Chi!
The Frost Dagger sank into flesh with a muffled thud, but Xie Zhaolin's heart tightened—something felt wrong!
At the very last instant, the black-robed man twisted aside, avoiding the fatal strike. The dagger only carved a deep gash across his shoulder, exposing bone.
Yet no blood flowed. Instead, wisps of black smoke curled from the wound.
"Little girl…" the black-robed man suddenly chuckled, his voice hoarse like sandpaper grinding together, "you're not Zhang Xiuxiu."
Her pupils shrank. She tried to retreat, but she was a step too late.
This frail mortal body slowed her down. His hand clamped around her wrist.
Crack!
Her wrist bone snapped!
Agonizing pain nearly made her black out, but she bit down on her tongue to stay conscious and lashed out with her right leg, kicking straight toward his groin.
Bang!
Her kick landed solidly. He groaned, loosening his grip slightly.
She seized the chance to pull back, simultaneously detonating an explosive talisman hidden in her sleeve.
Boom!
The close-range blast hurled them both away. She crashed hard into the ground, her bones feeling like they'd been torn apart. Forcing herself upright through sheer will, she saw him equally battered—his chest blasted open, flesh torn to reveal pale ribs.
"Possession?" He coughed up black blood, standing tall again. Beneath the tattered robe, his skin was etched with sinister runes. "Interesting…"
He suddenly lifted a hand, five streaks of black light shooting from his fingertips.
Her eyes narrowed. Ignoring the pain tearing through her body, she whipped the Frost Dagger in front of her, leaving behind several afterimages.
"Ding, ding, ding!"
Three needles were deflected, but two still grazed her neck, carving shallow bloody lines.
"Demon cultivation arts…" A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. "Which sect are you from? Perhaps we can—"
"Shut up!"
She didn't give him a chance to ramble. With a flick of her left hand—
Shua!
Three crimson talismans burst forth, swelling in midair before transforming into fiery serpents. They roared as they lunged for him.
He only snorted. With a sweep of his sleeve, the flames were swallowed whole.
"Since you don't know what's good for you…" his eyes blazed with killing intent, "then die!"
He stomped down. The ground cracked, and dozens of ghostly white hands clawed their way up, reaching for her ankles.
She leapt high, biting down on her tongue and spitting a mouthful of blood essence onto the Frost Dagger. The blade erupted in black light and shot toward his chest like a meteor.
Clang!
A bone shield flared across his torso, blocking the deadly strike. But this was exactly what she wanted—
Her left hand snapped into a seal. She growled a single word.
"Explode!"
Boom!
The Frost Dagger shattered, the violent surge of spiritual power obliterating the bone shield. He staggered back, chest ripped open and bloodied.
"Madwoman!" He was both furious and shocked. "Just who are—"
She didn't answer. Her body blurred as she closed in, hand shaped like a claw as she went straight for his throat.
Puchi!
Her fingers dug deep into his neck, but the texture was wrong, like grabbing rotten wood. Her instincts screamed. She yanked herself back.
"Too late!"
He grinned hideously. From his torn neck, black threads shot out, coiling around her wrist.
"Ah!"
A wave of searing pain coursed through her arm. The threads burrowed into her flesh like living worms. Without hesitation, she slashed her own wrist with her other hand, carving away the corrupted flesh. Blood sprayed across his face, but she didn't even flinch. Instead, she spun and lashed out with a whip-like kick, slamming into his chest.
Bang!
He flew backward, the black threads snapping. She sealed her wrist's acupoint to halt the bleeding, then pulled out a dark red pill from her storage ring and swallowed it.
"The Blood Fiend Pill?" His eyes widened. "So you really are a demon cultivator!"
She only sneered silently. The pill's power surged through her, her aura spiking to the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Refining! The cost was unbearable—her meridians burned as if scorched by fire, blood trickling from her seven orifices. One step further and her body would burst apart.
"Since we're both from the demonic path…" his tone suddenly shifted, "why not cooperate? I know a place—"
"Noisy!"
She ignored him, her fingers weaving a seal. Black qi surged around her, hardening into dozens of sharp spikes that rained down on him.
Finally, his composure cracked. "Courting death!"
He tore off the remains of his robe, revealing a body covered in twisted runes. They flared blood-red, and the entire Chu residence shuddered as a bitter wind rose.
"Ahhh!"
Screams echoed from afar.
Her divine sense swept out—and she froze.
Every servant in the Chu residence now bore the same blood-red runes. Their flesh shriveled as their essence was drained away to feed him.
"You thought…" He grinned savagely, his wounds rapidly knitting together. "I wouldn't have a backup plan?"
Her heart clenched. This evil cultivator had turned the entire household into his blood sacrifice. She'd underestimated his greed by a hundredfold.
"We can't drag this out…"
Her eyes gleamed coldly as she pulled something from her storage ring.
—The Heartburn Thunder!
"Die!"
She hurled it at him, forming the seal.
"Explode!"
His expression shifted instantly. He reached to summon a protective treasure—
But his body froze, pupils shrinking violently.
—The Snakeheart Vine poison on the Frost Dagger had finally taken effect!
"No… impossible…"
His terrified gaze locked on the glowing sphere just before it detonated.
Boom—!!
The Chu residence shook as thunder roared, a raging tide of spiritual energy ripping outward. Ironically, the barrier he had laid down became the perfect cage, trapping the explosion within. A blinding white light devoured everything. His body was torn apart, almost blown to pieces.
But she knew it wasn't enough. Foundation Establishment cultivators had monstrous vitality. Ignoring the backlash threatening to destroy her, she condensed all her divine sense into a sword and stabbed it straight into his Primordial Soul.
"Ahhh!"
His ruined body convulsed, his wail echoing as his consciousness crumbled.
Now!
She blurred forward. A short sword appeared in her hand. Cold light flashed.
Puchi!
His head flew high, his face forever frozen in disbelief.
Boom!
The headless corpse crashed down. At the same time, the blood curse runes draining the Chu servants shattered into nothing.
When the dust finally settled, blood streamed from her seven orifices. She dropped to one knee, her meridians on the verge of tearing apart. Even so, her divine sense locked tightly on the corpse until his life force vanished completely. Only then did she ease the killing edge inside her.
But then, the corpse shuddered. Black-red resentment surged out, coiling into the air. She gritted her teeth, dropping into a seated stance as she drew it in, devouring the violent, refined energy.
"Urrghh—!"
Pain arched her body. Her shattered meridians screamed as the brutal power crashed through her. Blood-red lines spread across her skin like cracks in porcelain, ready to tear her apart.
Yet her aura kept rising.
Qi Refining, seventh layer!
Eighth layer!
Ninth layer!