Chapter 88: Clash with Situ Li I

Chapter 88: Clash with the Situ Li

Lothe and Seana dropped silently from the canopy, their boots touching the forest floor in perfect unison.

Neither of them spoke.

The suffocating pressure radiating from the woman in the deep-green robes and the pale young man beside her hung over the clearing like lead.

Both Lothe and Seana immediately understood: these two were monsters.

At first, Lothe assumed the energy rolling off them was Demonic Qi. It carried a familiar rot, reminiscent of Ye Cangming’s aura in the ancient tomb. But the longer he analyzed it through [Qi Sight], the darker his expression became.

There was something else woven into their aura—something infinitely more malevolent.

It wasn’t merely murderous intent. The Qi itself carried an invasive, parasitic will, whispering at the borders of his consciousness, trying to worm through his skin and corrupt his thoughts.

This isn’t ordinary Demonic Qi, Lothe realized, his eyes narrowing into cold slits. It’s vile... far more sinister than anything Ye Cangming possessed.

As if sharing a single mind, Lothe and Seana mobilized their energy simultaneously.

FWOOSH.

A dense crimson mist rolled off Seana, wrapping around her slender frame like a lethal silk veil. Beside her, deep purple Void Qi surged across Lothe’s shoulders, causing the surrounding air to ripple and fold.

"Oh?"

The woman in the deep-green robe arched an eyebrow, lazily fanning herself with an ornate silver fan. "Two puny human ants. How did creatures this weak avoid the outer miasma?"

Situ Li stepped forward, a contemptuous sneer playing on his pale lips. "There is no need to waste your breath on them,Veyra Serpent Commander. Allow this disciple to dispose of them."

Qing Lian giggled softly behind her silver fan, the sound melodious yet dripping with venom.

She saw no reason to soil her hands. As a Veyra—the second-in-command directly beneath Lady Jade-Serpent herself—she had been entrusted with leading the elite Emerald Venom Corps on this crucial expedition to the Ancient Palace. Squashing bugs along the roadside was beneath her station.

A glint of ruthless coldness flickered within her eyes. "Make it quick, Situ Li. The seal awaits."

"Gladly."

Situ Li didn’t waste another second. With a flick of his wrist, a strange, circular metallic ring materialized behind his back.

Joined together, the weapon resembled a gleaming, silver full moon.

CLANG!

With a subtle twitch of Situ Li’s fingers, the weapon uncoupled with a sharp metallic screech, splitting into two floating, razor-sharp crescent blades!

Situ Li’s eyes flashed. "Die."

SHIIIIING!

The twin crescent blades tore through the air like screaming meteors!

One curved low toward Lothe’s throat; the other swept wide in a horizontal arc aimed at Seana’s waist.

Lothe’s pupils contracted. The speed was insane!

Void Step!

CLICK.

Lothe vanished into thin air.

FWOOSH!

The crescent blade severed the afterimage of where his neck had been a millisecond prior, careening into the gargantuan ancient tree behind him.

BOOM!

The six-foot-thick trunk was sliced through like wet paper, crashing to the ground with a deafening roar.

At the exact same instant, the second crescent blade reached Seana.

SHING!

Seana drew the [Blood Moon Sword], meeting the incoming projectile head-on.

CLANGGGGG!!

Sparks erupted as crimson blood Qi detonated at the point of impact. The sheer kinetic force pushed Seana backward, her boots carving deep gouges into the soil for nearly ten meters before she stabilized her footing.

Qing Lian’s lazy fan movement paused mid-air. Her smile vanished.

She parried it?!

Her gaze sharpened with genuine surprise.

These two humans were unmistakably at the Foundation Establishment Realm at best. Situ Li, on the other hand, was an authentic Nascent Soul expert!

The divide between those two realms was an insurmountable chasm. A single casual flick from a Nascent Soul cultivator should have turned a Foundation Establishment insect into paste!

Yet this mortal girl had parried the strike and remained on her feet!

Before Qing Lian could fully comprehend the anomaly, the parried crescent blade reversed mid-flight, curving back toward Seana’s blind spot with blinding acceleration.

Blood Sense!

Without looking, Seana spun on her heel, her instincts flaring.

CLANG!!

Her blade intercepted the crescent edge a second time. This time, she channeled her refined [Crimson Blood Cycle], injecting a burst of high-density Blood Qi straight into the collision!

BOOOOOM!!

The concussive blast knocked the crescent blade tumbling into the air.

Yet before Seana could press the advantage, the first crescent blade arced around and lunged straight at Lothe!

CLANG!!

Lothe’s [Void Spear] slammed into the projectile like an iron pillar. Violet spatial energy detonated along the shaft, absorbing the impact before diverting the kinetic momentum sideways.

The weight of the blow rattled his bones, forcing his knees to bend, but his grip remained absolute.

Qing Lian’s expression turned utterly solemn.

He blocked it too?!

Two Foundation Establishment brats, effortlessly neutralizing the strikes of a Nascent Soul expert! What kind of freaks were these humans?!

Situ Li’s face darkened. He had anticipated an instant execution, yet both of his Moon-Splitting Twin Blades had been parried in broad daylight!

His fingers danced, forming rapid hand seals.

SHING! SHING!

The twin blades ignited with sickly grey energy, executing erratic, predatory trajectories. One dove for Lothe’s heart; the other spun toward Seana’s throat.

Lothe thrust his spear—CLANG!

Seana cleaved her sword—CLANG!

Both attacks were deflected simultaneously!

Shockwaves tore through the clearing, uprooting trees, shattering boulders, and kicking up a suffocating cloud of dust.

Qing Lian watched with narrowed eyes, finally catching the pattern.

They aren’t trying to overpower Situ Li’s attacks, she realized with growing shock. They’re coordinating!

Every time Lothe parried, Seana covered his flank. Every time Seana struck, Lothe warped space to disrupt the blade’s recovery vector. Their movements were so seamlessly synchronized it felt like fighting a single two-headed dragon!

"Insolent insects!" Situ Li growled, his pride stung.

He raised his right hand, snapping his fingers.

The two crescent blades split into multiple mirages, descending from four blind angles at once!

CLICK.

Lothe vanished via [Void Step], reappearing several paces back.

Seana ducked beneath the sweep of the second blade, feeling the sharp wind slice off a single strand of her hair.

As she rose, her eyes flashed crimson fire a second before it vanished

[Crimson Lotus Burial!]

SHING!

A radiant phantom red lotus of pressurized blood-edge tore through the dust, hurtling straight for Situ Li’s throat!

Situ Li scoffed, raising a single open palm. One crescent blade flew back, intercepting the blood arc with a sharp CLANG, shattering it into crimson sparks.

Yet from the shadows behind that shattered blade, Lothe appeared like an executioner!

[Void Spear Art — First Form: Flowing Rift!]

BOOM!

The frictionless spearhead struck the defensive crescent blade, its spatial energy slipping past the metallic guard and forcing the weapon violently off course!

Lothe didn’t chase the hit. Using the recoil, he pivoted on his heel, seamlessly creating an opening.

Seana was already there!

In the span of a single heartbeat, the two stood flanking Situ Li from left and right!

Their gazes locked for a fraction of a millisecond.

Kill!​