Chapter 34: Taking Action

“Kill her!”

From the white mist, a shadow dashed forward.

In the blink of an eye, the Blood Blade swung down toward Ruan Huoying’s head!

“Huh?”

The sudden attack caught Ruan Huoying completely off guard, leaving her stunned with no time to react.

“Clang!!”

The clash of metal rang out as a Flying Sword appeared above Ruan Huoying, blocking the strike for her.

Then, the sword’s tip twisted—

Piercing through the Devil Cultivator’s heart!

“Damn, there’s another one!”

“Everyone, attack together!”

“Skin them alive, pull out their tendons, and break their teeth!”

Five figures shouted as they charged out of the white mist in unison.

“Hey hey hey? What’s going on here?!”

Ruan Huoying’s face paled instantly as she quickly took a step back, holding a Magic Disk Treasure in front of her chest.

“They’re Devil Cultivators!”

Naturally, it was Lin Ci who had just blocked the Blood Blade. Standing helplessly in front of Ruan Huoying, he gave a wry smile. “You really showed up at just the right moment…”

The moment Ruan Huoying stepped out, Lin Ci knew he could no longer stay hidden.

He couldn’t stand by and watch either—if Ruan Huoying was killed, both he and Buliuguyue would be outnumbered.

Right now, the only option was to deal with these Devil Cultivators first, then rush back to the city and meet up with Buliuguyue to jointly wipe out that Nascent Soul Realm Devil Cultivator!

That was the only solution Lin Ci could think of to break the deadlock.

But… could it actually be done?

“Li Feiyu?”

Ruan Huoying’s expression turned surprised. She spun the Magic Disk, sending out a barrage of Flying Knives that temporarily pushed back a few Devil Cultivators.

“What exactly is going on?!”

“Kill first, ask questions later.”

Lin Ci’s voice was low and steady. The Devil Cultivators numbered five; he casually pointed, “Two are mine, three are yours!”

“Got it!”

Ruan Huoying didn’t hesitate to agree.

Although she had to take on one more opponent, the situation was dangerous. Li Feiyu was at the Foundation Establishment Realm, and already holding off two enemies was a big help.

“Li Feiyu, thanks… I misjudged you before.” Before they engaged, she added, “You really came through—respect. I’m glad to call you a friend!”

“Friends, huh? Then what’s left to say?”

Lin Ci wasn’t touched at all. If anything, he had to suppress his cultivation.

Ruan Huoying was nearby, but it wasn’t yet life or death, so he couldn’t reveal his Golden Core Realm spiritual energy in battle.

As planned, he and Ruan Huoying each took their respective opponents.

Two Devil Cultivators flanked Lin Ci, one in front and one behind.

His eyes darkened—both were Golden Core Realm.

This was truly a cross-realm fight…

The Devil Cultivator ahead wielded two hefty axes, speaking with a relaxed tone, “Little thief, you ambushed me earlier and got one of us killed. What now?”

Lin Ci sneered coldly:

“Oh? Take another look behind you.”

The opponent’s face shifted in surprise as he turned around.

Nothing…

Damn!

Realizing he’d been tricked, the Devil Cultivator quickly dodged sideways.

Lin Ci took the chance to thrust his sword toward the heart, but only grazed the man’s arm.

“Damn it!”

The Devil Cultivator gritted his teeth and cursed, swinging his axe down furiously.

Lin Ci’s expression grew colder.

Right now, his only reliance was the Fenghe Sword Technique—which was little more than a showy facade…

With the Nine Revolutions Heaven-Burning Technique activated, Lin Ci struck!

Foundation Establishment Realm spiritual power clashed solidly with Golden Core Realm!

As expected,

Lin Ci was sent flying backward…

“Li Feiyu, are you okay?!”

Ruan Huoying held off three enemies using her treasure, but caught sight of Lin Ci being blasted away in her peripheral vision, her face turning pale instantly.

“Got time to care about others now?”

The three Devil Cultivators quickly unleashed various spiritual light spells at Ruan Huoying, who was overwhelmed and unable to support Lin Ci…

Meanwhile,

As Lin Ci flew back, the Devil Cultivator who struck him suddenly coughed out a mouthful of fresh blood with a “Wah!”

“You actually… used poison?!”

Eyes wide, the Devil Cultivator suddenly felt his whole body weakening, chest tight, breath short, even his spiritual energy flow stalling.

He’d been poisoned!

He realized now—the sword that had just grazed his arm was coated with a potent toxin…

Lin Ci flipped midair, then landed steadily, calm and graceful with no sign of injury.

A cold sneer escaped him:

“Hmph, can’t handle it?”

Aconitine, a powerful paralyzing poison extracted from the root of the aconite plant, could kill with just two milligrams, spreading rapidly through the bloodstream.

It was even documented in Detective Conan.

Lin Ci had coated the blade with it. While it wouldn’t outright kill a Golden Core cultivator, it was enough to immobilize them temporarily.

“I need to exert spiritual power to force out the poison. You kill him!”

The Devil Cultivator dared not delay, shouting to his companion behind Lin Ci, then quickly started channeling spiritual energy to expel the toxin.

It wasn’t surprising he hadn’t guarded against this—who would expect a supposedly righteous Right Path Disciple to stoop to such dirty tactics?

Great Void Sect, what kind of people are coming out of there?

“Soul-Splitting Fist!”

Another Devil Cultivator, a bald, burly man wearing Tiger Claws, roared angrily and charged at Lin Ci with unstoppable momentum!

Lin Ci stood his ground without moving, as if waiting for the attack.

Then—

“Ah!”

Halfway through his charge, the bald Devil Cultivator screamed.

He took two steps back and looked down at his foot—a glaring Poison Birch Caltrop had pierced through his shoe and into his flesh.

Needless to say, this was coated with poison too…

He stared blankly at the ground, now scattered with poisoned caltrops.

Seeing this, Lin Ci wasted no time. While the bald Devil Cultivator was stunned, he dashed forward with his sword toward the Devil Cultivator still channeling to cleanse poison.

Poison had sapped the latter’s energy; his spiritual power was sluggish. After a few begrudging parries, he realized he was hopeless.

Under the Fenghe Sword Technique, one sword ended his life with a clean strike to the throat!

The bald Devil Cultivator dared not fight anymore, hurriedly suppressing the poison with spiritual energy and turning to flee.

Lin Ci frowned and flicked the blood drops from his sword, strolling after him.

“Li Feiyu, can you come help me…”

Ruan Huoying saw Lin Ci quickly defeat two Golden Core opponents, even faster than herself. Surprised yet relieved, she still found herself locked in a bitter battle.

Three against one was truly overwhelming…

“Hold on a bit longer, I’m not done here yet!” Lin Ci called out.

Ruan Huoying bit her lip but said nothing. She tapped several times on her Magic Disk, erecting a spiritual energy barrier around herself.

But even so, it wouldn’t hold for long…

Lin Ci soon caught up to the bald Devil Cultivator.

Poison coursed through his body, spiritual energy sluggish; he gave up running and spun around with a fierce glare.

“Are you even a Right Path disciple? Your methods are so underhanded!”

Lin Ci casually tossed a handful of powder at the man’s face:

“Try glaring at me one more time.”

“Ahhhhhh—!”

The bald Devil Cultivator clutched his eyes, writhing wildly on the ground.

Lin Ci’s face remained calm—this was no ordinary chili powder.

It was made from Centennial Fiery Pepper, ground finely enough to burn even the skin of Golden Core cultivators!