Chapter 254: Chapter 252: Mutual Slaughter
Qin Li whispered into Shangguan Shiyu’s ear, "In a moment, I’ll draw these people away. You take your mother and get her to the stone cave where we were hiding. That mountain is the Second Elder’s territory. I’m going to pin this on the Grand Elder. Can you handle that?"
The two of them had already scouted the location of the Grand Elder’s mountain peak before arriving.
Shangguan Shiyu nodded, then said softly, "My dear husband... please be careful!"
Qin Li pulled Shangguan Shiyu into his arms, feeling their hearts beat as one. He whispered, "Remember, no matter what happens, you’ll always have me!"
Shangguan Shiyu looked up, her gaze soft as she stared at Qin Li. Then, mustering her courage, she stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed him on the lips. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes, full of deep affection, said what words could not.
A short while later, Qin Li estimated that the Seventh Elder had already returned to rest. Like a flash of lightning, he appeared at the courtyard gate. Wielding the Blood-Drinking Divine Sword, he unleashed a streak of Crimson Sword Qi, striking down at the gate with unstoppable speed.
BOOM!
The small courtyard’s beautiful, ornate gate was blasted to splinters by Qin Li’s single strike.
The group of Celestial Shattering Realm Martial Artists in the courtyard shot up like a startled flock of pheasants, bursting out from the flowers and trees. They all soared into the air and charged at Qin Li.
It all happened too suddenly!
No one could have imagined something like this would happen moments after the Seventh Elder had left. Here in the Divine Eagle Sect, even the Grand Elder would have to sneak around. He wouldn’t dare to blast this courtyard gate to pieces with a single sword strike!
If the Seventh Elder found out, it would surely become a feud to the death!
But Qin Li wasn’t just doing this to draw them away. More importantly, he needed to vent his own rage!
Indeed, in his past life, Qin Li had rarely been the one to start trouble. But that didn’t mean he was some docile, kind-hearted man. Even if the Seventh Elder had been infatuated with Shiyu’s mother, Qin Li felt Shiyu’s pain as if it were his own!
’Even if these people didn’t deserve to die before,’ he thought, ’they do now!’
’Your mistake was being here in the first place!’
’Reason with me? Go reason with my sword!’
Celestial Shattering Realm Martial Artists were simply no match for Qin Li. The gap in their power was far too great!
With a fierce killing intent simmering within him, Qin Li struck without mercy. The Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable combat technique demanded an unstoppable momentum, an aura that could look down upon the entire world!
As long as he maintained this aura, even a stronger opponent couldn’t suppress him!
Besides, in Qin Li’s eyes, these opponents were no better than clay chickens and pottery dogs. Only the recently departed Seventh Elder seemed even remotely interesting.
Screams erupted in an instant. With a single wave of Sword Qi, Qin Li bisected a charging Martial Artist. Without losing momentum, he swept his blade toward two others like he was mowing down grass.
It was a calculated attack against an unsuspecting target, and it all happened too abruptly. The group of Celestial Shattering Realm Martial Artists had soared into the air to attack Qin Li on pure instinct!
By the time they came to their senses and realized the man before them was a Godslayer, it was already too late!
A series of thunderous booms echoed out. Tonight, Qin Li intended to turn the Divine Eagle Sect completely upside down!
One blast of Sword Qi slew three men. Qin Li then unleashed the full might of his Celestial Integration Realm aura, crushing the remaining few until their faces turned ashen. He then swept through the rest with overwhelming force.
Using a mix of fists, feet, and his sword, he drew a continuous chorus of agonizing screams!
Within three to five exchanges, all dozen or so of the Celestial Shattering Realm Martial Artists had been slain on the spot by Qin Li. At that moment, he saw Shangguan Shiyu quietly departing with her mother on her back.
Suddenly, a world-shaking roar came from the distance. A figure shot toward Qin Li’s position like a bolt of lightning. With a flash, Qin Li’s form vanished, streaking toward the Grand Elder’s mountain peak.
The approaching Seventh Elder arrived at extreme speed. Ignoring the corpses in the courtyard, he charged directly into the room and saw that the soft, large bed was empty.
He let out a furious roar. "Who did this! I will hunt them to the ends of the earth!"
Then, he shot off in the direction Qin Li had fled.
By now, Qin Li’s figure had long since vanished into the vast darkness of the night, not even leaving a trace of Primordial Power fluctuation for the Seventh Elder to follow.
However, as if he had already made up his mind, the Seventh Elder headed straight for the Grand Elder’s mountain peak.
The Seventh Elder’s earlier roar had been heard clearly for miles around. It echoed throughout the surrounding mountains, especially in the silence of the night.
The Grand Elder’s mountain peak was only a few miles from the Seventh Elder’s. Hearing the commotion, the Grand Elder was slightly taken aback. ’What is Lao Qi going crazy about now?’ he wondered.
He led a few of his trusted disciples out of his residence, only to see the Seventh Elder, radiating a terrifying killing intent, charging straight toward him moments later.
A flicker of anger crossed the Grand Elder’s gloomy eyes. He asked in a low voice, "Lao Qi, what is this madness so late at night? What are you doing here?"
"Hand over my wife!" the Seventh Elder roared, his eyes bloodshot, having all but lost his mind.
The Grand Elder was stunned for a moment, a look of bewilderment on his face. Then, a sneer touched the corner of his lips as he said angrily, "Your wife? Are you insane? What wife are you looking for here?!"
The trusted disciples beside the Grand Elder were also stunned by his words, then began to snicker softly.
Everyone knew the Seventh Elder was delusional, calling the woman he’d kidnapped his "wife." But no one had ever said it out loud. They never expected the Seventh Elder, in his rage, to blurt it out so carelessly, and they couldn’t help but laugh.
"You’re courting death!"
The Seventh Elder gritted his teeth and drew an Ancient Treasure Sword. He slashed at the disciple of the Grand Elder who was laughing the loudest. The Sword Qi, carrying an unstoppable killing intent, thundered toward him!
"You really have gone mad!"
The Grand Elder threw out a palm strike, but in his haste, he failed to completely disperse the Sword Qi. The young disciple beside him, at the peak of the Celestial Shattering Realm, had an arm sliced off by the Seventh Elder’s attack. If the Grand Elder hadn’t acted, that single strike would have cleaved the young man in two!
The young disciple let out a piercing shriek as blood gushed from his shoulder.
The Grand Elder roared, "Are you trying to die?" With that, he charged at the Seventh Elder empty-handed, and the two immediately began to fight.
The other disciples of the Grand Elder quickly staunched their injured martial brother’s bleeding, then picked up the severed arm, attempting to reattach it.
The Seventh Elder fought like a madman, every move a killing blow. His overwhelming aura forced the Grand Elder’s disciples back, their faces pale with fright.
The Grand Elder’s gloomy eyes shone with furious light. "Lao Qi, don’t force my hand to kill you!" he said.
"I’m going to kill you today!" the Seventh Elder’s voice was filled with madness.
"Fine! You asked for this, so don’t blame me!" The Grand Elder was incensed. This was like having a bucket of filth dumped on his head, and he wasn’t even given a chance to explain.
He too began to strike without mercy. The years of pent-up animosity between the two powerful martial brothers erupted in that instant—for no reason, and yet, it seemed almost inevitable.
The tremendous commotion here quickly attracted the attention of the other mountain peaks. A moment later, dozens of figures shot over from every direction.
Several of the arriving Divine Eagle Sect Elders stared, dumbfounded at the scene before them.
The Second Elder, who had just arrived, shouted to stop them. "Eldest Brother, Lao Qi, have you both gone mad? Why are you suddenly fighting?"
The Grand Elder slapped aside one of the Seventh Elder’s sword strikes, the force rippling outward. He said angrily, "He’s the one who’s mad! Who knows what happened? He came here without a word of explanation and nearly killed one of my disciples!"
"Lao Qi, what are you doing? Snap out of it!" the Second Elder and several other Elders shouted at the demonically frenzied Seventh Elder.
"Don’t stop me! I’m going to kill this old bastard today! He was the one who made us take the fall for that huge mess back then, and now he’s gone even further and stolen my wife! I’ll kill him!"
The Seventh Elder roared, his sword strikes growing faster and faster, each one aimed at the Grand Elder’s vital points.
At this point, the Grand Elder’s own fury had been ignited, and he unleashed his full power, blasting attacks at the Seventh Elder.
"That’s enough!" The Second Elder and the other Elders exchanged a look, then attacked in unison, striking the space between the two combatants. If the two didn’t retreat, they would both be seriously injured.
BOOM!
With a world-shaking explosion, the force of their combined attack instantly blasted a massive crater more than ten meters deep into the ground. A large section of the surrounding buildings collapsed from the shockwave.
The Seventh Elder furiously retreated several dozen meters, and the Grand Elder fell back as well. With a roar, the two were about to charge at each other again.
The assembled Elders of the Divine Eagle Sect split into two groups and immediately moved to block them.
The Second Elder said angrily, "Is this never going to end? Do you have to keep fighting until you’ve killed each other? Would you only be satisfied once you’re both dead?"
The Seventh Elder, restrained by several people, was panting heavily. Killing intent still poured from his body as he gritted his teeth and said, "Hand over my wife!"
The Grand Elder was so angry he nearly coughed up blood. "Hand over your grandpa!" he cursed. "Are you out of your mind? Why would I kidnap that half-dead woman of yours?"
"If it wasn’t you, then who could it be? Don’t tell me you’ve never had designs on her!"
The Seventh Elder’s words left the Grand Elder speechless, and his old face flushed crimson.
At this moment, the fair-faced, portly Fourth Elder suddenly spoke up. "Lao Qi, calm down. There must be a traitor in the sect. You know the Spirit Pet was killed during the day. Think about it, why would Eldest Brother do something like this? First, tell us what happened. We can’t have this kind of baseless infighting!"
The gaunt Sixth Elder also tried to persuade him. "Yes, Lao Qi. Just tell us what happened. Look at Eldest Brother right now. Does he look like someone who just kidnapped your wife?"
