"Huang Qingcang... may you die a terrible death!"
Enemies meeting, their eyes ablaze with hatred, Daoist Jin Bi, betrayed by his own comrades, was now breathing fire.
He recalled his disciples, cultivated for years and treated as his own children, all of whom had met a tragic end at Huang Qingcang's hands!
Huang Qingcang let out a light chuckle, completely disregarding Daoist Jin Bi. Their target was Yan Shouyi.
Qi Dongqiang's corpse had barely fallen, his blood still fresh, when Huang Qingcang and his entourage appeared.
Yan Shouyi knew they had been lying in wait all along.
Ye Tianyuan, his face etched with vigilance, was puzzled. Wasn't Qi Dongqiang one of the Twelve Yuan Chen? Why hadn't Huang Qingcang and the others intervened earlier?
Yan Shouyi, however, knew that Qi Dongqiang, whose heart had turned to ashes, was no longer capable of opposing them. Hence, the Twelve Yuan Chen had stood by, as he was no longer of any use.
Those without value were simply discarded. This was the consistent modus operandi of the New Xuan Mountain Sect and Li Genmiao.
"Where are your true bodies?" Yan Shouyi asked calmly.
Huang Qingcang's expression stiffened, but a hint of surprise entered his tone. "You already know of our existence? …Hmm, that's not surprising. Qi Dongqiang must have told you everything."
"We've already exchanged blows. You should know that merely controlling Huang Qingcang and the others won't make you my match," Yan Shouyi said coldly.
Having dealt with even Qi Dongqiang, Yan Shouyi could capture Huang Qingcang at any time if he wished.
However, Yan Shouyi now knew that the true enemy, the one who had killed the disciples of the Qingcheng Sect, was not Huang Qingcang, but the puppeteer behind them, controlling them.
Therefore, he would not deliver a killing blow to Huang Qingcang; instead, he would find a way to preserve their lives.
Huang Qingcang's face contorted into a stiff, eerie smile. "Don't speak too soon."
With that, Huang Qingcang moved his fingers.
The disciples of the Dian Yi Sect behind him drew their weapons in unison and then charged out swiftly.
Their target was not Yan Shouyi and the others, but the bewildered monkey troops surrounding them!
*Puchi!*
A line of blood splattered as a monkey, before it could even react, was decapitated.
This Dian Yi Sect disciple, holding the monkey's head as if it were a trophy, kicked its corpse away with a splash into the Xi Xiang Pond!
The other Dian Yi Sect disciples followed suit, killing over a dozen monkeys in an instant and throwing all their corpses into the Xi Xiang Pond!
The monkeys, only then snapping back to reality, some fled in fear, while others angrily raised their weapons to fight the Dian Yi Sect disciples to the death. But they had severely underestimated the strength of the Dian Yi Sect disciples.
When they had previously annihilated Emei, the Emei Sect disciples were afflicted with the "Qing Si Gu" (love-silk gu), rendering their limbs weak and unable to stand, leaving them to be slaughtered by the monkeys.
But the Dian Yi Sect disciples were in peak condition, making the killing of monkeys as simple as slaughtering chickens!
Thus, these brave monkeys soon became victims of the Dian Yi Sect disciples' blades!
More and more corpses were tossed into the Xi Xiang Pond...
At this moment, Tian Jue'er suddenly realized:
"They've planted the Qing Si Gu within the monkeys!"
The Qing Si Gu, upon contact with water, would grow rapidly, releasing poisonous gu that could incapacitate fighters!
Huang Qingcang and his group's true intention was to once again utilize the Qing Si Gu to incapacitate Yan Shouyi and the others, recreating the tragedy of the Emei Massacre!
With Tian Jue'er revealing the truth, Yan Shouyi could no longer stand idly by. He rushed towards the Xi Xiang Pond, intending to repeat his previous tactic of using the palm lightning to eliminate the gu larvae within the corpses.
However, Huang Qingcang suddenly appeared before Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi thought Huang Qingcang intended to stop him, but unexpectedly, Huang Qingcang bent down and struck Yan Shouyi's shadow at his feet!
In that instant, Yan Shouyi felt a blow to his forehead, freezing him in place.
Huang Qingcang's hand landed precisely on the forehead of Yan Shouyi's shadow!
Ye Tianyuan knew something was terribly wrong. "The puppeteer controlling Huang Qingcang is attacking the leader's shadow!"
Yan Shouyi was unfazed by attacks on his physical body, but he had no defense against attacks on his shadow!
Long Feicheng, valuing loyalty above all else, even knowing he was no match for Huang Qingcang, drew his sword and slashed at Huang Qingcang's arm.
Huang Qingcang immediately retracted his hand, catching the Cai Wei Sword bare-handed with his Hua Jin (transforming power), and then kicked Long Feicheng into the Xi Xiang Pond!
"This is bad!"
Zhuge Ji gritted his teeth and said to Tian Jue'er, "Jue'er, you're the only one among us who can fight. Quickly go and stop Huang Qingcang!"
Then, Zhuge Ji asked Ye Tianyuan, "Tian Yuan, can you help the leader regain consciousness?"
"I can, but it will take time!"
"Jue'er can buy you time!" Zhuge Ji shouted as he ran towards the Xi Xiang Pond. "If we work together, we'll be fine!"
If Long Feicheng, who had fallen into the Xi Xiang Pond, wasn't fished out in time, the Qing Si Gu would quickly enter his body.
Zhuge Ji, aware of his own strength but possessing extraordinary intelligence, temporarily took on the role of commander, assigning tasks to Tian Jue'er and Ye Tianyuan, while he himself went to rescue Long Feicheng.
Tian Jue'er leaped before Huang Qingcang and unleashed a simple, brutal punch.
Huang Qingcang snorted, "You have no punching technique, and I practice Hua Jin. You can't hurt me… Pfft!!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Huang Qingcang was suddenly struck with immense force, turning into a projectile and flying dozens of meters away!
How was this possible?!
Huang Qingcang's face was filled with shock.
After hitting Huang Qingcang away, Tian Jue'er showed no intention of stopping. She charged towards the still airborne Huang Qingcang again and sent him flying skyward with another punch!
Even Ye Tianyuan was stunned. Just now, Tian Jue'er had performed "Lin Daiyu Uprooting a Willow Tree," and now she was going to perform "Lin Daiyu Punches Huang Qingcang?"
But Ye Tianyuan had no time for commentary. He quickly approached Yan Shouyi, placing his hands over Yan Shouyi's shadow and reciting a mantra, dispelling the curse the puppeteer had placed on Yan Shouyi's shadow.
At this moment, Zhuge Ji had already fished Long Feicheng out of the pond. Long Feicheng, a drowned rat, looked back and saw that the monkey corpses in the Xi Xiang Pond had begun to sprout Qing Si Gu. His face changed drastically, "Hurry and wake Brother Yan, or it'll be too late!"
Zhuge Ji shouted, "Tian Yuan, what's the situation!?"
"I need a little more time!" sweat beaded on Ye Tianyuan's forehead. The opponent's methods were clearly extremely sophisticated. Although he could break them, it wouldn't be easy.
On the other side, after taking two consecutive punches, Huang Qingcang finally understood.
Although Hua Jin was formidable, capable of redirecting all incoming force, Tian Jue'er, this seemingly delicate girl whose punch could fell an ox, possessed overwhelming brute strength.
As the saying goes, one force defeats ten skills. Tian Jue'er's strength held an absolute advantage, rendering Huang Qingcang's Hua Jin incapable of defense!