Chapter 4820 — Signature Move

But something had been left behind where he had stood. Wei Zhao looked closer and gave a start—a bloody severed arm lay there on the ground.

Escaped? Wei Zhao was rather taken aback at the sight. Cultivators of the evil path really were a ruthless lot!

To shake off the Five Elements Killing Qi, he hadn't even hesitated to cut off his own arm. It was the simplest and most effective way, true enough, but few people in this world had the resolve to actually go through with it. Who would have guessed this Xishan great one was such a hard man!

Wei Zhao cast his gaze all around, but could no longer find any trace of the Xishan great one. Apart from that bloody severed arm on the ground, not so much as a drop of blood remained anywhere. It was as if he had evaporated into thin air.

"Looks like he really did get away..." A trace of regret surfaced on Wei Zhao's face. The Xishan great one clearly wanted him dead, and one way or another he had to be eliminated—otherwise he would only become a not-inconsiderable hidden danger in the future. Yet although Wei Zhao had seemed quite at ease a moment ago, the truth was that he had already brought out every trick he had and gone all out. Against an escape method like that, as if the man were cutting off his own wrist to save his body, there really was nothing he could do.

He swept his eyes around once more and found no further sign of anything amiss, so Wei Zhao at once prepared to continue on his way. Just then, a sudden change erupted.

From all directions, a mighty black qi surged into the sky, and the stench of blood and the reek of evil that seeped from it was enough to steal one's breath. The sky, bright as day only moments before, turned turbid in the blink of an eye, so dark you could not see your hand in front of your face.

Wei Zhao sensed trouble at once and, without the slightest hesitation, used the Super Butterfly Microstep to leave the spot. Just now he had all but crushed his opponent single-handedly, but even so he could not afford to be careless in the least. To underestimate the death-defying counterattack of any late Xuan Sheng cultivator was no different from suicide.

Although he was in the midst of darkness, the darkness could not sever his divine sense. Locking onto a direction, Wei Zhao flashed away. The speed of the Super Butterfly Microstep was beyond doubt; in a matter of moments he could shoot out more than ten li.

Yet strangely enough, no matter how he flashed about, Wei Zhao could never shake off the shroud of that black qi. A chill crept into Wei Zhao's heart. Surely this black qi could not be covering hundreds of li in every direction? What kind of terrifying strength would that take?

The thought had no sooner surfaced than Wei Zhao dismissed it himself, because his divine sense told him that the range covered by this black qi was at most five li. The only reason he could not shake it off was that whenever he moved, the black qi sped along with him.

But why was there no sign of the Xishan great one? Wei Zhao was secretly puzzled. He had not detected the Xishan great one's figure within the black qi; otherwise he would long since have greeted the bastard with Five Elements Killing Qi and thunderbolts again.

Could it be that the fellow had merely released this mass of black qi to trap him while he himself seized the chance to flee? It was not impossible. But if this black qi could move, then someone had to be controlling it from behind—surely the Xishan great one had not simply marked him and set the black qi to follow him forever?

"Then am I supposed to never see daylight again? That's just too damn much!" Wei Zhao was speechless at the thought. He could use his divine sense to probe his surroundings, and the black qi could not truly hinder his movements—but anyone stuck in this pitch-black environment for long would go mad. How was he supposed to face anyone like this?

Especially since the black qi was full of blood and evil. For a short while it might have no effect, but over time—who knew what dreadful side effects it might bring?

"Rest easy, you won't be needing daylight anymore, because you'll soon be going to see King Yan—hehehehe!" A blood-curdling voice suddenly rang out from all directions. It was none other than the Xishan great one, who had vanished without a trace.

Wei Zhao was startled. So the fellow had not fled at all—he had been hiding right beside him the whole time! But why had his divine sense not found him? Could it be that this black qi could not block divine sense, yet could produce an illusion, making his divine sense blind to the Xishan great one, who was practically right under his nose?!

"King Yan? We're not well acquainted. I'd trouble you to pass along my greetings first!" Wei Zhao kept his guard up against everything around him as he sneered, "I saw you throw away your own arm to save your skin and figured you were a clever man who knew when to advance and when to retreat. I never thought you'd have the nerve to stay behind and play ghost. Are all you evil-path cultivators so badly off in the brains department?"

"Hmph, you dog who knows not whether he lives or dies. Did you really think this old man would run?" The Xishan great one's voice was furious at once; Wei Zhao's words had clearly stung him. He ground his teeth and said, "This old man admits he underestimated you. A mere late Nascent Soul, and you drove me to this—drove me to cut off my own arm! All the better. Today this old man will open your eyes wide and show you the signature move of our Xishan Sect!"

"The signature move of the evil Xishan Sect? You mean cutting off your own arm? How impressive. Though I'm curious—just how many arms do you have? Train that a few more times and you'd have to quarter yourself!" Wei Zhao kept his guard up in secret while needling his opponent without mercy. So long as he could make the man hot-headed and furious, he would have a chance to find an opening and kill him with a single strike.

"Hehe, seems you really have never seen the world, not even knowing of our mightiest blood sacrifice. Then die with your eyes wide open!" As the Xishan great one's voice fell, the stench of blood in the black qi around them grew ever thicker and more pungent, and it even seemed on the verge of turning red. It felt as though one were mired in filth and gore—not only utterly nauseating, but every step was a struggle!

The jade pendant's warning blared out. Wei Zhao had no time to guess at what was happening; without hesitation he flashed away. But this time his movement technique was greatly impeded, barely reaching half its former speed, while the black qi that had turned to bloody filth clung to him like a maggot on the bone, impossible to shake off.

"Still thinking of running at a time like this? This old man paid the price of an arm to perform the blood sacrifice—you think you dog can still escape? There's a limit to how stupid and ignorant one can be! Hehehehe!" The Xishan great one laughed coldly.

Wei Zhao was frantic inside. This "blood sacrifice" the man spoke of sounded at once like a supremely evil and powerful technique—perhaps the very life-or-death trump card these evil cultivators kept at the bottom of their box. Even a cornered rabbit would bite, and this was a top-notch late Xuan Sheng evil cultivator besides; a man fighting for his life was truly no easy opponent.

If only he could lock onto the man's position, things would be fine. Relying on his inexhaustible true qi, Wei Zhao was not afraid to trade blows with the fellow; at worst it would be wound for wound, and he certainly would not come out the loser. (To be continued.)