Chapter 333: Old Brother, Run Fast

The red-clothed woman's cultivation was impressive. At this moment, a sharp light gleamed in her eyes, and a lake of blood churned behind her, within which an eye faintly emerged. This eye, with its vertical pupil, exuded intense ferocity. Its gaze seemed to possess the power to suppress, and as the surroundings were transformed into a blood-red realm, it fixed its stare on Xu Qing.

Xu Qing completely ignored it.

This woman was only a One Palace Golden Core. Although her imperial-level cultivation technique was also second-tier, combined with her own combat power, it was undoubtedly equivalent to a Two Palace Golden Core. Her attacks were formidable; if it were any other opponent, they would likely have been instantly suppressed by her.

But she still didn't understand Xu Qing's true strength.

Xu Qing himself possessed two Heavenly Palaces, but he habitually concealed them, making them unnoticeable. His own second-tier imperial-level cultivation technique was also not revealed. Therefore, without careful observation, it was difficult to discern his true power.

Thus, the red-clothed woman's attempt to contend was doomed to fail.

In just an instant, Xu Qing, whose combat power had already reached the Three Palace level, erupted with cultivation, his speed soaring. Ignoring the red-clothed woman's attack, he arrived at the golden drop of blood in the blink of an eye and seized it.

After collecting it, he swayed his body and sped away into the distance, even using the repulsive force of the area to further increase his speed.

All of this happened in a flash. The red-clothed woman's expression changed; seeing the Dao blood snatched away, a murderous intent flashed in her eyes. She raised her right hand and waved it, and instantly, the eyes on the demonic scythe opened again, revealing a crimson light.

"You hide your strength well, but even if you're Three Palace, I can still handle you!" the red-clothed woman declared, biting her tongue and spitting a mouthful of blood onto the demonic scythe. A similar crimson gleam flashed in her eyes.

"Li Tu carries destiny, Dao traces are hard to find. Xuan You, my Emperor, grant blessings and guidance. War soul, descend upon me, aid my disciples, let the journey of departure begin!"

These words were uttered in an ancient, chanting tone, resounding in all directions. As they did, the heavens and earth seemed to be influenced by some power, and gusts of eerie wind began to appear. These eerie winds ignored the oppressive pressure of the area and rapidly gathered around the red-clothed woman, or more precisely, converged around the demonic scythe in her hand.

The demonic eyes on the scythe grew even more crimson under the eerie winds, and so did the woman's.

After reaching the extreme of crimson, the demonic entity suddenly opened its mouth wide and bit down on the woman's arm.

The next instant, the red-clothed woman's body trembled as if empowered by some force. When she abruptly looked up, a sharp gleam appeared in her eyes. She raised her right hand and made a slight summoning gesture towards Xu Qing, who was speeding away in the distance, and a hoarse voice emerged from her mouth.

"Come back!"

This voice sounded as if an old woman was speaking alongside her, the voices overlapping and creating an extremely sinister effect. This secret technique seemed to involve the red-clothed woman drawing an ancient war soul into her body, allowing her to gain external power and erupt with greater combat strength.

The moment this voice sounded, Xu Qing's body paused. An invisible force pulled from all directions, binding his body and attempting to drag him towards the red-clothed woman.

"Watch out, kid! That woman is using a Li Tu Cult secret technique, drawing a war soul into her body!" the Captain shouted from afar, witnessing the scene.

Xu Qing frowned, feeling this force was more akin to a strange phenomenon. So the Ghost Emperor Mountain in his sea of consciousness suddenly shone, and in an instant, the strange force outside his body collapsed.

Xu Qing swayed, about to continue his departure, but the red-clothed woman's move was not actually intended to pull Xu Qing back; she clearly knew that was unlikely. Her goal was merely to restrict Xu Qing's movements, to buy herself time to catch up. So almost the instant she made the summoning gesture, she had already burst forth at full speed, heading straight for Xu Qing.

The moment Xu Qing dispelled the external strange binding force, the red-clothed woman was already close. Her Three Palace combat power erupted within her, forming an astonishing impact that transformed into the swing of the scythe in her hand, as she slashed fiercely at Xu Qing.

This scythe, longer than a person, seemed real yet at times illusory. Due to its extreme speed, it formed a black crescent afterimage, as if the void itself would be ripped apart, slashing fiercely towards Xu Qing's neck. Its speed was so great that it arrived in an instant. The red-clothed woman behind it had murderous intent filling her eyes, and even more confidence. She had killed Three Palace experts before.

The demonic scythe in her hand was a unique sacred artifact of the cult, with an extraordinary origin. According to the cult's records, it seemed to be connected to a holy land. This scythe could ignore all defenses; even if the opponent possessed protective power, it would still be useless.

At this moment, amidst the whistling sound, the Captain's voice came from afar again.

"Watch out, kid! This girl is sinister! I remember that scythe! It's one of the sacred artifacts of the Li Tu Cult! It's said to be not truly corporeal and can even ignore defenses!"

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. He sensed the extraordinary nature of this black scythe and the astonishing power of the red-clothed woman's secret technique. At this moment, he abruptly leaned back, and with a burst of speed, he narrowly dodged the scythe in front of him. Although he dodged it, a suppressive force emanated from the scythe, causing Xu Qing's cultivation to become unstable. This was the first time Xu Qing had encountered such a situation.

After her first slash, the red-clothed woman fiercely swung the scythe again, delivering another sweeping blow, still targeting Xu Qing's neck. A cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. As he retreated and dodged, while suppressing the instability in his cultivation, and observing the scythe, he gradually realized that it, though seemingly real, was actually formed by the magical power it contained. After the opponent had swung it five times, the moment the scythe swept for the sixth time, Xu Qing's eyes showed understanding, and he suddenly raised his right hand to block the approaching scythe.

Instantly, as the scythe's blade neared Xu Qing's right hand, it suddenly turned transparent from flesh and blood. It was his Ghostly Nether Dao Cultivation. This transformed right hand was now in a ghostly nether state. The ghostly nether state could ignore magical power; this was one of the Ghostly Nether race's rare talents in this era. And indeed, the next instant, the red-clothed woman's scythe passed directly through Xu Qing's transparent right hand.

A murderous glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. While the red-clothed woman was momentarily stunned, his ghostly nether hand seized the scythe's handle. The moment he grasped it, Xu Qing pulled forcefully, and used the momentum to forcefully close in. The distance between them was just the length of the scythe.

At this moment, as Xu Qing pulled and used the momentum, the two instantly closed in on each other. As the red-clothed woman's expression drastically changed, Xu Qing looked up and delivered a powerful headbutt, directly striking the woman's mask. With a bang, a muffled groan escaped the woman's mouth, and as her mask cracked, Xu Qing formed a hand seal with his left hand. Instantly, the surroundings transformed into a vast sea, and the Nine Tides of Roaring Sea technique suddenly erupted.

The surrounding sea formed giant waves. As Xu Qing waved his left hand, the first wave roared from behind him, passed through Xu Qing, and slammed fiercely into the red-clothed woman. The woman's body trembled as a protective light appeared around her, blocking the first wave of the Roaring Sea. Xu Qing was not surprised; her status in the Li Tu Cult was undoubtedly extraordinary, and such protection was inevitable.

So he was not in a hurry. At this moment, the second, third, and fourth waves arrived consecutively. Amidst the continuous roar, the red-clothed woman's defense began to distort. Her attention was focused on the waves and the scythe, which Xu Qing held firmly. She did not notice that, hidden by the waves, large numbers of small insects had already latched onto the surface of her protection, spewing out poison and fully corroding it.

She didn't know Xu Qing, nor did she understand his attack methods, and she certainly didn't know his ferocity. But she could feel that Xu Qing at this moment was different from before. His right hand, gripping the scythe, was like an iron clamp, making it impossible for her to shake him off, no matter how hard she struggled.

Especially Xu Qing's right hand ignoring her scythe earlier caused huge waves of shock in her mind. Indeed, ever since she gained the recognition and inheritance of this scythe within the cult, countless malicious individuals within the cult had died by her hand. After all, the Li Tu Cult was not a benevolent place; it was filled with fanatics and madmen. To survive there, even if she had relatives with decent status in the cult, they couldn't always protect her, so most of the time, she had to rely on herself. And she had indeed done so over the years. Relying on her own efforts and killings, she had gradually gained a corresponding status and respect within the cult, as well as relative freedom to travel outside.

Although it was still somewhat far from one of her dreams, nonetheless, this scythe had helped her immensely. The more this was the case, the more shaken her heart became, and the more she couldn't let go.

Until the next instant, her body's outer protection, under the onslaught of the small black insects and the impact of the ninth wave, suddenly shattered and disintegrated. A murderous glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He suddenly extended his right hand, his soul fire transforming into a black dagger, and slashed fiercely at the red-clothed woman's pale neck.

Blood spurted, but no head flew.

The moment Xu Qing's dagger neared her neck, an incredibly alarming sense of life-and-death crisis erupted in Xu Qing's heart. Every inch of his flesh trembled.

Even the Captain, observing the battle from afar, widened his eyes, gasped, and cried out in alarm.

"What the—!!"

"Run, kid! Something's wrong with that woman! That's the Tai Si Blood Intent from the Tai Si Immortal Sect, the hardest to comprehend! Even basic mastery is incredibly difficult. It's said that those who comprehend this Blood Intent have more than two personalities!"

"And for every additional personality, a color vanishes from the world in their eyes, until after ten personalities, only blood-red remains, which is considered complete mastery!"

"Is this person from the Li Tu Cult or the Tai Si Immortal Sect? This is too sinister!"

The instant the Captain's cry of alarm echoed, Xu Qing, without any hesitation, abruptly released his grip on the scythe, and his body instantly retreated without a second thought. Almost the instant he retreated, a vast expanse of blood-red light suddenly erupted from the red-clothed woman, soaring skyward. As this blood-red light shot forth, the surroundings seemed to become a bloody purgatory.

A strange laugh emanated from the red-clothed girl standing there.

"Hahahaha."

As this unsettling laugh spread, the woman raised her head. Blood was still flowing from her neck, but the wound was not fatal. She raised her hand and touched it, then, looking at the blood covering her hand, a bewildered look appeared in her eyes as she gazed at Xu Qing.

"Was it you who hurt me?"