Chapter 228: It

In the streets outside Baixiang Pavilion, once bustling but now reduced to ruins, the black-robed elder slowly rose into the air.

His black robe merged with the night, sleeves drifting wide without wind, his withered hands hanging outside the sleeves, knuckles bony, glinting with a cold iron-gray sheen.

At that moment, the surrounding heavenly qi converged upon him like a funnel, casting a colossal shadow across the sky, as if tearing heaven and earth apart.

His cloudy eyes now blazed with terrifying brilliance, as if housing countless vengeful spirits, fixed unblinkingly upon Li Muxian, seated atop Baixiang Pavilion.

In an instant, the terrifying martial killing intent radiating from the black-robed elder froze the surrounding air into stillness, as if hundreds of thousands of invisible blades, brimming with murderous energy, pointed directly at Li Muxian.

“You don’t look like the peak lord of Bai Lian Peak.”

Li Muxian glanced at the black-robed elder rising into the air.

Hearing this, the black-robed elder said nothing, his gaze sweeping over the corpses of Lady Da and the others below, his killing intent surging like a storm-tossed sea.

The next instant, he thrust both arms forward, and torrents of dark martial qi erupted from him, instantly coalescing into ten thousand ghostly hands that surged toward Li Muxian.

In an instant, the entire night sky around Baixiang Pavilion seemed to twist and collapse, the countless ghostly hands forged from martial qi blotting out moon and stars, beneath which all things—even empty space—appeared ready to be torn apart.

The black-robed elder clearly had no intention of wasting words; before arriving in Bai Lian City, he had already learned everything that had transpired within the city from the Bai Lian Peak disciple who delivered the message.

His sole task now was to kill Li Muxian, for only then could he give Zheng Yunfeng any explanation—and only then could he withstand the boundless rage of a man who had lost wife and son in a single night.

At this moment, the black-robed elder stared at Baixiang Pavilion, now shrouded in swirling dark qi, his martial killing intent condensed into a blade like a heavenly saber ready to be drawn.

If Li Muxian somehow escaped his attack, he could strike the fatal blow at any moment.

Yet just as he sealed and locked the area around Baixiang Pavilion with his aura, Li Muxian’s voice suddenly echoed in his ear:

“Send a message to your peak lord. If he doesn’t come soon, before the other eight peaks receive my message, I may just break my word.”

As soon as the words ended, the air before the black-robed elder rippled slightly, and Li Muxian’s figure materialized before him.

Seeing this, his expression shattered instantly—he tried to retreat, but to his horror, his body felt as if poured with lead, utterly immobile.

Li Muxian shook his head and waved his hand; behind him, the countless swirling dark qi ghostly hands scattered like leaves caught in a sudden gale, vanishing in an instant.

…

Not long after, the black-robed elder’s forehead was pierced by a single finger, his face still frozen in the agony and terror inflicted by the Life-Death Seal, then plummeted rapidly into the ravine below the street.

Immediately after, Li Muxian infused his martial qi into a jade tube in his hand; a brilliant silver flame shot skyward, illuminating a unique pattern across the night sky over Bai Lian City, lingering for several breaths before slowly fading.

“They say this signal is only raised when something major happens at Bai Lian Peak. Now the peak lord must be coming.”

Li Muxian sat atop Baixiang Pavilion, gazing up at the night sky. This signal was exceedingly rare—he guessed the other eight peaks nearby, including Luo Shen Peak, must have seen it too.

Meanwhile, atop a small hill outside Bai Lian City, the hemp-robed elder and Lin Xuner stood motionless in the darkness, like statues of mud and wood.

Just now, they had watched the black-robed elder enter the city, then felt a terrifying martial killing intent surge into the heavens.

Originally, they had assumed that with the Bai Lian Peak’s Grand Elder’s strength—second only to Zheng Yunfeng—a cataclysmic martial clash would surely erupt within the city.

But neither had expected that the terrifying killing intent and oppressive aura had appeared swiftly—and vanished even faster.

Within mere breaths, all traces of killing intent had disappeared.

They had not even sensed any movement from the opponent facing the Grand Elder; Bai Lian City had already returned to silence.

“This…”

The hemp-robed elder was about to speak, when suddenly a silver flame erupted from within Bai Lian City, illuminating nearly half the night sky.

“What kind of signal is that?”

Lin Xuner stared at the blazing silver light in the sky, her face filled with confusion; the hemp-robed elder shook his head.

Although they had thoroughly studied the situation of Luo Shen Peak before coming to seek revenge on Bai Lian Peak,

they had never seen—or even heard of—such a unique signal.

So they silently watched the signal fade into the sky, exchanging a glance in the darkness.

“Do we still need to enter Bai Lian City?”

Lin Xuner suddenly asked, her young face shifting with uncertainty.

The sudden disappearance of the Bai Lian Peak Grand Elder’s aura clearly could not mean he had voluntarily ceased.

They had just witnessed firsthand the true power of the man within Bai Lian City.

And if he could dispatch the Grand Elder so easily, his martial strength was far more astonishing than they had ever imagined.

Hearing this, the hemp-robed elder shook his head, then gazed toward Bai Lian City and frowned:

“Let’s not go. Before, I might have had a sliver of confidence in escaping from that young master Li. Now, I have none at all.”

Lin Xuner’s eyes flickered, then she nodded and said:

“That signal was clearly no ordinary one. Bai Lian City has become a place of peril. If Zheng Yunfeng learns of the Grand Elder’s death, only his own presence can avenge his wife and son.”

At these words, the hemp-robed elder suddenly snapped to awareness—he had been so stunned by what he’d seen in the city that he hadn’t considered this.

Now, hearing Lin Xuner’s words, he realized Bai Lian City would soon become extremely dangerous.

“Hide. We must hide!”

The hemp-robed elder’s expression turned grave; he immediately seized Lin Xuner and sprinted into the hills.

Bai Lian City was no longer an option—if Zheng Yunfeng truly descended, even the slightest movement from a being of Heavenly Realm status could claim countless innocent lives.

And even if Li Muxian’s martial strength was truly immense, he could not remain invisible when facing Zheng Yunfeng as he had before.

Thus, even from outside the city, they would surely witness his actions—and finally confirm everything they had heard.

(End of Chapter)