Chapter 114: A Hard-Fought Victory

Truth be told, there was a disparity in the depth of their respective cultivation bases. Chu Xin'er had to manipulate two mid-grade magical artifacts simultaneously just to hold a slight upper hand. The crux of the matter, however, was that this placed an immense burden on both her spiritual consciousness and her cultivation. Fortunately, before coming to the Spirit Medicine Sect, she had obtained many elixirs suitable for Qi Refining stage cultivators from Liang Fan, some of which were capable of restoring spiritual power.

By taking a few pills whenever she could find a moment, she was able to persist longer. Furthermore, the harassment from Xiao Wenzhi was far from futile; at the very least, it accelerated the depletion of Liu Kui’s stamina. Given enough time, the outcome of this struggle remained uncertain.

"Eh? Qi Gathering Pills? And so many of them... Damn it!"

Seeing Chu Xin'er retrieve a small jade bottle from her storage pouch, uncork it, and swallow several green pills—only for her withered aura to slowly recover—Liu Kui’s expression turned grim. However, beyond anger, there was little fear in his eyes. As a disciple of the Spirit Medicine Sect, he, too, possessed a fair share of pills to restore his cultivation. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a pill bottle from his own storage pouch and tossed the contents into his mouth.

"Blast it, this guy has pills too," Chu Xin'er sighed inwardly. Liu Kui and his sister feared their deeds would be exposed, but was she not in the same position, having killed the Spirit Medicine Sect disciples? Although she had not personally slain Liu Xiuqian, the Spirit Medicine Sect was not a force to be trifled with. Even if their disciples were in the wrong, with no one left to testify, there was little guarantee that the sect would listen to her side of the story.

If she could not eliminate this formidable enemy and flee quickly, she risked inviting even greater trouble. Yet, she had no immediate way to secure a swift victory.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Time slipped away as the two battled. Clearly, neither could overcome the other before one of them exhausted their cultivation. Suddenly, a startling sight unfolded: the large mosquito that had been constantly harrying Liu Kui with its wings stopped its attacks and flew directly toward his protective light barrier.

"Courting death!"

As a cultivator with a high-grade Fire Spirit Root, Liu Kui’s protective barrier was composed mostly of fire elements. If he so desired, he could instantly transform it into a blazing inferno. That foolhardy mosquito daring to approach him alone was essentially throwing its life away.

Was Xiao Wenzhi acting recklessly out of a death wish? Clearly not. As he neared the barrier, he slashed repeatedly, his body wreathed in a peculiar demonic power, engaging in a contest against the raging flames.

The "Body-Forging Claw Technique"—using the opponent's fire to temper his own body while simultaneously distracting them with attacks—was the best strategy Xiao Wenzhi could devise. After all, Liu Kui was locked in a fierce struggle with Chu Xin'er and could not spare the focus or power to deal with him. Once he successfully mastered the Body-Forging Claw Technique using the opponent's spiritual flames, he would be able to tear through the protective light and deliver a fatal blow.

An incredible scene unfolded: the fiery red light barrier surrounding Liu Kui, which had transformed into searing flames, not only failed to incinerate Xiao Wenzhi, but under the heat, the claws he swung grew increasingly terrifying.

"Die!" Liu Kui roared in fury. Ignoring the battle with Chu Xin'er, he paused his control over the wolf-tooth mace, raised his hand, and condensed a sword aura to slash viciously at Xiao Wenzhi.

Xiao Wenzhi vanished in a flash, splitting into six images to evade the strike. Simultaneously, Chu Xin'er surged forward, nearly knocking the wolf-tooth mace flying. Liu Kui dared not slacken, hurriedly chanting to stabilize his weapon. The sword aura, having missed its mark, could no longer track Xiao Wenzhi, who used his Shadow Art to reappear behind him and continue his assault with the Body-Forging Claw Technique.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The flames of Liu Kui’s techniques were perfectly suited for Xiao Wenzhi’s tempering. As one gained strength, the other waned; Xiao Wenzhi’s body grew tougher, while Liu Kui’s protective barrier became increasingly distorted and thin. Liu Kui dared not pour more power into it, as that would only hasten the depletion of his mana without solving the problem. Yet, if he let it be, his protective light would eventually be torn open. He was caught in a dilemma, and thoughts of retreat began to stir.

However, at this point, stopping and leaving was no simple matter. Seeing that Xiao Wenzhi could use the opponent's barrier to strengthen his claws, Chu Xin'er was overjoyed. While controlling her golden sword to tangle with the mace, she channeled all her strength into her willow-leaf blade and brought it down with a fierce slash.

Clang! The blade struck, causing the already thin barrier to tremble violently and fracture with cracks, on the verge of collapse. Liu Kui let out an angry, low growl, frantically mobilizing his spiritual power to defend. But in doing so, he became fully disadvantaged and could no longer use his mace to suppress Chu Xin'er’s golden sword.

This was not even his most desperate moment. The large mosquito clung to the barrier, hacking away relentlessly, causing the fiery red light to grow even thinner and more unstable. With another savage blow from the willow-leaf blade, the fragile barrier could no longer hold; it shattered like an egg dropped from a great height.

The turn of events was sudden, and Liu Kui had no time to recall his mace to defend himself, but he would not sit idly by and wait for death. In the nick of time, he crushed an Earth Escape Talisman. Amidst a flash of yellow light, he vanished into the ground, leaving the attacks of Chu Xin'er and Xiao Wenzhi to strike empty air.

Though Liu Kui had escaped, his mace fell to the ground, its luster dimmed, a testament to how hurried and pathetic his flight had been.

"Damn it! A high-grade Earth Escape Talisman."

Although she had achieved the final victory, there was no smile on Chu Xin'er's face. As the saying goes, if you let a tiger return to the mountains, it will surely cause harm later. This grudge was now set in stone; one day, it would inevitably become a matter of life and death.

Chu Xin'er did not want to let Liu Kui go, but she lacked the Earth Escape technique to pursue him. Furthermore, this battle had been grueling, and she needed to find a place to heal. Thus, while cursing, she gathered up Liu Xiuqian’s artifacts, her storage pouch, and Liu Kui’s abandoned mace. She then quickly departed, with Xiao Wenzhi retreating into her spirit beast bag.

A moment later, a flash of yellow light erupted from the earth, and a figure emerged—it was Liu Kui, his face ashen. Nothing could describe his current mood; not only had he failed to obtain the mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, but his younger sister had also perished. Clutching Liu Xiuqian's corpse, Liu Kui gnashed his teeth and spat out, "Qianqian, rest assured, one day, Big Brother will avenge you with his own hands. I will make that woman named Chu wish she were dead..."

Liu Kui swore revenge, but he dared not pursue them immediately. Instead, he carried his sister's body and headed in the opposite direction.

Whether or not Liu Kui would stir up trouble at the Spirit Medicine Sect or send powerful experts to hunt her down, Chu Xin'er dared not be careless. While fleeing, she consumed healing pills to suppress her injuries and pushed forward at maximum speed.

The city of Danxia was no longer an option, and having no specific destination in this unfamiliar region, Chu Xin'er could only change her direction frequently. Whenever she encountered rivers or lakes, she would dive into the water to travel submerged for a distance. By the time dusk fell, she had flown over a thousand miles, and no cultivators had caught up to her. Under the cover of darkness, she persisted for another hour before finally landing on a desolate mountain ahead.