Chapter 38: Today I will take your dog’s life

Violent spiritual pressure crashed down from the sky, overwhelming everything in its path.

The surrounding trees snapped instantly, broken in half by the force.

Luo Qingchen had just finished stuffing four storage bags into her robes.

She drew the Five Elements Blade from her storage space, preparing to kill the four men to improve her chances in the upcoming battle.

In the sky, a 10-foot-long blade of fire qi tore through the clouds.

Carrying a destructive force, it hacked straight down toward the top of Luo Qingchen’s head.

It was a full-strength strike from an Early Core Formation expert.

The speed was too great, completely sealing off any path of retreat.

Ling Xiyue did not hesitate for a single second.

The Green Scale Sword unsheathed.

A crisp sword hum echoed throughout the Canyon.

She took a step forward, shielding Luo Qingchen.

Gripping her sword with both hands, she slashed upward against the terrifying blade of fire qi.

Saber and sword collided.

A violent storm of spiritual energy exploded outward, centered on the two women.

The crude trapping array Luo Qingchen had set up was instantly shattered by the aftershocks.

The Array Flags exploded.

Luo Qingchen didn’t even have time to activate her defenses before the shockwave from the Core Formation collision sent her flying.

She tumbled through the air, flipping several times before slamming heavily into an ancient tree over 150 feet away.

Her chest felt tight.

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from her lips.

Five figures descended slowly from the sky.

The leader was a bald, burly man with a bare chest and knotted muscles.

He held a broad-backed saber in his hand.

He was an Elder of the Tyrant Saber Sect at the Early Core Formation stage.

Behind him followed four Late Foundation Establishment elites with steady, powerful breaths.

The bald man looked down at Ling Xiyue from the air.

“Eldest Martial Sister of Hidden Sword Mountain, Ling Xiyue.”

“We’ve had a difficult time searching for you.”

The man’s greedy gaze swept toward Luo Qingchen.

“Hand over everything you’ve scavenged from the Secret Realm.”

“If I’m in a good mood, I might even leave your corpses intact.”

Luo Qingchen wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

Leaning against the tree trunk, she stood up.

She patted the dirt off her clothes and rolled her eyes dramatically.

“You’ll leave our corpses intact if we give you the stuff?”

“Then you’re actually quite a nice guy, aren’t you?”

“Since you haven’t given me any other choice, I’ll just have to find a way to kill you.”

Xiao Bai hid behind a tree, its front paws clutching its head tightly as its entire body shook like a leaf.

“Papa Luo!”

“Can you please shut up at a time like this!”

“Lord Dog doesn’t want to die yet!”

“I haven’t even exchanged for dual cultivation with Fairy Ruyan!”

The bald man snorted coldly.

“Stubborn even in the face of death.”

“I don’t mind telling you that my sect’s Nascent Soul Elder will be arriving any moment now.”

“As long as we stall you for a bit, you won’t be able to escape even if you grow wings!”

‘A Nascent Soul Elder.’

The moment those three words were uttered, Luo Qingchen’s heart sank to the bottom of her chest.

She could still try to fight an Early Core Formation expert using arrays and hit-and-run tactics.

But if a Nascent Soul monster arrived, it would be pure dimensional suppression.

They wouldn’t even have a chance to run.

Ling Xiyue’s face was as cold as still water.

She didn’t look back at Luo Qingchen.

With a flick of her hand, she tore the jade waist token engraved with the words “Hidden Sword” from her belt.

Without even looking, she threw it backward.

The token landed precisely in Luo Qingchen’s arms.

Immediately after.

The spiritual energy of the Mid Core Formation stage erupted from Ling Xiyue’s body.

She formed a seal with her left hand and pressed a gentle palm against Luo Qingchen’s chest.

A soft but irresistible force surged forth.

Luo Qingchen, along with the dog, was sent flying dozens of yards away by this power.

A cold voice echoed through the Canyon.

“Take the jade token and find my master, Master Wangyou.”

“I will hold them off.”

Luo Qingchen regained her balance in mid-air to avoid landing on her head and losing consciousness.

Looking at the back of Ling Xiyue as she stood alone, sword in hand, facing the Tyrant Saber Sect Elder.

A million curses raced through Luo Qingchen’s mind.

‘Damn you!’

‘You want me to meet that Nascent Soul monster and expect me to convince him to come back here!?’

The bald man flew into a rage.

“You want to run? It won’t be that easy!”

“You four on the ground, go kill that little girl and that dog!”

The four Foundation Establishment disciples who had been knocked down earlier immediately took the order.

They turned into four streaks of light, madly chasing after the direction where Luo Qingchen had landed.

Luo Qingchen hit the ground and performed a roll to dissipate the force.

Before she could even catch her breath, four sharp killing intents from behind had already locked onto her.

She pushed her Snowless Tread movement art to its absolute limit.

Luo Qingchen turned into a grey blur, weaving frantically through the dense forest.

The four disciples remained hot on her heels.

One of them, a lanky disciple, had clearly cultivated a special movement technique.

He was incredibly fast.

Within a few leaps, he had closed the distance.

He was less than 30 feet from Luo Qingchen’s back.

The lanky disciple let out a sinister laugh.

“Little girl, you run fast!”

“But you’re staying right here!”

He swung his long saber violently.

The sharp saber qi turned into a white ribbon of energy, sealing off all of Luo Qingchen’s paths to the left and right.

The blade whistled through the air, screaming as it closed in on the center of Luo Qingchen’s back.

If this strike landed, she would undoubtedly be cleaved in two.

Luo Qingchen did not panic.

Instead of dodging, she closed the gap.

In the middle of her sprint, she suddenly whirled around.

Her right foot slammed into the ground, stepping into a deep pit for leverage.

She activated the Blade Vibration Art instantly.

The Five Elements Blade flipped between her fingers, switching to its gold-attribute form.

It became a dark gold dagger.

With a flick of her wrist, the dagger met the long saber at an extremely bizarre angle.

It carved with absolute precision into the weakest point of the saber’s force.

*Clang!*

A deafening sound of clashing metal erupted.

High-frequency vibration force traveled through the blade in an instant.

The lanky disciple only felt a terrifying rebound force hit him.

The webbing between his thumb and index finger tore on the spot, spraying blood.

His long saber was knocked back by the force, soaring high into the air.

His chest was wide open.

His face was filled with shock; he couldn’t understand how a Mid Foundation Establishment cultivator could break his full-strength strike so effortlessly.

Luo Qingchen gave him no time to think.

Without a single word of nonsense.

She pushed Ghost Cry and Divine Howl to its maximum capacity.

The dark gold dagger sliced through the air, accompanied by an ear-piercing sound like a ghost’s wail.

Luo Qingchen’s figure disappeared from her spot.

A faint ripple in space flickered.

Luo Qingchen had already appeared further away, continuing her escape.

The lanky disciple was still sneering.

“Your escape technique is quite fast—”

Before he could finish, his vision began to spin violently.

He saw the blue sky.

He saw the lush forest canopy.

Finally, he saw a headless corpse standing on the spot, with a pillar of blood several feet high geysering from the neck.

Those clothes… looked so familiar.

His consciousness plunged into total darkness.

*Thud.*

The headless corpse collapsed.

A single-strike kill!

The remaining three pursuers skidded to a halt.

The soles of their boots plowed three deep furrows into the dirt.

The three of them stared fixedly at their companion’s headless corpse.

They sucked in a cold breath.

Their scalps went numb.

Although a Mid-stage vs an Early-stage was technically a fight between a superior and an inferior level, the advantage in the Foundation Establishment realm was usually just a matter of spiritual energy reserves.

It was almost unheard of to be killed instantly like this.

Yet, in a single encounter.

She had executed a frontal, instant kill of an elite inner sect disciple!

How was this possible!

What kind of monster was this girl!?

The three pursuers were completely intimidated by Luo Qingchen’s ruthless and decisive methods.

The hands holding their sabers trembled slightly.

Retreat began to cross their minds.

They didn’t even dare to look directly at the blood-dripping dark gold dagger in Luo Qingchen’s hand.

To hide their inner terror.

The three of them exchanged a glance.

Their gazes shifted simultaneously toward Xiao Bai, who was nearby, his four legs moving like a blur as he desperately tried to catch up to Luo Qingchen.

They would squeeze the softest persimmon.

One of the pursuers, a fat man, pointed at Xiao Bai.

He roared with a voice that was loud but lacked true courage.

“Vile Hidden Sword Mountain disciple!”

“How dare you kill my Senior Brother!”

“Today, I will surely take your dog life!”

With that, the three raised their sabers and charged aggressively toward Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai was running with all its might.

Upon hearing those words, its eyes went wide.

Its four short legs almost tangled together.

It turned its head with a look of pure disbelief and began cursing at the three pursuers.

“Woof!”

“Are you guys blind!?”

“She’s the one who killed him!”

“What the hell does that have to do with Lord Dog!?”

“And are you even using that idiom correctly!?”

The three pursuers didn’t listen at all.

Their long sabers carried a fierce wind as they hacked directly at the dog’s head.