Who could have imagined that Clear Origin Master, a figure so renowned among the orthodox sects, would meet such an end?
Still, with four cultivators of equal strength at the True Person level striking together, abandoning all restraint to launch a combined assault and ambush, such a result is not entirely unthinkable.
Just as that thought passed, the clash of swords suddenly rang out again from the distance. Li Xun’s heart jolted, and in his vision blazed a flash of piercing violet light.
Before he could recover, pure Yang sword-qi filled the sky, crisscrossing in every direction. Hundreds upon hundreds of sword-lights condensed into a single searing sphere, tearing through the air. Straight for Ti Wujiu’s face!
“Gu Pin’er!”
Li Xun’s cry of astonishment had barely left his lips when Shui Die Lan clapped sharply and exclaimed, “What a brilliant move!”
From where they stood, the two of them couldn’t make out what expression Ti Wujiu wore.
The next instant, however, light exploded across the heavens. His body was consumed as if caught in a raging inner fire, and in the blink of an eye he was reduced to ashes.
For a True Person–level cultivator to burn away like that, the release of primordial qi was unimaginably vast. The ghostly shadow clinging to him let out a shriek like an ape’s cry as it was blasted away once more.
As some fell back, others pressed forward. The instant the ghostly shadow was blasted away, figures darted in from every direction, streaking toward the spot where Ti Wujiu’s body had burned to ash.
At that very place, Gu Pin’er came to a halt. With a shuddering sweep of her Purple Sun Divine Sword, countless streams of sword-qi burst forth like sunlight, spilling everywhere without leaving a gap.
No matter how formidable those closing in from all sides might be, before such unstoppable, razor-sharp sword qi, even they were forced to falter.
In that brief hesitation, from the ashes where Ti Wujiu had stood, a stream of pure essence shot skyward, transforming into a rainbow arc that streaked off toward the northwest.
At the same time, Gu Pin’er let out a piercing cry. Pouring her true breath into the sword, the Purple Sun Divine Sword suddenly blazed like a burning torch, whirling madly in the void.
First came the sharp crackle of rending air. Then, centered on her, the temperature across ten li surged severalfold before erupting in a deafening blast. From the very fissures of the void burst deep violet fire, sweeping across heaven and earth.
The forest for ten li around was instantly transformed into a sea of flame.
“The Red Lotus Calamity! So that’s the technique your little sweetheart has been cultivating. No wonder she can force the blazing yang out of such a yin-soft body… but she’s throwing everything into this!”
There was a trace of schadenfreude in Shui Die Lan’s words, but Li Xun had no time for her. His eyes were fixed on the sky, his feelings a tangled, complicated mix.
As everyone expected, such a fierce technique couldn’t possibly last long. Especially against opponents of this level. Each one on par with Ti Wujiu himself. They didn’t even need to exert themselves; just the instinctive backlash of their true breath was enough to make that overreaching young girl suffer bitterly.
In the blink of an eye, the fiery cloud scattered. But in that fleeting instant, the clear light had already vanished without a trace, as though it had never existed.
Li Xun saw it clearly: Gu Pin’er had used a Daoist method akin to “dissolution through the blade” to help Ti Wujiu escape the fate of total annihilation.
That flash of azure light must have been Ti Wujiu’s primordial spirit.
At that moment, three figures appeared in the void. From afar, Li Xun caught sight of them and couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath. “The Skyfaring Ape Demon… the Bone-rotting Child… Qi Wusheng! They...”
But the thought that struck him next had nothing to do with the scene before his eyes.
It was a continuation of the unanswered question from five days ago.
Back then, he had been unable to understand why Lin Wuyou was so intent on protecting Xiao Zhongzi. Now, it was perfectly clear.
Lure the tiger from the mountain. That was it. Lure the tiger from the mountain.
It was the simplest of stratagems, yet with such a priceless lure it achieved remarkable effect. There was no doubt. The Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance, silent for ten years, had once again made a grand move.
Look at the sects gathered here: the Heavenly Demon Sword Sect, the Succubus Sect, the Venom Veil Sect, the Underworld Monarch Sect. Their spheres of influence stretched across the northwest and southwest, from north to south, covering nearly two-thirds of the western Tongxuan Realm.
And now, the second- and third-ranked leaders of those sects had already arrived. Yet this was still less than a third of the time promised in Lin Wuyou’s so-called “one-month pact.”
It was easy to imagine: if the situation here descended into chaos and could not be quickly resolved, each sect would surely send even more reinforcements. If Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance seized that moment to break out from the “No Return Land” and march southward, who could possibly stand in their way?
But to what end? To seize territory and play warlord? For that, they would pit themselves against the entire Tongxuan Realm? Was Jade Wanderer mad, or had the world itself gone insane?
Truth be told, if Li Xun had the strength, he wouldn’t mind lending a hand, just to see how the Alliance’s plan would ultimately play out.
Unfortunately, for him everything now hinged on survival. As for that so-called “one-month pact,” he might as well treat it as nothing but hot air.
“Your little sweetheart is finished.”
Shui Die Lan’s expression had grown solemn; the mocking edge in her voice had faded away.
Those three standing before them, at her peak, even together they wouldn’t have frightened her. But now, in her current state, even a flick of the finger from any one of them would be more than she could withstand.
“Before their attention turns this way, we need to move. Quickly!”
She called out, but saw that Li Xun was still staring upward, his reaction completely unlike his usual self. She hesitated for a moment, then gave a faint smile. “What’s this? Getting soft-hearted?”
At last, Li Xun turned his head. He gave a cold, thin smile, said nothing, and simply strode off.
Shui Die Lan chuckled under her breath and started to follow, but suddenly halted. “Wait...”
Li Xun turned back, and the corner of his eye caught a sudden gleam. A mist of rosy light was spreading swiftly across the dim sky, dazzling in its brilliance.
Wherever that glow drifted, the three True Person–level cultivators grew visibly wary, each of them stepping back a little without meaning to. In that brief opening, a figure slipped in, silent as a shadow, and in the blink of an eye was upon Gu Pin’er.
She thrust her sword on instinct, but by now her strength was spent. At the very first clash, her Purple Sun Divine Sword was wrenched cleanly out of her hand.
That figure swept a gauzy sleeve, and the night sky seemed to bloom with a pale pink flower. Under the eerie glow of that energy, Gu Pin’er’s body went limp and she dropped straight down, only to be caught easily in a woman's arms, already unconscious.
“She is…”
“The Heart-Consuming Concubine! Your little sweetheart’s luck just ran out. These days, even death won’t come easy to her!”
“Okay, and the Bliss Sect too!”
At those words, Li Xun’s face darkened like still water. Shui Die Lan gave a tinkling laugh, her spirits soaring, and tugged him back with her.
But her laughter didn’t last long.
High above, the one who had struck first at Ti Wujiu—Skyfaring Ape Demon of the Succubus Sect—let out a shrill, piercing cry that shook the heavens:
“Disciples of the Succubus Sect, Heavenly Demon Sword Sect, Venom Veil Sect, Underworld Monarch Sect, and Bliss Sect, hear my command! Within a thousand miles of the Demon Thunder Monastery, any intruder is to be driven out. If they resist, they are to be killed on the spot!”
He paused only a moment before howling again:
“Xiao Zhongzi! Hand over the Cloudmist Stone now, and by the honor of our five sects we’ll spare your life, even grant you free choice of one sect to learn its supreme arts. But if you cling to false hopes past an hour, then once you fall into our hands, you’ll find no way to live and no way to die!”
His voice thundered across heaven and earth, leaving no place untouched. Several li away, Li Xun and Shui Die Lan’s faces grew stiff and cold.
The piercing sound waves stabbed at their eardrums, sharp enough to make them ache. But the real danger came as the Skyfaring Ape Demon howled. At once, the dense forest all around came alive with hundreds of powerful qi flares. Clearly, the disciples of the five sects were everywhere.
Within just two or three li of Li Xun and his companion, more than a dozen such auras had already appeared.
“Underground!”
Li Xun made the decision instantly, yanking Shui Die Lan with him as he used an Earth Escape technique and plunged into the ground.
She was a little puzzled at first, but the moment she caught the heavy scent of moisture rising from below, she understood what he was planning.
“Oh? Trying to copy that dead ghost Xiao Zhongzi and slip into the hidden river?” Shui Die Lan gave a soft sneer. “You don’t have his knack for it. Planning to wander around blindly?”
Before her words had even faded, the two of them burst into the dark underground current rushing beneath the soil.
The river below was astonishingly strong. The moment the current hit them, it swept them several hundred feet away in an instant.
Right then, Li Xun gave a low shout: “This way!”
Answering his call, they pushed through the water, weaving three or four sharp turns in the web-like channels of the subterranean river. By now, the undercurrent beneath their feet had clearly calmed. Shui Die Lan cast a glance around. In this lightless place, with even her sharp eyes, she could only make out the rough outline of Li Xun’s figure.
“Hey, you actually know your stuff!”
“Mm, a little.”
Li Xun spoke casually, but the truth behind it was anything but simple.
Ever since he had grasped the great flow of “water and fire in harmony” that governed the southeastern forest, he had been using the restrictive patterns of the Demon Thunder Monastery to deduce their many possible changes.
Over the past few days, seizing every spare moment, he had always managed to gain a little more insight.
So when Shui Die Lan accused him of “wandering blindly,” she really couldn’t have been more off the mark.
But Li Xun wasn’t ready to let her in on this just yet. After brushing it aside, he quickly shifted the subject:
“Strange. I’ve been skulking around here alone, with no one to rely on. But you, Fairy Shui... you clearly have fellow sect members. So why are you in just as sorry a state as I am?”
Shui Die Lan let out a soft laugh. “Fellow sect members? Heh, I’m not exactly popular. If I went back looking like this, I’d pay dearly for it. Besides, you heard that monkey’s announcement. Do you really think Eroding God Blade and the rest can still stay hidden in this forest?”
“That’s true…” Li Xun answered offhandedly, then frowned in puzzlement. “But how did they end up tangled together in the first place?”
By “they,” of course, he meant the Succubus Sect and the other sects.