When Lin Jiu suddenly heard Wei Liang’s voice, she subconsciously shuddered.
‘Charging interest? What interest?!’
Her gut told her it wasn’t something good, but this obviously wasn’t the time to refuse. Suddenly, a surge of cold, powerful energy flowed into her forehead, causing her whole body to tremble as a refreshing clarity washed over her. She couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Spiritual aura couldn’t be transferred in large amounts to others, so what exactly had Wei Liang given her?
However, there was no time to figure it out now. Trusting her instincts, Lin Jiu channeled the energy into the crimson sword. After a brief moment of absolute silence, the sword suddenly erupted with blazing red light! The semi-transparent brilliance spread outward from the blade, sweeping across the battlefield in all directions.
At the center of the vortex, Lin Jiu tried her best to regulate her breathing, gripping the hilt tightly as waves of terrifying energy roared beneath her hands. The sharp gusts whipped her hair and clothes, flapping loudly around her.
Like frost under the scorching sun, the giant skeleton soon succumbed to the energy and began to melt rapidly. Its resentment poured into Lin Jiu’s spiritual sea through the sword’s tip.
10%… 20%… 30%… 50%… 80%… 90%…
Suppressing her overwhelming excitement, Lin Jiu carefully controlled the immense energy, focusing first on destroying the other leg of the giant skeleton. As the skeleton collapsed to the side, her descent slowed. Closing her eyes, she manipulated the power in the crimson sword, breaking apart the skeleton’s shoulders and ribs piece by piece, guiding the massive collapse as gracefully as a reclining beauty.
By the time she made her landing, the massive skeleton, which had once stretched beyond the horizon, had completely vanished under the sword might. Just as she was about to open her eyes, a sudden, chilling surge of murderous intent struck from behind. She barely had time to raise the crimson sword in defense before a deafening explosion shattered right behind her!
A heavy impact struck her chest, and a bitter taste of blood rose to her throat. The sword slammed against her back, and her body shot forward like a kite with its string cut, flying ten meters before crashing into the ground.
If it weren’t for the powerful energy Wei Liang had left in the sword, that attack might have torn her to shreds!
Gritting her teeth through the intense pain in her chest, Lin Jiu rolled to absorb the impact, then propped herself up on one hand and turned in the direction of the attack.
A woman in red stood there. Her hair was disheveled, her face deathly pale, with lips as red as blood. Her eyes were hollow and dark, her fingernails a sickly green. A peach-shaped decorative mark sat on her cheek, making her look like a female ghost straight out of a horror film.
Lin Jiu cursed internally, then raised the crimson sword, pointing its gleaming tip at the woman.
“Dare… ruin… my plans… years… of preparation…” the woman in red rasped, black blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“Hiss—” Lin Jiu took a sharp breath. “What the hell, Sis? Are you trying to scare me with your ugliness?”
The woman in red was stunned for a moment, then suddenly bared her fangs. Her eyes instantly filled with bloodshot, and both her pupils and whites disappeared, leaving nothing but red in her sockets.
She raised her claws and lunged at Lin Jiu.
‘Just a little more… just a bit more…’ Lin Jiu didn’t call for Wei Liang this time. Her scalp tingled as if it were buzzing with electricity, her spine trembling slightly, and her teeth clattered with a mix of extreme fear and a thrill, so intense that she could barely contain herself.
The woman in red lunged forward in an instant. Lin Jiu knew she couldn’t go head-to-head with her and used her sword to deflect the woman’s sharp, green claws with a light parry and swiftly slid to the side, running away in the opposite direction. As she fled, she shouted tauntingly, “Not only am I going to ruin your plans today, but I’ll also send you back for a makeover! Don’t worry, Sis, no matter what you come back as in your next life, it’ll be better than this—after all, you can’t get any uglier!”
The red-eyed woman’s eyes bulged, and black bloody tears streamed down her face. Her claws slashed through the air with even more ferocity.
“I…will…rip… you… apart…!!”
Lin Jiu’s cultivation was only at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and even with the crimson sword’s aid, she couldn’t outrun the red-dressed woman for long. In just a few breaths, those long claws were nearly at her back.
“Kill… you… kill…” The woman’s voice was hoarse and broken, with black blood spitting from her mouth.
Just as the sharp claws hooked into Lin Jiu’s clothes, she abruptly stopped in her tracks. She spun around quickly, her dark eyes gleaming with something the red-clad woman couldn’t understand.
Lin Jiu’s sword swung to her side, turned into a streak of red light, and merged back into her body. She opened her arms wide, leaving herself completely exposed!
The woman in red hesitated for a moment, then bared her fangs and lunged, her right hand aiming for Lin Jiu’s heart.
Facing the imminent danger, Lin Jiu’s lips curled into a smile, her expression filled with killing intent. The eight petals of the karma lotus snapped open, and its petals folded in a way Lin Jiu had never seen before—graceful, seductive. Then it bloomed with a powerful burst!
A dark golden force surged out from Lin Jiu’s spiritual sea and poured into her chest. With her hands forming a seal, she moved as elegantly as a dancer in a soft, graceful motion.
“Lotus—”
The woman’s claws almost touched Lin Jiu’s fair, slender hands. Suddenly, in her blood-red eyes, a dark golden lotus appeared—floating between illusion and reality, as fragile as a fleeting dream. Even with her muddled mind, the red-clad woman was momentarily captivated by its beauty.
Purely out of instinct, she tapped the lotus petals with her sharp nails, but they did not shatter as expected. Instead, they were as dense and indestructible as an impenetrable metal.
“—Shatter!” Lin Jiu finished with a shout.
The dark golden lotus erupted in a blaze of brilliant light. It was pure, beautiful, and overwhelmingly powerful, beyond resistance. Countless lotus petals danced and swirled into a vortex, ethereal and deadly—like a storm of blades, like a radiant moon showering its light.
The red-clad woman had no time to react before the blazing dark gold consumed her, tearing her apart with an overwhelming force. She could feel the petals cutting through her like the sharpest knives, shredding her into countless pieces.
Eternal destruction.
“No—!” Her terrified scream echoed, “I can’t die! I still have to be with Lord Ji Yuan—”
But it was too late. The dark light scattered, and she was reduced to ashes.
Lin Jiu puckered her lips and blew, dispersing the last trace of her foe into the void. Thanks to the flowery face decoration on the woman’s cheek, Lin Jiu quickly identified her weakness—vanity. By exploiting that, she had gathered just enough malice to open the eighth petal of the karma lotus, unlocking the deadly move: Lotus Shatter.
Her surroundings gradually became blurred. Lin Jiu knew she had successfully purified the resentment and was about to leave this space. As the rush of emotions in her chest settled, an overwhelming sense of weakness washed over her, coming from deep within her spiritual sea. Lin Jiu scanned the karma lotus with her mind, and suddenly, a sense of dread surged through her—
The eighth petal was slowly closing!
She had experienced this once before and knew exactly what it meant. If she couldn’t provide enough spiritual aura to the lotus before the petal closed, it would drain her dry!
“Why does every big move have a side effect!” Lin Jiu was filled with despair.
Her vision suddenly blurred. Before she could make out her surroundings, she heard a delighted voice exclaim, “The resentment of the dead has disappeared!”
Lin Jiu steadied herself and saw Wei Liang calmly withdrawing his hand from her forehead. She grabbed his arm and anxiously urged, “Hurry, I need spiritual aura!”
< Previous | TOC | Advanced TOC | Next >
Wants more chapters?
Click this page for the status of sponsored chapters.
Click this page for advanced chapters TOC.