Chapter 232 – Remnants of the White Lotus (2/2)

Xiao An eased up slightly. She could already sense Li Qingshan’s aura.

The Whale’s Ingestion of Water in Li Qingshan’s hand had turned into a strange shape. The back of the blade expanded in all directions, forming a great ball of ice that enveloped Li Qingshan. It was very thin, but it was enough to block the explosion of the Scarlet Flame talisman. As for the long edge of the blade, it had already nailed the sixth layer Qi Practitioner against the charred wall.

The Whale’s Ingestion of Water blade was just too useful to him. With his ability to react in battle, he managed to make complete use of the blade’s ability to transform.

However, because he was only at the fourth layer, he was unable to control the high grade spiritual artifact completely. If he did not cultivate Gui Water true qi and his true qi was not extremely pure, it would be impossible for him to unleash such power.

Li Qingshan drew out the blade, and the Qi Practitioner slid down from the wall, hitting the ground with a thump.

Li Qingshan looked back. The only person left alive in the room was the sixth layer Qi Practitioner at the entrance, but he was also heavily injured. The wooden door he wanted to open had been blasted open. The formation had completely fallen apart. He crawled outwards with difficulty.

The other independent cultivators had all been reduced to charred fragments in the explosion.

Just like how a Lightning Summoning talisman would achieve extraordinary results in stormy weather, the tiny room sealed by the formation concentrated and restrained the power of the Scarlet Flame talisman in here, squeezing and condensing it. Even sixth layer Qi Practitioners would become heavily injured if they did not possess a defensive spiritual artifact.

Li Qingshan held his blade as he walked over slowly. The Qi Practitioner looked back in fear as he did everything that he could to mobilise the remaining amount of true qi in him.

“D- don’t kill me. I was forced into this.”

However, Li Qingshan did not stop. There was no expression on his face either, but there was a sliver of confusion in his eyes, as if he was contemplating a question he just could not understand. He arrived near the Qi Practitioner and lifted his blade.

“Stop! The Hawkwolf Guard is here!” The dozen or so people leapt out from the snowy landscape, drawing their blades with a series of swishes. Reflecting the sunlight, the Wind-entwining blades all pointed at Li Qingshan. Nine Wolf Fang flying blades hovered in the air, ready to strike at any time.

The concealing technique faded away, revealing their Black Hawk and Wolf uniforms. All of them were commanders, while the leading man wore a scarlet uniform. He was a scarlet wolf. He did not have a blade in his hand. Instead, a thin chain wrapped around it, shining with light.

“Argh!” There was a momentary shriek. Li Qingshan let his blade fall, and the Qi Practitioner’s head rolled down the steps of the hut.

“How dare you!” The man in the scarlet uniform was furious. The chain in his hand immediately grew thicker and longer and straightened with a rattle. The end of the chain turned into a snake’s head that bit towards Li Qingshan.

Li Qingshan tilted his head slightly, dodging the snake head, but the chain suddenly changed directions mid-air. It wrapped around him before suddenly tightening, trapping Li Qingshan firmly. The snake’s head bit into Li Qingshan’s shoulder.

Li Qingshan’s Gui Water true qi immediately seemed to freeze up. He was unable to mobilise it anymore.

The man in the scarlet uniform rejoiced as his lips curled into a sneer. The Python Constrictor chains were a high grade spiritual artifact he had exchanged for after completing so many missions. He could wield it as he wished, so it was much more useful than a regular flying sword. Once it wrapped around the opponent, it could seal up their true qi. A Qi Practitioner without any true qi obviously could not fight back. With this spiritual artifact, he had caught many vicious criminals in the past.

The other Black Iron Hawk and Wolf commanders all eased up. Only a pretty woman frowned slightly. She wore the uniform of a Black Wolf commander, and her cultivation was only at the fifth layer. Among these people, she was basically the weakest of the bunch.

However, when she looked at the extraordinarily large man and then the ruins behind him, she felt doubt.

According to the lead, a remnant of the White Lotus cult, Qiu Ruiliu, should have been here, with several dozen independent cultivators he had recruited to his side. Qiu Ruiliu was only a seventh layer Qi Practitioner, so the Hawkwolf Guard of the prefectural city had sent a single scarlet wolf and mobilised the commanders from the surrounding Hawkwolf Guards to provide assistance.

While the White Lotus cult was the sworn enemy of all of the Hawkwolf Guards of the Ruyi commandery, the higher-ups had mobilised such a great force for a single Qiu Ruiliu, which only demonstrated how difficult of a target he was to deal with. Now, all of these people seemed to have died, slain by this man. However, she clearly noticed that even though this man had been wrapped up in the chains, he did not panic at all.

“Get over here!” The man in the scarlet uniform tugged the Python Constrictor chains. The chains became taut, but he immediately became stunned. Li Qingshan did not move at all.

“You get over here!” Li Qingshan grabbed the metal chains and tugged hard.

The man in the scarlet uniform felt a tremendous force, so great that he was unable to oppose it at all, reach him through the chains. Caught off-guard, he was pulled into the air. He felt disbelief. All the strength a Qi Practitioner possessed originated from their true qi. How was it possible that he still possessed such terrifying power after his true qi was sealed up?

Li Qingshan thought, I won’t lose to anyone else when it comes to physical strength, but why has the Hawkwolf guard appeared here? Have they discovered my identity, wanting to capture me?

He glanced past all the Hawkwolf guards and suddenly stopped on the pretty woman. Qian Rongzhi! He never thought she would come as well, but she seemed to have failed to recognise him. That also meant they had not come for him, so he eased up slightly.

Apart from Qian Rongzhi, the other commanders were all stunned. Although Wu Gen was just a Scarlet Wolf guard and not a commander, he was still half a rank higher than black iron commanders like them, and he was much stronger too, having reached the eighth layer. They were extremely envious of the high grade spiritual artifact in his hand, the Python Constrictor chains, too. But never did they think that he would actually fail to take down an unknown independent cultivator.

They came to Wu Gen’s rescue in a hurry. The flying blades shot forward, while those who could not control flying blades charged forward with their Wind-entwining blades.

Qian Rongzhi said, “Be careful! This person is endowed with physical strength! He might be a Body Practitioner!”