiu, while another two attacked Mo Yan.

Holding her sword, Su Jiu spun around and easily dodged the two streams of demonic qi before thrusting her blade into the demonic cultivator's shoulder.

Shock briefly crossed his face. Clearly, he had not expected a little girl at the fifth Qi Refining layer to wound him. His fury surged, and the surrounding demonic qi grew even denser.

Even Yu Yin, hiding off to the side, found it difficult to breathe, let alone the four captives.

The demonic cultivator unleashed some unknown demonic attack. With a shake of his shoulder, he hurled Su Jiu backward, along with the sword embedded in him. The force was so immense that both she and her sword slammed straight into the wall.

The violent impact forced Su Jiu to cough up a mouthful of blood.

Seeing Su Jiu injured, Mo Yan lost focus for a moment. The two streams of demonic qi wound around him, binding him tightly in an instant.

The demonic cultivator, on the other hand, was hardly affected. His wound was even healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Su Jiu wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve. Abandoning her sword, she conjured five Ice Spikes with a wave of her hand. Cunning though the demonic cultivator was, he could not match her speed. Moving swiftly, Su Jiu fired the five Ice Spikes at him one after another. Three missed, but two pierced straight through his body.

The demonic cultivator sneered viciously at Su Jiu. "It's useless! No Qi Refining cultivator can hurt me."

With that, he began using demonic qi to heal his wounds. Yet the demonic qi seemed to have a mind of its own, refusing to gather over the two bloody holes no matter what he did. Though the holes Su Jiu had pierced through him were crimson, the wounds themselves were a dark red, as if they had been frozen.

At last, the demonic cultivator realized that while others might be unable to hurt him, Su Jiu could.

Now he no longer wanted to bind her. He wanted to take her life outright.

But he could not catch Su Jiu. His eyes shifted toward Mo Yan beside her, who was already bound by two streams of demonic qi.

A pair of withered hands swiftly lunged toward Mo Yan. How could Su Jiu let him have his way? Two Ice Spikes instantly pierced clean through his hands. The demonic cultivator's fury reached its peak as he realized that, without his noticing, nearly half his demonic qi had drained away.

He roared at Yu Yin, who was still watching from the sidelines, "Get over here and help!"

Yu Yin sneered. Su Jiu could take her down in barely two moves, and she had no desire to court death. "We only signed an equal contract. I never agreed to-ugh!"

Before she could finish, excruciating pain tore through her abdomen. She looked at the demonic cultivator. "You!!!"

The demonic cultivator could no longer be bothered to keep up his pretense with Yu Yin. As he fended off Su Jiu, he said, "An equal contract? In your dreams."

Hearing this, Su Jiu could not help sighing inwardly. The mark she had seen on Yu Yin's arm earlier had indeed been real. It was a master-servant contract, and Yu Yin's mark identified her as the servant.

Left with no choice, Yu Yin raised her sword against Su Jiu. Almost the instant they clashed, Su Jiu knocked her sword away and struck her unconscious with a single palm blow.

The demonic cultivator was both shocked and furious. They were only one layer apart, yet the difference in their strength was so vast. How had he ended up finding such a useless fool?

Gradually, the demonic cultivator began to run out of stamina. As he fought, he struggled to force a smile onto his face. "Young friend, how about we work together?"

Su Jiu felt she had let him live long enough. Her attacks grew increasingly ruthless.

"Young friend, young friend, let's discuss this. If you spare me, I'll leave the Azure Tide Sect immediately and never set foot in its territory again. How does that sound? Otherwise, if I die, your young friend Yu Yin here will die too."

At that moment, Yun Qiqi finally managed to work the rag out of her mouth.

She said bitterly, "Fellow Daoist, you can't trust anything this demonic cultivator says. The gourd at his waist is his weakness."

The demonic cultivator glared fiercely at Yun Qiqi, forced to make his final choice. His body suddenly shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye, and all his demonic qi poured into the gourd. As though it had come alive, the gourd chose not to clash head-on with Su Jiu, instead fleeing at once.

How could Su Jiu let a demonic cultivator like this escape? With a sweep of her long sleeve, she sent five Ice Spikes plunging into the gourd, every one finding its mark. The gourd shook violently, then soon burst apart with a bang.

There was no liquid inside, only a few lingering wisps of white or black smoke.

One wisp of white smoke slowly drifted into the brow of the Azure Tide Sect disciple lying on the ground. Before long, his hand twitched.

Meanwhile, the four captives had been freed as soon as the demonic cultivator began withdrawing his demonic qi to escape.

Their first act was to help their companion up. They had been grieving when they found he was no longer breathing, but after the gourd burst, life returned to him. Though that spark of life was extremely faint, he was alive.

Overjoyed, all five bowed with clasped hands to Su Jiu and Mo Yan. "Thank you both for your help, Fellow Daoists."

The middle-aged man leading them introduced himself first. "I am Guo Kang. We owe you both a great deal for your help today. May I ask the names of you two Fellow Daoists?"

Su Jiu returned the greeting. "Su Jiu."

"Mo Yan."

Yun Qiqi looked at Su Jiu with sparkling eyes. "My name is Yun Qiqi. But how are you so powerful when you're so young?"

Yun Qiqi had watched Su Jiu cast her spells throughout the battle. "And don't you need to form hand seals to cast spells?"

Su Jiu chuckled. "Once you're sufficiently practiced with hand seals, you can cast spells almost instantaneously."

This time, not only Yun Qiqi but the others also looked slightly stunned.

Yun Qiqi could not help exclaiming softly, "Heavens, how long did you practice to manage that?"

What Su Jiu did not say was that talent played a role as well. Some people might never be able to increase their speed in their entire lives. Others could improve somewhat through hard work, but even that had its limits. Then there was a tiny handful blessed with extraordinary talent.

As it happened, Su Jiu belonged to that last group. There was simply no need to bring it up.

At the same time, a hoarse, furious roar rang out from a demon grotto somewhere far from the Azure Tide Sect. "Junior Brother!!!"