Old Grudges

Li Chaoxue was about to curse him again when her body suddenly stiffened.

This is bad, she thought. A scarlet light had appeared ahead, red as blood, staining the Great Void a dark crimson.

The red light flew straight toward the battlefield behind her. It first passed the burly man and his companions, sweeping them away like a great wave crashing against the shore. By the time it reached her, she had already cast several defenses, their shields joining together. But in the next instant, the shields shattered like paper, and she too was sent flying, tumbling through the air.

When she finally stopped, she spat out several mouthfuls of blood, white as frost.

She dared not complain. All she could do now was grit her teeth against the pain and flee.

At the battlefield, only Yin Zhangluo's head remained, while Liu Zhiyuan had only half his body left.

The red light flew over and swept them both up, scarlet radiance winding around their broken bodies like threads as it tried to leave.

The white light around Mystic Crow grew ever stronger, until at last it took on a hint of gold, like the first light of dawn. Wherever it reached, the already faintly luminous Great Void became as bright as day. The white and red lights clashed, scattering sparks across the sky like a falling meteor shower.

Finding its escape blocked, the red light abruptly contracted, then exploded like a blood-red sun. Its brilliance surged, crimson radiance soaring into the sky and shining against the dawn. The two colors collided again and again in the Great Void, tangling without end.

Within the red light, Liu Zhiyuan glanced sideways at Yin Zhangluo, his heart full of fury:

How dare you? How dare you send a Purple Mansion cultivator to attack someone!

He had merely tripped Su Yao up in secret within the rules. These witch barbarians really were bold enough to cover the heavens. They deserved to die, every last one of them!

He naturally knew about what had happened to the Qinghe Commandery governor five hundred years ago. He had even told Yin Zhangluo about it precisely because he feared these witch barbarians did not understand the rules, yet he had never expected...

And earlier, in order to protect himself against the Law Treasure, his official seal had been destroyed. How was he supposed to account for that?

There had been no war, and he had failed to deal with his target. His superior would not protect him, nor would the Confucian School. He was finished.

Beside him, Yin Zhangluo, reduced to a single head, also wore a grim expression. Faced with Liu Zhiyuan's furious gaze, he could say nothing.

Was he supposed to say he had not sent that person, and that he too had been framed?

By rights, given his current condition, that ought to have been somewhat believable. The trouble was that he had stubbornly talked tough earlier, saying he would send someone to capture that brat from Qixia Temple. He had never expected one of his own people to actually make a move.

Earlier, he had also been shocked that the brat had dared to kill someone even after he intervened, and had only intended to teach the brat a small lesson.

He had not even dared to hurt him.

But now that one of his own people had made a move, none of it could be explained away.

After all, he was the tribal chief.

Though someone had come to his rescue, his Dharma body was so badly damaged that restoring it would take hundreds of years. Yet a restored Dharma body would ultimately be incomplete for pursuing the Dao. To seek the Dao with it would be fruitless and bring about his own destruction.

After all, with an incomplete body, whether he sought the Immortal Dao or fully turned to the Witchcraft Dao, he would be rootless duckweed.

In the mortal world, Su Yao slaughtered every member of the Lu Household on White Sand Mountain's main peak and stripped the mountain of its resources.

Seeing that Mystic Crow had not returned, he waited no longer. He casually laid down several restrictions, intending to return and manage the mountain after recruiting some people, then flew straight toward Golden Ao Mountain.

But as he flew, he sensed that something was wrong. At some point, a figure in witch robes had appeared before him.

Su Yao looked over and saw a middle-aged woman watching him with eyes like ice.

His expression changed slightly. Purple Mansion! She's definitely at the Purple Mansion realm!

He immediately unleashed Golden Light Across the Land, turning into a streak of golden light and retreating the way he had come.

She watched him recede as a streak of gold and chuckled, shaking her head.

"Why are you in such a panic, Dao child? Could it be that you have something on your conscience?"

As her words fell, she flashed forward and was already following close behind Su Yao, like a cat chasing a mouse.

Seeing her pursue him, Su Yao could only speed up. But even using such a secret technique, he still could not match her, so he said in a low voice:

"Greetings, senior. May I ask what guidance you have for me?"

She shook her head.

"How would I dare give you orders? I've come to take your life, of course!"

Su Yao's expression changed slightly.

"May I ask how I offended you, senior?"

She sneered.

"You naturally never offended me, Dao child. But five hundred years ago, I married from Hepu into Langcao and escaped with my life. I haven't forgotten that hatred, though."

"Rest assured, Dao child, I won't let you die in peace. Your temple not only killed my forebears, but burned them to ashes and forced my tribespeople to swallow them."

As she finished speaking, rumbling came from deep beneath the earth. Yellow witch light blazed around the robed woman, hanging around her like the beaded curtains of a ceremonial crown.

Seeing this, Su Yao thought:

The Earth Witch Divine Ability, Emperor Possession. She really is from the Hepu Witch Tribe.

The woman flashed forward, appearing in front of Su Yao.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Dao child. I won't disappoint you."

Seeing Su Yao stop, she burst out laughing.

"Heaven never bars every road! As soon as I came out of seclusion, I heard that Qixia Temple's Dao child was here alone, while the one protecting him in secret was being held up in the Great Void. Heaven truly is helping me!"

But in the next instant, her laughter stopped abruptly. A gray figure had appeared between her and Su Yao.

It was Nuoli!

Gray light flowed around Nuoli as he held a long spear, his voice icy.

"So you're a remnant of the Hepu Witch Tribe."

With that, the image of a vast marsh appeared above the woman. He swept his spear, and streams of Fu Water turned into flood dragons that lunged to tear her apart.

The woman was horrified and tried to flee, but the image of the great marsh had already descended, leaving her unable to move. She looked helplessly at the gray figure.

"G-great True Person?"

Nuoli said mockingly:

"So you do have some discernment."

With that, he closed in and thrust his spear!

The woman tried to dodge, but the image of the great marsh pinned her in place.

The spear pierced straight into her chest, and she cried out in pain.

Nuoli withdrew his spear and swung it, the spearhead whipping back and forth to strike her as though slapping her across the face.

After venting his anger, Nuoli took out a jar and put the woman inside.

He then looked at Su Yao.

"Sorry to have frightened you, Dao child."

As his words fell, he vanished into the Great Void!

Seeing this, Su Yao quickly turned and continued flying toward Golden Ao Mountain.

The Purple Mansion cultivators from the surrounding powers who had come at the commotion watched with mocking amusement. Those who bore grudges against the Langcao Wu Tribe were especially gleeful as they looked into the Great Void at Yin Zhangluo, who had now been beaten down to a single head.

Among the crowd, Meng Shixi, one of Nanzhao's priests, and Duan Mingnan, Nanzhao's commander-in-chief, wore ugly expressions.

The thought of how several of them had surrounded Nuoli and Changlu earlier, and how Liu Zhiyuan had immediately demanded their capture, was truly laughable.

At the time, aside from the mountain god of Cang Mountain, who was at the Purple Mansion Late Stage, the others had all been at the Purple Mansion Middle Stage. Judging by the strength the True Lord's envoy had now displayed, even if they had all attacked together, they would have been no match for the two men.

The two of them knew full well that, even working together, they could only have killed the madwoman Nuoli had captured. They could not have taken her alive-let alone done so with such ease.

Just then, in the Great Void, the light of lesser yang and the scarlet blood light continued to clash and intertwine. The Purple Mansion True Persons' expressions changed drastically, and Duan Mingnan looked at Meng Shixi.

"Has a Law Treasure been used?"

Meng Shixi nodded, and the two quickly flew toward Nanzhao.