A Shocking Turn of Events

"You wretched bitch!" Gu Laoliu's ugly face was filled with horror. A short dagger as long as a child's arm had pierced straight through the left side of his chest.

Second Sister Song showed no sign of serious injury now. Without the slightest hesitation, she deftly drew the hairpin Law Artifact in her hand across Gu Laoliu's throat.

His head remained attached to his body by only a little flesh. A column of blood sprayed from the bowl-sized wound, adding still more color to Second Sister Song's red dress before she could dodge.

Gu Laoliu was, after all, only a middle Qi Refining Stage cultivator. How could he survive such an injury? The man had been notorious all his life, only to die such a miserable death.

So Liu Lao'er was only pretending to be injured just now! Kang Dabao was terrified. By now, how could he not realize he had been set up? His hands did not stop, however, and he swung his hammer backhanded, gravely injuring Third Liu.

But once Gu Laoliu died, his evil ghosts escaped their restraints, and most of them scattered. Fourth Liu freed himself, tucked Third Liu under his arm, and fled deeper into the dense forest.

"Kill!" Kang Dabao turned ruthless. Instead of chasing Third Liu and Fourth Liu, who had only one life left between them, he recalled the Mountain-Splitting Hammer and gripped it in his hand. Raising a fierce wind, he charged at Second Sister Song and brought it crashing down!

Second Sister Song had not expected Kang Dabao to dispense with even a single extra word and come straight at her ready to fight to the death, much less show any inclination to treat a beauty tenderly.

Seeing him look like a mad demon, how could Second Sister Song dare meet him head-on? She shifted her lotus steps, hastily recalled both the Venomous Bee Stinger and the hairpin Law Artifact, and stopped controlling them. Then she took out a small mirror Law Artifact and devoted herself to protecting her body.

The small mirror Law Artifact was of rather ordinary quality. Kang Dabao forced Second Sister Song back step by step, but she did not panic. She knew they could secure victory as soon as Second Liu returned, so she sought no merit in her confrontation with Kang Dabao.

"Kang, if you surrender now, we can still spare your life. Otherwise, after we wash Bai Household Stockade in blood, we brothers won't mind paying your Chongming Sect a visit!"

Pressed by Bai Bian's increasingly fierce sword attacks, the Eldest of the Liu Household was growing restless. He shouted the threat at Kang Dabao.

"What's worth visiting in my Chongming Sect? It's so poor that even if you went, I doubt you'd earn enough for the journey!"

Kang Dabao cursed his luck inwardly, but put even more strength into his blows. The small mirror Law Artifact floating before Second Sister Song teetered under his onslaught, and numerous cracks had appeared across its surface.

"Brother Bao, don't you feel even the slightest affection for old times!?" Seeing that she could not hold out, Second Sister Song thought that although she had known him for more than ten years, she had never seen him fight.

She had only known his temper to be as soft as dough; she had not known his methods were so fierce. Now, with her life hanging by a thread, she could only let tears fall like rain on pear blossoms, put on a sorrowful look, and plead for mercy in a soft voice.

"If a venomous woman like you had remembered even a shred of our friendship from our youth, you wouldn't have dragged me into this!" Kang Dabao could finally contain his anger no longer and shouted at her fiercely.

Now he hated himself for being a fool. Even after living two lives, he had still been played for a fool by the venomous woman before him, and he might well lose everything, including his life, in this wild forest!

Bai Bian of Bai Household Stockade, Niu Gui'er of Old Crow Stronghold, Gu Laoliu of Five Birds Mountain, and he himself, the sect master of the Chongming Sect—which of them was not a wily old hand of the martial world? Yet she had tricked them all into coming here.

Thinking back on it now, Daoist Wu of Pine Forest Temple had most likely noticed something was wrong along the way and died at her hands as well.

What a vicious heart that woman had, and what crafty methods! She had even made him take the blame for her.

At that thought, Kang Dabao's anger burned all the hotter. With a great shout, he brought his hammer down in hatred. From the start of their fight until now, Second Sister Song's small mirror Law Artifact had lasted only half the time it took to smoke a pipe before the Mountain-Splitting Hammer smashed it to powder.

"Dalang, save me!" With the only defensive Law Artifact she possessed destroyed, Second Sister Song immediately lost her composure in panic.

Many cultivators had died at her hands, but ambushing lust-blinded men she had gathered beneath her skirts was nothing like fighting a man such as Kang Dabao face-to-face when he was staking his life.

The Eldest of the Liu Household had just dodged a deadly sword strike from Bai Bian, only to lose three more fingers. In such circumstances, he could barely save himself, so how could he dare rescue her?

Just as the furious Kang Dabao was about to smash her charming head to pulp with his hammer, and Second Sister Song was nearly cut down like a fading flower, Second Liu returned laughing, carrying Niu Gui'er's dripping head.

Despite the long, grueling battle, the madness on the lunatic's face had not diminished in the slightest.

He raised a hand and activated a Golden Armor Talisman to protect Second Sister Song for a moment. Using that brief interval, he swiftly rode the wind to her side and wrapped an arm around her slender waist.

After flying back to a distance and coming to a stop, he planted several kisses on Second Sister Song's little face with his big mouth. His stubbled chin scraped her tender skin, leaving broad patches of crimson.

"So fragrant, so fragrant! It's been so long, and Second Sister still smells just as sweet. Your dear brother missed you to death.

"I'm the one who saved you this time, so tonight I get the first taste of the soup. You, Second Sister, only have eyes for that cold-faced husband of yours, Third Brother. What's so good about him? He gets the first taste every single meal, and you never get tired of it. You should know I'm clearly sturdier than he is."

Liu Lao'er held Second Sister Song tight with one arm, still clutching Niu Gui'er's dripping head in the other hand, and laughed without end.

Liu Lao'er's lewd words made Kang Dabao frown. He had no interest in finding out how many men Second Sister Song was sleeping with.

Third Liu and Fourth Liu were injured, but not dead. What had originally been a five-against-four situation had become two against five. Their chances of winning were dismal, and finding a way to get away was the urgent matter.

He scattered several spirit talismans, which turned into fireballs and golden arrows that flew at Liu Lao'er.

Naturally, an Evil Cultivator like Liu Lao'er would not take these low-grade talismans seriously.

He took out a flying wheel Law Artifact and scattered the fireballs and golden arrows. Without losing momentum, it headed straight for Kang Dabao's head, only for Kang Dabao to smash it back with his hammer.

"You fool, you really don't know what's good for you. You were just bullying my Second Sister. Hurry up and stick your neck out for me to chop!"

With that, Liu Lao'er casually tossed aside Second Sister Song, whose face had turned red and white with shame. He caught the flying wheel as it came back and pounced on Kang Dabao, intent on fighting him at close quarters.

"Collapse." Kang Dabao paid no heed to Liu Lao'er's mad words. His fingers lightly formed a spirit seal.

A golden light enveloped the Mountain-Splitting Hammer, and its blow made Liu Lao'er stagger in midair and fall.

Kang Dabao's body also jerked to a halt, his face deathly pale. This Collapse Instruction of the Artifact Control Method Formula could normally only be used at Late Qi Refinement.

After immersing himself in it for years, he had worked out a few tricks and could use it, but his realm was still too low. After that one strike, only two-tenths of his spiritual power remained.

Fortunately, Liu Lao'er's injuries had not all been an act, or Kang Dabao's strike might not have worked.

The Chongming Sect was, after all, a sect that had once had a Foundation Establishment patriarch, and some combat methods had been passed down.

Kang Dabao was at a disadvantage because his realm was simply too low and his talent for combat was also quite ordinary. If he were a great cultivator of the Foundation Establishment Realm, how many exchanges could this bunch of wild fox Zen practitioners last against him?

"Die!" Kang Dabao roared and came at him with his hammer. Second Liu was too badly injured; his footwork faltered, and he could not dodge in time. He could only take the blow head-on.

The blow sent him flying several yards, breaking who knew how many bones and caving in part of his chest. Blood gushed from his mouth like a spring, but he paid it no heed.

No one knew what he muttered as he lay on the ground. His expression turned vicious, his hair and beard stood on end, and red light flared in his triangular eyes. Great clouds of blood mist actually rose from his skin!

For a moment, Kang Dabao was cowed by his presence and did not dare approach. He could only send the Mountain-Splitting Hammer flying at him from a distance again, but Second Liu staggered to his feet and knocked it back with one hand.

"Second Brother, damn it, you're fooling around again!" A trace of distress appeared in the eyes of the Eldest of the Liu Household, who was struggling to hold out against Bai Bian's sword.

"Fellow Daoist Kang, be careful! Second Liu has cultivated the Blood-Burning Great Method for many years! You mustn't underestimate him!"

Bai Bian's belated warning drifted into Kang Dabao's ears. With the situation suddenly changed, the old cultivator thought that, never mind killing his enemy with his own hands, even getting away unharmed would now be difficult.

Not a trace of yesterday's arrogance remained on his face. He could only treat Kang Dabao, whom he had previously looked down on, as a lifeline.

"Damn it, what kind of partner is this? He didn't even reveal something like that!" Kang Dabao's face turned cold, and he could not help spitting out a curse.

Though the Blood-Burning Great Method was a Secret Method found on every street corner, its power was considerable.

Few people cultivated it for two reasons. First, it was difficult to master; one could spend twenty or thirty years without grasping the basics. Second, the price of using it was too high: a single use could consume nearly ten years of the user's natural lifespan!

Though Kang Dabao wished he could abandon the old thief Bai Bian and run at once, his hands moved even faster.

His fat face scrunched into a frown, he first smashed Second Sister Song's feeble Venomous Bee Stinger with a casual swing of his hammer, paying no further attention to her life.

"Obey!" Kang Dabao gritted his teeth and swept a hand over his Storage Bag. With a wave, he flung out seven pitch-black objects, each an inch long. They swiftly drove into several major acupoints on Second Liu's body before he could dodge.

Second Liu let out a scream that sounded nothing like a human voice, yet still charged furiously at Kang Dabao.

There was now one fewer treasure left by his master. These were Midnight-Noon Nails that had been soaked in second-tier black dog blood for over a hundred years, and were probably worth as much as a first-tier superior-grade Law Artifact.

But Sect Leader Kang Da had no time to mourn their loss. Without the seven Midnight-Noon Nails restricting part of the flow of spiritual power through Second Liu's body, he would probably be twice as strong as he was in his prime after using the Secret Method.

In that case, how could Kang Dabao, whose cultivation was clearly a level lower and who was utterly exhausted, possibly match him?

Combat geniuses who could defeat enemies at higher realms certainly existed, but Sect Leader Kang Da did not seem to be one of them.

Seeing the fierce attack coming at him, Kang Dabao hurriedly held the Mountain-Splitting Hammer crosswise before him to block. Under the empowerment of the Secret Method, Second Liu had grown ever more vicious and was almost unstoppable.

He was no longer even controlling the flying wheel Law Artifact in his hand. His bowl-sized fist slammed into the Mountain-Splitting Hammer, making Kang Dabao grunt and nearly knocking the life-saving Law Artifact from his grasp.

Second Liu then swung the flying wheel in his hand at Kang Dabao's neck. Kang Dabao had not yet recovered from the previous blow, so how could he dodge?

But at that critical instant, something suddenly darted from the left breast of Kang Dabao's short jacket to his neck. It was a palm-sized white-shelled tortoise.

The flying wheel struck the shell, which was as white as snow, and a look of pain appeared on the little creature's face.

How could the poor spirit beast protecting its master withstand the blow? Its shell cracked and split apart in an instant. Its blood ran down Kang Dabao's neck, draining away completely moments later, and its life came to an end.

Having escaped with his life, Sect Leader Kang Da had no time to grieve, and let the white-shelled tortoise's blood soak his entire body.

He flung a great handful of talismans backhanded at Second Liu, who was already fighting him at point-blank range, and desperately swung the Mountain-Splitting Hammer in a wild barrage.

Second Liu reacted a little too slowly this time, allowing Kang Dabao to land several talismans on him.

Even as he suffered from those, Kang Dabao caught him on the left side of the face with a hurried hammer blow. A series of cracks followed as bones broke and his features were knocked askew.

If the Blood-Burning Great Method had not been so formidable, that blow would probably have finished him on the spot.

Second Liu's assault faltered. As the seven Midnight-Noon Nails drove deeper into his body, the flow of spiritual power through him grew ever more obstructed. What little awareness he had left told him he had to finish the fight quickly.

Thus the Evil Cultivator began burning spiritual power without regard for the consequences. The low-tier talismans Kang Dabao kept throwing could not stop his flying wheel at all.

Sect Leader Kang Da fought as he retreated, his expression growing uglier by the moment. Then he saw Third Liu and Fourth Liu, who had only half a life left between them, returning from the dense forest.