Chapter 28: Shattering Shadows

A powerful killing intent, nearly tangible, surged through the wind and snow, roaring as it barreled forward!

“Who… who is that?”

Lei Chunlan’s face drained of color, and just as she moved to stoke the fire, her actions suddenly halted.

The entire courtyard was instantly shrouded in a lethal aura, as countless snowflakes exploded in mid-air.

Li Che stood atop the rockery, his masked eyes indifferent and cold.

“Who?!”

Inside the courtyard.

The guard dispatched by the Si Family to protect Lei Chunlan had been quietly dozing in a pavilion amid the snow.

The moment the guard sensed Li Che’s killing intent, he snapped awake, a chill of terror gripping him—who would dare commit murder within Jinhuang Pavilion!

Clenching his fist, the guard suddenly drew his long blade and launched himself through the blowing snow, catching sight of a hulking figure standing atop the rockery.

The Cute Cow Mask, combined with an overwhelming murderous aura, looked utterly eerie!

“You bold scoundrel! How dare you commit murder in Jinhuang Pavilion! This man is a guest of our Si Family—back off now, or we’ll make you pay!”

The guard stood erect, gripping his long blade; his qi and blood intermingled as his sinews trembled and cracked with a deafening boom.

He was a guard who had completely perfected his Tendon Burst.

Li Che glanced at him casually… “Tendon Burst?”

Lightly tapping his toes, Li Che floated down onto the snow-covered courtyard; step by step, his massive form left no trace in the drifts.

With each deliberate step, Li Che’s face under his conical hat set into a grim expression, his cold eyes fixed on the blade-wielding guard.

The guard’s heart skipped a beat as he opened his mouth to speak, only to be slammed in the face by a violent gust of wind!

Not a single word escaped as an immense pressure descended upon him.

Li Che was too swift; the very instant his foot hit the ground, the force he unleashed sent snow blasting several yards in every direction!

The crushing pressure of his qi and blood pounded down like a ferocious dragon!

Just as the guard swung his blade, a fist—swift and straight as lightning—thrust forward!

The broad-shouldered, mountain-like Ogre’s punch erupted with fierce internal energy, roaring like a white tiger in the snow and spitting venom like a cobra!

Then—

With a sharp crack, the long blade was blasted away!

The overwhelming force lashed the guard’s chest like a whip; he felt his heart collapse as his organs shattered, spouting a fountain of blood.

“Bone Tempering…”

The guard’s eyes went wide with shock, his features turning ashen.

Even as a formidable Si Family guard whose skills weren’t weak—one who could even hold his own with true Bone Tempering—

he was nonetheless instantly slain by the Ogre before him…

Perfected Bone Tempering!

With a burst of force, his arm recoiled as the guard was struck by a terrifying power that shattered his sinews and sent his body flying.

Yet Li Che stepped forward, quickly catching up with the guard, his fingers hooking and yanking relentlessly…

The guard’s eyes narrowed as he watched the swirling, hazy snow split in two by a razor-sharp energy.

A silent rip tore through the air, as if the very atmosphere had been sliced apart!

Blood spattered the snow as the guard realized his body had been severed; he collapsed, staring blankly at the half of himself that remained.

His eyes dimmed, all light fading away.

“Perhaps you were only trying to fulfill your duty as a guard. But if you dare stand in the way of protecting her… then you deserve nothing but death.”

In a flash, Li Che’s figure blurred, moving without a trace in the snow as he leaped beneath the eaves.

Everything happened too fast—from Li Che’s opening strike to the guard being decimated and cleaved in two…

It all transpired in just a few breaths.

Li Che strolled casually from afar and arrived under the eaves as though on a leisurely walk.

Lei Chunlan had only just turned to flee inside.

Thump, thump, thump!

Two wooden crossbow bolts whizzed through the air, instantly piercing Lei Chunlan’s knees, rendering her immobile as she collapsed, a pool of blood forming beneath her.

“You… ah… you—”

Lei Chunlan’s face turned pale, terror and despair writ across her features.

Though she had joined the Lingying Sect, she was merely an ordinary elderly woman with no significant cultivation…

A mountain-like oppressive force, riding on a violent gust, crashed down upon her with ruthless ferocity.

It pressed on her so intensely that she broke into a cold sweat, barely able to breathe.

“Spare me… please, have mercy…”

“I…I’m just an old woman, nothing more than a set of brittle bones…”

Lei Chunlan collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by despair and misery.

One moment she dreamed of a life among the elite, and the next she found herself at the mercy of fate in a tragic, helpless end.

Such are the dramatic twists of life.

Li Che regarded her with utter indifference—had she ever shown mercy when dispatching those children?

And when she targeted XiXi… had she ever hesitated then?

Suddenly.

A wild glint flashed in Lei Chunlan’s eyes as she fished a bloodstained, palm-sized Spirit Infant Wooden Carving from her bosom and hurled it furiously at Li Che.

“Dharma Master, protect me!”

The wooden carving sailed toward Li Che, its speed not particularly fast.

Li Che easily sidestepped it.

But as the carving floated in mid-air, it seemed to come alive—its eyes flaring open as it glared at Li Che in furious defiance!

A surge of fierce anger welled up in Li Che, like an uncontrollable blaze ready to engulf his mind and incinerate his consciousness!

“Divinity?!”

Li Che’s heart skipped a beat.

The wooden carving harbored a divine essence and even wielded offensive power!

Goodness, this Lei Chunlan… to be held in such esteem within the Lingying Sect?

An ordinary woman, yet she concealed such a potent trick!

Buzz—

Inside his chest, the Dao Fruit Dragon Elephant Vajra trembled violently.

It was as if a divine dragon roared and a demonic elephant trumpeted!

The nameless fury in his mind was quickly dissipated, leaving everything calm once more.

Li Che’s eyes cleared, regaining their brilliant shine. Facing the wooden carving, he raised his hand; his bare arm transformed into a pure, jade-like hue as a mist of white vapor erupted from his pores.

The embryonic form of divine technique…

Immortal Craft: Qianxi Hand!

Li Che suddenly grasped the wooden carving.

He absorbed its divine essence!

A wave of heat surged through his palm as the divinity within the Spirit Infant Wooden Carving was utterly drained by his arm!

Boom!

The carving exploded, shattering into countless fragments of wood dust!

Lei Chunlan stood frozen in place…

This was the very life-saving talisman bestowed upon her by the Dharma Master—a treasure she had secured with the life blood of countless infants.

The Dharma Master had claimed that even for warriors skilled in Bone Tempering, this wooden carving could settle matters.

But now, the precious carving granted by the Dharma Master had been brutally crushed!

Lei Chunlan sank into despair.

She tried to plead for mercy, but as Li Che regained his focus and feared she might have a backup move, he fired three rapid shots from his sleeve crossbow at her head.

Piercing her completely.

There was no time to savor the taste of divinity; Li Che knew he had to escape quickly.

The Inner City was no less dangerous than the Outer City – teeming with powerful figures, including terrifying cultivators from noble families who had shattered blood exchange barriers and even penetrated the meridian realm.

Of course, the most fearsome were the divine cultivators among those prestigious clans…

He pulled out a crumpled wanted notice—long since retracted by the authorities—pertaining to Lei Chunlan.

He cast a glance at Lei Chunlan’s tragically lifeless body.

A surge of pent-up anger erupted in Li Che’s chest.

At last, the weight of his long-held worries lightened slightly.

Though he knew the ordeal wasn’t over—killing Lei Chunlan didn’t guarantee XiXi’s complete safety.

That Lingying Sect, that Spirit Infant Cult Leader…

They still loomed over him like a sharp blade suspended overhead, keeping him restless.

But slaying Lei Chunlan at least let Li Che breathe a small sigh of relief.

With a flick, Li Che fired a wooden arrow from his sleeve crossbow, nailing the wanted notice to Lei Chunlan’s corpse; the bloodstained paper seemed marked by her sins.

……

……

A white curtain billowed gently in the breeze.

Fresh from refining his divinity, Si Mu Bai was in high spirits as he sipped tea and discussed divine matters with Xu Beihu.

After a brief chat, Xu Beihu prepared to take his leave.

Suddenly.

A figure darted swiftly over to Si Mu Bai’s side.

It was one of Si Mu Bai’s guardians—a formidable warrior of the Blood Exchange realm.

At that moment, the warrior’s expression grew strange, his brows furrowed with worry.

Si Mu Bai shot him a glance. “What’s the matter? Why are you so anxious?”

The mighty Blood Exchange warrior returned his look and spoke in a deep voice.

“Young master… Lei Chunlan is dead.”

Si Mu Bai clutched the tea cup that was just about to touch his lips and froze instantly.

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