Chapter 85: Kill First, Rejoice Later

The flying sword arrived with astonishing speed; in just a few heartbeats, the Blood Lotus Sect cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage felt a piercing light before his eyes, and the Azure Law Sword was already within a hair's breadth!

The keen brilliance radiated forth, and though it had not yet touched him, it sliced so sharply through the air that his skin and bones felt a searing pain.

In that instant between life and death, the Foundation Establishment cultivator barely managed to steady his mind. Terrified, he channeled his profound art, conjuring from his shoulders a surge of true energy three zhang long, foul and bloody red, so acrid that a single breath made his head reel.

With a thunderous crack, the foul true energy clashed headlong against the Azure Law Sword. Yet it lasted only a few breaths before a sound like tearing silk rang out, layer after layer being ruthlessly hewn away.

Just as the cultivator caught his breath, his true energy was sundered. Desperately twisting his body, he managed to avoid a fatal blow to his head, but still, he could not escape entirely—a sword stroke severed his arm, and blood gushed forth.

“Aaah!”

He let out a wretched cry, his vision blackening, nearly collapsing to the ground.

At that moment, Yuan Yangsheng shattered the tortoise shell with a single punch, striding over the fragments with the ferocity of a dragon or tiger; his fist, laden with killing intent, swept directly for the man's face.

“You want to kill me? Kill me, Dong Shao? I am a Foundation Establishment cultivator! You? The likes of you dare—?!”

Before his fist even landed, a thunderous pressure made one’s heart skip a beat.

Dong Shao, the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Blood Lotus Sect, bit his tongue hard, his mind clearing. Forcing himself to regain his senses, he thought bitterly: he had already achieved true energy, his strength unmatched, yet from start to finish, these two had overwhelmed him at every turn, leaving him unable even to fight back. Rage filled his eyes.

“Ha!”

He spat several mouthfuls of blood, reciting a secret incantation. In an instant, a layer of blood-red light covered his body; skin, muscles, and bones hardened as if forged from steel. Staggering a few steps, he managed to block Yuan Yangsheng’s powerful punch unharmed. Even when the Azure Law Sword struck again, it pierced only a few inches into his flesh before stopping.

By now, the blood beads rolling off Dong Shao’s body were dazzling, like a rainbow-hued mist, resplendent and blinding.

“Die!”

Driving the Azure Law Sword back, he summoned all his strength, channeling his true energy with a mad laugh. A great blood-red hand emerged above his head, descending as though to crush a rat, slamming down upon Yuan Yangsheng before he could dodge.

With a deafening crash, like rolling thunder, the shockwave snapped the surrounding grass and trees, ripples spreading out like waves on water.

Yet the blood-red hand did not relent. It pounded down dozens more times until the true energy could no longer hold its form and finally dissipated.

When the dust settled, the deep pit before them was empty—Yuan Yangsheng had vanished.

Dozens of yards away, atop a massive boulder, Yuan Yangsheng bared his teeth in a grin at the stunned Dong Shao, then sighed, shook his head, and with a surge of blood, healed all his wounds.

“Such fierce power—your true energy is indeed formidable, far stronger than that of the previous one. Impressive! If I hadn’t used the Shrinking Ground technique first, I might have been in trouble!”

He turned to Chen Heng with a smile. “Still, Brother Chen, this Dong Shao is strong, but the two of us together should be able to kill him. It seems our harvest this time will be even greater!”

Chen Heng did not reply, only sent the Azure Law Sword slashing again. After a few exchanges, the blood-red light around Dong Shao faded, clearly exhausted and ready to break at any moment.

Now, the fury on Dong Shao’s face faded back to terror.

“Damn it! How can this boy’s innate energy be stronger than my true energy? What cultivation technique is this? Is he some spirit-born fiend? And that martial brute...”

Dong Shao’s eyes darted about as his mind raced, but the flying sword showed no mercy. With a sharp whistle, it charged at him with the force to pierce clouds and shatter stone.

Cornered, Dong Shao let out a furious roar, producing a blue-faced parasol. Countless bolts of black and yellow lightning shot out, crashing toward the Azure Law Sword in a spectacular display.

This parasol was his prized secret treasure, named the “Umbrella of Three Severances.” Upon the first spin, it unleashed thunder and lightning; with a second, fierce golden wind and blazing fire; with a third, miasma and venomous smoke. Each turn could be used at will, regardless of sequence.

He had acquired this “Umbrella of Three Severances” from an ancient ruin. Its power was extraordinary, having eradicated many enemies—his last trump card.

Unlike magic artifacts, secret treasures like this required no intricate refining or restrictions; they were forged through arcane methods. The Umbrella of Three Severances was unusual in that it required neither innate energy nor true energy to activate. Instead, it drew upon an odd mineral called “Mother Soul Water Essence.” Only by absorbing this could its power be unleashed.

Dong Shao had found a box of “Mother Soul Water Essence” in the ancient ruin, but after years of battles, most had been used up. Now, at the brink of death, he could not afford to be stingy, pouring all his remaining essence into the parasol. Thunder, lightning, golden winds, blazing fires, miasma, and venom—he unleashed everything in a storm so dense and dreadful that it filled the sky.

Yet his two opponents were undaunted.

Yuan Yangsheng, with his tough body, withstood the onslaught. When the lightning grew fierce, he dodged with the Shrinking Ground technique, suffering no real harm.

Chen Heng, meanwhile, wielded the Azure Law Sword, defending himself so flawlessly that not a single gust or raindrop could breach his guard. No matter what struck—lightning or fire—he cleaved them all asunder, neat and clean.

What unsettled Dong Shao most was that, amid the attrition, a sharp, murderous aura began to rise from Chen Heng, as if he would merge his spirit with the flying sword at any moment and take Dong Shao’s head.

After about half an incense stick’s time of desperate fighting, Dong Shao’s heart thudded with growing dread. When his last bit of “Mother Soul Water Essence” was spent, he lost all composure and hope. He wrapped himself in true energy and leapt into the air, vanishing into the clouds.

Yuan Yangsheng’s face tensed. Just as he was about to use the Shrinking Ground technique, Chen Heng’s flying sword transformed into an azure rainbow and shot after Dong Shao.

A wretched scream rang out.

In an instant, a bloodied figure plummeted from the sky, crashing to the ground with bones broken and breath faint.

The Azure Law Sword was not yet satisfied. With another sweep, it severed Dong Shao’s legs and remaining arm before returning to Chen Heng’s sleeve in a flash of light.

“Already half dead, and you still went that far, turning him into a human stump? Tsk! Little Chen, you’re ruthless!”

Seeing Dong Shao’s miserable state, Yuan Yangsheng shrank his neck and grumbled to himself, “Thank heaven I never truly provoked him—if I had, I’d be no better off. These orthodox cultivators are so vicious. Compared to them, I’m much more good-hearted—”

Though wracked with pain and shorn of all limbs, Dong Shao did not beg for mercy. Instead, he summoned his true energy to seal his wounds and stop the bleeding.

“You think killing me will solve everything? Ridiculous! You may have killed me, but could you slay every Foundation Establishment of the Blood Lotus Sect? Let me tell you, our leader, Senior Brother Qin Xian, has reached the second stage of Foundation Establishment, the ‘Great and Small As You Will’ realm. However skilled you are, you cannot defeat him!”

As Chen Heng approached, fear flickered across Dong Shao’s face, but he forced it down and replied sternly, “I must ask: earlier, Junior Sister Liu sent word that she had found you and asked for my help. But when I arrived, she was gone. Did you kill her?”

Before Chen Heng could answer, Yuan Yangsheng raised his brows and replied, “You mean the beautiful cultivator with violet eyes? She’s dead. She was a bit off in the head—she saw Brother Chen and started babbling about having found him, then attacked us. In the end, Brother Chen sliced off half her head with a single stroke. Dead on the spot.”

“However,” Yuan Yangsheng continued, “she couldn’t fight as well as you, but those eyes of hers—what were they? Could they see through illusions? Fascinating technique. Is there a name for it?”

Dong Shao heard only the first part and was stunned, frozen in place, the rest lost on him. Only when Yuan Yangsheng glared did he slowly come to.

“That was a divine eye technique bestowed by the Flower Goddess Palace,” Dong Shao said bitterly. “It pierces illusions, and legend has it that fully mastered, its power is limitless. The Blood Lotus Sect was made a pawn, but the Flower Goddess Palace was generous, granting this technique as a reward for those who followed Senior Brother Qin Xian’s lead. Junior Sister Liu was the only one among us who mastered it. Chen Heng, you might have masked your face, but you could never deceive her. What a pity—she had a bright future, and you ended it. Absurd!”

“One a cultivator, the other a martial brute... Seems it’s not just Junior Sister Liu—my fate is sealed as well...”

At this, Yuan Yangsheng retorted, “Who are you calling a ‘martial brute’? My path is called the Martial Way of Fierce Qi! Country bumpkin! Some people have no taste at all!”

But there was no response. Dong Shao just looked utterly despondent, sighing endlessly.

“Why are you Blood Lotus Sect people after me? Is it because I killed two of your fellow sect members?” Chen Heng stepped forward.

Two days prior—

He had casually killed two Blood Lotus Sect cultivators: one, a very fat woman; the other, a man who had used the Blind Moth technique to send a message. The latter had carried a mid-grade fifth-tier Red Demon true energy, which Chen Heng remembered well.

“So you do remember the trouble you caused!” Dong Shao sneered, his spirit somewhat revived. “The woman was nothing, but the man—his name was Zheng Hua. He was our Sect Elder’s favorite companion! With you killing her favorite right under our noses, do you think we’d have any peace when we return to the mountain?”

“Chen Heng, you have only one way out: obediently become the Sect Elder’s consort! Many would beg for such a fortune. Why resist? Don’t be ungrateful!”

Dong Shao, agitated, spat more blood but forced himself to continue, “If you agree, you’ll be part of the Blood Lotus Sect and all scores will be settled. But if you refuse, even if you escape this place, the Blood Lotus Sect will hunt you to the ends of the earth!”

Consort? Sect Elder?

Yuan Yangsheng perked up with curiosity and glanced at Chen Heng.

Dong Shao kept extolling the virtues of becoming the Sect Elder’s consort—treasures, resources, and all manner of rewards. Yuan Yangsheng, listening, felt his heart racing, wishing he could volunteer in Chen Heng’s place.

He was about to suggest that Chen Heng should just accept, thinking, “There’s wisdom in old sayings: marry an older woman, and you gain a fortune. Marry one three years older, and you ascend a kingdom. Marry one three thousand years older... If you can win the favor of a powerful cultivator, it’s no bad thing.”

But when he looked at Chen Heng, he caught a glimpse of a deep, chilling intent in his eyes—like a heavy frost in early spring, sending a shudder through his soul. Yuan Yangsheng forced a sheepish smile and turned away.

“Love between men and women is a common desire. To be called a consort—judging by the advantages, it’s much like marriage. Why is Little Chen so stubborn? He’d be better off choosing me—I’m not so bad-looking, after all!”

As he grumbled inwardly, Dong Shao, seeing that Chen Heng wasn’t rushing to kill him, dared hope for a reprieve. Propping himself up, he sighed, “Junior Brother Chen, since you killed the Sect Elder’s favorite, you owe her a replacement. Besides, it’s no hardship; the Sect Elder has admired you for a long time.”

“Oh?”

“You didn’t know? The one you killed—Zheng Hua—was chosen because he resembled you.”

“He resembled me?”

Chen Heng was silent for several breaths, then suddenly laughed. “If I refuse, the Blood Lotus Sect will show me no mercy?”

Before Dong Shao could answer, Chen Heng continued, “Then I must ask you to go first.”

A blue streak flew from his sleeve.

With a single arc, blood spattered, and a head fell to the ground.

Gathering up Dong Shao’s belongings, Chen Heng had not yet examined them when, suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.

“My young friend, it has been a long time. Seeing you unharmed, this old man’s heart is at ease.”

“This is...?”

Chen Heng frowned, unconsciously tightening his grip on the items, a trace of surprise in his heart.

“The Master of the Cave of Awakening?”