togophonebook Chapter 80 The Mastermind
Chapter 80 The Mastermind
"Damn it! No wonder he's the head of a criminal gang; even his words are so sinister!"
The assassin cursed inwardly.
In that instant, he felt as if the roles had been reversed, and he was now the one being hunted.
What they fear most in their line of work is encountering such a ruthless character who is relentless and vindictive.
They won't negotiate with you at all; it's clear they're determined to fight to the death.
Knowing there was no room for maneuver, a resolute glint flashed in the assassin's eyes, and he held nothing back any longer.
He slammed his palms together, causing his fire-elemental spiritual power to surge wildly, and his body instantly erupted with scorching heat.
The moisture in the air evaporated rapidly, making a hissing sound, and sporadic sparks appeared out of nowhere, illuminating the surroundings in a crimson glow.
Li Qingyi felt a blast of hot air on her face and thought to herself:
"Looks like I'll have to learn some awesome magic too."
In the blink of an eye, countless crimson flames, under the assassin's control, transformed into dozens of flaming chains as thick as bowls, lashing out at Li Qingyi from all directions.
This isn't over yet! A fierce glint flashed in the assassin's eyes. He gripped a talisman in each hand, channeling his spiritual power into it, and hurled it fiercely at Li Qingyi, who was surrounded by chains of flames.
The talisman ignited as soon as it left his hand, transforming into two crimson pillars of fire as thick as an arm, which shot straight toward Li Qingyi's chest.
Li Qingyi's pupils contracted slightly.
Isn't that the Flowing Fire Talisman that I drew myself and sold to Lingbao Pavilion?
"Trying to hit me with my talisman?!"
Li Qingyi felt her heart bleeding; he was using her own money!
In a flash, Li Qingyi's aura suddenly shifted, and her sword energy erupted.
The sword energy he nurtured within his body surged and erupted like a mighty river, bursting forth instantly and transforming into a sky full of sword light.
The area that was originally reddened by the firelight was instantly turned snow-white by the incomparably sharp sword light.
Sword energy crisscrossed, emitting a sharp whistling sound as it cut through the air.
The massive chains of flame, and the two crimson pillars of fire powerful enough to melt gold and fossilize stone.
The moment they came into contact with this sword light, it was like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun; they couldn't even stir up a ripple before being completely shredded and annihilated by the overwhelming sword energy, turning into nothingness.
"This...this is impossible!" The assassin was dumbfounded.
Without hesitation, he turned to flee. What kind of Qi Refining Level 6 could be so exaggerated?
This is comparable to the late stage of Qi Refining!
Li Qingyi then pointed her fingers like a sword and gently slashed in the direction he was fleeing.
The sword flashed and the assassin was instantly cut in half at the waist, crashing heavily to the ground, his blood instantly staining the bluestone slabs red.
The commotion from the fight had already alerted the nearby residents.
Some of the bolder ones had just pushed open the courtyard gate when they saw this bloody and horrifying scene. They were so frightened that they turned pale, dared not breathe, and hurriedly shrank back into the house, tightly closing the courtyard gate, for fear of being caught in the crossfire.
Li Qingyi stood still, slowly withdrawing the sharp sword energy around her, feeling somewhat bored.
"I must say, your moves are quite flashy."
The crimson hue had dissipated, the sky had returned to clarity, and the sword's momentum had vanished into the air.
Li Qingyi stared at the dissipating sword energy and suddenly felt something.
The obscure description of the second level of "Sword Dao True Explanation," "Sword Qi Transformation," in my mind seemed to be gaining a vague understanding.
Li Qingyi tried to disperse the surging sword energy within her body, intending to integrate it into her eight extraordinary meridians.
"hiss……"
The intense pain made Li Qingyi gasp involuntarily.
If we compare the pain of cultivating the first level to being repeatedly run over by a motorcycle.
Trying to cultivate the pain of the second level is like being repeatedly run over by a car.
Just one word: Pain, pain, pain!
He immediately stopped this dangerous behavior.
Let the simulated version of myself practice.
Li Qingyi quickly walked up to the assassin, only to see that the man was barely breathing, his face filled with pain and resentment.
"Speak, who sent you?" Li Qingyi asked coldly, looking down at him.
The assassin let out a bitter laugh, blood continuously spilling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes unfocused.
"Heh...cough cough...now that things have come to this...do you think...I'd still say it?"
"I have plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead."
Knowing he was doomed, the assassin's eyes flashed with a cold glint.
Li Qingyi sensed something was wrong and retreated rapidly.
Almost the instant he stepped back—
Boom!!!
A deafening roar erupted in the alley.
The assassin's body exploded into a pool of blood mist on the spot, blasting a crater several meters deep into the ground.
"Cough cough..."
Li Qingyi waved her sleeve to disperse the billowing dust, a look of astonishment on her face.
He truly hadn't expected that someone who was trying to escape just a second ago would have the audacity to choose to self-destruct the next.
With a flick of his sleeve, he created a gentle breeze that dispelled the remaining smoke and blood.
At the epicenter of the explosion, only some charred rags and a storage bag riddled with cracks remained.
The next second, the storage bag shattered completely with a "bang".
The items stored inside were scattered all over the floor with a clatter.
"Holy crap! I got a loot drop!"
This vivid scene instantly reminded Li Qingyi of the online games she had played in her previous life, where she fought monsters and obtained materials, and she couldn't help but exclaim softly.
He glanced around and saw twenty or thirty glittering spirit stones scattered on the ground, along with four or five small porcelain bottles of various shapes, the contents of which he couldn't tell whether they contained pills or poisons.
"Tsk tsk tsk... Indeed, murder and arson bring wealth! Quite a haul!"
In high spirits, Li Qingyi flipped her wrist and, with a surge of magical power, collected all the valuable spoils on the ground into her storage ring.
"Twenty-three spirit stones, plus the fourteen left over from Qingkui selling talismans, and the two I originally had..."
He quickly tallied his assets, his eyes gleaming with even greater joy. "My total assets have now reached thirty-seven spirit stones! A new all-time high!"
Just then, a familiar female voice came from not far away:
"It's you!?"
Li Qingyi turned her head and saw Ling'er walking quickly from the alley entrance. Her beautiful eyes first swept over the traces left on the battlefield.
The lingering, sharp sword energy, in particular, made her furrow her brows.
"Where is Li Qingyi?"
Li Qingyi's lips twitched. "Aren't I right in front of you?"
He immediately realized that the lingering sword energy here was too vivid and could easily remind people of himself.
He quickly adjusted his expression and replied in a slightly distant tone:
"He had to leave, so I cleaned up the mess for him."
Ling'er already had a bad impression of this "Master Huanzhu" in front of her, and seeing his cold attitude, she naturally didn't bother to give him a good look either.
He simply gave a cold snort, too lazy to even ask the reason, and turned to leave.
Li Qingyi watched her departing figure and scratched his head helplessly.
He never quite understood why Ling'er was so averse to his pseudonym, "Master Huanzhu."
Now that she was well-off again, Li Qingyi didn't linger any longer.
With a flash, he sped off towards Huanzhulou.
Only after his figure completely disappeared and there was no further movement outside did the surrounding residents cautiously push open their courtyard gates.
The residents gasped in horror as they looked at the charred remains of the explosion and the still-wet bloodstains, their faces filled with lingering fear.
"A battle between immortal masters is truly terrifying..."
"Thank goodness, we weren't affected..."
"This place is uninhabitable, too dangerous. We need to find a new place and move right away!"
……
Inside the elegant Mingxiang Room of Luomei Residence.
Yu Die and Zhao Mengxi sat facing each other, with wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner.
Zhao Mengxi stretched out her slender fingers and absentmindedly plucked the strings of the guqin in front of her, producing a few out-of-tune notes. Suddenly, she chuckled softly.
"I never expected that this small city of Xuan Ce would harbor such a great figure as you."
Upon hearing this, Yu Die simply smiled gently, picked up her teacup, and took a small sip.
"Miss Zhao is too kind. I am merely a lodger here."
Zhao Mengxi's gaze shifted, looking at Yu Die with a hint of inquiry:
"Oh? Then what is the relationship between Miss Yudie and the new owner of Huanzhulou?"
"We met by chance, and our acquaintances were just casual acquaintances."
Just then, Zhao Mengxi seemed to suddenly sense something.
Her fingers, which were plucking the strings, suddenly stopped, and her face darkened abruptly. Her previous confident, charming, and composed demeanor vanished without a trace.
"In that case, Miss Yudie, I suddenly remembered that I have some mundane matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."
She abruptly stood up and left the private room.
Zhao Mengxi frowned, feeling extremely agitated.
"I never expected you to be so well-hidden; even a Qi Refining Level 6 assassin couldn't catch you!"
She sighed softly, "Why is it so hard to 'invite' you home?"
Things took a turn for the better than she had anticipated.
She originally thought that Li Qingyi's cultivation level was at most around the fourth level of Qi Refining, which is why she specifically found an assassin at the sixth level of Qi Refining.
The original plan was to severely injure him first, and then stage a "beauty saves the hero" scene.
Take the opportunity to get close to him, take care of him, win his favor, and finally find a way to use both soft and hard tactics to lure him back to the Zhao family.
Unexpectedly, the plan was completely stillborn before it even began.
"It seems... ordinary methods won't work." Zhao Mengxi paused slightly, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes, as a simpler and more brutal idea emerged:
"Should we... just find a Foundation Establishment cultivator and kidnap him?"