One more catty, one more attribute point

The bald muscleman tugged at his collar, revealing a scarred chest beneath.

His eyes glowed with a ferocious, bloodthirsty red as he took a step forward and, after looking around, his gaze fell on Li Hongxiu.

"Since you've seen us, don't even dream of leaving alive!"

Hissss!

He snorted coldly.

With five thick fingers spread, he created a gust of wind as he reached for Li Hongxiu's face.

However, to his disbelief, Li Hongxiu threw a punch forward. With a loud bang, her seemingly frail body erupted with terrifying power. The bald muscleman only felt his fingers spasming, and his palm showed signs of a bright red burn.

"How is this possible!?" The bald man exclaimed, clearly having not sensed much threat from Li Hongxiu.

Their eyes met.

"Kill yourself!" A red fox flashed through Li Hongxiu's pupils, stunningly beautiful.

"Are you joking!" The bald man hadn't finished speaking when his expression drastically changed.

His left hand was already viciously clutching his throat, his fingers tightened, and his face twisted into a terrifying bluish-black. He felt as though half of his body was completely out of control, only able to grasp his wrist with his right hand and struggle in vain. This way, his body became completely immobile.

As expected—

Li Hongxiu's figure flashed, and her fair hand smacked towards the bald man's forehead.

But a streak of black light, accompanied by a sharp breeze, swept by, and at the critical moment, Li Hongxiu forcefully changed direction mid-air.

Bang!

A loud explosion came from behind her, followed by the hissing sound of corrosion.

Li Hongxiu glanced sideways slightly and saw the scorched traces on the floor out of the corner of her eye.

The place that had been hit by the black light was now emitting thick smoke, sinking into small, poisoned pits.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Clear, rhythmic footsteps approached.

Li Hongxiu lifted her head to see a seductively graceful beauty in a black dress swaying towards her.

Her chest was full, swaying like ripe fruit on the verge of falling.

The slit of her dress was cut high, nearly reaching the top of her thigh.

The entire length of her pale, serpent-like legs was exposed to the air.

The woman's steps were unhurried, her face smiling, but Li Hongxiu felt a chill in her heart.

She heard a muffled bang behind her.

Turning her head, she saw Zhou Shun being strangled by a giant fat man, lifted into the air with his eyes rolled back, clearly unconscious.

Li Hongxiu had a premonition that things weren't going well and could only think to escape by herself first.

What happened next would have to wait for later.

At that thought—

Li Hongxiu made her decision swiftly.

Whoosh!

She first struck forward with a palm, sending a wave of foxfire rolling over, pressing down on the black-dress woman.

At the same time, Li Hongxiu's figure flashed, quickly darting towards the wall on the left side of the yard.

But after just a few steps, she suddenly felt a wave of weakness wash over her.

"Poisoned! When?"

Li Hongxiu's face paled as she crouched down and lifted her skirt.

At her smooth and fair ankle, a black line was continuously spreading upward, gradually forming into a beautiful pattern like a black rose.

At this point, Li Hongxiu could only abandon her struggle.

These people hadn't killed them outright but had taken the trouble to leave them alive, which likely meant they had other plans in mind.

Footsteps stopped beside her, and even through the long dress, she could see the outline of plump and rounded legs.

Li Hongxiu lifted her head expressionlessly.

Without seeing the face, what occupied her line of sight was the soft curve below the chest.

The woman stretched out her hand to gather the hem of her dress around her knee and elegantly squatted down, lightly touching Li Hongxiu's cheek and chin with her hand.

"Pretty girl, you're very beautiful, but a bit naughty," said the black-dress woman with a playful tilt of her head and a seductive smile on her face.

She blew a gentle breath outward from her palm, which laid open before her.

Whoo!

A wisp of light pink mist spread out.

Caught off guard, Li Hongxiu inhaled it into her body.

Her pupils dilated gradually, and her expression became much more dull.

The black-dress woman did the same to Zhou Shun and Xu Chong, and after a moment, the three of them slowly stood up. At the gate, the disciples of the Demon Suppression Army were watching with interested eyes, stroking their chins and sizing up the trio.

Click!

The gate of the courtyard opened.

Li Hongxiu and the other two left the courtyard as if nothing had happened, looking dazed.

"Sister's Confusion Barrier is becoming increasingly inscrutable," said the buzz-cut youth standing by the door with a smile, respectfully speaking.

"Why not just kill these three losers," the chubby man in the center of the courtyard didn't understand.

"Our main goal is to find the tomb of the Eight-Armed Dragon King, let's not complicate things by stirring up unnecessary trouble," the woman in a black dress said, her seductive smile fading as the three left. She continued coldly, "Also, have you heard the recent rumors about that District Magistrate of Baihua County?"

"Rumors, of course we've heard them!" the flat-headed youth said with a sneer. "Sister, do you really think he's capable of that?"

"Heh, of course I don't believe it. Rumors, you know—trivial matters turn into myths and legends through word of mouth," the woman in the black dress shook her head. "But, you can never be too careful with these things."

"So that's why you planted the Confusion Barrier on those three," said the chubby man.

"Mhm," the woman in the black dress nodded.

The Confusion Barrier she cultivated was a particularly vicious and malignant Secret Technique.

It allowed her to look into the recent memories of the afflicted, and even manipulate and twist their thoughts through the Secret Technique.

Once the Confusion Barrier was set, the affected person became a puppet in her hands. Unless one was born with strong spiritual power or their cultivation reached the Heavenly Deceit Realm to unlock their brain's potential, it would be nigh impossible to break free from her control, and even to realize their thoughts were being manipulated would be difficult.

"Through these three people, we can gauge the true strength of that District Magistrate," the woman in the black dress said with a sneer. "If his strength is indeed as formidable as the rumors say, then we'll wait for the elders from our sect to arrive before we discuss the next step of our plan. If not... hehe, then we will simply control him with the Confusion Barrier and turn him into a puppet to help us find the tomb."

"For matters like this, still, Sister is the best!" the flat-headed youth said with a smile, offering his flattery.

"Baihua County is a nice place; it may serve as a good foothold for our sect," the chubby man in the courtyard also spoke decisively.

The Demon Elephant Sect was originally a demonic sect from the Northern River Province.

But now, with Northern River Province and Skull Plain engaged in an escalating war, the flames of battle would inevitably spread into the Great Zhou Dynasty's territory.

A major sect like the Demon Elephant Sect had already started to make preparations in advance.

Moving part of the sect's resources and younger disciples out.

Located in the heartland of River Province and with its flourishing commerce and large population, Baihua County was an excellent choice in their eyes. Their conspicuous actions this time were partly to search for An Shelie's burial site and partly to scout and prepare in advance.

...

Meanwhile, in Anping Square.

Li Hongxiu, who left the narrow alley, suddenly looked up at the gray sky.

Two red fox ears peeked out from her hair and twitched slightly. A flicker of red light passed through Li Hongxiu's eyes, which quickly cleared.

"Ying ying..." Li Hongxiu's brows furrowed as she gasped, "This really has been troublesome for you."

A very rare spectral ghost dwelled within Li Hongxiu's body, highly integrated with her to the point of nearly being one soul in two bodies. The black-dressed woman's Confusion Barrier was potent, but to someone anomalous like Li Hongxiu, it was entirely ineffective.

"You two..." Li Hongxiu was about to inquire about the conditions of Xu Chong and Zhou Shun.

But when they heard her voice, they lowered their heads.

Meeting her gaze with their vacant eyes, she immediately felt a chill in her heart.

"This is really strange; better not to startle the snake by hitting the grass!" Li Hongxiu kept her head down and continued forward, with Zhou Shun and Xu Chong expressionlessly following behind her.

...

Boom!

Demon Suppression Tower, the fifth floor.

A rumbling noise emanated from within Su Heng's study.

The massive stone door lowered, dust rose, and the imposing figure of Su Heng appeared in the bright room.

The sunlight felt warm on his body.

He clenched his fist, and his body immediately emitted a series of crackling sounds.

Compared to before the retreat, Su Heng's body weight had increased, but his stature had barely changed.

This was because the nutrients were focused on the changes in his blood, the development of his bone marrow, and his bones. His skeleton had become even harder, his blood thicker and full of vitality. With his Level 3.5 Vein Mutation, his incredibly tenacious and strong vessels meant Su Heng didn't have to worry about issues like blood clots or embolisms.

Strength, speed, and burst power had all seen a significant improvement.

However, these improvements were within the framework.

It was not the same as when he would directly transform and rejuvenate upon mastering the Domineering Dragon Thirteen Forms Secret Technique.

"There is indeed a gap between ordinary Cultivation Techniques and top-tier martial arts," Su Heng had to admit. While the gap could be bridged with attribute points, doing so would result in many unnecessary wastes.

"I still need to find more advanced Secret Techniques," Su Heng slowly formed an idea in his mind.

The Demon Suppression Army might be a good lead.

It's just that before she left, Zhao Meiying promised to leave him some resources.

He wondered if these resources had been transferred, as he had been retreating all these days and hadn't been concerned with these trivial matters.

He took a robe from the coat rack and draped it over his shoulders.

Su Heng was about to leave the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure in red.

At the moment, she was squatting with her knees hugged to her chest in a corner underneath the bookshelf, seemingly there for quite some time. At a glance, she didn't seem much different than a doll left out for decoration.

"Li Hongxiu!" Su Heng stopped in his tracks, somewhat surprised.

This girl usually didn't care to see him, and now she was waiting here on her own accord; it must be something special.

"Has anything new arisen in Baihua County recently?"

"Mhm!"

Li Hongxiu raised her head.

She dusted off her bottom and stood up leaning against the wall.

She recounted to Su Heng everything that happened in the past few days. Su Heng's face, which had been smiling, gradually grew solemn.