Drip, drip…
The clear sound of blood dripping reached everyone's ears, and the air was swiftly permeated by that distinctive iron scent.
Everyone froze, seemingly not yet understanding what had happened. When they looked toward Qu Huairen, what greeted their eyes drained the color from their faces.
They saw… Qu Huairen's body standing rigid and motionless in place, still frozen in that lunging posture. But on the outstretched hand, all five fingers had been severed clean at the root, the wounds smooth and glistening as blood gushed forth in steady streams.
That alone would have been enough, but the truly horrifying sight was what protruded from Qu Huairen's back — the tip of a sword had pierced clean through his body, and blood flowed ceaselessly down the blade, splattering onto the ground, staining the earth red as it gradually gathered into a crimson rivulet.
Gulp…
The sound of swallowing rang out from every direction as each person asked themselves: What just happened?
They had only seen Qu Huairen charging ferociously toward Yang Kai, while Yang Kai flailed about in a seemingly panicked, disorganized fashion with his Artifact. They had assumed Yang Kai was certain to be wounded and have his Artifact snatched away — yet the final outcome had left them utterly stunned.
From the looks of it, Qu Huairen had apparently been careless and impaled himself on the other's blade.
The wound pierced right through the center of his chest. His heart meridians must have been severed completely — there was no possibility of survival.
A portion of the martial artists had sharp glints flickering in their eyes, as if they had realized something. The contempt and disdain they had worn moments ago vanished in an instant, and the looks they directed toward Yang Kai grew solemn and guarded.
The rest, however, still wore expressions of bewildered confusion.
"You…" Qu Huairen opened his mouth and forced out a single word toward Yang Kai. Before he could complete even a single sentence, blood spewed from his mouth in torrents, gushing out uncontrollably like a fountain.
"You brought this on yourself — don't blame me!" Yang Kai shouted, slamming a palm squarely against Qu Huairen's chest and sending him flying backward.
In midair, Qu Huairen's life force dissipated rapidly. His eyes quickly went vacant, and by the time he hit the ground, he had already drawn his last breath — his death as wretched as it was sudden.
The Vice Valley Master of Evil Moon Valley. He had died right here in a backwater city like Maple Leaf City, of all places, without anyone understanding how or why. Not even in his wildest imagination could Qu Huairen have predicted such an ending before coming here.
"You actually killed Vice Valley Master Qu!" A middle-aged man suddenly erupted in a cold, furious shout. From his demeanor, he seemed to be an acquaintance or friend of Qu Huairen's — watching the man die right before his eyes left him unwilling to let the matter rest. Even as he roared, his wrist flickered and a burst of golden light flared to life in his palm. He bellowed, "Boy, surrender now and come with me to Evil Moon Valley to kowtow and beg for forgiveness — you might still have a sliver of a chance. Otherwise, you are dead for certain!"
The moment his words fell, the golden light in his hand detonated outward, transforming directly into a massive golden net that descended toward Yang Kai from above.
In his reasoning, Qu Huairen had died miserably at Yang Kai's hands for two reasons: first, he had been far too careless, and second, the Artifact in Yang Kai's possession was incomparably sharp. That was the only way such an outcome could have occurred. Otherwise, how could someone at the mere first level of cultivation possibly kill a Dao Source Realm third-stage expert like Qu Huairen in the span of a heartbeat?
Even the best stumble now and then — Qu Huairen had simply fallen into a rut.
Wary of the Million Sword's keen edge, the middle-aged man had no intention of engaging Yang Kai in close combat. His plan was simply to use his own Artifact to restrain Yang Kai first, and then deal with him at leisure.
The golden net appeared to be forged from some unknown material, radiating the energy fluctuations of a Dao Source-grade Artifact. The instant it was deployed, it seemed to seal off the very fabric of heaven and earth in this area. An invisible force rippled outward, establishing a unique field of suppression.
"The Mystic Gold Heaven-Encompassing Net!" someone who recognized the Artifact exclaimed in a low voice, instantly identifying it by name. Their expression shifted involuntarily.
The middle-aged man let out a cold snort. His fingers formed seals, and his spiritual consciousness extended outward, controlling the full power of his Artifact.
Yang Kai stumbled back several paces, but no matter how he dodged and darted, he could not escape the coverage of the Mystic Gold Heaven-Encompassing Net. The invisible suppression field clung to him no matter where he moved, which genuinely surprised him. He silently marveled that this world was truly brimming with talented individuals — for someone to be able to forge such a peculiar Artifact was no small feat.
"Boy, there's no escape. Since its creation, my Mystic Gold Heaven-Encompassing Net has never failed once. Give up your resistance!" the middle-aged man said with a cold smile. Simultaneously, his hand seals shifted, and the golden net that blanketed the sky above Yang Kai descended gracefully, enveloping him entirely. In the next instant, it constricted violently, condensing into a ball of golden light that sealed everything within.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" The middle-aged man burst into laughter upon seeing his strike land true. But his laughter quickly froze on his face, his eyes bulging as he stared in disbelief, crying out in shock: "How is this possible?!"
Within the golden radiance, the Yang Kai bound by the Mystic Gold Heaven-Encompassing Net was slowly fading, his figure dissolving until it vanished entirely.
It had been nothing more than an afterimage.
"That was close, that was close!" Yang Kai's voice suddenly came from somewhere to the side. The middle-aged man snapped his gaze over just in time to see Yang Kai reach up and wipe a streak of cold sweat from his forehead, looking thoroughly rattled.
"You—" The middle-aged man's expression shifted. He could not fathom how Yang Kai had escaped his Artifact's suppression field — he hadn't even sensed a thing.
"Not bad, not bad. This Artifact is quite nice. I'll take it," Yang Kai said casually, reaching out and grabbing the ball of golden light.
"Ah!" The middle-aged man was startled. Seeing Yang Kai actually seize the golden light with his bare hand, he panicked. He surged the Source Qi within his body, his hands flickering through seal after seal.
The golden light in Yang Kai's palm buzzed violently, and a tremendous wave of repulsive force pulsed through it, numbing Yang Kai's entire hand.
This was, after all, an Artifact painstakingly refined by the middle-aged man, bonded to him through spiritual resonance. Yang Kai's forcible seizure naturally could not go smoothly.
Sensing the resistance emanating from the Artifact, a sharp glint flashed through Yang Kai's eyes. He raised his head and looked at the middle-aged man, saying, "Look at me!"
"What?" The middle-aged man was in the process of commanding his Artifact to break free from Yang Kai's grasp. Startled by the words, he instinctively looked up.