39: Chapter 39 An unexpected encounter with an old friend, joining forces to explore the mystery.

As your voice fell, the entire cave remained in dead silence.

The few surviving Azure Cloud Sect Disciples all looked at you with confused expressions, not knowing who you were talking to.

Su Qinghan also frowned slightly; she scanned the area with her Divine Sense but did not find anything unusual.

"Tang Xun, are you mistaken? There is no one else here," a Disciple whispered.

You ignored him, only staring coldly at the shadow, the corner of your mouth curving into a mocking arc.

"Do I still need to invite you to come out? Friend from the Heavenly Demon Valley."

You deliberately emphasized the three words "Heavenly Demon Valley."

As soon as you finished speaking, the space in that shadow twisted, and a slender figure wearing a black robe slowly walked out.

He wore a green-faced, fanged ghost mask, revealing only a pair of cold, sinister eyes, and his whole body emitted an extremely uncomfortable scent of blood and resentment.

His cultivation was shockingly at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage!

"Hiss—"

Seeing this person appear, Su Qinghan and the remaining Azure Cloud Sect Disciples all gasped in unison, their expressions instantly turning incredibly ugly.

Another one! And a Cultivator of the Demonic Path at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage at that!

They had just experienced a great battle, their mana was heavily depleted, and some were seriously injured; now, let alone a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, they couldn't even handle another Middle Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

"Hehehe... I really didn't expect that the Azure Cloud Sect would hide such an interesting little guy like you."

The man with the ghost mask let out a harsh, owl-like laugh, his cold eyes locked tightly onto you. "At such a young age, you have such Divine Sense and strength, even being able to see through my 'Blood Concealment Technique.' It seems you are the real big fish here."

He had clearly been lurking here for a long time, watching everything that had just happened.

Your heart also sank slightly.

This guy managed to evade your search bolstered by Divine Sense Double, which meant that the concealment Cultivation Technique he practiced was extraordinary. If you hadn't been highly focused while preparing to pick the thick earth spirit ginseng, catching that faint trace of killing intent he leaked due to greed, you might have truly been fooled by him.

"You flatter me, you flatter me." Your face remained calm and breezy, as if the person standing opposite you was not a tycoon of the Demonic Path at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, but just some stray cat or dog on the side of the road.

"I don't have many merits, but my eyesight is just a little bit better."

Your arrogant attitude caused a flash of anger to cross the eyes of the man with the ghost mask.

"Kid, you're on the verge of death, yet you still dare to be mouthy!" He snorted coldly. "Hand over that thick earth spirit ginseng, along with the Storage Pouch on you, and then kneel down and kowtow one hundred times. Perhaps I might consider leaving your corpse intact."

"Tang Xun, run!" Su Qinghan suddenly blocked your path, gripping her longsword tightly. With a grave expression, she whispered to you, "He is the 'Ghost-Faced Asura' Xue Li from the Heavenly Demon Valley! He is the number one expert of the younger generation in the Heavenly Demon Valley! He is ruthless, and there are at least eighty or a hundred Disciples from various sects who have died at his hands! You are no match for him; we will hold him off, you run!"

After speaking, she resolutely urged the little mana she had left in her body, preparing to fight to the death.

The remaining Azure Cloud Sect Disciples, although terrified and pale-faced, still chose the latter over the instinct of survival and the righteousness of their sect. They all took out their Magical Artifacts and stood with Su Qinghan, assuming a posture ready to perish together with Xue Li.

You looked at the white back blocking your path, feeling a bit strange in your heart.

"Damn, this woman is actually quite loyal. She actually wants to sacrifice herself to protect me? Tsk tsk, it seems my personal charm has already started to conquer this iceberg."

While you were feeling smug, you slowly walked forward and pulled Su Qinghan behind you.

"What are you doing?" Su Qinghan looked at you, puzzled.

"Nothing." You shrugged and flexed your wrists. "I just feel that always hiding behind a woman is a bit unseemly. Today, let me show you what real technique is."

After speaking, you didn't wait for Su Qinghan to react and walked straight towards the Ghost-Faced Asura, Xue Li.

"You... what are you doing? Come back!" Su Qinghan was anxious and tried to pull you back, but was blocked by an invisible aura emanating from your body.

"Hahaha! Interesting! Truly interesting!" Seeing your "death-defying" appearance, Xue Li laughed instead of getting angry. "There is a path to Heaven that you don't take, and you barge into Hell where there is no door! Since you are so eager to die, I will grant your wish!"

Before his voice even faded, his figure turned into a bloody afterimage and instantly disappeared from where he stood.

The next moment, he had already appeared in front of you, a ghost claw wrapped in thick black Qi, with nails as black as ink, carrying a foul wind, fiercely clawing towards the top of your head!

"Blood Demon Claw!"

This move was extremely vicious; the "Blood Evil Devilish Qi" attached to the claw would corrode the Meridians and pollute one's mana once it entered the body, which was extremely troublesome.

"Careful!" Su Qinghan cried out in alarm once again.

However, facing this fatal strike, you couldn't even be bothered to lift your eyelids.

You just simply raised your right hand and threw a punch.

There was no mana fluctuation, no flashy special effects, just a pure punch of the Physical Body.

"Bang—!"

Fist and claw collided, emitting a dull, thunderous boom like a beating drum.

A visible shockwave exploded from the center of the two, scraping off a layer of the entire cave floor!

The few Azure Cloud Sect Disciples standing nearby were directly blown away by this shockwave, slamming heavily into the cave wall.

Su Qinghan was also pushed back seven or eight steps by this impact before she could barely steady herself. She looked at the scene in horror, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.

Only to see that in the center, you were still standing firmly in place, not having moved even an inch from where you stood.

And the arrogant Ghost-Faced Asura, Xue Li, was like someone who had been hit head-on by a rampaging giant elephant; his whole body flew backward, spraying a mouthful of blood in the air, and then with a "boom," smashed a huge human-shaped crater into the distant cave wall.

The green-faced, fanged mask on his face shattered into countless pieces with a "crack," revealing a young face twisted by extreme shock and pain.

"You... you... are a Body Cultivator!?"

Xue Li struggled to slide down from the crater, looking at his right hand—the hand that had unleashed the "Blood Demon Claw"—which was severed cleanly at the wrist, with white bone shards piercing through the flesh, looking unbearable to witness.

He couldn't understand no matter how hard he tried, how a Cultivator who looked refined and mainly practiced the Dao of the sword could have Physical Body strength so terrifying to this extent?

One punch! Just one punch, and it crippled his pride-and-joy Demonic Technique and one of his hands!

This was simply not the power a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator should have! Even those Core Formation Stage Body Cultivators who specialized in the Physical Body would only be like this, right?

"Body Cultivator?" You shook your hand and curled your lips. "I prefer others to call me an all-around player."

You walked step by step towards Xue Li, who was collapsed on the ground.

Each step felt like it was stepping on his heart, making him feel a suffocating fear.

"Don't... don't come over!" Xue Li was scared; he was truly scared.

He smelled the scent of death on you.

He frantically pulled a large handful of blood-red Talismans from his Storage Pouch and threw them at you as if they were free of charge.

"Blood Thunder Talismans! Explode for me!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of blood-colored lightning bolts exploded in the narrow cave, swallowing you whole.

"Is he dead?" Xue Li stared nervously at the lightning, holding a glimmer of hope in his heart.

However, when the lightning dissipated, his heart instantly sank to the bottom of the valley.

You were still standing in the same place, and the ordinary blue Disciple robe you were wearing didn't even have a single charred mark.

You patted the non-existent dust on your body and said somewhat impatiently, "Is that all the noise you can make? It's like scratching an itch. Do you have any other moves? If not, I'm going to send you on your way."

"Devil! You are a devil!"

Xue Li's psychological defense line completely collapsed at this moment.

He screamed and turned around, wanting to turn into a streak of blood light to escape.

"Want to run?"

You sneered, your figure flashed, and you instantly appeared in front of him, blocking his path.

"The game should end now."

You raised your hand and struck his head with your palm.

"Bang."

A soft sound, like a watermelon shattering.

The number one expert of the younger generation of the Heavenly Demon Valley, the Ghost-Faced Asura Xue Li, just like that, quietly fell in this unknown cave.

After finishing all this, you turned around and looked at the few "old acquaintances" behind you who were completely petrified, like wooden statues or clay sculptures.

You showed them a kind smile.

"Alright, the troublesome guy has been taken care of. Now, let's talk about the distribution of this thick earth spirit ginseng."