Spirit Ruins Realm
Outside the gates of the Xu Sha Sect, a figure in red was slowly ascending the misty stone steps.
Jiang Li was dressed in a scarlet outfit, her long hair tied in a high ponytail, and a silver mask that covered most of her face, revealing only a pair of cold, frost-like eyes.
She held the rusty iron sword that had been with her for a long time in her hand. Blood dripped from the blade and meandered down the stone steps, spreading into glaring blood flowers on the bluish-gray stone slabs.
Since killing four elders of the Void Fiend Sect last time, she has gone into seclusion to cultivate—not out of fear, but to improve her strength more quickly.
She has never forgotten the deep-seated hatred for the Void Fiend Sect. Only with greater power can she crush this blood-stained sect.
Now, she has successfully broken through to the middle stage of the Dao Proving Realm. Her sword intent has become more and more refined through countless battles and seclusion. She is confident that she can hold her own against a cultivator in the early stage of the Creation Realm, or even... fight him!
"Halt! Who are you? How dare you trespass on the gates of the Void Fiend Sect!"
Two disciples of the Xu Sha Sect, wielding long swords, rushed out from the watchtower beside the mountain gate, their tone arrogant.
They saw that Jiang Li was just a young woman, and although she was dressed in red, they didn't take her seriously—the Xu Sha Sect was a first-class force in the Lingxu Realm, and ordinary cultivators wouldn't dare to come and provoke them.
Jiang Li did not answer, nor did she stop walking.
With a swift movement, he appeared before the two disciples like a ghost, his rusty iron sword trailing a crimson streak of light, so fast that only a blur remained.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
Two soft sounds rang out almost simultaneously, and thin lines of blood appeared on the necks of the two disciples. Their arrogance froze, and their bodies slumped onto the stone steps, blood gushing out and staining the ground beneath their feet.
From the moment the attack was made to the moment the person was killed, it was only a breath.
Jiang Li sheathed her sword and continued her ascent.
The watchtowers on both sides of the stone steps, the patrolling disciples, the guards at the gate... as soon as anyone appears, she strikes with her sword.
Although the rusty iron sword was ordinary, it became a deadly weapon in her hands, each strike precisely aimed at vital points without any hesitation.
She remembered how cruel the disciples of the Void Fiend Sect were when they slaughtered the village; she remembered the despair in the eyes of the children and the elderly as they lay in pools of blood.
To her, the wails of these Xu Sha Sect disciples were nothing more than belated retribution.
"Kill! There's an assassin!"
"Quickly send a message to the elders! Someone has stormed the mountain gate!"
Panic began to spread at the mountain gate. The disciples of the Void Fiend Sect finally realized that the woman in red in front of them was a fiend, and they all brandished their weapons and attacked her.
However, most of them were at the Dao Inquiry Realm, and a few had reached the early stage of Dao Proof. In front of Jiang Li, who was at the middle stage of Dao Proof, they were like ants trying to shake a tree.
Swords flashed, and blood splattered everywhere.
In the short time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the stone steps in front of the Xu Sha Sect's mountain gate were already covered with corpses, and blood flowed down the stone steps, staining the clouds below a light red.
No disciple could escape, nor could anyone rush into the mountain gate to deliver the message—Jiang Li's sword was faster than their communication jade slips.
Jiang Li trudged through the blood, walking steadily and without pausing, as if the ground beneath her feet was not a corpse or a pool of blood, but an ordinary bluestone path.
Her red dress was already soaked in blood, yet she remained upright like a pine tree, and the murderous intent in her eyes was colder than the mountain wind.
"Who dares to run wild in my Xu Sha Sect?!"
Two angry shouts suddenly came from inside the mountain gate, followed by two figures soaring into the air and flying towards Jiang Li.
The visitors were the sixth and seventh elders of the Xu Sha Sect, both of whom were at the late stage of the Dao Proving Realm.
While they were cultivating inside the sect, they vaguely sensed the commotion outside the mountain gate. They sent messages to the sect disciples but received no response. Seeing the blood-red mist spreading down the mountain, they immediately rushed over.
As soon as they flew out of the mountain gate, they witnessed a scene they would never forget—the gray stone steps were covered with the corpses of sect disciples, their blood flowing down in streams, and a figure in red was walking slowly towards them, stepping through the blood and holding a blood-dripping longsword.
"You...who are you? How dare you kill a disciple of my Void Fiend Sect!" The Sixth Elder was both shocked and furious, his voice trembling. This was like being attacked on their own doorstep!
The Seventh Elder's face was also ashen, his gaze fixed on Jiang Li, his divine sense spreading out to probe her cultivation level—mid-stage of the Dao Proving Realm!
The two exchanged a glance, and the shock in their eyes instantly turned into disdain.
They thought it was an enemy who sent a master of the Creation Realm to take revenge, but they didn't expect it to be just a little girl in the middle stage of the Dao Proving Realm!
"Hahaha! I thought it was some important person, but it turns out to be just an ignorant little girl!"
The Sixth Elder burst into wild laughter, conjuring a black spear in his hand. "You dare kill a disciple of my Void Fiend Sect? Today, I'll make sure you die a gruesome death!"
The Seventh Elder sneered, his spiritual energy surging and transforming into a pair of black claws: "You dare to provoke us at the mid-stage of the Dao Proving Realm? You're really tired of living! Today I'll show you the power of the Void Fiend Sect!"
In their view, even if a cultivator at the mid-stage of the Dao attainment realm had the most powerful swordsmanship, he could never be a match for two elders at the late-stage of the Dao attainment realm.
The horrific scene outside the mountain gate was nothing more than this little girl's successful sneak attack, where she bullied some disciples with lower cultivation levels.
Jiang Li stopped and looked up, a cold smile curving her lips beneath the silver mask.
Late stage of enlightenment?
Perfect, let's test her strength after she went into seclusion.
She gripped the rusty iron sword tightly, and her sword intent suddenly erupted. Crimson sword energy surrounded her as if it were a tangible substance, stirring up the surrounding blood-red mist. The killing intent in her eyes was like ice and snow in the cold winter, piercing straight into the hearts of the two elders.
"You are the first."
As the cold voice faded, Jiang Li's figure vanished from the spot.
The Sixth and Seventh Elders' expressions changed slightly, and they were about to make a move when they saw a flash of red light before their eyes—
"court death!"
Seeing that Jiang Li was advancing instead of retreating, the Sixth Elder roared and thrust his black spear straight at her heart with a whistling sound. The tip of the spear was surrounded by a faint black mist—that was the unique "evil power" of the Void Fiend Sect, which would invade the meridians upon contact, and was extremely insidious.
The Seventh Elder then swayed and transformed into a black shadow, circling behind Jiang Li. His black claws gleamed coldly as he grabbed at the back of her neck, forming a pincer attack in conjunction with the Sixth Elder's frontal assault. They were clearly old partners who had worked together for many years.
Despite being attacked from both sides by two late-stage Dao-proving experts, Jiang Li's eyes remained calm.
Her footwork was fluid and graceful, like willow catkins in the wind, lightly and precisely dodging the spear. At the same time, she flipped her wrist, and the rusty iron sword, carrying a crimson sword aura, slashed back at the Seventh Elder behind her!
"clang!"
As the sword energy collided with the claws, the Seventh Elder felt a sharp sword intent enter his body through the claws, causing his blood and qi to surge. He quickly retreated to dissipate the force.
The Sixth Elder's spear thrust forward again, the tip almost touching Jiang Li's clothes!
Jiang Li neither dodged nor avoided, but instead stepped forward to meet the spear tip. Suddenly, she struck out with her left hand, gathering pure spiritual energy in her palm, and accurately struck the spear shaft.
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