Chi Qiu’s Fierce Stand

“It seems Miss Chi isn’t willing to surrender without a fight…”

A wider smile spread across Gong Lingfeng’s face as he watched Qi Feng and his men depart. Chi Qiu’s resistance, of course, was well within his expectations. Having reviewed the intelligence on her background, he had already prepared to abduct her by force.

Chi Qiu offered no response. She simply stared intently at Gong Lingfeng, anticipating his next move.

“You lot, stop Su Hanxing! The rest of you, come with me to apprehend Chi Qiu!”

Gong Lingfeng’s smile receded slightly. He pointed at Su Hanxing, and instantly, nearly ten cultivators stepped forward, lunging towards Su Hanxing. The moment those ten cultivators moved, Su Hanxing, his inner fury already ignited, couldn’t wait for their attack. He preemptively launched his own assault, thrusting his pear-shaped weapon forward.

Witnessing Su Hanxing’s aggressive move, Chi Qiu was naturally unwilling to be outdone. She ceased concealing her true strength, her body bathed in golden tribulation lightning, and unleashed a sword strike directly at Gong Lingfeng.

Gong Lingfeng neither dodged nor flinched. With a flick of his wrists, a long spear appeared in his hands. His true qi erupted as he wielded the spear, effortlessly parrying the sword qi Chi Qiu had unleashed. Chi Qiu knew that such a simple attack wouldn’t reveal the true extent of Gong Lingfeng’s power, so she wasn’t disheartened. She drew her sword, preparing to unleash a second wave of sword qi.

“Finish this quickly. Cripple her if you must, but do not take her life.”

Gong Lingfeng waved a hand, and the remaining Gong family cultivators swarmed forward, encircling Chi Qiu. In an instant, a flurry of diverse weapons converged upon her, forcing Chi Qiu to abandon her offense and adopt a defensive stance. With a sweep of her left hand, several golden tribulation lightning bolts surged forth, repelling multiple cultivators. She then retreated a few steps, parrying several blades, swords, axes, and halberds that flew at her from unseen directions. The immense force and turbulent true qi imbued within them sent her reeling backward repeatedly.

Clang—

A sudden clash of metal rang out. A slender, dark figure, previously hidden in the shadows, darted forth, thrusting a foot-long short sword with vicious intent. Wreathed in black mist and shimmering with purple light, it struck like a venomous serpent baring its fangs, aiming directly for Chi Qiu’s right shoulder.

Chi Qiu’s heart jolted, and her hairs stood on end. She shifted her body slightly, but it was still a fraction too late. Although the sword missed the main tendons of her shoulder, it still struck her upper arm. Fortunately, her scales blocked the attack, leaving Chi Qiu unharmed.

Hmph.

Failing to land the blow, the assailant instantly retreated, vanishing once more. Chi Qiu’s footwork was too slow to pursue, leaving her to watch helplessly as the figure disappeared into the shadows again. Her heart sank.

Hah!

Before Chi Qiu could retreat further, four burly figures, wielding massive axes, charged at her. Each of them possessed a formidable physique, their muscles bulging with raw power. Their four axes moved in perfect coordination, slashing horizontally and vertically, instantly sealing off Chi Qiu’s escape routes and forcing her to face them head-on.

Chi Qiu stood her ground, channeling her soul power and true qi into her scales simultaneously. Her entire scaled armor vibrated, and the scales on her left arm slowly extended, eventually encasing her entire left hand.

Chi Qiu then counter-attacked rather than retreating. Wielding her long sword in her right hand and her scaled left hand, she sidestepped and slapped away one of the massive axes. Her long sword then danced, thrusting out several points of sword light wreathed in golden lightning, aiming directly for the head of one of the burly men.

Chi Qiu naturally didn’t expect these few sword strikes to kill her opponent. She merely hoped they would force an opening, allowing her to break free from their encirclement.

“Don’t even think about escaping.”

Although the axe-wielding cultivator exposed a slight opening to evade the sword light, just as Chi Qiu seized the chance to break free from the encirclement, several massive peaks forged from true qi came crashing down towards her. Confronted by this sudden assault, Chi Qiu had no means of evasion and could only channel her true qi and lightning to resist it head-on.

Boom—

Chi Qiu withstood the colossal peaks, yet was relentlessly pushed back. Her gaze shifted, revealing four cultivators in Daoist robes behind the axe-wielders, actively channeling their true qi. These were the ones who had summoned the true qi peaks.

With no other choice, Chi Qiu retreated back into the encirclement of the four axe-wielding cultivators. At least within this close proximity, the robed cultivators wouldn’t unleash such wide-ranging long-distance attacks, fearing friendly fire.

Chi Qiu then rallied her spirits, closing the distance and engaging the four axe-wielding cultivators in a fierce melee. Immediately, strong winds whipped up, and dust billowed.

Chi Qiu had once been a body cultivator of an extremely high realm, relying heavily on close-quarters combat. Now, despite the vulnerability of her new body’s defenses, she could once again unleash her exceptionally refined fist and leg techniques. With the augmentation of true qi and lightning, Chi Qiu’s every casual punch and kick possessed immense power, subtly suppressing the four axe-wielding cultivators for a moment.

Gong Lingfeng’s face showed a hint of appreciation. He smiled, nodded, and then lightly waved his right hand.

Swish.

The black-clad cultivator who had previously ambushed and wounded Chi Qiu once again melted into the shadows, circling Chi Qiu, waiting for an opportunity. Chi Qiu had already suffered once; how could she fall for the same trick again? She had long since sensed the presence of the slender dark figure and had prepared herself well in advance.

Chi Qiu deliberately feigned an opening. Her left hand met an attack, gripping a dagger hilt, while her right hand’s long sword slashed out, repelling another massive axe. It appeared as though she had abandoned all defensive measures, but in reality, she was waiting for the slender dark figure to take the bait.

As expected, the slender dark figure, seeing both of Chi Qiu’s hands occupied, decisively moved forward, thrusting a sword towards her right hand, which remained unprotected by scales.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Chi Qiu let out a cold snort. With a flick of her right wrist, the Ink Jade Longsword flew from her grasp, piercing directly through the slender dark figure and pinning them to the ground. Just as the slender dark figure attempted to struggle, tribulation lightning erupted from the Ink Jade Longsword, instantly incinerating them into a charred corpse.

Chi Qiu nodded in satisfaction. After batting away the axe in front of her, she prepared to retreat a few steps to retrieve her long sword.

But then—

Chi Qiu had only just retreated three steps and reached out to summon her long sword with spiritual energy when another black short sword emerged from the void, slashing across her wrist. Chi Qiu felt her right hand go numb, followed by a complete loss of sensation.

Poison?

Chi Qiu dared not retrieve the Ink Jade Longsword. She withdrew her right hand, only to see black mist spreading from the wound, quickly enveloping her entire body. Wherever the black mist spread, a profound weakness instantly arose, as if even the strength to clench her fist was fading.

Chi Qiu glanced behind her, seeing another dark figure slowly vanish. That person had sacrificed a companion’s life for a single strike. It was a pity the spiritual energy within the Ink Jade Longsword was too sparse for it to be recognized as her own, otherwise, she wouldn’t have needed to be close to summon it back.

Within her sea of consciousness, the golden lightning embryo pulsed. True qi and soul power surged into it, nurturing countless golden bolts of lightning. Lightning was inherently the most potent and Yang-aligned substance, and the tribulation lightning entwined around Yinglong was among the finest of its kind. Chi Qiu circulated the tribulation lightning throughout her entire body, finally managing to suppress the virulent poison.

Rustle.

Since her right hand was incapacitated for wielding a sword, Chi Qiu simply abandoned the idea of fighting with a weapon. She opened her brilliant golden eyes wide, straining to discern her opponents. With a powerful push of her back foot, she transformed into a black-gold blur, charging directly into the embrace of one of the cultivators.

Chi Qiu was inherently petite, and these four axe-wielding cultivators, seemingly chosen from some unknown clan, each stood about ten chi tall. In comparison, Chi Qiu now appeared almost nested within the giant’s chest. At any other time, a charming, petite maiden leaping into one’s arms would surely draw envious gazes. However, Chi Qiu’s dive into the giant’s embrace was far from an act of endearment.

Upon closing the distance, Chi Qiu unleashed a barrage of punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. Her dark scaled armor also began to writhe again, manifesting sharp spikes on her left fist and right elbow. A moment later, the axe-wielding cultivator collapsed with a crash, his chest a bloody mess, his internal organs pulverized into a paste.

Chi Qiu then spun and flung her hand, and three blood lotuses instantly flew from her injured right wrist, intercepting the remaining three axe-wielding cultivators.

“Her footwork is terrible. Use restraining techniques.”

Gong Lingfeng, noticing Chi Qiu’s slow speed, immediately issued the command. The four robed cultivators, skilled in long-range attacks, nodded at once and began channeling their true qi.

After giving his orders, Gong Lingfeng looked up. Su Hanxing was already locked in a fierce struggle with the other cultivators, having been pushed towards a nearby small hill. These cultivators were all elites of the Gong family, their secret arts complementing each other, making them far more formidable than a group of ordinary cultivators combined.

Even so, these nearly ten God Concealing stage cultivators could only barely suppress Su Hanxing, unable to inflict even a scratch. The speed of his divine ability, “Starfall Step,” was simply beyond anyone’s reach.

Gong Lingfeng nodded. His original intention was merely to keep Su Hanxing occupied; as long as he didn’t interfere with his capture of Chi Qiu, it was fine. However, Su Hanxing’s “Starfall Step” was truly troublesome. If he weren’t worried about Su Hanxing repeatedly using this technique to instantly teleport to Chi Qiu’s side and whisk her away, Gong Lingfeng would have long since moved to capture Chi Qiu himself.

Why else would he bother splitting his attention to closely monitor Su Hanxing’s every move? What he didn’t know was that while Su Hanxing’s divine ability was swift, it was also difficult to control and execute, especially with Chi Qiu now possessing God Concealing stage strength, making it even harder to carry her.

Gong Lingfeng’s pupils constricted. By the edge of Dragon’s Rest Island, another small boat was slowly drifting closer, bustling with roughly thirty people.

I must finish this quickly, Gong Lingfeng decided inwardly.