(Southern Region- Xercopolis Empire)
(Castmere Beach)
To the demon cultivator's credit, he did not scream.
The handsome man looked down at the bloody stump where his arm used to be, and a bemused smile flashed across his face.
"Good sneak attack!" he praised lightly.
He snapped his fingers, and the missing flesh began to rapidly grow back until a new fully formed arm appeared.
Xu Lu rushed forward and swung her sword at his neck. She was not interested in exchanging pleasantries with a mass murderer.
The demon cultivator frowned and took a few steps backwards. His footsteps began to blur as he activated a movement technique.
Suddenly his body split into multiple illusory copies.
Each mirror image was virtually identical with no distinguishing marks or features between them.
"Well... well... what will you do now?" the demon cultivator grinned as each copy reached into their storage bag and pulled out a long black sword.
The sword shone with an eerie light and the edges of blades were stained with a foul smelling crimson liquid.
"Run away!" Xu Lu shouted at the disciples as she cautiously stepped forward. The remaining disciples were initially frozen in shock but quickly responded to her words.
They fled the scene.
Not a single one offered to help.
They even left behind a girl who was badly injured with blood slowly leaking out of an enormous hole in her stomach.
The demon cultivator laughed madly, and his dark chuckles echoed through the surrounding area.
"Do you see 'hero'?" the demon cultivator jeered mockingly.
"They don't care about you. They abandoned you immediately to save their own skin... I will make sure that you die cursing them."
The demon cultivator swung his sword at Xu Lu and his five identical copies followed his movements as well.
It was impossible to know which one was the real one but Xu Lu possessed a hidden ability that could be relied on.
Her danger sense.
After years of combat experience, her body move automatically to respond to threats.
It was a fighting instinct that could only be learnt if one had spent decades engaging in life and death struggles.
Xu Lu took in a deep breath and then closed her eyes. It looked like a suicidal move, but she had a plan in mind.
She spread out her spiritual senses and dodged the attacks that triggered her danger sense.
She had no idea where these attacks were coming from but her body smoothly responded to the approaching threats.
"Stop dodging and fight me!" the demon cultivator yelled in frustration as he stamped his feet on the ground almost like a child.
His sword slashes were smoothly dodged by just a hair's breadth every time. It was like this female cultivator had eyes on the back of her head.
How the hell was she fighting with her eyes closed?
Suddenly the demon cultivator had an idea. He stopped attacking and ran towards the injured disciple who was barely breathing.
He grabbed the disciple by her arm and hoisted her in front of his chest like a living shield. Oh... this was a good idea.
The demon cultivator giggled to himself as he imagined the despair on the female cultivator's face when she realised the choice in front of her.
This mysterious cultivator was obviously someone who enjoyed meddling into other people's business and playing hero.
Would she still be able to fight if he used one of the people that she wanted to rescue as a shield?
Of course not!
Xu Lu slowly opened her eyes as she felt the threat vanish. She focused on the direction of heavy breathing and saw the demon cultivator smiling back at her.
His mirror copies had disappeared leaving only the original behind.
Held in his right hand was the body of one of the disciples and a blade had been pressed against her neck.
"Drop your sword and remove that mask," the demon cultivator hissed mockingly.
"I want to see that pretty face of yours... hmmm... judging from your body... you must be a real beauty..."
"I can't wait to play with you..."
He licked his lips and the blade pressed against the injured disciple's neck created a thin red line.
Xu Lu gripped her sword tightly as dark emotions flooded her mind. The mere suggestion of removing her mask was enough to cause a mini panic attack.
The original Xu Lu's emotions were just too overwhelming. The demon cultivator continued to talk but the saintess was finding it difficult to breathe.
She could not remove the mask...
She could not remove the mask...
SHE COULD NOT LET THEM SEE HOW HIDEOUS SHE WAS!
Xu Lu gripped her left palm so tightly that her fingernails were driven into her flesh. Droplets of blood slowly dripped on the ground.
The sharp pain was enough to pierce the mental fog that clouded her mind but only barely. She could still feel panic and fear at the very notion of her face being exposed.
"Aww... are you getting frustrated?" the demon cultivator mocked as stared at Xu Lu with a confident grin on his face.
He assumed that the female cultivator was gripping her fist in anger at his words but he could not be further from the truth.
"Why are you doing this?" Xu Lu calmly spoke as she watched the handsome man for any opening or weak spots.
His regenerative ability was quite impressive but a fatal attack should negate the effect of his regeneration.
Can't heal if he's dead...
"To show the world how fake you 'righteous' cultivators are," the demon cultivator spat out angrily.
"You people preach on about the ideals of justice, order, and morality but you are just selfish cowards! The world needs to see that! You don't deserve your reputation."
"Ahh... I suppose by murdering people you are standing on the side of the common folk?" Xu Lu replied with a sarcastic undertone to her voice.
"You... you... little..." the demon cultivator stuttered and for the first time an expression of genuine anger flashed across his face.
Xu Lu's words had gotten under his skin.
He hated... he absolutely hated when people could not see his grand vision.
His beliefs should not be mocked.
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