Chapter 26: Jiuzhaigou

  "I didn't think you could find such a master, this time I lost, we'll meet again, next time you won't be so lucky." Zhou Qing and the leader of the escorts exchanged another blow before quickly leaving.

  Both of them were at a late stage of martial arts mastery; if one wanted to escape, the other couldn't stop him.

  "You despicable scoundrel, if you have the guts, let's fight to the death...!" The leader of the escorts was unable to catch up and could only shout hoarsely while clutching his throat, his fists clenched so tightly that they were almost bleeding.

  At this time, he suddenly found out that except for those strong men, Xu Xiao and his brother had quickly caught up.

  "Head Escort, thank you for taking care of us along the way. I'll take that little man's life as a token of gratitude for your kindness! " Xu Hua bid farewell to the Head Escort before leaving.

  Biao Tou was just about to remind Xu Hua to be careful, but thinking again about the strength they had revealed earlier, the words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.

  Looking at the figure disappearing into the darkness, the leader of the escorts remained silent for a long time. Finally, other escorts came over to comfort him, saying: "Xu Xiao must be fine, don't underestimate him! Let's go back and sleep, we still have a journey tomorrow!"

  On the other hand, Xu Hua and Luo Cheng were hot on the heels of Zhou Qing's group, not letting up. Every time they caught up with someone, one person would be killed by the two of them, causing the people in front to flee for their lives in terror. Especially when Zhou Qing kept shouting: "Why are you two little heroes pursuing me relentlessly? We don't have any deep grudges or hatred."

  "People like you are a scourge even if they stay, it's better to die!" Xu Hua pursued relentlessly, but after all, this was their territory. Even if Xu Hua and the other two ran fast, they couldn't catch up with each other in an instant.

  "Humph! What's this nonsense about me being a jinx?! I hate hearing that the most. If you've got what it takes, keep chasing, straight ahead is my Jiugou Village. My village master is a powerful warrior king, and once he finds out, it'll be your death sentence." Zhou Qing saw that pretending to be weak was useless, so she stopped pretending and directly pulled out her village master to intimidate Xu Hua and the other person.

  Luo Cheng killed off the last of Zhou Qing's subordinates, and said with great disdain: "Even if your boss came, he wouldn't be able to save you!"

  All the way here, Zhou Qing's subordinates were all slaughtered by the two of them. Xu Hua didn't waste any either and used "Life Devouring Technique" to absorb the life energy from their bodies. Although they were only early-stage martial artists and had lost a lot of life energy due to their deaths, there were thirty people after all. The total life energy from the thirty people's bodies wasn't a small amount, and Xu Hua managed to condense out his fourth Life Crystal, which was almost the size of a grain of rice.

  Xu Hua thought to himself: Killing people is indeed much faster than absorbing the life force of plants and trees. However, this was something that Xu Hua wouldn't have dared to think about in the past. But the experiences he had on this journey had brought about a huge change in him. In just over ten days, thirty-two people had indirectly died at his hands, and now killing no longer held much taboo for him.

  So he bid farewell to the escorts, Xu Hua was going to hunt down some mountain bandits, gain more combat experience and replenish his life energy. Also, it's time to avenge Luo Cheng's grudge.

  "If you have the ability, just keep chasing!" Zhou Qing ran towards the village while taking a packet of restorative medicine. Fierce escape was extremely exhausting for his true energy, if his true energy was depleted and he got caught by the two behind him, he would be dead for sure.

  Unbeknownst to them, the two had been chasing each other for half a day, crossing over small hills. Even after taking the Revival Incense to recover their true energy, Zhou Qing's legs were still soft from running. Turning his head back again to look at the two who were hot on his heels, he cursed and shouted: "Damn it! Why is my luck so bad that I ran into these two freaks?"

  Fortunately, this place is not far from Jiuzhaigou, and after persisting for a while, we can arrive. Otherwise, Zhou Qing might have had the idea of killing himself.

  "Master, judging from his appearance, he should be arriving soon." Luo Cheng said in a low voice.

  Xu Hua once again gave Luo Cheng a strand of life energy, keeping him in top condition. "Don't be reckless," he said. "That's the lair of the mountain bandits, and there will certainly be many strong ones. I haven't even had a real fight with the strongest of the Wu Kingdom yet! Nor do I know how big the gap is between the Wu King and the Wu Masters. Later on, I might not be able to take care of you, so you'd better be careful. There should be several people like that bald-headed man with similar strength."

  Luò Chéng nodded heavily, he didn't want Young Master to be distracted because of him.

  Zhou Qing, who was desperately fleeing forward, had no idea that the two young men behind him were plotting against him. However, it's also true that although he had the Returning Breath Technique and boundless True Qi, his exhausted body caused his speed to decrease again and again. On the other hand, Xu Hua and the other had their physical strength restored by the Life-Rejuvenating Qi, without any adverse effects whatsoever. If they really wanted to kill him, they could have done so long ago.

  After crossing a small hill that was less than a hundred feet high, Zhou Qing looked at the brightly lit village below and revealed an excited smile. In his heart, he secretly said: "Ge Laozi's, after rushing for so long, I'm exhausted to death."

  If he howled here, he would definitely attract the brothers in the village, but Zhou Qing was afraid of scaring away the two men behind him, so he didn't do it. He wanted to lure them into the village and capture them alive, then torture them thoroughly to vent his anger.

  Xu Hua and the other person climbed to the top of the mountain and also found the brightly lit village below. Xu Hua suddenly rushed towards Zhou Qing like a ghost.

  In less than two breaths, Xu Hua caught up with Zhou Qing. Looking at his panicked and helpless appearance, Xu Hua solved him with one punch. Seeing Zhou Qing fall to the ground without getting up, apparently dead, Xu Hua coldly said: "Did you really think I had no way to deal with you? It was just a matter of using you to find this den of thieves."

  He activated the "Devouring Life Technique", absorbing all of Zhou Qing's life force, leaving behind only a withered skeleton. Xu Hua's true energy shook and he turned into a pile of ashes, dispersing among the mountains.

  Feeling the fourth crystal of life that was about to take shape within his body, Xu Hua's face revealed a hint of joy. At this time, Luo Cheng walked up to him and gazed at the brightly lit mountain stronghold below, saying: "Young Master, it's still dark now, we can launch a surprise attack under cover of darkness, first taking out some of the mountain bandits. By the time day breaks, even if they discover us, there won't be much pressure."

  "Go..."

  Two figures rushed down towards Jiuzhaigou like ghosts.

  Jiuzhaigou is located in a low valley surrounded by mountains, with small streams surrounding it. In the center, there is a large pool of water, about 100 meters long and 60 meters wide, but its depth is unknown. However, it has been designated as a forbidden area by the master of Jiuzhaigou, and outsiders are not allowed to enter except for him.

  Two night watchmen at the gate of Jiuzhaigou village were dozing off, after all, it would be dawn in more than an hour, and this was the easiest time to fall asleep. Moreover, no one dared to sneak into Jiuzhaigou usually, so they lost their vigilance.

  "Wooo..."

  Two night watchmen were suddenly awakened, but their mouths were covered and they couldn't make a sound.

  "Crack..."

  Snapped the two men's spines, one of whom whispered: "Change your clothes,"

  After the two changed their clothes, the two people who had fallen to the ground had turned into a pile of ash and dust scattered on the ground, which would not attract anyone's attention. Entering it, they moved forward for less than a hundred feet before discovering a row of four people patrolling, the two looked around, hiding in a dark side where the light could not shine, waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

  ……

  "Crack..."

  Nor did he know how far he had gone into Jiuzhaigou, nor did he know how many people he had killed. Xu Hua only knew that the fourth Life Crystal in his body had fully formed, and the fifth Life Crystal was also as small as a sesame seed. He once again gave Luo Cheng a strand of life energy, allowing him to stay at his peak state at all times.

  "Gentlemen, the sky will be bright soon, and in less than half an hour, people will start to move around. At that time, we will prepare for a real big battle." Luo Cheng's face did not have any solemnity, but only had a bloodthirsty excitement, which was never discovered before. Luo Cheng was actually so bloodthirsty, it was a kind of excitement towards blood, just like a warrior's excitement when upgrading their strength. Xu Hua didn't think much about it, after all, he couldn't see any harm in it for the time being, at most it was just some excitement.

  "Be careful, we've only been killing early-stage martial artists before, some of whom were just warriors in the warrior stage, they don't count for much. I don't believe a big mountain stronghold like this wouldn't have any strong practitioners. When the real battle comes, they'll definitely appear. At that time, you'd better be careful. Your current strength can handle ordinary late-stage martial artists, but if five or six late-stage martial artists work together to take you down, you'll be in trouble!" Xu Hua was also excited, but he had a bit more rationality than Luo Cheng and wasn't blinded by excitement.

  Xu Huaxin suspected that this might not be the real residence of the upper class people in Jiuzhaigou, otherwise there wouldn't even be a single mid-level martial artist.

  Looking into the depths, he didn't know why, but a hint of palpitation flashed through his heart just now. However, he didn't pay much attention to it, and perhaps this trip would bring him losses.

  As the two continued to advance, they killed many more people. If ordinary people had killed so many people, they would have left behind a strong bloody smell and attracted the attention of the strongest in the village. However, with Xuhua's variable, it was different. Once the "Devouring Life Skill" was activated, even the essence of the bones would be sucked dry, how could there be any bloodstains left?

  Half an hour later, the sky brightened up, and the strong men who had rested in Jiuzhaigou for a night also came out to exercise. Although they were doing business without capital, they still needed great strength, so every morning, regardless of their strength or weakness, they would all come out to practice. However, today seemed somewhat deserted.

  The sky is slightly bright, with a hint of darkness lingering. The misty fog in the mountains envelops the entire Jiuzhaigou, like a paradise on earth. Even the clothes of the strong men who got up and moved around were not immune to the heavy dampness.

  "Huh? Why is it so quiet today, why are there only a few people out and about?" Some of the strong individuals who usually hang out in the empty areas during regular gatherings whispered to each other.

  "Qiangzi, I was planning to have a good match with him today! I lost to him yesterday, and now I'm going to win it back!"

  "Take a look and don't be afraid to come out."

  Three or five strong men walked around, found many places, knocked on many doors, and searched for many houses, but did not find a single person.

  "What about the people? Where have they all gone? Have they vanished into thin air?" The remaining people said anxiously, and as they moved around in the village, the fear in their hearts spread.

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