Chapter 704: The Talented Woman Falls to the Mortal Realm
Qi Hong’s legs went weak, and he immediately dropped to his knees, trembling all over as he begged, “Spare me, Lady Talented Woman! I only followed behind Lin Yue to enter that altar. I know nothing of the secrets within the altar.”
Qi Hong seemed genuinely terrified, kowtowing repeatedly, his forehead striking the ground with heavy thuds.
“A Half-Saint, kneeling and kowtowing—is that old fellow really that afraid of Shengshu Cainü?” Zhang Ruochen muttered from behind, a puzzled expression on his face.
Shengshu Cainü’s gaze shifted to Lin Yue.
Within the Heaven and Earth Altar, she had indeed detected traces of Lin Yue’s presence.
How could a mere Fish-Dragon Realm cultivator have broken into the Heaven and Earth Altar and then escaped?
Just then, Qi Hong suddenly lifted his head, a cold smirk flashing in his eyes as he pushed off the ground with his legs.
With a whoosh, he shot into the air.
Leveraging his Half-Saint cultivation and the speed of the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, Qi Hong closed in on Shengshu Cainü in an instant.
Shengshu Cainü was a saint through spiritual power. Though her cultivation was formidable, she had a clear weakness—she had not trained in martial arts, and her physical body was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person’s.
If he could catch her off guard and get close, a single finger strike from Qi Hong would be enough to kill her.
The “Dao” character that had struck Qi Hong earlier had mostly been nullified by the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, so he wasn’t seriously injured.
His act of being gravely wounded was entirely a ruse to lull Shengshu Cainü into complacency, setting up his ambush.
“What nonsense is this ‘Shengshu Cainü’? Die!”
Qi Hong condensed a finger sword, executing Sword Two, and thrust it toward Shengshu Cainü’s brow.
The sword tip was about to pierce her skull. Yet Shengshu Cainü remained composed and unflustered. With a flick of her wrist, she opened the folding fan and waved it forward.
“Whoosh!”
Hundreds of characters flew out from the fan.
Each character brimmed with immense power, striking Qi Hong simultaneously with a series of thuds. His chest caved in, countless bones shattered.
His back bulged repeatedly as blood spurted out in columns.
With a crash, Qi Hong plummeted to the ground, creating a crater ten zhang in diameter. His Half-Saint body was battered and broken, with hardly a intact bone left.
The hundreds of characters flew back, re-entering the folding fan.
“A mere Half-Saint dares to ambush a saint—death is too good for you… Huh…”
The folding fan in Shengshu Cainü’s hand had somehow become tainted with a patch of black Death Evil Qi.
The Death Evil Qi surged from the fan, flowing onto Shengshu Cainü’s arm. In an instant, her snow-white jade hand was corroded, turning a deathly black.
Shengshu Cainü was merely a mortal of flesh and blood, lacking the robust blood energy of a Half-Saint. Once Death Evil Qi invaded her body, it was difficult to resist.
Soon, the Death Evil Qi spread rapidly, enveloping her entire body.
“Hiss!”
The Death Evil Qi began devouring Shengshu Cainü’s spiritual power, transforming into black tentacles that seeped into her skin, entered her bloodstream, and circulated throughout her body.
From the crater, Qi Hong flipped back up, drenched in blood, but let out a sinister laugh. “What a treasure of a robe! To withstand a strike from a spiritual saint and still survive—this old man is lucky.”
Then Qi Hong shot up from the ground again, flying into the air, and struck Shengshu Cainü’s head with a palm, sending her limp body collapsing onto the tombstone.
“Boom!”
Qi Hong’s face twisted with malice as he landed on the tombstone and kicked Shengshu Cainü hard in the lower abdomen, sending her flying.
Shengshu Cainü tumbled off the tombstone, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
With a gasp, she spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching her lower abdomen as she curled up on the ground, clearly wracked with immense pain.
“Aren’t you so noble, so extraordinary? Look at you now! Even if you’re a Celestial Maiden from the Nine Heavens, this old man will drag you down to the mortal dust.”
Qi Hong let out a harsh laugh, grabbing Shengshu Cainü by the hair and dragging her forward, smashing her head against a nearby tombstone. Blood gushed from her scalp.
The violent impact snapped the belt at her waist. Her white robe fell open, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin at the collar. Looking down, two full, plump peaks peeked out from beneath the moon-white chest garment, forming an enticing valley.
Shengshu Cainü was not only stunningly beautiful but also possessed a rare, refined elegance that even saints found irresistible.
A peerless beauty admired by countless saints lay sprawled on the ground like a tender lamb, at the mercy of her captor.
This visual spectacle ignited the lust buried deep in Qi Hong’s heart. His eyes gleamed with lecherous intent as he laughed, “Truly a peerless beauty! Killing you outright would be a waste. Since that’s the case, why not let this old man see if Shengshu Cainü’s body is as beautiful as her face before you die? Hehe!”
Shengshu Cainü’s spiritual power was indeed formidable, but she was still a woman. Seeing Qi Hong, his face twisted with lust, closing in step by step, terror gripped her heart.
She struggled to muster her spiritual power, attempting to cast a spell to kill Qi Hong.
But the more frantic she became, the harder it was to focus her spiritual energy. Instead, the Death Evil Qi rebounded, and she spat out another mouthful of blood.
Qi Hong grabbed her chin, lifting her face—a visage of unparalleled beauty, with curved lashes, bright eyes, and a crystal-clear nose, as if carved by the most skilled artisan.
“To spend a night with Shengshu Cainü—every man in Kunlun Realm must dream of it. Today, let this old man be the first to try.”
With that, Qi Hong reached down and tore her outer robe with a rip, revealing a curvaceous, snow-white body—smooth shoulders, firm chest and hips, and a slender, supple waist.
Perhaps because she had never trained in martial arts, or due to years of immersion in poetry and books, Shengshu Cainü’s skin was incredibly delicate, almost translucent.
Qi Hong wasn’t in a rush to take her. For a woman of such high status, the pleasure lay in savoring the moment, slowly crushing her dignity. Simply pinning her down would be boring.
“Qi Hong, if you dare touch a single hair on my head, I swear your Qi Clan will be utterly destroyed.”
Shengshu Cainü, clutching her chest to guard her remaining garment, gritted her teeth and backed away.
From the start of her cultivation, she had never faced setbacks. She had known only applause and praise.
After becoming one of Empress Chi Yao’s Nine Heavens Mysterious Maidens, her status had soared to its peak. Wherever she went, she was revered by countless people. Even saints bowed their heads before her.
Never had she imagined falling into such a predicament.
Seeing Shengshu Cainü’s half-naked body, the fire of lust in Qi Hong’s heart burned even brighter. He sneered, “Threatening this old man? You’ll have to escape my grasp first.”
With a lecherous grin, Qi Hong reached out a hand toward Shengshu Cainü’s chest.
“Shua!”
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen flashed out from behind a tombstone, thrusting the Void Sword forward. It passed through the gaps between Qi Hong’s fingers, slashing forward and driving him back.
Zhang Ruochen stood with his sword, shielding Shengshu Cainü behind him, and sneered, “Senior Qi Hong, I never took you for an old lecher. With conduct like this, do you even deserve to be a sword bearer of the Sword Pavilion? If word of today gets out, your reputation will be ruined.”
Shengshu Cainü breathed a sigh of relief seeing Qi Hong driven back.
But she knew Lin Yue was no match for Qi Hong, so she seized the brief moment to begin gathering her spiritual power.
The Void Sword was incredibly sharp, cutting through Qi Hong’s physical defenses and leaving a bloody mark on his palm.
Moreover, Shengshu Cainü had already gravely wounded Qi Hong earlier, so Zhang Ruochen’s attack succeeded in driving him back.
Qi Hong glanced at the bloody gash on his palm and let out a low chuckle. “A meddlesome brat. Looks like I’ll have to kill you first.”
Qi Hong raised both hands, beginning to gather sacred energy.
Zhang Ruochen had no intention of clashing head-on with a Half-Saint. Even a severely wounded Half-Saint was beyond his ability to contend with.
“Follow me.”
Zhang Ruochen grabbed Shengshu Cainü’s wrist and pulled her deeper into the forest of tombstones.
“Boom!”
Qi Hong thrust both palms forward, unleashing a powerful wave of energy that swept up all the surrounding tombstones, hurling them toward the pair.
Zhang Ruochen glanced back and saw the fierce energy surging like a tidal wave.
It was a full-force strike from a Half-Saint. If it hit, the outcome would be grim.
“Forgive me.”
Zhang Ruochen wrapped an arm around Shengshu Cainü’s waist, bent his knees, and pushed off the ground, charging forward.
At that moment, Shengshu Cainü’s upper body was clad only in a thin chest garment, her waist completely bare. Zhang Ruochen’s hand pressed against her elastic waist, their skin fully in contact.
Her full, plump chest pressed directly against his, feeling broad and firm, giving her an unusual sensation.
Even the reserved Shengshu Cainü felt her cheeks flush.
But the situation was dire, so she didn’t resist. Instead, she extended her arms slightly to ease the pressure on her chest.
Zhang Ruochen carried Shengshu Cainü into the formation Xiao Hei had already set up.
At the same time, Xiao Hei pressed both claws to the ground, releasing true qi to activate the formation’s inscriptions. (To be continued.)