Chapter 754: Wind Demon Thief

Under the cover of night, high up in the treetops, a man in a dark red cloak stood with his hands hanging loosely at his sides. He was expressionless, but the hideous scars on his face exuded a fierce, savage aura, like a vampiric bat of the night.

An unspoken sense of oppression emanated from his body, gradually enveloping the entire camp.

The people of the Yi family turned their gaze towards him, all showing expressions of fear and alarm in their eyes.

"That's Xu Feng, the Blood Bat, leader of the Mad Marauders!" Zhao Yue exclaimed, staring at the scarred man who was leading the group, her eyes shifting as she gritted her teeth.

In this Small Xuan Province, besides the various prominent families, there were also other hidden forces. The Mad Marauders were the most notorious among them. They moved like the wind, slaughtered wantonly, and their methods were extremely brutal.

Various families had attempted to encircle and annihilate them, but they always managed to escape. Over time, this cemented the Mad Marauders' fearsome reputation.

Yi Qiushui's beautiful face also showed a hint of solemnity as she slowly said, "All the major families are adept at looking out for themselves, and an underworld force like the Mad Marauders should understand this principle even better. Xu Feng, this is not something your Mad Marauders should be involved in. Leave now, and my Yi family can pretend this never happened."

From the treetop, the man named Xu Feng watched Yi Qiushui with cold eyes. He said indifferently, "Since my Mad Marauders have accepted a mission, there's no reason not to complete it."

Yi Qiushui said thoughtfully, "So, after all these years, the supporter behind your Mad Marauders turns out to be the Qiu family. No wonder your Mad Marauders always managed to escape when faced with encirclements."

As soon as these words left her lips, Xu Feng's eyes clearly flickered. After a moment, he bared his teeth in a chilling smile and said, "Yi Qiushui of the Yi family, you truly live up to your reputation. You could even guess that?"

"If that weren't the case," Yi Qiushui replied, "I truly can't think of any reason why your Mad Marauders would get involved in this matter. Judging by your past actions, you're not the kind of people to do something so foolish."

"Because whether this matter succeeds or fails, your Mad Marauders will no longer have a reason to exist. The Yi family will not let you go."

"You must be well aware of this," Yi Qiushui said calmly. "Don't think your Mad Marauders have such a fearsome reputation. In the eyes of the Yi family and the Qiu family, you are nothing."

Xu Feng's face twitched slightly, making his already hideous features even more terrifying. Every word Yi Qiushui spoke jabbed at his deepest vulnerabilities.

In the eyes of the Yi family and the Qiu family, his Mad Marauders were nothing more than pawns.

"You are very clever," Xu Feng said. "But nothing you say now will change anything."

Xu Feng's voice was cold as he said, "Furthermore, there's no need for you to stall for time. I know you secretly sent your sister away, but none of you will leave tonight."

Yi Qiushui's bright eyes flickered slightly, and her pearly teeth instinctively bit her red lips.

This Xu Feng truly lived up to his notorious reputation as a ruthless bandit; he was truly troublesome.

"Xu Feng," Yi Qiushui declared, "although your Mad Marauders have quite a fearsome reputation, it won't be easy to take us down. Judging by the strength you've displayed in the past, you're merely at the mid-stage of the Divine Palace realm." She gripped her long sword tightly with her delicate hand; Source Qi surged along the blade, transforming into a sharp sword glow.

Behind her, powerful Source Qi swirled, gradually forming two Divine Palace halos. On these halos, an eight-colored light flickered, a mark of having opened eight Divine Palaces.

A powerful aura emanated from Yi Qiushui's delicate body.

In this Small Xuan Province, among those at the mid-stage of the Divine Palace realm, there were few who could make Yi Qiushui wary.

Gazing at Yi Qiushui's Divine Palace halos, shimmering with eight-colored light, everyone present showed envy in their eyes. They knew very well that the more Divine Palaces one opened, the stronger their Source Qi foundation and the greater their combat power.

Of course, more importantly, their future potential was greater!

Xu Feng stared at the eight-colored halos behind Yi Qiushui, his eyes also narrowing slightly. But surprisingly, he didn't show much apprehension; he simply bared his teeth in a chilling smile.

"Mid-stage of the Divine Palace realm?" he sneered. "That's merely the information you're aware of."

Yi Qiushui's slender eyebrows furrowed, and a sense of unease surfaced in her heart.

At this moment, Xu Feng slowly spread his hands. The next instant, powerful, storm-like Source Qi suddenly swept out from his body, and the sound of Source Qi vibrating through the void resonated throughout the area.

Everyone saw Source Qi converging behind Xu Feng, gradually forming Divine Palace halos.

One halo formed, then a second appeared right after... But after the second Divine Palace halo appeared, the Source Qi didn't stop converging. Then, to everyone's shock, a third Divine Palace halo slowly materialized behind Xu Feng.

Three Divine Palace halos — the late-stage Divine Palace realm!

The Divine Palace halos displayed six colors, clearly indicating that Xu Feng had also opened six Divine Palaces.

Zhao Yue, Mu Chao, and others' expressions changed drastically, their eyes filling with terror. No one had expected Xu Feng to have reached the late-stage Divine Palace realm!

At this moment, Qiu Ji, with a hideous look on his face, laughed, "You probably don't know that Xu Feng broke through to the late-stage Divine Palace realm two months ago..."

Yi Qiushui's beautiful face became serious. Then she unhesitatingly cried out in a low voice, "Retreat!"

However, even before her command to retreat had fully left her lips, a chilling smile appeared at the corner of Xu Feng's mouth. His figure swooped down like a bat, his five fingers clenched into a fist, which he violently slammed towards Yi Qiushui.

Violent Source Qi gathered beneath his fist. The dark red Source Qi resembled a crimson sun, causing the space around it to twist.

Yi Qiushui gripped her long sword with her delicate hand. The blade vibrated, emitting a sword hum, as a fierce sword glow shot forth. The sword light tore through the night, directly clashing with Xu Feng.

Sword and fist collided head-on. However, Xu Feng's fist was like it was forged from metal, and sparks actually flew.

A violent shockwave swept outwards.

Zhao Yue, Mu Chao, and others nearby were all sent stumbling backward in disarray. Although they were also at the mid-stage of the Divine Palace realm, they were clearly much weaker than Yi Qiushui.

Yi Qiushui's small hand, gripping the long sword tightly, trembled violently, and blood actually dripped from her fair fingers. However, she gritted her teeth, and her sword light whistled, transforming into countless sharp sword shadows aimed directly at Xu Feng's vital points.

"Haha!"

Yet Xu Feng burst into laughter. His already robust physique visibly expanded, and a dark iron glow emerged on his skin, clearly indicating he had cultivated his physical body.

He used his physical body to withstand the sword light, leaving shallow marks on his body. His iron fists whistled, accompanied by sonic booms, raining down on Yi Qiushui.

Beneath his massive fists, Yi Qiushui's slender, delicate body seemed exceptionally fragile.

The two exchanged dozens of blows at lightning speed, so fast it was dazzling.

"Tsk tsk, truly worthy of someone with eight Divine Palaces, impressive, very impressive," Xu Feng grinned and laughed amidst their rapid exchange. "To think you, at the mid-stage of the Divine Palace realm, could hold me, at the late-stage, off for so long."

Normally speaking, those at the late-stage of the Divine Palace realm could almost entirely suppress those at the mid-stage with their Source Qi foundation. Yet, in their current exchange, Yi Qiushui was actually holding her ground against his assault.

Although this was only temporary, it was enough to demonstrate the advantage of having eight Divine Palaces.

Xu Feng continued to laugh loudly, but his eyes grew increasingly ferocious. At one point, he stamped his foot forcefully and shot forward, completely disregarding the whistling sword glow, and slammed a fist violently towards Yi Qiushui's chest.

Savage Source Qi raged on that punch.

Yi Qiushui also sensed the ferocity of Xu Feng's punch, but it was too late to dodge. Her beautiful eyes flashed, and she thrust her sword glow straight towards Xu Feng's throat.

It was an all-or-nothing move, risking her life for his.

However, facing Yi Qiushui's fierce sword glow, Xu Feng grinned. He raised his arm, surprisingly allowing the sword glow to stab it. The sword tip pierced his arm, but just as it was about to penetrate, it was forcibly clamped by his muscles.

"Yi Qiushui, you probably weren't even born when I was licking blood off blades," he sneered. "Who are you trying to be ruthless with?!"

With the sword tip clamped by his muscles, Xu Feng smiled chillingly. Then, amidst the horrified gazes of those around, his violent punch slammed towards Yi Qiushui's chest.

"Miss!" Zhao Yue cried out, her beautiful face turning pale and her voice sharp with terror.

The fierce punch wind rushed towards her face. Yi Qiushui struggled desperately to pull her sword free, but couldn't. She could only watch as the iron fist descended. The violent punch wind swept over her, causing her clothes to cling tightly to her delicate body, revealing alluring curves.

Yi Qiushui could only sigh softly in her heart, knowing that today, her life would likely end here.

She hoped Dong'er could escape.

As she thought this, she stared coldly at the iron fist, revealing no trace of fear in the face of death. Instead, she said, "If I die, no matter where you flee, you will pay for it with your life."

"Heh heh, to accompany such a beauty like you, I couldn't ask for more," Xu Feng chuckled, remaining unfazed. Clearly, he was also a ruthless individual.

The punch wind, instead, grew even fiercer.

If it connected, Yi Qiushui's entire chest would likely be pierced through by that single punch.

However, just as Xu Feng's violent punch was only an inch away from Yi Qiushui's chest, a slender hand eerily extended from thin air. Its five fingers splayed open, lightly grasping the iron fist that contained Xu Feng's full power.

A violent sonic boom echoed.

The ground beneath their feet continuously cracked.

Both Yi Qiushui and Xu Feng's expressions changed as they stared in astonishment at the fair hand that had appeared before them.

Yi Qiushui slowly turned her beautiful face, looking to her side, only to see a young figure had appeared at some unknown point. In the dim night, she could make out a young profile.

It was not unfamiliar...

It was none other than... Zhou Yuan.

Faced with this situation, even the usually calm Yi Qiushui felt her mind go blank.

Zhou Yuan, however, turned and smiled at her.

"Miss Yi," he said, "you cannot die here. Otherwise, my reputation would be completely ruined by you..."