Chapter 42 042[VIP]

According to information previously shared with him by the Prime Minister's Mansion, before Guan Qi shattered the void, he had stated that he would pass on his ten years of internal cultivation to Madam Shi to bolster her position within the Misty Heaven Alliance.

Indeed, for someone who had previously barely mastered martial arts, this was a significant asset.

But for someone like Yuan Shisanxian, who had reached such a high level of martial arts practice, it seemed like a joke.

Even if someone else's internal energy was absorbed into the body, it would take considerable time to fully utilize it.

While Madam Shi was undoubtedly exceptionally resourceful, it would still be difficult for her to personally participate in such a fight.

However, when Shi Qingruo drew her sword, Yuan Shisanxian saw that her aura was completely under her control, without a trace of pretense. The attainments in this single strike far surpassed those of twenty years of internal cultivation.

He raised his hand and turned it to meet it. The exceptionally nimble sword tip, like a cunning snake's tongue, pierced through the palm wind, dodging the earth-shattering force. Like a beast well-versed in its hunting instincts, it instinctively launched its next thrust.

This sword technique wasn't renowned in the martial arts world, but Shi Qingruo had learned it from his battle with Brother Diao. After arriving in Bianjing, he first faced Gongzi Yu, and the next opponent was the one before him.

Before Yuan Shisanxian could react to the shock, another sword was unsheathed.

Qi Shaoshang's sword!

Compared to Shi Qingruo's quick-made sword, this one, nicknamed "Chi," was far more ruthless.

The sword technique Yuan Shisanxian had taught Wen Xue'an emphasized momentum, and Qi Shaoshang's sword was no different.

Amidst the sharp gust of wind, a flash of sword light emerged, the most powerful move in the "One Word Sword Technique."

The sword's light was cold and sharp, yet it was like a flower in full bloom.

Even though he only had one arm left after the Lianyun Village riot, it didn't affect him in the slightest. He now lashed out with a furious sword, forming a pincer attack with Shi Qingruo's Ziwei soft sword.

The soft sword pointed directly at the vital point, while Qi Shaoshang's "angry sword drawing" instantly drew the sword's momentum.

Without a doubt, this was the best partner Shi Qingruo had chosen for him among all the partners.

Yuan Shisanxian's face was grim, but he didn't let these two juniors get the upper hand.

His palm was like thunder, brazenly holding back the edge of the furious sword, while his other hand, from the raging waves in front of him, grabbed the last ray of sword energy and moved around.

But it wasn't his hand that moved first, but his foot.

He swung his leg forward, seemingly thrusting forward to separate the combined attack of Shi Qingruo and Qi Shaoshang. That poetic kick suddenly transformed into a crushing blow, forcing Shi Qingruo to retreat swiftly. He tapped his feet repeatedly, finally finding his balance against nearby branches.

Yuan Shisanxian's footwork moved forward once more. In an instant, his Danqing leg transformed into a sweeping stride, closing the distance.

His cultivation of the art of forbearance included a technique called "Shrinking a Foot into an Inch," designed to complement the impact of the Sad Arrow. Now, with murderous intent surging, determined to take Shi Qingruo's life, it was only natural that he would employ it in pursuit.

The Meteor Step technique from the Taixuan Sutra was already incredibly fast, but Yuan Shisanxian's move was both far and near, seemingly following Shi Qingruo like a leech even as she leaped to avoid the blow.

In the blink of an eye, a cold arrow darted free.

Without even a bow being drawn, the Sad Arrow had already been released!

Shi Qingruo, however, seemed to have not seen the arrow.

From within her black robe's cloud-like sleeves, she slammed her bare hand to the ground, and she, along with the sharp sword shrouded in purple light, was reversing, joining forces once again with Qi Shaoshang's

stubborn determination. However, the Sad Arrow, unlike Yuan Shisanxian's prediction, did not pierce Shi Qingruo's heart. Instead, just before it struck the venomous snake, it was caught between two fingers.

Lu Xiaofeng's expression faded from its earlier briskness, but his movements were no less rapid.

With a single, incisive movement, he grasped the arrow and flung it back out. It

wasn't aimed at Yuan Shisanxian, who was grappling with Qi Shaoshang's next sword strike, but at Lu Shuyi, who had come to support his master.

The Great Stone-Smashing Palm, which was about to halt Qi Shaoshang's soaring leg, was instantly broken by the arrow.

The first to charge forward became a dizzying array of chess pieces.

"I told you it wasn't a bad horse."

Lu Xiaofeng rolled over the coffin in front of him, seemingly intending to block the attack of the other Yuan Shisanxian disciples. But as he pointed a finger at Lu Shuyi's face, everyone realized, only a moment too late, that the deadly flying pieces had all fallen into Lu Xiaofeng's grasp. The

flurry of flying pieces, like "a cascading waterfall, a flat ground thunder," became a stream of black and white before Lu Shuyi's eyes.

This time, Lingxi's finger didn't stop the hidden weapon, but instead passed through the pieces, striking directly at Lu Shuyi's forehead.

The man leading the Liuhe Qinglong group quickly retaliated with a palm strike.

However, Lu Xiaofeng could see that while he was thrown off balance by the sudden change, he hadn't lost his composure.

He was stopped by Lu Xiaofeng, and Ye Qiwu's hidden weapon was intercepted. The surrounding members of the Mi Tian Alliance directly intercepted the three who lagged behind, but two of them had already escaped Lu Xiaofeng's control and were about to scale the obstacle in front of them to join the battle on the other side.

One was the beautiful girl with a dazed look, and the other was Zhao Huasi,

a disciple of Yuan Shisanxian known for his "walking without leaving a trace in the snow." It was unknown how the former's Qing Gong skills had been developed, but they gave the illusion of a ghostly presence. The latter's kicks were the very same Danqing kicks Yuan Shisanxian had previously used!

Shi Qingruo's sword was swift, fighting and retreating. Seeing this seemingly coordinated exchange between master and disciple, he shouted, "Yuanxian, have you forgotten the rules of your Zizai Sect?"

Yuan Shisanxian's forehead throbbed. "Rules are meant to constrain people!"

What about Zizai Sect members? If a master passes on a martial art to his disciple, he can no longer practice it himself. He refused to follow such rules!

He possessed thirteen unique skills, calling himself Yuan Thirteen Limits, and he intended to teach them to his apprentice, so that the master could continue to practice them.

Before he could finish his words, he launched a powerful palm strike, nearly shattering Shi Qingruo's flexible sword.

But a surprising resilience emanated from the curved flexible sword.

The deflected tip of the sword barely traced a single sword flower in the air before it danced impenetrably in front of Shi Qingruo.

As she left Hubei, Ah Fei's swift sword had to be a step slower to penetrate the barrier and send her flying. Yuan Xian's palm wind also paused momentarily.

That momentary pause was enough for Shi Qingruo to notice that the veins on Yuan Xian's face, which occasionally rippled, weren't from the force of his palms and legs, but from

hidden dangers.

All kinds of hidden dangers. The hidden

danger of not following the rules of the Zizai Sect, of violating his oath. The hidden danger of practicing the Shan Zi Jing technique while still being irritable and full of jealousy. There is also the hidden danger that the internal energy of the Freedom Divine Art, the Forbearance Divine Art and the Duhuo Divine Art are all mixed together.

As Yuan Shisanxian's footsteps returned, Shi Qingruo laughed loudly, "No, no, no. Out of respect for our elders, let us help you."

Yuan Xian shattered the sword barrier, ripping it in two if not for Shi Qingruo's Taixuanjing Qinggong.

At the same moment, a resounding roar erupted from the battlefield.

The sound came not from Shi Qingruo and Qi Shaoshang's swords, but from the direction of the coffin.

Zhao Huasi let out a scream.

Just as he passed the coffin, his brush slashing like a knife, a powerful force suddenly struck him from behind, nearly causing him to spit blood.

But the blood didn't escape, instead spurting out in another form.

A strange, vibrant blood-colored streak followed the coffin lid that had been lifted and struck him in the back, slicing towards his legs with unavoidable force.

The blood-red blade's light, like a gentle dream, was striking with remarkable resolve, severing two legs with a single blow!

As Zhao Huasi landed on the ground, the legs he'd used to perform his "Treading Without a Trace" kick had been split in two.

Or perhaps it should be three.

The swift and piercing blade didn't even stop at the moment of its success, but instead swung back, swinging towards the "Dreamless Woman."

The young man wielding the blade had a sickly complexion, and against the backdrop of the cold moonlight and ghostly fire, he looked even more like a ghost suddenly leaping from a coffin. Even his blade technique was unearthly, belying his skeletal frame. With a life-sustaining energy that burned everything, he struck directly at Yuan Shisanxian's other helper.

Yuan Shisanxian turned back to look at the screams, only to witness a scene that left him visibly visibly pierced.

"Su Mengzhen, you!"

For the fourth of the Six Harmonies Azure Dragons, besides his brush-wielding hands, the most important thing was his feet, the ones that wielded his Danqing Legs.

Su Mengzhen's sudden strike destroyed him completely.

He'd crippled Zhao Huasi!

No one had expected that Shi Qingruo, while jokingly discussing Tian Ji's horse race, had angered Yuan Shisanxian, making him believe these were the only people present, delaying him, but in reality, he'd also brought Su Mengzhen with him.

Her breathtaking beauty, nestled amidst the coffin and will-o'-the-wisp flames, instantly captivated everyone's attention, making it even harder to detect the dormant presence beneath the coffin.

But for Yuan Shisanxian, the more important thing wasn't Su Mengzhen's appearance, but rather—

his single strike destroyed not only Zhao Huasi himself, but also the Six Harmonies Azure Dragon formation he'd cultivated for years!

And...

"What are you standing there for!" Yuan Shisanxian's voice, like thunder, jolted the young woman from her trance.

Almost instinctively, a transparent bubble emerged from her palm, reflecting a dreamlike light in the moonlight, enveloping the Red Sleeve Blade in a quagmire that prevented her from advancing or retreating.

Though she was awake, she still looked at the blade with a touch of fear.

She vaguely remembered that before she lost her memory and came to Yuan Shisanxian's side, she had an exceptionally formidable master. Whenever she traveled, he would carry a ghost-fire coffin, with corpses carrying it.

She would sit atop the coffin, becoming her master's most beloved disciple.

But Yuan Shisanxian said that she had been struck on the forehead by a hidden weapon. While it didn't kill her, it had left her with no memory, leaving her completely unable to recall the incident.

As Su Mengzhen burst from the coffin, images from her past overlapped with her own, causing her to feel dizzy and almost forget where she was.

While this hesitation wouldn't have been a big deal in a normal fight, it was particularly crucial in this moment.

Su Mengzhen's red-sleeved sword was already stained with blood.

The color permeated the blade, tinting the crimson spine even more vibrantly.

Though now blocked by Wu Mengnu's bubble, it still flew like an indomitable blood arrow, shattering the predicament with a bang.

Had Lu Xiaofeng not stopped the swiftly falling chess piece, perhaps the red-sleeved sword could have slowed down by an inch, giving Wu Mengnu a chance to survive.

However, Lu Xiaofeng's crimson cloak tugged and tugged, enveloping the hurled chess piece.

Lu Xiaofeng flung the chess piece to the ground, where it landed silently on the dirt.

The red-sleeved sword also slashed silently in an arc.

A streak of blood appeared on Wu Mengnu's neck, a half-step too late.

She opened her mouth, as if about to say something, but her expression froze in confusion, then a dead look.

Qi Shaoshang cried out, "Well done!"

Qi Shaoshang had seen this beautiful girl before, in a similar life-or-death situation.

Betrayed by Gu Xichao, he attempted to escape the pursuit of Wen Zhang and his men, but when they failed, they enlisted the help of a supreme martial arts master, the Nine Nether God.

The "Dreamless Girl" was none other than the Nine Nether God's apprentice, Paopao, who had joined him in his vicious murders and corpse-disposal.

During the decisive battle with the Nine Nether God, Paopao was struck in the forehead by a hidden weapon from the ruthless Constable, rendering her unconscious. Some unknown fate had led her to join another villain. Her

death at the hands of Su Mengzhen's red-sleeved blade was a final apology for those who had sacrificed so long ago!

Yuan Shisanxian, enraged, abandoned his two rivals and turned back to seek assistance.

Paopao's death was within his reach.

It was merely the loss of a woman by his side.

He trained the "Sad Little Arrow," and the first arrow he fired was his wife. If he treated her this way, he would show no mercy to Bubble.

But he couldn't lose his Six Harmonies Azure Dragon Formation.

It was the weapon he had to bring before Zhuge Shenhou to defeat him.

Without any of its members, rebuilding it would be incredibly difficult.

Zhao Huasi, with his broken leg, was particularly grateful for the presence of Wu Mengnu, who distracted the Red Sleeve Blade and gave him a moment's opportunity amidst the excruciating pain. He quickly sealed the large blood vessel in his leg, preventing death from excessive blood loss.

He then crawled back in a pupa-like state, intending to use the coffin's shelter to reach his fellow disciples and save his life.

He was even more fortunate that his master possessed a life-saving martial art known as the Duhuo Divine Art.

Even if it couldn't heal his broken leg, it should be possible for him to return to the Six Harmonies Azure Dragon ranks.

Yuan Shisanxian, unconcerned with engaging Shi Qingruo and Qi Shaoshang, took a step toward him, clearly harboring this very thought.

But the moment Yuan Shisanxian extended his hand, Zhao Huasi's heart skipped a beat, and an unprecedented fear washed over him.

Su Mengzhen's red-sleeved blade was already within reach. After killing Wumengnu with a single blow, it should have struck him immediately.

Given Su Mengzhen's temperament, he wouldn't retreat just because Yuan Shisanxian came to his rescue.

His presence signaled a strong stance.

But instead of advancing, he immediately withdrew, seemingly using his Red Sleeve Blade to block the Second Brother's Flying Star Sword of Hate for Lu Xiaofeng. In reality, it seemed as if he had...

exchanged a quick glance with the Master's Wife.

"Not good!" Zhao Huasi cried out, realizing this.

But almost instantly, another sound erupted within three feet, a "boom" blasting directly into his ears.

This wasn't even an exaggeration for the sheer volume; it was literally "in his ears."

Before Yuan Shisanxian's hand could reach his disciple, the coffin Zhao Huasi was leaning against erupted in flames and a roar, engulfing both of them.

Lu Shuyi's attempt to dodge Lu Xiaofeng's attack nearly froze, his face awash with horror.

When Su Mengzhen launched the first strike from the coffin, everyone felt that this was the reason Shi Qingruo had dared to challenge Yuan Shisanxian.

Who could have guessed that the coffin contained not only Su Mengzhen but also a considerable amount of explosives!

If the Su Lou master had considered his own safety, he should never have placed himself in such a dangerous place. Yet, he did just that, making the sudden explosion even more unpredictable.

It might not have been enough to kill Yuan Shisanxian, but...

"You. Are. Bullying. Too. Much!" Each of those six words seemed to be uttered between his teeth.

Shi Qingruo's body trembled, and she quickly wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, staring intently at the direction of the explosion and the smoke and dust.

The sudden burst of lightning and fire, despite Yuan Shisanxian's divine power, inevitably dealt a heavy blow. His body was indeed sustained by the "Divine Art of Forbearance," but his clothes were half-ripped apart, making him look particularly disheveled and shabby.

If he suffered this, how much more so could his apprentice!

Zhao Huasi, already missing both legs, was now reduced to a pile of shredded flesh, scattered among the coffin's planks.

No matter how uncanny Yuan Shisanxian's martial arts were, capable of dragging his apprentice back to the mortal realm even with only his last breath, there was no way he could reassemble them now.

His face was dark, as if a cloud of gloom was gathering, desperately seeking an outlet.

In his mind, only one voice echoed—

his Liuhe Azure Dragon Formation was destroyed!

And before he'd even met Zhuge Shenhou, it had already been thwarted by the successive schemes of a junior!

Shocked and furious, his aura shifted again.

But the first blow he unleashed wasn't a lunge at Su Mengzhen or Shi Qingruo, but a long, heavenward howl, laced with a burst of furious, maniacal laughter.

He plucked an arrow from his quiver, pointed it skyward, and let it soar into the night sky. The next moment, with the same thunderous, flat-ground wind technique, he pointed it in Lu Xiaofeng's direction. Lingxi's

finger might have blocked his half-strength, small, hurtling arrow, but it would never have dared to meet his current one.

It wasn't just an illusion; Yuan Shisanxian's speed was more than doubled.

Lu Xiaofeng retreated sharply, landing right in front of a sword.

He grabbed the sword of the sixth-ranked Six Harmonies Azure Dragon with his backhand and flicked it towards his face, forcing him to stumble and stand between him and Yuan Shisanxian.

The thunderous palm, undiminished in force, immediately reversed direction.

Lu Xiaofeng had no time to rejoice in his narrow escape.

He had keenly noticed that Shi Qingruo's expression was far more serious than before.

Before they arrived, she had stated that to defeat Yuan Shisanxian and Six Harmonies Azure Dragon, either Zhuge Shenhou and the Four Famous Constables would have to attack together—which would leave the capital's defenses empty and not be a solution.

Or, it would simply fuel Yuan Shisanxian's madness, throwing his already conflicting martial arts into further disarray.

This didn't require Zhuge Shenhou to personally deal with his junior fellow disciple, but it certainly posed a challenge to those who came to intercept him.

With Zhao Huasi's death, the Six Harmonies Azure Dragon Formation couldn't be deployed. Years of grudges and today's defeat all fused into a fierce emotional reverberation, only to intensify Yuan Shisanxian's resolve to kill!

He was a madman unconstrained by sect rules, and a madman of unparalleled martial arts prowess.

Killing Zhao Huasi and Wu Mengnu was a gift to Yuan Shisanxian, but it also marked the beginning of a crisis.

Amidst Yuan Shisanxian's furious roar, he grabbed his longbow from behind, turning it into a staff. Unleashing a burst of staff technique, he neutralized Qi Shaoshang's raging sword.

But the moment he repelled Qi Shaoshang, the bow ceased to be either a bow or a staff, becoming a razor-sharp longsword.

Shi Qingruo seemed stung by this sudden change of tactics. The Ziwei Soft Sword quickly swirled in a retreating shimmer of purple light, blocking the attack with a gentle, dense force.

The ensuing roar seemed to carry only a thread, like a nail piercing his brain.

"Master's Wife!"

Su Mengzhen thrust his blade forward, only to find Yuan Shisanxian seemingly still standing. A powerful, monument-smashing palm had already struck his blade.

The clear, melodious sound of the Red Sleeve Blade, a dance of life and death on the blade, suddenly distorted its pitch as if strained by the weight.

This palm strike sent the unbalanced Master of Jinfengxiyu Tower careening backward.

Yuan Shisanxian's expression grew increasingly grim, and he transformed his palm into a fist, striking him.

The moonlight overhead cast a shadowless silver glow on Yuan Shisanxian's body, leaving behind a faint golden hue beneath his skin.

In those beast-like eyes, only one word remained: kill!

But his relentless, raspberry-like fists failed to meet Su Mengzhen's counterattack, striking empty.

For unknown reasons, Su Mengzhen, before his mighty monument-smashing palm strike, was like a dead leaf swept up by a gust of wind, smashing directly to the ground in the distance.

Then, he plummeted straight down.

Shi Qingruo, Qi Shaoshang, and Lu Xiaofeng on the other side also followed without hesitation.

No, to be more precise, it seemed as if they had been waiting there.

When Yuan Shisanxian caught up, he was met with a flash of fire rising from the bottom of the pit, which blasted the escape route to the pit and blocked a huge rock in his path.

Only a sharp arrow of wind fell from the sky, piercing the ground and chasing him.

Nothing else.

The four men who had come to block his way were already highly skilled in martial arts, with powerful internal energy. Now, separated by a layer of soil, they had sped away for an unknown distance, making it impossible to easily locate them.

Only a faint trace of blood and energy allowed Yuan Shisanxian to find their whereabouts.

He turned back again, his anger pounding.

The members of the Mitian Alliance who had accompanied Shi Qingruo had already received orders to evacuate when the explosives blew Zhao Huasi apart.

Aside from a few killed by Liuhe Qinglong during the fight, the rest had already evacuated.

Perhaps they could capture a few people in this scattered flight, but what good would that do?

Lu Shuyi didn't even dare wipe the blood from his face. He approached Yuan Shisanxian and asked in a trembling voice, "Master, we..."

Yuan Shisanxian glanced at him coldly, cutting the rest of his sentence off.

Even without Lu Shuyi's reminder, Yuan Shisanxian wanted to know what he should do.

The Duhuo Divine Art conflicted with the martial arts of the Liuhe Qinglong Formation. Unless he temporarily abolished this martial art, the Liuhe Qinglong Formation would be useless without Zhao Huasi.

Yuan Shisanxian was well aware of the true level of his disciples' martial arts skills.

In a one-on-one fight, they were no match for the Four Great Constables.

"Instead of going to the capital to aid the Prime Minister, we should do something more meaningful." This was no time for hesitation, and Yuan Shisanxian made a quick judgment.

"You—" Yuan Shisanxian extended a finger, pointing at Gu Tiesan, the third-ranked Liuhe Qinglong.

Because he was trained in the same style of fist-fisting, his speed wasn't as fast, and his attack range wasn't as wide. He hadn't engaged in a fierce fight with Shi Qingruo and the others just now, but now he seemed the most respectable of his five remaining disciples.

"Hurry to Bianjing and report this to the Prime Minister."

Yuan Shisanxian hadn't forgotten Shi Qingruo's words upon his arrival, "stealing the sky and replacing the day." This matter must be reported to the Prime Minister as soon as possible. If there was still time, perhaps some damage could be salvaged.

He didn't notice, however, that when he gave this order, the man named Gu Tiesan's face trembled, hinting at a hint of resistance. While

the previous attack hadn't harmed him, it had also shown him that his master's self-proclaimed victory was nothing more than a handful of juniors could easily dismantle. So who could be sure there wasn't something else waiting for him?

What if he traveled alone and fell into another trap?

Yuan Shisanxian continued his orders, "Everyone else, follow me."

If Su Mengzhen and Shi Qingruo could be killed outside Bianjing, it would be beneficial for the Prime Minister to remove the leadership of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower and the Misty Sky Alliance.

His previous failure could no longer be considered a failure.

But unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, a faint rumble of thunder could be heard from the distant sky.

Yuan Shisanxian suddenly looked in the direction of the sound.

The full moon hung high in the sky, still bright and clear, with no sign of impending rain.

There was no doubt that the noise coming from that direction was not thunder at all, but rather that another group of people were engaged in a battle further away, using firearms.

Who was that?

...

Amid the roar of the explosion, a palm wind, like thunder, seemed especially stealthy, and with one palm strike, it knocked the leader of the other group back.

Tang Lan was thrown several feet away, spitting out blood, his face instantly turning pale.

Her expression wasn't the only one grim.

Dozens of bodies lay scattered around her, most of them missing their original state. In the distance, a fierce battle was brewing, with the outcome already looking uncertain.

She looked at the man before her and shouted, "What's the point of this, you guys from the Six and a Half Hall? You're already fighting among yourselves before you even achieve your goal!"

According to Gongzi Yu's instructions today, the Qinglong Guild she led would seize Su Mengzhen's distraction and march to Tianquan Mountain, setting it ablaze.

The number of casualties or the amount of items burned in Fengyu Tower was unimportant; the important thing was that news of the Fengyu Tower disaster spread throughout Bianjing as quickly as possible.

But she couldn't understand why Lei Dongtian, the Second Master of the Six and a Half Hall, would intercept her, using a deadly attack!

Lei Dongtian's Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Palm had already severely damaged her, and he wasn't alone.

In response to Tang Lan's questioning, Lei Dongtian replied calmly, "It was Di Feijing who signed the alliance with you, not my Six and a Half Hall."

"He's the Grand Master of your Six and a Half Hall!" Tang Lan gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stand again, but only spat out more blood.

Lei Dongtian sneered, "Grand Master? The Six and a Half Hall has no rules. Second Masters obey the Grand Master, Third Masters obey the Second Master. We only follow the orders of the Grand Master, and Grand Master Lei doesn't let us be dogs!"

Compared to the unknown Gongzi Yu, he naturally preferred to trust "Lei Chun's" judgment.

She had been injured while saving her master Qingruo, and she had gained the trust of the Saint Master of the Misty Heaven Alliance. If she could inherit the Misty Heaven Alliance and help the Six and a Half Hall rise again, it would be far more appropriate than joining the Qinglong Society.

At this moment, he should sever ties with the Qinglong Society and help the young lady advance in the Misty Heaven Alliance.

Tang Lan, a clever woman, surely couldn't fail to discern the hidden meaning in Lei Dongtian's words.

She couldn't help but curse inwardly, thinking Di Feijing had truly misjudged his young lady, causing them such a huge problem.

A flicker of murderous intent flashed across her cold, elegant features. "Well, you'll have to be lucky enough to receive such a reward!"

Lei Dongtian had already dismissed Tang Lan's struggle, but suddenly, seeing her looking away, he shouted, "What are you still standing there for? Do you really want him to kill me?"

A cynical chuckle erupted from the other end. "Sister, I thought you'd forgotten you were once a member of the Tang Sect."

Before the words had finished, Lei Dongtian suddenly turned around and was startled to see eight points of icy fire descend from the sky, striking him.

At the same moment, the sound of a mechanism closing emanated from Tang Lan's sleeve, and the lightning-fast sound of a hidden weapon firing shot straight at his vital point.

The two men spoke with the air of resentment, but the moment they attacked simultaneously—

the eight points of cold fire swept past his eyes almost perfectly, causing the poison needle to pierce his blind spot and strike him between the eyebrows.

The dispersing cold fire, carrying with it the darts, pierced the heads of Lei Dongtian's companions, killing them.

Only then did the young man who had leaped from the tree finally land on the ground and slowly tugged twice at the glove that released the hidden weapon.

If anyone from the Misty Heaven Alliance were present, they would undoubtedly recognize him.

This young man, with his messy hair and playful expression, had once infiltrated the Misty Heaven Alliance to investigate the Peacock Feather and had clashed with Bai Choufei in the ring. He was none other than Tang Ling, the third young master of the Tang Sect in Shuzhong.

Before him, Tang Lan, serving under Gongzi Yu, was also from the Tang Sect, but now a traitor.

Tang Ling sneered: "If you were still in the Tang Sect, and the old lady knew that you were forced to this point by the people of the Lei Sect, she would probably be mad at you."

Tang Lan wiped his lips with his sleeve and said, "That has nothing to do with you. Give me a hand."

Lei Dongtian is indeed a master who can stand alone in the Six and a Half Hall. If he had not expected that there would be two Tang Sect masters here to fire hidden weapons at the same time, there would probably be a fierce battle today.

Whether Tang Ling was friend or foe, that could be discussed later.

At least for now, she could still see a glimmer of old friendship in his eyes.

Tang Ling curled his lips, "You're really not afraid I'll poison you..."

Even so, he extended his hand toward Tang Lan.

But the next moment, their expressions froze, as if looking in a mirror, each seeing a flicker of uncertainty in the other's eyes.

At the same moment, the previously raging battle suddenly paused, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

A terrifying paralysis followed, and yet they couldn't utter a single sound.

Tang Lan's eyes froze as she heard a cheerful, charming voice from afar, "Uncle Wen, what poison are you using this time?"

In a split second, the figure stood before her, allowing her to clearly see their features in the moonlight.

These two people... these two people!

The girl named Wenrou was clearly anything but gentle; it was only because Shi Qingruo restrained her that Bianjing was spared a riot. The man named Wenwen, a capable general under the King of Luoyang, was clearly no gentle man either!

He was nicknamed "A Smile to Wishes Good," and he showed no mercy when it came to poisoning.

Everyone assumed he was merely sent by the King of Luoyang to Bianjing to retrieve Wenrou, but unexpectedly, he would resort to poison at this juncture, effectively taking advantage of a conflict.

His voice could truly be described as refined: "We haven't decided on a name for the poison yet, so let's not discuss it for now. We're making too much noise here. Take these two with you, and let's leave as soon as possible."

"Alright," Wenrou nodded, dragging Tang Lan and Tang Ling with her, each hand, to follow Wenwen. She couldn't help but ask, "I wonder how Senior Brother and Senior Sister are doing..."

...

Shi Qingruo had already stopped.

She was now several miles from the ambush on Yuan Shisanxian.

Without the assistance of the expert tunnel diggers in Fengyu Tower, such a feat would have been impossible.

But Yuan Shisanxian would not give up; her plot against the martial arts master wasn't over yet.

"We're almost here. Let's go up first," Shi Qingruo said.

"Okay," Su Mengzhen replied.

But before he could catch up with Shi Qingruo, someone suddenly grabbed his wrist.

In the darkness of the tunnel, Shi Qingruo's gaze shifted slightly.

In her hasty escape, coupled with the frantic rush she'd been running, she'd failed to notice something.

Su Mengzhen had jumped first, so logically, he should have been ahead of her.

Yet, now, his voice was behind her.

She suddenly remembered that when she detonated the barrier rock, a force seemed to push her forward, causing her to briefly pass by someone in the wind.

Shi Qingruo held his hand tightly, not giving him a chance to pull away, and slowly said: "Master Su, you smell of blood."