Chapter 1333: Chapter 690: Commendable Courage (Part 2)

Ling Xiao took a sharp breath.

"Are there still living people in this city?"

"No living people."

Gu Sheng stood up, a cold gleam in his eyes.

"What there is, is more terrifying than dead people."

Just as he was speaking, a rustling sound came from the distance.

Gu Sheng pulled Ling Xiao into hiding behind a broken wall.

Several figures in grey robes dragged a fresh corpse past, humming a tuneless tune.

"Fresh blood food... the ancestor will surely be pleased..."

Ling Xiao felt a chill over his entire body, transmitting secretly.

"Are these lunatics using people for cultivation?"

Gu Sheng nodded.

"Evil cultivators will do anything to enhance their cultivation. The ruin of this city is probably their doing."

As they continued to sneak around, the closer they got to the city center, the more corpses there were. Some hung from beams being bled, others with their bellies cut open piled in corners.

Ling Xiao forced back the urge to retch, his face growing increasingly pale.

"Scared?"

Gu Sheng smirked mockingly.

"Rubbish!"

Ling Xiao gritted his teeth.

"I’m just disgusted by these beasts!"

Suddenly, Gu Sheng pressed tightly on Ling Xiao’s shoulder.

"Someone’s coming!"

A dozen grey-robed figures surrounded them from all directions, led by a one-eyed man, with blood-colored runes tattooed on his face.

"Two esteemed guests from afar, why not give us a heads-up?"

The one-eyed man grinned, showing his crooked yellow teeth.

"Our ancestor is most hospitable."

Ling Xiao’s sword had already unsheathed three inches.

"Stop pretending! You evil cultivators harm citizens, today I, Ling Xiao, will carry out justice!"

"Ling Xiao!"

Gu Sheng hissed.

The one-eyed man laughed heartily.

"What a passionate youth! Just as our ancestor needs some essence blood from Earth Palace cultivators for Blood Soul Pill refining..."

Before he finished speaking, Gu Sheng suddenly tossed out three talismans. Amid the booming noise, smoke spread.

He grabbed Ling Xiao and dashed towards the west of the city.

"Why run? Let’s just kill them!"

Ling Xiao struggled.

"Fool!"

Gu Sheng rarely adopted a stern tone.

"That one-eyed is already at Early Stage of the Heavenly Palace, and there are at least three more evil cultivators of the same level in the city. If you want to die, don’t drag me along!"

Ling Xiao then fell silent.

The two weaved through ruins, their pursuers drawing closer. Turning a long corner, they suddenly saw a high platform ahead—built of white bones, in the center of the sacrificial altar, an old man with white hair and a blue robe was hunched over a large cauldron, in which scarlet liquid and bits of flesh boiled.

Ling Xiao felt his stomach churn. The cauldron clearly contained cooked human remains!

"Swish, swish—"

Two figures sped like the wind across the wasteland, finally pausing before a broken city.

The city walls had collapsed halfway, the crooked city gates hung precariously, seeming ready to fall at any moment.

The air was thick with a nauseating stench, the ground scattered with white bones, some still clinging to partially decayed flesh.

"This place..."

Ling Xiao wrinkled his nose.

"Smells worse than a cesspool."

Gu Sheng’s gaze was electric, sweeping over the vaguely visible large altar inside the city gate.

"An evil cultivator’s nest."

"You’ve encountered one before, right?"

Ling Xiao leaned in curiously.

"Mm."

Gu Sheng nodded, his eyes carrying a hint of reminiscence.

"When I first left Tianlan Sacred Land, I killed an evil City Lord in Qingsheng City."

Back then, he was just a novice cultivator, a far cry from the present.

Ling Xiao scanned mentally, dismissively curling his lips.

"That old man looks pretty weak."

In the center of the altar, an old man in a blue robe sat cross-legged, surrounded by a blood-colored mist.

After probing, Gu Sheng also discovered that the old man’s aura was comparable to that of the former Qingsheng City Lord.

"Killing him is as easy as flipping a hand."

Gu Sheng said blandly, yet remained secretly on guard all around.

Rustle, rustle—

Dense footsteps suddenly approached from all directions.

Dozens of men with fierce faces charged out of the collapsed houses, swords and knives gleaming coldly in their hands.

"Do you want to go, or shall I?"

Ling Xiao’s eyes sparkled with excitement, a proud smirk playing on his lips.

Gu Sheng glanced at him.

"You go."

"Heh, watch me!"

Ling Xiao burst out laughing and boldly stepped forward.

The Evil Cultivator disciples were furious, drawing their swords and knives. -

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang continuously as their swords and knives bounced off Ling Xiao’s body, leaving not even a scratch.

"This... this is impossible!"

The leading Evil Cultivator’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Are you tickling me?"

Ling Xiao’s smile was sinister, but his expression suddenly turned cold.

"Had enough? It’s my turn now."

No sooner had he spoken than a terrifying Spiritual Pressure erupted from him. The Evil Cultivators were suddenly stuck as if in a quagmire, unable to move an inch.

"No... don’t!"

Someone screamed in terror.

Ling Xiao raised his hand, and a giant Spiritual Power handprint formed out of thin air, crashing down like Mount Tai.

Boom!

Dust surged as a giant handprint was imprinted into the ground.

Within the imprint, those Evil Cultivators bled from their seven orifices, and the weaker ones were reduced to a pool of flesh.

"Once you’ve felt the pleasure of trampling weaklings like this, you’ll know it’s quite satisfying."

Ling Xiao turned and smiled at Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng merely yawned with boredom.

"Such a waste of time."

"Tch, no sense of fun."

Ling Xiao curled his lips.

Just then, an angry shout came from the direction of the altar.

"Who is the ignorant brat, daring to act recklessly under this ancestor’s watch?"

An elder in a green robe stood up from the altar, his eyes flashing blood-red.

Next to him, a middle-aged man knelt, trembling as he reported.

"Ancestor, it’s those two cultivators. They’re quite strong and have defeated our people."

"Useless bunch!"

Lishan Ancestor scolded angrily.

"Can’t even handle two snot-nosed brats!"

He squinted at Gu Sheng and Ling Xiao, seeing their youth, and his anger flared even more.

Having dominated Qinglan City for nearly a century, no one had ever dared to challenge his authority like this.

"Please, Ancestor, take action and slay these arrogant youths, avenge us!"

The surviving disciples all knelt and begged desperately.

Lishan Ancestor squinted in delight.

"Alright, alright, this ancestor will personally take care of them today."

He stepped down from the altar, and with each step, his aura intensified.

The disciples were suppressed to the point they couldn’t lift their heads, and the civilians tied around the altar howled in pain.

"Hahaha!"

Lishan Ancestor laughed triumphantly at the cries of the mortals.

In his eyes, those two young people were already fish on the chopping block.

"Ssshhh—"

The harsh screech of a friction sound echoed across the open square, like metal being dragged across stone slabs.

Ling Xiao squinted at the figure slowly approaching from afar, his mouth twitching involuntarily.

"This old man seems more grandiose than the elders of the Holy Land."

Ling Xiao muttered under his breath, nudging Gu Sheng with his elbow.

Upon hearing this, Gu Sheng withdrew his gaze from the distance, a slight smile on his lips.

"Indeed, if you didn’t know, you’d think some big shot had arrived."

The two stood in the center of the square, surrounded by civilians chained and ragged, their eyes filled with fear.

All around the square, dozens of black-clad Evil Cultivator disciples stood poised, staring fiercely at the two in the center.

Lishan Ancestor’s entrance was nothing short of ostentatious.

Eight strong men carried a Black Gold Sedan Chair, its curtains embroidered with ferocious ghostly faces.

In front of the sedan chair, two children held copper bells, ringing them every three steps, creating a clear yet eerie sound.

Behind the sedan chair, four female disciples held incense burners, the blue smoke rising, forming various twisted patterns in the air.

"Welcoming the Ancestor!"

The Evil Cultivator disciples in the square shouted in unison, their voices causing the ground to shake slightly.

Withered hands pulled open the sedan curtain, and Lishan Ancestor slowly stepped out.

He wore a dark red robe adorned with strange runes, glinting ominously under the sunlight.

His face was like dried bark, with wrinkles interspersed with black spots, yet his eyes were extraordinarily bright, carrying a chilling gleam.

"It’s commendable that you didn’t run."

Lishan Ancestor’s voice was like sandpaper scraping, making one feel uncomfortable all over.