Chapter 254: Great Sorrow Cloud-Sealing Hand
Seeing Huo Jingcheng leave, Han Qiu finally let out a long sigh of relief. She glanced at the green-scaled thread snake coiled nearby, then closed her eyes, secretly mobilizing the dark true qi within her to begin breaking through Huo Jingcheng's seal.
"Damn it! Huo Jingcheng used the 'Great Sorrow Cloud-Sealing Hand' and sealed all the meridians in my body. Even though I have dark true qi that can slowly corrode his sealing power, it will take at least three hours to undo the seal. By then, Huo Jingcheng will have long since returned." Han Qiu felt a pang of anxiety.
What to do now?
Han Qiu was well aware that Huo Jingcheng wanted to force the cultivation method of the Ultimate Saint Qiankun Technique out of her, which was why he hadn't killed her yet.
But Huo Jingcheng's patience was limited. If he couldn't extract the information, he would undoubtedly kill her without hesitation to eliminate any future trouble.
"Even if I can't break through, I have to try."
A look of determination flashed in Han Qiu's eyes. Even if it meant severe injury, she had to escape before Huo Jingcheng returned.
Zhang Ruochen stood atop a small hill hundreds of meters away from Han Qiu, using space power to distort the spatial layers around him and conceal his presence.
After seeing Huo Jingcheng leave, he quickly rushed toward Han Qiu's direction.
Just as Zhang Ruochen came within ten zhang of Han Qiu, the green-scaled thread snake coiled around the tree trunk seemed to sense something. It suddenly raised its head, flicked its tail like a whip, and lashed out.
"Snap!"
The snake tail cracked through the air with a loud sound, sparking as it struck precisely at the spot in front of Zhang Ruochen.
"As expected of a fourth-rank savage beast. Its perception is even sharper than that of an average Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist."
Knowing he couldn't launch a sneak attack, Zhang Ruochen dispersed the space distortion, revealed his form, drew the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and swung it toward the snake's tail.
"Shwoosh!"
The green-scaled thread snake quickly retracted its tail, turning into a streak of green light as it slithered along the ground, charging at Zhang Ruochen's legs.
The green-scaled thread snake was a fourth-rank lower savage beast, with strength comparable to an Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artist and speed matching a Heavenly Extreme Realm mid-stage martial artist. Among fourth-rank savage beasts, it was considered relatively weak.
However, its fangs contained deadly venom. Even a fourth-rank middle savage beast bitten by it would die instantly.
"Hiss! Hiss!"
The green-scaled thread snake bared two sharp venomous fangs, its blood-red eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen as it lunged at his calf.
Zhang Ruochen's speed was far inferior to the snake's, so instead of dodging, he immediately used a defensive sword technique.
Sword qi condensed into a large bell of sword energy, spinning rapidly.
"Bang! Bang!"
The green-scaled thread snake repeatedly slammed into the sword qi bell, shattering strands of sword qi, but its strength wasn't enough to break through the bell's defense.
Standing inside the sword qi bell, Zhang Ruochen carefully observed the snake's attack patterns.
After a while, a slight smile curved at the corner of his mouth. "I see."
The green-scaled thread snake's speed was indeed astonishing. Even with Zhang Ruochen's mastery of swordsmanship, landing a single strike on it was difficult.
However, any experienced martial artist would notice that the green-scaled thread snake also had a weakness.
The weakness lay in its head.
Every time the snake launched an attack, its head would briefly slow down.
"Shwoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword forward, piercing through the sword qi bell and accurately stabbing through the green-scaled thread snake's head, pinning it to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen strode toward Han Qiu and said, "Let me undo the seal for you."
Han Qiu quickly replied, "No, Huo Jingcheng used the Great Sorrow Cloud-Sealing Hand. Only he knows the sequence of the seal. If an outsider tries to break it without knowing the correct order, it will cause my true qi to flow backward, and I'll die instantly."
The Great Sorrow Cloud-Sealing Hand consisted of thirty-six techniques that could form thousands of different seals. Changing the order of even one technique would create a new seal. If the sequence was slightly off during unsealing, the sealed person would have no chance of survival.
"Is that so? Coincidentally, I once studied the Great Sorrow Sealing Hand. Maybe I can figure out the correct sequence of Huo Jingcheng's sealing techniques."
Zhang Ruochen stood before Han Qiu, looking at this stunningly beautiful woman with a face that could topple kingdoms. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Forgive my rudeness."
With that, Zhang Ruochen placed his palm on the top of Han Qiu's head. He quickly located the wisdom meridian on her crown, then moved downward, probing behind her ears, her face, and her neck. He continued down, pressing on the spirit-charging meridian at her chest and the heavenly-heart meridian on her back.
Han Qiu had never been touched so intimately by a man. Her pretty face flushed red, and she scolded, "What... what are you doing?"
"Exploring your meridians. Only by doing this can I determine what techniques Huo Jingcheng used on you."
Zhang Ruochen's hand slid from Han Qiu's thigh down to her ankle.
With each meridian he explored, Zhang Ruochen injected a thread of true qi into it to check the seal.
But every time Zhang Ruochen injected true qi, Han Qiu felt a tingling numbness, like a warm current flowing through her body, bringing an indescribable comfort.
Watching Zhang Ruochen continuously press and probe all over her body, Han Qiu was both furious and embarrassed. Her beautiful eyes widened, her body tensed, and her cheeks flushed like two patches of rosy clouds.
"Done."
Zhang Ruochen finished examining the meridians on the soles of Han Qiu's feet and stood up again, gathering true qi at the tip of his index finger.
Han Qiu grew nervous, staring at Zhang Ruochen. "Hey... wait. Are you sure you can undo the Great Sorrow Cloud-Sealing Hand?"
"Shwoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her, then rapidly tapped his finger, striking thirty-six times in quick succession.
Though it seemed like thirty-six taps, it was completed in an instant. Zhang Ruochen's finger left thirty-six afterimages before Han Qiu's eyes.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his finger.
"Mm!"
Han Qiu let out a muffled groan. The true qi in her brow's qi sea suddenly found an outlet, surging through all her meridians.
Her power restored, Han Qiu's face showed a hint of anger as she struck a palm toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen sidestepped, grabbing her wrist firmly. "What are you doing?"
Han Qiu's cultivation had just recovered and wasn't at its peak, so her strength was limited. Once Zhang Ruochen caught her wrist, she couldn't resist.
"Let go!"
Han Qiu grew even more furious. "Zhang Ruochen, you're also the Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery, a man of status. Taking advantage of me while I was sealed by Huo Jingcheng—what kind of hero are you?"
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes. "How did you know?"
Han Qiu bit her snow-white teeth and shot him a glare. "Do you think I'm an idiot? Even if you needed to undo the Great Sorrow Cloud-Sealing Hand, did you have to grope me all over? You... you're nothing but a shameless scoundrel!"
"I meant, how did you recognize my identity?" Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
Han Qiu was momentarily stunned, then said, "So you really are Zhang Tiangui's younger brother. Zhang Ruochen, I originally thought you were a rare genius who might surpass your elder brother and become the new number one talent of Demon Ridge. But I never expected you to be such a petty man. Despicable! Shameless!"
"If it weren't for the fact that you helped me in the Black Market, I wouldn't have bothered to come back and save you."
Zhang Ruochen released her wrist, unwilling to argue further. He picked up the Abyssal Ancient Sword and walked over to the slain green-scaled thread snake.
Using his sword, he carefully cut open the snake's skin and dug out a venom sac the size of a snake's eye.
Han Qiu watched Zhang Ruochen's serious expression, and her anger gradually subsided. She walked over, crossed her arms, and asked curtly, "Why are you digging out the green-scaled thread snake's venom sac?"
"The venom of a green-scaled thread snake can kill a Heavenly Extreme Realm minor-stage martial artist. Digging out its venom sac might come in handy." Zhang Ruochen put away the venom sac, stood up, glanced at Han Qiu, and paused in thought. "I apologize for my earlier rudeness."
Han Qiu stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen. "I should be the one apologizing. Thank you for coming back to save me. At least you have some loyalty."
In truth, Han Qiu understood that undoing the Great Sorrow Cloud-Sealing Hand was no easy task. Zhang Ruochen had likely been probing her meridians, not deliberately taking advantage of her.
But she still couldn't get over it. After all, since childhood, no man other than her father had ever touched even her fingertip, yet Zhang Ruochen had felt her entire body.
So, even knowing Zhang Ruochen was saving her, she was still furious and wanted to teach him a lesson to regain her composure.
Zhang Ruochen's initiative to apologize surprised her even more. Her anger vanished, replaced by a strange feeling, and she felt she had been too unreasonable.
Han Qiu bit her lip slightly, avoiding Zhang Ruochen's eyes, and said softly, "We... we should leave quickly. Otherwise, once Huo Jingcheng returns, we'll be in big trouble."
Zhang Ruochen was already severely injured and naturally wanted to leave. "Let's part ways here. You go your way, I'll go mine."
With that, Zhang Ruochen executed the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, stepping through the void nine times. After the ninth step, he was already ten li away.
As he continued forward, Zhang Ruochen heard wind sounds behind him. He turned to see Han Qiu chasing after him again.
Zhang Ruochen had always been wary of Han Qiu, so seeing her follow annoyed him. "Why are you following me again?"
"It's not that I want to follow you, but Huo Jingcheng is chasing us. I'm injured and no match for him. If we join forces, we might have a chance to fight back." Han Qiu said.
In the distance, a raging hurricane swept up black mud and sand, roaring like a giant beast, chasing close behind Han Qiu.
Within that hurricane stood a figure, its voice cold and sharp: "This time, old man wants to see where you two can run!"