Chapter 15 Won't Let Go

Chapter 15 Won't Let Go
"Your head belongs to Elder Wang."
​The roar echoed from the crumbling stone roof above. Enforcer Lin plummeted through the dark night air like a falling meteor.
​He wielded a massive steel halberd with both hands. The heavy curved blade glowed with blinding blue martial Qi. He aimed directly for Ye Chen's exposed neck to end the fight instantly.
​Ye Chen did not panic or retreat. He stepped firmly into the dirt courtyard of the ruined temple.
​His newly forged martial instincts took absolute control over his body. He reached over his shoulder and ripped the thick gray rags away from his sword.
​He swung the heavy iron blade upward to meet the descending strike.
​The steel halberd clashed against the sword. The impact sent a terrifying tremor down Ye Chen's arms.
​His skeletal structure groaned loudly under the massive physical pressure. He knew perfectly well that his fragile bones would shatter completely in a prolonged duel against Enforcer Lin.
​He needed to end this confrontation in a single breath.
​Ye Chen did not try to overpower the Enforcer with raw physical strength. He shifted his grip slightly and pressed his empty left hand flat against the side of his own rusted blade.
​"Chaos Bone Shattering Fist," Ye Chen commanded his internal energy.
​He drove his knuckles directly into the flat metal of his own weapon.
​The shockwave traveled perfectly through the iron of his sword and directly into the steel halberd.
​The steel halberd shattered instantly into a hundred jagged pieces. The concentrated shockwave rushed straight up the Enforcer's thick arms and exploded violently inside his chest cavity.
​Enforcer Lin froze completely in mid air. His eyes bulged in horror as he realized his fatal mistake.
​His internal organs ruptured simultaneously from the immense pressure. He vomited a fountain of dark blood and collapsed heavily into the dirt. He died before his face even hit the ground.
​Ye Chen lowered his sword calmly. His breathing remained perfectly even in the quiet courtyard.
​He knelt beside the dead man and stripped the silver spatial ring from his thick finger. He erased the residual spiritual imprint easily with his own deep Qi reserves.
​He peered into the spatial dimension and found a massive pile of pure Spirit Stones. It was the perfect immediate replenishment for the heavy funds he had just spent at the underground auction.
​He secured the heavy lead box containing the corrupted manual inside the ring. He stood up and walked away from the corpse without a second glance.
​The journey back up the mountain was incredibly silent. The dense forest canopy blocked out the pale moonlight entirely.
​Ye Chen walked steadily along the steep dirt path toward the Azure Cloud Sect. His mind was entirely focused on the dark relic resting safely in his stolen spatial ring.
​He needed to find a secluded cave to begin studying the Nine Hells Devouring Art immediately.
​A sudden breeze drifted through the pitch black mountain pass.
​The crisp smell of pine needles vanished instantly. It was violently replaced by the incredibly heavy and sweet scent of exotic flowers.
​Ye Chen stopped walking immediately. He recognized the fragrance from the cavern perfectly.
​A figure stepped smoothly out from the deep shadows of the ancient trees.
​It was the woman in the sheer crimson dress from the Black Meeting. She was entirely alone in the dark wilderness. Her hulking armored bodyguard was nowhere to be seen.
​Ye Chen narrowed his eyes behind his white porcelain mask.
​He noticed her bare feet were not touching the dirt path. She was literally floating several inches above the jagged rocks. That feat required an unfathomably high cultivation base far beyond the Body Tempering stages.
​"Please help me."
​Her voice was incredibly soft and trembling with terror. She looked around the dark forest with wide fearful eyes.
​"The Black Meeting was raided by rogue bandits," she whispered desperately. "I was separated from my guards in the chaos. I am completely lost in these woods and absolutely terrified."
​She took a slow step closer to Ye Chen. She stumbled very deliberately over a raised tree root.
​Her crimson dress shifted to reveal her pale skin. The heavy floral smell in the air intensified massively around them.
The potent toxin was specifically designed to make male cultivators instantly pliable. It forcefully twisted their minds, making them completely obsessed with her.
​Ye Chen inhaled the sweet poison directly into his lungs.
​His Chaos Body Tempering Art reacted like a roaring furnace. The heavy golden Qi incinerated the floral toxin instantly before it could ever reach his brain.
​His mind remained completely clear and incredibly cold.
​He looked down at her fake vulnerable posture. He did not see a beautiful damsel in distress. He saw exactly what she truly was.
​She was just another venomous snake wearing human skin.
​Three years ago Ye Chen would have rushed forward to help a crying woman. He had literally given Su Rou his entire future and his innate Spiritual Bone because she smiled sweetly at him.
​Su Rou had taught him the ultimate lesson about beautiful women in the cultivation world. They only used vulnerability as a weapon to completely gut their prey.
​They feigned weakness merely to draw you close enough to strike your heart.
​Ye Chen did not offer his hand. He did not even take a single step forward to catch her.
​He simply stared down at her with dead and emotionless eyes.
​The woman in the crimson dress slowly stopped trembling. The fake fear vanished entirely from her beautiful face.
​She stood up perfectly straight. Her aura shifted instantly from a helpless victim to a highly dangerous predator.
​"You are incredibly interesting," she said smoothly. Her voice no longer held any trace of weakness or panic.
​"Your charm is completely useless on me," Ye Chen stated flatly. "State your true business or get out of my way."
​She smiled a very cold and calculating smile. She introduced herself simply as Hong Lian.
​"You do not need to hide behind that cheap porcelain mask Ye Chen," Hong Lian said. She crossed her pale arms casually over her chest.
​"I know exactly who you are. The entire capital underground is whispering heavily about the crippled servant who publicly humiliated Elder Wang at the Grand Assessment today."
​Ye Chen gripped the hilt of his rusted sword tightly. He prepared his internal energy to fight a vastly superior opponent.
​"I also saw you purchase the Nine Hells Devouring Art," Hong Lian continued calmly. "You are incredibly bold for a boy with absolutely no backing."
​"My purchases are my own business," Ye Chen replied coldly. "I do not answer to the unknown factions."
​"Learning a corrupted demonic manual will make you a permanent enemy of the entire cultivation world," Hong Lian warned him heavily. "The Azure Cloud Sect will eventually sense the demonic Qi in your meridians. They will purge you the moment they find out."
​She floated slightly closer to him. The pressure of her true cultivation base radiated heavily into the night air.
​"You cannot survive their inevitable crusade alone," Hong Lian declared firmly. "The righteous sects will hunt you to the ends of the earth just to maintain their perfect image. But I can offer you a totally different path."
​Ye Chen did not relax his guard for a single second. "What kind of path?"
​"Join my faction," Hong Lian proposed openly. Her eyes gleamed with raw ambition and cold intellect.
​"We operate entirely outside the laws of the righteous path. Serve me and I will provide you with the absolute premium resources you need to survive the coming slaughter."
​"You are a wild card Ye Chen," Hong Lian explained smoothly. "You have witnessed the rotting core of the righteous sects. You already hate the righteous path with every fiber of your being."
​She reached out a pale hand toward him.
​"That makes you the perfect weapon for my organization."
​Ye Chen stared intensely at the floating woman. He analyzed her words and her hidden motives carefully.
​He had just escaped the control of one manipulative sect. He had suffered endless torture precisely because he had trusted a beautiful woman promising him a glorious future.
​He had bought the demonic manual to forge his own destiny with his own two hands. He had absolutely no intention of immediately selling his soul to another master.
​"I am not a weapon to be wielded by someone else," Ye Chen answered quietly. "I am the executioner who will sever their heads."
​"Your offer is rejected," Ye Chen said bluntly. "I will bow to no one ever again."