Chapter 87

"Brother!"

Lu Ling's body trembled as she quickly approached with her cane, a look of fear flashing in her eyes. Over the years, she rarely showed such emotions, but this time she was truly afraid, afraid that Lu Li would die.

"You little brat, I'll tear you to pieces!"

Zhao Gui's figure moved like the wind as he rushed toward the stone fortress where Lu Li had been thrown. He was very clear that Lu Li wasn't dead. The Tian Lin Blade had blocked some of the force, and Lu Li was wearing Zhao Rui's Earth Rank battle armor, which had also absorbed some of the impact. Otherwise, Lu Li would have died from that blow.

"Whoosh..."

Just as he reached the stone fortress, a whistling sound came from behind him. He turned his head abruptly, his eyes widening in shock. He saw a black crossbow bolt shooting straight at Zhao Rui's neck. Before he could react, the bolt had already pierced Zhao Rui's neck.

The bolt glowed with a sinister light, clearly laced with a deadly poison that could kill with a single drop of blood. Zhao Gui watched helplessly as Zhao Rui was killed, a surge of anger and regret welling up inside him.

He had glanced at Lu Ling earlier and, seeing that she was not a martial artist and was even a cripple, had not paid her any attention. He never expected that in his carelessness, Zhao Rui would be shot dead by Lu Ling. He let out a mournful cry to the sky: "Rui'er, Rui'er..."

This cry was filled with his utmost strength, echoing through the area, even reaching the martial artists battling in the southern courtyard.

Many people were shocked. Zhao Gui had come in person, yet Zhao Rui was still killed? Could the Zhao family have hidden a Soul Pond Realm expert here?

Zhao Gui roared twice, his eyes turning blood red. He ignored Lu Li and fixed his red, glowing eyes on Lu Ling, roaring: "You little wretch, I'll tear you into eighteen pieces, eighteen pieces!"

At this moment, Lu Ling's face became calm. Zhao Gui's intention to kill Lu Li meant that Lu Li was still alive, and she was completely relieved.

She had killed Zhao Rui with the life-taking crossbow to attract Zhao Gui, and she had achieved her goal. Feeling at ease, a mocking smile appeared on her lips: "Clan Chief Zhao, with my small arms and legs, you can't tear me into eighteen pieces. At most, you can tear me into four or five pieces. Using my life to exchange for your precious son's life, it's worth it!"

Lu Ling's mocking expression and calm words made Zhao Gui even more furious. He had intended to release his mystic power and blast Lu Ling to death, but he changed his mind in the next moment.

Lu Ling said he couldn't tear her into eighteen pieces? He would tear her apart piece by piece, flaying her alive to vent his overwhelming anger.

He charged forward violently, his hand transforming into a claw, reaching for Lu Ling's neck.

His speed was incredibly fast, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Lu Ling. She felt her vision blur as her neck was grabbed by an iron claw, and her body was lifted into the air.

"Ugh..."

The four girls on the ironclad airship and Zǐ Lián'ér and Yè Yǔhán couldn't bear to look away. The scene that was about to unfold would be too bloody and violent. A young girl being torn into dozens of pieces alive was a sight that made one's heart race just thinking about it...

"Brother, shoot... him!"

At this moment, Lu Ling struggled to utter a sound. Zhao Gui instinctively paused, turning his head but realizing something was wrong because he heard no sound from behind.

"It's a trap..."

He felt Lu Ling's hand suddenly wave, and then a cloud of powder spread through the air. Without thinking, he squeezed Lu Ling's hand with all his might, crushing her neck to pieces.

"Hah, hah..."

When he turned back, he saw Lu Ling struggling to laugh, then she spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering Zhao Gui's face.

"Boom~"

A strange thing happened again—

Suddenly, flames erupted on Zhao Gui's body, the flames still blue. The flames burned mysteriously, igniting out of nowhere.

"What the hell is this?"

Zhao Gui casually threw Lu Ling's body to the side and frantically tried to extinguish the flames on his head and body. But the flames wouldn't go out, and he rolled on the ground, trying to put them out. However, he couldn't extinguish the flames, which grew larger, causing Zhao Gui to howl in pain, rolling uncontrollably.

"This..."

Liu Yi, hiding in the alley, trembled. She had seen this blue flame before. Dí Bà had been burned to death by this flame, and she never thought Lu Ling could also burn Zhao Gui to death.

Liu Yi looked at Lu Ling, her face changing again because Lu Ling's body was also covered in white powder, and she was now engulfed in flames, her body almost reduced to a pile of charcoal.

"Huh?"

The strange situation below naturally alarmed Zǐ Lián'ér and the others above. One of the four girls on the ironclad airship exclaimed, "What kind of flame is this? It's so powerful, it can burn a Soul Pond Realm expert? Grandma, come and look!"

A frail old woman with a snake-shaped cane appeared from the cabin, her face slightly surprised as she said, "This flame... Could it be the legendary Netherworld Heavenly Fire? How did these two catch fire?"

The girl speaking pointed to Lu Ling, who was almost reduced to charcoal, and said, "This girl sprinkled some white powder, and then both of them caught fire. Yes... she seemed to spit out a mouthful of blood at the end."

"Indeed, it's Netherworld Heavenly Fire!"

The old woman nodded slightly, then looked at Lu Ling's body with surprise, "In this small county, someone knows how to make the long-lost Netherworld Heavenly Poison Powder? What a pity this girl is already dead; otherwise, we could have taken her back to our Divine Maiden Palace."

Seeing the puzzled looks of the four girls, the old woman explained, "The Netherworld Heavenly Poison Powder was developed by Elder Tianhate. A hundred years ago, Elder Tianhate used the Netherworld Heavenly Poison Powder to burn a million people of a sixth-rank family to death, shocking the entire Divine Continent. The Netherworld Heavenly Poison Powder ignites upon contact with blood and can burn even a peak Duke Realm expert to death."

"However, because Elder Tianhate burned a million people to death a hundred years ago, a peak Human Emperor from Central State personally killed him. The recipe for the Netherworld Heavenly Poison Powder disappeared, but it has reappeared in this small county."

"What a pity..."

The four girls sighed inwardly. If they had known Lu Ling could make such a poison powder, they would have had the old woman save her and take her back to their sect. Now, Lu Ling had turned to charcoal, and it was too late.

"What kind of flame is this?"

Zǐ Lián'ér and Yè Yǔhán were both puzzled. A flame that could burn a late-stage Soul Pond Realm expert to death was too powerful.

The guards beside them frowned, not immediately thinking of Elder Tianhate from a hundred years ago. Perhaps they hadn't heard of him, so they were just shocked.

"Huh? That's not right—"

A gold-armored expert beside Zǐ Lián'ér suddenly exclaimed, his eyes fixed on Lu Ling's body. His lips moved, and his eyes were full of shock as he muttered, "How is it possible for her to come back to life?"

"Uncle, what came back to life?"

Zǐ Lián'ér asked, puzzled. The expert didn't answer but looked at the other experts, who all had expressions of disbelief.

The experts beside Yè Yǔhán had similar expressions. Zǐ Lián'ér's uncle finally recovered from his shock and pointed at Lu Ling's body, saying, "The girl who was burned to death, her body is now showing signs of life, and... her injuries are healing rapidly!"

"How is that possible?"

Zǐ Lián'ér and Yè Yǔhán exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock. Burned to that extent, how could she come back to life? Even if Lu Ling wasn't a martial artist, a Wheel of Life Immortal Realm martial artist would surely die from such injuries.

"This..."

The old woman with the snake-shaped cane on the ironclad airship noticed the strange situation below. After a moment of careful sensing, she murmured in surprise, "Netherworld Heavenly Fire couldn't kill her? That doesn't make sense. Reborn from the flames? Reincarnated through the fire! Could this girl be the legendary... Fire Phoenix Heavenly Embryo?"

...

PS: In the previous chapter, I mistakenly wrote Zhao Gui as Zhao Rui in a few places. My eyes have been a bit blurry recently. I have corrected it, sorry, sorry!