Foundation Establishment Realm, Hundred-Meter Blood Saber
Liu Yi looked at Black Wind Stronghold ahead of him and gently set Little Yellow down in the grass nearby.
"Little Yellow, I'm going up to wipe out those bandits. Be good and wait for me here."
Little Yellow answered with a "woof," his fluffy tail rustling through the grass.
Liu Yi flashed forward and leaped toward Black Wind Stronghold like an arrow loosed from a bow. Before long, he entered the stronghold.
He darted swiftly through the stronghold, and every time he appeared, a bandit fell.
He did not take their lives, though, merely knocking them unconscious one by one.
After all, he still needed them as subjects to test his techniques on.
"Enemy attack!"
A terrified scream rang out through Black Wind Stronghold, and the entire stronghold erupted into chaos.
In an instant, more than two hundred bandits poured out from every corner, weapons in hand. They quickly gathered around him, shouting arrogant threats.
"Where did this greenhorn come from, daring to run wild in Black Wind Stronghold? You'll leave your life here today!"
"None of you fight me for him. This brat's mine!"
Seeing that he had been exposed, Liu Yi stopped hiding.
He had never intended to sneak around anyway. He would simply attack and kill them head-on.
He had been through scenes like this dozens of times and paid it no mind.
"Kill!"
His roar boomed like thunder. Before the bandits could complete their encirclement, he shot forward like a phantom.
His hands flew, filling the air with fist shadows. The immense force of his punches surged like a raging tide, tearing through the air with piercing sonic booms.
"Ah! Ah!"
Shrill screams rang out one after another. Bandits caught by the wind of his fists flew backward like kites with their strings cut, blood spraying wildly from their mouths as they crashed into their comrades behind them.
Some crumpled to the ground; others died on the spot.
Cries of alarm and wails mingled with the clang of weapons striking the ground, echoing above Black Wind Stronghold.
As Liu Yi kept up his assault, the bandits' numbers dwindled rapidly.
When only seventy or so remained, fear finally appeared on their faces, and they screamed in trembling voices:
"Quick!"
"Go get the stronghold chief! Otherwise, Black Wind Stronghold is finished today!"
Liu Yi was startled. He looked around and, sure enough, saw no sign of Black Wind Stronghold's chief.
He had long heard that the chief had reached the Innate Realm, which was why the authorities' last campaign against the stronghold had failed.
Could he be such a coward that he's already fled?
If he let the bandit chief escape, it would surely cause great trouble later.
He had no time to think further. He decided to deal with the bandits first, then find a way to track down their chief.
With that thought, he struck even more ruthlessly. The mighty force of his fists bore down on the bandits, toppling mountains and overturning seas.
Wherever the wind from his fists swept, the stronghold's buildings collapsed.
Before long, all the bandits had been knocked to the ground, where they lay groaning incessantly.
Liu Yi swept his keen gaze around him, but still saw no trace of Black Wind Stronghold's chief.
Just as he was about to search deeper inside, a roar like mountains crumbling and earth splitting suddenly came from the heart of Black Wind Stronghold, shaking the entire place.
A terrifying pressure, carrying the reek of blood, surged toward him like a tide.
A streak of scarlet blood light shot straight at his face with the force of a thunderbolt!
A chilling, overbearing voice rang out through Black Wind Stronghold. "An ant that doesn't know whether to live or die dares to run wild in Black Wind Stronghold? I've just mastered my divine technique, so I'll sacrifice you to inaugurate it!"
Before the words had faded, the blood light was already right in front of him.
"Damn! That presence has actually reached the Foundation Establishment Realm! How could a little place like Black Wind Stronghold have a Foundation Establishment Realm expert?"
"I was careless! I didn't check the almanac before leaving home today!"
Liu Yi's expression turned grave in an instant, and he immediately punched toward the oncoming blood light.
Boom!
The force of his punch collided with the blood light, producing a deafening blast.
A force capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas surged through Liu Yi's fist. He staggered back three steps before barely regaining his footing.
Fortunately, he had always focused on cultivating his body and had even updated his Body Tempering technique, Indestructible Golden Body, to its tenth version. Otherwise, that strike would have taken half his life.
After that blow, Liu Yi understood even more clearly that to become an expert, he needed not only powerful attacks but also a sufficiently tough body.
Otherwise, when he encountered a true expert, his body would become a weakness, and he could lose his life and see his Dao extinguished at any moment.
His expression grave, he looked at the middle-aged man before him, who wore blood-red robes and had bloodshot eyes.
"So you're Xie Shi, the chief of Black Wind Stronghold. I didn't expect you to be so strong."
"At least you have some discernment."
Xie Shi gave a vicious grin, his eyes filled with killing intent. "You have some strength if you can withstand one of my blows, but unfortunately, this is as far as you go!"
Before he had finished speaking, he flashed forward, turning into a streak of blood light as he lunged at Liu Yi again.
"Hmph, it's not yet certain whose hands the deer will fall into!"
Liu Yi snorted, killing intent surging around him as he charged to meet Xie Shi's bloody figure.
It was already too late to run. Only by fighting for his life did he have a sliver of hope for survival.
Fortunately, his opponent had only just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and his Qi was unstable.
Although Liu Yi was only at the Qi Refinement Stage, he had already reached its thirteenth layer. His body was also strong, so he had the strength to put up a fight.
In an instant, the red and white figures became locked in a fierce struggle inside the stronghold, their clashing fists and palms producing deafening booms.
Every head-on exchange whipped up a raging surge of air, and thunderous crashes echoed through the mountains.
The two moved as fast as lightning, exchanging hundreds of blows in the blink of an eye. Wherever they passed, waves of air churned and the air warped and twisted.
Black Wind Stronghold's buildings crashed down in the wake of their exchange, bricks and tiles flying.
The bandits who had been wailing on the ground moments earlier were caught in that terrifying force and killed instantly.
Boom!
Both men flew backward at the same time and slammed heavily into the ground.
Liu Yi struggled to his feet and spat out a mouthful of blood.
His clothes were in tatters, and he had taken a solid palm strike to the chest. His Qi and Blood were churning inside him, causing him extreme discomfort.
"Damn! When I use spiritual power to drive martial techniques, their power is greatly reduced."
"Otherwise, how could I be at such a disadvantage? Even if he is in the Foundation Establishment Realm, I'd have beaten him to death by now!"
"And his cultivation method is too sinister. Not only does it make his body tough, it can also affect my Qi and Blood."
At that thought, he looked at Xie Shi, who had also gotten back to his feet.
The man's blood-red robes were torn beyond recognition, and a clear fist imprint remained on his chest.
But as his muscles rippled, the wound quickly healed.
That recovery ability was truly terrifying!
"I didn't expect you to be so strong in battle."
Xie Shi stared at Liu Yi with a sinister gaze and said coldly, "Why don't we stop here? If we keep fighting, neither of us will come out ahead."
"Fine!"
Liu Yi agreed aloud, but in the next instant, he shot toward Xie Shi like lightning.
The wind of his fist tore through the air with a sharp whistle.
At almost the same moment, Xie Shi thrust out a blood-red palm and struck viciously at Liu Yi.
"Despicable!"
"Shameless!"
Their furious curses rang out at the same time, and they became locked in combat once more.
"You brought this on yourself! You'll die here today!"
Xie Shi darted backward, slapped his chest and spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood. He chanted, "With my Essence Blood as the guide, let ten thousand streams of blood return to unity. Blood saber, appear!"
As the incantation rang out, the bandits' corpses strewn across Black Wind Stronghold suddenly began to tremble violently. Blood gushed from their wounds, turning into streaks of blood light.
Blood also emerged from the bodies of the bandits who were still alive, turning into streaks of blood light.
As if drawn by an invisible force, the streaks of blood light converged on Xie Shi.
In the blink of an eye, an enormous hundred-meter-long blood saber took shape out of thin air. Thick bloody mist coiled around it, and an eerie blood light flowed along its edge.
"Kill!" Xie Shi roared and pointed.
With a piercing edge, the blood saber cleaved down at Liu Yi's head.