After I made my declaration, no one said anything for several seconds. Everyone looked at me with varying expressions on their faces. The disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect looked grim. The cultivators from the local sect wore uncertain expressions. Meanwhile, the disciples from the Thousand Blade Sect glared at me. Well, not the one in my hold. He stared at me in fear.

  “You detestable fiend!” Cultivator Vivian yelled, a thunderous expression on her face. “How dare you run away from our duel and attack one of my comrades?!”

  I let out a malicious chuckle.

  “Duel?” I asked, feigning innocence. “What duel? I don’t remember agreeing to such a thing.” I snorted. “Even if I had, I’m a demon. Why would you take me at my word?”

  Cultivator Vivian looked like she wanted to strangle me.

  “I’m going to kill you.” The other disciple from the Thousand Blade sect snarled, the one in mid Foundation Establishment. “You disgusting-…”

  I cut him off by squeezing my hostage’s throat. A strangled sound emerged from his mouth.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, an edge to my voice, “What were you about to say?”

  The disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect clenched his jaw, but didn’t say anything.

  “I thought as much.” I said, before loosening my grip and allowing my hostage to breathe again.

  Cultivator Vivian took a deep breath, before schooling her face into a neutral expression. Her self control impressed me.

  “What do you want?” Cultivator Vivian asked in a flat tone.

  “Simple,” I said, “You are going to let my fellow disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect leave. I will stay here, to ensure you don’t try anything untoward. When enough time has passed, I will let your friend go and be on my merry way.”

  Cultivator Vivian and the other disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect narrowed their eyes at me, no doubt suspicious of my intentions. The other disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect stared at me in astonishment. I didn’t blame them. From their perspective, I was putting myself in considerable danger for their sake. They glanced at each other. Based on their expressions, I assumed they were having a telepathic conversation with each other.

  The two cultivators from the local sect seemed happy with this development. Of course they were. It would give them a chance to avenge their comrades. After all, I would be alone facing and surrounded by enemies. However, I was confident in my ability to escape. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made such a proposal in the first place. I wasn’t that self-sacrificing.

  “Don’t listen to him, Senior Sister Vivian!” My hostage blurted. “It’s a trick!”

  I squeezed his throat again to stop him from speaking further.

  “Quiet you,” I said. “You don’t get a say in this matter.” I looked at Cultivator Vivian. “Well? What is your answer?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me.

  “How do we know that we can trust you?” She asked. “As you said earlier, you’re a demon. We can’t take you at your word.”

  I shrugged.

  “You can’t,” I said. “I could make a heart demon oath, but I don’t want to. Not for a trivial matter like this. Regardless, if you do as I say, your friend may live. However, if you don’t, he will die. You know how strong I am. Snapping his neck would be child’s play for me.”

  Cultivator Vivian grimaced at that. She looked at the other disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect and the two of them proceeded to speak to each other through telepathy.

  ‘Brother Flamewind.’ A voice said in my head. I assumed it was the disciple from Puppet Master Pavilion. ‘We can’t in good consciousness leave you behind. If we band together, we can-’

  ‘If the three of you stay here, you will die,’ I responded, without turning my head towards him. However, I kept an eye on him with my spirit sense. ‘I have a way to escape. However, the three of you don’t. Otherwise, you would’ve used it already.’

  ‘You’re… right.’ He said in a bitter tone.

  ‘Just go. I’ll be alright.’

  A beat of silence passed.

  ‘Very well.’ The disciple from Puppet Master Pavilion said. ‘We shall do as you say. Thank you.” He gave me a martial salute. ‘My name is Ross. My companions and I will never forget this. If we all make it out of here alive, I shall give you all of the Violet Sand in my possession. It is the least I can do to repay the debt we owe you.’

  I didn’t respond. Instead, I just nodded. At the same time, Cultivator Vivian and her fellow disciple finished with their conversation.

  “Very well, Cultivator Flamewind.” She said with an unhappy expression on her face. “We accept your terms. We will allow those three to leave. Once they are gone, you will release my junior brother.”

  I noticed that she didn’t mention anything about letting me go. Not that it mattered. I expected as much and took it into account.

  “Thank you, Cultivator Vivian.” I said, nodding. “It’s a shame that our… duel ended this way. I would love to have a proper fight with you.”

  Cultivator Vivian crossed her arms and snorted, but otherwise didn’t respond. The other three disciples from the Dawn and Dusk Sect collected what remained of their weapons. Cultiv-Brother Ross gave me one last lingering look, before the three of them flew off. I watched them go with my spirit sense, while also keeping an eye on everyone else, just in case someone tried anything. No one did. Soon, Brother Ross and his companions left the range of my spirit sense.

  However, I kept my hands wrapped around my hostage’s throat, since I wanted to give Brother Ross and his companions as big of a head start as possible. The two cultivators from the local sect flew over to collect the bodies of their fellow disciples, the ones that I killed. They glared at me, their faces twisted into unsightly expressions, but they remained quiet. I assumed they were biding their time.

  Tension filled the air while we waited. Cultivator Vivian wore a calm expression, but the way she clenched her fists betrayed her true feelings. The other disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect didn’t bother hiding anything. He radiated killing intent, like a sword ready to be unsheathed. My hostage trembled, yet glared at me in defiance. I found it amusing, since he was the one in the least amount of danger here. After all, I planned on keeping my word.

  An hour passed in this manner.

  “That should be long enough, Cultivator Flamewind.” Cultivator Vivian said. “Release my junior brother.”

  The tension in the air went up a notch, and everyone readied themselves for the inevitable confrontation.

  “You don’t get to decide that, Cultivator Vivian.” I said. “I will release him when-”

  In the middle of my sentence, I charged towards the two cultivators from the local sect, dragging my hostage along with me. This caught everyone off guard, so they reacted a second too late. Afterwards, several things happened at once.

  When I drew close enough, I threw my hostage at the two cultivators from the local sect. He crashed into one of them and got entangled. The moment I let go of his neck, I activated my talisman and sped off in the opposite direction. To ensure that I didn’t leave it behind, I summoned my flying sword to my side and placed it in my storage ring.

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  Cultivator Vivian and the other disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect both attacked me. The former summoned another wave of water, which transformed into a rain of halberds, while the latter unleashed a barrage of wooden thorns.

  Thanks to my burst of speed, I managed to avoid almost everything. However, one of the halberds almost hit me. My bronze buckler blocked it, saving me from a serious injury. Unfortunately, one of the wooden thorns hit me at the same time. It embedded itself in my shoulder and a burning sensation started to spread throughout my body.

  Ugh, poison. Thankfully, my experiences with Ellen came in handy here. I used my inner qi to block the poison from spreading further. However, that was just a stop gap measure. I would deal with the poison after I made my escape.

  Once I cleared the attacks from both Cultivator Vivian and her companion, I sped off into the distance. My opponents gave chase. However, the ones in early Foundation Establishment soon fell far behind. The two in mid Foundation Establishment managed to keep up. I still pulled ahead of them, but not enough for my peace of mind.

  Damn it. I had underestimated their speed. While I had the battle prowess of a cultivator in mid Foundation Establishment, I was just in early Foundation Establishment. This meant that I fell behind in other areas, at least compared to those who actually were in mid Foundation Establishment. If it hadn’t been for my talisman, they would’ve already caught me. Still, there was nothing to do about it now except flee.

  Cultivator Vivian and her companion continued to chase after me. I pushed myself as hard as I could, but they managed to keep me within sight and within range of their spirit sense. Even so, I couldn’t give up now. When the talisman that increased my flight speed almost lost power, I pulled the other one out of my storage ring and slapped it onto my arm so I could keep fleeing.

  Afterwards, I pulled out a bottle of Antidote Pills and swallowed one. The burning in my shoulder lessened right away, though it didn’t go away. Still, at least the pills had some effect. Good. At least some things were going my way.

  The moment I had that thought, I noticed something speeding towards me from behind with my spirit sense. I swerved out of the way, just barely dodging the wooden arrow that almost impaled me. However, this reduced my speed somewhat.

  I looked back and saw the disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect, the one whose name I didn’t know, holding a bow magic treasure in his hands. Even as I watched, he pulled an arrow out of his storage ring and filled it with qi, before nocking it. A moment later, he released the arrow. I dodged this one as well, but doing so reduced my speed again.

  So, that was his plan. Force me to dodge and waste my speed. He must have figured out that I was relying on external help to stay ahead of my pursuers. Once that ran out, they would be able to catch up to me with no problem. I had to admit, it was a good idea, one that put me in a bad position.

  As the disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect fired arrows at me, one after the other, I kept dodging them. At the same time, I thought about how to get myself out of this situation. Things were not looking good. At this rate, they would catch up with me once my talisman lost power. Worst of all, I would be in poor condition to fight back.

  The fight earlier had taken a good portion of my inner qi. Not only that, but maintaining my flight drained it at a steady rate as well. I also had to keep the poison at bay. All in all, by the time my pursuers caught up to me, my reserves would be low.

  I faced a decision. Did I keep fleeing or did I turn around now and fight back? I snorted. As if there was any choice. Unless I got lucky, a fight was inevitable. Even if I consumed all of the Qi Restoration Pills on me and ran for as long as I could, I doubted that I would be able to shake off my pursuer. In that case, why waste any more time?

  After I made my decision, I consumed more Antidote Pills to purge the poison from my body. I also took some Qi Restoration Pills, in order to restore my reserves of inner qi. I would pay a price for consuming so many pills within a short amount of time, but that was something I would worry about later on, after I escaped from my pursuers.

  While I waited for the pills to take effect, the disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect kept firing arrows at me. This benefited me in the long run, since the more arrows he fired the less qi he would have when we fought.

  This went on for several minutes. The Antidote Pills neutralized the poison in my shoulder, to the point where I didn’t need to keep it at bay any longer. My shoulder still hurt, but that was something I would have to deal with. The Qi Restoration Pills replenished my reserves of inner qi, though not as much as I would like. However, I couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

  After making sure that I was in the best condition possible under these circumstances, I pulled every Shield Talisman that I possessed out of my storage ring, eight of them in total, and slapped them on my body. They formed a multi-layered magic barrier. I also activated my crimson robes, which was a defensive magic treasure that I received from Second Master, and added a ninth layer. I also pulled my flying sword out of my storage ring.

  As soon as I was done making my preparations, I turned around and started charging towards Cultivator Vivian and her companion. When the latter realized what I was doing, he started firing more arrows at me. I dodged most of them. However, some of them hit, since it was more difficult to avoid something I was heading towards than something I was moving away from. Each time an arrow hit me, it destroyed one of the layers protecting me.

  When I drew close enough, Cultivator Vivian summoned a wave of water and turned it into a rain of halberds. I weaved my way through them, though a few managed to hit me. Unlike with the arrows, it took more than one to destroy a layer of my magic barrier. By the time I made it through, less than half of the layers for my magic barrier remained.

  I roared and charged towards the disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect. By this point, he had put away his bow and pulled out a massive two-handed blade made of wood. It was a mid-grade magic treasure. I launched my flying sword towards Cultivator Vivian, to keep her distracted, while I used Wind Dash Shoulder Slam to close the distance with her companion.

  At the same time, I used the Living Candle technique. I felt it draining my vitality even as it increased my physical prowess. Either I would win in the next minute and live, or I would lose and die.

  The disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect yelled and swung his massive sword at me. When it hit me, it felt like being hit by a massive tree. My magic barrier mitigated some of the force, losing a layer in the process, but his blow still slowed down my charge; slowed down but didn’t stop. I slammed into him shoulder first. However, just before my shoulder connected, a magic barrier sprang to life around him and blocked me.

  I snarled when I realized that he used a defensive mystic art or had a defensive magic treasure on him. Of course he did. Only a fool would go without any form of protection. That thought didn’t abate my anger. I caught myself with my flying carpet, before I attacked the Thousand Blade Disciple with reckless abandon. I needed to end this fight as soon as possible, which meant throwing caution to the wind.

  My furious attacks forced the Thousand Blade Sect disciple back, leaving him unable to retaliate. He protected himself as best he could using his massive sword, but to no avail. I attacked too fast and too hard for him to mount an effective defense. His magic barrier protected him from harm, but it cracked under my assault. Soon, I would shatter it altogether.

  Unfortunately for me, he wasn’t alone.

  Cultivator Vivian attacked me from my flank. I tried to distract her with my flying sword, but it was like throwing pebbles into a lake. Her halberd slammed into my side, destroying another layer of my magic barrier and halting my momentum. I had two left. The Thousand Blade Sect disciple took advantage of this to swing his massive sword at me. I dodged his attack, though just barely.

  Together, the two of them put me on the back foot. Every time I tried to strike one of them, the other forced me back. It took everything I had just to avoid their attacks, even while using Living Candle. At this point, it was just a matter of time before I lost. The hollow feeling inside me grew stronger.

  Despite facing almost certain defeat, my spirit sang with joy. Or maybe it was because I faced almost certain defeat. This was the most dangerous situation I had found myself in ever since becoming a cultivator, yet I wanted to laugh. I still felt fear and panic, but not to an overwhelming degree.

  My heart beat against my chest like a drum. The sensation gave me an insane idea. Even as I used my spirit sense to notice my opponents’ attacks, I used it to focus on my own body. Following the rhythm of my heartbeat, I started dancing. My two partners were Cultivator Vivian and her companion. The three of us were locked in a deadly dance.

  I became attuned to my inner rhythm, and I used Air Reading to study theirs. The technique was imperfect and incomplete, but I couldn’t afford to hold anything back. If necessary, I would use Armor of the Celestial Warrior and reveal myself as a divine demon.

  The more we danced, the more attuned I became to my opponents’ rhythms. I became aware of their patterns, down to every minute movement, as well as their weaknesses. The Thousand Blade Sect disciple left himself open whenever he swung his massive sword a certain way. It was a small opening, but an opening nonetheless.

  I waited for the right moment. When the opening appeared, I attacked Cultivator Viviana with my flying sword, before attacking the Thousand Blade Sect disciple. My fist connected, but it was weak. Rather, it wasn’t as strong as it could be. There were mistakes in my form. I corrected those mistakes and hit him again, putting my entire being into the attack; I had entered the One With the Fist state.

  My fist shattered the magic barrier protecting the Thousand Blade Sect disciple, before I struck him in the abdomen. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew back. However, I paid for this since it gave Cultivator Viviana an opening to hit me with her halberd. She shattered another layer of my magic barrier, leaving only one.

  Cultivator Vivian pivoted and whirled her halberd around to hit me again. Rather than dodge or block it, I decided to meet it with my fist. Unlike during my training, I maintained the One With The Fist state instead of dropping out of it right away. My fist collided with her halberd, creating a shock wave that exploded out and knocked the two of us back several dozen feet.

  I snarled, ready to charge her again. However, before I could, I vomited blood. I checked my condition and I realized that I had crossed my current threshold for using Living Candle. When I entered the One With The Fist state, I had been so focused on attacking that I lost track of my vitality. That was the most terrifying part of using the technique. It didn’t cause any pain, at least not at first. By the time it did, it was already too late. If I continued using Living Candle, I risked suffering a serious injury.

  However, did that matter? If I lost here, I would die anyway. I might as well, go all out and die in a blaze of glory. With a maniacal laugh, I flew towards Cultivator Vivian.

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  This chapter was edited by Radriel7