Chapter 89:

After Wu Qingxin left, the strange red Li fire gradually weakened and didn’t turn into a raging fire.

Only a few piles of ashes were left in the same place, which were the ashes of two 5th rank martial artists.

Plus the three people who were burned to death beforehand, including Xu Cheng, the Soul Hook Hand, among the eleven people recruited by Star Xuan Envoy, nearly half were lost.

And Wu Qingxin’s only injury was caused by Qiao Mu risking his life to rush forward and burn her hands with Li fire.

"Don’t worry, both martial artists’ internal strength and cultivators’ magic power require a long time of rest to recover," said Star Xuan Envoy in a deep voice.

"Wu Qingxin is already a discarded child of the Xuantian Sect, so it’s impossible for her to have a large amount of elixirs for recovery."

"She has already consumed a lot, otherwise why would she have fled? When her strength is depleted, it will be time for her to be killed."

Did the Star Xuan Envoy of the Wuji Association plan to exhaust Wu Qingxin to death… No wonder he gathered ten people this time.

Qiao Mu had this thought in his mind, while his arm continued to emit internal strength, fighting against the burning Etching Bones Li Fire.

"Qiao Zhong, don’t move." The bearded swordsman’s expression became serious as he approached Qiao Mu with his sword, which shimmered with cold light. He stared closely at Qiao Mu’s arm.

In a flash of cold light, he quickly swung multiple consecutive strikes with his sword.

A large chunk of flesh entwined with Li Fire was forcefully carved out, causing Qiao Mu’s arm to become a bloody mess, with blood gushing out.

That large chunk of flesh, once separated from Qiao Mu’s body, burned away in the blink of an eye.

And on Qiao Mu’s bloody arm, the burning had also ceased, as if the precise strikes had cleanly separated the burning flesh from the relatively intact flesh and bones.

The bearded swordsman casually threw the long sword entangled with Li Fire, planting it in the ground, where it quickly deformed and twisted within the burning Li Fire.

"Wasn’t it said… that once entangled by Wu Qingxin’s Etching Bones Li Fire, one must cut off their arm to survive?" Qiao Mu was slightly surprised.

At first, he thought he was again being ignorant, but as he looked around and noticed that everyone, including the Star Xuan Envoy from the Wuji Association, was focused on the bearded swordsman, he snapped out of it.

The swordsman said calmly,

"Your inner strength is not bad. You can temporarily suppress the spreading of the Li fire. The fire hasn’t reached the bones yet, so there is still hope."

"Of course, I’m just giving it a try and I’m not certain. If I can’t stop the spread of the Li fire, then I’ll have to make another strike and cut off your arm."

"You’re amazing, my friend. Your sword skills are so precise, it’s like carving tofu with a dragon-slaying knife." The white-robed swordsman, Jade-faced Flying Dragon, also praised,

"It seems that those who dare to pursue Wu Qingxin all have their own unique skills."

"This swordsman has truly reached a high level in martial arts."

This swordsman’s hand is so steady and accurate.

It’s as if the legendary butcher, Pao Ding, is carefully slicing open Qiao Mu’s arm, fast and precise.

With each consecutive strike, not only does it cut through flesh, but it also avoids harming the bones.

With just one move, the serious injuries that could have crippled Qiao Mu were turned into minor injuries.

"These two are really tough. One dares to use a knife, and the other dares to just stand still and let him attack…" The strong man muttered to himself.

The hunting team this time was temporarily assembled by Star Xuan Envoy, and there wasn’t much communication or trust among the members.

However, the cooperation between the two during this mission surprised him.

"Old Hu, your knife skills are amazing." Qiao Mu swung his arm, which was still bleeding, and quickly bandaged it.

"It’s just some minor paths, nothing worth mentioning," Old Hu casually said.

"Didn’t someone from Tide Listening Building introduce you?"

"People from Tide Listening Building are well-informed. Only those who have achieved high rankings in Power, Strength, and Skill can truly be impressive."

"Compared to them, what does my modest knife skill amount to?"

"Power, Strength, Skill, can you explain them in detail?" Qiao Mu asked eagerly.

"Qiao Zhong, you’re not young anymore, how come you’ve never heard of this before? You’ve been training in martial arts behind closed doors for so many years," the swordsman was a little surprised but explained, considering Qiao Mu had just saved him from being attacked.

"In the old days of the martial arts world, they only vaguely distinguished between internal and external martial artists."

"Since the rise of the Martial Saint, the current martial arts world has gradually explored three paths in martial arts."

"The path of Blood and Flesh Martial Arts is pursued by a group of martial artists who constantly seek physical strength and vibrant energy. They possess great strength and are similar to the previous external martial artists." S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"The path of Internal Strength Martial Arts believes that internal strength is the foundation of a martial artist. Even in old age, as long as their energy and blood don’t decline too much, their internal strength can continue to grow. The older they get and the longer they practice, the stronger their internal strength becomes."

"Some of them even believe that as long as they break through the limit of their lifespan, they will eventually be able to compete with those cultivators by relying on their ever-growing internal strength."

"Just like the former head of the Qiao Family in Heyang City, who trained in the Long Life Fist to a profound level. Even in his eighties, his energy and blood remained vigorous, and his internal strength was incredibly powerful. He ranked in the top ten on the Strength List in the Tide Listening Building, known throughout the world."

"As for the path of Techniques and Skills Martial Arts, it’s like someone like me who specializes in studying extraordinary techniques and cunning moves, dedicating ourselves to mastering various martial arts skills to a high level."

"The most famous legend in the martial world is about an elderly martial arts master whose strength had declined with age, but his sword skills were extraordinary. He defeated a strong martial artist from the imperial court using only a wooden sword."



"Any martial artist who excels in strength, technique, and skill can earn a place on the top three rankings at the Tide Listening Building."

"Besides that, there is also a higher rank in spiritual refining martial arts, but I don’t know much about it…"

"Even someone like you, Old Hu, a martial artist of the fourth rank, couldn’t make it onto the rankings?" Qiao Mu asked hesitantly.

"Hehe, I’m just a beginner." Old Hu laughed and then said,

"Earlier, were you thinking about exchanging martial arts secrets with me, which made you push me away?"

"Yes," Qiao Mu blinked his eyes.

"That’s a terrible lie. There’s no such foolish person in this world." Old Hu shook his head.

"Weren’t you planning to read ‘the Art of Lovemaking’ for the world? How can such a grand ideal die here?" Qiao Mu casually remarked.

"…Do you really believe it?" Old Hu frowned for a while, then took out a few paperback books from his pocket and threw them at Qiao Mu.

Qiao Mu took a closer look, and all the titles on the books were not very serious, such as "The Art of Recognizing Scents," "Hard Hitting with a Big Stick," "Cloud Searching Hand of the Yellow Dragon," and so on.

"No matter what you think, now you and I are even." Old Hu, the swordsman, glanced at Qiao Mu’s right arm and calmly said:

"I don’t need your help, and you don’t need to meddle in this."

"…Alright." Although Qiao Mu wasn’t afraid of death, he didn’t want to put himself in unnecessary danger.

It’s better this way.

After all, this swordsman with a stubble beard seemed like a strange person. His sword skills were meticulous. What if Qiao Mu ended up being secretly saved by him and got into the same predicament as he did with Wang Songhe in the past?

At that moment, everyone had already taken care of their injuries and continued to chase after the Saintess.

As the sky grew darker and the mountain wind rustled, the leaves in the entire forest rustled along with it.

In the wind, there were faint and eerie cries like ghosts and wolves.

As they got closer, they saw a faint flickering fire beneath a distant big tree.

It was a middle-aged village woman in her forties or fifties, and her arm had accidentally touched that strange Li fire. It was now burning and she couldn’t help but scream in pain.

"It’s Wu Qingxin again… intentionally torturing people."

Qiao Mu’s gaze turned cold, and he was the first to rush forward.

"Stay still," he immediately shouted, reaching for the sword hilt at his waist.

He had learned from previous experiences with fire and knew that this Li fire burned fiercely. He needed to quickly cut off the person’s arm to avoid being burned to death.

However, just as Qiao Mu stepped forward, the woman with the burning arm had a look of fanaticism on her face that he couldn’t understand. She lunged towards him.

"Burning holy fire, consume my body. Protect our Saintess, I die without regrets…"

Qiao Mu’s eyes flashed, and in an instant, he stomped on the burning village girl’s stomach, crushing her under his foot.

But before him, there were more and more flickering flames.

"Sacred flame, burn my remains…"

In the wilderness, suddenly there appeared around forty to fifty people, their bodies aflame, their faces filled with fervor as they rushed towards him.

These dozens of people seemed like ordinary villagers, but it seemed as if Wu Qingxin had concealed their presence with some kind of magic, deceiving Qiao Mu’s sharp senses.

Looking back now, he only found that the bearded swordsman and the others were standing about ten steps away, with no intention to approach. Only he charged forward alone.

"He is too soft heart. It’s not easy to survive until this age in the world as it is today," Old Hu sighed softly.

They weren’t certain if this was a trap, but these few people were deeply involved with the Wuji Association and wouldn’t easily show kindness to save the burning village girl in the wilderness.

"So that’s how it is…" Qiao Mu’s face turned slightly cold as he trampled on the burning village girl.

He rushed forward to save people, knowing that he wouldn’t die, so he dared to step on traps and act recklessly.

"It turns out that no innocent person was tortured by that Wu Qingxin, only fools who were in cahoots with the tiger."

Qiao Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he swiftly swung the sword in his hand, beheading the village woman who was still reaching out for him with great effort.

He didn’t die because he was agile and quick to react, while the village woman really wanted to kill him.



"Although he shows mercy as a woman, it doesn’t seem like his condition is critical yet, not too serious." The bearded swordsman commented as he approached.

The burly Thunder Hand and others in the distance were wary of this Li fire and didn’t come close. They only drew their bows and threw hidden weapons from afar to kill these villagers who were on fire.

The bearded swordsman was the only one who dared to approach and engage in combat. He looked expressionless at the villagers and muttered:

"Ignorant people blindly worship gods and idols, their minds filled with teachings that can’t be saved. They must be killed!"

He had excellent sword skills and was able to enter the crowd of villagers on fire without getting a single spark on him.