Chương 155: Farewell Interrupted

After spending considerable time together, Huaijin had come to understand Ning Nanzhi better and better. Ning Nanzhi was twenty-seven years older than him, she was already eighty-four years old! She possessed dual water-fire spirit roots, and her talent for array formations was nothing short of extraordinary. She had recently broken through to the late stage, and her array formation skills had advanced accordingly, she could now craft Tier 2 upper grade formations, making her a Tier 2 upper grade formation master.

She was the pride of the Ning family. Though Ning Nanzhi was over twenty years older than him, by cultivator standards, they were considered peers. Huaijin didn't mind at all! The two got along remarkably well. Half a month slipped by in the blink of an eye. They had already left Luoshan Prefecture and entered the territory of Guiyun Prefecture. Even their spirit beasts, Haihu and the Silver Snow Leopard, had grown comfortable with each other. Huaijin had also given a brief account of his background.

Both were quite satisfied with one another. First impressions, after all, determined everything. Once they stepped into Guiyun Prefecture, Ning Nanzhi wasn't far from home. Three days later, they arrived at Moyun Ridge! Moyun Ridge was one of the branch ranges of the Purple Dusk Mountain Range, containing over a dozen Tier 2 spirit veins. Deep within the ridge lay a Tier 3 spirit vein, guarded by a Tier 3 spirit beast. Every time the beast tide erupted, it would tie down a portion of Guiyun Prefecture's forces.

And here at Moyun Ridge, their paths diverged. The time had come to part ways. Huaijin knew his place, it wasn't yet appropriate for him to escort her all the way home... And Ning Nanzhi didn't extend an invitation either.

"When I have free time, I'll come visit your Purple Cloud Peak! I'm not as timid as you, you'd better have good food ready and not turn me away at the door." Ning Nanzhi teased Huaijin as she prepared to leave.

"You don't understand. Caution keeps one sailing!" Huaijin shook his head. Ning Nanzhi chuckled softly, waving her hand.

"Farewell, Fellow Cultivator Huaijin!" Huaijin was about to respond when, from the distant mountain, several powerful auras suddenly erupted. Demonic energy surged forth as several figures streaked through the air, charging straight toward the two of them. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Nanzhi, trouble! Demonic cultivators! Run!" Huaijin's voice was urgent. Five men in total, wreathed in demonic energy! At the head was a blood-robed dwarf, his qi billowing, surrounded by the howls of ghosts and wails of wraiths. His aura marked him as a Tier 3 demonic cultivator. Behind him followed four Tier 2 demonic cultivators, two at the late stage and two at the mid stage.

"The Blood Infant Cave... Blood Infant elder..." Ning Nanzhi's face went pale, her eyes flashing with shock. The entirety of Bing Province was currently overrun by demonic cultivators, their resurgence wreaking havoc everywhere. And the Blood Infant Cave was the demonic force operating within Guiyun Prefecture. It boasted two Tier 3 demonic cultivators. The dwarf before them was one of them, the Blood Infant elder.

This man was utterly depraved, infamous for using unborn infants from pregnant women to fuel his cultivation. During the last beast tide, he had sacrificed hundreds of thousands of mortals! His crimes were too numerous to count. Every Tier 3 cultivator in Guiyun Prefecture wanted him dead. But he was too elusive, despite all their efforts, they'd never found him. Who would have thought he was hiding in Moyun Ridge? Or perhaps... he had come specifically to ambush the two of them...

Huaijin, however, wasn't particularly anxious. Though the Blood Infant elder was notorious, he was only a third level Tier 3 demonic cultivator. Huaijin's techniques weren't disadvantaged against demonic cultivators, in fact, they were incredibly effective against them. With the Bing Yang Thunder and Darkwater Yin Thunder at his disposal, he had nothing to fear. Lightning power was itself the bane of demonic cultivators. And Huaijin had comprehended two types of supreme divine thunder.

As for the remaining Tier 2 demonic cultivators, not to be harsh, but Huaijin could cut them down one by one with a single sword strike. Seeing Ning Nanzhi's panicked expression, Huaijin didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and took her delicate hand.

"Run!" Without another word, he pulled her into flight. Startled as she was, Ning Nanzhi didn't mind his impropriety. The two fled in another direction.

"If I let you two escape, word would get out, would this old ancestor still have any face left?" The Blood Infant elder's shrill voice pierced the air. The four Tier 2 cultivators sped up, determined to cut off their escape. The two at the late stage were both at the eighth level, disciples the Blood Infant elder had painstakingly trained, the backbone of the Blood Infant Cave. They pressed hard, blocking Huaijin and Ning Nanzhi's path. Boom!

A blood infant (giant red infant) over a meter tall materialized beneath the Blood Infant elder, letting out a piercing shriek. Blood and demonic energy intertwined, and his speed suddenly skyrocketed He appeared directly before Huaijin and Ning Nanzhi.

"The renowned daughter of the Ning family, a famed Purple Mansion Candidate, tonight, you'll become a plaything beneath my crotch! Hahahahaha!" The Blood Infant elder's eyes gleamed with smug satisfaction. His gaze swept over Ning Nanzhi's body, burning with desire. Ning Nanzhi felt a wave of revulsion. The Blood Infant elder wasn't even a meter tall, his withered skin covered in hideous demonic patterns, grotesque and nauseating. The blood infant beneath him was his most powerful spirit artifact.

The Ghost Shrieking Blood Infant. Part artifact, part innate technique, its power was terrifying. By now, the remaining four Tier 2 demonic cultivators had surrounded them. Their eyes lingered on Ning Nanzhi with undisguised lust. After their master had his fill, they could have a taste too. Just the thought was making them exited. Huaijin stood with Ning Nanzhi, his expression unchanged.

"You don't know who I am?" The Blood Infant elder's eyes glinted with mockery.

"Why should I care who you are? A mere seventh level vermin, playing the hero. Just surrender and become this old ancestor's puppet!" With those words, the Blood Infant elder formed hand seals, and endless blood qi erupted from around his body. In an instant, a massive palm print over three meters across materialized. The palm's surface was covered in countless smiling infant faces, their laughter mingling with ghostly wails!

"Blood Infant Palm!" Boom! This casual strike from the Blood Infant elder had already reached the peak of the early Purple Mansion stage.

"With your cultivation, you dare call yourself 'Old Ancestor'? Today, I'll make you a true ancestor, let's see if anyone in the Blood Infant Cave comes to pay their respects!" As Huaijin spoke, the Blood Dragon Sword coalesced in his palm. Vast blood qi shaped countless demonic silhouettes, their roars echoing through the air. Boom! A wave of sword qi condensed and fell in a single strike The two attacks collided with a thunderous impact, sending ripples through the space around them.

Energy shockwaves exploded outward in all directions. The encirclement of the four Tier 2 demonic cultivators was instantly torn apart. They couldn't withstand an attack at the Purple Mansion level.