Yuan Zheng raised an eyebrow, "His cultivation is not high; he follows a heterodox sect."
Lu Zheng replied, "His blood Qi isn’t strong; either his cultivation technique is poor, or his aptitude is low."
In the Liu family courtyard, an old woman saw that the opposite party was a martial artist, but her expression did not change in the slightest. She only smiled coldly, her cane tapped the ground, and the shadows beneath the eight people in front began to twist.
Tonight, the moon was bright, and the stars were sparse. The eight people stood still in their positions, so when each of their shadows started to warp, they immediately noticed.
Fear surged in their hearts, urging them to step back and leave.
However, despite their intentions, their feet seemed rooted to the spot, refusing to move.
Only the leading man was not restricted; however, he neither retreated but instead charged straight ahead, shaking his hands to wield a pair of Water-Splitting Needles, thrusting directly at the old woman, "Release them!"
The old woman’s cane tapped the ground again, and her shadow’s two legs twisted and lengthened, transforming into two shadow serpents that entwined the leading man’s shadow.
Bound by the shadows, the man felt as though he were ensnared by two massive pythons, his body tightened, and his speed plummeted.
As the leading man prepared to unleash his blood Qi for another charge, he heard the old woman say coldly, "Look at your subordinates; if you don’t want them to die immediately, don’t act rashly."
The leading man suddenly turned back and saw the shadows of the other seven raised their hands, gripping their own necks, while the seven stood unable to move, their eyes bulging and breathing labored, as if strangled by invisible hands.
"I’m no wanderer, why should I talk about Jianghu rules with you?" The old woman rasped, chuckling coldly, then glanced at a slightly ajar window.
"Two young girls, don’t be afraid. I mean you no harm; I merely want to propose a marriage," a smile crinkled the old woman’s face, "My grandson is fair and honest, a perfect match for you sisters."
"Bah! My sister told me your grandson is a fool!" Liu Qingquan’s voice came from the window.
"A fool is good, a fool has a true heart, at least I would truly be good to you, unlike these people trying to sell you to some underground brothel, that would be hell on earth."
"I’m not going anywhere." Liu Qingquan muttered, "You’re all bad people, Brother Lu will beat you to death."
The old woman paid no mind to Liu Qingquan’s mention of Brother Lu, presuming him to be some burly neighbor infatuated with the sisters.
Turning back, the old woman’s lips curled as she stared at the leading man, "Still want to divide the spoils?"
The leading man shook his hands, the two shadow serpents twitching, then the old woman’s cane lifted, the serpents turned back into her legs.
"Hmph, but we admit defeat, release them and we’ll leave!"
The old woman smiled, tapping the cane, "Scram!"
The scene was silent as a grave, the seven remained motionless.
The leading man glared at the old woman, "What’s your trick?"
The old woman’s expression unchanged, though her eyes narrowed, sweat beading on her forehead, she tapped the cane, clasping a seal with her left hand, mumbling incantations, finally thrusting the cane to the ground.
"Caw—caw—caw—" Night crows startled.
No reaction on the scene, and the seven grew pale, eyes unfocused, evidently unable to breathe.
"Release them!" The leading man shouted, lunging at the old woman.
The old woman’s eyes panicked, her cane tapped, shadow legs turning serpentine again, wrapping the leading man, "I’ve broken the spell!"
"Then what’s happening?" The leading man’s blood Qi surged, closing on the old woman despite the serpents.
"Stop!" The old woman ordered coldly. The shadows under the seven abruptly stretched, arms outreaching, grasping the leading man’s shadow.
With seven sharp sounds, the seven standing in the courtyard fell dead.
"It wasn’t me!" The old woman’s eyes widened, "Someone else is here!"
"What did you say?" The leading man’s eyes blazed with fury; he did not believe her.
With the seven dead, their shadows dispersed, the leading man freed, his Water-Splitting Needles thrust, blood Qi blazing, charged at the old woman.
The old woman’s face grew sinister; her cane slapped the ground, transforming her shadow into a coiling dragon, twining around the leading man in tight coils.
"Break the vile sect’s spell!" The leading man’s blood Qi burst forth, fiercely resisting the shadow dragon, pressing toward the old woman.
The old woman didn’t move, merely formed seals with her hands, her shadow’s limbs turning into four snakes, winding around the leading man.
With one dragon and four snakes, the leading man was entirely immobilized.
"Show yourself!" The old woman scoured the surroundings, shouting, "Who is daring to jest with me?"
The unseen culprit had seized control of the seven and blamed her; it showed skill, and they might need to join forces.
Now questioning the old woman’s actions, the leading man glanced around, his blood Qi surging, yet scanning the area.
In the side room, under the window crack, two pairs of eyes watched the courtyard in stunned curiosity.
A soft applause, from the side gate connecting the front and rear courtyards, emerged an ordinary-looking man.
"I hoped you’d kill each other, saving me trouble; neither of you need suffer. Why choose to act clever and reveal me?"
"It’s you!" The old woman’s eyes narrowed, saying softly.
The leading man did not know him, but she did; it was the man who carried the dim-witted elder earlier.
"Where’s your old father? Dumped or slain?"
The man smiled slightly, "Being my father for three days, he’s exhausted his life’s fortune."
"Hmph!" The old hag snorted coldly, directly dispelling her Shadow Magic, and said to the leading man, "The enemy is right in front of you, what are you waiting for?"
The man who had consulted in the morning shook his head and sighed, "A strongman’s thug, a warlock on an evil path, your vision isn’t too bad. However, a woman with such great merit, how could you covet her?"
The old hag’s eyes focused sharply, and suddenly, one dragon and four snakes surged forward. The leading man wielded his weapons, immediately leaping into action.
"Shadow Transformation, release!" The old hag suffered a backlash from her spell, spewing blood and retreating.
"Blood Sacrifice, reverse!" The leading man felt his Blood Qi reverse instantly, also unable to hold back a spurt of fresh blood, crashing directly to the ground.
"You all... go in peace..."
The man shook his head, sighed, and pointed at the old hag.
The old hag’s face changed dramatically, the Coiling Dragon shadow charged forward, baring its fangs and claws.
The next moment, with a soft "bang," the Coiling Dragon shadow suddenly exploded. A wooden staff appeared out of thin air, then shattered into pieces, scattering everywhere.
The old hag seized the opportunity to distort her body, attempting to merge into the shadows cast by the walls under the moonlight.
But she had barely taken two steps when her form abruptly stopped, her face contorted, eyes bulging, veins protruding on her face, her whole body tensed, mouth agape as if wanting to shriek, yet no sound came out.
With a "thud," her body slammed to the ground, followed by hissing sounds, and she transformed into a pool of thick liquid, emitting a faint stench.
"Huh, the Divine Soul hasn’t dissipated? Her obsession isn’t shallow, what a pity..."
The next moment, the man’s finger gently flicked, and a barely audible screech echoed, rendering the backyard silent momentarily.
The leading man’s pupils contracted, unable to bother with avenging his comrades now. He kicked off the ground, expanding his body, preparing to vault over the wall and escape.
The leading man grunted again, swung his hand back, and a pair of Water-Splitting Needles were flung towards the man.
The force dissipated, the Water-Splitting Needles fell midway to the ground, but the leading man had already leaped atop the wall, turned back with a resentful look at the man, and was ready to fly away.
The next moment, the leading man’s eyes changed suddenly, his face instantly turning pale—no, not just his face, his entire body turned suddenly pale, except his chest suddenly bulged.
"Bang!" His chest exploded, blood rain scattered, his shattered body flopped back into the courtyard.
The man turned towards the side chamber, the window of which was immediately lowered, and silence reigned within the room.
The man smiled, but before he could speak, his expression changed, because he suddenly noticed clouds of smoke billowing in the backyard.
This smoke was not the fog of the night!
"Someone’s still here!"
The next moment, several streaks of cyan light fell from the sky, a figure leaped from the side cornice, a long sword in hand, swirling three sword petals, unleashing White Cloud Sword Qi, enveloping the man’s entire body.
"Southern Border Wizard, this poor Taoist has waited for you a long time!"
"White Cloud Temple’s priest, why are you here?" The man’s eyes twitched, involuntarily glancing around.
No one else... then it’s simple...
The man flipped his palm, a string of beads appeared in his hand, emitting golden light to block Yuan Jing’s White Cloud Sword Qi.
The man gave a sinister laugh, "Just you alone dare... no, wait!"
He suddenly noticed the golden light from his bead string had a slight distortion not far away.
"Illusion Technique?!"
The man shouted fiercely, his body abruptly retreating, with True Qi coursing through his eyes, scanning his surroundings, he saw the environment around him blurfully shift. A young man in green robes had already approached within seven feet of him.
"Blood Sacrifice, condense!"
Lu Zheng felt his Blood Qi surge within, his blood gathering, all ready to rush towards his heart.
With a fierce shout, his Blood Qi boiled, forcing down the opponent’s spell influence, a phantom tiger roared forth, slashing towards the opponent’s chest.
But the man’s bead string emitted golden light, causing the phantom tiger to shatter upon touch.
"Daoist and Martial Dual Cultivation? Hundred Years of Dao Practice?" the man couldn’t help but be surprised, but then sneered again, "I kill those heavenly pride like you, die for me!"
"Blood Sacrifice, condense!"
"Bone-Devouring Fiend!"
"Junior Brother, retreat quickly!" Yuan Jing was shocked, his long sword stabbed furiously, swaying the courtyard’s cloud Qi, rushing toward the man.
Several door panels burst open, Liu Qingyan sisters, Elder Liu and Madam Liu, even two old servants rushed out.
Just now Lu Zheng, to prevent the Liu Family Sisters from inadvertently revealing his presence, had enveloped the Liu family’s small courtyard with an Illusion Technique. Until the man saw through it, he lifted the illusion, revealing his true form.
Upon revealing his true form, unexpectedly encountering such a dangerous situation, it blasted the Liu Family out in its entirety.
Having no time to ponder how the Liu Family managed to escape, Lu Zheng’s body was now shimmering with golden light, the energy of the Golden Light Curse was rapidly being worn down. He could sense two extremely bizarre spells beginning to affect him, with True Qi in his body fully resisting, making him step back continuously.
However... Lu Zheng was already within five feet of the man!
"Supreme Infinite, Sanqing Decree, fix!"