Chapter Fifty-Five: How Could You Run Around So Recklessly?
Stoneflame Secret Realm, outer regions. Dozens of streaks of light cut through the air, shooting off in different directions.
Each streak landed in a concealed corner, where a cultivator caught it in their hand. The light transformed into a talisman, each inscribed with the character for “South.”
“They’re initiating Operation Chaos South already?”
Each cultivator, upon seeing the talisman, frowned deeply, but still summoned their subordinates, giving orders in a low, grave tone: “Pass it on—discard your Manifestation Jade Slips, change into assassin garb, and move out.”
With that, each person activated their talisman, which turned to a stream of light and sped off into the distance.
...
“It’s begun!” Li Xunhuang sheathed his sword, which had been nurtured with fire spiritual energy, and turned to the white-clad man beside him.
“Very well, I’ll go on ahead.” The man in white stood up, nodded with a smile, and walked away.
Li Xunhuang said nothing, watching the man disappear completely from view. Only then did he sneer in disdain. “Hmph, putting on airs—everyone making the moves is under my command. When it’s time for rewards, all you’ll get to do is watch.”
The white-clad man, once gone, found a secluded spot and drew out a black Manifestation Jade Slip, covered with intricate array markings.
“Sir, the ‘Astonishing Spirit’ organization claims to have succeeded in assassinating Xu Zhe. Qu Hongxiu is furious, hunting their assassins throughout the secret realm. I think this is our chance and have initiated our plan ahead of schedule.” The man spoke to the jade slip in a flat, emotionless tone.
“Are you sure he’s dead?” After a pause, a raspy, low voice came from the jade slip, clearly altered to conceal its identity.
“Not sure,” the white-clad man replied.
“What do you think?” the voice asked.
“I think he’s not so easily killed. Those in ‘Astonishing Spirit’ probably fell for a trick, or... Well, it hardly matters,” the man suddenly grinned. “Now that we’re acting, Qu Hongxiu’s death will be blamed on ‘Astonishing Spirit.’ Of course, Southern Heaven Continent will suspect something and investigate thoroughly—eventually, the trail will lead to that fool Li Xunhuang. The Vermillion Bird Army and the Li family—perhaps we’ll see a war between them.”
“One Qu Hongxiu’s death is not enough.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Don’t disappoint me again, Qi Ming.”
“Sir, Qi Ming is already dead. I am Mo Tianchou, third-generation disciple of Wang Jianguo.”
“Go. If this fails again, don’t bother returning.”
“I won’t fail again!” The white-clad man’s smile vanished, his face growing cold and impassive.
...
Elsewhere, several ‘Astonishing Spirit’ assassins were fleeing through the air within the secret realm, racing madly toward the exit.
“Is this woman insane? She’s still chasing us?”
“Heh, would she be called the Little Martial God if she weren’t insane?”
“That stupid woman—couldn’t she at least check the corpse properly? We said we killed Xu Zhe, and she just believed it?”
“Forget her, let’s hurry up and retreat. Once we regroup, we’ll claim our reward from the Mo family with the head.”
“You all saved the action footage, right?”
“Yeah. Except for the part where Xu Tianjiao stuck his head out of the fire-poison mist—that bit’s deleted. The rest is intact.”
“Double-check—when we killed the scapegoat, did anyone say the wrong thing or give themselves away with their eyes? Cut everything suspicious.”
“Relax, if we couldn’t act, we wouldn’t be assassins. We’re all trained!”
“Good. Anyway, just bring the head and the recording to claim the reward. If the Mo family says we killed the wrong person, it’s a reasonable mistake—no refunds.”
“We’ll just cancel the job on our end, too. Damn, that guy is a freak—who goes into fire-poison mist to temper their body? Is he mad?”
“Drop it, we couldn’t have killed him anyway. Since Chu Martial God had Qu Hongxiu announce those words before entering the realm, his stance was clear. That’s why the higher-ups ordered us to play by the rules—withdraw all Nascent Soul assassins out of respect for the Vermillion Bird Army.”
“Pulling back makes sense, but honestly, I doubt a Nascent Soul stage could take him down. He’s terrifying.”
“Still, we got lucky running into that scapegoat. Otherwise, this trip would have been for nothing.”
The assassins conversed through secret transmissions as they sped along. Confident in their skills and speed, they had no fear of being caught by Qu Hongxiu.
...
However, just as they approached a bend, dozens of black-clad figures appeared ahead, all wearing the garb of ‘Astonishing Spirit’ assassins, hurrying toward them.
“Huh? Why haven’t these people retreated?”
“Something’s not right! Are those really our people?”
“Give the code!” one assassin called out warily.
But the black-clad figures gave no reply. Instead, they instantly raised their hands and launched a barrage of lethal attacks.
Bang!
A sword, transformed into a stream of light, shot through the air like lightning, splitting into countless sword rays that instantly engulfed the ‘Astonishing Spirit’ assassins, ravaging them mercilessly.
“Na...Nascent Soul!” one assassin screamed before falling silent forever.
When the sword light faded and gathered once more into a blade, the Golden Core assassins had been sliced to pieces, their remains falling to the ground.
At that moment, Qu Hongxiu, still in pursuit, arrived and witnessed the carnage, stunned.
“You’re not ‘Astonishing Spirit’!”
She instantly grasped the situation—she’d never heard of infighting within the organization. More importantly, the sword technique wielded by the Nascent Soul cultivator was formidable, even familiar, but nothing like the methods used by ‘Astonishing Spirit.’
“Qu Hongxiu, someone’s put a hit on you. We of ‘Astonishing Spirit’ have taken the contract,” a cold voice called out.
At once, the group fanned out, surrounding Qu Hongxiu from all sides.
Qu Hongxiu grew more certain—they were definitely not ‘Astonishing Spirit.’
Because they didn’t try to sell her a package deal!
“No matter who you are, attacking me means you’re tired of living!” Furious, Qu Hongxiu summoned a long halberd, her presence surging as she charged forward.
With her strength, even if she couldn’t defeat a Nascent Soul stage opponent, escaping from one wasn’t out of the question. But with dozens of Golden Core cultivators blocking her way, she could only target them to break through.
Boom!
A wave of flames erupted from her eyes, igniting the halberd in her grasp. The blazing fire coiled around it like a dragon.
She swept the halberd through the air, sending out arcs of flame that transformed into dragons, baring their fangs as they attacked the encircling Golden Core cultivators.
“Form the array!” the Nascent Soul leader, a woman, commanded.
She raised her sword, which turned once more into a stream of light.
The Golden Core cultivators unleashed their techniques, channeling spiritual energy as they moved in formation, weaving a net of dazzling brilliance in the sky.
Bang!
The fire dragons collided with the array’s light, erupting like fireworks, scattering embers through the air.
“Unbelievable,” Qu Hongxiu muttered, frustrated but helpless. The opponents were too many, their combined array neutralizing her techniques. The Nascent Soul cultivator’s sword hovered nearby—one slip, and it would end her life.
She drew a steadying breath, knowing full well that recklessly pressing the fight would spell her doom, even if she took a few with her. She needed to save her strength and find a chance to escape.
But the array blocked every path, and to the right lay a bank of fire-poison mist. Forcing her way through might offer a chance at survival, but that led toward the heart of the Stoneflame Secret Realm, where the fire poison was most potent.
...
With her current strength, she’d last less than half an hour inside before succumbing.
“Never mind, I’ll try breaking out from behind.”
Qu Hongxiu tore her gaze from the fire-poison mist, turning her eyes behind her. Flames surged in her eyes, spilling forth like molten lava, quickly enveloping her entire body.
“Attack!” the Nascent Soul leader cried, urging her flying sword to strike.
Bang!
The sword exploded into a storm of sword light, enveloping Qu Hongxiu, slashing down relentlessly.
The Golden Core cultivators reinforced their array, gathering spiritual energy into a vortex above Qu Hongxiu. It became a river of energy, pouring down to extinguish her flames.
“Damn you all—break!” Qu Hongxiu roared, her aura blazing.
With a deafening roar, a pair of massive flaming wings unfurled from her back, beating down with explosive force.
The sword light shattered, the sword itself falling dimly to the ground. The energy river overhead broke apart, yet still cold streams spilled onto her, hissing and sending up white smoke.
“Reckless. You dared to meet my sword head-on.” The Nascent Soul leader snorted. “She’s gravely wounded—finish her off, now!”
“You’re from the Jade Pool!” Qu Hongxiu’s gaze locked onto the Nascent Soul cultivator. In that exchange, she’d sensed the aura of the Jade Pool Holy Land from the sword.
The Nascent Soul cultivator said nothing, channeling spiritual energy to restore her dulled sword.
The Golden Core cultivators reformed their array, and the river above Qu Hongxiu’s head began to mend.
Boom!
Qu Hongxiu wasted no time. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, her flaming wings beat furiously, her entire form blazing like a sunbird as she shot into the sky, barreling directly toward a cluster of Golden Core cultivators.
“Block her!”
The array shifted, golden light surging to protect the targeted cultivators.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a tiny black flash appeared out of nowhere—an eerie black fire lotus, exuding a chilling aura, spinning gently in the air, its petals unfolding.
“What is that?” the Golden Core cultivators gasped.
Boom!
The black lotus exploded, unleashing a sea of fire. The wave of energy tore through the golden light and the cultivators alike, reducing all to ashes.
“Little Qu, you’re too old to be so reckless. Didn’t you promise to meet up with me right away before coming in?” a voice called out from below, tinged with reproach. “I’ll have a word with your master about this—how could you run off in such a dangerous place?”
“Uncle Xu?” Qu Hongxiu had broken through the encirclement but halted midair in astonishment, calling out in disbelief.
On the ground, the handsome man standing there with a stern expression was none other than Xu Zhe.
...