Revenge

Hearing Madam Liu's shout, Cui Ji immediately went on high alert, preferring to believe there was someone rather than not. Yet he did not halt his pursuit of Madam Liu. His flying knife worked in concert with the Purple Nether Pearl, launching a surging offensive that left her struggling to cope, her defeat already imminent. "Daoist Qingfeng!" "It's you!" Qin Sang emerged from the shadows, and two cries rang out at the same time. One was filled with pleasant surprise; the other, sheer disbelief. Cui Ji looked as though he had seen a ghost. He had witnessed Qin Sang's magic treasure get destroyed with his own eyes, watched him suffer grave injuries and fall into a horde of ferocious beasts, leaving absolutely no possibility of survival. Yet now, Qin Sang stood before him once again. Madam Liu remembered that Qin Sang and Cui Ji were on bad terms. Seeing Cui Ji's expression, she instantly realized that Qin Sang's disappearance in the Purple Mist Deathland had definitely been suspicious—something had transpired that they knew nothing about. "Daoist, you..." In that instant, Madam Liu deduced a great deal, wild joy dawning across her face. Qin Sang nodded and cut her off, saying in an even tone, "Thanks to Fellow Daoist Cui, this poor daoist nearly lost his life in the Purple Mist Deathland. Fortunately, luck was on my side, and I managed to escape. Madam Liu, since you have also come seeking revenge, why not join forces to kill this man first?" Before his voice had even faded, Qin Sang pointed his sword toward Cui Ji. The ebony sword flashed and vanished, sweeping past Madam Liu to slash head-on at Cui Ji. In his eyes, Cui Ji was already a dead man; he could not be bothered to waste words on him. Madam Liu caught his meaning immediately, hope igniting in her eyes. Halting her flight, she hurriedly produced a bell—the very magic treasure Cultivator Liu had wielded before. At the sight of the bell, sorrow flooded Madam Liu's face, deepening her hatred for Cui Ji. A trace of fierce resolve surfaced on her features as she poured her true essence into it without reservation. The bell swayed gently at her fingertips, emitting a crisp chime. Round sonic waves rippled outward, aimed squarely at Cui Ji's flying knife. Yet this clearly could not be treated as a mere sound attack. The ripples gleamed with dazzling crimson light, resembling rings of fire that solidified into tangible form. Radiating scorching heat and brimming with potent fire-elemental power, the rings expanded until the surrounding dozens of zhang became an ocean of fire. Unable to withdraw in time, the flying knife was engulfed by the sonic waves. Cui Ji's expression changed. The moment he had spotted Qin Sang, he knew things were bad, and he hurriedly tried to recall his flying knife. Silver light flared as the flying knife slashed out wave after wave of razor-sharp blade rays. However, this bell was evidently no ordinary magic treasure. Though Madam Liu possessed a weaker cultivation, by pouring all her strength into driving the bell, she could still manage to pin the flying knife down for a time. Madam Liu tangled desperately with the flying knife to buy Qin Sang an opening. She was gambling. At their first encounter, Cui Ji had been on the verge of a breakthrough yet seemed exceedingly wary of Qin Sang, showing that Qin Sang's true strength far exceeded what met the eye. The astonishing momentum of the ebony sword only further confirmed her suspicion. By now, the ebony sword was already right in front of Cui Ji. Cui Ji had intended to open his mouth and spout a few harsh words, but Qin Sang and Madam Liu had coordinated in an instant and turned to strike at him together, making the situation turn fraught at once. His cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. Though facing an encirclement by two people, he felt no panic; in fact, he believed his odds of victory were high. The only thing he truly feared was Qin Sang's method of defiling others' magic treasures. While manipulating the flying knife to break free, Cui Ji urged the Purple Nether Pearl forward to intercept the ebony sword. Yet the moment they clashed, Cui Ji's expression shifted. The ebony sword and Purple Nether Pearl went head-to-head. The sword darted through countless purplish hazes, at times like a tiger roaring in the forest, at times like a gentle breeze and fine rain, utterly unpredictable. Moreover, its offensive never slackened for a moment. Like spilled mercury coating every inch of ground, it left Cui Ji feeling suffocated. Before, he knew Qin Sang was skilled in the way of the sword, but Qin Sang had never displayed such oppressive swordplay. A single flying sword now sent an involuntary chill straight to the depths of Cui Ji's heart. What Cui Ji did not know was that the past Qin Sang indeed could not have achieved this. His former attainment in the sword had merely been an empty shell granted by his cultivation method; only now was he a genuine sword cultivator. Strike while your enemy is down! Qin Sang gave Cui Ji no room to breathe. Darting forward in a flash, he flung his arm out, sending the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner spiraling through the air. At the same time, Nine Nether Demonic Fire swept forward under Cui Ji's horrified gaze. By then, the flying knife finally broke free of the bell's entrapment. Although Cui Ji worried about his weapon being defiled, he could no longer afford to hesitate and directed the knife to block the demonic fire. The strength Qin Sang displayed filled him with dread, and the urge to flee sprouted in his heart. Having failed to hold the flying knife, Madam Liu grew anxious at Cui Ji's maneuver and flew over in haste. "Daoist, by no means let this scoundrel escape—" Before she could finish, a deafening beast roar shattered the air. To her astonishment, the silhouette of a beast emerged from within the demonic fire. Taking advantage of the clash between the fire and the flying knife, it pounced ferociously toward Cui Ji's actual person. The beast shadow was extraordinarily fast. The moment it leaped forth, it split into several duplicates that encircled Cui Ji, making it impossible to tell the real from the illusory. "A Demon Core stage spirit beast!" Cui Ji was terrified. He assumed he now understood how Qin Sang had survived: Qin Sang possessed such a powerful spirit beast all along, one he had never revealed before. Cui Ji had completely lost the will to fight, but the situation had already slipped beyond his control. As Cui Ji scrambled to deal with the two-headed hou, aided by Madam Liu's intervention, Qin Sang focused entirely on his sword. Driving back the purplish haze, the flying sword streaked like a rainbow piercing the sun, effortlessly shattering Cui Ji's protective true essence. Horror plastered Cui Ji's face. In haste, he had no choice but to slam his Purple Nether Pearl violently into the sword. The Purple Nether Pearl's physical body seemed quite fragile; colliding head-on with the ebony sword, its luster dimmed at once, and Cui Ji's face turned stark white. The impact knocked the ebony sword slightly off course, yet a burst of sword light still managed to pierce Cui Ji. Blood sprayed. Cui Ji let out a miserable shriek, his face turning the color of death. Wound piled upon wound sealed Cui Ji's doom. His flying knife stalled for a fleeting moment, and Qin Sang seized the opening, condensing demonic fire to swat it away. Then, commanding his magic treasure in tandem with the two-headed hou, he ruthlessly slaughtered Cui Ji without an ounce of mercy. Seeing revenge within reach, Madam Liu threw caution to the wind. Her eyes turned bloodshot, and she fought like a madwoman, drawing even Qin Sang's astonished sidelong glance. In the end, with a despairing scream, Cui Ji was pierced through the heart by the flying sword, dead. Qin Sang swallowed an elixir to restore his true essence. His sea of qi felt hollow; the continuous fierce fighting and relentless suppression of Cui Ji had drained him considerably, yet he felt thoroughly exhilarated. He had slain Cui Ji in one continuous surge while remaining completely unscathed. The breakthrough in his sword path had dramatically elevated his prowess; once he returned and spent time honing it, he would have nothing to fear from Cui Ji through swordplay alone. With a flicker of movement, Qin Sang appeared beside Cui Ji's corpse and unceremoniously looted all of his possessions, pocketing them. Cui Ji died with his eyes wide open. He had only just broken through his bottleneck, yet here he lay in the netherworld. As Qin Sang examined the spoils, Madam Liu stood staring blankly, uttering not a word. Turning around, Qin Sang saw tears streaming down her face, looking entirely different from the manic figure she had been moments ago. Cui Ji's chest and abdomen were a mutilated mess of mangled flesh, almost entirely her doing, his viscera spilling out across the ground mixed with pooled blood, the stench of gore pungent and sharp.