Chapter 1788: We Have a Grudge?

Three figures stood three hundred miles from Listen-Snow Peak, two of them being the Xiang Yin sisters.

Xuan Yu's body trembled slightly. Although she had long heard of the terrifying power of the red talismans crafted by the Lilliputian Race, this was her first time witnessing it. Under such horror, even a cultivator at the late Moon-Glimmer Stage appeared incredibly fragile, capable of being eradicated at will.

Xiang Yin's face flickered between light and shadow under the Blood Moon's glow. A flicker of shame crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by resolve. In such a place and under such circumstances, her actions were merely a struggle for survival, unrelated to personal grudges. Moreover, she had no existing enmity with Lu Ye.

Standing before the sisters was a man in a blood-red robe, his head and face concealed, making his features indiscernible. Xuan Yu had seen him when she first arrived here with Xiang Yin.

Though she didn't know him, his attire clearly indicated his identity: a Holy Blood Peak cultivator!

Furthermore, he was no ordinary Holy Blood Peak cultivator. He was someone who had betrayed the Red Talisman Society and defected to Holy Blood Peak. The red talisman he had just activated was precisely an artifact previously bestowed by the Lilliputian Race.

Meng Xu had previously told Lu Ye that they had been betrayed, not just by those with weak resolve, but also by cultivators whom they had considered brothers, who had endured years of trials from the Lilliputian Race and earned their trust before coming here.

Hu Dequan was right: resources brought from outside were limited. When one's own resources were depleted, and the expended energy could not be replenished, the agony of progressively weakening cultivation was unbearable for many.

Moreover, the only Spiritual Jade mine in this realm was controlled by Holy Blood Peak. To obtain resources, one had no choice but to pledge allegiance to them.

It was precisely because of these painful experiences over the years that Hu Dequan and others had been resolute in killing Lu Ye after learning he had been tainted by Blood Qi. These actions had historical precedents.

"You've done well. Follow me back to the peak; the Holy Lord will reward you," the red-robed cultivator said slowly, his voice sounding weak.

Even though he was a late Moon-Glimmer Stage cultivator, fully activating a single red talisman caused him immense exhaustion.

This was especially true because the red talisman had been nurtured within him for nearly a thousand years.

Yet, to ensure a one-hit kill against Lu Ye, he dared not hold back in the slightest. According to information provided by Xiang Yin and what he had gathered from two nearby rogue cultivators, the Blood Qi possessed by this recently arrived newcomer was exceptionally terrifying, reaching a level even the Holy Lord couldn't achieve.

It was precisely for this reason that Holy Lord Li Tian had sent him to handle the matter with the red talisman, no matter the cost. Otherwise, why would a strategic weapon like the red talisman be used so lightly?

If not for concerns about the Blood Qi on the other party, wouldn't it have been safer for Li Tian himself to act?

Now that the entirety of Listen-Snow Peak had been razed, the cultivator, who was only at the mid-Moon-Glimmer Stage and present there, must surely have perished without a trace.

"Thank you, Dao Brother. Thank you, Holy Lord," Xiang Yin said, her dry lips pressed together, showing little joy.

"I need to recover for a while; guard me," the red-robed cultivator instructed, then prepared to sit cross-legged.

But just then, he suddenly sensed something. He turned his head to look, and in that direction, a figure was steadily approaching. The person looked unfamiliar, a young man with a long blade at his waist, indicating his identity as a blade cultivator. His spiritual power fluctuations weren't particularly strong, only at the mid-Moon-Glimmer Stage.

In this realm, being at the mid-Moon-Glimmer Stage was truly nothing remarkable; after all, cultivators at the late Moon-Glimmer Stage were abundant in this cursed place.

The red-robed cultivator was slightly taken aback, as he didn't know who was approaching.

But beside him, Xiang Yin let out a gasp, her voice filled with disbelief and terror.

Immediately after, the red-robed cultivator heard Xiang Yin urgently cry out, "Sister, run!"

As their spiritual power surged, the Xiang Yin sisters' robes flapped wildly as they fled into the distance, as if encountering a monstrous flood or beast.

Alas, it was too late to escape!

Several rivers of precious blood, forming from all directions, swept in, creating an encirclement as Lu Ye drew closer.

Xiang Yin tried to struggle, but the blood rivers suddenly expanded, merging into a single colossal blood sphere that completely enveloped the vast area.

The center of the blood sphere was devoid of blood-red color, as were the faces of the Xiang Yin sisters. Realizing they couldn't escape, the two sisters had no choice but to descend, staring in terror at Lu Ye, who stood not far in front of them. Xiang Yin's body trembled, and her knuckles were white from clenching her fists.

They simply couldn't comprehend how Lu Ye, a cultivator only at the mid-Moon-Glimmer Stage, had managed to escape the power of that red talisman. Moreover, judging by his appearance, he seemed entirely unaffected by its earlier might.

The red-robed cultivator initially didn't know who Lu Ye was, but after seeing the Xiang Yin sisters' reactions, he immediately formed a conjecture.

Gazing steadily at Lu Ye, who stood nearby, a hint of shame flickered in the red-robed cultivator's eyes.

Originally... he could have stood on the same side as Lu Ye, calling him brother. Alas, they were meeting under such terrible circumstances now.

"Which faction are you from?" he asked, a hint of composure in his expression.

For if this newcomer's Blood Qi was truly as terrifying as he had heard, then even if his cultivation surpassed the other's by a minor stage, he would merely be a fish on a chopping block; resistance would be meaningless.

Not to mention that he was currently greatly exhausted, his strength severely diminished.

For many years, he had lived in torment because of that forced betrayal. Dying now might perhaps be a form of release.

"Eastern Faction!" Lu Ye casually replied.

The red-robed cultivator nodded slightly. "I'm from the Southern Faction. My Dao companion is..."

Lu Ye raised a hand to stop him. "No need to say. I won't take your message outside."

The red-robed cultivator paused, then said with relief, "That's good!" As he spoke, the little spiritual power he had left surged with a resonant hum, and purple luminescence burst forth from within his body.

Indeed, he was still unwilling to die so easily. If he could truly face death with equanimity, he wouldn't have chosen to defect to Holy Blood Peak all those years ago.

He had already used his red talisman, but he still had a purple talisman!

After so many years of nurturing, the power unleashed by the purple talisman, though not as potent as the red one, was absolutely not to be underestimated. As long as he could activate its power, he could resolve the current crisis.

While activating the purple talisman, he also shouted, "Attack together!"

This was undoubtedly directed at the Xiang Yin sisters.

However, no sooner had his words fallen than the heavens and earth suddenly hummed. Simultaneously, the red-robed cultivator's body seemed to shrink, as if he were carrying a star out of thin air, and his spiritual power became sluggish and obstructed.

Not to mention his current state of exhaustion, even at his peak, under such terrifying suppression, it was questionable whether he could unleash even thirty percent of his strength.

The red-robed cultivator's eyes widened. He found it truly hard to imagine how anyone in this world could possess such terrifying Blood Qi!

Compared to what he felt now, Li Tian's Blood Qi was like the light of a firefly vying with the brilliance of the full moon.

He had already learned about this from Xiang Yin beforehand and had even personally inquired with two nearby cultivators. However, what he had heard and what he was now experiencing firsthand were entirely different matters.

Some understandings simply could not be conceived without experiencing them personally.

His vision darkened, and when he looked up again, Lu Ye was already close. A flash of blade light, and the red-robed cultivator's world inverted, then slowly faded to black.

Lu Ye flicked the blood from his blade, pushed aside the red-robed cultivator's headless body, and looked expressionlessly at the Xiang Yin sisters.

Xiang Yin's face was ashen, her eyes dimmed to their utmost. Xuan Yu was no better. Both sisters knew that their chances of survival today were slim.

In terms of cultivation, both sisters were stronger than Lu Ye. However, the Blood Qi suppression of the Blood Tribe was so unreasonable. They had experienced this once before. Now, facing Lu Ye, who had just slain the red-robed cultivator, they didn't even have a flicker of resistance.

Fortunately, Lu Ye did not immediately strike them down.

He looked at Xiang Yin and said, "You gave me a map of this realm and specifically marked an area, implying I should go there to find people from the Red Talisman Society. You wanted to use the Red Talisman Society to kill me, didn't you?"

The Red Talisman Society had methods to discern whether a cultivator had been tainted by Blood Qi; this was probably no secret, and Xiang Yin must have known about it.

But how would Lu Ye, as a newcomer, know any of this? So, Xiang Yin's deliberate marking on the map she gave him was clearly an attempt to use someone else to kill him. As soon as Lu Ye came into contact with the Red Talisman Society, he would surely not escape death.

It was even possible that Xiang Yin knew the Red Talisman Society had laid many Holy Blood Peak traps in that area. If Lu Ye hadn't had a clone for support and the void spiritual patterns for teleportation, he would likely have been killed long before meeting Hu Dequan.

Hearing his question, Xuan Yu looked at Xiang Yin in astonishment, clearly unaware of this matter. She couldn't understand why her sister harbored such strong murderous intent towards a complete stranger.

"Yes," Xiang Yin's dry voice replied.

Lu Ye nodded. It was as he had thought.

He had previously been unable to understand why Xiang Yin had directed him to that area, thinking it was out of good intentions. But now it seemed it was not.

After parting ways with Hu Dequan and the others, Lu Ye had developed some suspicions. He specifically returned to find the Xiang Yin sisters, partly because he truly had nowhere else to go, and partly to verify certain things.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to come to Listen-Snow Peak.

"After I arrived here, you secretly contacted Holy Blood Peak and left while the Blood Moon was in the sky. In reality, you were afraid of being affected by the red talisman's power. You even deliberately gave me some false information before leaving, intending to trap me within Listen-Snow Peak's grand formation, making it easier for Holy Blood Peak's people to eliminate me."

"That's right!" Xiang Yin admitted again.

"Do we have a vendetta?" Lu Ye asked, looking at her.

"No enmity, no grudge," Xiang Yin replied. She, who had kept her head bowed, now suddenly looked up, staring directly into Lu Ye's eyes. With pressed lips, she declared, "This is merely a humble woman's way of survival!"

With things having come to this, any explanation or defense was futile. From Lu Ye's decisive and ruthless actions earlier, Xiang Yin knew she couldn't escape death today, so her expression became more composed. "My schemes against you, my betrayal of you—it was all just to survive better, nothing more!"