(Southern Region- Xercopolis Empire)
(The Forbidden Desert- Ancient Ruins)
"What?" one of the demon cultivators exclaimed in shock as he moved away from the large chunk of ice.
Boom!
Xu Lu dodged to the side as an enormous shockwave of air rushed towards her location at a rapid speed.
"You piece of shit," a melodic feminine voice shouted angrily.
Xu Lu rushed forward in the direction of the voice and swung her blade at the slender figure whose body was covered in a heavy robe.
Her movements accelerated rapidly until her body became a blur. The other demon cultivators could not even see her with their naked eyes.
Xu Lu struck quickly and efficiently. She did not use any fancy techniques or special swordsmanship.
A simple stab to the chest was enough to deal with the cultivator.
Xu Lu could not make out any of the female cultivator's facial features but could see her eyes widen in surprise when her blade entered her chest.
She withdrew her weapon and rolled on the ground ungracefully as numerous daggers fell down where she had just been standing.
The saintess continued to roll on the ground as more daggers rained down from the sky in a never-ending barrage.
The leader of the demon cultivators clicked his tongue in irritation. He raised up his right hand and more translucent daggers appeared around his fingertips.
Xu Lu jumped behind a nearby mound of sand and was forced to block the sudden sword strike that came from a cultivator who had managed to sneak behind her.
She had killed two of her opponents but there were still eight left.
The temperature dropped even further and the little moisture that was in the air started to freeze.
Tiny white snowflakes fell to the ground and the ice that bloomed beneath Xu Lu's feet seemed to respond to her foul mood.
Two large cultivators holding curved sword rushed forward and attacked her at the same time with strikes that were almost identical.
Xu Lu scowled fiercely as she blocked one sword strike while the other one managed to lightly graze her arm.
Blood splattered on the desert ground and the crimson red liquid stained her pure white robes.
This was a dangerous situation.
The saintess kicked up sand using her feet and blinded the eyes of the first robed figure that ran towards her.
She dodged the second figure's attack by a hair's breadth and then retaliated by lowering her posture and crippling his Achilles' tendon.
The blinded figure heard his companion's cry of pain and rubbed his eyes fiercely to regain his vision.
"Get away from her!" the leader of the group yelled desperately.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Xu Lu's sword slashed his neck and neatly beheaded him.
The headless corpse crashed to the ground right in front of his injured companion who looked to be in total disbelief.
The saintess wanted to finish him off as well but a roaring gust of wind knocked her away from the injured man.
She crashed heavily against a large sand dune. Xu Lu spat out a mouthful of sand mixed with specks of her blood and growled darkly.
She may be the saintess of a righteous sect but to the demon cultivators… she looked more devilish than them.
The leader glanced at his companions and saw that they were all looking very nervous. Only six of them were capable of fighting.
He had managed to save Peng Shui's life with his last attack but he appeared to be in a state of shock as he remained frozen in place in front of his brother's corpse.
Damn it!
What was going on?
This lone cultivator was clearly still in the qi tide stage and yet… why was she so strong?
It wasn't an overwhelming amount of strength like someone in the void stage but even still…
"Leave now and I'll spare all of your lives," Xu Lu spat out.
She didn't intend to keep this promise but after her many years of fighting, there was one trick that always worked.
If your enemies believed that they had a way out, their fighting spirits would weaken whether consciously or unconsciously.
"She's lying! Don't believe her!" the leader yelled to his men, but Xu Lu's words had already achieved their intended effects.
She could see hesitation in the hooded figures' movements. They lowered their swords slightly and the attacks aiming for her body ceased.
A small smile flashed across Xu Lu's face as she bent her knees and prepared to launch a quick strike.
"You cowards," the leader growled in anger.
He reached into her storage ring and pulled out an enormous silver spear whose metallic tip gleamed under the moonlight.
Stab!
His attack penetrated his target successfully.
But he wasn't aiming for Xu Lu.
The hooded figure next to him slumped down to the ground motionless with an enormous hole in his chest where his heart used to be.
"Attack her or I will kill you all… what?" the leader's speech was interrupted as Xu Lu appeared in front of him while he was talking.
She slashed forward using her blade with so much force that a gust of wind accompanied her movements.
The leader of the demon cultivators reacted immediately to block the attack but he had already lost the advantage.
Spears were better than sword at range but if a swordsman could close the distance…
It was all over.
Xu Lu followed up with a rapid string of attacks. Stabs, thrusts, slashes… she unleashed a rapid flurry of movements.
She was strong.
After a lifetime of training using swords, wielding one had become a second nature. It was as natural to Xu Lu as breathing.
"Help me!" the leader shouted as he tilted his head to the side and narrowly avoided the flash of silver.
Xu Lu grinned beneath her mask as she quickly realised that none of the demon cultivators stepped in to help.
In fact…
She could hear footsteps running away from the fight. The surviving demon cultivators had abandoned their leader and fled.
Just as she predicted.
This group did not strike her as a particularly loyal band of companions who would die for one another.
Slash!
The leader's feet tripped slightly on the frozen sand and that split second was enough for Xu Lu to end the fight.
She thrust her blade forward and the tip of her sword entered the hooded figure's body. The leader spat out a mouthful of blood and then collapsed.
He opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a thick gurgling noise as he began to choke on his own blood.
Xu Lu thrust her weapon into his body one more time to finish him off.
Her blade was now stained with the crimson liquid and the metallic scent of blood hung in the air.
It was all over.
No… there was still one more.
Xu Lu turned to deal with the injured cultivator but what she saw made her footsteps pause. The cultivator was now slumped on the ground motionless.
The saintess cautiously approached the figure and thrust her blade into his body. She felt her weapon touch flesh but…
Something was wrong.
Xu Lu knelt down and slowly removed the robe that was covering the corpse's body. What she saw beneath made no sense.
The corpse was that of a frail wrinkled old man.
She could not sense any spiritual energy in his body. It was as if he had been a mortal this entire time.
No… what?
The statue behind Xu Lu's body shifted slightly and its pitch-black eyes glowed eerily under the moonlight.
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