97: Chapter 97: One finger, bound with demonic vine.

"What if I say no?!"

These few words drifted lightly from Qin Feng's lips, yet they struck like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, exploding instantly within the quiet room.

Yang Liu's long, narrow peach-blossom eyes widened instantly, the last trace of tenderness in their depths swallowed whole by absolute coldness and murderous intent.

"You reckless thing, I gave you a chance; it is you who failed to cherish it!"

Yang Liu let out a sharp, angry shout, no longer able to suppress the boiling rage and killing intent in her chest. Her cultivation at the peak of Qi Refining Stage 3 erupted, unleashed without reservation!

"Boom——!!!"

An extremely violent, dark-red True Qi surged forth from her graceful body like a bursting flood.

The formidable pressure transformed into a tangible hurricane, instantly sweeping through the entire hall.

"Crack! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sturdy rosewood round table, the exquisite porcelain, and even the paintings on the walls were instantly shattered by the impact of the terrifying shockwave, turning into dust that danced across the sky.

"Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, tonight I will let you know exactly what an insurmountable chasm lies between Qi Refining Stage 3 and Qi Refining Level 1!"

Yang Liu made the first move.

Her figure transformed into a dark-red afterimage, her speed pushed to the limit. With a series of ear-piercing sonic booms, she curled her fingers into claws, her fingertips spitting blood-colored Protective Aura as sharp as blades, aiming directly for Qin Feng's throat.

This strike was ruthless and merciless; she held nothing back, truly intending to kill!

However, facing this unstoppable strike, one capable of tearing an ordinary Qi Refining Level 1 Cultivator to shreds, Qin Feng did not even blink.

He stood steadily in place, hands behind his back, his deep black eyes as calm as an ancient well, not even making a move to draw the flying knife at his waist.

"Swish——!"

Just as the blood-colored claws were about to touch the skin of his throat, a mocking sneer curled the corners of Qin Feng's lips.

Ghost Wind-Stepping, activated instantly!

There was no roar of exploding True Qi, nor any dramatic wind-up.

Qin Feng's figure seemed to lose gravity, like a bodiless ghost, and in the nick of time, he shifted half a foot to the left at a bizarre angle.

"Rip!"

Yang Liu's claws tore through the air, creating five sharp gusts of wind, but they didn't even touch a corner of his clothes.

"What?!"

Yang Liu's pupils constricted sharply, her heart filled with shock.

She never imagined that her full-strength, lethal strike would be so effortlessly dodged by a Qi Refining Level 1 Cultivator.

"Madam, why is your speed so slow?"

Qin Feng's slightly hoarse voice rang in her ear like a phantom, his tone filled with condescending mockery,

"Could it be that after becoming a steward, your body has become so delicate that you don't even have the strength to hit someone?!"

"Shut your mouth!!!"

Humiliated to her face by Qin Feng without mercy, Yang Liu trembled with rage, her beautiful face twisting slightly in anger.

"Let's see how long you can keep dodging!"

She roared, and the dark-red True Qi around her body boiled once more.

Yang Liu flipped her wrists, turning claws into palms. A sky full of palm shadows, like a violent storm, poured down toward Qin Feng with a suffocating, blood-thirsty Aura.

"Bang bang bang bang bang——!"

Inside the hall, dark-red palm prints crisscrossed, as if trying to tear every inch of space to shreds.

However, a scene of despair unfolded.

Throughout the entire fight, Qin Feng never used his most prized weapon, the flying knife.

Relying solely on the profound and bizarre nature of his Ghost Wind-Stepping Martial Skill, he strolled casually through the airtight palm shadows.

Dodging left, avoiding right, retreating, leaping...

Every dodge grazed the edge of Yang Liu's attacks with hair-raising closeness, and every shift in his footwork landed precisely in the blind spots of her attacks.

The two exchanged dozens of blows. Yang Liu was panting, drenched in fragrant sweat, her full chest heaving violently, yet she still hadn't managed to harm a single hair on him.

"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!"

A storm surged in Yang Liu's heart, and an unprecedented sense of frustration and panic began to spread wildly within her.

'He is clearly only at Qi Refining Level 1, so why is his True Qi reserve so profound? Why is his movement technique several times faster than mine, even though I am at Qi Refining Stage 3?!'

'Could it be... could it be that when he killed Steward Wang Taian, it wasn't because of my poison at all, but by his own true strength?!'

As soon as this thought occurred, Yang Liu's back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.

"What's wrong? Is that all the ability the dignified steward of District 666 has?"

Qin Feng flickered, retreating ten meters away again, looking at her with the eyes of someone watching a clown,

He sneered, "If that's all you've got, then this boring farce should come to an end."

"Qin Feng, don't get carried away!"

Yang Liu was thoroughly pressed. She knew that if she couldn't suppress Qin Feng today, she, as a steward, would become a complete joke!

"Since you are seeking death, I will grant your wish! Blood Lotus Burning Mountain Seal!!!"

Yang Liu let out a hysterical scream.

She bit the tip of her tongue, spitting a mouthful of vital blood directly onto her hands.

In an instant, the temperature in the hall plummeted, and a sickeningly thick smell of blood permeated the air.

All the dark-red True Qi gathered frantically above her head, finally condensing into a blood-colored lotus, half a zhang in size and incredibly eerie.

This blood lotus radiated an Aura of destruction, carrying the power to crush everything. It locked onto Qin Feng's presence and slammed down!

This was her ultimate trump card for survival; once unleashed, even an expert at the same Qi Refining Stage 3 would be left half-dead if they didn't die outright!

Watching the blood-colored lotus crashing down like Mount Tai, the mockery in Qin Feng's eyes finally subsided a little.

But, he still did not draw his blade.

"Is this your trump card? All flash and no substance."

Qin Feng spat out these words coldly, then extended his right hand and swung it fiercely toward the oncoming blood lotus!

"Hum——!"

A dark cyan light burst from his palm without warning!

"Go!"

Accompanied by Qin Feng's low shout.

The dark cyan light instantly expanded in mid-air, transforming into a bizarre vine as thick as a child's arm, covered from end to end in sharp barbs!

It was the Low Grade Magical Artifact, the demon-binding vine!

"Swish, swish, swish!"

The demon-binding vine seemed to possess a life of its own. It did not collide head-on with the blood lotus but instead, at a tricky angle, bypassed the attack range of the blood lotus like a spirit snake emerging from its hole, diving straight for Yang Liu behind it!

"What the hell is this?!"

Yang Liu was terrified. She tried to pull back and retreat, but the demon-binding vine was simply too fast.

"Puchi!"

The barbs on the vine easily pierced through Yang Liu's pride-and-joy Protective Aura.

The next second, the incredibly tough demon-binding vine coiled upward along her ankles, like a giant venomous python, instantly binding her graceful body tightly!

"Ah——!"

Yang Liu let out a painful cry.

She discovered in horror that the barbs piercing her skin not only brought excruciating pain but were also frantically sucking and suppressing the True Qi within her body!

The originally aggressive Blood Lotus Burning Heaven Seal, having lost the support of her True Qi, dissipated with a "bang" less than three feet above Qin Feng's head, turning into specks of light filling the sky.

"No... let me go, my True Qi... I can't summon my True Qi!"

Yang Liu struggled desperately, but the demon-binding vine only tightened further, outlining her provocative figure in a breathtaking way. She collapsed powerlessly onto the carpet, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.