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Qing Meipon was furious as she looked at the sword that had pierced through her torso. Her face twisted with murderous intent as she grabbed the blade with her bare hand and pulled it out of her body.
"Friend Meipon, you're as barbaric as ever," Bei Shifeng laughed heartily. "Why couldn't you just die quietly by my sword and spare yourself unnecessary suffering?"
Qing Meipon's face darkened. She used her Qi to heal her wound, but encountered Bei Shifeng's Sword Qi, which prevented full recovery. In the end, she had to settle for merely stopping the bleeding.
She narrowed her eyes and clasped her hands, activating her signature spell: Seven Saints Fire Wheel!
A fiery wheel, bearing seven symbols within it, appeared behind Qing Meipon.
Bei Shifeng scoffed. "It's been a while since I've seen Friend Meipon's Seven Saints Wheel, but do you really think that will get you out of your current predicament?"
"I don't know if I'll survive this, but I'll certainly take you with me!"
One of the symbols on the fire wheel—resembling a thousand-armed figure—suddenly shone brighter than the rest! Dozens of fiery arms erupted behind Qing Meipon, flying toward Bei Shifeng with fury!
Bei Shifeng watched the attack seriously and used one of the Ink Sword Sect's signature techniques: Deep Ink Sword Art! He swung his sword forcefully, creating dozens of black sword lights that transformed into lifelike birds flying toward the fiery arms!
A series of explosions shook the air, but Qing Meipon and Bei Shifeng continued staring each other down.
But if one looked closely at their expressions, they would notice Qing Meipon's face was darker than coal, while Bei Shifeng's was as bright as possible for someone his age.
Because at that moment, the blood drop with its dark, malevolent aura had risen another hundred meters into the sky.
Qing Xuyun and Qing Huomei, who were fighting the other two Ink Sword Sect elders, also looked up at the sky with apprehension. Even the Mo clan elders—who for some reason had remained motionless until now—strained their necks to look upward with clear fear.
Minutes earlier, on the ground, the scene had become far more chaotic.
The malevolent aura surrounding the blood drop seemed capable of dragging people into madness, gradually weakening their mental resistance until their eyes finally lost clarity.
Many merely murmured in fear about dying or voiced their final wishes, but those with weaker wills immediately began acting strangely. They started clawing violently at their own skin, tearing it open and letting blood pool on the ground.
Most chillingly, they began screaming madly—either pleading or shrieking in terror—to some entity only they seemed able to see.
"Oh please, believe in me and grant me your blessings, oh Great...!"
"No, no, go away, demon, DEMON!"
"Yes, yes, I'll obey you, but make her mine! That's all I ask!"
Qing Xuanling looked around her with bewilderment and a hint of fear. The sight was simply too bizarre and horrifying.
She, along with all the Qing clan members present, were surrounded by a water barrier infused with a powerful purifying aura created by the Young Master, who was solemnly watching the sky.
His eyes were especially grave as he observed the Mo clan elders, who had stopped moving some time ago. He immediately noticed a certain energy seemed to be paralyzing them.
His heart was filled with worry—he wanted to go help the Qing clan elders against those traitorous Ink Sword Sect members. However, he knew that if he left, the Qing clan members under his protection would likely die.
'There's a forty percent chance we could resolve this if I go help the elders, but these kids' fate...'
The Young Master smiled bitterly. Though the best decision would be to support the elders and end everything, he couldn't bring himself to do it. In his heart, the true future of the clan lay in youths like Qing Xuanling—not in Foundation Establishment cultivators.
So he could only remain on the ground, helplessly watching the elders fight.
Unaware of the difficult decision the Young Master had just made, Qing Xuanling mimicked him and also looked up at the sky, managing to spot a small red dot. She blinked, slightly confused. But when she opened her eyes again, she was completely stunned.
The red dot had grown at least ten times its size in the brief moment she'd blinked!
Now it was large enough for anyone to see clearly—but the problem was it kept growing at an alarming rate. She watched in terror as the red spot expanded hundreds of times its original size in just five seconds, becoming so vast it enveloped all the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sky.
A terror from the deepest part of her soul made Qing Xuanling's breath catch. Her face filled with panic as she unconsciously took a step back, ready to flee without looking back!
"Stop."
The Young Master firmly grabbed Qing Xuanling's shoulder, preventing her from moving.
"That red stain in the sky seems to affect the mind. Even the barrier I erected doesn't fully block its effects. But if you run out of fear..." The Young Master's face was ashy. "Well, over there are some examples of how you'd end up."
He pointed to hundreds of people who had suddenly begun behaving erratically—kneeling, self-harming, crying, even stripping off their clothes. And all these actions seemed directed toward the same being, either to flee from it or appease it!
Qing Xuanling's face froze. She hadn't noticed when the few dozen people exhibiting this behavior had multiplied into hundreds, with increasingly extreme actions!
She looked at the Young Master with panic and a glimmer of hope. She opened her mouth to ask, but he interrupted her.
"And before you ask—no, I can't move this barrier and leave." The Young Master smiled bitterly, guessing her thoughts. "Moving the barrier isn't complicated, but the problem is its effects would weaken slightly. And the clan members at the initial stage are already struggling... I don't think they'd can remain stable if the barrier's protection weakens."
Qing Xuanling turned her head and looked around, noticing several higher-cultivation clan members restraining or calming lower-cultivation members who had inexplicably panicked.
She immediately understood. Those with stronger divine sense resisted the red stain's effects better.
A bitter smile appeared on her face. Her faint hope of escaping the stain's expanding reach vanished instantly. They couldn't advance with several clan members going mad, much less abandon them.
She calmly raised her head and watched the red stain slowly approach them. In just ten seconds, it was mere meters away.
Qing Xuanling's eyes clearly reflected her uncertainty, but her straight back conveyed the inner resolve that kept her brave in this situation.
The red stain soon engulfed them. She felt a chill as it passed through her, but surprisingly, she felt no other unpleasant sensations. It was like entering a bubble—something she'd experienced before.
However, something did change—the air around her became much heavier and saltier.
Suddenly.
A shrill cry, filled with hatred and resentment, echoed through the air at that moment. Qing Xuanling immediately looked up. She recognized that voice—it was Elder Meipon's!
"Damn demonic cultivators! Since when has the world become so rotten that vermin like you dare crawl out of your holes?! And Bei Shifeng—have you really allied with these people?! Have you forgotten the tragedy eighty years ago?!"
In the sky—which had somehow changed from its familiar color to intense red—several figures floated. Qing Meipon clutched her bleeding side, standing alongside Qing Huomei and Qing Xuyun against the Ink Sword Sect elders.
But three new figures had suddenly appeared above them.
These figures carried a strong scent of blood and looked down with clear disdain in their eyes.
The central figure—a handsome, youthful-looking man—had strangely pale, bluish skin like a corpse upon closer inspection. His eyes, completely void of anything but deep blackness, indifferently surveyed the Foundation Establishment cultivators before focusing on the chaos below.
He spoke coldly to the woman beside him. "The drop of blood from the ancestor of enlightenment is less effective than I thought. There are still ants in the Qi Refinement realm capable of maintaining sanity."
The woman—who unlike her companion had a normal appearance—rolled her eyes as she smoothed her purple hair. "You expected too much from a blood drop over ten thousand years old that wasn't properly preserved, brother Zhang. This is actually quite good effect already."
The cultivator called Zhang frowned in disgust, as if the mere survival of the "ants" below was sacrilege.
The third figure—a thin, gaunt individual—remained silent, only watching the commotion below with a smile.
Qing Meipon observed the three figures, all radiating peak Foundation Establishment auras, and felt her heart sink.
'Facing those three up there plus Bei Shifeng and the other two is...'
Qing Meipon's expression was grim. The situation wasn't just precarious—it was desperate.
She watched the three demonic cultivators chatting casually above, and her eyes filled with determination.
"Huomei, Xuyun... Are you ready?"
Qing Meipon's hoarse voice made Qing Huomei and Qing Xuyun's hearts tremble. Their faces cycled through emotions from anguish to despair, which ultimately became an ironclad determination.
Qing Huomei smiled gracefully. "I'm 187 years old this year. That my cultivation advanced enough to let me live this long still surprises me. Luck and my own talent certainly played a part, but what truly brought me here was the clan's protection all these years..."
Qing Huomei's gaze softened as she looked down. She tenderly observed Xuanling, Tanwei, and Muyu. She'd grown deeply fond of these three and their teammates during the two months she'd taught them.
As a respected clan elder, she normally spent most of her time on official matters and cultivation, so her interactions with clanmates were barely a tenth of what they'd been in her youth.
But spending time with these youths had reminded her of old times—when she'd joked and played with companions, most of whom were now dead.
Qing Huomei's expression hardened as she took a deep breath. "I think it's time I repay everything the clan has given me in this life."
Qing Xuyun smiled. "I was born blind, so I've never truly seen anything... But if there's one thing I know for certain despite my blindness, it's that the clan is the only place that would have allowed someone as useless as me to reach this realm. I have no regrets."
Qing Meipon grinned fiercely upon hearing this. Her heart—which had lived 268 years and was only decades from death—began pounding violently again, as in her youth.
Her aura began surging violently.
"Good, good! The clan certainly hasn't erred in raising you!" The elder's appearance began changing. Her hunched back straightened, her cloudy eyes cleared, and her wrinkles faded. "You're young, so let this old woman take the first step! You can follow in my footsteps later!"
Qing Meipon's appearance transformed completely. No longer the hunched elder with dry gray hair, she now stood nearly 1.9 meters tall—toned, powerful, with fiery red hair dancing in the wind.
Her figure, with the Seven Saints Fire Wheel blazing behind her, could only be described as magnificent!
Her beautiful, bold face wore the brightest possible smile, unconcerned that after this battle she'd have only one year left to live! She took a deep breath and shouted with vigor:
"May the Qing clan's heaven endure for eternity!"
"May the Qing clan's heaven endure for eternity!"
Qing Huomei and Qing Xuyun cried out after her, their eyes filled with sorrow and respect. They too unleashed their full auras, revealing their peak and advanced Foundation Establishment cultivations respectively.
Though they hadn't sacrificed their vital energy, their auras were still more intense and powerful than usual.
The three elders' cries made Bei Shifeng and the two Ink Sword Sect elders' faces change. Every time they heard this shout, things never went well for the Qing clan's enemies...
Bei Shifeng frowned deeply but didn't dare act without orders. He could only plead silently to the three figures above him.
Those three figures—who'd been watching the ground events with boredom—finally regarded the Qing clan elders with interest.
The cultivator Zhang, standing between the other two, looked at Qing Meipon with a smile.
"So these are the Qing clan people." His eyes were like abysses, analyzing Qing Meipon's strength. "I've heard rumors from neighboring cities about a clan founded less than one thousand-five hundred years ago that rose at an astonishing pace."
"According to rumors, every Qing clan member is a person bathed in fire and blood, possessing rarely seen determination. It seems the rumors weren't entirely false."
Qing Meipon clenched her fist with a disdainful smile. She raised an eyebrow. "Is talking all you know how to do? Demonic cultivators from my era were much better than this. At least they'd attack anyone they saw with terrifying force. Oh—perhaps you're second-generation who didn't inherit your predecessors' talents."
Cultivator Zhang's smile widened.
"...What a pity. I wanted to chat a bit longer with you. But your mouth shortened what little life you had left."
Cultivator Zhang clenched his fist and indifferently struck toward Qing Meipon. Qi surged from his body, forming a fist filled with corpse Qi that emitted terrifying pressure!
Qing Meipon's pupils contracted. Too powerful!
Four of her Seven Saints Wheel's seven symbols lit up simultaneously. Fire erupted before her, taking the form of a bear with crown of branches that roared fiercely!
The bear charged bravely against the corpse Qi-formed black fist!
Fire bear and fist collided, creating energy waves that shook the air.
In the next instant, the fist pierced through the bear's body, causing it to explode into embers that dissipated in the air!
Qing Meipon frowned as five symbols on her fire wheel lit up again. Dozens of palms appeared around her, striking the fist hundreds of times per second, finally dissipating it.
Cultivator Zhang raised his eyebrows. "Interesting—you're better than I expected. I suppose I can play with you a bit before performing the sacrifice."
Qing Meipon gritted her teeth. Her worst fear had come true. These demonic cultivators had indeed appeared to conduct a large-scale sacrifice!
Cultivator Zhang ignored Qing Meipon's concerns and addressed his two companions. "Prepare the sacrifice while I warm up with this old woman. And you..."
He looked at the Ink Sword Sect elders. "Though you've sworn loyalty, that's not enough to make you our subordinates. Make some contributions. Stop those other two Qing clan elders from interrupting my fight. If you succeed, I might accept you as my subordinates. If not..."
He left the implication hanging.
Bei Shifeng and his two companions trembled like saplings in a storm. Their faces paled as they looked at the chaos below, then quickly fixed determined—almost desperate—gazes on Qing Huomei and Qing Xuyun.
Qing Meipon observed Bei Shifeng—her old rival—and snorted. She wondered why she'd fought so much with someone so weak-willed. She quickly dismissed him and focused on her current enemy, Cultivator Zhang.
'This guy wants to fight me alone, so I shouldn't worry about others. If I can kill him, the situation might improve somewhat...'
As for Qing Huomei and Qing Xuyun facing two against three, she didn't even consider it. She was confident those two could handle it easily.
She took a deep breath as her Qi surged violently, ready to devastate the world itself.
Cultivator Zhang smiled.
"Good, that's what I like! Let's see how long you can entertain me!"
His figure disappeared, reappearing instantly before Qing Meipon with a corpse Qi-enveloped fist!
Qing Meipon wasn't surprised at all and activated two of her seven symbols, creating crimson fire that completely surrounded her. Cultivator Zhang scoffed and struck, unconcerned about the fire—but to his surprise, his fist met no resistance as it passed through the flames.
Simultaneously, hundreds of fiery birds emerged behind him, striking him forcefully and creating a smoke cloud!
Qing Meipon appeared meters away, three symbols blazing intensely as she attacked Cultivator Zhang continuously for several minutes at great Qi cost. But her expression remained tense.
A thunderous laugh immediately proved her caution wasn't unfounded.
"Haha, truly a strange technique! I've never heard of anything like this!" Cultivator Zhang energetically flew out of the smoke cloud, apparently unharmed. "Show me more interesting things!"
He joined his index and middle fingers, pointing at Qing Meipon. Corpse Qi condensed into a sphere before a black ray shot out at high speed!
Qing Meipon watched the ray seriously and flew sideways, dodging without much difficulty. But she didn't expect the ray to change direction mid-air, curving widely before flying back toward her.
She tried evading, twisting and turning in the air while distancing herself from Cultivator Zhang—but the black ray was extremely persistent, refusing to let her go. She gritted her teeth as five of her seven symbols lit up in a specific sequence.
A bear claw—almost lifelike—emerged from the void and forcefully struck the black ray! Both dissipated instantly!
Qing Meipon's face paled slightly, and she quickly swallowed several pills.
"You don't think I'm like those fake demonic cultivators who stupidly let their opponents do whatever they want, do you?" Cultivator Zhang appeared behind Qing Meipon, clawing toward her heart!
Qing Meipon reacted immediately, dodging and counterattacking with dozens of fiery birds. But Cultivator Zhang's claw-hand—whose nails had grown several centimeters and turned black—easily sliced through every fiery bird that approached.
Qing Meipon frowned at the sight but didn't give up, continuing her assault with more symbols.
Both became locked in intense combat, somehow emerging unscathed despite terrifying attacks. However, this fragile balance couldn't last much longer.
Cultivator Zhang's figure suddenly split into three, surrounding Qing Meipon!
Qing Meipon's face darkened as her divine sense failed to discern which was real!
All three Cultivator Zhangs attacked simultaneously, each delivering powerful claw strikes with chilling corpse Qi surrounding their nails!
Qing Meipon did her best to defend against attacks from three directions, but Cultivator Zhang easily pierced through her fire barrier and scratched her back!
Cultivator Zhang's face filled with disappointment at the sight. "Oh... What a pity. I really hoped you'd last a bit longer."
Qing Meipon's face showed confusion as she retreated, feeling sharp pain in her back.
She stared incomprehendingly at Cultivator Zhang for a moment before alarm flooded her features. Her heart seemed to stop as she felt her body slowly beginning to paralyze...!
Cultivator Zhang flew toward her indifferently.
"I suppose this is the end, warrior of the Qing clan. It would have been quite an interesting battle if you'd known my techniques... Pity that wasn't the case."
Though his words seemed regretful, Qing Meipon clearly saw his disdain. She gritted her teeth, trying to move her arms—but they simply wouldn't obey.
Cultivator Zhang smiled and reached for Qing Meipon's neck...!
Crack!
A sound like shattering glass suddenly echoed loudly.
Doubt appeared on Cultivator Zhang's face as he looked confusedly at the sky—where the red sky suddenly fractured into pieces, briefly revealing the blue sky beyond!
Obviously, these broken pieces immediately began regenerating, covering the blue sky again in less than a minute.
But in that minute, a figure had entered—floating in the air with an impressive aura.
Qing Xuanling, who'd been occupied with her own matters, looked up at the thunderous sound and opened her eyes in disbelief.
'Madam Yechan!'