Chapter 769: 769 stubbornly ignorant
"Whoever dares to take one more step, dies!"
However, just after the Yang Family guard issued the warning, he heard a cold voice similar to the one issued by Hong Liu. He couldn’t help but be startled and his gaze towards the young man was filled with disbelief.
"Has this kid gone mad?"
The look of disbelief on the Yang Family guard’s face quickly turned into a disdainful cold sneer, and upon hearing his words, the other idle Yang Family guards around him all burst into loud laughter.
"He looks smart, who knew he was actually a foolish lad!"
Even Hong Liu, who was not far away fighting with Yang Pu, couldn’t help but feel emotional. He could clearly sense that the dark-skinned youth named Yun Xiao only had an Early Stage Spirit Vein Realm cultivation, while the Yang Family guard in front of him was indeed a genuine Late Stage Spirit Vein Realm cultivator.
However, hearing Yun Xiao’s words, Hong Liu finally dispelled the thought that he might be a spy for the Yang Family. Given the current situation, how could a spy for the Yang Family say something like that?
"I gave the warning. If you persist in seeking death, then no one can stop you!"
Yun Xiao didn’t have so many thoughts. Although his injuries had not recovered by half, with his means, just dealing with these Spirit Vein Realm Yang Family guards wouldn’t take much effort. His fighting power had never been based on visible cultivation levels.
"Ah ha, now I really want to see what kind of amazing skills this reckless kid has!"
The guard was clearly amused by Yun Xiao’s words, laughing heartily as he threw his head back. Then, truly recklessly, he stepped forward one step.
Pfft!
A light sound could be heard almost simultaneously with the Yang Family guard’s step, and then all the Yang Family guards who were paying attention to this side saw a sudden burst of blood-red flames appear under the guard’s feet, which looked rather mysterious.
The blood-red flames seemed to be of little power and not excessively hot, but this seemingly insignificant blood-red flame actually burned up to the guard’s calves in an instant.
"Ah!"
Only at this moment did the guard realize to pull back his foot, but it was unmistakably too late to react now. In just two breaths’ time, a man who had been alive and kicking turned into a pile of pitch-black ash, extremely horrifying and eerie.
"What...just happened?"
The few Yang Family guards who had been watching the guard rubbed their eyes subconsciously, as if they couldn’t believe what they had seen.
What kind of power could turn a stout man into a pile of ash in an instant? The Yang Family guards were now looking at the dark-skinned youth as if he were some kind of demon or ghost.
"This..."
Even Hong Liu, who was being pressured to the brink by Yang Pu, had his eyes suddenly bulge out, his previous thoughts completely swept away, replaced by a strong shock and a hint of excitement.
"So this kid was actually playing dumb to catch the cunning all along!"
Remembering the encounter with the young man the night before, Hong Liu couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. It was a good thing that there had been no conflict between them; otherwise, with the young man’s eeriness, the Hu Family would have had a hard time escaping disaster even without the pursuit of the Yang Family.
Even Hong Liu himself, being an Early Stage Qi Seeking Realm cultivator, would not be able to effortlessly turn a Late Stage Spirit Vein Realm cultivator into ashes like that.
That said, the young man who seemed to only have an Early Stage Spirit Vein Realm cultivation must at least be a great expert of the Early Stage Qi Seeking Realm. If he chose to help the Hu Family, then the seemingly inevitable doom today might still have a chance of resolution.
"Everyone, attack together!"
As for the Yang Family guard’s side, after a brief shock, they regained their senses. A Peak Spirit Vein Realm guard shouted, and then the remaining guards leaped out together, obviously planning to surround Yun Xiao and then attack him collectively.
"Sigh, really a bunch of obstinate fools!"
Seeing this, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but lament. He had thought his earlier move should have deterred these Yang Family guards, so he could save a bit of effort, but he didn’t expect these Yang Family guards to throw themselves into danger despite his warning, which was simply courting death.
Yun Xiao’s intention was not to get involved in the messy conflict between the Hu and Yang families, especially since both Hu Yuqing and Hong Liu were rather rude to him last night, but Miss Hu Ying’er of the Hu Family was a kind-hearted young lady, which left him with a good impression.
Moreover, he had just helped Hu Ying’er control her Double Flower Pure Lotus Body, and to let her suffer at the hands of the Yang Family the next moment was not Yun Xiao’s style. Therefore, in the end, he chose to take action.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
Yun Xiao’s right hand fingertip flickered with a blood-red light. With each tremor, a Yang Family guard would burst into blood-red flames, quietly turning into a pile of silent ashes just like the guard before.
The Yang Family guards originally thought that by swarming him, they would keep the boy so busy that they could take the opportunity to capture Hu Ying’er. However, they did not expect this youth’s methods to be so bizarre that they couldn’t withstand a moment before turning into ashes.
Moments later, several other Yang Family guards, who had been somewhat idle, also turned into ashes, unable to make any further moves. The sudden change of events here was finally sensed by certain individuals in the midst of the battle.
Bang!
After a loud noise, Hu Family’s Great Elder, Hu Yuqing, retreated rapidly, only stabilizing himself after several steps—a clear sign that he had been dealt a heavy blow by the Yang Family’s Great Elder, Yang Qiwu.
But although it was Hu Yuqing who had been forced back, the expressions on their faces were completely opposite. He wore a look of unexpected joy, while Yang Qiwu’s face was darkened with gloom.
"Damn it, where did this strange kid come from?"
Yang Qiwu cursed inwardly, his gaze then fixed on a dark-skinned youth who was still standing tall, but he could not recall when such a genius monster had appeared near Ancient Moon City.
Like the previous guard, Yang Qiwu had already recognized from Yun Xiao’s attire that he was not of the Hu Family, and if such a monster genius had appeared in the Hu Family, how could the Yang Family of Ancient Moon City not know about it?
Just now, Yang Qiwu had not witnessed Yun Xiao’s method of turning the Yang Family guards into ashes with his own eyes, but such skills—even the Yang Family’s eldest young master, who had reached the Early Stage of the Qi Seeking Realm, would probably find them hard to match, right?
Among those Yang Family guards was a cultivator at the Peak of the Spirit Vein Realm. To dispose of him as if it were nothing, probably even an ordinary cultivator at the Early Stage of the Qi Seeking Realm would find it difficult, right?
"Haha, Starlight bro, thanks a lot!"
In contrast to Yang Qiwu’s gloomy speculation, Hu Yuqing burst into laughter at this moment, internally noting that the Yang Family had miscalculated. With Starlight here, it was probable that the Hu Family’s crisis had been resolved in one fell swoop.
At this moment, Hu Yuqing seemed to have forgotten how he had doubted Yun Xiao last night. Clearly, he wanted to draw the relationship between the Hu Family and Starlight closer, hoping to make the Yang Family back down.
But how could Yang Qiwu, who had just caught up with these Hu Family survivors, retreat so easily? Moreover, the ones who had just died were merely Spirit Vein Realm guards, and not qualified enough to make him, a Peak of Qi Seeking Realm powerhouse, step back.
"Pfft!"
At that moment, a strange sound came from a place, followed by a sturdy figure staggering backward several steps—it was the Hu Family’s Guard Leader, Hong Liu.
"You... you... Yang Pu, you are so despicable, using poison!"
Stumbling back several steps, Hong Liu spat out a mouthful of blood, which even contained a hint of sinister blackness. Hearing the implications in his words, many Hu Family guards glared angrily at Yang Pu, who wore an expression of proud malice.
Hong Liu’s words caused Yun Xiao to feel somewhat bemused. In this life-and-death struggle, anything goes, all for the sake of victory. What room was there to speak of fairness or foul play?
It seemed that just now, Hong Liu was caught off guard, or perhaps he had let down his guard somewhat due to Yun Xiao’s intervention, and had been at a disadvantage to Yang Pu from the start. Consequently, he was struck by a deadly poison.
Deadly substances are not solely possessed by Poison Vein Masters. At times, ordinary cultivators can also pay a certain price to acquire poisons from Poison Vein Masters to surprise their enemies in battle and turn defeat into victory.
At this moment, Yang Pu was such an example. Although he was not a Poison Vein Master himself, the deadly poison infiltrating Hong Liu’s body caused his vital energy to become chaotic in an instant. If he didn’t obtain an antidote, he would likely not last much longer.
"Hong Liu, come here!"
As Hong Liu was filled with anger and Yang Pu wore a smug, cold smile, the dark-skinned youth, who had just impressively eliminated several Yang Family guards, suddenly yelled out.
Although unsure of Starlight’s purpose in calling him, Hong Liu felt a sense of authority naturally emanating from the youth due to his previous actions. Without much thought, he stumbled toward him.
Pupu pupu pupu...
Without any delay, Yun Xiao quickly pressed on several major acupoints on Hong Liu’s torso, then spread his hand and gently poked the center of his palm with his right index finger. A streak of black blood immediately flowed out.
"Eh?"
Watching the black blood flowing from the center of his palm gradually turn into a bright red, Hong Liu immediately understood what had happened. With a surprised gasp, his face was filled with gratitude.
"Thank... thank you!"
Recalling his own rude words from the previous night, Hong Liu felt quite embarrassed, but still, he managed to voice his gratitude. After all, none of the clan members who had escaped from the annihilation of the Hu Family that night were Meridian Refining Masters, and Hong Liu had thought that he would surely die from the deadly poison.