“Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning!?” Hou Yunfei and Du Lingfei were both shocked, and expressions of intense astonishment appeared on their faces.

That was especially true of Du Lingfei. Having mastered the art of Lightness-in-Heaviness, she knew how difficult Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning was, and that on all of the south bank, only a few people could do it.

Rumbling echoed out as the huge cauldron slammed into the ghoul. The ground quaked as it screamed and collapsed into numerous strands of black fog that roiled out in all directions, revealing Chen Yue.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he slammed down onto the ground. Looking up bitterly at the huge cauldron, he murmured, “Violet Qi... Cauldron Summoning....”

With that, he struggled to turn his head to look one more time at Bai Xiaochun before passing away into death. The secret magic he had unleashed inflicted serious damage on his internal organs. That, coupled with a blow from the Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning that destroyed even the ghoul, ensured that he had no hope of surviving.

Even as he died, his eyes were still staring at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun looked at the dead Chen Yue, and then suddenly sagged in place. His internal spiritual energy had been vastly depleted, leaving him dizzy and as weak as a deflated balloon. He stood there, shivering, swaying back and forth, his face pale. He almost didn't dare to believe that he had actually killed all these people.

As he thought back to the events which had just played out, he suddenly noticed a sweet taste, which was the blood oozing out of his mouth.

“I'm bleeding…” he thought. “I... I almost got killed!!” Everywhere hurt, especially his shoulder. There were also numerous burns all over his body, which pulsed with pain. As Bai Xiaochun thought back to the fight, fear welled up within him, and he trembled.

“Why... why did I come back? That... was so dangerous. I might have lost my little life.... I, Bai Xiaochun, am always careful in everything I do. How could I have been so impulsive...?” Just as post-traumatic stress was about to hurl him into regret, something extremely soft and yet simultaneously firm leapt into his arms. He could feel curves, and could smell a delicate fragrance. It was none other than Du Lingfei.

At first, he was surprised, but his expression quickly turned serious. Holding Du Lingfei tight, he calmly said, “Elder Sister Du, fear not. With Bai Xiaochun here, no one will be able to harm a hair on your head!”

Even as he spoke, his hand suddenly found itself resting on a soft, curved surface....

“Thank you, thank you....” she gushed emotionally, tears streaming down her face. It took her a moment to realize that somehow she was in Bai Xiaochun’s arms. And then she realized what his hands were doing behind her, and her face reddened. She quickly backed up and looked at him angrily.

Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, savoring the sensation he had just experienced, and mused that Du Lingfei definitely deserved to be known as one of the top beauties on the south bank.

A strange expression could be seen on Hou Yunfei's face. Clearing his throat, he smiled at Bai Xiaochun. “Junior Brother Bai, we’ll have time later to think about everything that has happened here. The Luochen Clan is definitely going to send more people to kill us, and this time it will most likely be the most powerful experts they have under the level of Foundation Establishment. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

Bai Xiaochun shivered. He had just used every trick he had at his disposal to beat these people. The mere thought of anyone showing up who was more powerful than Chen Yue caused Bai Xiaochun’s face to grow pale. Looking at the chaos around him, he instantly nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right, let’s get out of here, as quickly as possible!” With that, he instantly began to run away. He cut a very different image than the vicious fighter with veins of steel. However, this time, Du Lingfei didn't find it annoying, but actually rather charming. As she followed along, she thought back to the vicious fight he had gone through to rescue her, and the glow in her eyes grew stronger.

Hou Yunfei shook his head. Quickly gathering up the Luochen Clan members’ bags of holding, he caught up with Bai Xiaochun and handed them over.

“Junior Brother Bai, these are your spoils of war.”

Bai Xiaochun threw them into his robe without even looking at them. As of this point, he couldn’t stop shaking, and could only think of one thing: fleeing.

**

A short time ago….

Back in the Fallenstar Mountains, in the Luochen Clan’s necropolis, the lake of blood was surrounded by the various nodes that formed the spell formation. When the first Luochen Clan member fell to Bai Xiaochun’s hand, one of those nodes collapsed, and the blood inside dried up.

This scene caused the Luochen Clan members to stare in shock. However, before any of them could react, the same thing happened to a second node, then a third, a fourth and a fifth....

Rumbling sounds echoed out continuously.

The Luochen Clan was completely in shock, and one face after another fell. Then, the patriarch in the middle of the lake of blood slowly opened his eyes.

In that exact moment, a boom rang out from the node which Chen Yue had recently occupied.

“I can’t believe that Chen Yue... was just killed!”

“They’re all dead. All seven people who were sent out have been killed!”

“How is this even possible? Weren’t they going after two lowly Outer Sect disciples? Could it be that the Spirit Stream Sect knows about us, and sent a Foundation Establishment cultivator?!” The Luochen Clan members couldn’t suppress their shock, and a huge commotion instantly broke out, along with looks of fear and terror.

“Pipe down!” said an icy voice, which cut through all of the clamor. It was none other than the Foundation Establishment patriarch. His voice echoed out like a thunderclap, causing the rest of the clan members to tremble and look nervously over at him.

“The heaven-defying chance to change our destiny, to expel the seal from within our blood, is a chance we will only come across once in a thousand years,” he said slowly. “Since the decision has been made, there is no need to let our imaginations run wild. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator had set foot into the security spell formation I have set up, I would have detected it. As of this moment... no Foundation Establishment cultivator has come, nor have any words been sent back. What are you people getting flustered for?” An unsightly expression could be seen on his face; were it not for the fact that he had to maintain the spell formation, he would have personally gone out to wipe out Bai Xiaochun and the others.

However, if he left, the Inverse Blood spell formation, which was the only way their clan could break free from the Spirit Stream Sect, would unleash a powerful backlash. Although he might be able to survive, the rest of the clan would find their blood flowing in reverse, and would die.

“It wouldn’t necessarily take a Foundation Establishment cultivator to kill Chen Yue and his group. Those two Outer Sect disciples were either concealing the level of their cultivation bases, or have some sort of rare magical items!

“Even if they were concealing their cultivation bases, at the most, they might be at the eighth level of Qi Condensation. As for magical items... the more powerful they are, the harder they will be for Qi Condensation cultivators to use.

“Heng'er!” The old man's eyes glittered brightly as he slapped his hand down onto the surface of the lake of blood. Immediately, the blood began to ripple as a young man rose up from within, clad in a blood-red robe.

He was exceedingly handsome, with chiseled features, and as soon as he opened his eyes, they glowed with the color of blood. Even as his energy surged up, nine blood-colored ghouls appeared around him, which emitted soundless howls.

When the surrounding members of the Luochen Clan saw the young man, excited expressions could be seen on their faces, and they clasped hands and bowed their heads.

When the patriarch looked at the young man, his eyes gleamed with kindness and praise. His voice was soft as he said, “Heng’er, you are the crown prince of the Luochen Clan, and with a cultivation base of the ninth level of Qi Condensation, you are our most powerful expert next to me.... You are well-qualified to handle this task. Take nine people with you... and kill all of the Outer Sect disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect!”

The young man nodded, then coldly responded, “I won’t return until they're dead.”

He leapt up, and the nine blood-colored ghouls transformed into a blood mist that lifted him up into the air. One by one, he nodded at nine other clan members, after which the ten of them left.

Soon, ten figures were speeding out of the Luochen Clan mansion. The young man named Chen Heng then waved his hand, causing blood mists to appear beneath all of their feet, after which they flew off at top speed.

They moved with incredible speed as they used a clan blood tracking technique to head toward the area where Chen Yue and the others had been killed.

Chen Heng was in the ninth level of Qi Condensation. As for the rest of the group, five were in the same level as Chen Yue had been, the eighth level of Qi Condensation. The rest were in the seventh level.

A squad like this was the most powerful force that the Luochen Clan could afford to send out at the moment.

After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Chen Heng and his group burst out of the jungle of the Fallenstar Mountains to appear in the location where Chen Yue and his group of seven had died.

The shocking sight of all the corpses caused the faces of the other nine clan members to flicker.

However, Chen Heng looked coldly at the corpses, and especially at those whose necks had been crushed, and his eyes began to shine with a mysterious light.

“A body refinement cultivator!”

He suddenly flickered through the air to appear next to Chen Yue’s corpse. After studying it thoughtfully for a few breaths of time, he reached down, pushed his hand onto the ground and closed his eyes. After a moment, his eyes opened.

“Interesting. I can sense the lingering fluctuations of Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning....

“That means he simultaneously cultivates both magic and his body. With such shocking fleshly body power, and an impressive magical technique, it's no wonder he cut down Chen Yue and the others.

“He must be one of the Chosen of the Spirit Stream Sect. Shangguan Tianyou perhaps? Or is he Lu Tianlei?” A brutal gleam rose up in Chen Heng’s eyes, within which flickered a deep desire to do battle.

“All of you pick a different direction to search in,” he said, his voice as cold as ice. “Once you track them down, send me a message immediately!” With that, the others nodded in affirmation and then scattered in different directions.

With a cold snort, Chen Heng picked a direction to begin searching, and flew off. “The security spell formation is vast. You won’t be able to leave it for the next half month. You people... are dead!”