Chapter 115: Revenge And Retribution, Departing Carefree
Everything happened in the span of electric light and flint.
From Ning Qi taking out the Blood King Gu to boldly striking, it was actually just a matter of moments, too fast to react.
The Thin Elder’s Heaven and Earth Power only had time to condense around his body before it was shattered by the great hand seal.
Fortunately, the Thin Elder’s face flushed red, and a faint hissing sound came from within his body. In a split second, layers of pitch-black iron armor emerged on his body surface, covering his entire form.
“Boom!”
A violent tremor from the intense impact force rang out.
The Thin Elder’s body was blasted away violently, smashing through pillar after pillar, and even punching through the wall.
Ning Qi’s eyes narrowed.
He could feel that this palm strike had not achieved the results he imagined. Although it had succeeded, the Thin Elder’s aura had not dropped much; he still retained considerable combat ability. It was not like with the Fat Elder, where one strike had left him half-dead.
“What is that iron armor?” Ning Qi felt a surge of vigilance in his heart.
In an instant.
He entered the state of Unity of Heaven and Man. The Fake Core at his heart throbbed continuously, drawing in dense Heaven and Earth Power.
Before, he had not used Heaven and Earth Power to maintain the sneak attack, but now that the battle had begun, he naturally unleashed all his means without holding back.
Ning Qi’s body surged with an ink-green aura, wrapping around his fat and sturdy frame, giving it an eerie appearance.
He waved his hand slightly, and strands of highly toxic Gang Qi sprayed out.
The various Core Elixir Realm experts, who had been stunned, all shuddered violently, their faces filled with horror. Their Core Elixirs vibrated within them, surging with Gang Qi in an attempt to resist, but the gap was too great. Ning Qi’s Gang Qi was far more majestic than all of them combined, not to mention bolstered by Heaven and Earth Power.
Cries of agony rang out one after another.
These Core Elixir Realm experts were already gravely wounded, their bones fully shattered, left to lie on the ground clinging to life. They looked at Ning Qi in terror.
Ning Qi followed up with several more highly toxic great hand seals, blasting toward where the Thin Elder had fallen.
“Who the hell are you?!”
A gloomy roar came from the rubble of broken eaves and walls.
The Thin Elder burst out with disheveled hair, looking extremely disheveled.
His eyes burned with sinister fury. If not for his Destined Gu being the ultimate defensive Iron Armor Gu, that sudden strike just now would have severely injured him.
Even so, he was far from unscathed.
He had taken the hit head-on.
The Iron Armor Gu within him had its aura wilted and needed proper rest to recover.
At this point, how could he not understand?
The person before him was not the Fat Elder he knew. The real Fat Elder had likely met with disaster, for he knew the Fat Elder’s Destined Gu was not skilled in defense. If ambushed like this, he would have had no chance to fight back.
The Thin Elder was both furious and shocked. This person’s unfathomable Shape Shifting ability chilled him.
Ning Qi stared at the Thin Elder with indifferent eyes, letting out a strange cackle:
“You’re not worthy to know this seat’s name!”
With a wave of his hand, toxic hand seals struck in rapid succession. Green poisonous mist spread in all directions, filling the air with a foul stench, no different from if the Demonic Sect’s Elder Wang had come back to life.
The Thin Elder flew into a rage:
“Fine, fine, fine! Today, this old man will rip off your true face and see what demon or monster you are!”
The two clashed in fierce combat.
Strands of Heaven and Earth Power erupted and shook within the hall.
The earth quaked and mountains shook.
The terrifying commotion left everyone outside in utter shock.
They watched the hall tensely, completely unaware of what was happening inside.
Then.
They saw two figures shoot into the sky, engaging in combat.
“Is that the Fat Elder and the Thin Elder?!”
No one could believe their eyes, unable to understand why the two elders had suddenly turned on each other.
Strands of Heaven and Earth Power rippled through the void. Just the aftershocks alone left the stronghold riddled with holes, affecting many people, some dying on the spot.
Ning Qi felt no psychological burden. All these people deserved to die.
The Thin Elder’s eyes were icy cold as he roared furiously:
“Everyone, hear my command! The Fat Elder has been harmed by someone. This man is an imposter. Everyone, help me capture him!”
The more he fought, the more shocked he became.
He had sensed earlier that the sneak attack’s power was still within his ability to handle. His loss was solely due to the ambush. But as they truly clashed, he realized he had underestimated the man before him.
Even at his peak, he probably was not a match for this person.
Now, having lost the initiative and with his condition declining, if not for fully urging his Destined Gu, he would have been crushed already.
But now, his own situation was equally dire, forced to spit blood repeatedly.
He already harbored the intent to retreat.
Calling on these people to assist was not to defeat Ning Qi, but merely to delay him a little.
Everyone in the stronghold looked at Ning Qi in horror. At first, some were unsure if the Thin Elder spoke the truth, but as the two fought, Ning Qi revealed Elder Wang’s martial arts, and someone recognized it.
This was not the Fat Elder’s signature technique.
“The Fat Elder is a fake! Quickly assist the Thin Elder!” someone roared.
But a toxic finger seal pressed down, instantly killing that Jade Liquid Realm expert. The others fell silent in fear. Some charged fearlessly, but it was like mantises trying to stop a chariot, ants shaking a tree.
Ning Qi’s gaze remained indifferent.
He had roughly gauged the Thin Elder’s strength—it was slightly inferior to Elder Wang’s back then.
If not for being unable to use the Ape King True Body or Heavenly Sword Technique and other secret techniques, he would have slain this man long ago. But even now, it was a crushing situation. Sensing the Virtual Sword Core within him, he decided not to waste more time.
Seizing the chance as the crowd fought desperately to delay him, a faint hissing sound came from the Thin Elder’s body. His entire form erupted in astonishing black light.
The overwhelming aura ignited hope in everyone’s eyes.
This strike was absolutely extraordinary!
But who would have thought.
The Thin Elder’s aura suddenly retracted, the fierce black light contracting entirely to his body surface. In an instant, he burst into extreme speed, fleeing toward the distant horizon.
“Today’s grudge, Southern Border will never forget. Wait for us—your end will be miserable!” the Thin Elder’s sinister voice came from afar.
He had actually fled!
Everyone in the stronghold plummeted from hope to despair.
Some even cursed aloud in their desperation. They had all been abandoned as pawns.
Ning Qi was momentarily stunned, not expecting this man to be so decisive.
If he only had the strength he had shown so far, he really might have let him escape. But unfortunately, Ning Qi had many trump cards.
Above the Jade Liquid Sea.
The Virtual Sword Core, like a blazing sun, exploded instantly.
Majestic Gang Qi surged uncontrollably, enough to shake the sun and moon. His aura skyrocketed, and intense green poisonous mist exploded around Ning Qi, making him look like a demon king.
With a thought from Ning Qi.
The toxic green mist condensed into an ink-green Giant Toad as massive as a mountain.
That day, Elder Wang had used this move, but it was shattered by a punch from King Zhenbei.
Ning Qi replicated it, and the power was even more terrifying.
The Giant Toad devoured the heavens, shocking everyone.
The Thin Elder, who had just turned into black light to flee, sensed the terrifying disturbance behind him. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the ink-green Giant Toad open its mouth in a silent roar. An ink-green beam shot out at an even more terrifying speed.
Like the Giant Toad’s tongue, its speed was unimaginably fast.
The Thin Elder let out a strange yelp.
He no longer cared about harming his Iron Armor Gu’s Origin, desperately urging it. Layers of iron armor covered his body once more.
But the sense of safety did not come; he trembled.
Heaven and Earth Power condensed before him. He had given up fleeing—before such speed, he could not escape and could only block.
“Block it! Block it for me!!”
The Thin Elder’s hair and beard flared out.
But the ink-green beam mercilessly pierced through layer after layer of Heaven and Earth Power. The iron armor shattered, his Destined Gu wailed, and it continued piercing his body, numbing his entire form. Strands of Heaven and Earth Power suppressed him, making him cough up blood nonstop.
Like the Giant Toad’s tongue, the ink-green beam wrapped around the Thin Elder and flung him back.
Then heavily tossed him into the valley.
Like discarding a piece of trash.
Everyone watching this scene was overwhelmed by fear. The Thin Elder had been dragged back—they felt some relief, but it did not mean this man would spare them!
Flee!
The thought rose in nearly everyone’s mind.
But could they escape?
Ning Qi’s gaze was calm. With a light point, green lights fell from the Giant Toad in the sky, possessing a strange beauty. But to the others in the stronghold, it was not beautiful—it was the scythe of the God of Slaughter. No one could resist.
Screams rang out incessantly.
With Ning Qi’s perversely powerful perception, none survived.
From start to finish, Ning Qi’s expression remained utterly calm.
These people did not deserve pity in death.
His body merely felt some shock, his flesh slightly numb. Although the Virtual Sword Core Disintegration Great Method had minor side effects, they were not absent. Ning Qi felt he needed a few days of rest to recover to peak condition.
Moments later.
The stronghold had fallen completely silent, with only the occasional wind carrying waves of bloody stench.
The Thin Elder felt some dread. Knowing he could not escape, he hissed:
“You… who the hell are you? Southern Border has no grudge against you!”
His mind frantically recalled this person’s moves, but with the vast world and countless hidden experts, he could not match them all. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something.
Last year, a Demonic Sect expert had emerged, leading four Heavenly Human Realm experts to annihilate True Martial Mountain. Rumor had it the leader’s style matched this. He had glanced at that intel once, and now racking his brains, he recalled it.
That person had escaped even from King Zhenbei’s hands, and the strength matched.
“You’re from the Demonic Sect!” The Thin Elder widened his eyes.
Ning Qi sneered:
“This seat is no Demonic Sect or ghost sect member. You refined Blood King Gu and killed my old friend’s great-granddaughter-in-law’s family. Naturally, this old man has come to avenge them.”
The Thin Elder spat another mouthful of blood at this absurd reason, cursing angrily:
“Bullshit! Southern Border and the Demonic Sect mind our own business. Now you’ve wiped out our branch in Qingzhou—aren’t you afraid of Southern Border settling accounts later? When two tigers clash, it only benefits Great Yan.”
Ning Qi cackled wildly and without restraint:
“If you have the guts, come.”
A Gang Qi great hand seized the Thin Elder. Following the same method, while the Thin Elder’s emotions fluctuated wildly, he used the Soul Capturing Eye Technique.
Moments later.
The Thin Elder struggled awake in horror, staring at the man before him, feeling as if his mind had been stirred by a sword.
“You… you…”
He wanted to say something, but Ning Qi gave him no chance. The Gang Yuan great hand clenched, separating the Thin Elder’s head from his body.
Ning Qi let out a long breath.
Recalling the information he had obtained from the Thin Elder via the pupil technique moments ago.
“Besides Qingzhou, Southern Border Alliance has footholds in several other provinces in Great Yan, though not every province. The Thin Elder and Fat Elder only handled matters within Qingzhou, with no contact with the others.”
“As for the Southern Border Alliance… the information is still limited. It seems to be led by several major tribes, apparently for some shared aspiration?”
Ning Qi shook his head.
It was not that he did not want to ask more; even optimized, the Soul Capturing Eye Technique had limitations. The more important the matter to the target, the stronger the instinctive resistance—not to mention the Thin Elder was a genuine Heavenly Human Realm expert with strong resistance.
In truth.
Ning Qi’s Soul Capturing Eye Technique was already heaven-defying. He had never heard of such a martial arts secret technique in the Martial World. If it existed, it must be a closely guarded secret.
For now, Ning Qi did not plan to delve deeper into the Southern Border Alliance.
Though ultimately it was the root cause of his parents’ death, there was no need to clash head-on with such a behemoth comparable to the Demonic Sect right now.
Give him some time, and he could easily suppress it later.
He knew priorities.
Vengeance must be taken, but not hastily.
Just like now—he only chose to settle scores with Blood Rain Tower after gaining 100% confidence to suppress “Lord Feng.” In such matters, he was always very patient.
Ning Qi began inventorying the spoils from the Thin Elder.
An almost identical Purple Jade Bamboo Tube—this was clearly custom-made for the Blood King Gu.
Ning Qi chanted special syllables, and a Blood King Gu crawled out.
It also had three pairs of wings on its back, though the third pair was somewhat weak and feeble, similar to the one the Fat Elder had just taken out.
But Ning Qi was not worried.
Having massacred this stronghold today, with so many powerful martial artist corpses and a Heavenly Human Realm expert, there was ample nourishment to fully mature this Blood King Gu.
Besides the Purple Jade Bamboo Tube, there were some sundries, including several jade bottles containing pills and Gu Worms.
Ning Qi’s eyes showed some curiosity.
But after pondering, he decided to discard them all. From the pupil technique interrogation earlier, he knew the Blood King Gu had no tracking mark resonance or the like, but he did not know the purpose or origin of these items, or if they had tracking marks.
For safety, better not to take them.
Without hesitation, Ning Qi used Gang Qi to drag the Thin Elder’s corpse toward the ruins of the hall, now split in two.
The remaining Core Elixir Realm experts trembled in fear.
They had lost mobility and witnessed Ning Qi slaughtering the Thin Elder, their livers and galls shattered. Now seeing Ning Qi approach, they desperately wanted to beg for mercy.
But they could not speak.
Because Ning Qi did not want to hear useless nonsense.
With one hand, he uncovered the underground palace, exposing the Blood Pool to all. Then, controlling Heaven and Earth Power, corpses scattered throughout the stronghold flew out and fell into the pool, dissolving at a visible speed.
This had once been their most familiar task, but now it made their scalps numb.
Especially after the Thin Elder’s corpse was tossed in.
This terror reached its peak.
Ning Qi clapped his hands, grinning at the severely wounded group.
“You first, then.” Ning Qi pointed casually at one.
The others were pinned to the ground by Gang Qi, unable to move, while this one was lifted into the air.
Ning Qi activated the Soul Capturing Eye Technique.
Though these people likely knew little more about the Southern Border Alliance, at least each knew their assigned branch, enough to extract some useful info.
For instance, the God Sword Sect traitor Dong He—Ning Qi had not seen him here this time. He had promised Dragon Mountain Daoist to kill the culprits behind God Sword Sect’s destruction and ideally capture Dong He.
The question-and-answer was straightforward.
But to the others, the scene was terrifying.
From their view, their colleague, seized by this fiend, fell into a scalp-numbing puppet state, mouth opening and closing, but they could not hear what was said.
The unknown bred fear.
Moments later.
Ning Qi casually flung the man into the Blood Pool.
Then grabbed another.
Repeating the process.
This process was utter torment.
Everyone knew they would die, but watching colleagues one by one involuntarily die in such a state brought indescribable horror. Even as ruthless killers, facing it themselves, they could not stay calm—their hearts trembled.
Even.
Some inwardly screamed, hoping to be next.
The longer the wait, the more mental torment.
And without doubt.
This mental torment was greatest for “Wind.”
He screamed inwardly over and over, but Ning Qi consistently ignored him, forcing him to watch colleagues die in agony one after another.
Finally.
After Ning Qi finished questioning Zhao Dong and learned the details of God Sword Sect’s destruction, as well as that the charming woman who night-raided True Martial Sect had been dispatched by him.
Only “Wind” remained.
“Kill me! Kill me!”
Wind screamed in his heart.
But shock appeared on his face, for the voice had burst from his mouth—he could suddenly speak.
His gaze trembled, landing on Ning Qi, who spoke indifferently:
“So eager to die?”
Wind shuddered all over.
“Milord, spare me!”
But Ning Qi had already activated the pupil technique.
He wanted to know the antecedents and consequences of Snow Plum Villa’s destruction that year.
Moments later.
Ning Qi sighed inwardly.
As he had speculated before, his father had indeed learned by chance of a small Blood Pool, leading to the extermination disaster, just like God Sword Sect.
At this moment.
Wind convulsed violently, twitching nonstop. The dual torment of body and spirit had reduced him to less than human. From the recent questioning, he vaguely understood something. Trembling, he pointed at Ning Qi but could not speak.
Ning Qi’s gaze was calm.
He pointed, and plum blossom Sword Qi bloomed, mincing Wind into a thousand cuts under his bulging eyes.
Strands of regret were sliced apart, scattering in the air.
This was the hereditary technique his mother Jiang Xuemei had placed in his swaddling clothes: Night Plum Sword Technique.
Over these years, Ning Qi had long mastered it but never thought to optimize it, preserving its original form.
Using Night Plum Sword Technique today to kill the perpetrator behind Snow Plum Villa’s massacre could barely comfort his parents’ spirits in heaven.
Ning Qi’s heart was unprecedentedly calm.
The stronghold was deathly silent.
Only the Blood Pool’s bubbling remained.
Ning Qi did not let himself linger too long in that strange mood.
Killing Wind was merely a temporary conclusion to matters.
The rest, he would settle after growing stronger.
In the end.
Wind and the many black-clothed people were mere executors.
The Southern Border Alliance cultivating Blood King Gu was the root of all disasters. Otherwise, perhaps he would now enjoy his parents’ love in a happy little family.
He took a deep breath.
He took out the Purple Jade Bamboo Tube holding the Thin Elder’s Blood King Gu.
Then chanted the special syllables to summon it.
Now, after devouring so much human blood essence, the Blood Pool’s eerie aura had reached its densest peak. The Blood King Gu, upon seeing it, immediately perked up and eagerly dove in.
Ning Qi waited quietly.
Having slain so many at once, he needed to adjust his mindset. Fortunately, his Dao Heart was firm—these were all people who deserved death, causing him no impact.
The eerie vitality in the Blood Pool visibly weakened.
While the Blood King Gu’s aura continuously strengthened.
After some more time.
The Blood King Gu floated out of the Blood Pool on its own. Its three pairs of back wings were now plump and glossy. Ning Qi could not help smiling—this Blood King Gu had matured too.
Struck by a whim, he released the previous Blood King Gu as well.
In an instant.
The two Blood King Gu, upon meeting, bared ferocious auras. Their wings vibrated, ready to fight to the death in moments.
With a stir of Ning Qi’s Gang Qi, he swiftly suppressed both and stored them separately.
He pondered thoughtfully.
“Blood King Gu cannot coexist—perhaps this is the secret to cultivating Blood Emperor Gu? Is this what Gu nurturing is?”
Of course, he knew cultivating Blood Emperor Gu would not be so simple and crude; it surely involved even more profound secret techniques.
But Ning Qi had little interest.
Whether Blood King Gu or Blood Emperor Gu, it was obvious such externally aided breakthroughs came with flaws—possibly fatal ones.
This was something Ning Qi could not tolerate.
Moreover, just seeing how the Blood King Gu was born showed it was extremely sinister. Leaving it for his senior brothers would not suit either—if those who broke through to Heavenly Human Realm via it were controlled by others, it would be a loss.
The Blood King Gu’s greatest use for him was refining it into pills to speed his promotion to Core Elixir Realm.
Ning Qi estimated.
Once he stepped into Core Elixir Realm, his strength would leap even further. At that point, few in Heavenly Human Realm would qualify to fight him.
He felt some anticipation.
Ning Qi flew into mid-air, his perception spreading to ensure no fish escaped the net.
Then.
He began destroying traces of the previous battle.
Moments later.
Looking at the unrecognizable stronghold, Ning Qi casually ignited a great fire, then nodded in satisfaction.
If Southern Border had no experts, they could not restore the battle traces—best outcome.
If they did, investigation would only point to the Demonic Sect—not a loss.
After all, Ning Qi had never used any other techniques from start to finish.
“However, Southern Border won’t discover it so quickly. It’ll take time—only when they can’t contact the Fat Elder and Thin Elder will they sense something wrong.”
From the prior pupil technique intel.
Only the Fat Elder and Thin Elder could contact Southern Border Alliance; the others knew nothing.
Qingzhou still had some small fry left. When they couldn’t reach Wind Rain Thunder Lightning or Zhao Dong and others, even knowing something major happened, they could not report it.
Ning Qi watched the raging inferno.
Then quietly departed.
One day later.
Ning Qi appeared at Dong He’s hiding place and silently abducted him.
Facing Dong He’s horrified gaze, he indifferently crippled him, then handed him over to True Martial Sect disciples to secretly transport to True Martial Mountain. Dong He’s fate would be decided by Dragon Mountain Daoist and Zhuang Chen.
With this done.
The matter was fully concluded.
Ning Qi gazed at the scenery outside the window, feeling some emotion. This was his first time down the mountain in nine years, yet for revenge.
With this rare chance, he planned to visit the True Martial Underground Palace site mentioned by Dragon Mountain Daoist.
Dragon Mountain Daoist had obtained the True Martial Inheritance there, but later searches found the underground palace gone. He wanted to see for himself what happened.
Additionally.
The town with Martial Saint rumors mentioned earlier by Ye Qinghe—he planned to check it out, see if he could get more useful info.
This was also why he did not bring Dong He back personally.
Because recommendations on Qidian are based on average subscriptions, and mine is stuck at an awkward level which is frustrating, so sometimes I can only boost it by combining into big chapters. Hope everyone understands! Thanks! Though only one chapter, the word count is no less—when able, I’ll aim for 10,000 words per chapter. Thank you!
