The Line Between Life and Death

The Mystical Iron Lions were a type of Mystical Beasts. They were over three meters tall and had a lion's head. Their bodies were covered in a thick, iron skin, and their blood-red eyes were as large as a fist.

Yu Yan was rather frightened and shrank back slightly. Her five delicate fingers gripped Ning Xiaochuan's arm.

Ning Xiaochuan sat in front of the carriage, sensing the intense killing intent of these five. They were definitely targeting him. It looked like there was still someone in Marquis Jiange's Residence who wanted to nip the problem in the bud and not leave him alive.

Old Marquis had sent Ning Xiaochuan to Begonia Manor, thinking that he would be distanced from the fights. However, he never imagined that the conversation between Uncle Ji and Ning Xiaochuan would be secretly overheard by a martial art expert who had cultivated Divine Hearing. Thus, Ning Xiaochuan became an assassination target.

The five of them were covered in black armor, so it was hard to see what they looked like, but Ning Xiaochuan had outstanding perception. A voice seemed to tell him that these people before him had very high Cultivation.

Two of them had reached a Cultivation of Stage Six Qi, another two had reached Stage Seven Qi. The warrior riding the Mystical Iron Lion at the forefront was even more accomplished, being an expert who had surpassed Ninth Heaven Qi!

"Oh no! With so many powerful opponents, how can I escape?" Although Ning Xiaochuan's heart had sunk to the bottom of its pit, his face remained calm and composed, not revealing any trace of panic.

This was an attitude he had maintained from back when he was a doctor. No matter how treacherous the situation, he must remain calm, absolutely calm.

Once he lost his wits, then he would truly be done for.

"Yu Yan, go into the carriage. Later on, no matter what happens, don't be afraid!" Ning Xiaochuan clenched a whip that was covered in green scales tightly. This was a whip made from the skin of a Green Pigsnake. It was twenty-three feet long and was his only weapon at the moment.

Yu Yan was extremely frightened. Beneath her dress, her dainty legs had gone soft. How could she even move her body?

Hei Lin sat atop the Mystical Iron Lion, feeling rather taken aback. He did not expect this invalid to have such admirable courage. Under the mighty force of his group, even martial artists who had cultivated Combat Qi would turn pale with fear and go weak in the knees. However, Ning Xiaochuan still remained calm!

"Hei Si, go and kill that girl, and seize the gold-grained rosewood box." Hei Lin's voice was icy without a note of emotion.

"Swoosh—"

Hei Si's entire body was shielded by black armor and he exuded a chilly presence. He pulled out a hundred-pound broad saber, rode his Mystical Iron Lion, and raced towards the Green Deerhorse carriage.

Hei Si's Cultivation had reached Stage Six Qi, and an intense layer of Combat Qi flowed from his body and encased the saber. With a single slash, he aimed for Yu Yan's head.

Ning Xiaochuan turned around, pushed Yu Yan out of the way, and ducked into the carriage.

"Bang!"

The blade flashed and the entire roof of the carriage was sliced off, leaving a clean gash. The wooden planks were sent flying and dropped to the ground.

Hei Si's eyes revealed his astonishment. He never imagined that his attack would miss its target. Therefore, he leaped down from the Mystical Iron Lion and landed beside the carriage. Reaching out with one hand, he pulled the curtain aside.

Hei Si's vision turned blurry as he sensed a colossal current surging out.

"Boom!"

From the curtains, a palm enveloped in Qi struck out, causing the utterly unprepared Hei Si to fall backward.

The broad saber in Hei Si's hand was released from his grip. It fell and stuck into the distant ground.

"What happened?"

Hei Si was boiling with rage and got up in one flip. He circulated the Combat Qi within his body to its extreme, then covered his palm in black Qi. With his palm facing the carriage, he delivered a blow.

"Bang!"

A palm emerged from the carriage once again, clashing forcefully against Hei Si's palm.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Inside the black armor, Hei Si's face changed abruptly as he sensed his blood and essence being sucked out by a whirlwind-like force, flowing out through the gaps in the armor.

After a moment, the blood in Hei Si's body had been drained. He had become a dried corpse. It was just that he wore the armor, so one could not see the changes in his body.

Hei Lin and the other three warriors in black armor noticed that the progress of events was not reassuring. Whether it was that delicate girl, or Ning Xiaochuan, both of them were physically helpless. How could Hei Si be sent flying in one blow?

"Hei Si, come back!" Hei Lin commanded coldly.

"Thunk!"

Hei Si had been turned into a withered corpse long ago. Naturally, he did not hear the order. His body lost its support and knelt down beneath the Green Deerhorse carriage.

Though the armor was still propping up his body, this previously living person was now dead.

Ning Xiaochuan sat in the carriage, calm and steady, then pulled aside the curtain, saying serenely, "There's no need to shout. He's already dead!"

"Swish—"

"Swish—"

The remaining four black-armored warriors drew their sabers simultaneously, glaring at Ning Xiaochuan as if they were facing a major enemy!

Who would have thought that a well-known invalid would actually be able to kill an Iron-blood Warrior who had Stage Six Qi?

Hei Lin narrowed his eyes. "So you've always been able to cultivate. It looks like these past years you've been concealing your ability and biding your time. This was all planned by the Old Marquis, wasn't it? No, the Old Marquis clearly said that you only have half a year to live, meaning that he doesn't know you're able to cultivate Combat Qi. You've actually fooled everyone."

Ning Xiaochuan sat in the carriage with his back straight. The blood in his body was racing swiftly, and his face showed no trace of fear. "How do you know that the Old Marquis said I only have half a year to live? And how do you know I have a gold-grained rosewood box with me?"

Hei Lin barked out a cold laugh. "I've already reached the Divine Body Realm. A type of innate Divine Technique emerged in my body, which is Divine Hearing. My hearing ability is godlike. Your conversation with Uncle Ji was overheard by me and not a single word was missed."

"I see. And I suppose Ning Qianwu sent you?" Ning Xiaochuan asked.

Hei Lin chortled humorlessly but did not answer the question. "Initially, I only planned to break both your legs. Since you're able to cultivate Combat Qi, I won't spare you."

Hei Lin had just raised his arm when he suddenly withdrew it. His gaze was fixed upon somewhere far away on the street, burning with curiosity. "Who's that?"

In the air, the temperature plummeted. A chill rose up, and a cascade of snowflakes descended!

A woman dressed in white walked out of the snow. Her appearance was gorgeous. Her black hair was like a waterfall, and the woman's face was covered in a white veil, revealing only a stunning pair of eyes.

A mass of Qi behind her condensed into a seven-meter tall apparition of a white Qilin. Its head was massive, its eyes sinister, and claws sharp. 

Hei Lin stared at the veiled woman with a hint of disdain on his face. "So it's a woman. Are you possibly concerned with a matter like this?"

The veiled woman did not say much. Her Qi condensed into a seven-foot long sword. Backed by the flurry of snow that filled the air, the sword sliced towards Hei Lin.

Her slim figure was surrounded by Qi. The woman was like a dazzling butterfly in the snow, and even her sword-wielding was extremely graceful.

"Leave her to me. The rest of you, kill Ning Xiaochuan."

Hei Lin gave a command, then rode his Mystical Iron Lion, dashing towards the veiled woman.

"It's the young miss." Yu Yan's face brightened with joy.

Nonetheless, Ning Xiaochuan did not look the least bit happy. Three Mystical Iron Lions were tearing towards him, and the three glistening, black sabers were encased in a layer of black Qi.

Ning Xiaochuan brandished the whip in his hand, coiling it around the wrist of the warrior with the lowest Cultivation. He tugged furiously, jerking the warrior off from his Mystical Iron Lion. The warrior crashed heavily into the ground.

Ning Xiaochuan leaped down from the carriage and lifted Hei Si's saber. His blood began to circulate frantically, and Blood Qi surged from his palm, covering the saber.

With a wave of his arm, the blade formed a half-moon shape!

"Pfff!"

The head of the black-armored warrior who had fallen was separated from his body, and warm blood gushed out from his neck.

After Ning Xiaochuan had killed this black-armored warrior, he immediately lifted the saber and fled towards the woods. Nonetheless, he was caught in the back by a slash from another warrior chasing him, resulting in a long, shallow cut.

Fortunately, he had fled in time. Otherwise, this cut would have split his body into two.

Ning Xiaochuan circulated his Combat Qi to temporarily stop the wound from bleeding and continued dashing into the woods.

The two black-armored warriors dismounted their Mystical Iron Lions. Lifting up their sabers, they passed between the trees, as swift as two black, ghostly shadows, hunting Ning Xiaochuan.

"At last, I've gotten them to come down from their Mystical Iron Lions. They're wearing that solid, heavy armor, their speed is surely affected."

Ning Xiaochuan had fled into the woods because the trees were narrowly packed, and thus unsuited for the Mystical Iron Lions to run through.

The two warriors were covered entirely in black armor. Once they dismounted the Mystical Iron Lions, the armor they wore would increase their bodies' burden. Their speed would certainly decrease, and they might not be able to catch up to Ning Xiaochuan.

However, Ning Xiaochuan had underestimated the formidability of martial artists with Stage Seven Qi. Although they were wearing heavy armor, they were still slightly faster than Ning Xiaochuan and were swiftly catching up.

"Both of them have Cultivation of Stage Seven Qi. I'm no match for them now. What do I do? What do I do?" Ning Xiaochuan clenched his fists. The Devil Sword in his blood orifice came alive, making happy noises.

After absorbing all of Hei Si's blood, the Combat Qi within Ning Xiaochuan had expanded another size, but he still had not broken through to Stage Seven Qi.

Just as the two of them were about to catch up to him, Ning Xiaochuan stopped suddenly. Turning his hand, he thrust the blade, slicing towards the neck of one of the black-armored warriors.

The black-armored warrior was prepared, and the saber in his hand thrust forward as well.

Bang!

Ning Xiaochuan only felt a tremendous power coursing through the saber. His arm trembled until it was numb. The skin on his hand split open and his fingers felt like they were about to break.

How strong!

Stage Six Qi and Stage Seven Qi were truly on different levels of strength.

Ning Xiaochuan swiftly retreated.

However, a black-armored warrior leaped out from behind. With a horizontal slash, he aimed to sever Ning Xiaochuan's neck.

Ning Xiaochuan's legs crumpled as he narrowly avoided the blade again and again until he had retreated thirty feet.

In just a few rounds of exchanging blows, Ning Xiaochuan was teetering between life and death. He could die from his enemy's blade at any moment. There was a wound between his thumb and forefinger and another behind his ear, both of which were flowing with warm blood!