Lin Dan stood on the beam, looking down with a deep frown. Rather than calling this a secret chamber, it was more accurate to describe it as a blood pool. The bright red blood seemed to have been heated, bubbling up with a thick, nauseating stench. Next to the blood pool was a massive stone mill, where several guards in red robes were using shovels to stir the mill’s trough. After a while, they unearthed many white bones and strands of hair.

Once the mill trough was cleared, one of the guards asked, “Have the medicinal ingredients been delivered? The City Lord can’t wait any longer!”

“They’re here, they’re here. I’ll fetch them right away.” Two guards quickly ran out, and after a short while, returned carrying a wooden basin. Lin Dan took a closer look and a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. The basin was filled with newborn babies, packed tightly together like a writhing mass of maggots.

The leading guard walked to the basin, frowning. “Why are there so few? If today’s medicinal ingredients aren’t enough, what will we do when the City Lord blames us?”

“The Livestock Palace is full of old stock so their production rate is declining. They’re doing their best. Perhaps we should send the Black Guards to capture more livestock and notify the city’s residents to increase their tribute of medicinal ingredients from one per year to three. What do you think?”

“Three per year is still too few. The City Lord is on the verge of a breakthrough and requires more medicinal ingredients. Sort out the dead ones to avoid contaminating the blood pool. Once they’ve cleaned up here, throw the medicinal ingredients into the mill.” The red-clothed guard pointed to the giant stone mill.

“Alright, you can leave if you have other matters. I’ll watch over things here.”

This conversation carried a wealth of information, making even the usually indifferent and emotionless Lin Dan seethe with anger. It turned out that the children born to the women in the dungeons were brought there, thrown into the mill, and ground into blood slurry, which was then poured into the blood pool for the City Lord of Bulao City to cultivate his/her sinister arts. How utterly monstrous!

She gripped the Asura Blade tightly, slowly crouching down like a beast ready to strike. On the opposite side, Bai Yan stood with furrowed brows and a cold gaze. The red-clothed guards, oblivious to the danger, continued to pick out the dead infants from the basin, discarding them to the side.

The remaining infants had just been born and were still breathing, their bluish-purple limbs trembling slightly as they let out faint cries. Lin Dan had already pressed her body down low, ready to spring into action and slaughter these fiendish devils. But just then, a stone door at the edge of the blood pool suddenly opened and two maids pulled back a curtain, supporting an extraordinarily beautiful woman as she slowly walked in.

“Greetings, City Lord.” The red-clothed soldiers knelt down in unison.

“Rise. Is today’s medicinal ingredients ready?” The woman disrobed and stepped into the blood pool.

“City Lord, there’s still some missing. We will prepare them immediately.” One of the red-clothed guards responded nervously.

“What time is it now? Hurry up!” The woman’s expression of enjoyment instantly turned ferocious. With a slight flick of her fingers, she drew an infant from the basin into her palm, bringing it to her lips as if she intended to devour its flesh and drink its blood.

At this sight, Lin Dan could no longer hold back. She kicked off with her toes and launched herself at the woman, the Asura Blade in her hand shining with a blinding light.

Bai Yan, who wanted to observe the woman’s martial arts and capabilities, felt a pang of reluctance but ultimately refrained from moving. However, he never anticipated that Lin Dan would be unable to wait even a moment, striking out in the blink of an eye.

The woman was no weakling. She quickly leaped out of the blood pool upon sensing the disturbance and struck the boiling blood with a palm, raising a wall of blood in an attempt to block Lin Dan’s attack. Lin Dan cut through the blood wall, advancing straight ahead with a feigned strike that forced the woman to drop the baby. She then leaped up, caught the falling baby, and wrapped it in a piece of the curtain she had torn off.

“Who are you?” The woman unleashed a series of palm strikes, but Lin Dan evaded them all. It was only then that the woman realized her opponent was a half-step grandmaster, with skills on par with her own. Hastily, she donned her clothes and retrieved a pill from a hidden pouch, swallowing it. Her already formidable aura surged, and her palms began to faintly emit a black glow.

“Beware of her poisonous palm.” Bai Yan, who had been watching from the beam, warned.

The woman finally noticed the presence of another person in the chamber, her heart filled with shock and fear, making her attacks even more vicious. She specialized in the use of poison and the red-clothed guards who were swept by her palm wind all turned into puddles of black blood, their bones dissolving without a trace. Although Lin Dan was unafraid of poison, if she were to lose an arm or a leg to the toxin, while her vital energy could heal the wound and expel the poison, it wouldn’t miraculously regrow her limbs. Moreover, she was holding a barely alive newborn in her arms. She couldn’t fully unleash her sword techniques and was forced to dodge the woman’s strikes in the cramped chamber, appearing quite beleaguered.

Bai Yan remained on the beam, not joining the fray.

After dodging another palm strike, Lin Dan secured the child in her arms and then fiercely slashed at the ceiling. With a thunderous crash, the granite chamber was split open and a beam of white light poured in, dispersing the heavy scent of blood. The woman, unaccustomed to sunlight after staying underground so long, instinctively shielded her eyes with her arm. Lin Dan seized this opportunity to leap onto the ground above, coldly declaring, “Come and fight!”

The woman gritted her teeth and followed Lin Dan up, continuing their battle. One was a poison master, difficult to approach; the other wielded a blade with fierce and deadly precision, adept at both close and long-range combat. The fight was evenly matched, with neither able to gain the upper hand. The red-clothed guards who arrived to assist their City Lord were either turned into pulp by the poison palms or cleaved in half by the blade’s aura. Over time, none dared to approach the two half-step grandmasters locked in combat.

Bai Yan leaped onto the ground and found a high vantage point to observe the situation.

The woman’s power was still surging, while Lin Dan, protecting the child, gradually began to struggle in comparison. Fortunately, her martial arts were unique, so even if she was struck by the woman’s poisonous palm, it did not cause significant harm. For the moment, the woman could do nothing to her. Unable to kill Lin Dan, the woman swallowed another pill, and with a flicker, she vanished without a trace.

Lin Dan’s strike hit nothing, but she did not panic. She immediately turned around, holding her blade horizontally to block. As expected, the woman reappeared behind her but failed in her sneak attack, only managing to strike the Asura Blade before disappearing again with a cold laugh. No one knew where the woman might appear next. Her poisonous palm was already difficult to deal with, and now, combined with her ghost-like speed, she was like a tiger that had grown wings.

Lin Dan swung her blade several times, all in vain, and was even ambushed a few times, causing her to spit out black blood. Clearly, she had sustained severe internal injuries, yet her expression showed neither panic nor fear. She stared intently at the woman’s feet, then calmed her mind and moved in sync with the woman’s steps. When the woman stepped toward the Kun^[1]southwest position, Lin Dan also stepped toward the Kun position. When the woman moved to the Li^[2]south position, Lin Dan did the same. Gradually, an image of the Bagua^[3]regarded in feng shui as a pattern determining the significance and auspicious qualities of spatial relationships; a Chinese martial art in which movements are focused on a circle and the defense … Continue reading diagram emerged in her mind, aligning with the woman’s movements, and she began to discern the pattern.

In truth, the woman’s movements were simple, merely using the transformations and illusions of the Bagua to conceal her form. Once Lin Dan understood the pattern, she only needed to take a single step to predict where the woman would appear next.

After the woman disappeared again, Lin Dan suddenly turned sideways and unleashed a ferocious slash into the air. The sharp blade aura cut through the void, but there was no target ahead, only a wall that would be struck.

Seeing this, Bai Yan couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

However, Lin Dan’s strike, which exhausted all her energy, did not miss. The woman had somehow appeared in front of the wall, and upon seeing the oncoming blade aura, the smug expression on her face instantly turned to despair. It was too late to dodge. She let out a short scream before her head flew high into the air, then fell with a thud, a stream of blood spraying onto the wall behind her. The blood slowly emitted white smoke, corroding a large hole in the wall. Even the woman’s blood was laced with deadly poison, showing just how difficult an opponent she was. Yet, faced with Lin Dan, who was immune to all poisons, she could only consider herself unlucky.

Lin Dan didn’t spare a glance at the woman’s mutilated body and jumped straight down into the underground palace.

Bai Yan followed her down.

Lin Dan landed in the blood pool and stood firm. Bai Yan, with a sweep of his wide sleeves, lightly tapped the air and leaped onto a beam, watching the person soaking in the blood pool from above.

Lin Dan plunged the Asura Blade into the bottom of the pool, allowing it to absorb the blood freely, while she sat cross-legged in the blood to cultivate. Her eyes were closed, her face serene, and she still held the newborn baby in her arms. Before entering meditation, she even drew a thread of life energy to infuse into the baby, preventing his death. However, this slight reduction in her life energy meant that the death energy around her tore at her more fiercely.

Bai Yan continued to stand on the beam and watched her with his hands behind his back, appearing calm and composed, though his eyes gleamed with sharp intelligence. Lin Dan had killed hundreds today, and now, soaking in thick blood, could she still maintain her usual clarity and restraint? After today, would the world gain another Asura?

While he pondered, He Yufei ran in with a blood-stained sword. Seeing Lin Dan meditating in the blood pool, she was first startled, then her expression turned hateful, and without thinking, she swung her sword to strike.

“What are you doing?” Bai Yan jumped down from the beam and caught the tip of the sword between his fingers.

“Master, can’t you see she’s cultivating demonic arts? She stood by and did nothing to save anyone, and she’s killed so many people. Go outside and see for yourself, the rivers are running red with blood!” He Yufei shouted in fury.

“She killed those who deserved to die. Besides, if she had truly stood by and done nothing, how could you be standing here unharmed now?” Bai Yan certainly wouldn’t neglect his disciple. While searching for Lin Dan, he had already checked the dungeon, discovering that Lin Dan had extinguished the lamps laced with drugs, shattered the chains of the cells, and even opened a vent, allowing the women inside to recover their strength. Only then had he moved on without delay.

With Lin Dan drawing attention outside, the unguarded women naturally regained their strength and could escape. Even if they didn’t, staying in the dungeon was safe for the time being, and once Lin Dan cleared the area, they could walk out openly.

He Yufei had indeed been saved by Lin Dan. Otherwise, she would have already been defiled by those two beasts. She couldn’t find words to refute Bai Yan. Even so, she didn’t know why, but she simply couldn’t stand Lin Dan, and even deeply feared her.