Chapter 149: Desperate Situation

Sword light and figures crossed repeatedly. Quinlin and Alice darted around Li Xunyi, Liu Manwen, and the others like ghostly shadows, striking again and again.

But Li Xunyi kept forming sword seals with his fingers, controlling the three feet of chilling light that flew around everywhere, blocking the ghouls’ attacks time after time.

Yet even Liu Manwen could see that Li Xunyi’s condition was getting worse. Every time the sword clashed with the monsters’ bodies with a loud clang, she saw fresh blood trickle from the corner of his mouth.

Another crunching sound of shattered bone echoed. Alice’s knee was directly grazed by the flying sword. A wound deep enough to show bone was revealed, and she saw a large piece of bone splinter fall to the ground.

But Alice roared wildly and seized the moment the flying sword slowed after scraping her body to slap its blade with her palm.

Thump!

Distant, Li Xunyi grunted. His vision blacked out entirely, and he nearly passed out.

Naturally, Quinlin on the other side wouldn’t let this opportunity slip. A cruel smirk twisted his lips as his form blurred into a streak of afterimages, charging straight towards Li Xunyi.

At this critical moment, the flying sword emitted a loud hum. Reddish auras shimmered across its blade like congested blood. It instantly accelerated and shot back to Li Xunyi’s front.

Sshhwik!

Hmph!

A cry of pain and a stifled grunt sounded. Li Xunyi spat out a mouthful of blood, looking utterly drained. Quinlin, meanwhile, leapt backward to escape. Five of his fingers had been completely severed by the flying sword and were now slowly writhing as they regrew.

Clearly, Li Xunyi had used some secret art. After the flying sword turned crimson like congested blood, its speed increased dramatically, instantly suppressing both Alice and Quinlin.

A streak of dark red blood light constantly circled the two ghouls, slicing off chunks of flesh from their bodies every now and then. Because their Physique Strength was high, Li Xunyi focused on accumulating injuries bit by bit rather than trying to shred them outright.

However, this secret art obviously had side effects. As time passed, Li Xunyi’s face grew paler and paler, almost golden-waxy. The movements of his fingers slowed, and the flying sword maneuvering mid-air also began to show signs of sluggishness.

On the contrary, Quinlin and Alice, after losing two companions, had gained more experience dealing with the flying sword. Relying on their powerful regeneration, they desperately protected their vital heads from being pierced. So, though covered in blood and surrounded by scattered flesh, their fierce eyes showed they were still full of energy, biding their breath, waiting for Li Xunyi to make a mistake.

Just as the scales of victory seemed to tip further toward the ghouls, faint wails began echoing from the sky. They sounded like countless spirits cursing, heralding an even more despairing scene.

Liu Manwen looked up and saw a black cloud approaching from afar. One glance it was hundreds of meters away, the next it was frighteningly close, swirling above everyone at a height of tens of meters in a flash.

Liu Manwen couldn’t tell what it was, but Li Xunyi, who also looked up, lost his usual faint smile. His face turned sternly serious as he stared at the black cloud.

“Southwest Dao Arts?”

The dark red flying sword whooshed back to his side and hovered alertly.

“Ha ha ha ha! A Sword Cultivator? What a shame he’s only just entered the stage of Cultivating the Heavenly Palace.” The black cloud churned and gradually formed the face of an old man – Yilezi. Red light beamed from his eyes as he looked towards Quinlin. “My good friend, seems your strength has weakened considerably. Can’t even handle such a puny Sword Cultivator?”

Initially seeing the fleet approach, Yilezi had worried it was the Imperial Court’s main force. But along the way, after disposing of many soldiers and observing the battle, he let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it was just some reckless youngsters trying their hand at slaying demons.

Quinlin frowned deeply at Yilezi’s sarcastic words. But after Peter, Scarface, and Jack’s deaths, the balance of power had shifted. Swallowing his anger, he growled, “Yilezi, if you hadn’t come so late, so many of my kin wouldn’t have died. Hurry up and help me deal with this bastard!”

“Heh heh.” Yilezi sneered coldly, ignoring Quinlin. Instead, he turned his gaze back to Li Xunyi. This Sword Cultivator was an even better experimental subject than the previous Zuo Zhicheng.

As he lowered his altitude, he silently spread the Huangquan Beetles around. These Huangquan Beetles dispersed like gas, growing thinner, vanishing, spreading out into the surrounding air.

While doing this, Yilezi asked, “Boy, I know a thing or two about the sword sects of the Central Plains. This method of yours… Qingwei? Qingyou? Or Qingyuan?”

Li Xunyi coughed weakly and said calmly, “I am Li Xunyi of the Qingwei Sword Sect. You seem to be a master of the Southwest Dao Arts. Why join forces with these demons?” Li Xunyi knew some of the history of Southwest prophecy arts. He knew practitioners often had cruel, violent temperaments. Besides, Yilezi’s earlier exchange with Quinlin confirmed they were allies. He was just stalling for time to recover some strength, exhausted from the continuous fighting.

“Hah! Looks like it’s my lucky day! Even heaven lends me a hand!” Yilezi chuckled at Li Xunyi’s answer, his expression turning slightly fierce. “That Life Grove on your sword is Tengkong, isn’t it? I haven’t encountered that particular Life Grove yet. Hand it over willingly, boy.”

As he spoke, beams of red light shot from his eyes. His face turned ghostly pale while the rest of his body remained swirling black smoke. Then, the smoke coalesced into a giant palm that swept down from the sky, slamming towards Li Xunyi’s position.

The giant palm descended with frightening speed. Li Xunyi had just time to flick a sword seal command. The dark red sword light flashed, cleaving the incoming giant palm cleanly in two.

Just as Li Xunyi felt surprised at how easily he’d cut it, the divided palm halves swept past his flying sword, heading instead for the soldiers beside him.

Without even time to scream, several soldiers were engulfed by the Huangquan Beetles. Flesh vanished, not even a single bone remained.

When Li Xunyi swung his sword to hack at them, it felt like striking mist. The Huangquan Beetles forming the black cloud seemed unaffected by force. Each swipe killed at most a dozen beetles — utterly insignificant compared to the sheer numbers engulfing them.

Seeing this, Yilezi laughed loudly. “Fool! I, Yilezi, am the natural nemesis of you Sword Cultivators! Even if all three sects came together, what could you possibly do to me?”

Watching two more soldiers vanish, Li Xunyi snorted coldly. He gestured sharply. The dark red sword light trembled violently, scattering outward like spilled mercury. In an instant, like a laser sweeping across, a huge swath of Huangquan Beetles were sliced into fragments, falling to the ground.

But promptly, even more Huangquan Beetles surged out, falling down upon everyone from above.

Liu Manwen’s face was a mask of despair. “What is that monster?! Why is this happening?!” When she had set out with Li Xunyi and her martial brothers, she never imagined facing such a formidable cultivator here.

Li Xunyi, after unleashing that last attack, was barely breathing, on the verge of collapse. Clearly, his fighting style held an advantage against ghouls, but faced with Yilezi’s Huangquan Beetles, he was utterly countered.

Dark clouds of Huangquan Beetles massed together, poised to envelop and consume everyone present.

“Yi… Le… Zi.”

A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out from mid-air, directly behind Yilezi.