Chapter 135: The Pill Formula, A Lovers' Quarrel, Hidden Machinations

Chapter 135 – The Pill Formula, A Lovers' Quarrel, Hidden Machinations

This wasn’t just Qiao Qiliang’s suspicion. Other smaller factions had also remained in the shadows, hiding even more deeply than Su Chen and Qiao Qiliang, content to watch events unfold like spectators at a play.

Yet all of this was irrelevant to the two men for now. After the Pure Land Sect and the Luo Clan’s forces appeared, the battle ahead grew increasingly intense. The Hong Clan’s casualty count skyrocketed visibly.

Hong Shan, fierce and formidable, was now restrained by two experts from the Blood Shifting Cultivation Realm. Su Chen noticed they belonged to different factions—one from the Pure Land Sect, the other from the Luo Clan—but at this moment, they had silently formed an alliance against him.

"Remnants of the Pure Land Sect! Your foul stench betrays you, no matter how deeply you hide!" Hong Shan roared as he recognized one opponent after their initial clash. With a mighty roar, his two-meter frame descended like a collapsing mountain, making the ground tremble beneath his weight.

The Pure Land Sect’s vice-leader snorted coldly. "Hong Shan, your clan slaughtered thousands of our followers. Today, you repay that debt!"

"Enough talk! Strike together, kill him!" Luo Yun barked, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

Hong Shan’s gaze locked onto Luo Yun. His gaze darkened as he spotted the sword in Luo Yun’s hand. "You’re with the Luo Clan?"

"Like hell I am!" Luo Yun spat, his brow twitching. Denial was one thing; open admission was another matter entirely.

He gripped his blade and unleashed his exquisite sword techniques.

In an instant, the air filled with radiant slashes forming countless nodes, weaving an inescapable net that surged toward Hong Shan.

On the other side, Ding Yi, the vice-leader of the Pure Land Sect wielding the Moon-Cutting Blade, charged in simultaneously. A momentum that seemed to swallow mountains and rivers surged around him as he slashed downward with the blade, its arc accompanied by a tiger’s roar.

Hong Shan’s expression remained as unmoved as a mountain. He stepped forward, unleashing a surging tide of blood energy that formed a thin crimson film around his body.

"Black Iron Rod—Sweep Across the Eight Directions!"

A low, thunderous voice erupted from his throat. His blood energy boiled and condensed onto the iron rod in his grip, causing it to vibrate violently.

Whoosh!

The rod trembled violently as Hong Shan tightened his grip, swinging it with brutal force, exuding an aura of unyielding dominance.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

The collision of three weapons created thunderous, ear-splitting sounds—as if a thousand armies clashed at once. No one dared approach the area, and the battlefield where the three fought was reduced to utter ruin within moments.

The earth cracked with deep fissures, mighty trees shattered from the overflow of vital energy, and nearby martial cultivators, unable to withstand the shockwaves, bled from their ears and noses, their bodies resembling blood-soaked corpses.

"Again!" Hong Shan roared, his voice like thunder shaking the air. His eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Kill!" Ding Yi and Luo Yun exchanged a glance, their resolve unshaken.

Hong Shan’s strength was terrifying. Though newly advanced to the Blood Shifting Realm, he fought two seasoned experts simultaneously—and dominated. Both Ding Yi and Luo Yun had long mastered this realm, their vital energy as refined as fine silk, far surpassing a novice like Hong Shan.

Yet Hong Shan, armed with his extraordinary physical strength and the weighty iron rod, held his ground and even gained the upper hand. Truly, sending Hong Shan as the Hong Clan’s escort had been a wise decision.

"Monstrous vital energy!" Su Chen murmured, watching the trio from a distance. Even from afar, the oppressive power radiating from them made his heart pound.

But this fear soon transformed into an excitement he barely noticed. A thought surfaced unbidden: I wonder how many moves I could last against a Blood Shifting expert with my current strength?

As soon as the thought arose, he felt himself going mad—because another question followed: How many moves could the opponent last? A strange confidence welled up, as if he believed himself capable of defeating a Blood Shifting cultivator.

"Others might dismiss such thoughts as madness, but I possess countless techniques, profound foundations, and a sturdy cultivation base. For me, such a notion might not be a dream. Perhaps one day, I truly could defeat a Blood Shifting expert using only my Bone Tempering strength. Their failures don’t mean mine."

His restless heart steadied with conviction as he turned his gaze back to the battlefield.

Hong Shan and Luo Yun’s duel raged on, the fiercest and most spectacular clash in the entire fray.

While Hong Shan held his ground against two opponents, the rest of the Hong Clan faced far worse.

Hong Xuan Cheng and Hong Ting were both surrounded and bloodied, their bodies riddled with wounds. The Hong Clan’s numbers had plummeted to fewer than fifty.

Of course, their attackers had suffered even greater losses, their corpses littering the ground in heaps.

"Hurry! Only five chests remain—open them all!"

A martial cultivator shouted, his eyes wild with greed. As the Hong Clan’s numbers dwindled, more chests were pried open, revealing treasures that made the crowd’s mouths water.

Three of the remaining five chests were the ones Ding Yi had earlier suspected contained the Vital Energy Pill Formula. These were the chests the Hong Clan had guarded most fiercely.

But such protection proved futile against the relentless onslaught. When the first attacker broke through the human wall, the defense crumbled rapidly, and the crowd surged inside.

Smash!

A large chest burst open, revealing a dazzling hoard of jewelry that blinded onlookers.

Smash!

Another chest cracked open, half-filled with gleaming gold and silver ingots.

"Three chests left!" He Quan bellowed, his voice carrying to Ding Yi and Luo Yun as they battled Hong Shan.

Their expressions darkened. Both unleashed killing blows to force Hong Shan back. Though he had endured the prolonged fight, his breath now came in labored gasps. Facing their combined assault, he dared not block directly and leaped back several paces.

As Ding Yi and Luo Yun dashed toward the remaining chests, Hong Shan’s face twisted into a cold smirk, his gaze as icy as if he were staring at two corpses.

Smash!

Two chests opened. Most onlookers gawked at the gold and silver inside. A few exchanged puzzled glances, their eyes fixed on the final chest.

No Vital Energy Pill Formula had been found yet—it must be in this last chest.

The realization ignited insatiable greed in the eyes of the Luo Clan, the Pure Land Sect, and even Su Chen and Qiao Qiliang. Those lurking in the shadows focused their attention as well.

"Open it—now!" Luo Yun shouted, urging a young disciple nearby.

The youth hesitated a moment before rushing to the chest, the crowd’s eyes glued to him.

Smash!

As he opened the chest, it exploded violently. A skeletal arm shot out, striking his chest like a thunderclap. Blood erupted from his mouth as the disciple collapsed, drenched in crimson.

A stunned silence fell over the battlefield.

"A Blood Shifting expert!"

Luo Yun and Ding Yi froze, their faces paling. Hidden within the Hong Clan’s ranks was a martial cultivator from the Blood Shifting Realm!

"Hah! I’ve been cooped up for too long. Who knew the outside world had grown so lively?"

A smiling middle-aged man emerged from the shattered chest. He dusted off his sleeves, utterly unperturbed by the carnage around him. His calm demeanor was chilling.

The man surveyed the crowd with a glance, his cold eyes sweeping like a radar. "Only this many people? The allure of the Vital Energy Pill Formula must not be strong enough."

He pulled out a scroll from his robe and shouted, "The formula is right here! If you have the skill, come take it!"

At his words, the stunned crowd snapped out of their trance. Eyes glinting with greed fixated on the scroll in his hand.

"Attack!" Luo Yun bellowed. He and the Luo Clan members surged forward, surrounding the middle-aged man.

"Die already!" Hong Shan cackled as he charged at Ding Yi, iron rod in hand, his figure exploding forward like an arrow.

"Vice Leader, we're coming!" The large man fighting Hong Clan members roared, rushing toward the duel.

Meanwhile, with the Luo Clan and Pure Land Sect engaged, other factions seized the treasure. Chaos erupted as combatants fought both each other and Hong Clan warriors.

Su Chen observed silently from afar, his gaze locked on the Vital Energy Pill Formula at Hong Hai's waist. Though Hong Hai outmatched Hong Shan, the Luo Clan's combined assault now held him in a brutal stalemate.

Blades slashed through the air, forming a storm of steel. Hong Hai countered with serpentine fluidity, his fists clashing against swords in a shower of sparks. The earth trembled beneath their power.

"Formation!" Luo Yun commanded. The clan shifted positions, forming the Luo Clan Sword Array. The air itself seemed to crystallize into blades, trapping Hong Hai in a cage of death.

Hong Hai's expression darkened. "So you'd dare use the Sword Array against me."

The formation answered instead of words. Within its confines, each sword stroke carried lethal intent. Outside, Su Chen turned to the other battlefield where Hong Shan fought like a wild beast.

Black Iron Rod whistling through the air, Hong Shan carved a path of destruction. Though outnumbered, his ferocity kept the Pure Land Sect on edge. "Don't fight him head-on! Wear him down!" Ding Yi ordered, his blade harrying Hong Shan with relentless precision.

A sudden explosion drew all eyes - the Sword Array lay shattered! Hong Hai emerged bloodied but unbroken, his eyes blazing with murder as he spotted the flying scroll.

"Die!" he roared, unleashing a tempest of Vital Energy. The ground cracked beneath his palm strike. Luo Yun's sword shattered, sending him flying backward in a spray of blood.

"Got it!" A Luo disciple snatched the scroll, tossing it to Luo Yun. "Fall back!" the clan leader barked.

"Not so fast!" Hong Shan lunged, but Ding Yi blocked his path. "Your opponent is me!"

"Move!" Hong Shan's fury erupted. The Pure Land Sect's members danced around his attacks, avoiding direct confrontation.

"Still too green!" Luo Yun laughed, vanishing into the distance. "The Vital Energy Pill Formula belongs to us now!"

Ding Yi's face twisted with rage. Without the Luo Clan's support, fighting two Blood Shifting Realm cultivators was suicide. "Retreat!"

Qiao Qiliang guffawed at the sudden turn. "Who'd have thought the allies would turn on each other so quickly?"

As factions scattered, Hong Hai and Hong Shan cut down stragglers. Hidden forces pursued the fleeing Luo Clan.

"Let's chase them too!" Qiao Qiliang urged Su Chen. "We'll miss our chance if we're late!"

Su Chen gripped his arm. "Wait."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end