Chapter 15: What an Exciting Fight!
After listening to Qu Yi’s report, Yan Zhong no longer had the mood to continue practicing in the Yunjin Spirit Spring. He immediately returned to the Jinheng Palace.
Naturally, as the leader of the Jinheng Sect, True Man Bingyi came out of his own training room to greet Yan Zhong.
“Captain Yan Zhong, is there anything you’d like to instruct me on?” True Man Bingyi asked with a smile.
Instead of staying in the Yunjin Spirit Spring, Yan Zhong went straight to the Jinheng Palace as soon as he met ‘Li Mu’. True Man Bingyi was naturally very curious, and his questions carried an investigative tone.
At that moment, Yan Zhong’s heart was already in turmoil. He had sensed the unique ‘Fragrant Powder’ of the Taiyuan Sect and finally confirmed Qu Yi’s words—that True Man Bingyi was indeed the Red-Blooded Old Demon.
“Oh, True Man Bingyi, I just realized that staying in the Yunjin Spirit Spring is of little use for my cultivation. So I thought I’d come and let you know—I want to go out and enjoy the scenery of your Flowing Water Star,” Yan Zhong replied with a smile.
Yan Zhong knew it would be difficult for him to defeat True Man Bingyi alone. Therefore, he planned to find Hu Han and Yang Yin, and together, with the combined strength of three late-stage Divided Soul cultivators, they would launch a surprise attack on True Man Bingyi, who was at the mid-stage stage. As long as True Man Bingyi couldn’t put on the Spirit Blood Ring in time, Yan Zhong was confident they could defeat him quickly.
After hearing this, a hint of confusion flashed in True Man Bingyi’s eyes, but he still couldn’t figure anything out. He hadn’t realized that Yan Zhong already knew his identity as the Red-Blooded Old Demon.
“Captain Yan Zhong, would you like me to send a disciple to accompany you? There are many interesting places on the Flowing Water Star,” True Man Bingyi said with a smile.
Having a disciple follow was probably to observe Yan Zhong’s behavior and gather information.
“That’s not necessary. I’m just taking a stroll and will be back soon. After all, Hu Han, Yang Yin, and Li Yu should be returning soon,” Yan Zhong said with a laugh.
Without waiting for True Man Bingyi to respond, Yan Zhong instantly teleported away from the Jinheng Palace and headed to a distant place.
A fierce look flashed in True Man Bingyi’s eyes—he was clearly furious at Yan Zhong’s actions. But soon his expression softened, as he had already made up his mind on how to kill all five enforcers of the Taiyuan Sect in one go.
…
Yan Zhong went to a mountain peak fifty thousand miles outside the Jinheng Sect and sat down in meditation, unleashing his true energy waves without any restraint.
At this moment, Qu Yi remained by the Golden Spirit Spring, comfortably soaking in the water as he poured it into the Tiny Realm Ball. Inside the ball, the Golden Qilin had already swallowed all the water from the spring and stored it throughout its body. This Golden Spirit Spring also helped the Golden Qilin eliminate impurities and debris from its body, allowing it to perceive the energy of metal more directly.
Ten days later, Yan Zhong, who was sitting in meditation on a mountain peak, opened his eyes and gazed into the distance with a smile. Soon, he saw a dark figure flying over—it was Hu Han.
Another five days passed, and Yang Yin returned from the North Waterfall Continent. Finding Yan Zhong and Hu Han waiting for him, he immediately joined them.
At the peak, Yan Zhong cast a soundproofing barrier before speaking to his two subordinates. “Hu Han, Yang Yin, that Li Mu has already discovered that True Man Bingyi is the real Red Blood Old Demon. I’ve confirmed it as well. Now, the three of us will return to the Golden Balance Palace. As soon as True Man Bingyi appears, we’ll act immediately to capture him and seal his vital energy,” Yan Zhong said calmly.
Sure enough, Hu Han and Yang Yin were shocked after hearing Yan Zhong’s words. “Okay, captain, we understand what you mean. But when will we deal with Li Mu and Li Yu?” Hu Han asked ominously. “Yes, captain. On this Flowing Waterfall Star, even if we kill them, no one will notice anything,” Yang Yin added, his eyes gleaming with menace.
Yan Zhong chuckled and replied, “Let them live for now. The most important thing right now is to capture the Red Blood Old Demon. As for Li Mu and the others, we can eliminate them later—just shift the blame onto the Red Blood Old Demon.”
Hahaha!
The three of them laughed heartily.
……
At the Golden Balance Palace, Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin arrived together. As soon as they landed, Yan Zhong spread his spiritual sense to locate Qu Yi and bring him to the palace as well. Yet, Qu Yi had disappeared mysteriously.
The spiritual sense of the Artifact God had already reached the mid-stage of the Tribulation Phase, allowing it to sense the return of Yan Zhong and his companions. It immediately notified Qu Yi, who quickly entered the Tiny Realm Ball. The ball then flew into the Golden Balance Palace, transforming into an imperceptible speck of dust.
True Man Bingyi, in his cultivation room, sensed the presence of Yan Zhong and his companions and immediately flew out, arriving at the Golden Balance Palace almost at the same time.
“Attack!” Yan Zhong suddenly shouted as he saw True Man Bingyi about to land.
In an instant, Yan Zhong drew out his mid-grade spiritual weapon, the Dragon-Probing Sword; Hu Han took out his top-grade treasure weapon, the Liquid Spring Spear; and Yang Yin pulled out his top-grade treasure weapon, the Sharp Fire Knife. All three attacked Real Master Bingyi at the same time.
As the Dragon-Probing Sword was wielded, the metal element’s primordial energy summoned five golden dragons of the sky, which descended from above and charged at Real Master Bingyi with terrifying speed.
The Liquid Spring Spear was raised, and the water element’s primordial energy transformed into a descending stream of cold water that covered the entire surrounding area, leaving no escape possible as icy cold filled the space.
The Sharp Fire Knife moved, and the fire element’s primordial energy turned into countless sharp flames that seemed capable of piercing through endless voids, all rushing toward Real Master Bingyi in an instant.
“You guys…”
Seeing this, Real Master Bingyi realized that these three, who were already at the later stage of the Divination Realm, had launched a surprise attack on him. His own strength was only at the middle stage of the Divination Realm, and his wood-element cultivation techniques were suppressed by both Yan Zhong’s metal-element energy and Yang Yin’s fire-element energy. Caught off guard as well, he had no way to resist.
In an instant, a Blood Spirit Ring appeared on Real Master Bingyi’s hand, with a drop of blood already falling onto it.
Hehehe!
The Blood Spirit Ring suddenly transformed into a red armor that completely enveloped Real Master Bingyi’s body. When the golden dragons, cold water, and flames struck the armor, they all shattered upon contact.
“You three are truly skilled. Now that you know who I am, keep your lives.” Real Master Bingyi had now taken on the form of a blood monster resembling the Red-Blooded Old Demon, laughing viciously.
“You wretched Real Master Bingyi! So you really are the Red-Blooded Old Demon!” Yan Zhong shouted loudly, his voice carrying far and wide, heard by everyone in the Jin Heng Sect.
With a rush, the people of the Jin Heng Sect flew into the air, looking anxiously toward the Jin Heng Palace.
By then, the Red-Blooded Old Demon already held a blood sword that resembled a living snake, writhing and looking ferocious and terrifying. In an instant, it lunged at Yan Zhong.
“Yan Zhong, you cunning scoundrel! I’ll kill you first!” the Red-Blooded Old Demon roared angrily as it floated over, its blood sword raised high.
Seeing that the Blood Spirit Ring of the Red-Blooded Old Demon had managed to block his mid-grade spiritual weapon, Yan Zhong knew he would have to fight hard to kill it this time. Thus, upon seeing the monster lunge at him, and still not fully understanding its cultivation techniques, he immediately flew back, avoiding a direct confrontation.
Suddenly, the Red-Blooded Old Demon disappeared halfway, and the next moment, its bloody body wrapped around Yang Yin’s body.
It turned out that the Red-Blooded Old Demon deliberately aimed to attack Yan Zhong, but its true target was Yang Yin, as the fire-based cultivation techniques Yang Yin practiced caused the greatest damage to its blood-based body, so it had to be dealt with first. Yan Zhong immediately understood and shouted, “Yang Yin, unleash the true fire and burn him to death!” Yang Yin had also realized this long ago. He channeled all his fire essence into his body and then released it suddenly, causing his entire body to emit bluish-white true fire. A large ball of true fire appeared in the air, scorching the Red-Blooded Old Demon until it let out agonized cries and fled immediately. The next moment, the Red-Blooded Old Demon appeared above Hu Han, wrapping around him. Its two blood claws had already torn through Hu Han’s body, causing his vital essence to flow out rapidly and into the demon’s mouth, replenishing the essence it had lost from the true fire earlier. “I’ll fight you to the death!” Hu Han screamed in panic. Layers of cold air, like white mist, surged around Hu Han. Each layer was a type of abyssal cold energy, created by Hu Han using the technique of separating his spirit from his body, gathering all the water-based energy within thirty miles around him. Sure enough, as the cold waves hit, the blood on the Red-Blooded Old Demon’s entire body solidified and began to peel off. The demon never expected Hu Han to dare use such a desperate tactic, so it fled in terror. Its essence, already damaged, lost another half due to the cold energy. Suddenly, the Red-Blooded Old Demon approached the disciples of the Jin Heng Sect floating in the air. Its entire body turned into a blood mist, enveloping all the disciples at the Golden Core stage before frantically absorbing their essence. “Disciples of the Jin Heng Sect, leave now!” Yan Zhong called out in haste. In fact, there was no need for him to say anything—those disciples were already fleeing in panic. Even if offered the position of sect leader, they wouldn’t dare return to the Jin Heng Sect at that moment. Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin glanced at the blood mass in the air, nodded at each other, as if preparing to use a combined technique. “Guangyuan Gate’s ultimate technique: The Three Elements Star Gathering Massacre Art!” The three shouted together, then wielded their magical weapons, channeling most of their essence into them before attacking the writhing blood mass in the air. The Dragon-Probing Sword emitted three streams of golden energy, like three golden rivers, shooting into the air. The Spring-Flowing Sword released three streams of water energy, like three blue dragons soaring through the air. The Fiery Blade sent out three bursts of fire energy, with red flames erupting like from a volcano.
These three types of energy, totaling nine streams, seemed to possess a spirit as they intertwined to form a swirling sphere, which suddenly struck the blood mass in the air. This sphere, combining the three energy streams, achieved a power level equivalent to the middle stage of fusion, incredibly formidable. The red-blooded old demon, whose blood mass was formed by absorbing essence blood, could not evade the sphere’s attack at all. Upon being struck, the entire blood mass turned into drops of blood rain that fell onto the ground. The red-blooded old demon took on the form of a blood monster once again, but the aura of its vital energy was now only at the initial stage of distraction, indicating it had been severely injured. Yan Zhong, Hu Han, and Yang Yin, seeing the old demon’s current state, became excited despite having expended a great deal of their own vital energy. They prepared to fly into the air and surround the old demon. Suddenly, three more figures appeared in the air—Qu Yi, Jin Qilin, and Huan Wu Die. “You guys are fighting really well!” Qu Yi exclaimed with a loud laugh as he appeared.