Chapter 71: Chapter 69: Heavily Surrounded

The Blood Soul Curse.

It was a secret art that required the caster to harbor intense resentment, condensing their own Essence Blood into a Curse Blood Mist before death!

Gongsun Yangg’s features were faintly visible within the Curse Blood Mist, which shone with a ten-zhang-wide light as it floated above Jiang Chen’s head.

The deeper the caster’s resentment, the larger the mist and the more intense its light, and it would last for seven days and seven nights!

During these seven days, every time Jiang Chen killed an expert, the Curse Blood Mist would expand, and its light would grow even stronger.

Any expert who saw this ball of Curse Blood Mist would know that Jiang Chen was the one who killed Gongsun Yangg!

’This is trouble. The Qinghuo Gang has experts like Zhao Qiankun, a True Martial Realm Third Stage master. I’m no match for him right now,’ Jiang Chen thought. ’But the good news is, there are still ten days until the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm opens. I can find a remote place, wait out these seven days until the Curse Blood Mist disappears, and then head to the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm!’ With that thought, Jiang Chen immediately stored the Black Cloud Demon Bear’s corpse and left Black Cloud Valley, carrying the Yulan Tianpeng on his back.

Outside the valley, he found Little White and Lui Yifa.

Little White transformed into a streak of white light and rushed to Jiang Chen’s side, its watery eyes filled with worry. "Boss, are you hurt? I wanted to go in and help you, but Lui Yifa wouldn’t let me..."

As it spoke, Little White shot Lui Yifa a vicious glare.

Lui Yifa’s face was bruised and swollen like a pig’s head. He stammered, "Little White, you can’t blame me for this! The one who went in was Gongsun Yangg, a master of the True Martial Realm Second Stage! With your status as a mutated Demon Beast, you would have become his target the moment he saw you. I couldn’t let you go to your death!" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"You deserved to be beaten for not letting me help the boss!" Little White said angrily.

Lui Yifa looked at Jiang Chen with a helpless and aggrieved expression.

Jiang Chen waved his hand and smiled. "Afa did the right thing. Little White, I know you were worried about me, but look, didn’t I come out just fine? It’s okay, don’t worry!"

"As long as you’re okay, Boss. Huh? Why is the Yulan Tianpeng injured?" Little White paused, only then noticing the unconscious Yulan Tianpeng.

Jiang Chen nodded and proceeded to tell Little White and Lui Yifa everything that had happened, from Gongsun Yangg trying to steal the Black Cloud Demon Bear to him ultimately killing the man.

Little White bared its teeth, its eyes flashing with a menacing cold light. "Damn that Gongsun Yangg! I only regret I couldn’t bite him to death myself!"

Lui Yifa, however, looked worried as he faced Jiang Chen. "Boss, you’ve been hit by Gongsun Yangg’s Blood Soul Curse. It’s going to be nearly impossible to move around from now on. What should we do? Hmm... but we’ve already hunted enough Essence Blood to exchange for five or six entry spots. Why don’t we find a place to hide until the Curse Blood Mist disappears?"

Jiang Chen shook his head. "Hiding will only make us more passive. Afa, Little White, I’m giving you the Black Cloud Demon Bear’s corpse and the Tianpeng now. Take care of the Tianpeng. We’ll meet at the entrance to the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm in ten days!"

Jiang Chen had already come up with a plan after learning he was afflicted by the Blood Soul Curse.

Simply hiding was the worst possible strategy, and a very passive one at that.

Rather than doing that, it would be better to part ways with Little White and the others. Traveling alone, with only his sword for company, would be more convenient. He could even hunt some Demon Beasts along the way to hone his strength!

「One hour later.」

After making all the arrangements, Jiang Chen departed alone.

...

「Half a day later.」

In a secluded part of the forest, Jiang Chen was resting by a stream when he happened upon a group of Demon Hunters passing by. They noticed the Blood Soul Curse above his head. "Look, doesn’t the blood mist above that boy’s head look like the Qinghuo Gang’s Gongsun Yangg?"

"You’re right, that’s Gongsun Yangg! Is that kid the killer the Qinghuo Gang is looking for?"

"Young Gang Leader Zhao Qiankun has posted a huge reward. One entry spot for providing the killer’s whereabouts, and three Celestial Demon Ancient Realm entry spots for killing him."

Men die in pursuit of wealth, just as birds die in pursuit of food!

A great reward is sure to attract brave men!

The eyes of the Demon Hunters lit up as they charged toward Jiang Chen.

Three minutes later...

Over a dozen cold corpses now lay by the clear stream, its rushing water dyed a dazzling red with blood.

Jiang Chen stood with his Cyan Blade Sword in hand, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the dozen or so bodies. He spoke slowly, "One entry spot for my location, and three for killing me? Tsk tsk, Zhao Qiankun is quite generous... I imagine plenty of people won’t be able to resist the temptation of such a reward and will try to kill me. Heh, then let them come. I’ll kill them one by one. If a group comes, I’ll wipe them all out..."

「One day later.」

Jiang Chen passed through an area teeming with Demon Beasts and found a group of experts under siege. They were from the Luoo Family, one of the Four Great Clans of Yulan Mansion.

Jiang Chen intervened, slaughtering the beasts. But when the members of the Luoo Family saw the Curse Blood Mist above his head, they launched a sneak attack, trying to kill him. In the end, all thirteen of them died tragically by his Cyan Blade Sword, with none to escape.

Two days later, at Moonset Slope on the eastern side of the Bluestone Mountain Range, a forty-five-person team from the Money Commerce Association besieged Jiang Chen, only to be brutally slaughtered.

Three days later, Jiang Chen encountered experts from the Qinghuo Gang for the first time. A full thirty-six of them surrounded him. After a fierce two-hour battle, a total of thirty-seven Qinghuo Gang experts lay dead, their heads and bodies separated. Jiang Chen arranged their corpses into a giant character for ’Death’ as blood flowed like a river!

In the blink of an eye, the fourth day had arrived.

As the sun set, in the quiet of the forest, the blood mist above his head now shone with a five-hundred-zhang light, making it exceptionally glaring.

Suddenly, a series of RUSTLING sounds echoed through the silent woods.

Leaning against a moss-covered stone with the Cyan Blade Sword in his arms, Jiang Chen slowly opened his eyes. Bathed in the crimson glow of the Curse Blood Mist, the surrounding grass, trees, and the stirring human figures were all veiled in an eerie, bloody light.

This night was destined not to be a peaceful one!

"Since you’re here, you might as well all come out!" Jiang Chen’s sharp gaze swept in all directions as he spoke calmly.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Figure after figure rushed out from the Darkness. Powerful auras of qi and blood surged from each of them. Some had ferocious faces, clearly seasoned killers who lived on the edge. Others had kind faces but were hypocrites with murderous glints in their eyes. And some simply appeared with weapons drawn, eager to rush forward and flay Jiang Chen alive.

They came with ill intent and overwhelming force!

"You depraved villain! You monstrously murdered Lord Gongsun Yangg and even slaughtered experts from the Demon Hunter Guild! We swear to slay you and eliminate this evil for the sake of justice!" an expert from the Demon Hunter Guild declared coldly, his eyes filled with a grim light.

"I will avenge my younger brother!" The experts from the Qian and Luoo Families, two of the Four Great Clans, were united in purpose.

A True Martial Realm Powerhouse from the Money Commerce Association stared intently at Jiang Chen, his face a cold mask. "If you are willing to join our Money Commerce Association and become one of our Death Warriors, we can offer you protection. Otherwise, you will be a sworn enemy of our association, and this will only end with one of us dead!"

The members of the Qinghuo Gang wore cold expressions, their killing intent palpable. For them, too, this was a battle to the death.

Jiang Chen’s gaze swept over them, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a cold smirk. "The Luoo Family, the Demon Hunter Guild, the Qinghuo Gang, the Money Commerce Association, the Qian Family... Six True Martial Realm experts, sixteen Martial Arts Ninth Stage masters, and over a hundred Martial Arts Realm cultivators. Tsk tsk, you all certainly think highly of me!"

The Qinghuo Gang’s True Martial Realm Elder, Chen Yidao, who was a close friend of Gongsun Yangg, looked at Jiang Chen coldly. "Jiang Chen, surrender without a fight!"

"Hahaha! You think you’re worthy of capturing me, Jiang Chen? You’re not qualified!"

Jiang Chen laughed coldly and narrowed his eyes, looking up at the sky. Under the glow of the Curse Blood Mist, the full moon was veiled in a layer of blood-red light that spilled onto his face. "Even the moon is blood-red... In that case, tonight, let me use your blood to dye the earth red as well!"

Before his words had even faded, Jiang Chen made his move...