Chapter 96

Standing with his sword at the ready, Shen Changqing took a deep breath and firmly gripped the secret letter his mother had given him.

As he returned his sword to a defensive position, all of his vulnerabilities vanished.

At the moment he returned his sword, the red-clothed figure's attack had already arrived. Her cold hand struck the blade, releasing a chilling aura and powerful force.

"Roar!"

Shen Changqing did not retreat. The Heavenly Martial Aura surged, and the frosty blade was instantly enveloped in a wave of heat.

The intense heat caused the red-clothed figure's expression to change, and without hesitation, she retreated.

In the instant she retreated,

the defensive long sword swept out like a crescent moon, decapitating several nearby puppet corpses that fell to the ground.

With one successful strike,

Shen Changqing did not pause. He charged into the midst of the puppet corpses, his long sword like the scythe of death, reaping their heads.

He understood the principle of capturing the leader first.

However, the red-clothed figure was very strong. In a one-on-one situation, he had a certain level of confidence in defeating her.

But with the numerous puppet corpses assisting her, subduing the red-clothed figure would not be so easy.

Therefore,

the current strategy

was to eliminate all the puppet corpses first, and then deal with the red-clothed figure.

Although Shen Changqing did not know how these puppet corpses were created without revealing any evil aura,

in terms of strength,

the puppet corpses here were not much different from those in Lin'an City.

At most,

they were equivalent to the strength of Body Tempering Realm martial artists.

With his current peak innate strength, dealing with some Body Tempering Realm puppet corpses was as easy as slaughtering chickens and sheep, presenting no difficulty at all.

The puppet corpses in the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion were numerous.

The once charming and graceful figures now appeared horrifying, far from their former allure.

On the other side,

as Shen Changqing slaughtered the puppet corpses, the red-clothed figure did not stop. She waited for an opportunity to attack in coordination with the puppet corpses.

The more she fought,

the more alarmed the red-clothed figure became!

She did not understand when the Demon Suppression Bureau had gained such a powerful warrior.

According to the Eternal Alliance's information,

the person before her had only joined the Demon Suppression Bureau less than three years ago.

In just three years,

such a powerful warrior had been created.

The red-clothed figure believed that if this news spread, it would surely shock the Eternal Alliance.

Similarly,

if she could slay such a powerful warrior and absorb his essence, she would certainly break through her current limits and directly advance to the Master Realm.

The Master Realm

was the dividing line between humans and demons.

For demons, it was equivalent to the Malevolent Level.

"Kill him!"

"Must kill him!"

Thinking of the Master Realm, the red-clothed figure licked her red lips, her emerald eyes filled with intense desire.

Swish

Her figure disappeared from her spot and the next moment, she pounced on Shen Changqing.

This strike

was aimed at Shen Changqing's distraction, a fatal attack.

The wind rushed toward him.

Shen Changqing slightly avoided the vital points, allowing her hand to strike his body. Her sharp nails, like blades, could not be resisted even by his Seventh Layer Invincible Golden Body.

His clothes tore.

A sharp pain came.

Her hand pierced through Shen Changqing's body and emerged from his back.

With one successful strike,

just as the red-clothed figure was about to smile, her expression suddenly changed. She found her hand, which had pierced through Shen Changqing's body, was trapped by a powerful force, unable to be pulled out.

"It's my turn now!"

Shen Changqing grinned ferociously, the intense pain thoroughly unleashing his inner savagery.

The Cold Moon Sword slashed down.

The red-clothed figure's entire arm was severed.

Black blood spurted, splashing onto Shen Changqing's body, causing his skin to instantly rot.

At the same time,

the red-clothed figure let out a piercing scream, clutching her severed arm and retreating explosively.

"Madman, you're a madman!"

She clutched her severed arm, her eyes filled with horror as she stared at Shen Changqing. Her severed arm was still embedded in his body, and the corrosive blood made Shen Changqing look extremely terrifying.

Thud!

The severed arm was forcefully pulled out, and Shen Changqing casually discarded it on the ground.

At the same time,

his Invincible Golden Body was frantically repairing the physical injuries, but compared to the terrifying through-and-through wound, the repair could only barely stop the bleeding.

The long sword pointed diagonally at the ground.

Black blood dripped from the blade, corroding the stone floor and creating holes.

"It seems your injuries are more severe than mine!"

Shen Changqing licked his dry, cracked lips, his eyes filled with madness and savagery, fixed on the red-clothed figure.

This battle

was the most severe he had ever experienced since coming to this world.

But

in this battle, Shen Changqing felt something within his body about to be born.

That feeling

made him indulge in it.

"You not joining the Eternal Alliance is truly a pity!"

The red-clothed figure's face was cold, the wound on her severed arm gradually scabbing over, though it did not regenerate, it stopped bleeding.

"Jincheng will ultimately be destroyed. Relying on your strength alone, it's impossible to change this fate.

Not joining the Eternal Alliance, you can only perish with Jincheng!"

"Even if I perish with Jincheng, you will be the one to lay the foundation for my death."

Shen Changqing's body suddenly moved, and he lunged forward, the long sword slicing the ground, creating a series of sparks.

Then,

he stomped his left foot, leaped into the air, and with both hands gripping the long sword, he fiercely chopped down at the red-clothed figure.

Sensing the power contained in that strike,

the red-clothed figure chose to retreat, her body vanishing like a shadow.

At the moment she retreated,

the long sword heavily struck the ground.

The sword aura erupted, causing the stone floor to crack and spread out for a considerable distance before gradually stopping.

The long sword was sheathed.

Shen Changqing's senses were at their maximum, and only after confirming that the red-clothed figure had truly retreated did he look around.

All the puppet corpses

were now completely slain by him.

A rough estimate showed there were at least one or two hundred.

These puppet corpses, unknown how long they had been dead, rapidly rotted after being slain, mixing with the black blood, making the sight nauseating.

Taking out a bottle of Blood Qi Pill from his pocket,

Shen Changqing swallowed it without hesitation.

The pill entered his stomach,

and a surge of Blood Qi power erupted.

True Qi rose in his dantian, forcibly grinding down this unfamiliar Blood Qi power, converting it into nourishment for his body.

After a few breaths,

Shen Changqing felt his wounds begin to itch, and the areas corroded by the blood had recovered significantly.

"Dealing with demons is no small trouble."

Looking at his injuries, he helplessly shook his head.

Fortunately,

his Heavenly Martial Aura had broken through to an unprecedented fourteenth layer, and it had absorbed the characteristics of Pure Yang True Qi. Otherwise, the cold aura from the red-clothed figure's strike could have frozen his Blood Qi.

Not to mention severing her arm,

he would have been lucky not to be killed in return.

After a brief recovery, Shen Changqing did not linger and headed directly to the Tianyi Tower.

The noise of the battle was so loud,

yet it did not attract any attention from the citizens. Combined with the red-clothed figure's words, he knew that something major was about to happen in Jincheng.

Walking down the street,

the surrounding houses were pitch black, as if no one was there.

It did not take long,

and fortunately, when Shen Changqing reached the street where the Tianyi Tower was located, the environment returned to normal.

Despite the curfew, no citizens dared to walk outside.

But the occasional lights from the tightly closed doors proved that people were present.

Returning to the Tianyi Tower,

Shen Changqing's terrifying appearance immediately shocked the inn attendant who was closing up.

"Mr. Shen, Mr. Shen—"

"I'm fine. Bring a bucket of water to my room and prepare a set of clean clothes."

Shen Changqing instructed and then headed directly to the third floor.

He had just returned to his room when someone knocked on the door.

Opening the door,

it was Yu San and Zhong Chi.

The former carried a large bucket, the hot water still steaming, while the latter held a set of blue robes.

Pouring the water into the wooden tub in the room, Yu San retreated.

On the other side,

Zhong Chi placed the clothes on the table, his face serious as he looked at Shen Changqing's miserable state.

"Mr. Shen, what happened?"

"Something has happened!"

Shen Changqing spoke calmly, not avoiding Zhong Chi as he undressed and entered the tub to wash away the filth.

Once he was in the tub,

he looked at Zhong Chi and recounted everything that had happened.

After a moment,

Zhong Chi's face turned grim.

"If what Mr. Shen said is true, then indeed something major has happened. The Zhou family has been destroyed, and now the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion has revealed its true colors. This suggests that the Eternal Alliance has other intentions!"

His mind raced.

The Eternal Alliance would not have chosen the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion as their base in Jincheng without reason.

Although

the purpose of the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion was to help the red-clothed figure break through to the Master Realm,

a Master Realm warrior might not be indispensable to the vast Eternal Alliance.

Compared to cultivating a Master Realm warrior, the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion's presence in Jincheng could greatly collect intelligence, providing significant benefits to the Eternal Alliance.

After all,

an intelligence hub could sometimes play a more significant role.

Unless

the Eternal Alliance never intended for the Ten Thousand Flower Pavilion to remain for long.

Soaking in the hot water,

Shen Changqing calmly said, "According to that demon, Jincheng will be destroyed soon. The Eternal Alliance likely has some major actions planned."

"This is urgent. I will immediately inform the other Heavenly Inspectors to track the Eternal Alliance's movements. I will also report this to the Demon Suppression Bureau, and if necessary, request sufficient reinforcements."

Zhong Chi's face calmed down.

The last sentence was directed at Shen Changqing.