Stranger Danger

Chapter 725: One Woman, One Saber

A man panicked and tried to back away to safety, but the second he moved, earthly qi combined into an invisible earth dragon and swallowed him whole.

That wasn’t all. The attackers quickly realized that their surroundings were overflowing with yin qi before they knew it. The wind howled like blades, the rain fell like swords, and killing intent was everywhere. It was as if they had suddenly crossed into the underworld, and the living was not welcome here. The bloodcurdling screams appearing throughout the area were proof of it.

“Huh? Earth-bound traps? Is a fengshui master helping the challenger?”

Zhang Lingyang exclaimed in surprise but shook his head right after. “It’s too bad the fengshui master’s craft is average at best, and his fengshui array isn’t perfect due to the lack of time. It’s good enough to scare the hyenas a little, but to actually stop them? It’s not enough.”

A warrior who was adept in the art of fengshui was called a fengshui master. An average fengshui master could only observe qi, probe waters, research the earth, and identify fortune or misfortune. However, a powerful fengshui master—generally known as a geomancer—could not only do everything a fengshui master could do, but also shift mountains, change fates, and slaughter their enemies without a trace using earth veins and earthly qi.

If a geomancer had enough time to set up a fengshui array, they could even kill champions who were above their cultivation level. They were the kind of friends you want to have, and enemies you wish to avoid as much as possible.

Unfortunately, the fengshui master who set up the fengshui array was no geomancer. While his fengshui array was good enough to stop or intimidate the average warrior, it was completely useless against a true elite.

As expected, Zhang Lingyang hadn’t even finished speaking when a cold hmph came from the basin, “You think you can stop me with this level of fengshui array?”

The next moment, a fiery saber force accompanied by the crisp cry of a phoenix descended from above. A fiery phoenix extended its wings and engulfed the fengshui array in a blaze of fire.

Of course, the jianghu warriors trapped within the fengshui array were killed as well.

After the fengshui array was destroyed, a brawny man carrying a massive red saber on his shoulder stepped out of the sea of flames. He wore a long robe with fiery red patterns, and he had long hair that covered his shoulders. He carried himself in a bold and unrestrained manner.

“Why so angry, Feng San[1]? Why kill innocents when you could pierce the array without?”

An old, blind Taoist chided the brawny man while stepping out of the sea of flames as well. He was supporting himself and extinguishing the flames around himself using a bamboo staff.

“Hah! As if leaving them alive would help their chances of claiming the Profound Yellow Mother Qi! They couldn’t even survive me!”

The brawny man named Feng San scoffed loudly. “Also, you should’ve just died instead of blocking my attack. Now, I’m going to kill you.”

“Tsk tsk... can you believe this guy? If I didn’t know better, I would think that you already have the Profound Yellow Mother Qi in your pockets!”

A ridiculing laugh broke out from another direction, and a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and tattered clothes stepped out into the open as well. He carried a sword, but it wasn’t his weapon. Why? Because he was biting off its blade and chewing the metal vigorously every few steps or so. Looking at his intoxicated expression, you would think that he was eating a sugar cane, not a sword forged from refined steel.

By the time the middle-aged man walked up to the group, everything above the hilt was completely gone. He glanced at Feng San and said, “Have you asked for our permission before you made your move? No? How rude of you!”

“Hah! Sure, I’ll ask for permission after I slaughter you all!” Feng San bared his teeth at them. “But before I do that, allow me to take out the skulking rat first!”

Before he even finished speaking, Feng San grabbed his saber with both hands and fired a powerful saber beam at a nearby bush. Pedant Earth had no choice but to jump away from his hiding spot to avoid the attack.

After he was forced to reveal himself, Pedant Earth produced multiple yellow talismans and tried to turn invisible once more. However, the blind Taoist tapped the ground with his bamboo staff and caused a pair of earth serpents to burst out of the ground. They slammed into the yellow talisman and shredded it before it could take effect. Pedant Earth himself staggered backward while his face turned as pale as a ghost.

“Since you’re all attacking, I guess I’ll have to contribute as well,” said the sword-eating man before he opened his mouth and threw up a flood of sword qi.

Pedant Earth looked pale, but there wasn’t a sliver of fear on his face. Right before the flood of sword qi would kill him, a saber beam descended from the sky and cut the sword qi in half.

“The hell are you doing? Do you actually have a death wish?”

Shangguan Hongjin landed in front of Pedant Earth and chided him.

“I trust that you would save me,” Pedant Earth replied with a cheeky grin on his face.

“I see! There’s more than one rat in this place!” Feng San remarked while staring at Shangguan Hongjin.

“You’re the rat! Your whole family are rats!” While carrying a saber with her right hand and keeping her left hand on her second saber, Shangguan Hongjin spat in Feng San’s direction and said, “Oh, excuse me for my mistake. To call you petty lurkers who only know how to take advantage of another’s difficulties rats would be a disservice to rats. You’re at best bed bugs who deserve to be exterminated on sight!”

“Oh my, what a fiery temper. I love it!” The sword-eating man exclaimed while looking Shangguan Hongjin up and down.

“Pooey! Look at yourself in your piss, ugly face! As if a man like you would ever deserve me!” Shangguan Hongjin declared contemptuously.

“Red shirt, red scarf, and a woman of fiery temper. You must be the leader of the Flying Red Scarfs, Shangguan Hongjin, aren’t you?” The blind Taoist asked.

“Oh! I guess you aren’t blind after all. That’s right! I am Shangguan Hongjin!” Shangguan Hongjin admitted without fanfare.

“Why are you stopping us, Miss Shangguan? Are you plotting to claim that man’s Profound Yellow Mother Qi for yourself?” The blind Taoist asked.

“Don’t you dare mention my name in the same breath as you! I am not here to take that whatchamacallit either. I’m standing here only because I can’t tolerate your contemptuous actions!”

Suddenly, Shangguan Hongjin raised her eyebrows and swung her saber at a certain direction. There was a loud clang, and a man and a woman abruptly popped into existence. Their expressions were ugly.

The man was dressed ostentatiously and wearing make-up like a woman. The woman was also dressed just as flamboyantly as the man, though her aura was dark and creepy. Neither looked like a person of virtue.

“You think you can stop us alone, Shangguan Hongjin?”

The seductive woman said with an ugly expression, “Get out of our way if you know what’s good for you! Otherwise, we will make you wish you were dead!”

“Guess what? I do think I can stop all of you alone!” Shangguan Hongjin tightened her grip over her sabers and let out a bold laugh. “You want the Profound Yellow Mother Qi that badly? Sure! You just have to pass through me first!”

“Why the hell are you wasting your breath on her? Can’t you tell she’s trying to buy time? Kill her already!”

It was at this moment Feng San roared and swung his saber at Shangguan Hongjin from range. A fiery phoenix screeched, and a sea of flames engulfed the world.

In response, Shangguan Hongjin unsheathed her second saber and swung upward like she was cutting the sky. The sea of flames were instantly split in half.

Not done yet, Shangguan Hongjin chased, no, surpassed her saber beam and appeared in front of Feng San. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. She brought her saber down with the intention of cutting the man in half.

Feng San did not expect Shangguan Hongjin to move this quickly. He just barely managed to cross his saber before his chest before their sabers clashed.

Clang!

There was a metallic clang, and a muffled groan escaped Feng San’s lips. Blood poured down his hand as he staggered away from her.

Shangguan Hongjin pressed forward. This time, she turned her saber against the blind Taoist.

The blind Taoist tapped the ground with his bamboo staff and summoned three armored, sword-wielding generals about three meters tall in an attempt to stop her charge. Fearless, Shangguan Hongjin swung nine times in a row, firing three saber forces each at the earthen generals. Thick as a cyclone, the saber forces easily blasted the earthen generals into smithereens.

Right before Shangguan Hongjin’s momentum was spent, a bamboo staff suddenly burst through the dust cloud and struck Shangguan Hongjin in the chest. It pierced right through like her flesh was paper.

“Got you, you blind bastard.”

Shangguan Hongjin smiled despite receiving a serious wound, however. Not only that, she pressed forward—the bamboo staff sliding even deeper into her chest as a result of this—and swung her saber at the blind Taoist’s head.

1. The literal translation is Phoenix Three. Also fengsan would sound like fan to a Chinese. Lol. ☜