Stranger Danger

Chapter 726: The Bright Moon

The blind Taoist felt every hair on his skin stood on end. He tried to pull out his staff and retreat, but it was stuck between Shangguan Hongjin’s chest bones. Left with no choice, he had to relinquish his staff and pull away.

The blind Taoist wasn’t Shangguan Hongjin’s only enemy though. The sword-eating man, the man with hefty make-up, and the seductive woman attacked Shangguan Hongjin at the same time.

Every time the sword-eating man exhaled, his breath would turn into a sword. Dozens of deadly swords arrayed in the air in just the blink of an eye.

The man with hefty make-up swung his sleeve at Shangguan Hongjin’s direction. The force he unleashed seemed open and direct, but every wisp of force hid a silver needle that was no larger than an ox’s hair. Of course, the needles were all coated in poison.

And finally, the seductive woman manifested a mountain-sized fox with nine tails that were as big as hills. They fell toward Shangguan Hongjin and threatened to flatten her like a pancake.

“I was waiting for you all!”

Shangguan Hongjin grinned and finally unsheathed her second saber. A bright moon rose to the sky and emitted a cool light that resembled a dream.

The moonlight was also her saber force. Wherever the moonlight reached, saber force cascaded like a waterfall.

Shangguan Hongjin wielded two sabers. The first one was called “Evil Slayer”, and it was a murderous weapon that had slain countless evils of all shapes and sizes. It was also best wielded in one-on-one situations.

Her second saber had a much more elegant name called “Bright Moon”. Excellently crafted and named, the saber possessed the power to summon a moon in the sky and unleash saber force through its light.

It was also why she had a technique called, “Of Bright Moon”.

Since Ye Qing began his tribulation, she had been gathering Bright Moon’s strength and condensing its saber intent until it was barely bigger than a small dot. It was so that she could unleash it at the right moment and bleed her enemies dry.

The sword-eating man, the man with hefty make-up, and the seductive woman blanched and tried to retreat. Unfortunately, it was already too late. The moonlight engulfed them all.

For a time, dazzling, crystalline light engulfed everything within a fifty-meter radius. Nothing could be seen except the light.

When the moonlight finally faded away, the ground was stained red with blood and riddled with holes and bodies.

The sword-eating man was covered in horrific wounds and bleeding all over the place. He wasn’t dead yet, but his energies were shriveled like a prune.

The man with hefty make-up and the seductive woman weren’t so lucky. The moonlight had cut them down into pools of fleshy goo.

Five weaker warriors who lurked in the shadows hoping to play the fishermen were also dead because Pedant Earth had blocked their escape paths.

“Hahaha... this can’t be all of you! I thought you wanted to steal the Profound Yellow Mother Qi? All you need to do is to kill me, and it will be yours! Come at me!”

Shangguan Hongjin ripped out the bamboo staff stuck inside her chest and allowed her blood to dye her already red shirt a dark red color. She didn’t flinch even once as she laughed at the face of her enemies.

“Of Bright Moon” wasn’t an easy technique to pull off, and despite her lack of reaction, her chest wound was pretty serious. It looked like she was close to her limits, but neither Feng San, the blind Taoist nor the sword-eating man moved a muscle. In fact, they looked paler than Shangguan Hongjin.

Shangguan Hongjin was a Half-Step Grandmaster. Feng San, the sword-eating man, and the blind Taoist were also Half-Step Grandmasters. The man with hefty make-up and the seductive woman were only late-stage Spirit Masters, but since they were partners, their combined strength was nothing to scoff at either.

However, not only did their combined assault fail to defeat Shangguan Hongjin, she actually slew two of them and heavily injured one. It was unbelievable.

The battle had turned out this way not because they were weaker than Shangguan Hongjin. It was simply a difference in determination. Shangguan Hongjin had stepped into this fight fully anticipating that she would die in defense of Ye Qing, whereas the five attackers were conserving their strength for future battles and on guard against one another. That was why she was able to overwhelm them despite being outnumbered.

The same reason prevented them from immediately jumping back into the battle. There was a chance Shangguan Hongjin might possess some other trump cards, and even if she didn’t, the crazy woman was fighting with the determination to take as many of them to the grave with her. There was nothing a person who was ready to sacrifice their life couldn’t do.

They were here to enrich themselves, not surrender their lives to Shangguan Hongjin and benefit those who came after them. That was why they were gripped with hesitation right now.

“Tsk tsk tsk... trash, every last one of you. I can’t believe you lot ever thought you had a chance of claiming the Profound Yellow Mother Qi when you’re such pussies.”

Shangguan Hongjin sneered when she saw this. “Who else wants the Profound Yellow Mother Qi? You can show your face now. I’ll stop all of you! Or are you just cowards who can’t do anything besides scheming and backstabbing?! FACE ME!”

“Hmph.”

It was at this moment a cold hmph erupted in the air like a thunderclap. A groan escaped Shangguan Hongjin’s lips as she swayed on her feet, and blood poured out of her lips.

“You’re quite the boastful one for one so young!”

A short, boyish-looking man appeared in the sky next. “So, how are you going to stop me, little girl? I’m salivating with anticipation here, so please don’t disappoint me.”

“Stop scaring the little girl, Six Yins. It’s such a bad look.”

A red-haired woman wearing a red dress flew over on a blood cloud and landed on the ground. Despite what she said to Six Yins Boy, she beamed at Shangguan Hongjin and asked, “I’m here, little girl. How are you going to stop me?”

“Six Yins Boy? Blood Rakshasa?”

Feng San, the sword-eating man and the blind Taoist all gulped when they saw the duo. This was just the beginning though. Before they could even recollect their thoughts, another man appeared from afar.

He was a middle-aged man with a wooden expression. His head was bowed as if he was absorbed in thought. He slowly but steadily stepped toward Shangguan Hongjin.

The middle-aged man was also accompanied by a young monk.

“That’s the seventh named warrior on the Human Champions Ranking, Defeated... and the sixteenth named warrior, the Holy Son of Maitreya!”

The trio recognized the duo at the same time.

“Hahaha... we are here as well.”

A boisterous laugh cut through the night sky, and another duo emerged from the north. One of them was fat, and the other thin. The plump man was all smiles and wearing luxury clothes. He looked like your stereotypical rich man. On the other hand, the thin man was wearing a sorrowful, bitter expression and dressed in rags.

Strangely, the smiling, wealthy-looking fat man was carrying the sorrowful, poorly-dressed thin man on his back.

The plump man greeted Six Yins Boy, Blood Rakshasa and Defeated briefly before stomping his feet. Then, he yelled with a chuckle, “Mountain Tunneling King and Mrs. Basket, why don’t you show yourselves as well. The girl with more bark than bite wants to meet everyone, and I’m pretty sure that the two of you aren’t exempt!”

As soon as the plump man was finished, a man with a monkey’s face and a pair of whisker-like mustaches stepped into the open. He was wearing a Taoist robe despite looking anything but a Taoist. He tunneled out of the ground not far away from Shangguan Hongjin and shot the plump man an unfriendly look. “Annoying bastard. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve killed that foolish girl already.”

“Apologies, but the girl’s head is mine.”

At the same time, an old woman with white hair and a wrinkly face emerged from the opposite direction. She was carrying an exquisitely-made bamboo basket on one arm. The basket wasn’t big, but it was filled with at least a dozen heads. It was horrifying to say the least.

“Herald of Fortuity, Harbinger of Doom, Mountain Tunneling King, Mrs. Basket...”

Feng San, the sword-eating man and the blind Taoist muttered in shock and disbelief. If they were stunned before, now they were positively quaking in their boots.

Every single one of these people were famous warriors in their own right. Six Yins Boy and Blood Rakshasa needed no introduction. They were both named Grandmasters on the Earth Champions Ranking.

Defeated was seventh on the Human Champions Ranking, and the Holy Son of Maitreya the sixteenth.

The fat man was called the Herald of Fortune, and the thin man the Harbinger of Doom. They were twins who looked anything but alike, and they were both Half-Step Grandmasters. They were experts in teamwork and coordination and could fight any Grandmaster present to a standstill together.

Mountain Tunneling King and Mrs. Basket were also Grandmasters. Although they weren’t good enough to enter the Earth Champions Ranking, they were horrific villains whose infamy preceded them.

This group of powerhouses was so powerful that the Holy Son of Maitreya and Defeated were—in terms of cultivation level at least—the weakest out of all of them.

Compared to them, Feng San, the sword-eating man and the blind Taoist were literally small fries.

“We’re all here, little girl. So, how are you going to stop us?”