Chapter 15 Crimson Dusk (Second Update, 3800 words)

His gaze fell upon the Blood Shadow Squad, which was attacking the Thunder Team! At this moment, the setting sun slowly descended in the sky, and the afterglow was visibly replaced by the encroaching darkness in the distance. It seemed that it wouldn't be long before the darkness would cover the entire land. A chill gradually seeped from the dark colors, spreading in all directions. The jungle still bathed in the afterglow appeared like an old man struggling, unwilling to meet its end, while the light of the setting sun seemed to lack the strength to assist, feebly penetrating the dense leaves, dim and sparse. However, Xu Qing, who was hidden among the treetops, was different; he coldly observed the battlefield, reflecting all the scenes into his icy gaze. The Blood Shadow Squad consisted of five members, two of whom were the main attackers while the other three surrounded to block the escape routes, preventing the Thunder Team from fleeing. The latter's cultivation level was comparable to Luan Ya's, both at the third layer. They dared not get too close, circling around the outskirts, but the presence of the three forced the Thunder Team to split their attention. As for the two in the front, one of them emitted a spiritual energy fluctuation that was only a hair's breadth away from the Thunder Team; he was evidently at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation and was also an elderly man. His hair was disheveled, eyes glinting with ferocity, and his clothes were tattered, revealing muscles that seemed ready to burst; he was the Blood Shadow's captain who had eaten dog meat raw. At this moment, the Blood Shadow captain licked his lips, striking like lightning while coldly staring at the increasingly pale Thunder Team. "Today, the Thunder Team must be expelled from the camp. Thunder Team, you might as well take your own life; otherwise, if you fight to the point of mutation, your corpse will not remain whole after death, which would be too undignified. If you take your own life, I will take good care of your team members," he said. "That's right, Thunder Team need not worry; after you die, the other members of the Thunder Team, we will take good care of them when we return. I've long wanted to taste Luan Ya's flavor, and the child you brought back should fetch a good price as a treasure keeper," added another member who had also attacked the Thunder Team alongside the captain. This man was middle-aged and ugly, his back bulging grotesquely, one of his eyes blind, and the remaining one radiated a bloodthirsty intent. Although his spiritual energy fluctuation was not as strong as his captain's, it surpassed Xu Qing's impression of the cross, reaching the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. However, he was not very stable, as if he had just broken through recently. Faced with the provocation of the two, the Thunder Team maintained a stoic expression, but there was a hint of death in their eyes, and their strikes became even swifter. In an instant, the two members of Blood Shadow, who were unwilling to sustain heavy injuries for the sake of killing the Thunder Team, slightly retreated and began to skirmish. Clearly, they were internally confident that they would succeed today and intended to drag their opponent down. "One at the sixth layer, one at the fifth layer, and three at the third layer!" Xu Qing's eyes shone with murderous intent. In truth, he could leave, but he valued his gratitude highly; the Thunder Team had treated him well from the beginning, so Xu Qing had no intention of leaving. Instead, he quickly scanned the battlefield and the surrounding environment. This place was not open; there were plenty of trees, the light was dim, and shadows were predominant, making it suitable for ambush. After assessing his thoughts, Xu Qing crouched on the treetops, and in an instant, his killing intent erupted. He forcefully stomped on the treetops, using the momentum to speed forward, transforming into an arrow released from a bow, suddenly closing in. The third layer of the Sea Mountain Technique combined with the strength from the purple crystal was fully displayed at this moment. His speed was so fast that he left a clear afterimage in the treetops, and before the people on the battlefield could react, Xu Qing's figure had already dashed into the fray in the blink of an eye. He appeared beside one of the three outer members. That was a thin young man, whose triangular eyes reflected the image of the besieged Thunder Team, and he had no sense of Xu Qing's arrival whatsoever. Just as the cold wind struck his face, he froze for a moment, about to turn his head, but the next moment... a sharp iron stake pierced through his temple with terrifying force. Before the corpse could fall, before the scream could escape, Xu Qing's body did not halt, bending down, using his foot to push against the ground with force, his speed exploding as he lunged toward the next person. This second scavenger's expression changed dramatically, his pupils constricting. Just as he was about to retreat, Xu Qing was already upon him, his fist carrying the astonishing strength of the third layer of the Sea Mountain Technique, arriving in an instant. With a loud bang, it struck his chest, flesh collapsing as if it were mud, blood spraying from his back, accompanied by the cracking sound of broken bones. As Xu Qing waved his left hand, a dagger was hurled with terrifying force, slicing through the air toward the third person at high speed. As the second person's ribs shattered and heart collapsed, the third scavenger on the periphery finally became fully alert. Horrified, he was about to take action, but just as he did, a fierce wind rushed at him, and his body stiffened for an instant; his eyes widened as his instincts urged him to lift his hand with his last ounce of strength to touch the cold dagger that had pierced through his brow. The force of the dagger was so immense that it dented the edges of his brow, causing his skull to crack! All of this transpired in the blink of an eye. Xu Qing's speed was too fast, and his strikes were decisive. At this moment, with the first and third corpses falling, the second person with shattered ribs and collapsed heart also fell, revealing the figure of a young boy. The boy bent slightly at the waist, his black hair covering the upper half of his face, but it couldn't hide the wolf-like coldness in his eyes. At this moment, he raised his head, locking eyes with the members of the Thunder Team and the Blood Shadow Squad, who were shaken by his actions. The wind around seemed to freeze at that instant. The eyes of the Thunder Team, filled with death, finally showed ripples; he deeply gazed at Xu Qing, suddenly shouting, "Kid, run!" Xu Qing did not heed the Thunder Team's request; instead, he fixed his gaze on the captain of the Blood Shadow Squad, narrowing his eyes. The captain of the Blood Shadow Squad, for the first time, looked directly at Xu Qing, especially glancing at the three corpses beside him, his face slightly twitched. He had to admit that he had misjudged the Thunder Team. The fierce determination of the savage was one thing, and this sudden child was another. "Kill him!" The Blood Shadow captain snorted coldly, deciding not to delay the fight any longer to avoid injury. At this moment, as he spoke, his entire aura erupted violently, and he hurled a punch at the Thunder Team, instantly engaging in a fierce battle with them. Beside him, the middle-aged man at the fifth layer, with a sinister grin, turned and charged directly at Xu Qing. As he stepped, his entire body released spiritual energy, and while walking, he cracked his knuckles, revealing a cruel intent in his eyes. Despite this boy's astonishing speed and his ability to kill three people in an instant, he was still confident that with his recently broken through fifth-layer cultivation, he could easily slay the opponent. Xu Qing's narrowed eyes now glimmered even colder. Based on his previous judgment, he believed he could kill someone at the fourth layer, but for the fifth layer... he had never fought against one, so he was unsure. With a sudden movement, Xu Qing dashed out, his speed exploding as he charged at the middle-aged man, landing a punch as he closed in. The middle-aged cultivator revealed a look of disdain at the corner of his mouth. Almost the moment Xu Qing arrived, the spiritual energy fluctuations around the middle-aged man transformed into an invisible barrier, colliding with Xu Qing's fist. With a loud roar, the barrier cracked but did not shatter. Instead, a strong recoil erupted from within, causing Xu Qing's wrist, which made contact with it, to emit cracking sounds as it dislocated directly. Xu Qing's eyes narrowed; as his body swiftly maneuvered, he forcefully shook his right hand to pop the dislocated joint back into place, his eyes shining with a fierce glint. He did not retreat, instead launching another full-force punch. With a tremendous bang, the barrier, which was already riddled with cracks, finally shattered completely this time. But just as it splintered, a violent shockwave erupted from within, raising the dirt even as it rushed toward Xu Qing, enveloping him entirely. Especially the invisible shards formed by the barrier's destruction acted like unseen blades, rapidly slicing through Xu Qing's body, leaving gruesome marks. Xu Qing's body trembled. His frail frame was swept back by the shockwave, numerous wounds bleeding profusely. The wrist that had just recovered was once again dislocated, hanging unnaturally at his side. "Foolish!" "A mere body refinement is not worthy of battling a spell cultivator, let alone you, at the third layer, overestimating yourself against me at the fifth layer!" As the dust settled, the middle-aged cultivator's disdain grew even stronger in his eyes. However, deep down, he was also surprised; he truly did not expect that his spiritual energy barrier would shatter after Xu Qing's second punch. Fortunately, he had recently broken through to the fifth layer, allowing his spiritual energy barrier to burst forth after breaking, or else he would have been in a panic just now. Xu Qing furrowed his brows, seemingly oblivious to the severe pain throughout his body and arms, staring at the middle-aged man. He forcefully popped his dislocated wrist back into place on the ground. This harsh scene of self-infliction was seen by the middle-aged cultivator approaching Xu Qing, and he involuntarily paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. He quickly raised both hands, pointing decisively at Xu Qing while forming a spell gesture. Instantly, spiritual energy coalesced around him once again, transforming into a fireball the size of a head, hurtling toward Xu Qing. This fireball was terrifying, its approach distorting the air around it, indicating extremely high temperatures. As it neared, Xu Qing swiftly dodged, but the fireball relentlessly pursued him. The middle-aged man’s eyes shone with murderous intent; not forgetting to form a barrier around his body, he managed to conjure a second and third fireball simultaneously, both chasing after Xu Qing. Seeing the three fireballs approaching, blocking his escape route, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, and he rolled over to grab the corpse of the person he had just killed, using it to smash toward one of the fireballs. With a loud bang, the fireball collided with the corpse, igniting it instantly; within three breaths, the corpse turned to ash. This scene gave Xu Qing an intuitive judgment of the fireball's power. At this moment, the residual heat surged, causing his body to flush red, and he was about to evade, but the second and third fireballs were already closing in. Under the cunning glint in the middle-aged man's eyes, he gave Xu Qing no chance to escape, and the moment the fireballs approached, they suddenly exploded. Boom! Flames spread widely, the lethal heat from the high temperature was astounding. In this area, Xu Qing found it nearly impossible to completely evade; although he used his speed to avoid most of it, his body was still covered in thick blisters at that moment, and the steam rising made it seem as if his internal organs were burning. "Fire Crow, hurry up!" In the distance, the Blood Shadow captain, engaged in battle with the Thunder Team, shouted. "Understood, Captain! This little wolf cub can only withstand two more fireballs from me before becoming a dried corpse!" replied the middle-aged man named Fire Crow, grinning as he looked at Xu Qing with even more cruelty in his eyes. Raising his right hand, two more blazing fireballs appeared around him, and with a wave, the fireballs flew rapidly toward Xu Qing. He worried that Xu Qing might evade, so he replicated the previous tactic, controlling the two fireballs to explode the moment they neared Xu Qing, covering the area and sealing off all possible escape routes. The high temperature permeated, flames burned on the ground, and the trees were instantly reduced to ashes, unable to obscure the remaining light of the setting sun, causing sunlight to merge with the blaze, obscuring Fire Crow's vision. But he was very confident that his fifth-layer fireball would have no problem in exterminating someone at the third layer. Thus, he wiped his hands; though slightly out of breath, he wore a disdainful expression as he turned to walk toward the battle between the Thunder Team and the Blood Shadow captain. "Thunder Team, your men are useless!" As he walked, Fire Crow sneered, but he did not see the despair on the Thunder Team's faces; instead, he noticed a change in the Blood Shadow captain's expression. Fire Crow reacted quickly, suddenly dodging to the side. But it was too late; a small figure shot out from behind him, landing two consecutive punches against the spiritual energy barrier surrounding him. The barrier shook violently, immediately breaking apart, and under the explosive force, the small figure was forced back, but a dagger and an iron stake were hurled out fiercely, counterattacking. However, the impact from the barrier's collapse created a certain amount of resistance, causing the speed of the dagger to slow down as it approached Fire Crow, giving him a chance to evade. He rapidly dodged, but one of his ears was still pierced by the dagger, blood splattering as he was hit, while the iron stake pierced his chest, forcing him to spit out blood, but fortunately, it was not a fatal blow. The sharp pain made Fire Crow's eyes turn blood red as he howled, retreating in disarray, and he glared back at the figure behind him. What he saw was a young boy, crouching on the ground, stepping on the extinguishing flames, poised to pounce like a wolf, positioned about seven or eight feet away. He was still covered in blisters, his body flushed red, but at this moment, the afterglow of the setting sun illuminated the boy’s eyes, revealing... a cold glint like ice, with no hint of his killing intent diminishing! (End of this chapter)