Chapter 2292: Just Came to Knock on the Door

Xu Elder shoved them aside with one hand and barked: "Find Tang Jingye, quick!"

The only way this ghostly thing can invade an immortal's body is by being swallowed. And in the past three days, he's only drunk a few bowls of sugar water.

He backhanded a small knife out, blade aimed at his own chest, about to stab in.

This thing in his chest and abdomen cannot be expelled by circulating true force alone; it must be extracted alive.

The disciples were terrified, wanting to step forward to stop him, but he swept them away with a sleeve, sending them flying and shattering their skulls.

With life and death at stake, he didn't hold back his strength.

Just then, the door creaked open and someone rushed in.

The crowd drew their weapons, ready to strike, only to realize the newcomer was one of their own—Liao Han.

"Liao Junior Brother? Where is Tang Senior Uncle?"

Before Xu Elder acted strangely, the last thing he asked was Tang Jingye's whereabouts.

"Tang, Tang Senior Uncle is dead!" Liao Han's face turned pale, and only then did everyone notice he was covered in blood, his right hand still pressed against his chest: "We had just arrived near Ying Shan Sect when the Yuan Si Bureau led a large force charging out, without a word launching a killing assault. The leading immortal was incredibly powerful—Tang Senior Uncle couldn't match him and was slain in just two exchanges!"

Xu Elder held his knife midair, stunned.

Did Tang Jingye just die like that?

So, who was really behind Tang Jingye's ambush?

In that brief delay, the thing burrowed into his lungs.

Xu Elder backhanded a knife to split his chest open, enduring the pain as he reached in to pull it out.

The disciples gasped in horror, seeing him pull out clump after clump of red-and-white mixed, gelatinous substance. The white was clearly the unknown entity invading his five viscera, while the red was Xu Elder's own flesh and blood!

Xu Elder's teeth were about to shatter from clenching, yet he focused his spirit and asked Liao Han: "You, you actually saw Tang Jingye killed with your own eyes?"

"Yes yes!" Liao Han nodded frantically, "It, it was that immortal who spoke with the sect master that day—he pierced Tang Senior Uncle's heart with a flying sword! I, I saw him collapse with my own eyes!"

Is it Liu Qingdao? Xu Elder was about to speak when another wave of sharp pain struck his chest.

Though he had split his chest open, the regenerative power of an immortal's body was too strong—in just a dozen breaths, the flesh around the wound began to contract. But Xu Elder clearly knew the thing hadn't been fully extracted—

It had squeezed into his alveoli, ravaging and rapidly dividing.

The alveoli are small and scattered; even this kind of extraction couldn't possibly clean it out completely.

Xu Elder gritted his teeth, his five fingers reddening like branding irons, and plunged them into the wound.

He intended to use the true fire he had refined over many years to burn this thing to death alive.

As for his own lungs, though they too were scorched by the true fire, being of the same origin, they would not be reduced to ash.

Xu Elder has killed countless people and endured countless injuries in his life, but he never imagined he would one day inflict such torture upon himself!

As the true fire flared, he also felt pain so intense sweat poured from his forehead, nearly fainting.

Just then, the bell hanging outside suddenly rang.

That was a divine ability used as a warning.

Liao Han cried out:

"They, they've come after us!"

Immediately after, the courtyard gate was knocked upon.

"Take the master away!" Xu Elder's two remaining disciples immediately stepped forward to support the master, while shouting, "Block them!"

Liao Han's long sword shot out from his hand.

……

Today, Wei'an City is teeming with powerful figures.

Liu Qingdao swung his arm, and in an instant summoned Zhu Xiuer and six or seven other immortals and great demons, sixty cultivators, and over seven hundred guards of Wei'an City.

With such abundant manpower, it was more than enough to surround the Yuefu Guesthouse completely watertight.

After arranging everyone, Liu Qingdao then walked to the backyard of the Yuefu Guesthouse, intending to first observe propriety before resorting to force, and personally knocked on Xu Xiqin's courtyard gate.

He also knew Xu Elder; the two had spoken before in various settings, and Liu Qingdao knew Xu Elder's temperament was relatively mild, not an unreasonable person.

Publicly and privately, they had no deep grudges; it would be best to sit down and talk, turning weapons into jade and silk.

But as he reached the door and was about to reach out, a sudden urgent shout came from inside:

"They, they've come after us!"

The voice was loud, yet also somewhat anxious.

Come after us? Has our side's movement been discovered? Liu Qingdao frowned, then simply knocked: "Yuan Si Bureau of Cangyan, Liu……"

Before he could finish announcing his name, the door before him suddenly cracked with a 'ka-la' and exploded open on the spot!

All the fragments came flying at him.

Of course, the most vicious was the bolt of sword light, like a silk ribbon, flying from inside the door, striking his heart in the blink of an eye.

It was fast, precise, and lethal.

Liu Qingdao dared to knock on the door precisely because he had prepared—he took a crossed step and moved just over half a zhang away, precisely dodging this sneak attack.

The door exploded open, and he saw several people standing in the courtyard, the foremost being Xu Xiqin!

Immortals can preserve their visage; though many years had passed, Xu Xiqin's appearance had changed little—only his beard had grown longer, and his hair bun had been changed to a topknot; Liu Qingdao still recognized him at a glance.

But Xu Xiqin had one hand pressed over his abdomen; his hands, clothes, and the ground were all covered in blood, his complexion pale with a bluish tint, sweat beading his forehead.

Liu Qingdao's sharp eyes caught it at a glance—he saw the wound on Xu Xiqin's chest was very deep.

Before he could speak, Xu Xiqin gritted his teeth: "Liu Qingdao, you despicable villain! I truly misjudged you before!"

"……?" After so many years as leader of the Yuan Si Bureau, having seen countless unreasonable immortals and demons, Liu Qingdao had never been this speechless.

He merely came to knock on the door—how did he become despicable?

"Xu Brother has misunderstood—you were attacked by whom……"

Before the rest could be spoken, two virtual spirits already appeared in the courtyard—the larger one humanoid, though pale green in color, muscles bulging all over, wielding two massive hammers that swung toward Liu Qingdao's head; the blast of wind from the swing hadn't even hit solid objects yet, but within ten zhang ahead, walls, trees, and buildings were all toppled by the gang wind.

"The King of the Sea Yaksha!" Liu Qingdao recognized what it was, raised a hand to block the Giant of the Hairy Ridge who was about to charge forward for a hard clash, and with his other hand grabbed a round, smooth, earth-yellow hard shell and flung it upward.

This thing grew upon seeing the wind, and just as it turned halfway in midair it transformed into a pale yellow circular shield, protecting those behind Liu Qingdao.

Immediately after, the illusory spirit's giant hammer struck the shield with a duang-like tremendous roar, the sound shaking seven li.

The shell cracked in several places but did not break.

However, the gang wind followed the outer curve of the shell, wave after wave pushing toward the town center and nearby buildings. Wherever it passed, houses collapsed like toy blocks, smoke and dust flying.

Elder Xu's illusory spirit is the King of the Sea Yaksha, extraordinarily powerful in life, but fell in the struggle against the dragon clan, and as a result was picked up cheaply by the Round Mountain Sect. Its gang energy is like sea waves; if an enemy dares to intercept, they will be beaten to death on the beach by continuous rear force, just like the前浪.

At first glance, the elders of the Qixia Sect resemble puppet masters in that they can control puppets in battle, after all illusory spirits are also considered puppets. The difference lies in that puppet masters themselves have little combat ability, but the elders of the Qixia Sect are all masters of multitasking—able to control the illusory spirit while fighting flexibly themselves, producing an effect far greater than one plus one equals two.