This bloodlust was like a psychological restraint. It could suppress the minds and Spirit Senses of Steward Jo and the guards, but not permanently.
Steward Jo was the first to break free. "Damn it! Don't let a flimsy Qi Condensation cultivator suppress you this way!"
Though he said this, his heart was shaking. This bloodlust wasn't something any normal person could possess. It was potent enough to influence their thoughts.
And that was scary.
It further solidified the idea that Luan had been possessed. Which wasn't also a good thing for Steward Jo.
People who could possess another were usually Second-Dimensional cultivators. That was a whole other realm of power of its own. If it wasn't for the clear aura of a Qi Condensation cultivator coming from Luan, Steward Jo would have already tucked his tail between his legs and escaped.
"You might be a monster in spirit, but you've recently just taken possession of this body and haven't restored your true strength, right?" He said to Luan.
Luan didn't say anything in return. His attention was on the bead that was floating a few meters away, and the other guards. He was certain that they were communicating via voice transmission.
"Why don't we take things a notch down and talk? We can help each other out." Steward Jo suggested.
Frankly, he was scared.
Even though he knew that the Luan in front of him was only at the Qi Condensation realm, the fact that he could be a Second-Dimensional cultivator terrified him.
Steward Jo couldn't tell if there were methods Luan could make use of that'll threaten his life, and if he could avoid making an enemy of such a being, he would take that route.
Moreover, Luan didn't look scared in anyway. He didn't make any attempt to run away. If anything, it looked as if he was staring down at a group of less privileged people.
Either he was bluffing, or he truly wasn't scared.
"Really. Fine then, I'll agree to that if you tell me why you poisoned me twenty years ago."
With a frown, he responded. "We poisoned a son of the Khans, not you."
"Does that matter?" Luan interrupted.
He too could tell that this steward was apprehensive of him. Even if he was angry, he wasn't going to miss the chance to get some answers.
"The boy has been a thorn in the side of my Lord. So as a loyal subordinate, I chose to get out of the way." Steward Jo answered.
"You must think I'm stupid, right?"
"No, quite the contrary. I fear that you're too smart for your own good. I can't tell you why, my life's on the line—"
"Your life is on a line right now."
"You should know that a Second Dimensional being is tied to all of this. Are you sure you want to get involved?" Steward Jo pressed.
"Give me a name."
A Second-Dimensional being? Luan didn't care. Though he didn't know what that meant or the weight it carried at the moment.
"If I dare to speak the name of such a being, he'll find out and then I'll probably lose my life…" His hand suddenly moved, controlling the bead and using it to attack once again.
"I'd rather take my chances with a weakened True Person like you!" Steward Jo roared.
This time, rather than dodging the bead, Luan coated his cane with his qi and swung at it.
Dun!
Both sides paused for a second before Luan was sent flying.
He couldn't possible contend with a graded treasure with his current strength. And if it wasn't for his qi, the walking cane and his body would have snapped in two.
"Quickly, use everything you've got!" Steward Jo urged the guards.
Just because his bead had thrown Luan off his feet didn't mean that he had won. If anything, he became more cautious after witnessing the qi he used to block the bead.
Steward Jo could tell that Luan wasn't really hurt from the collision.
Before this, Steward Jo really did want to strike a deal with Luan, but as the young man pushed for an answer he couldn't give, his only other option was to take the risk and fight it out till the end, or until he finds the chance to escape without leaving any traces behind.
The four guards still held fear for Luan in their hearts, but that didn't stop them from bringing out talismans to bombard him with.
Almost simultaneously, two fireballs, a dozen spiked vines, and three chains transformed from the talismans they brought out and shot at Luan.
Their bombardment soon stopped.
No Qi Condensation cultivator could survive that. They all had the same thought.
In fact, even a peak-stage Foundation Building cultivator would perish.
And since their bombardment, the suffocating bloodlust had vanished.
They all waited for the dust to settle, but all of them soon found out that they had made a mistake by pausing.
"Next time, make sure your target is dead before you stop." Luan appeared beside the nearest guard and struck his shoulder with his cane.
The cane violently broke through the man's flesh and bones, bursting his body apart diagonally.
He didn't even have the chance to process what had happened.
Before the rest could react, Luan had already dealt with another guard.
The sight of their dead comrades returned the pressure that they faced under Luan's bloodlust. This time, the guards didn't want to stay behind to find out if they could win against the young man.
The remaining two turned around, picking different directions, and ran for their lives.
"Fools!" Steward Jo cursed out as he sent his bead after them.
In a few seconds, he dealt with the deserters.
Couldn't they see that the man was already injured? Just a few more attacks and we could have dealt with him. This is why I hate working with idiots.
"Shouldn't you have attempted to escape too?" Luan breathed heavily.
Indeed he had been injured, not gravely, but he was bleeding. Those chains had caused him a bit of trouble, binding him in place, leaving him defenseless against the vines and fireball.
If wasn't for him pouring out almost every bit of qi he had in his core, he might have been killed.
"If you had come out unscathed, then I would have done the same. However, you're injured. I can deal with you myself now."
Luan's brows closed, he Sixth Sense was tingling once again.
Right before he could act, Steward Jo's aura suddenly rose. It quickly surpassed the level of what a Foundation Building cultivator could exert.
A Purple Mansion cultivator!
Luan frowned.
Despite the confidence he had in himself, he didn't think he could take on a cultivator of this level yet. To add more salt to the wound, his qi reserves were low.
This time, he was the one that considered running away.
"Revealing my aura would notify the elders of the Khan clan of my presence, but I'm confident that before they arrive, I can deal with you."
Steward Jo suddenly appeared before Luan, striking down with his fingers bent like a claw.
He was too fast for Luan's eyes to follow, however, not too fast for his instincts.
Like a fish that was born with the knowledge of how to swim, Luan stepped back, dodging the claw.
But that wasn't enough, the air from the strike grazed his robes and skin, tearing through them and drawing more blood from him.
Steward Jo's brows furrowed in shock, finding it hard to believe that his killing strike was dodged that easily, but he soon accepted it.
If Luan was truly who he thought him to be, it was normal that he could avoid his strike. After all, a Second-Dimensional being's instincts wouldn't be something he could scoff at.
This was the steward thought.
"Doesn't matter, one mistake and your head is gone!" He sneered as he clawed at Luan's neck in succession of his previous attack.
As if his next move had long been predicted, Luan's cane was already in the claw's path, ready to block the strike.
Thud!
Cane and hand met, but the cane was soon flung to the side, giving room to the claw to strike, however, Luan had already stepped back again.
Swoosh!
To his side, the bead appeared, aiming for his head, and it almost got him, but Luan poured out whatever little qi he had left in his core and focused on blocking the bead.
Once again, he was thrown off his feet.
His body broke through a few trees before he finally came to a stop. Luan vomited a few mouthfuls of blood and his face became pale.
It hadn't even been a day since his body healed.
Damn it!
He was out of qi.
There was no way he was going to refill his core in a short while. If he had pills for recovery it could have helped, but at the moment…
Steward Jo appeared a few meters away. "I've wasted enough time with you. Thank you for giving me the chance to claim that I had bested a Second-Dimensional being, albeit a weak one." A triumphant smile was on his face.
Luan sneered at him.
He had been thinking of the immaterial core in the galaxy, hidden in his body. If it was similar to his core, wasn't it possible that he could use it?
With that thought in mind, Luan moved the immaterial core and brought it close to his.
Just when it looked like they would touch, the same reaction that appeared when his inner strength and qi first came in contact, happened once again.
But this time, it was on a greater scale.
It created a spark that birthed dark flames…