Ki's eyes glowed red once more as she raised her hand towards him.
The last thing the elder saw was the poisonous blood spread all around his qi shield and even more blood come towards it completely trapping him within.
As much as he used his solid blood qi to increase the strength of his shield, it continued to weaken a little at a time as the blood surrounding him began to completely envelop him shield and continued to push towards him.
As he saw this, his eyes began to show fear in them as he tried to struggle against the force pushing against his shield.
He no longer had any way escape and just as his qi shield shattered, he could faintly see the outline of his opponent as his body war surrounded by the poisonous blood.
Ki held out her outstretched glowing red runic patterned arm and then suddenly clenched her outstretch palm that was facing the elder, afterwards the shield shattered and the elder was surrounded by a large bubble of blood that continued to crush and poison his body within.
He struggled desperately until his body began to stop moving completely but Ki did not move for some time even after confirming that he should be dead.
After some time passed she walked closer to his body and stabbed towards his heart as he was still within the poisonous blood then wiped the blood from her sword before sheathing it.
Afterwards the room became quiet but Ki continued to speak. "True villains should always know not to play with their prey if they wish to be successful… but if there are other things in place to stop the preys sudden counterattack then there should not be any problems with having a little fun during their final struggle. It was fun to let them believe that they were the predator for a little while longer… hic.
As she spoke, the blood began to surround her body and be absorbed into her runic patterns that began to disappear afterwards.
Many within a place of power have a similar weakness, especially for those within the darker sects that are far more cruel and enjoy making their enemies suffer and despair before their deaths.
As they break down their opponent before killing them, many of them let down their guard and allow their opponent to flee, be rescued or even counterattack, giving them the chance not only to save their own lives but to also inflict a heavy injury or even death upon them.
During the fight, it could have been ended earlier with a single poisoned sword that broke his skin followed by a delayed battle as pressure is continuously applied to let him not be able to recover but Ki saw this battle an an opportunity to hone and refine her swordsmanship to the next level.
A difficult life and death battle where she would have to struggle and remain vigilant at all times against someone who was stronger than her was something she had been lacking for a long time.
She needed to test her current limits but also push herself harder so that she can gain further insights into her own style and make up for any flaws or weak points that would have appeared within her sword forms.
If it had been previously, she would have had to rely on her hidden weapons or other tools of combat to make up for any of her weaknesses but this time she was able to focus on one opponent who was deadly enough to kill her with ease if their attack hit her body and not only dodge their attack but also counterattack while gaining some distance again.
The support of the puppets and poisoned blood was something that was deadly to him and could make him hesitate in his actions when he tried to follow up on an attack but after being wounded, he had to find the time to heal or he would suffer further.
Whichever tactic she chose to use would not change who was the final victor after she had weakened him a little at a time until she was able to break through his qi shield.
The extra blood that had been used to block the doors was also something that helped her to further surround and crush him within the blood that circled him during the final attack.
After gaining everything that she could from him during the fight, she readily disposed of him without a single moment of hesitation.
She was glad that Rashida and the others did not participate in the battle themselves and stayed back behind the locked and blood covered door while they controlled the corpses and blood from a safe distance away from the fight.
After looking at the room that had returned to become peaceful once more, she looked to the back of the room towards the man who was unconscious while being hung up above the container and spoke calmly. "It seems that one has survived…"
Although it was troublesome if she was seen using her abilities, she could easily end that persons life in the state they were in but she calmly walked towards him and checked him over. 'It is a very strong poison that can weaken and put to sleep even an unrestrained realm powerhouse… it seems that the Blood Sect are using their most valuable items this time to ensure everything is a success.'
She walked back towards the door and opened it letting the others inside. "Collect anything that may seem useful and discard the rest. Feed him a Qi Suppressing Gu and a Vitality Gu just to be safe, I want him perfectly under control right away before the poison starts to wear off."
Even if he did seem to still be under the effects of the poison, she could not yet afford to leave her traces behind or have any witnesses without a leash around their throats to keep them in line.
She could not afford to take the risk for a single life to be saved so she had no choice but to take this course of action.
It did not take long before everything was dealt with and they returned outside.
Rashida approached with the weak and unconscious man being carried by the others and asked. "How will we handle the rest?"
Ki replied right away. "There is no need for us to do anything, we just need to wipe out our traces and seal it back up again. Their orders would be to remain inside for some time while gathering what they need and remaining there until they can safely travel back to their sect. After sealing the base and hiding the entrance again, they should not be discovered until someone is sent to check on them. The traces left behind will point towards a conflict against someone within their sect after their blood has been drained but also a poison master. This should allow all of us enough time to reach the other locations and not draw their attention but also cast their suspicion elsewhere. For now we will have a short break before moving to the next location."
Since they were still an unknown enemy that had not been identified, the suspicion would fall upon someone else with the characteristics that can be identified from the dead bodies.
The only thing that would be against Ki and the others was that there might be an unscheduled visit at one of the underground bases suddenly that may alert the enemy of their actions before they had completed all of the attacks.