78: Chapter 78 Successive Slayings

"How could you be a Foundation Establishment cultivator?!"

Feeling the formidable aura suddenly erupting from Lin Qingyu, Wang Li cried out in alarm, his face full of disbelief.

He felt his worldview collapse; how could a mortal who had just joined the sect half a year ago suddenly transform into a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

But before he had time to think carefully, that familiar cyan figure had already rushed over, carrying a fierce aura.

A trace of gloom flashed across Wang Li's eyes; last time it was this beast that had ruined his good deed.

"You wicked beast, do you really think this young master is afraid of you?"

He abruptly slapped his storage bag, and several streams of light suddenly flew out, crashing fiercely into the cyan figure diving down!

On the other side, the skinny old man looked at the several Fireball Techniques with formidable momentum before him and hurriedly took out a bronze bell.

That small bell grew in the wind, instantly transforming to the size of a zhang, firmly protecting him beneath the bell's shadow.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The fireballs successively smashed onto the bronze bell, bursting into clusters of roaring flames, shaking the bell's body with endless humming, yet it still stubbornly resisted this round of attacks.

Lin Qingyu was not surprised at all. Basic true arts like the Fireball Technique could still run rampant during the Qi Refinement Stage after being mastered, but against Foundation Establishment cultivators, it ultimately fell short in power.

The long sword in her hand emitted bursts of humming, and a sharp sword shadow spanning over ten zhang instantly condensed. Amidst the skinny old man's terrified and desperate gaze, it slashed horizontally at his waist.

"Swift!"

The old man hurriedly pinched an incantation, the runes on the surface of the bronze bell suddenly lit up, and blinding golden light poured down like a waterfall, instantly enveloping his entire body within it.

"Crack!"

Just as he breathed a slight sigh of relief in his heart, that giant sword shadow did not hesitate in the slightest; the seemingly indestructible golden light protective cover shattered instantly like paper.

"Young master, save—"

The cries for help came to an abrupt halt.

The old man stood frozen in place, a line of blood quietly blooming at his waist. Before the terror in his eyes had faded, his body had already broken into two halves and fallen silently.

"Boom!"

A fireball followed closely behind, instantly and completely burning his corpse into ashes.

In just a few breaths of time, a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage had actually died so cleanly.

Friends who frequently kill people all know that killing people is easy, but destroying corpses is difficult.

But in the cultivation world, there is no such trouble. Furthermore, Lin Qingyu was an extremely cautious person; in this mysterious and treacherous world, once someone became an enemy, it was best not to even leave a corpse behind for the other party.

Wang Li, who was entangled in combat with the Qingluan Winged Wind Bird, felt his heart tighten as soon as Lin Qingyu slashed out with that sword. Such momentum was definitely not the swordsmanship aura of someone who had just entered the second realm.

Just as he was about to withdraw, he heard the skinny old man's cry for help come to an abrupt halt, and what he saw upon lifting his eyes was this very scene before him.

The young girl stood suspended in the air, her plain white robes fluttering slightly in the wind. She held a sword in one hand, while her other hand was holding a blood-stained storage bag. The expression on her face still seemed somewhat unfulfilled.

Lin Qingyu seemed to sense something and turned her head to look over. As their eyes met, the young girl's lips suddenly lifted gently, blooming into a sweet smile.

That well-behaved and endearing appearance instead caused a chill to run through the depths of Wang Li's heart.

"Run!"

As soon as this thought appeared, Wang Li could no longer suppress the fear in his heart. Was this person before him any detached and cold fairy? She was clearly a vicious wolf disguised in sheep's clothing!

Detecting the intention to retreat in the other party's eyes, Lin Qingyu slightly raised the corners of her lips and curled her fingers toward mid-air.

Having spent half a year with Lin Qingyu, the Qingluan Winged Wind Bird was already in complete sync with its master. With just a simple gesture, it understood her intention.

Before Wang Li could turn around, its huge wings abruptly vibrated, and that pair of sharp claws wrapped in cyan light swooped down to kill once again from above.

"Dammit!"

Wang Li cursed inwardly. His frontal combat strength was even slightly stronger than the Qingluan Winged Wind Bird's, but if it came to comparing speed, that would simply be asking for trouble.

Yet this beast was extremely cunning, always keeping three parts of its strength in reserve when striking. The moment the situation looked unfavorable, it would immediately withdraw and swiftly retreat, completely denying him the chance to go head-to-head.

Since he could not escape, he could only make a desperate struggle to the death.

His gaze inevitably fell upon the young girl in the distance, a trace of ruthlessness flashing across the depths of his eyes.

Feeling the fierce offensive coming from his side, Wang Li raised the long sword in his hand high, his head of long hair disheveled and dancing wildly behind him.

"Nixuan!"

Wang Li shouted angrily, the long sword in his hand humming to shake the heavens, and wisps of blood Qi rose from all around his body, swiftly pouring into the sword light.

"It can be considered resolute."

Lin Qingyu nodded slightly.

This move came from the Xuantian Sword Scripture and was one of its most perilous forbidden techniques. Using one's own essence blood as a guide to reverse the cultivation technique, it was practically a mutually destructive move.

The other party clearly understood that under the joint forces of her and the Qingluan Winged Wind Bird, there was absolutely no possibility of escaping today.

Only by slaying her a step ahead and causing the Qingluan Winged Wind Bird to lose the restriction of the contract could he perhaps still fight for a glimmer of survival.

But unfortunately...

"Go!"

Wang Li directly chose to ignore the attack of the Qingluan Winged Wind Bird. With a sharp shout, that blood sword suddenly transformed into an afterimage, flashing repeatedly in mid-air and reaching straight to Lin Qingyu's glabella like teleportation, stabbing fiercely into it!

"Hiss~!"

The sound of the sword blade piercing into flesh was clearly audible. Wang Li's expression turned joyful, hope igniting in his eyes—it succeeded!

But the next instant, the smile on his face froze.

The figure of "Lin Qingyu" did not fall down; instead, it gently swayed like water ripples, and then silently dissipated.

An afterimage?

No! How could it be an afterimage? His divine sense had not detected the slightest trace of it at all.

But before he could figure it out, the sharp claws of the Qingluan Winged Wind Bird had already crashed down with the momentum of ten thousand jun!

"Puff—!"

Wang Li only felt his chest as if struck by a mountain, and a mouthful of fresh blood spewed out.

The sound of cracking bones was clearly audible, and the violent spiritual power surged straight into his meridians, slamming his entire person fiercely from mid-air down toward the ground.

"Boom!"

A large tree thick enough for several people to embrace was broken in half by the impact, wood chips flying everywhere and dust exploding upwards.

After the dust faded, Wang Li was already curled up like a dead dog in the center of the large pit densely covered with spiderweb-like cracks, his aura weak and hanging on by a thread.

After a long while, Wang Li finally managed to open his eyes with difficulty. Within his blurred vision, a familiar figure was standing on the back of the Qingluan Winged Wind Bird, looking down at him with smiling eyes.

"Lin Qingyu..."

"Mhm, I'm here, Senior Brother Wang."

The young girl's tone was as gentle as usual, as if it were simply a most ordinary greeting between fellow sect members.

Only placed in the current scenario, it was somewhat hair-raising.

"Heh... heh... heh..."

Broken breaths overflowed from Wang Li's throat, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

He was a personal disciple of the Tianxuan Sword Sect, a powerful cultivator at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and the sole heir of the Wang family. He should have had a very brilliant future...

"Lin! Qing! Yu!"

Wang Li shouted angrily, and his flesh and blood unexpectedly withered at a speed visible to the naked eye. All the essence blood in his body was poured into the void, and that dissipated blood sword actually re-condensed at an extremely fast speed, violently shooting once more toward Lin Qingyu in mid-air!

"Hiss~!"

It was still that familiar sound of the sword blade piercing into flesh. He mustered his last bit of strength and raised his head to look up.

The "Lin Qingyu" in mid-air slowly dissipated once more, as if it had never appeared at all...

Wang Li probably died of anger in the end; after all, the resentment in his eyes was simply too strong.

At the same time, in the mountain forest not far from this place, a young girl in white was leisurely sitting on a slanted tree branch, her feet gently swaying, glowing with a cold, jade-white luster under the morning light...