Chapter 173: Zhao Liepeng Unworthy of Being Thunderfire Sect Master

Shen Mo lifted his gaze, but he wasn’t looking at Zhao Wu. Instead, his eyes fell on the woman lying in a pool of blood.

He raised a low-grade spiritual stone in his hand.

“I’ll accept this commission.”

A look of relief and gratitude appeared in the woman’s eyes.

She struggled to open her mouth, wanting to say something.

But she had lost too much blood and no longer had the strength to speak.

Her lips moved slightly, mouthing a silent “thank you.”

Moments later, life quickly drained from her body.

The maternal warmth in her gaze gradually faded into emptiness.

The young cultivator shifted his focus, now looking at Zhao Wu and the other two men before him.

“Elder?” the short, stout cultivator muttered in a low voice.

Zhao Wu replied coldly, “He’s just a mere Core Formation cultivator. If he insists on meddling in this, I don’t mind getting my hands a bit bloodier.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a choking sound echoed beside him.

Zhao Wu froze for a moment and looked to his side.

The tall Thunderfire Sect disciple beside him stared in disbelief.

The masked young cultivator had somehow appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.

Drawing the long blade from the disciple’s waist, Shen Mo stabbed it repeatedly into his abdomen.

He shattered the dantian!

He destroyed the foundation platform!

He pierced the internal organs!

Squelch, squelch.

Scarlet blood sprayed everywhere.

Despite being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, known for their strong vitality, blood quickly stained the ground, pooling into a large puddle.

“E-Elder, save me…” The tall disciple looked at Zhao Wu in pain and despair.

Zhao Wu roared in fury, “Let him go!”

As he spoke, he suddenly sent a palm strike.

In an instant, spiritual energy surged and connected with the surrounding energy, forming a massive hand.

However, just as he was about to strike down, his vision blurred.

Shen Mo’s figure had disappeared again.

Anger and shock filled Zhao Wu’s mind as he heard a scream behind him.

He whipped around.

There, he saw the short, stout disciple’s sword had been taken.

Squelch, squelch!

Once again, the long blade plunged deeply into the disciple’s abdomen.

Blood gushed out.

The stout disciple’s face twisted with extreme terror, but as the fear reached its peak, it morphed into fury.

In a desperate attempt, he grabbed Shen Mo’s arm tightly.

Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Elder… I’ve got him! Hurry… make your move!”

Zhao Wu roared in anger, slamming the massive palm down with all his might!

Boom!

The ground shook violently.

Dirt and stone fragments flew into the air, shrouding the surroundings in dust.

With a casual wave of his hand, Zhao Wu summoned a gust of wind, blowing the dust away.

On the ground, a massive palm imprint was revealed.

At the bottom of the imprint was a heap of indistinguishable flesh and blood.

Zhao Wu froze for a second.

He could tell—it wasn’t two people in that heap, only one.

“Zhao Wu, it’s your turn.”

A chilling voice came from behind, making Zhao Wu’s scalp tingle.

Without hesitation, Zhao Wu immediately activated a defensive martial technique.

A shield of condensed wind formed behind him.

However, once again, he was wrong.

The opponent’s attack didn’t come from behind but from the front.

Shen Mo casually thrust his blade, precisely stabbing Zhao Wu’s dantian.

It was as if a dam had broken.

Spiritual energy began leaking out from the breach uncontrollably.

Zhao Wu’s pupils shrank instantly.

The tall disciple nearby let out a furious roar, using every last bit of his strength to throw himself at Shen Mo, grabbing hold of him.

“Elder, run! I’ll… hold him back, buy you some time!”

Blood spewed from the disciple’s mouth, but he tightened his grip, trying to restrain Shen Mo.

Even if only for a single breath.

Zhao Wu felt a surge of emotion. He immediately gathered what little spiritual energy he had left, intending to use a movement technique to flee.

He had realized now—this man was someone he couldn’t possibly fight against.

He had to escape!

The farther, the better!

But he was wrong again.

That disciple couldn’t even hold Shen Mo back for a single breath.

Shen Mo strode forward without hesitation, his body vibrating slightly.

The tall disciple’s limbs exploded into a mist of blood.

In an instant, he collapsed to the ground, reduced to a limbless stump of a person.

Zhao Wu was just about to use his movement technique when Shen Mo flicked his fingers lightly. A streak of spiritual energy shot out, shattering Zhao Wu’s kneecap.

Thud.

Zhao Wu dropped to one knee on the spot, terror filling his eyes.

Without hesitation, he dropped to both knees and kowtowed heavily to Shen Mo.

Thud, thud, thud.

His forehead quickly became a bloody mess.

“I was blind and didn’t recognize a towering figure like you! Please, spare my life!”

“I am an elder of the Thunderfire Sect! As long as you let me live, I can offer you anything you want!”

“I beg you to treat me like a fart and let me go!”

“I’ve repented! I’ve realized my mistake! I shouldn’t have followed Zhao Liepeng’s orders, using those children to cultivate Blood Infants!”

“From now on, I swear to do good and be a better person!”

After finishing his pleas, Zhao Wu kowtowed again and again, pounding the ground so hard that it left a deep imprint.

The villagers, witnessing this scene, were wide-eyed with shock.

A once-high-and-mighty Taoist elder of the Thunderfire Sect was now groveling on his knees like a commoner, begging for mercy?

“How could someone like you ever change? You won’t change. Death is your only outcome.”

Shen Mo looked down at him coldly.

He lifted his foot and stomped down viciously.

Splat.

Zhao Wu’s head burst like a watermelon.

Red and white matter splattered everywhere.

Shen Mo turned around and asked, “How are the two children?”

Before making his move, Shen Mo had already passed the twin children into Zhang Weihu’s care.

With his speed, it had been an easy task.

“Their eyes were shielded by my spiritual energy. They didn’t see a thing,” Zhang Weihu said with a deep breath, nodding in affirmation.

“Good. Let’s enter the village.”

Shen Mo walked briskly toward the village.

The villagers immediately dropped to their knees.

“Benefactor! Great benefactor!”

“Taoist master, thank you so much!”

Shen Mo’s expression remained unchanged. “Give that woman a proper burial.”

“These two children have spiritual roots. I will take them to the Qingxuan Sect. From now on, they are Qingxuan Sect disciples.”

The villagers’ eyes widened with joy and disbelief.

“Y-yes! Thank you, Taoist master from Qingxuan Sect!”

Shen Mo continued, “After the battle just now, all the second-rank demon beasts around the village have fled. You can live in peace from now on.”

The clash between Shen Mo and Zhao Wu had been equivalent to a fight between two fourth-rank beasts.

Sensing such powerful auras, the nearby second-rank demon beasts had fled in terror.

With those words, Shen Mo turned and left with Zhang Weihu.

“Thank you, young sect master. If I had come here alone today, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything,” Zhang Weihu said gratefully.

Shen Mo waved his hand. “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I just wanted to get out and take a walk.”

“As for the two children, you will be responsible for them. Their constitutions are quite good; they have great potential.”

Shen Mo had already assessed them with his life panel.

The twin girls had yin-aligned physiques, which was why Zhao Wu had targeted them as nourishment for his Blood Infant ritual.

Now that they had survived such a catastrophe, their future cultivation path would likely be smooth.

“Yes! I will not let the young sect master down!” Zhang Weihu replied with a firm nod.

Shen Mo returned to the Bamboo Tree Courtyard.

He pulled out Zhao Wu’s storage ring.

As he looked inside, his expression turned icy.

Inside the ring was a large vat.

The vat was filled with crimson blood.

Shen Mo didn’t need to guess—he knew the blood belonged to the innocent children who had been killed.

Just as Zhao Wu had mentioned, they were at the final stage of the Blood Infant ritual.

If they had taken the twin girls, within three days, the Blood Infant would have been fully formed.

At that point, the Qingxuan Sect cultivators in the Earth Fire Furnace would have lost their lives.

“You all could have become cultivators, stepping onto the path of immortality.”

“Zhao Liepeng…”

Shen Mo’s eyes gleamed coldly.

That man was truly unworthy of being the sect master!

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Madara Web Novel