C21

"Peak of the Soul Formation stage is indeed a bit difficult …"

Zhou Qing murmured, his brow furrowed.

With his current combat strength, he could forcefully fight against a mid stage Soul Formation cultivator. However, against a peak Spirit Condensation cultivator, he might be able to escape with his life, but he had absolutely no chance of winning.

"Zhao Zhangkong and the rest of the bandits have committed many evil deeds. This time, Black Wind Stronghold must be destroyed!"

Chu Tianyu spoke in a low voice, then changed the topic, "Although my four junior sisters are powerful, their combat experience is far from that of the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold. "Originally, I could have suppressed the others, but now, I have to deal with Cheng Shan …"

"Then let's go together."

Zhou Qing naturally understood what Chu Yu meant. His heart moved and he grinned, "But after this is done, the points for this Demon Hunt Squad mission will go to me. I also want half of the spoils of war!"

Chu Tianyu frowned and thought for a moment before nodding her head, "Then it's a deal."

The reason why she had agreed to Zhou Qing's request was because she had her own reasons.

If Zhou Qing had truly played an important role, then she, Chu Tianyu, would definitely not be a petty person. Even giving away half of her spoils of war would not be a difficult task; if Zhou Qing was only a person with good looks, then there was a high chance that he would die at Zhao Zhangkong's hands.

After finalizing the plan, Zhou Qing did not say anything else. He found an ancient tree and sat on the ground, waiting for the operation to start.

Staring at Zhou Qing's slender back, a puzzled look appeared in Chu Tianyu's beautiful eyes.

For some unknown reason, she felt that this person's voice and figure were somewhat familiar to her. It was as though she had seen him somewhere before, but she was unable to recall where it came from.

But with his cultivation at the peak of the Spirit Condensation realm, how could there be a lack of memories? Could it be … just familiar?

As the night deepened, Zhou Qing was leaning against an ancient tree, recuperating. As for the people from the Crimson Nimbus Sect, they were sitting around a campsite not too far away from him and chatting.

"Zhao Zhangkong's methods are vicious, so you must be careful even if there's someone helping you."

The sounds of Chu Tianyu instructing could be heard.

"Senior, is that Song Zhangqing really reliable?"

The oval-faced young girl called Xiao Fei spoke with a tone full of doubt, "With his peak level of the Spirit Opening Realm, even if he had the ability to jump ranks, he could only deal with Wu Yong at most, right? "It's an exorbitant demand. I really don't know why eldest senior sister agreed to that …"

"Use your brain to think. The efficiency of completing nearly forty Earth rank missions in eight days is frightening. Is this Song Zhangqing really just a bit stronger?"

When Chu Tianyu's words came out, everyone else fell silent.

"Alright, take a good rest. I'll try my best to not let any accidents happen later."

After a pause, Chu Yu's voice turned cold, "Also, every bandit in Black Wind Stronghold bears a heavy debt of blood. At that time, your senior sister Bai Su's parents were killed by those beasts, so I do not wish to see any of them escape."

When he heard the name 'Bai Su', Zhou Qing's pupils shrank.

The main reason why he was despised by the world was because Bai Su was being tortured to death!

Those three Profound Heaven Sect elites had indeed died in Zhou Qing's hands. It was not to silence them, but because those three people were the real culprits behind Bai Su's death!

That day, Zhou Qing had seen the latter being slaughtered by the three of them. In a fit of rage, he had used a lightning-fast method to eliminate the three scum.

But after that, he was framed by Zhou Xuelang and his fiancee, Lan Mingzhu. He had long since become a devil.

On the surface, it looked simple. It was nothing more than Zhou Xuan, Lang, and Lan Mingzhu colluding together to frame Zhou Qing, but after careful consideration, there were still many parts that were shrouded in mist.

As Zhou Qing was pondering, he heard the voice of another Crimson Nimbus Sect disciple.

"Speaking of which, if Senior Bai hadn't gone out, she wouldn't have been harmed by that bastard Zhou Qing …"

"How can there be so many ifs in the world? Elder Dong summoned Sister Bai that day because he must have something important to do. "

Another female disciple followed up.

"Speaking of which, the relationship between Senior Bai and Elder Dong was only average. Why did they …"

Xiao Fei Fei was perplexed, but she was interrupted by Chu Tianyu before she could finish her sentence.

"Shut up!"

"From today onwards, no one is allowed to bring up Bai Su's matter." If you do it again, we'll lock you in for three months! "

Chu Tianyu's tone was cold, and Xiao Fei and the other disciples immediately went silent, not daring to say another word.

"Red Dust Sect, Elder Dong …"

Zhou Qing muttered to herself as she secretly noted down this person. Once she was done with the matters at hand, it was necessary to investigate this person thoroughly.

It was a moonless night.

The Heavenly Calamity Forest had ancient trees that reached into the sky to begin with. When dawn arrived, the entire ancient forest had completely vanished into the darkness. It was quiet and deep.

Zhou Qing and the other members of the Crimson Nimbus Sect, borrowing the darkness of the night, stealthily made their way towards the Calamity Calamity Mountain, heading to the Black Wind Stronghold at the top of the mountain.

"Let's kill the Magic Bandit first. We have to be fast. We have to try our best not to alarm Zhao Zhangkong and the others before we take care of them."

Chu Tianyu's expression was grave as he explained the strategy behind it while flying.

Her Spiritual Awareness was strong and she could check the situation within the stronghold before the attack. However, she did not dare to use it recklessly at this moment. If Cheng Shan and the others were to notice, they would definitely be surrounded and attacked by the entire Black Wind Stronghold.

There was one peak, one mid stage, one early stage Soul Formation cultivator and more than thirty Spirit Demon bandits. Even though Chu Tianyu was confident, she still felt a sense of dread in her heart.

"Song Changqing, you should be able to kill some bandits with your Spirit Opening Stage, so you don't need to go in. Stay outside and guard it. If something happens, you won't be able to make it in time."

Hiding in the outer area of Black Wind Stronghold, Xiaofei suddenly lowered her voice and said.

Swoosh.

Zhou Qing didn't reply. With a tap of his toes, he disappeared without a trace. His figure flashed forward like a ghost.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the Black Wind Stronghold's gate, behind the two Demon Bandits responsible for keeping watch.

Puff puff!

The magic swords were like roaming dragons. Before the two bandits had time to react, Zhou Qing had already pierced through their foreheads and they fell limply to the ground.

"Enter the stronghold."

After cleanly taking care of the two people, Zhou Qing sheathed his sword and said a few words before walking into the Black Wind Stronghold.

"Like I said, he's not that simple."

Chu Tianyu's beautiful eyes lit up.

The two bandit guards were both late stage Spirit Opening Cultivators and were not weak, but they were instantly taken care of by Zhou Qing.

His moves were decisive and his sword moves were sharp. An ordinary peak Awakened Soul Cultivator would not be able to do something like this!

Xiao Fei was stunned, she finally stopped looking at him with contempt.

The Black Wind Stronghold was built on the summit of the Heavenly Calamity Mountain, and its area was comparable to a small village. After entering the stronghold, everyone split up and rushed to every corner with tacit understanding.

Killing the ordinary bandits first, and then destroying Zhao Zhangkong and the other two. This was a well-planned strategy.

However, at this moment, Zhou Qing suddenly frowned.

Something was wrong.

Even though it was late at night, the Black Wind Stronghold was too quiet. Aside from the two demonic bandits guarding the entrance, there was no one else in sight.

The bandits here were all cultivators, how could they sleep so soundly in the middle of the night?

With a grim expression on his face, Zhou Qing's figure flashed as he snuck into the nearest house.

The house was dark and empty.

Zhou Qing moved like a ghost, entering two more rooms in a row. Without exception, he did not find any traces of the Demon Bandits.

"Senior Sister, please save me!"

Suddenly, a mournful scream resounded through the Black Wind Stronghold. Zhou Qing's heart thumped as he dashed out. When he saw the scene outside, his face instantly darkened.

This was a bald brawny man wearing dark colored armor. His figure was tall and sturdy, his muscles were knotted, and he was like an iron tower. His entire body surged with a brutal spirit energy aura.

The Black Wind Stronghold's chief, Zhao Zhangkong!

A cold sneer hung on Zhao Zhangkong's face as his right hand clasped around the jade neck of a Crimson Nimbus Sect disciple.

This disciple's cultivation was also at the early Spirit Condensation stage. After being captured alive by Zhao Zhangkong, her face flushed red, but she was unable to resist at all.

"You guys only dared to come up after waiting for so long. You really are cowards."

The expression on the faces of the Crimson Nimbus Sect's disciples changed drastically when they heard Zhao Zhangkong speak.

Obviously, their tracks had been exposed. These bandits had been waiting for them to fall into their trap!

"Zhao Zhangkong, let her go."

Chu Tianyu's face was icy cold and the spirit energy around her body surged. A powerful aura belonging to someone at the peak of the Soul Condensation Realm was slowly released.

"Tsk tsk, it's better to see than to see. Fairy Qinglian, ranked seventh on the Hundred Flowers List, is indeed extraordinary in her charm. She's so beautiful even when she's angry …"

Zhao Zhangkong unrestrainedly swept his gaze over Chu Tianyu's delicate body. His eyes were lustful as he licked his lips with his crimson tongue.

"As long as Fairy Maiden Qing Lian is willing to accompany me for a night of Spring Festival Gala, I will agree to any conditions …" What do you think? "

"You are courting death."

The killing intent in Chu Tianyu's beautiful eyes surged, and in the next instant, like a ray of light, she charged towards Zhao Zhangkong!

The sword was unsheathed and Chu Yu's aura had risen to its limit. The chilling killing intent caused Zhao Zhangkong's expression to change and he couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Chu Yu was at the peak of the Spirit Condensation realm and not someone he could contend against.

"Master!"

Boom!

Before Zhao Zhangkong could finish his sentence, a saber light slashed towards Chu Tianyu from the side.

The saber light was ten feet long and flickering with electricity. It was like a clap of thunder!

Chu Yu's pretty face changed color and he swung the sword in his hand diagonally, clashing with the blade light. In that instant, a terrifying impact exploded out, forcing her to take a step back before she managed to stabilize herself.

A malevolent looking old man in his sixties walked over and stood between Chu Tianyu and Zhao Zhangkong.

The old man held a long and sharp saber in his hand. The blade was engraved with two mysterious inscriptions, and a faint electrical light circulated around it. It was a mid-grade magic tool. The formidable blade light from before was precisely the slash made by the saber.

Magic tools were different from ordinary black iron weapons. Only cultivators at the Spirit Realm or above could condense magic power to inscribe inscriptions and refine magic tools.

Similarly, magic tools were divided into lower, middle, and upper grade. There was an inscription pattern of lower grade, two to three of them were middle grade, and four of them were upper grade.

However, due to the lack of spiritual energy, Spirit Opening Realm cultivators could only be used as normal weapons even if they had a magical equipment. However, it was harder than normal weapons forged from darksteel, and Zhou Qing was no exception.

Only those who had reached the level of Soul Condensation were qualified to use magic tools and talismans.

When facing an enemy, infuse spirit energy into the magic tool to activate the inscription pattern, and its power will increase exponentially.

But activating an inscription would consume an extremely terrifying amount of spirit energy.

Normally, even if an early stage Soul Formation cultivator used all of their spiritual energy, they would barely be able to use the full power of the inscription pattern. Only by increasing their cultivation would they be able to gradually unleash its power.

As a result, as peak Soul Condensation experts, Cheng Shan possessed a medium-grade magic tool saber, whereas Zhao Zhangkong and Wu Yong used ordinary darksteel weapons.

"Rushing Thunder Saber Cheng Shan!"

Chu Tianyu's expression was grave, as though he was about to face a great enemy.

Although Cheng Shan had only broken through ten days ago, his Rushing Thunder Saber Technique had become famous for many years. It was fierce and sharp, and there were many ghosts under the saber. He could be considered an expert of this realm.

Even though Chu Tianyu was also a peak Soul Formation cultivator and a Heaven's Pride of the Crimson Nimbus Sect, she had not been able to reach this level for too long, so it was somewhat difficult for her to go against Cheng Shan.

"Master, I'll be troubling you with this woman."

Zhao Zhangkong saluted respectfully. Hearing what was said, Cheng Shan nodded his head slightly. The narrow falcon's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"Red Dust Sect …" will not... I'll let you off! "

Suddenly, the disciple who was being pinched by Zhao Zhangkong's throat angrily threatened with a flushed face.

"Stupid."

Zhou Qing who had been silent the entire time frowned. Without any hesitation, he stealthily approached.

If it was any other cultivator, they might have been affected by the Red Dust Sect and would not have dared to act against Chu Tianyu and the others.

However, Zhao Zhangkong and Cheng Shan had been both master and disciple for many years. They had at least a hundred lives on their hands and had long since put their heads in their pockets. Thus, they did not care about such matters.

As expected, just as the disciple finished speaking, a sinister sneer appeared on Zhao Zhangkong's face.

"Stupid woman, you still dare to threaten me at a time like this?"

Killing intent exploded in Zhao Zhangkong's eyes as he attempted to crush the throat of this female disciple.

Suddenly, a change occurred.

A slender figure flashed like lightning, and appeared before Zhao Zhangkong in the blink of an eye, thrusting a sword at his chest.

It was Zhou Qing!

"Idiot at the peak of the spirit realm."

Sensing Zhou Qing's Spiritual Energy fluctuations, Zhao Zhangkong coldly snorted and casually struck out with his palm towards Zhou Qing's Magic Sword.

A cold light flickered in Zhou Qing's eyes. In the instant that Zhao Zhangkong's palm struck out, he suddenly retracted his sword and threw out a punch, which smashed into Zhao Zhangkong's right shoulder.

Bang!

Zhao Zhangkong hadn't expected Zhou Qing's real target to be his captive, but he was caught off guard and struck back with his fist. Zhao Zhangkong subconsciously released his grip.

Zhou Qing directly grabbed the collar of the female disciple, turned around, and flew back. He then threw the female disciple, who was already frightened to death, down.

"Thank you, Young Master Song!"

Chu Tianyu was pleasantly surprised. Just now, she had wanted to forcibly save Zhou Qing, but she had not expected that Zhou Qing would move even faster than she did.

"Bastards, little ones, kill them for me!"

"If you kill one, you will be rewarded with ten Spirit Dans!"

Having been set up by Zhou Qingyin, Zhao Zhangkong's fury flared and he roared.

A pair of palm-leaf fans suddenly clenched, a pair of black iron fists completely covered his two palms, and a tyrannical aura of the middle stage of the Spirit Condensation realm swept out.

"Kill!"

A roar suddenly rang out from all directions, and the Black Wind Stronghold bandits that had been hiding for a long time rushed out, surrounding Zhou Qing and the others.

At the same time, Cheng Shan came slashing at Chu Tianyu with his saber. Zhao Zhangkong also charged at Chu Tianyu along with another middle-aged man with a pair of hooks in his hands. He was menacing and filled with a violent killing intent.

Grasping the sword at an angle, Zhou Qing surveyed his surroundings, his eyes slightly narrowing as a cold and dangerous light flashed through them.

Perhaps, with these people as sparring partners, it would be enough for him to break through to the first level in a flash.