"A little bit more and it'll finally be ready. If only I could capture the soul of a level one cultivator, the process would be so much quicker."
A jade white hand gracefully fell upon a stone pedestal where a glowing blue baby was seated.
The woman looked over at the demonic beast right beside her laying on the ground languidly. It's eyelids flickered open and closed almost as if it was about to fall asleep.
"It won't be long now, soon we will both be able to get out of this damn place. The master promised us, we will definitely get our rewards."
This lady was of course the woman who had killed the three hunters and collected their souls earlier.
Her graceful figure gently fell to the floor as she laid atop the sky leopard.
"It won't be long before all four of us finish our mission. At that point then forget about foundation establishment, I might even be able to be given the chance to breakthrough to the core forging stage. Although it is only one stage higher than foundation establishment, I heard that even medium level sects had to treat such experts with respect. With that level of power, maybe my revenge can finally be achieved..."
An image of a familiar man appeared in her mind. His disdainful look as he destroyed her dantian replayed in her mind over and over again.
If it wasn't for the fact that she had received the good graces of a great person, she might not have been alive to this day.
The woman didn't have a name, she once used one in the past but she gave it up when she entered that great person's servitude.
Now she was just referred to by a title.
In this mission that was assigned, she and three other people were given the responsibility to carry the task through for their master.
She was 'The Succubus' assigned with intel gathering and seduction in order to obtain more souls.
Similarly, the monster under her was actually also her fellow partner in crime.
'The Beast' was a monster tamed by their master and it held absolute loyalty to him.
While it wasn't the most intelligent partner, but its power was an undeniable addition to their cause.
As a level seven demonic beast, it held few opponents in the city other than the old monsters who rarely acted and the leader among the four of them.
It was the strongest, and among all of them, she was the closest to it.
"Aren't you excited boy? Soon you'll see your master again. Who knows, maybe in time you'll even receive a human form?"
The Beast purred in response. Although it was incapable of human speech, it was still intelligent enough to understand when it was spoken to.
But suddenly Beast eyes shot right open.
It no longer had that tired look on its face and was instead extremely focused.
Succubus was surprised by this sudden changed and looked to see what got it so worked up.
When she turned to face forward, her pupils dilated slightly as a masked figure appeared just a short distance from the two of them.
This figure was of course Xue Chang.
Although Succubus has met him before, she couldn't recognize him due to his mask and his change in appearance.
But she did recognize this other identity of his.
"Yong Heng!"
Succubus roared as Beast showed its fangs with a slight growl.
Its claws, sharp as knives, scratched against the ground in agitation.
Yong Heng. Although Xue Chang didn't think his other identity held a lot of reputation, to their group he was like their mortal enemy.
The man who discovered their plans earlier than expected and had unknowingly got in their way several times.
A thorn that had been constantly poking their side had suddenly appeared before them.
Xue Chang looked at the two people in front of him with a worried expression hidden behind his mask.
"Yong Heng I swear this better work or I'll kill you!"
Facing the two people in front of him, Xue Chang crossed his arms together.
Before anyone could even react to the odd situation, Xue Chang disappeared from sight.
Beast didn't even pause for a second as it threw Succubus over behind it and swiped its massive paw forward.
Suddenly, reappearing right in front of them, Xue Chang slammed his fist down into the demonic beast.
"Damn, I thought I'd catch them by surprise at least."
"You're damn lucky punk, but not that lucky."
Yong Heng sniggered at how troubled Xue Chang was at the moment.
It was already said, he could fight against a level five Qi refiner at most. Someone at the peak of the low rank. Yet this beast was undoubtedly far stronger than that.
Level seven was in the middle of the primary rank. This was way out of Xue Chang's league.
Well that was if he fought it normally.
As Xue Chang tried to gather himself after his failed sneak attack, Succubus and Beast both calmed themselves down.
"Yong Heng! You bastard!"
"Oh? You recognize me?"
Xue Chang was surprised by Succubus' remark. Clearly his reputation exceeded him.
A dark low chuckled escaped from Succubus' mouth as her eyes squinted into thin slits.
"The man who oh so bravely got in the way of our plans time and time again. You ruined the altar I so painstakingly prepared in the forest."
Hearing her words, Xue Chang's pupils dilated slightly as his hands clenched into two fists.
"As expected."
Succubus continued to rant on about how he was making a huge mistake or something of the like. But Xue Chang completely ignored her.
He was too busy trying calm the overwhelming rage he held in his chest.
If he didn't control himself, he would've charged out right there and then in an attempt to slaughter the woman before him.
Now he wished he could actually use his saber. He hid it back in the passage behind him since he had already used it in the city once.
He doubted he could kill both of these people here and he feared his true self would be recognized if he used the saber.
Although he wasn't worried about his own life, he had too many people he cared about.
But this didn't matter, he didn't plan to fight for long. He just needed a bit more time.
As Xue Chang continued his thoughts, Succubus ranted in endlessly, "You really made a bad call this time Yong Heng. I've heard about your strength before, while it is impressive, you don't have what it takes to fend off against a level seven demonic beast!"
Xue Chang couldn't help but snort as he faced Succubus directly.
"You really talk a lot of shit for someone who can only plot against mortals. Does it make you feel good to have slaughtered those innocent people? What did they even do to you?"
"Someone like you wouldn't understand Yong Heng. You're young and powerful. You've never experienced a betrayal. You don't know what it's like to have your dantian destroyed and your life ruined. It is an honor for those mortals to be able to assist the great master. Even if we killed a hundred times more people, it would be worth it if HE achieves his goals."
Although Xue Chang completely disregarded her crazed ravings and selfishness, he did take notice of her words.
It appeared that there was another person above her. Maybe she wasn't the only one in this city plotting against them?
If that was so then he would have to be even more cautious in the future.
Xue Chang decided that they had talked enough.
He launched himself forward with great force and prepared to pummel the woman before him. Yet once again Beast got in his way.
"An animal dares to stop me!"
Xue Chang was sick of its interference. Releasing a loud roar, he threw his fist out with an unbelievable amount of force.
He used his unique powers to suppress the friction of the air around his fist. This caused his launch to receive a sudden increase in speed.
And with that increase, its power almost doubled.
Slamming his fist into Beast's body, a shocking sight occurred as Xue Chang's arm completely exploded with the overbearing force.
This caused not only Succubus and Beast to be frozen in shock, but the amount of power held in the attack actually threw Beast back causing him to crash into a wall.
Succubus was given a fright at that moment. She couldn't help but think to herself, "He is stronger than the rumors suggest. An unbelievable amount stronger. Has he been hiding his real strength? Is this his true limit?"
She just couldn't understand why someone with so much power at such an age would cripple himself just to push back Beast. If he just left the city then he would've been safe and could've had time to develop. Yet he chose to lose an arm, why?
It didn't take long for her confusion to be cleared up.
To her surprise and horror, the stump that was Xue Chang's arm quickly reformed and healed itself in the blink of an eye.
This wasn't possible. She had never heard of any being being able to heal such a grievous wound instantly like that. Not even core forgers!
She suddenly realized that Xue Chang was much more dangerous than they gave him credit for. She had the premonition that he would be their biggest obstacle in the future.
Just as this premonition appeared in her head, Xue Chang turned to face her.
"I wish I could kill you and end your worthless life right here and now, but that'll have to come later. For now, I got what I came for. Ciao!"
And just as abruptly as he arrived, he disappeared back into the corridor.
Succubus couldn't understand what his words meant. Why did he say he achieved his goal?
Just as she was pondering this to herself, a mournful roar could be heard from Beast behind her.
Looking over in confusion, the blood in Succubus' face drained away as a helpless feeling overwhelmed her.
There, right behind her, was an altar meant to hold onto their pseudo nascent soul.
And floating right above that altar was...
Nothing.