"So... Who wants to die first? Wouldn't it be too cruel to part you in death?" Another disgusting laugh left Luduo Bu's mouth. Wielding his bloody halberd, he slowly walked toward Luo Jingren and Ma Feiran.

This 'Red Frenzy' was made of Blood Jade. This Jade was not natural. It was a kind of metal produced by infusing the earth with blood. Usually, the blood came from demonic beasts but demonic cultivators were known to use human blood. This Blood Jade could absorb the blood it had been grown from. It was also very conductive of Evil Qi. And indeed, Luduo Bu's halberd had been made with the blood of human cultivators. This really was the perfect weapon for his 'Blood Runes'.

The blade always looked slick with fresh blood. But the shaft was also emitting a sinister crimson light. All over the weapon, strange runes were engraved to mimic the characters of 'Blood Runes'. This weapon had been made specifically to train the 'Blood Runes' method and it was clearly efficient.

All seven of the runes Luduo Bu had currently formed joined with the halberd. Thanks to this weapon, he could store the runes elsewhere than in his body. However, he still needed to refine them in his own bloodstream and he couldn't keep them outside for too long.

Luo Jingren and Ma Feiran felt their blood freeze in their veins. Combined with the blood runes, this halberd was akin to a real demon. It was even more terrifying than its wielder. The couple assumed a fighting posture and was ready to go forward.

All of a sudden, Luduo Bu slashed with his weapon and the blade extended. No, it wasn't the blade. A thin layer of blood came out of the halberd and slashed the air. Luo Jingren had no time to react and his chest was cut deep. However Luduo Bu kept him alive. He dashed, using the surprise to his advantage, and smashed the butt of his halberd into the wounded man's stomach. With the difference of cultivation, the strength of Luduo Bu was way beyond what Luo Jingren could bear and he fell on the ground.

Before Ma Feiran could react, she felt the evil coldness of 'Red Frenzy' on her neck. Luduo Bu retracted the weapon, cutting the side of her neck. The cut was not deep enough to kill her on the spot but she was bleeding profusely. Luo Jingren tried to get up but Luduo Bu's foot pushed him back down.

The two lovers stretched their arms to grab each other's hands. They knew the final moment had come. To add to their terrible fate, Luduo Bu did not intend to kill them quickly. First of all, he was amused by their suffering, but he also had a more pragmatic reason. He wanted to fight strong cultivators, but not strong enough to be a threat to him. As such, he stood over them, his face distorted by an ominous smile.

He looked to Luo Jingren and rested his halberd on his bloody chest.

"We're going to talk for a bit. And if I don't like your answer..." Lifting his halberd, he superficially slashed Ma Feiran's face. Once more, Luo Jingren, filled with rage, tried to get up but received another blow. "I'll cut her up into tiny pieces."

Both of the hunters' eyes were filled with hatred and self-loathing. No matter how much they hated this monster, they were powerless and could only wait for the release of death.

"Tell me where I can find a 9th-grade Mortal nearby. You were hunters, right? So you should know of small cities or settlements to sell your bounty. Just tell me which one is the closest without any Mortal Warrior within. And just to be sure you won't lie to me." Two more slashes scarred Ma Feiran's bloody face. Right now, Luo Jingren could not even recognize her due to the blood spilling all over her. The cuts were not deep but their psychological impact was huge.

At first, Luo Jingren intended to lie. He knew that if he told the truth, other innocent cultivators would die. Damn, this guy was a demonic cultivator, so he could even slaughter mortals just for the fun of it. However he may have some strange methods to determine whether he was lying or not. And even if he had none, he could keep them alive to check what he said and come back to torture them some more. In this desperate situation, Luo Jingren resigned himself to obey his commands.

"Fine. But if I tell you the truth, can you bury us with the proper rites?" One of his greatest fears was to become a ghost. He was the only one in the group to have ever seen one and he would do everything to ensure that he would not turn into one. Popular beliefs dictated that a proper burial was a way to soothe the ethereal soul before departing the body. In this way, the ethereal soul would find its way through the reincarnation cycle and not roam the earth. In reality, Luo Jingren did not know whether this belief was true or not, but he wanted to increase his odds as much as possible.

Another laugh came from Luduo Bu. "I do not care about your fate after death. I just want your blood. So tell me what I want and your death won't be too painful. I'll even consider leaving you with an intact body." His smile turned serious as he put the halberd on Ma Feiran's wrist. "But if you're playing games, I'll cut her up into pieces. I wonder if her soul will be able to go back to the cycle of reincarnation with such a death."

Luduo Bu did not care about such beliefs but his victims did, so he used that against them. Luo Jingren had no other choice. No matter what he said, he was at the mercy of this madman but he had to at least try.

"To the south-east, there is a small town called Fulao. It's a tiny place and the strongest cultivator there is at the limit of the 9th-grade Mortal stage. There are less than two hundred people in the town."

Seeing the defeated look in Luo Jingren's eyes, Luduo Bu knew he was telling the truth.

"Good! Now, you can both feed my weapon." His halberd penetrated Ma Feiran's chest and her blood started to seep through the Blood Jade of the blade. On the side, Luo Jingren was mad. Seeing his woman die in such a way was unbearable. Luduo Bu took as much time as possible to extract every single drop of blood while keeping her alive. Once again, Luo Jingren tried to get up but Luduo Bu's boot pinned him down. "Wait your turn! You've been so helpful that I want you to enjoy your last moments together."

Watching the poor Ma Feiran, all the color in her body left her gradually. "Isn't she a beauty? You were very lucky to have her!"

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Finally, she was completely drained of all her blood. Luo Jingren was screaming and trying to get out from under Luduo Bu's boot but he was too weak. Cursing his fate, he begged the heavens to hear his wish. In the next life, he wanted to be strong enough to live happily with his woman. Interrupting his thoughts, Luduo Bu's halberd also penetrated Luo Jingren's chest.

This time, he felt firsthand the pain of having his blood sucked dry. In fact, some Evil Qi seeped through his body from the halberd and took over his bloodstream. The pain was absolutely horrendous. In his final moments, Luo Jingren felt what the woman he loved had suffered and his hatred only increased. But with a final ounce of lucidity, he tried to calm down his emotions. What he wished for was a peaceful life after his reincarnation so he put aside all other thoughts and focused on his lover's face.

At last, both corpses were drained of all blood. The red fluid was flowing within the crimson halberd and nourished the seven blood runes. Despite the quantity, it was still lacking to form the eighth rune. This was the final rune of the third layer and as such, it was rather hard to form. With the blood of a 9th-grade Mortal on the verge of breaking through to the Mortal Warrior realm, the eighth rune should finally be condensed.

Luduo Bu admired the corpses and of course, he did not care about burying them. He let them out in the open for other beasts to devour them. He had used their blood and he was 'generous' enough to let the demonic beasts use their flesh now. The way they died had allowed him to produce even more Evil Qi to fuel his blood runes.

Satisfied with his work, he went toward the direction of Fulao, a prideful smile on his face.

-

Fulao was indeed a very small town. This was the place where Cao Yun had stayed before going into the Lunar Marsh. This town had been founded by some vagrant cultivators a while back. At first, it was only a settlement for hunters before exploring the Lunar Marsh. But with time, some mortals joined the town. Even though the cultivators were not powerful, none of them being in the Mortal Warrior realm, for mortals they were extraordinary. A 9th-grade Mortal would live for three hundred years. And he was strong enough to lift a bit more than five hundred tons. No weapon from a mortal could penetrate his skin and he moved so fast than their eyes could not follow him.

For cultivators, this level was not considered weak in the absolute. But compared with a Mortal Warrior or even a Spirit Warrior, this was nothing indeed. A Mortal, no matter how strong he was, could not manifest his Qi and had no spiritual senses. Luduo Bu was very confident in his ability to kill such a man. Moreover, he should be pretty old considering he was a vagrant cultivator who was on the verge of crossing over to the Mortal Warrior realm.

However, Luduo Bu had not lost all rationality. If he were to fight a dozen or so of Mortal cultivators at once, he would probably be killed. There was always strength in numbers. To avoid such a fate, he decided to attack in the middle of the night. For such a small town, guards were at most 5th-grade Mortals and Luduo Bu could kill them very easily.

He waited not far from the mansion of the city lord. This was called a mansion, but it was only a larger house than the others. When the shift changed, he attacked and killed four guards with his blood runes. They did not even understand what had happened. The moment they saw four red dots coming to them, they were already dead.

Knowing that stealth was not his strong suit, he decided to dash through the mansion in order to kill the city lord as fast as possible. Running through the garden, he sent his blood runes all around him and killed three more guards before entering the building. Even though he could not control them efficiently, they were too fast for weaker cultivators to do anything against.

Finally, he arrived into the bedroom of the city lord. The moment he stepped into the room, he saw an old man jumping from his bed. He had gray hair and a white beard. This was Fu Jiao, the city lord of Fulao. He was the leader of the Silver Lion, the hunters faction of Fulao. He was extremely close to breaking through to the Mortal Warrior realm. As such, his senses allowed him to feel Qi farther around him. Coupled with his instincts, he felt the presence of Luduo Bu as soon as he stepped into the building.

Fu Jiao vividly felt the demonic aura and the smell of blood all over Luduo Bu. As such, he did not even try to talk. Fu Jiao was at least 70-years-old and he was an upright man. Destroying the demonic cultivators was a duty everyone should perform according to him. Qi gushed out from all the pores of his skin. Even though he was not a Mortal Warrior yet, his Qi almost manifested. It was a thin layer around him.

And the image of a lion of pure white appeared on his body. His hair and beard looked like they were his mane and his clenched fists appeared as though they were clawed paw.

Immediately, he dashed toward Luduo Bu who got surprised. He was expecting a weak old man. In his mind, vagrant cultivators and commoners were nothing much but he had miscalculated.

Fu Jiao's punch collided with 'Red Frenzy''s shaft, sending Luduo Bu a few steps backwards. Another punch whistled just above his head, followed by a kick to the stomach. Luduo Bu had no time to even use his blood runes as he had to block with his halberd. He finally attacked with a strike from the butt of his weapon to the flank. Fu Jiao almost did not flinch and instinctively, he sent his head backwards as the blade of the halberd passed one cun away from his throat.

Sending strength in his legs, Fu Jiao jumped backwards. He was as agile as a young lion. Taking a huge breath, he yelled as loud as he could. This was 'Prideful Roar Chases Away the Thunder'. In his voice, some Qi was mixed with the sound waves. This technique was really at the limit of what a Mortal could perform as Qi was imbued within. There was no physical manifestation of Qi though. However, the force was quite tyrannical and Luduo Bu had to use his halberd blade as a defense while crouching down just to not be blown away.

Fu Jiao strained himself to the limit and two wind and fire wheels flew from the walls in his hands. Once again, this power was almost reserved to the Mortal Warriors, the ability to use Qi to control small objects. In fact, Fu Jiao only used a suction force, he could not control objects in the air.

With these cutting weapons acting as real claws, he got ready to fight and kill his opponent. What he did not consider was that Luduo Bu had the blood runes. This was a cultivation method who gave him an edge in this fight. Indeed, as the blood runes could fly in the distance and act on their own, they were akin to having the ability of a Mortal Warrior without being one. And Fu Jiao did not consider that his opponent could attack him at a distance.

Luduo Bu slashed with his halberd and sent a thin layer of blood toward Fu Jiao. Despite a slight surprise, he did not flinch and blocked with ease thanks to his superior reaction speed. At this moment, his instincts warned him and he dodged to the side just when a blood rune went for his head. Only his shoulder got cut but this time he was really surprised.

Fu Jiao felt some Evil Qi crawling under his skin. Very easily he sent a surge of his own Qi toward his shoulder. The Evil Qi got erased completely and his bleeding stopped. In fact, his wound started to heal. He was only a Mortal, so his wound did not close on the spot, but he could totally heal in a matter of hours, not days.

With his superior senses, Fu Jiao felt seven characters circling around him. His experience quickly told him he had to fight Luduo Bu up close. Otherwise, these strange runes would weaken and tire him. And the closer he was to Luduo Bu, the less dangerous these runes would be. Fu Jiao did not know how much control Luduo Bu had on these, but clearly he wasn't a Mortal Warrior. So he would probably hurt himself if he used them to close to him.