Chapter 14: Insta-Cripple!

“Compensation? Heh. What right do you have to ask us for compensation?” Mo Chen laughed.

Despite Mo Chen’s powerful cultivation and the fact that he was completely suppressing the two of them, Luo Jiu showed no sign of worry. He knew the transmission talisman given by Ji Yaoyue could summon an existence powerful enough to fight Lu Jin.

Facing two second-grade Jindan experts, he remained unafraid.

“Who dares to cause trouble here!”

Suddenly, a roar like muffled thunder echoed from above. A figure descended from the sky!

The man’s aura was majestic, even more powerful than Mo Chen and Zi Xuan combined. He was a powerhouse at the third grade of the Jindan Realm. He was a hulking brute of a man, built like an iron tower: his bronze skin gave him an air of untouchable authority and majesty.

“It is Elder Chen Jiang from Demon Slaughter Peak!”

“Hahaha! Elder Chen Jiang is a third-grade Jindan expert! You two little shits, you brought this on yourselves by meddling. You’re dead!” Luo Jiu and the other elders crossed their arms, laughing coldly.

“Not good! The newcomer is at the third grade! Looking at that stature, it must be Chen Jiang!” Zi Xuan said, her voice tight with tension.

Mo Chen’s expression was one of surprise, but he suddenly shouted a question: “Chen Jiang, you old dog! Were you the one who forced my Junior Brother Ling Tao into the Fire Dragon Cave?!”

The words caused a look of malicious joy to flash in Elder Chen Jiang’s eyes. “Oh? You call that Ling Tao ‘Junior Brother’? It seems the two of you are also people who deserve to die!”

He did not admit it directly, yet by stating they deserved to die, his meaning was clear. Mo Chen and Zi Xuan understood perfectly: this Chen Jiang was undoubtedly one of the assassins hunting their fellow apostles of the Holy Tabernacle.

The Holy Tabernacle was a secret organization established by Chu Tianxiong. Its ultimate goal was to subvert the Blood Moon Holy Land and end the Blood Moon Ancestor’s terrifying control over Qingzhou.

“Hmph! It really was you! Chen Jiang, since you choose to defy heaven, we shall carry out justice on heaven’s behalf!”

As Mo Chen spoke, a surge of spiritual Qi suddenly enveloped Zi Xuan. “Leave now! I will hold him off!”

Zi Xuan was shocked and refused to move. “We live together, we die together! I am not leaving!” She slashed her sword to break the spiritual binding and stood firmly beside Mo Chen.

Mo Chen gritted his teeth. “Junior Sister Zi Xuan, we cannot beat him!”

“I’m not afraid! At worst, I die!” Zi Xuan’s gaze was resolute.

“Zi Xuan, you know my feelings for you. If we cannot escape today, I hope that in our next life, we meet much sooner.”

“In our next life, I will definitely be your wife!”

Watching their interaction, Elder Chen Jiang’s eyes were filled with mockery. “Heh, you two are quite interesting. Since you have a bit of spine, this Elder won’t let you die as nameless ghosts. State your names!”

Mo Chen snorted coldly. “I am Mo Chen: I do not change my name regardless of the circumstances!”

“And I am Zi Xuan! Taste my blade!” Zi Xuan did not wait; she lunged forward with a sword strike.

Seeing this, Mo Chen did not hesitate either. He followed her lead, slashing out with his sword. Chen Jiang’s gaze turned vicious as he unleashed a killing move.

Meanwhile, standing at the edge of the Thunder Abyss, Lu Jin heard their names. A look of surprise crossed his face.

Those names are familiar… they are two of the people on the list the Sect Master gave me! And one named Ling Tao is also included!

Though he didn’t fully understand the connection, seeing Chen Jiang move to slaughter them prompted him to act immediately.

“Chen Jiang, you old dog, get lost!”

Boom!

Lu Jin gave a violent roar. As he struck, a terrifying burst of spiritual Qi erupted, shattering every one of Chen Jiang’s attacks. The force sent the elder reeling back thirty yards: he only managed to stabilize himself with great difficulty, looking quite disheveled.

Elder Chen Jiang was the master of Lu Jin’s mortal enemy, Yang Dianfeng. Thus, the moment Lu Jin saw him, his fury exploded, and his strike carried a lethal, vicious weight.

“What? His cultivation… it has risen again!”

“The seventh stage of the Spirit Pearl Realm? This cultivation speed is beyond logic!”

“So those lightning tribulations really were him in seclusion!”

“Elder Chen Jiang, kill him quickly! If Lu Jin is allowed to live, he will become a disaster!” Luo Jiu and the others panicked at the sight of Lu Jin’s new strength, frantically urging Chen Jiang to finish him.

Chen Jiang’s expression became incredibly dark. He felt a faint, nagging sense of dread: the power Lu Jin displayed in that one strike gave him the illusion that the boy was actually superior to him.

However, after confirming Lu Jin’s aura was only at the seventh stage of the Spirit Pearl Realm, he let out a breath of relief.

“So the person Peak Master Ji of Saintess Peak wanted me to kill was you?”

Shock turned to recognition. He finally realized who Lu Jin was. “My disciple is a core disciple under Elder Chi Yu of the Blood Moon Holy Land! Lu Jin, so what if you returned with power? Today, this Elder will make you disappear forever!”

“Heh. With just you? You aren’t enough!”

Lu Jin grinned. “Your disciple Yang Dianfeng framed me, and now you want to kill me? Old dog, today I will cripple you. I’ll make you watch with your own eyes as that ‘genius’ disciple of yours is crushed beneath my feet!”

Boom!

As his voice fell, a roar of spiritual power erupted. A phantom image of a crimson longsword condensed instantly. In the next heartbeat, it shot directly toward Elder Chen Jiang.

“An ant shaking a tree!”

Chen Jiang’s expression shifted. He had heard rumors of Lu Jin’s return but had no idea of the boy’s actual combat power. Consequently, due to the gap in their realms, he was overconfident. Even though Lu Jin’s earlier strike had pushed him back, he still did not utilize his full power.

Yet, while Lu Jin could fight a second-grade Jindan at the fifth stage, at the seventh stage, he was more than capable of instantly killing a third-grade expert like Chen Jiang. Furthermore, the technique he unleashed was the Sin-Fire Prison-Suppressing Sword!

Ceng!

The phantom sword vanished into Chen Jiang’s Dantian. Its speed was like a bolt of lightning: it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

In a split second, all of Chen Jiang’s attacks collapsed into nothing. He stood rooted to the spot, his eyes wide with disbelief. He froze for a moment, then suddenly collapsed to his knees. He clutched his abdomen as his lips began to twitch uncontrollably.

“You! You destroyed my Dantian! Aaargh!”

The sound of his scream and the sight of his collapse left Luo Jiu, Mo Chen, and Zi Xuan in absolute shock.

“That… that’s it?”

“Elder Chen Jiang, a third-grade Jindan expert, was actually crippled in a single move?”

Mo Chen and Zi Xuan looked at each other, their eyes full of disbelief. However, their immediate danger was gone, and they felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Lu Jin.

“Run!”

At that moment, Luo Jiu and the others turned and attempted to flee into the distance.

“You want to leave?”

Lu Jin’s gaze darkened. Several streaks of sword light shot toward them, piercing their backs in an instant. Blood sprayed from their chests as they fell.