The earthstone heart, a treasure that could help him enter the Skysoar Realm, was extremely important for Liang Zhuangmin. Since Xiang Shaoyun was willing to yield it to him, his opinion of Xiang Shaoyun rose greatly, and he even had the urge to make Xiang Shaoyun his sworn brother.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he voiced it, "Brother Xiang, we feel like the best of friends even though we have only just met. I am also greatly indebted to you for saving my life so many times. Are you willing to be my sworn brother?"
Xiang Shaoyun had not expected it coming, but it was worth having Liang Zhuangmin as a sworn brother due to his outstanding character. He nodded, "Of course. I had the same thought as well."
"Haha, splendid. I, Liang Zhuangmin, hereby swear that Xiang Shaoyun is my sworn brother. From today onward, we will enjoy all blessings and endure all misfortunes together. If I go against this oath, may I die by having my heart pierced by a thousand arrows!" Liang Zhuangmin made a solemn oath.
With the same solemn tone, Xiang Shaoyun vowed, "I, Xiang Shaoyun, hereby swear that Liang Zhuangmin is my sworn brother. From today onward, we will enjoy all blessings and endure all misfortunes together. If I go against this oath, may the heavens strike me to death!"
"Hahaha! Since I am a few years older than you, you will have to call me big brother from now on," said Liang Zhuangmin joyously.
"Remember to take care of your little brother in the future, big brother," Xiang Shaoyun said with a smile.
"Of course I will. After this trip is over, I will charge straight into the Skysoar Realm. In the future when I become an Emperor, I will slaughter anyone who dares to bully my little brother," declared Liang Zhuangmin in a heroic manner.
Xiang Shaoyun could sense that Liang Zhuangmin was being sincere, and warmth covered his heart as a result. It had been a very long time since he had last felt something like this.
This was a true friendship between brothers.
Meanwhile, an intense battle was unfolding at a location not too far from Xiang Shaoyun and Liang Zhuangmin. If Xiang Shaoyun was there, he would have been able to recognize that Hua Honglou and about a dozen Red House members were there.
They were currently engaged in a battle with about a few dozen ghostrunes. Not long ago, the Red House had harvested a soul spring. After Hua Honglou kept the soul spring away, they were surrounded by a group of ghostrunes.
She was currently trying to fight a way out with her people, but the number of ghostrunes kept increasing. Their incorporeal attacks were extremely hard to defend against, and a lot of Red House members were either seriously injured or dead.
"All of you, leave! I will watch your rear!" shouted Hua Honglou in desperation.
She danced about with her sword, sending numerous fiery sword energies toward the ghostrunes around her. She was strong, but none of the ghostrunes approached her. They only relied on their soul power to lift numerous objects before throwing them at her. Also, the runes on their wings seemed to be capable of inducing hallucinations, allowing them to attack and take advantage of any opponents who fell victim to their wings.
"Big sister, ignore us and leave by yourself!" said the Red House members.
"No! All of you, leave! This is an order!" said Hua Honglou with a frown.
As she spoke, she danced around avoiding the numerous attacks the ghostrunes were sending her way. Her fiery sword fluttered about, slicing everything flying toward her. However, some of the ghostrunes had terrifying soul power. The objects they threw had a might no weaker than the attacks of a peak Transformation Realm expert.
That was why Hua Honglou was the only one who had a hope of surviving the onslaught, and not the other Red House members. While Hua Honglou was distracted trying to protect her people, she was nearly hit.
What was annoying about these opponents was the fact that when she tried to approach and kill the ghostrunes, they took to the sky, rendering her completely helpless against them. After being on the defensive for a long while, numerous wounds were left on her body. More and more of the Red House members had fallen as well.
Of course, it was not like Hua Honglou had no harvest of her own. A few of the weaker ghostrunes had been killed by her as well. Some of the Red House members started using bows and arrows, forcing the ghostrunes to stay away from them.
They fought while retreating, and only about seven or eight of them survived to reach the borders of the three territories. This was a place with demonic beasts, and because of that, the ghostrunes did not dare to give chase any farther. Just as Hua Honglou and her group was about to rest, a group of people arrived noiselessly.
"Haha, looks like the Cloud Margin Pavilion people have gotten something," a brash laughter rang out.
Then, a group of people on devil blood bats appeared above the Red House people. It was obvious these were the people from the Devil Blood Society. There were about 20 of them, each dressed in a black martial outfit while emanating a sinister aura.
Hua Honglou raised her head and snorted, "We have not gotten anything, but we did notice a soul spring not far ahead in the territory of the ghostrunes. If you are interested, you might still make it there in time."
"You are Hua Honglou from the Cloud Margin Pavilion?" asked the leader of the Devil Blood Society group.
He was wearing a half-mask that only revealed half his face. He was a peak Transformation Realm expert known as the Devil Face, and his status in the Devil Blood Society was second only to the Devil Fairy. Evidently, he wouldn't be much weaker than Hua Honglou.
"Yes," Hua Honglou nodded.
"People say that women with big tits are brainless, and it seems like you are no exception. Hand over the soul spring on you and have some fun with me. If you do that, I will spare you all. If not...hehe...don't blame us for being cruel," said Devil Face with a perverse laugh.
"Bastard! You dare insult our big sister? Come down here if you have the balls. I, Bei Renhua, shall personally cripple all of you!" shouted a man from the Red House.
This man was an eighth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator, and he was no weaker than the four great guardians of the Lightning Alliance. He was also an admirer of Hua Honglou.
"Since you want to die, I shall fulfill your wish," said Devil Face with a sneer. The Devil Blood Society people then started landing.
Two of them charged at Bei Renhua on their mounts. Attacking from the air, they held an advantage over Bei Renhua. The other Devil Blood Society members also started attacking. Hua Honglou wanted to protect her people, but Devil Face stopped her.
"Piss off!" Hua Honglou shouted as she slashed her sword at him.
And thus, a battle erupted between the two. They were evenly matched, but since Hua Honglou was rather exhausted from snatching the soul spring earlier and had even suffered some internal injuries, she was quickly forced into a disadvantaged position.
The wails of her companions rang out repeatedly, and she tried to help them when she heard their miserable screams. The distraction allowed Devil Face to heavily hit her and send her flying.
"I wanted to play nice, but you refused. Well, today, let this young master experience how rape tastes like," said Devil Face as he walked toward Hua Honglou one step at a time, lust covering the entirety of his face.
As Hua Honglou had torn some of his clothing from the fight, some of her snow-white skin was bared to the outside world. That coupled with her plentiful peaks were incredibly capable of filling one with lust.
"Even if I have to die, I won't allow you to prevail!" shouted Hua Honglou, bracing herself for death.
Just as Devil Face was about to continue pressing on, a lazy voice rang out in the air, "You are this young master's maid. Without my approval, who dares to kill you?"