190: It’s time to start killing!

Inside Lieyin City.

In an unremarkable courtyard.

In the yard.

Ming Wu sat cross-legged in the courtyard, completely immersed in his cultivation.

Numerous aura fluctuations emanated from his body, and these fluctuations were very peculiar, constantly condensing in front of him to form the shape of a vague sword.

When he condensed this blurry sword, despite being only at the Qi Martial Realm, his body exuded the powerful fluctuations of the Blood Martial Realm.

Especially on this blurry sword, there was a faint hint of sharp and domineering aura.

This aura was extremely similar to the aura Xiao Shi had displayed that day.

It seemed to have been formed by him referencing it.

Ming Wu continuously recalled the auras he had witnessed on Xiao Shi.

He constantly mimicked its essence.

Although he had now become Xiao Shi's subordinate.

His life, however, had not changed at all.

When Xiao Shi didn't give him tasks, he still, as usual, spent most of his time immersed in cultivation.

This was also the reason why Xiao Shi had taken him as a subordinate in the first place.

When Xiao Shi first met Ming Wu, he noticed that this person was different from ordinary Demonic Path forces.

Although Ming Wu's body was also stained with blood, he did not possess the bloodlust and cruelty of those Demonic Path forces.

Xiao Shi saw in his eyes a reverence for the strong and a craving for power.

He also saw... a martial arts fanatic!

This made Xiao Shi, even with his limited understanding of Ming Wu, realize... this was a pure martial arts fanatic.

His world didn't have so many schemes and calculations, nor so much treachery and cunning; only a craving for power, and continuous cultivation to become stronger!

Just as Ming Wu was completely engrossed in his cultivation.

“Hmm?”

His tightly shut eyes suddenly opened.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Several figures dashed directly from a distance into the courtyard, appearing before him.

Leading them was a pale-skinned, somewhat sickly-looking young man.

Ming Wu's eyes turned cold.

He recognized him at a glance.

This person was a member of the Guizhen Clan, one of the three great noble families.

Their direct intrusion into his residence now indicated hostile intentions.

“Attack!”

The leading young man wasted no words.

With a command.

A tall, thin man beside him instantly moved, stirring up a burst of air, and arrived in front of Ming Wu, striking down with a palm.

Before their arrival, they had clearly investigated Ming Wu's strength and cultivation, knowing that he was only at the Qi Martial Realm.

Therefore, the tall, thin man who attacked now was directly at the Blood Martial Realm.

They intended to overwhelm him with their cultivation.

However... poof!

The tall, thin man who had just rushed forward instantly rolled back, flying through the air, his blood splattering.

One arm was even thrown high into the air.

The Guizhen Clan youth, who was leading, was incredibly surprised by this.

He hadn't expected this person, despite being only at the Qi Martial Realm, to possess combat power comparable to the Blood Martial Realm!

Fortunately, he was well-prepared this time.

Snap!

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Boom!

A massive figure, emitting a foul, rotting stench, fell heavily from the sky, crashing into the courtyard.

This was a tall, fat giant whose flesh on his body and face was constantly decaying, yet he kept cackling strangely. As he cackled, a large amount of saliva flowed from his mouth.

When the saliva touched his body, it was like sulfuric acid, corroding his flesh with sizzling sounds.

However, he seemed to feel no pain; instead, his laughter grew louder.

Ming Wu watched the giant before him with a solemn expression.

The tall, thin man he had just sent flying was only First Blood, but this giant had already reached Second Blood.

“Go!”

As the Guizhen Clan youth gave the order.

The giant let out a strange cry, his expression instantly turning ferocious, and he lunged at Ming Wu... In the room.

Xiao Shi looked at the blood mass in his hand, which had shrunk to the size of a fist.

His heart was filled with excitement.

Through his efforts these past few days, he had finally deciphered the blood mass down to its last layer!

Once this last layer was unraveled.

He would be able to uncover the secret within the blood mass.

This filled his heart with anticipation.

Besides that.

The Natal Martial Blood harvested from deciphering the blood mass was abundant.

This Natal Martial Blood would serve as an important resource for the Red Tiger Sect.

Before this.

Although Xiao Shi had also been collecting Natal Martial Blood by killing Blood Martial Realm martial artists, the amount he had collected was ultimately limited.

It was impossible to reach such a terrifying quantity.

Especially among Demonic Path forces, even less Natal Martial Blood could be collected.

If it were among the Orthodox Faction, killing a Three-Blood Blood Martial Realm martial artist would directly yield three Natal Martial Bloods.

But among Demonic Path forces... only one Natal Martial Blood could be harvested.

By now.

Xiao Shi could already confirm.

Blood Martial Realm martial artists among Demonic Path forces would only possess one Natal Martial Blood.

They would not manifest a second Natal Martial Blood.

Their advancement in the Blood Martial Realm primarily depended on the form of their Natal Martial Blood.

Different forms would grant them different combat power.

This was also why, in terms of their titles in the Blood Martial Realm, they would refer to them as First Blood form and Second Blood form.

Aside from deciphering the blood mass these past few days.

Xiao Shi had also been engaging in the comprehension of the enlightenment bead.

The last time he saw something within the enlightenment bead, it was a bloody giant axe that crashed down with a roar.

From this, he comprehended that move.

This time, however, what he saw was a fleeting sword light.

Although the giant axe he saw last time also struck down very quickly, it wasn't so fast that he couldn't see it clearly.

The sword light that flashed by this time, however, was so fast that he couldn't see it clearly at all.

This caused Xiao Shi no small amount of trouble.

He felt that the killing move recorded in the enlightenment bead this time was more difficult to comprehend than the last time.

Furthermore, since the enlightenment bead would shatter after being viewed once, one could only recall the image seen within the enlightenment bead afterward.

Fortunately, with Xiao Shi's current memory, the entire image seemed to be deeply etched into his mind.

At the same time, after continuous comprehension over these past few days, he had realized that this lightning-fast sword strike contained profound sword art mysteries.

The reason he couldn't see it clearly.

Was not only because the sword strike was too fast.

But also because his own attainments in sword arts were insufficient.

Even if he could see it clearly, he wouldn't be able to comprehend anything from it.

“Speaking of which...”

“I'm really not that good at sword arts.”

Xiao Shi shook his head.

Although he had been exposed to many sword arts during his Qi Martial Realm, he had not cultivated any other sword arts since then.

His sword arts still remained at the Qi Warrior Grade.

This was clearly insufficient to allow him to comprehend the sword strike within the enlightenment bead.

This made Xiao Shi think of the Grey Blood Sword Art that had dropped earlier.

Although this sword art was not the strongest in terms of power, the sword art profoundness it contained was rarely matched by other sword arts of the same grade.

Perhaps cultivating this sword art could compensate for his deficiencies in sword arts.

Thinking of this.

Xiao Shi immediately began cultivating the Grey Blood Sword Art.

It must be said.

As an Earth-grade sword art, it indeed had its unique qualities.

Xiao Shi had only cultivated it for a moment.

He had already deeply felt the extraordinary nature of this sword art.

It contained a very deep understanding of sword arts.

If he could thoroughly grasp it, he believed that his sword arts would definitely advance by leaps and bounds, reaching a higher level.

By then, comprehending the sword strike in the enlightenment bead would be very easy.

However, just as Xiao Shi was fully engrossed in cultivating the Grey Blood Sword Art.

A voice came from outside.

“Pang Qi, something happened to your subordinate...”

Xiao Shi immediately stopped his cultivation.

He went outside.

The person who came to inform him was Miao Fifteen, but now he should be called Miao Sixteen.

Besides Miao Sixteen.

A blood-stained figure lay on the ground.

It was precisely Ming Wu!

His entire body was covered in blood, his flesh was mangled, most of his bones were shattered, and there was a bloody hole in his chest, through which his internal organs could faintly be seen.

He was now completely unconscious, barely clinging to life.

At the same time, Xiao Shi also saw.

Within Ming Wu's body, someone had set up a strange formation!

“Who did it?”

Xiao Shi asked in a deep voice.

Miao Sixteen shook his head.

“I'm not sure. Just now, he fled to the Zhiyan Division, and then he fainted...”

Xiao Shi's eyes narrowed slightly.

He said nothing.

After picking up Ming Wu from the ground, he returned directly to his room.

Miao Sixteen, however, gave Xiao Shi a deep look.

After leaving.

He went to the residence of another Flame Bearer.

In this beautiful courtyard, a group of Flame Bearers had gathered.

When they saw Miao Sixteen, they all looked over and asked.

“How is it?”

“I gave him the person, but I didn't see any anger on his face... I don't think he'll stand up for this subordinate. Can our plan really work?”

Miao Sixteen said with a frown.

Although they all had subordinates in Lieyin City.

No one would care about the life or death of these subordinates.

If there wasn't enough profit, even if their subordinates were killed, they wouldn't stand up for them.

Miao Sixteen felt that Xiao Shi had not provoked those nobles before, clearly showing apprehension towards them, and now it was even less likely that he would offend the Guizhen Clan for a subordinate.

“An ordinary person would calculate gains and losses before acting, but with this person's style of conduct, he definitely won't swallow this insult.”

Hong Six, who devised this plan, looked confident of success.

“You all saw it before; even those who harbored ill intentions towards him, he wouldn't let them off. Now his subordinate is injured like this; this is clearly a slap in his face, and I don't believe he can tolerate it!”

“He is a born demon!”

“He has an extremely strong killing nature; even if he is wary of the Guizhen Clan, he will stir up a massacre for this, and it's impossible for him to endure and do nothing!”

“As long as he takes action against the Guizhen Clan...”

“He will naturally become the blade in our hands!”

Originally, in Hong Six's plan.

He intended to first befriend Xiao Shi, and then, through his characteristic of not tolerating any slight, gradually guide Xiao Shi to oppose the Guizhen Clan, thereby becoming a blade in his hand to act against the Guizhen Clan.

But he didn't expect... Xiao Shi simply didn't associate with them.

He had no choice but to use another method.

To incite conflict between Xiao Shi and the Guizhen Clan, making Xiao Shi kill members of the Guizhen Clan.

This way, the other party would still be a blade in his hand!

...Xiao Shi looked at the dying Ming Wu before him.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"It really was directed at me..."

"You actually want me to be your blade?"

The conversation between Hong Six and the others was clearly heard by Xiao Shi, word for word, through the Blood Seal he had left on Miao Fifteen.

Although Xiao Shi hadn't noticed anything unusual about Miao Fifteen when he first met him, to dispel his own doubts, Xiao Shi still chose to leave a Blood Seal on him.

If Miao Fifteen had nothing to do with this matter,

the Blood Seal would naturally dissipate gradually, causing no ill effects.

But he never expected... through the Blood Seal on Miao Fifteen, Xiao Shi directly understood everything!

In fact, when these Flame Bearers kept showing him goodwill, he had already realized they must have an agenda.

After all, these Demonic Path forces were all people who wouldn't rise early without profit.

If they didn't have an agenda, they certainly wouldn't try to curry favor with him.

Xiao Shi just hadn't expected that even if he stopped paying attention to them, they would still find ways to scheme.

And according to his persona in this place,

if his subordinate was injured like this, no matter who the aggressor was, he would definitely go and kill them directly.

Once he did that,

he would become the blade of these Flame Bearers.

"It's a pity I can't kill Flame Bearers, otherwise... I could have killed these guys first!"

A chilling light gleamed in Xiao Shi's eyes.

Although Flame Bearers held high authority in Lieyin City,

they were not completely lawless and could not do whatever they wanted.

There was a strict prohibition against Flame Bearers fighting each other.

This meant that even though Xiao Shi knew these Flame Bearers were scheming against him, he couldn't act against them.

However, after Xiao Shi carefully considered the matter,

he realized that this situation didn't seem to be entirely bad for him... Although he hadn't yet unsealed the blood mass, judging from the twelve items dropped last time, these items were clearly not enough for him to obtain Yin Flame.

He still needed more items.

And given the current situation in Lieyin City,

if he continued to kill, he would only be able to kill Blood Martial Realm martial artists associated with the three great noble families.

The previous massacre had already caused those Blood Martial Realm martial artists without backing to either flee or join... Now there were no such Blood Martial Realm martial artists left to kill.

And once he started killing Blood Martial Realm martial artists associated with these three great noble families, he would inevitably provoke these nobles.

He needed a reason!

Now that Ming Wu was severely injured by a member of the Guizhen Clan, it gave him a perfect reason to kill people from the Guizhen Clan!

It was as if these Flame Bearers had helped him create a suitable reason.

Although Demonic Path forces were generally bloodthirsty,

killing also required a reason.

Especially when acting against members of these noble families, the reason became even more important.

If it was a senseless slaughter,

it was likely that Martial Soul Realm powerhouses among these noble families would immediately step forward and slap him to death.

This was also why Xiao Shi hadn't rashly moved against these noble families before.

But now... he already had a reason.

As long as he didn't go too far,

even the Martial Soul Realm powerhouses within the Guizhen Clan would find it difficult to intervene.

It seemed these Flame Bearers were scheming against him, but in a way, they had actually helped him.

However, Xiao Shi had to consider the ultimate goal of these Flame Bearers.

"Why do they want me to kill people from the Guizhen Clan? What good would killing people from the Guizhen Clan do them?"

This was Xiao Shi's current question.

As long as he figured out the Flame Bearers' objective and prevented their plan from succeeding, these Flame Bearers would not only gain no benefit from him, but would also have helped him greatly.

Through the Blood Seal on Miao Fifteen, as long as they discussed this matter, he would know the reason.

And the most urgent task at hand,

was to first save Ming Wu's life.

Although if Ming Wu died, he would have more say in this matter,

Ming Wu, after becoming his subordinate, had always diligently helped him with tasks and could be considered an effective assistant.

Moreover, this person was not one of those bloodthirsty and cruel Demonic Path forces; he was merely a pure martial arts fanatic.

Xiao Shi wouldn't just stand by and watch him die.

However, when Xiao Shi fed him a healing pill,

he found that Ming Wu's injuries did not immediately improve.

This made him frown, sensing that something was wrong.

One must know.

The healing pill he gave Ming Wu was a Qi Warrior Grade healing pill with excellent efficacy.

Under normal circumstances, Ming Wu's injuries should have immediately improved.

But now, Ming Wu's recovery was extremely slow.

After some examination,

Xiao Shi found the reason.

This was due to a bizarre formation laid within Ming Wu's body.

This formation absorbed ninety-five percent of the pill's efficacy, leaving Ming Wu with less than ten percent of the healing effect.

"Did they anticipate that I would treat him, and intend to exploit me further with this?"

A chilling light gleamed in Xiao Shi's eyes.

Indeed, Demonic Path forces... few of them were good people.

Although his attainments in formations were not deep,

now that he had obtained the Nether Dust Eye, breaking this formation was not difficult.

Xiao Shi thought for a moment.

He did not break the formation.

He was worried that when he went to settle scores with the Guizhen Clan, they would deny it.

Precisely.

The formation within Ming Wu's body was the most powerful proof.

Before that,

he naturally couldn't destroy this evidence.

"Now, I just need to stabilize Ming Wu's injuries and prevent his death."

Xiao Shi thought to himself.

However, just as he was about to take out more pills,

suddenly,

he discovered that Ming Wu's injuries had stabilized.

Under normal circumstances, if his injuries hadn't been treated, they would have rapidly worsened, leading to death.

But now, his injuries had directly stabilized.

And all of this was not brought about by the healing pill Xiao Shi had given him.

Instead, a strange substance was secreted from within Ming Wu's body.

This was a substance Xiao Shi had never encountered before.

And this substance directly stabilized his injuries.

Although it brought no healing and did not improve his injuries, Xiao Shi could feel that this substance could ensure Ming Wu... would not die!

"It seems this kid also has secrets."

Xiao Shi pondered... Although the area where Lieyin City was located was perpetually dim, one could still distinguish between day and night.

At this moment, the sky was completely dark.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, providing a glimmer of light to the entire land, preventing complete darkness.

Hong Six and the others were all watching Xiao Shi.

Waiting for the scene of Xiao Shi erupting from the Zhiyan Division and charging out to kill.

However, until now... there had been no movement from Xiao Shi.

This made Hong Six, who had been confident of victory, frown.

"What's going on? Did he really just endure it?"

Miao Fifteen sighed at this.

"Indeed... he won't provoke the Guizhen Clan for the sake of a subordinate. Although he has a strong killing intent, he also knows who can be provoked and who cannot."

The others also sighed one after another.

"Hehe, Hong Six, you miscalculated."

A clear voice, like a hundred valley birds, suddenly rang out at this moment.

Everyone looked up.

They saw a petite, white-haired girl on the rooftop, with her hands clasped behind her head, lying on the roof, looking at the moon in the sky.

She carried a giant scythe on her back, larger than her entire body.

Under the moonlight, it gleamed with a cold luster.

"Bai Si!"

Hong Six's gaze darkened.

Not all Flame Bearers participated in this plan.

Only a portion of the Flame Bearers were involved.

This white-haired girl had never participated.

But her words now seemed to indicate that she had known about their plan all along.

"You reached an agreement with Yu Shuang of the Guizhen Clan, helping him eliminate his competitor for the next clan leader, thereby gaining benefits..."

"You even dared to plot against a peerless prodigy of the Guizhen Clan, Hong Six, you're quite bold."

Bai Si laughed crisply.

Her words made Hong Six's face even gloomier.

"Do you want to get involved too?"

He asked in a deep voice.

"No interest."

Bai Si pouted.

"You merely want to obtain more powerful formation enhancements from Yu Shuang, thereby gaining more formation authority in Lieyin City..."

"But this means nothing to me, though I do enjoy watching a show."

As she spoke,

she sat up straight, her crimson eyes, streaked with blood vessels, watched Hong Six with interest.

"I really want to know now, how are you going to salvage this plan? Hurry up and tell me."

Hong Six looked at the white-haired girl.

He was annoyed, but there was nothing he could do.

Not to mention that her ranking was far above his.

Even if her ranking was lower than his, he wouldn't dare to provoke this Bai Si.

Everyone knew.

Bai Si's grandfather was Lord Mo, the City Lord's butler.

At the same time,

their conversation,

had all clearly entered Xiao Shi's mind through the Blood Seal on Miao Fifteen.

"So that's how it is..."

Xiao Shi immediately understood the ultimate goal of Hong Six and these Flame Bearers.

"Then, as long as I kill Yu Shuang of the Guizhen Clan, who is cooperating with them, these Flame Bearers will naturally gain nothing!"

"Next... I can go on a killing spree!"

A killing intent flashed in Xiao Shi's eyes.

"I hope this time, I can drop the key items that will allow me to obtain Yin Flame."

Thinking of this,

Xiao Shi looked at Ming Wu beside him, and taking him, walked out in a very high-profile manner.

Xiao Shi's actions,

immediately excited Hong Six and the others who were watching him.

"Look, he's moving!"

Bai Si on the rooftop also brightened her eyes.

"Now there's a good show to watch!"