The Last Bloodshed

A desolate little hill stood somewhere on the outskirts of the Forbidden Grounds. Its surroundings were utterly silent, with no living creatures stirring.

Suddenly, with a boom, a huge rock at the foot of the hill crashed to the ground. An ordinary-looking young man in black then emerged calmly from a cave.

"Time to leave this place!" the young man muttered. After carefully sensing his surroundings, he hurried off in a particular direction.

This was none other than Xiao Yu. Once he realized the appointed time had arrived, he stopped studying the secret art and prepared to leave the Forbidden Grounds.

The outskirts of the Forbidden Grounds were now caught in a final frenzy. Disciples who had yet to gather enough spirit medicine, along with ruthless individuals who simply wanted to rob others, were fighting all over the place.

In these final hours, they wanted to hunt down anyone they believed they could handle, seizing enough spirit medicine, spirit stones, and other valuables.

At a fork in a mountain path, a tall, thin cultivator walked toward the passage out of the Forbidden Grounds, his face beaming with delight. Judging by his expression, he must have reaped a considerable harvest inside.

Just then, two Daoists in gray robes came flying over together! One was an elderly Daoist of around sixty, while the other looked to be in his forties.

The elderly Daoist smiled at his middle-aged companion. "Junior Brother Wu, it seems our luck is quite good! We've already found a lone cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain. I'm very interested in their spirit beasts and spirit insects!"

Hearing this, the middle-aged Daoist narrowed his eyes. "Senior Brother Chen, I have some interest in them myself!"

The tall, thin cultivator's expression changed dramatically at their sudden appearance. He hastily pressed one hand to his waist and eyed them warily:

"Fellow Daoists of the Qingxu Sect, what is the meaning of this? Do you intend to kill me for my treasures? I, Huang Bo, am not someone just anyone can afford to provoke!"

Both Daoists burst out laughing at his words!

After a moment, their laughter stopped, and the middle-aged Daoist said, "Quite the big mouth on you, beanpole! I'll put an end to your life and cultivation right now!"

Before he finished speaking, the middle-aged Daoist raised his hand and fired a streak of yellow light, which flashed straight toward the tall, thin cultivator!

The tall, thin cultivator paled in alarm and hurriedly pushed off the ground with his toes, leaping aside.

He then slapped his waist, sending a hook-shaped magical artifact shooting out. As he rapidly formed hand seals, it hurtled toward his opponent!

Next, he slapped another small gray pouch at his waist, and a loud buzzing instantly erupted!

Dozens of thumb-sized black mosquitoes swarmed out!

At the sight, the tall, thin cultivator said coldly, "Let's see how you like my Bloodsucking Mosquitoes!"

As he spoke, he formed a spell seal and pointed at the two men. The dozens of black mosquitoes lunged at them!

The elderly Daoist showed no alarm when the tall, thin cultivator released dozens of spirit insects. Instead, his lips curled slightly, and he snorted. "Paltry insect tricks! I've been waiting right here for you people from Spirit Beast Mountain."

As soon as he spoke, the elderly Daoist raised one hand, and a small white net several inches across appeared out of thin air above his palm. With a flick of his hand, it swelled in the wind to nearly ten feet across, then flashed toward the swarm!

The elderly Daoist had specially commissioned this net-shaped magical artifact. He knew he would inevitably encounter cultivators from Spirit Beast Mountain in the Forbidden Grounds, and many of them raised spirit insects. This artifact happened to be effective against many such insects.

Sure enough, the enormous net instantly scooped up all the black mosquitoes. No matter how the swarm struggled, none could escape!

Horror spread across the tall, thin cultivator's face. He moved to leap away and flee!

At that moment, the elderly Daoist raised his hand again, sending a long black rope shooting out.

In a flash, it reached the tall, thin cultivator, twisted around him, and bound him tight. Just then, a flying sword appeared above him and slashed down at his neck!

With a crack, the tall, thin cultivator's head tumbled to the ground!

The two Daoists from the Qingxu Sect formed spell seals and retrieved their respective magical artifacts. They exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing together!

At the foot of a mountain, two men were driving their magical artifacts in fierce attacks against one another.

Just then, a broad-faced young man dressed in black and wielding an enormous sword addressed the yellow-robed man opposite him. "Fellow Daoist of Yellow Maple Valley, we've been fighting for an hour without a winner. I, Wang, have no desire to keep this stalemate going!"

The Sharp-Faced Yellow Maple Valley Man was tempted by these words and snorted. "Hmph, do you think I, Liu, want this? You're the one who wouldn't let up. We'd be better off spending this time finding other fat sheep to fleece. How about we withdraw our artifacts together and call a truce?"

The young man in black looked pleased. "Agreed. I'll withdraw my artifact right away!"

The two retrieved their magical artifacts simultaneously. After giving each other another wary look, they leaped away to seek their next targets!

Xiao Yu raced warily through a dense forest. This final day in the Forbidden Grounds was every bit as chaotic as expected. He had traveled only a dozen li or so and already encountered two ambushes.

Both ambushes had targeted Xiao Yu. In one, however, his attacker had merely been an ordinary thirteenth-layer Qi Refining cultivator from Heavenly Gate Fort. Seeing that Xiao Yu's cultivation was lower than his own, the man had tried to rob him. Unfortunately for him, Xiao Yu had opened with a fistful of Enhanced Fire Serpent Talismans, then killed him in a few exchanges with two fine-quality, top-grade magical artifacts.

The other encounter had been with an elite female disciple of the Covering Moon Sect. As lovely as a flower beneath the moon, she had run into Xiao Yu by chance and initially intended to dispose of him while she was at it.

But when she saw Xiao Yu produce two top-grade magical artifacts, one offensive and one defensive, along with a Talisman Treasure, the tension between them immediately dissolved. They then went their separate ways without incident.

The exit was not much farther away, and Xiao Yu grew even more cautious. On a hundred-li journey, ninety li was only halfway; he had no intention of letting his boat capsize at the very last moment.

Just as he reached a crossroads, a flying sword suddenly slashed toward him.

Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes. His body flickered, and he vanished from where he stood, evading the surprise attack.

A soft exclamation of surprise came from behind a large tree, and a man in blue brocade robes stepped out!

The man was at the peak of the thirteenth layer. A bloodthirsty gleam flickered from time to time in his slightly reddened eyes as he continually sized Xiao Yu up with a hostile gaze.

After a moment, the brocade-robed man spoke. "Boy, if you know what's good for you, hand over your Storage Bag obediently. Otherwise, don't blame me, Li, for showing no mercy!"

"If I give you my Storage Bag, will you let me go?" Xiao Yu asked calmly as he took out the Spirit Turtle Shield and the Radiant Mother-and-Son Swords.

The brocade-robed man's face twisted viciously at the sight. "Boy, it seems you don't know what's good for you." Raising his hand, he sent two long azure swords shooting out, slashing toward Xiao Yu at tremendous speed.

He then took out several talismans and flicked his hand, sending them flying toward Xiao Yu!

Xiao Yu formed a spell seal and poured magical power into the Spirit Turtle Shield. It immediately expanded to four feet across and blocked the space before him!

Bang, bang! Boom, boom! A succession of noises rang out as the Spirit Turtle Shield shook under the barrage. These talismans were surprisingly powerful, draining Xiao Yu's magical power at a tremendous rate-some thirty percent faster than in his previous battles.

It seemed the brocade-robed man was not all talk; his strength was considerable too. On reflection, that made sense. Anyone who dared to rob people alone at a time like this without something to rely on would have to be brainless or a fool.

This brocade-robed man was certainly not brainless. Even if he was not an elite disciple, he was probably close to that level.

With that thought, Xiao Yu decided against a prolonged fight. While doing his utmost to control the Spirit Turtle Shield and block the attacks, he took out a brocade box.

With a sweep of his hand, he opened the box, revealing a talisman bearing the image of a small red sword lying quietly inside. This was the Scarlet Cloud Sword Talisman Treasure Xiao Yu had purchased earlier.

He picked up the Talisman Treasure with his right hand and frantically poured his magical power into it.

The spiritual light on the Talisman Treasure quickly brightened. Before long, a small scarlet sword about a foot long floated before Xiao Yu's chest.

Xiao Yu continued pouring magical power into it. After consuming a third of his reserves, the small sword transformed into an enormous blade over ten feet long, with wisps of cloud curling around it and a formidable pressure radiating from it.

Earlier, the various flashes produced by the brocade-robed man's attacks striking the Spirit Turtle Shield had obscured his view, so he had not noticed Xiao Yu activating the Talisman Treasure. Now, as the Scarlet Cloud Sword Talisman Treasure's terrifying pressure swept out, his relaxed expression instantly turned to utter horror!

"Th-this is a Talisman Treasure!" the brocade-robed man cried out involuntarily. Then he saw a scarlet streak shoot out from above Xiao Yu's head. In a flash, it appeared just over ten feet in front of him and slashed down.

The two shields and several spirit talismans the brocade-robed man hastily deployed were instantly cleaved apart by the scarlet streak.

Then, beneath the brocade-robed man's despairing gaze, the enormous sword formed by the Talisman Treasure split his head in two!

Xiao Yu sneered at the brocade-robed man's corpse, raised one hand, and snatched his Storage Bag into his grasp. He then swallowed a Spirit-Restoring Pill to replenish his magical power and raced off into the distance!