Supreme Emperor of Mist

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"Hahaha! It seems that the nose of young Qin Patriarch is as sharp as this dog!" a sarcastic reply soon came from the woods.

Seated on top of the Yao Beast he tamed, Gou Ye made his appearance. Although there's not much of a difference that happened to him physically, his strength has notably increased by leaps and bounds.

He is now a Flesh Cultivator with Full accomplishment, merely a small gap away from turning into a Half-Step Bone Reconstruction Cultivator.

"Did our stronghold leader offered you something? Why are all of you dressed in our bandit's attire?" Gou Ye jokes. His attitude remained as crazy as before like there was a screw is loose in his head.

"What do you think? I'm sure that your arrival here is not a coincidence. Have you been tailing them from the moment they left their camp?" Qin Lan replied with a question. At the same time, he purposely pointed out what he's suspecting because it would be impossible for Gou Ye to track his Qin Faction so far without alerting the others.

"That guy there killed one of my subordinates. As their leader, I ought to enact revenge on his behalf, don't you think so?" Gou Ye replied. But from the way he speaks, it seems he's yet to finish what he wanted to say.

"Furthermore... His woman is quite hot. If I can get that officer's head back in return for her favor... Hahaha... I can imagine how satisfying it would be to sleep with his woman." Gou Ye added before he looked around.

The fierce Yao Beast seems to understand some human speech as it took a few leaps around the waterfall to reach where Qin Lan and the others are gathered.

**Roar!**

Thick red mist is coming out from the beast as it breathed. For the way it looks, the Yao Beast is likely related to the secret behind the demonic art they're cultivating.

But from the way the bloody red Spiritual Energy coming out from Gou Ye's body, his mastery over this demonic art should be at least a level or two above the bandit leader encountered by Qin Lan and Expert Xie.

"Ah! The two of you look fine as well. I'll make sure to spare both of you later when I'm having my killing spree." Gou Ye said. He was about to drool as his eyes landed on Qin Chan and Qin Qin's voluptuous body.

"Pervert!" Qin Chan pulled her sword out and attacked.

"Whoa! A fierce one. I like it!" Gou Ye chuckled as the Yao Beast below him dodged Qin Chan's attack. The beast's attack soon came like a broom sweeping off all the leaves in a particular area.

**Ding!!!**

Although Qin Chan managed to defend against the beast's attack, she was thrown about ten steps off from Gou Ye.

'A half-step Bone Reconstruction Yao Beast!' everyone was alarmed when the Yao Beast released a fragment of its Spiritual Energy.

The situation is bound to change drastically the moment a Yao Beast of this caliber joined the battle.

"Sister Qin, come here!" Qin Huang took his Offensive Treasure out as he stands in front of Qin Qin bravely. His hand was shaking as he tried to point the sword at the half-step Bone Reconstruction Yao Beast.

"Alchemist Qin, please remove the needles and let me help in the battle." Expert Xie volunteered to face the Yao Beast as he started to regain some control over his right arm.

"Patience, Senior Xie. The agitation would do nothing good while we're still in the middle of a treatment." Qin Lan said. Two thicker acupuncture needles are then inserted where Expert Xie's nape is to take away part of his sense.

"Alchemist Qin!" Expert Xie struggled to keep himself conscious, but with his body now under Qin Lan's control, his effort bears no fruit at all as he soon fell into a trance.

'I'm sorry, Expert Xie. Only through this way can I treat your wound without difficulty.' Qin Lan shook his head as he felt sorry for robbing Expert Xie's five senses while he's applicating the treatment.

"Officer, please protect us for ten minutes." Qin Lan whispered using his Spiritual Energy as a bridging link between him and the officer.

"Lu Yi! Zunjie!" Qin Lan shouted.

"Our time is up. Let's go." Lu Yi pulled his sword out from his back. The same action was repeated by Huo Zunjie, but more gracefully.

"Qin Qin, Qin Huang, come back to me. Let's get inside the soldier's protection perimeter." Hu Jia said. Unsure if both of them feeling weak on their legs, Lu Qing Yun sent her Heaven's String out to pull them both to her side as they retreated.

"Are you mocking me right now?" Gou Ye came down from the Yao Beast as he pulled his sword out. It was about the size of Lu Yi's Offensive Treasure. Judging from his expression, he's feeling offended right now because only three people have stepped up to face him.

"Demonic Flame Tiger, go subdue that woman for me." Gou Ye pointed at Qin Chan.

"Roar!!!" the Yao Beast slowly created a distance between itself and Gou Ye.

"As for the two of you... Let me bring your heads back as my winning trophies!" the strength of a ninth-level Flesh Refining Cultivator envelops his body on the attack. With both hands on the handle as he swung the blade down, his attack separates Lu Yi and Huo Zunjie from standing together.

"Are the three of them going to be alright?" Hu Jia asked. Amongst the three hundred of them here, Her strength is considered the lowest after Qin Qin and Qin Huang. Even the four's cultivation is slightly above her because they've been training hard to reach Qin Lan's expectation.

(The four = You Qing, Han Xue, Qiang Shou, Yi Feng)

"They will. Don't forget we still have Qing Yun here as a standby." Hu Jia said as she shifted her gaze to Lu Qing Yun. Suddenly, she noticed something extraordinary.

'This...' it seems that Lu Qing Yun's cultivation is not as simple as Lu Yi and Huo Zunjie.

"Urgh..." Lu Yi spits a mouthful of blood as they entered the second round of their battle. The battle is undoubtedly the hardest one he ever encountered because Gou Ye's cultivation was two minor levels above his and Huo Zunjie.

"Two mere seventh-level trying to stop a peak-level Flesh Cultivator like me? I'll show you why your action is similar to trying to break rock using eggs!" Gou Ye's level of confidence increases as he notices the advantages he had in this battle.

Swallowing a Flesh Mending Pill into his mouth, Lu Yi continued to fight alongside Huo Zunjie.

"Flame Eyes of Heaven!" Lu Yi's eyes were on fire out of sudden.

"Sp - Spiritual Attack? How dare you!" a hint of needle pricking pain hits Gou Ye as his attack was disturbed by Lu Yi's tactic. Although it was just working for half a second, the disturbance is enough for Huo Zunjie to follow up.

"Puncturing Willow Strike!" the Yin Ling Jian in Huo Zunjie's hand vibrates as it gets rigid from all the Spiritual Energy Huo Zunjie injected into the sword.

**Ding.**

The killing blow connected, but the result is disappointing. Huo Zunjie's Yin Ling Jian is stuck on the surface of Gou Ye's right chest as it failed to puncture through his skin.

"Get lost!" Gou Ye pushes the layer of bloody red Spiritual Energy around him outward. A reaction similar to an explosion of Spiritual Qi threw Huo Zunjie a few steps back.

"Slaughtering Bell." Lu Yi's sword followed after Huo Zunjie's failure. The sword strike that's strong enough to even challenge an opponent two levels above the user came like a flying guillotine at Gou Ye's neck.

"Demonic Disturbance!" Gou Ye roared. The sword was swung upwards as he deflected Lu Yi's killing blow through a simple action.

"D*mn. Even this can't kill him." Lu Yi complained as he retreated to where Huo Zunjie is. A Flesh Mending Pill, Essence Transformation Pill, and Flesh Foundation Pills are stuffed into his mouth as Lu Yi finished his sentence.

"What are the people of Qin Faction trying to do? Taking Flesh Foundation Pills at this time?" the soldier questioned Lu Yi's sanity as they witness his eccentric step of devouring the pills during a fight.

Even a kid would know that it takes time for the Flesh Foundation Pill to digest. And what was his reason for eating close to twenty pills at one go?

But the answer for their curiosity soon came as Lu Yi recovered some of his stamina and Spiritual Energy.

"This... How can this be?" the soldier asked the colleague beside them. Some even pinched their own face as they're doubting if they're dreaming.

"Ah! I know why... I think one of the pills he took is known as Essence Transformation Pill. Didn't his highness give us one when we're cultivating?" one of the soldiers said.

"Does that means..." the soldiers looked at each other as a wild idea came up in their mind.