After Favorability Is Maxed

The man with a horsetail whisk in the lead was one of the direct disciples who had been in the same group as Sheng’e and the others. His Daoist name was Sheng Wu, and he was now the Vice Palace Master of the Vast Sea Palace. He was at level eight of the Form Synthesis stage and had a horsetail whisk made of Cloud-Twining Silk. He was extremely powerful, and his strength was only slightly weaker than the Sect Master.

The fact that the Vast Sea Palace had sent this person here showed how ‘important’ Ling Hua was.

The other two sword-wielding elders were called Sheng Duan and Sheng Ji. They had deep attainments in sword arts and were somewhat related to Liu Yuan. They were also contestants who had been recorded in the Singing Sword Ranking. Although they were not as good as Li Jiutong, who had suffered many losses in the city of ten thousand swords, they were still first-class sword arts experts.

Unlike Li Jiutong, who had made enemies in all directions and was framed and tortured to the point where he had to conceal his name and enter the Xuanyin family as a guest elder, these two men had cultivated to a high level. One of them was at level 7 of the Form Synthesis stage, while the other was at level 5 of the Form Synthesis stage.

The three of them had been fighting for the Jade Mirage Sect for many years. They were much more experienced than Ling Hua and could be called cunning. Unlike Ling Hua, who had exquisite swordsmanship and deft spells, they forced her to retreat with their cultivation realm.

“Ling Hua, stop resisting,” Sheng Wu shouted in a low voice and flew out of the battle. He swung the horsetail whisk in his hand. “Even if you can defeat us, there will be more coming. Do you think you can fight half of the Jade Mirage Sect alone? Give up. As long as you are willing to give up the position of Sect Master, this matter will just be a misunderstanding.”

The horsetail whisk turned into white silk and suddenly turned into tens of thousands of silk threads, entangling Ling Hua. She burned more than half of it with the Scarlet Flame Phoenix Fire, but the Demon Subduing Sword was entangled and could not move.

A strong spiritual pressure hit them in the face, and the river water below formed a huge whirlpool. Two of the three Starfall ships were instantly submerged by the waves.

Ling Hua’s eyes were calm. Suddenly, she smiled and said softly, “In the end, you still said it?”

Sheng Wu observed her expression and seemed to think that there was a possibility of her being persuaded, so he said in a gentler tone, “I can be considered as an elder who watched you grow up, and I’m also familiar with your master. As long as you’re willing to give up, the sect will definitely not do anything to you. You will still have the position of Danqing Palace Master in your pocket.”

Ling Hua listened quietly and did not answer.

The other two looked at each other and continued to exert pressure. They would never stop halfway to give the enemy a chance to counterattack and escape.

Bang bang Bang!

After a few more moves, Ling Hua, who had given up the Demon Subduing Sword, could only resist with Daoist skills. The Sword Qi scattered and flowed in all directions, blowing up the river surface into a mist. The spiritual power around Ling Hua’s body was finally in chaos, revealing the true appearance that she had been hiding. Her tense and beautiful face turned pale, and blood vaguely seeped out of the corner of her mouth. She lowered her eyes slightly, and her hands trembled slightly as she formed a seal.

With the internal friction and external injuries, Ling Hua finally felt a little anxious. It was not because of her own injuries, but because Liu Yuan had not left.

She was the most outstanding disciple of the current generation of the Jade Mirage Sect and had a great reputation. Even if they set her up to be a ‘traitor’, they would not dare to do anything to her. However, Liu Yuan was different. He was now being accused of being a ‘demon’. This reason alone was enough to attract the entire Central Plain’s attention.

However, as long as he managed to escape, no matter if he went to the City of Ten Thousand Swords or the Sky Treasure Pavilion, there would always be someone who would help him clear his name. Those women’s methods were no worse than hers, or perhaps far better than hers, be it Duan Lanruo or Xiahou Cenyi.

Ling Hua laughed at herself in her heart. She had intended to force him to set up greater ambitions, but she did not expect that she would be the first one to hesitate.

Perhaps this was a good thing… Something happened to him, and his cultivation had regressed. It was a good thing to hide his strength and bide his time to recover his strength.

If the Jade Mirage Sect had framed Liu Yuan because of her, she would definitely leave Liu Yuan out of the picture. However, if there was another hidden story behind this and someone wanted to use this to kill Liu Yuan, she would also find the person behind it.

‘No matter the cost…’ Ling Hua lowered her head and bit her lips as she muttered in her heart. Her cold eyebrows and eyes were filled with ruthlessness. Some blood stained her bare lips, making them look beautiful. However, her faint smile was gentle and sweet.

How could she allow others to hurt and slander her great Dao, her ambition, and the fire in her heart?

Sheng Wu had already regarded her as a trapped beast and continued to fight. He then shouted, “Ling Hua, I know you have a close relationship with that Jiang Feng. Otherwise, you would never have come to the Martial Emperor’s Tomb to get involved in this mess. But you have to think carefully. If the Jade Mirage Sect insists that he is a demon, no one will be able to save–”

Swish–

He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly felt a sense of extreme danger. The sound of the wind was getting closer and closer. He turned his head and his vision was immediately covered in flames.

The pitch-black tip of the sword instantly enlarged in his field of vision, and he could not react in time.

What followed was a curse.

Sheng Wu could not hear what was said clearly, but from the anger and ruthlessness in his tone, he could tell how unpleasant it was.

In the remaining time that he still had consciousness, he first felt his body being rapidly torn apart in the violent explosion, followed by a sharp pain that struck his soul, exploding from the inside out. When everything was almost over, he felt extreme fear, and at that time, he could no longer scream.

“Ughhhh!”

Bang!

It was like a beautiful dark red firework exploding in midair. The flowing light flew everywhere, and it was extremely beautiful.

The two elders of the ‘Sheng’ generation were stunned on the spot, and Ling Jie below was also stunned.

The two elders watched the embers of the ‘fireworks’ fall into the river in a daze. They were extremely shocked. Then, they saw the young man who had suddenly appeared.

“You dared to lay a hand on my card. It’s your lucky day to die.”

Liu Yuan spoke ruthlessly about things they could not understand. With a casual wave of his hand, the Evil Heart Sword flew back to his hand with a ‘whoosh’. The sword was bright red and almost no longer had any black color. It seemed to have drunk a lot of blood, revealing its true form.

He raised his head and said indifferently, “You’re saying I’m a demon? Is there a need to frame me?”

The two elders felt a chill crawl up their backs at this time. It was a fear that made their scalps numb. Their faces were pale as they shivered. “Y-you… You…”

Indeed, there was no need to frame him.

The young man in front of them was surrounded by demonic Qi and his eyes were pitch black. He was no different from a demon!

Not to mention that terrifying and brutal means were simply something only the demon race could do!

Sheng Wu, who was a cultivator at level 8 of the Form Synthesis stage, could not even withstand one move and died a miserable death.

“Actually, I don’t really want to use this trick on people. It’s too ugly, but you guys are going too far, ” Liu Yuan continued.

Who was the one who was going too far?

The two elders wanted to cry but had no tears. They began to beg for mercy incoherently. They had absolutely no intention of killing anyone here. Who could do anything to Ling Hua? Even if this incident caused her to be unable to become the Sect Master, just like Sheng Wu had said, the position of Danqing Palace’s Palace Master would still be hers.

“Bah!” Liu Yuan sneered. “You don’t have the intention to kill Ling Hua. But the low-level disciples on the three ships can be sacrificed as a bargaining chip. Is that right?”

The two of them were speechless. Seeing Liu Yuan raise his sword again, one of them suddenly turned around and cast a spell to escape. He crossed a few thousand feet and was about to disappear in the blink of an eye, but he was stopped by Ling Jie. Another fierce battle ensued. However, the elder was already frightened out of his wits by Liu Yuan and lost his attack. He was defeated in an instant and was stabbed in the heart. His body fell into the sea.

Liu Yuan heaved a sigh of relief after killing the other elder. He thought that the Blood-Burning Pill was a waste. He was close to the peak of the Form Synthesis stage now, but this was the only way to kill the three elders. So what if it was a waste? It was better than watching Ling Hua be taken away.

After thinking about it for a while, he knew what Ling Hua meant when she said ‘Go’ to him. It was nothing more than asking him to take refuge temporarily and she would solve this matter herself.

But how could she forget the three questions she asked him and the determination she had forced him to make up his mind?

Liu Yuan stroked Ling Hua’s long black hair after she pounced into his arms. Looking at the originally cold woman, he hurriedly reached out to check his lifeline.

His meridians were on the verge of breaking. The excessive spiritual power and demonic Qi in his Dantian were running to the limit. When the power of the Blood-Burning Pill disappeared, the two would go out of control, break through the aperture acupoints in his Dantian, rush into his meridians, and tear him apart.

Even his breath was causing him to burn and tremble.

He must be in pain, right?

The mist in Ling Hua’s beautiful eyes instantly condensed into a crystal tears and fell down. Liu Yuan smiled helplessly. “The side effects of the Blood-Burning Pill aren’t incurable. You don’t have to worry that… Also, that Junior Brother of yours is also loyal. You’re too heartless to leave him to the side like this.”

As a single man, Ling Jie smiled awkwardly when he heard this. Then, he desolately thought about whether he should avoid this life-and-death scene. He turned around and was stunned. Was the Blood-Burning Pill curable?

He was about to ask when he saw a hunched figure in a black robe standing on the shore not far away.

The torrential rain around them had already reached its limit, as if the gates of the Heavenly River had been opened. It hit their bodies with a pitter-patter, and if they did not have the protection of spiritual power, they would even feel some pain.

The sky was as dark as the night sky. The black robe was almost invisible, but a pair of ghastly eyes could be seen under the black robe. The killing intent that suddenly appeared in the eyes was so piercing.

He was like a beast that had waited for a long time and finally had the chance to devour him.

His figure instantly disappeared.

“Be careful!” Ling Jie subconsciously shouted.

Liu Yuan pushed Ling Hua away and turned around to pull out his sword.

Clang! Clang!

A spark flashed on the sword. Liu Yuan’s vision blurred and he felt a chill on his back. He immediately turned around to block the attack, but the side effect of the Blood-Burning Pill was too sudden. His whole body was in pain. He only felt a cold and sharp pain on his arm. A dark blue dagger was stabbed in and out, and a numbing feeling spread from his arm to his whole body. The operation of his spiritual power stopped, and the demonic Qi on the dagger began to spread rapidly.

Liu Yuan suddenly froze.

Huh? Demonic Qi?

The black and white vortex in his Dantian expanded and contracted, digesting the demonic Qi.

The cold and proud laughter stopped abruptly. The black-robed man looked at Liu Yuan’s hand in horror. Liu Yuan’s dark eyes were very close to him, and he said coldly, “You also want to frame a demon?”

The black-robed man was dumbfounded. His eyes widened. “Y-y-you… Impossible!”

He was the black-robed man from Bi Luo Mansion, the class A assassin, ‘Wind Ghost’, who had been watching the battle with Ling Qiu in the dark.

He did not have his own name. Unlike Bie Xiaoshuang, who was a hired killer, he was an orphan who had been picked up and raised in the mansion.

Although he was called a killer, he was more like a death warrior. As long as Bi Luo Mansion gave the order, he could give up his life anytime.

The assassination skill that he should be proud of was the speed that corresponded with his nickname.

He had been observing in secret for a long time. When the elders of the Jade Mirage Sect fought to the death with Ling Hua and the others, he would be able to reap the benefits.

Although Liu Yuan’s sudden outburst of combat power during the process was indeed shocking, his reputation as the Wind Ghost was not to be trifled with. He was not here to kill Liu Yuan – the Mansion Master had ordered that someone else would kill him.

He only needed to use the Demonic Forging Dagger and inject the refined demonic Qi into Liu Yuan’s body, turning him into a ‘half-demon’ that was neither human nor demon. After that, the killer Wind Ghost would have completed his mission and could immediately escape with his highest speed.

The research on using demonic Qi as a weapon had only started in recent years. However, with the help of the large number of people in Bi Luo Mansion, the technology in this area had already matured.

The method to control the minds of the disciples of the Jade Mirage was derived from the possession ability of the demon race. The daggers used by the controlled disciples of the Jade Mirage were the simplest application.

As long as the most primitive and uncontrollable demonic Qi was injected into the human body, it could instantly block the spiritual power and destroy the meridians. It was more effective than any poison. Those Jade Mirage disciples unfortunately became the first batch of test subjects.

The Demonic Forging Dagger in Wind Ghost’s hand was an advanced version. It could turn a living person into a demon, but because demonic Qi did not have a consciousness, it could only change the structure of a person’s body, while the consciousness remained the original.

Originally, this method was meant to create men of sacrifice with strong vitality, but now it was used to destroy the reputation of a guy who might become famous in the Central Plains in the future.

Ruined, my ass! F*ck!

Wind Ghost could no longer calm down. His old and twisted face was reflected in his dark eyes. The young man who was holding his hand had already become wrapped in demonic Qi.

This guy… was originally a f*cking demon!

Even the most experienced killer could not help but be stunned at this moment. The target he wanted to frame turned out to be a demon himself, not to mention that this act of sending demonic Qi to the demon race was simply inexplicably comical.

“Why is it impossible?” Liu Yuan chuckled and killed the guy with a backhanded slash.

He did not have the time to waste on this guy. After all, the Blood-Burning Pill was about to lose its effect completely. Even if he was not afraid of the aftereffects, he still had to find the materials to cure it as soon as possible.

“So it’s a Xiang Feng Bird, no wonder it’s so fast.”

Liu Yuan pursed his lips and watched as the black robe quickly dried up, leaving only a wisp of green smoke.

The old man’s cultivation base was not high, but he relied on the convenience of his race and many years of training to be able to be so fast.

He must have been overconfident in his speed, which was why he was caught by Liu Yuan so easily.

“Alright…”

The moment Liu Yuan’s side was dealt with, Ling Hua immediately stood in front of him.

The Daoist nun summoned the Demon Subduing Sword that she had just dropped. She put two fingers together, and green and purple lightning danced around her, as if she was facing a great enemy.

Liu Yuan was puzzled and looked up.

In the heavy rain, a blurry figure in purple stood in the air. Her face was covered with a ferocious bronze ghost mask, and her graceful figure had a kind of charming temperament.

A full progress bar appeared above that person’s head.

-50. Blood feud!