Chapter 152: Capturing the Blood Demon, a Great Merit

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Xing shook his head. Just as he was about to launch into a long-winded speech to display his righteousness, Hua Feng suddenly attacked.

His figure shot towards Qin Haoxuan, his mouth full of sharp fangs ready to tear him to shreds. Qin Haoxuan leaned to the side and, condensing a Heaven-Cleaving Slash in his hand, met Hua Feng’s attack head-on.

The two brilliant beams of spiritual energy, like two crescent moons, slammed into each other. With a sudden flash, the white light shattered and scattered. The residual energy from the spell crashed into the nearby trees, felling all of them.

Even with his physical strength, Qin Haoxuan was still forced back half a step by Hua Feng, while Hua Feng himself stood firm, his brow slightly furrowed. It was clear that while Qin Haoxuan’s blow had not injured him, it had still caused him considerable pain.

As they fought, Qin Haoxuan was shocked to discover that after becoming a Blood Demon, Hua Feng’s cultivation had suddenly risen to the Third-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm, two leaves stronger than his own. Furthermore, his physical strength seemed to be no less than his, and his agility was far superior.

While Qin Haoxuan and Hua Feng were engaged, Xing began to try and break the seal. He gathered spiritual energy in his fist, and the three sharp bone spurs on it glinted with a cold light. He threw a punch at the seal. A faint golden light shimmered on its surface, but it did not move in the slightest.

Just then, after exchanging a blow with Qin Haoxuan, a look of terror appeared on Hua Feng’s face. He had been about to shout at Xing, but the words stuck in his throat, and his face grew even paler. “Idiot! Do you think you can break this seal with your Twentieth-Leaf cultivation? Now your attack has surely alerted the Taichu Sect’s elders! Quickly, help me kill these two and take their blood essence. Then I can set up a Blood Explosion Array and blast open the seal!”

Seeing the hesitation in Xing’s eyes, Hua Feng roared, “Hurry up, or it will be too late!”

After speaking, he launched another attack at Qin Haoxuan. It had to be said that a Blood Demon’s strength and speed far surpassed that of an ordinary person. Even with Qin Haoxuan’s unusual physique, he held no advantage. Hua Feng, who had been twenty paces away, closed the distance in the blink of an eye, bringing with him a bloody and violent fluctuation of spiritual energy.

Startled, Qin Haoxuan, who had been keeping a wary eye on Xing for any sign of betrayal, quickly retreated.

Hua Feng sneered and took out a spiritual talisman equivalent to a full-power strike from a Twentieth-Leaf cultivator. He instantly infused it with energy and activated it. A violent surge of spiritual power erupted from the talisman, transforming into a rain of arrows that shot towards Qin Haoxuan.

Qin Haoxuan sensed the danger. This was an attack he absolutely could not block; to do so would mean certain death. Without hesitation, he activated the defensive talisman that the Hundred Flowers Hall’s master, Su Baihua, had given him. The talisman, which could withstand three full-power attacks from a Thirtieth-Leaf expert, developed a few small cracks on its surface. The spiritual energy that poured from it instantly formed a wall in front of Qin Haoxuan, miraculously blocking the rain of arrows.

And Xing, who had been contemplating whether or not to help Hua Feng, also made his decision. His body shimmered, and he transformed back into the appearance of Hua Lao. He said to Hua Feng, “Just for calling me an idiot, I’ve decided not to cooperate with you. I am a genius from the Netherworld! How dare a petty demon like you scold me? It’s an insult to my demonic integrity!”

Hua Feng had not expected Qin Haoxuan to possess such a powerful defensive talisman, nor that the previously neutral demon would suddenly turn against him. Although he was a Blood Demon at the Third-Leaf, he was definitely no match for the Fifteenth-Leaf Ye Yiming.

Sure enough, Ye Yiming also made his move. He had been too stunned to help when Hua Feng had first attacked, but now, to stand by and watch would be to aid a tyrant.

“Blood Demon, die!” Ye Yiming roared. His ten fingers flew, and strands of spiritual energy shot out like silk threads, attempting to entangle Hua Feng. Unflustered, Hua Feng waved his pale hands, and sharp claws, half a finger long, suddenly sprouted from his fingertips, quickly severing Ye Yiming’s spiritual ropes.

It wasn’t that Hua Feng was so powerful, but that Ye Yiming was not using a killing move. He knew that Xing’s attack on the seal would have alerted the sect’s higher-ups. Since they wanted the Blood Demon captured alive, for him to kill it now would be asking for trouble.

Qin Haoxuan naturally understood his senior brother’s intentions.

Looking at the transformed Hua Feng, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. What a waste of a good seedling. He was amazed that Hua Feng, a new disciple with no background, had been able to use basic array knowledge to find the weakest point in the sect’s great mountain array. He was certain that not even many of the elders in the Elder’s Council knew of this flaw.

After tearing through Ye Yiming’s attack, Hua Feng continued to charge at Qin Haoxuan, slamming violently into his defensive light barrier. His body was so strong that it made the barrier tremble. His savage face radiated a ferocious and brutal aura; he was completely focused on breaking through to Qin Haoxuan.

“A Blood Demon’s body is actually that tough!” Xing, who had killed Blood Demons before, looked on with some surprise.

In the midst of the collision, as Hua Feng failed to break through the defensive barrier, an arm-sized, golden token fell from his robes and landed in the grass. He glanced at it casually, paying it no mind.

Hua Feng didn’t care, but Qin Haoxuan’s breath caught in his throat. Even Xing’s eyes went wide, staring intently at the patch of grass. In that brief glimpse, both of them had recognized the object as an Aqueous Manor Token. However, Hua Feng clearly did not understand its value. It was understandable; the ancient script had long been lost to the world.

Now completely desperate, Hua Feng knew that with the elders on their way, his chances of escape were slim. His only hope was to capture Qin Haoxuan and use his blood to set up a Blood Explosion Array.

Just as Xing was thinking of sneaking over to pick up the token, a sword light suddenly lit up in the direction of Emperor Peak. It approached at an incredible speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

Xing’s face turned deathly pale. He lowered his head and edged closer to Ye Yiming, who cooperatively released some of his own aura to help conceal him.

The sword light arrived in a matter of breaths. Seeing the Ninth Elder of the Elder’s Council step off the flying sword, a deep despair appeared in Hua Feng’s blood-red eyes.

The Ninth Elder, dressed in a neat, plain green Daoist robe, radiated an overwhelming aura that seemed to cover a ten-li radius. The moment he arrived, the very air seemed to freeze. His piercing gaze fell directly on Hua Feng. He raised his hand and made a grasping motion. An invisible hand instantly seized Hua Feng, and with a few flicks of his sword-fingers, the Ninth Elder sealed all of his major acupoints. He was now a helpless captive.

After capturing the Blood Demon, a flash of joy, gone in an instant, appeared in the Ninth Elder’s eyes. He then turned to the three of them with a stern expression and demanded coldly, “What are you doing here?” It was as if a wrong answer would lead to a fate worse than the Blood Demon’s.

A jolt went through Qin Haoxuan’s heart. He knew this was a test of his ability to lie. Steeling himself, he said, “Disciple Qin Haoxuan pays his respects to the Elder. Reporting to the Elder, we three sensed a disturbance from the Blood Demon Hua Feng’s room at night. We then saw him in his blood-red form, charging in this direction. With no patrol elders nearby, and fearing he would harm other disciples, we gritted our teeth and gave chase. This Blood Demon was incredibly ferocious. Just as we were about to be overwhelmed, you arrived.”

As he spoke, he recalled Xing’s usual shamelessness and put on a serious expression, his body even trembling slightly.

The Ninth Elder gave them a cursory glance. He was in a hurry to get back to the “repair” of the great mountain array. Although it was just a show, they needed to see it through to the end.