Chapter 667: Bloodstained Skirt in Action

Given his experience, he naturally recognized the hair ornament's exceptional quality. Within this hairpin lay a power that made even him feel a pang of dread. Where had Jiang Fan obtained such an item?

Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and snapped his head up. He saw Jiang Fan had discreetly led Consort Yunxia to the center of the formation.

"What are you doing?""Come here!"

Jiang Fan dared not stop. Their lives hung by a thread! He decisively picked up the purple formation stone and moved it aside. A rumbling sound echoed. The formation immediately ceased functioning.

Although Reverend Qinghe didn't know what was about to happen, he had a vague premonition of danger. He no longer cared about the Five-Magnetic Yuan Mountain in Jiang Fan's hand. He decisively drew his horsetail whisk and aimed a fatal blow at Jiang Fan!

However, before he could strike, the ground sank. As soon as a fissure of the underground chamber opened, the blood-stained skirt burst forth. It lunged furiously at Jiang Fan without hesitation, emitting a bone-chilling shriek. Yet, sensing the presence of the broken hairpin, it immediately turned and pounced on Reverend Qinghe instead.

Its speed was astonishing, far surpassing that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. In an instant, it soared to Reverend Qinghe's front and coiled around him.

"What is this evil creature?" Reverend Qinghe was startled by its power and presence. He redirected the whisk strike intended for Jiang Fan, instead hitting the blood skirt. It was a devastating blow, powerful enough to shatter mountains and crack the earth. But when it struck the blood skirt, it felt like hitting a wad of cotton. The blood skirt seized the opportunity to wrap around his arm.

"Hiss!" Reverend Qinghe immediately felt an intense pain. He immediately channeled powerful lightning energy, sending the skirt flying with a loud crack. He looked at his arm. In mere moments, his arm had withered. This greatly shocked Reverend Qinghe.

The powerful lightning energy made the blood skirt shriek incessantly, blood mist rising from it. Yet, it still fearlessly lunged at Reverend Qinghe. With no other option, Reverend Qinghe was forced to unleash his lightning abilities and engage in a fierce battle with it.

Jiang Fan, the instigator of this chaos, had long since pulled Consort Yunxia into a corner to hide.

"Why is that blood skirt only attacking Reverend Qinghe?" Consort Yunxia watched the extremely dangerous blood skirt, secretly alarmed. This creature could actually fight Reverend Qinghe to a standstill? To be precise, if Reverend Qinghe hadn't happened to specialize in lightning abilities, which countered the blood skirt, he would have likely been drained dry by the blood skirt by now.

Jiang Fan mentally transmitted to her, "That hairpin belongs to the blood skirt." With a glint in his eye, Jiang Fan asked, "Did you pick up any useful treasures on the battlefield? In my opinion, the blood skirt might not be able to completely overcome Reverend Qinghe. We need to help it."

Consort Yunxia's lips curved into a faint smile. It was as if she had been waiting for Jiang Fan to ask. She replied, "I was quite lucky. I picked up quite a few treasures." She shook her sleeve, and seven or eight broken talismans and spirit tool fragments tumbled out. "I've checked these; they still contain a trace of their original power. They could fetch a good price. What about you?" She glanced at Jiang Fan, a hint of smugness in her eyes.

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose. Weren't these just the fragments he hadn't bothered to pick up? How had Consort Yunxia regarded them as treasures and collected them all? "I... only found two or three items, not as many as you," Jiang Fan replied vaguely.

Only two or three? A faint smile touched Consort Yunxia's lips. She had finally outdone Jiang Fan in some way. It was truly difficult to best him in any regard. She nodded and said, "You can use these items when the time is right. They are all human artifacts, so I can't use them. But be careful with them; these are treasures I painstakingly found." She wouldn't have brought them out if it wasn't for their survival.

Jiang Fan sighed helplessly. What good were these fragments? Would they even scratch Reverend Qinghe? "I'll stick with my own items." From the Heavenly Thunder Stone, he pulled out a Buddhist bead. Then, he summoned five Yin Corpses, each at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

Uh— Consort Yunxia's expression froze for a moment. She looked at the five formidable Yin Corpses, then at the clearly potent Buddhist bead. Then she glanced at her own collection of junk. Her pretty face unconsciously flushed. Discreetly, she extended her small foot and quietly nudged her collected items into a corner, acting as if nothing had happened.

Just then, the blood skirt was blasted away. Most of its blood aura had dissipated, and parts of its surface were charred from the lightning strikes. Reverend Qinghe wasn't in much better shape. He had originally used a secret technique to forcefully elevate his cultivation to its peak. Now that the technique's effects were wearing off, his cultivation was rapidly plummeting. The internal injuries inflicted by the ancient giant were flaring up again. And now, being forced to continuously fight the blood skirt, his aura had significantly dwindled. He realized that if the fight continued, even if he won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory.

Taking advantage of having blasted the blood skirt back, he decisively retreated! However! The moment he turned, he found the exit blocked by five Yin Corpses. He glared angrily at Jiang Fan in the distance. "How audacious!" he fumed.

With an enraged roar, he flicked his horsetail whisk. The five Yin Corpses instantly exploded into bloody mist. But this brief delay allowed the blood skirt to catch up. He was forced to re-engage in battle. He was about to unleash an Undying Blade to blast the blood skirt away.

Just then, there was a ripping sound above his head. A bolt of lightning flashed. "Cloud Shadow?" He was taken aback. Before he could understand why Jiang Fan knew the secret technique of the Myriad Tribulation Holy Temple, a golden Buddhist bead, already crushed, dropped down. How could Reverend Qinghe not recognize the power of this item? The ancient giant himself had been momentarily stunned and distracted by the Buddhist light from a full string of these beads. That moment of vulnerability had ultimately led to his downfall at the hands of numerous Nascent Soul experts.

"Jiang Fan! You seek death—death!" A vast expanse of golden Buddhist light erupted from the bead, instantly enveloping Reverend Qinghe. His mind immediately fell into a state of serene, untroubled tranquility. He stood motionless, completely transfixed. The blood skirt seized the chance to pounce, wrapping tightly around him and frantically devouring his flesh and blood.

An immense pain assaulted him. Only then did Reverend Qinghe regain his senses. Filled with shock and fury, he unleashed his remaining lightning energy, blasting the blood skirt away! This single strike left the blood skirt barely alive, crumpled into a ball, lying motionless on the ground.

Reverend Qinghe was equally wretched. His entire body was withered, resembling a skeleton covered only by a thin layer of skin. Already severely wounded, how could he withstand the blood skirt's draining? He was instantly reduced to his weakened state. The excruciating pain emanating from within his body made him tremble, and his aura had become so feeble that he was on the verge of dropping below the Nascent Soul realm.

But neither Jiang Fan nor Consort Yunxia felt any joy. No matter how severely wounded he was, as long as he was alive, he remained a Nascent Soul-level cultivator. He still possessed the power to kill them with a mere flick of his wrist!

"Jiang Fan!!!" Reverend Qinghe let out a venomous roar, "How dare you ambush this old man! I'll make you wish for death but be unable to find it!" He gripped his horsetail whisk, channeling his dwindling Nascent Soul power to activate it. He was about to deliver a fatal blow to Jiang Fan.

Having already made his move, Jiang Fan wasn't about to simply wait for death. "Soul Thorn!" He activated the soul secret art without hesitation.

"Hiss!" Reverend Qinghe felt as if his soul had been bitten by a cat. While it didn't cause physical injury, it momentarily distracted him. Jiang Fan seized the opportunity. He unleashed his Sword Manipulation art, using a single sword strike to shatter the stones blocking the crack above them. Then, riding a streak of purple lightning, he pulled Consort Yunxia and shot upwards.

Reverend Qinghe let out an angry laugh. "Daring to use the 'Cloud Shadow' technique from the Six Heavenly Thunder Arts in front of me? How presumptuous! Lightning, come!" He bellowed. A streak of purple lightning appeared beneath his feet. He fully expected to catch up to Jiang Fan in an instant. But after he caught up, he was utterly shocked.