After I killed one of the Golden Core cultivators using the treasure talisman, no one said anything for several long moments. Everyone stared at me with shocked expressions on their faces. The Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples gazed at me with admiration in their eyes, while the Ancient Blood Sect disciples looked at me with fear and wariness in theirs.

  I grinned at them all, before I hunched over and vomited out several mouthfuls of blood onto the flying barge’s deck. Using the treasure talisman had taken its toll on me. Not only did it take all of my internal qi, but it also aggravated my internal injury. Pain racked my body, and I felt my vitality drain out of me at a rapid pace. At this rate, I would die in mere minutes.

  “Flamewind!” Ellen said, rushing over to my side. Her eyes widened with fear when she checked my body with her spirit sense and saw the condition of my internal injury. “Sister Willow!”

  Willow rushed to my other side and checked me over as well, before grimacing.

  “I’ll do what I can,” she said. “However, we need to get you to a healer, Flamewind. The sooner, the better. Otherwise, you may suffer permanent damage from this.”

  I nodded, before holding out the treasure talisman.

  “Elliot,” I said.

  My personal servant nodded and took the treasure talisman from me. I wouldn’t be able to use it in my current condition. As such, it was better to give it to someone who could.

  I felt Willow’s qi enter my body as she used it to staunch the flow of vitality. It felt strange, like blood soaked earth, though I didn’t hate it. Willow’s qi slowed down the flow of vitality, but couldn’t stop it. Ellen stood to the side and bit her lip, a helpless expression on her face. I wanted to say something, anything, to reassure her. However, I didn’t have the energy to spare.

  While this went on, the two Golden Core cultivators from the Ancient Blood Sect consulted with one another. Rather than continue attacking, and risk dying, it appeared that they decided to hold back for now. The Foundation Establishment disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect wore uncertain expressions. I almost wanted to laugh.

  Things had not gone as they expected. Instead of an easy victory, we put up a good fight and killed one of their Golden Core seniors. As long as we had the treasure talisman, we could kill another. While they still held an advantage, victory wasn’t certain. If we killed another Golden Core cultivator, then the odds would become even.

  Several minutes later, one of Golden Core cultivators, the man with the bow, approached the flying barge. I frowned. There was something familiar about him, though I couldn’t put my finger on what. I hadn’t noticed it earlier, since I was too busy fighting to take a good look at him. For some reason, his appearance filled me with dread.

  “Cultivator Xavier!” the man called out.

  “What do you want?” Branch Head Xavier asked in a gruff voice.

  He looked better before. It seemed that Branch Head Xavier had taken advantage of this brief respite to repair the damage to the magic barrier that protected the flying barge. However, it was clear that he wasn’t in good condition. Piloting the flying barge while also fending off the attacks of the Ancient Blood Sect disciples had taken its toll on him.

  “I believe we can both agree that there has been enough bloodshed today.” The man with the bow said.

  Branch Head Xavier snorted.

  “I find that ironic coming from you,” he said, “Considering that you people are the ones who attacked us first.”

  The man with the bow nodded.

  “That was because the people we hunt are among you.” He said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have dared to attack you and your disciples.”

  I had a bad premonition about this.

  “We have no grudge against you and yours, Cultivator Xavier.” The man with the bow said. “So, I propose a deal. Give us the ones we want, and we will leave the rest of you alone.” His expression hardened. “Refuse, and we will kill every single one of you. Choose wisely. Even with that treasure talisman, we still hold the advantage in numbers and overall power.”

  The Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples whispered among themselves, speculating about what was going on and who angered the Ancient Blood Sect to this degree. My companions and I, on the other hand, remained silent. We didn’t need to speculate.

  Even though the man with the bow hadn’t said it yet, we had figured out who the Ancient Blood Sect was after and why.

  “Who are you?” Branch Head Xavier asked. “And who are you after?”

  The man with the bow gave him an apologetic expression.

  “Ah, I’m sorry.” He said. “Where are my manners? My name is Blood Leaf, a core disciple of the Ancient Blood Sect and son of Elder Blood Root. I am hunting down my sister’s murderers in order to avenge her death.”

  I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. Damn it. That was why the man, Cultivator Blood Leaf, seemed familiar. He was Cultivator Blood Petal’s brother. Now that I knew about their relationship, I could see the family resemblance.

  When my companions and I left the Dawn and Dusk Sect, we had two missions. The first was to escort Cultivator Rexanne and Cultivator Albin to East Mesa City. The second was to investigate the disappearances of several rogue cultivators in the Sacred Ironwood province. For the latter, it turned out that a group of disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect was responsible, led by a woman named Blood Petal.

  This was all my fault. After we defeated her companions, I killed Cultivator Blood Petal in cold blood, despite knowing about her status within the Ancient Blood Sect. If I hadn’t done so, none of this would have happened. While I didn’t regret killing Cultivator Blood Petal, I regretted that others had been pulled into this affair.

  “And you think the ones who killed your sister are here?” Branch Head Xavier asked, his voice calm and even.

  Cultivator Blood Petal nodded.

  “At least some of them, yes,” he said. “There should be six of them in total, led by a man named Sand Fang. They tried to hide their identities by pretending to be rogue cultivators. However, through careful investigation, we found out that they were actually disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect.”

  Branch Head Xavier snorted at that.

  “Even if you are right and the ones who killed your sister are disciples of our Dawn and Dusk Sect, did you really think I would hand them over to you?” He asked. “We are not so cowardly that we would give up our own like that.”

  Cultivator Blood Petal let out a derisive snort.

  “Don’t be a stubborn fool.” He said. “Is pride more important than the lives of your disciples? By sacrificing a few, you can save the rest.”

  Branch Head Xavier remained unmoved by Cultivator Blood Petal’ words. However, he was the only one. With my spirit sense, I noticed several of the Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples wavered. Thankfully, Elliot hadn’t used the name Sand Fang too much while we were in East Mesa City, so none of the other disciples knew that we were the ones that Cultivator Blood Petal wanted; not yet at least.

  “How do we know that the people you’re hunting are even here?” Branch Head Xavier asked. “For all we know, you could be lying to sow discord and mistrust between us. In fact, this could all be a ploy to get us to lower our guard.”

  Cultivator Blood Petal pointed at me and my companions.

  “Go ahead and ask them if I’m lying.” Cultivator Blood Petal said, glaring at us. “They’re right there. While their appearances differ somewhat, and two of them are missing, those are the people that murdered my sister.”

  The disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect turned towards us, their eyes filled with suspicion and wariness.

  “Is he speaking the truth, Brother Flamewind?” Brother Ross asked me. Unlike the others, his expression remained firm and steadfast.

  I nodded. There wasn’t any point in hiding it now, and lying would just make things worse.

  “Yes.” I said, my voice hoarse. “It was for a mission from the sect.”

  The expressions on a few of the Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples turned unsightly. They started shouting at us.

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  “This is your fault!”

  “Take responsibility for your crimes!”

  “We should just hand you over!”

  Their words disheartened me. However, I took solace in the fact that only a few wanted to hand us over. The other disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect remained silent. A few of the latter even glared at the disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect, including Brother Ross.

  “Enough!” Branch Head Xavier shouted.

  The few who wanted to hand us over to the disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect fell silent.

  “We are not handing anyone over.” Branch Head Xavier continued, glaring at the crowd of disciples. “You would sell out your own brothers and sisters, just to save your own skins? You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

  Most of the disciples fell silent, with the exception of one woman.

  “But Branch Head Xavier!” she protested. “We did nothing wrong! Why should we die for their sake? If we hand them over, then at least the rest of us can live!”

  Branch Head Xavier looked at the woman and shook his head with a disappointed expression on his face.

  “You fools,” he said, “If they truly planned on letting us live, they would have never attacked us like this in the first place.” He glared at Cultivator Blood Petal. “The only way they can avoid retaliation from our Dawn and Dusk Sect is by silencing all witnesses. They can’t afford to let any of us live. This was all just a ploy to get us to lower our guard.”

  Cultivator Blood Leaf’s expression turned unsightly at having his scheme exposed, while the disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect turned pale. However, before anyone could say anything else, mocking laughter filled the air. Moments later, a woman’s voice rang out.

  “You aren’t as dull as I thought you were, Cultivator Xavier.” The woman said. “However, it won’t do you much good now.”

  Everyone turned towards the speaker. We watched as Branch Head Kasandra headed in our direction, standing atop her winged serpent, which was a Rank Three spirit beast. She stopped a fair distance away and gazed at us with malicious glee. Maybe it was my imagination, but I noticed an avaricious gleam in her eyes when she looked at Ellen and Elliot. No. After taking a second look, I realized that it wasn’t my imagination. Anger blossomed in my heart. How dare she covet what belonged to me?

  “Branch Head Kasandra,” Cultivator Blood Petal said, giving the woman a cold look, “What are you doing here? As I said before, this matter doesn’t concern you.”

  Branch Head Kasandra’s lips quirked up in a smirk.

  “You say that,” she said, “However, it appears that events aren’t playing out as you expected.” She made a show of looking around. “What happened to one of your companions? I believe you had two of them. Where is the other one?”

  Cultivator Blood Petal gritted his teeth.

  “Leave now,” he said, “And I’ll forgive your insolence.”

  “Are you sure?” Branch Head Kasandra glanced at us. “You’ll have a much more difficult time without me. You may even fail. Why make things harder for yourself when you can take the easier path? I won’t ask for much. Just give me those two snakes.” She licked her lips. “You can spare that much, can’t you?”

  Despair gripped my heart. If Branch Head Kasandra joined Cultivator Blood Petal in attacking us, then we would have no hope of victory, even with the treasure talisman. She was at mid Golden Core, which made her the most powerful cultivator here. If she were alone, we might have had a chance. However, with two other Golden Core cultivators on her side, we had no chance.

  I tried to think of a way out of this, but nothing came to mind. Maybe if I was smarter, more cunning, I could have somehow talked my way out of this. That was what happened in some of the stories I’ve read, when the hero faced enemies more powerful than themselves. However, I was no charming rogue.

  “What makes you think that I need your help, Branch Head Kasandra?” Cultivator Xavier asked. “Even without you, we’re more than enough to deal with this rabble.”

  Branch Head Kasandra let out another mocking laugh.

  “Oh, Cultivator Blood Leaf,” she said, “You claim that you want to avenge your sister, but if that were true, you would have accepted my offer right away. No, you want to keep the credit for killing a divine demon to yourself.”

  The disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect and the Dawn and Dusk Sect whispered among themselves. I resisted the urge to sigh. Under normal circumstances, having my true nature exposed like this would have filled me with panic. However, in the current situation, it made little difference. Cultivator Blood Leaf and his people already wanted me dead.

  “I don’t know what you mean.” Cultivator Blood Leaf said.

  “Do you think I’m blind?” Branch Head Kasandra asked. “When Cultivator Flamewind used that treasure talisman of his, he filled it with divine qi, the bane of demonic cultivators such as ourselves. Otherwise, his attack wouldn’t have killed your companion so easily. I’m sure you noticed this as well.”

  The disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect and the Dawn and Dusk Sect turned towards me with shocked expressions on their faces. A few of the latter even regarded me with reverence, including Brother Ross.

  “So?” Branch Head Kasandra asked. “What will it be, Cultivator Blood Leaf? Would you like my help or not?” She shrugged. “Maybe you’ll succeed without me, but not without paying a heavy price.”

  Cultivator Blood Leaf regarded her for several long moments, before he sighed.

  “Very well, Branch Head Kasandra,” he said. “In exchange for your help, you can have the two snakes.”

  I snarled, unable to hold back my anger any further. Branch Head Kasandra regarded me with contempt and disdain.

  “I’m sure you find this situation unfair, Cultivator Flamewind.” She said. “However, you can only blame your own weakness. It is natural for the strong to trample the weak. That is the way of our world.”

  I glared at Branch Head Kasandra, imprinting the image of her face into my memories. If we somehow survived this situation, I would get my revenge on her later on, after I grew stronger. I would make her understand what it meant to be weak and trampled underfoot.

  “Unfortunately for you,” Branch Head Xavier said, “It’s time that we ended this farce.”

  Everyone turned towards him.

  “Out of consideration for our long standing association, Branch Head Kasandra,” he continued, “I’ll give you a chance to flee. You may yet survive.” He turned towards Cultivator Blood Leaf. “As for you lot, you should make peace with your ancestors. You’re about to meet them.”

  Cultivator Blood Leaf let out a cold laugh.

  “I don’t think you’re in any position to make such threats, Cultivator Xavier.” He said.

  Branch Head Kasandra sneered.

  “You must have finally cracked under the pressure.” She said. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so delusional.”

  Branch Head Xavier just smirked and held out a transmission talisman.

  “You two were quick enough to realize that Junior Brother Flamewind was a divine demon.” He said. “However, did you really think that our Dawn and Dusk Sect would let him go without making preparations for this sort of situation?”

  The expressions on both Cultivator Blood Leaf and Branch Head Kasandra’s faces fell. At that exact moment, the desert floor below us exploded as a giant lion made from black sand emerged. Before anyone could react, the giant lion swiped a claw at Branch Head Kasandra’s winged serpent, knocking it back. More lions, also made from black sand, emerged from the desert floor below and attacked the other disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect as well.

  This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard, myself included. I watched as the ambushers became the ambushed. The giant lions suppressed the Ancient Blood Sect, including Cultivator Blood Leaf and the other Golden Core cultivator. The only one who held her own was Branch Head Kasandra. She summoned a horde of snakes created from blood to deal with the giant lion attacking her.

  “Cultivator Black Sand!” Branch Head Kasandra yelled, her voice filled with shock and fury. “What is the meaning of this? Has East Mesa City joined hands with the Dawn and Dusk Sect?”

  “This has nothing to do with the city lord or East Mesa City,” Cultivator Black Sand said, his voice emerging from the giant lion attacking Branch Head Kasandra. “I do this of my own volition.”

  The giant lion roared, the force which destroyed the horde of blood snakes. The roar also knocked back Branch Head Kasandra and her winged serpent.

  “Ha!” Branch Head Kasandra said after she regained her bearing. “Do you think our Ancient Blood Sect is weak? You’re a mere mid Golden Core cultivator. Even if you joined hands with Cultivator Xavier, the two of you won’t be enough to defeat us.”

  She spoke the truth. Despite their initial disadvantage, the disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect had recovered and were starting to push back the giant lions. The small spark of hope in my chest dimmed when I saw this. Even with Cultivator Black Sand’s help, we were at a disadvantage. Still, his appearance gave us a chance.

  “Elliot!” I yelled out.

  My personal servant nodded, before he closed his eyes and focused on the treasure talisman in his hands.

  “Everyone!” I called out. “Attack while they’re distracted! Take advantage of this opportunity!”

  The other disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect recovered from their surprise and launched attacks against the disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect. I couldn’t join them because of my internal injury, and Willow stayed by my side to keep my vitality from draining away. Even without us, it was a slaughter.

  Suppressed by the giant lions on one side and attacked by the disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect on the other, the disciples from the Ancient Blood Sect stood no chance. Blood rained onto the desert sand below as they died one after the other. Cultivator Blood Leaf and the other Golden Core cultivator tried to protect them, but the giant lions kept them occupied. Meanwhile, Cultivator Black Sand continued to fight Branch Head Kasandra.

  Things came to a head when Elliot finished activating the treasure talisman and summoned the spectral axe. However, unlike mine, the one that Elliot summoned looked like it was made from countless grains of sand. He launched it at Cultivator Blood Leaf, who was the biggest threat here aside from Branch Head Kasandra.

  In that same moment, Branch Head Xavier let out a roar. Arrays formed entirely from qi sprang into existence along the side of the flying barge. Beams of light emerged from the arrays and headed towards Cultivator Blood Leaf. His fate was sealed. Suppressed by a giant lion, and facing attacks from Elliot and Branch Head Xavier, there was no way he could escape. Or so I thought.

  “Young Master!” His companion, the woman in early Golden Core, said.

  Heedless of the danger to herself, the woman flew over and pushed Cultivator Blood Leaf out of the way just before the attacks hit him. She screamed as the spectral axe and the beams of light destroyed her in body and soul.

  “Amara!” Cultivator Blood Leaf cried out.

  However, he had little time to mourn the death of his companion. Branch Head Xavier launched another barrage at him. Cultivator Blood Leaf dodged most of them, though some of them hit their mark. The attacks left him burnt and scorched in several places. He glared at me and my companions with anger and hatred in his eyes.

  “I’ll remember this.” Cultivator Blood Leaf said.

  He then pulled a talisman out of his storage ring, one I didn’t recognize. However, with my spirit sense, I saw that it was even more powerful than my treasure talisman. He activated it and the space around Cultivator Blood Leaf warped before he disappeared into thin air. No trace of him remained.

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  This chapter was edited by Radriel7