Chapter 1119: Gongsun Dies, Sword Furnace Startled

The sound of wind and rain, the whimpering noise, accompanied by the splashing of rainwater against the eaves, echoed in this quiet hall.

It became a foil to Xu Qing's voice, further highlighting the majesty in his words.

Especially as lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the earth while also shining into the hall, flashing onto Xu Qing's standing figure.

It made his shadow... appear, stretching it long, and completely enveloping Gongsun Qingmu's entire body.

It became a pressure!

A full-range suppression.

Gongsun Qingmu's mind fluctuated along with it, instantly becoming heavy.

Under this pressure, he slowly raised his head, gazing at the Young Master before him.

The other party's arrival was beyond his expectations. He had thought of many people who might appear tonight, but he never expected that the one to come would be the Young Master, who usually showed no abnormalities.

And the other party's words were like sharp blades, piercing his mind and lingering for a long time.

Thus, countless thoughts churned in his mind, finally turning into a hoarse voice.

"Young Master, this old man doesn't quite understand what you mean."

The moment the words were spoken, a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes, locking onto the person before him.

"Don't understand?"

Xu Qing's gaze was calm. He didn't care at all about the danger in Gongsun Qingmu's eyes as he spoke indifferently.

"Gongsun Qingmu, you hold the Aurora Young Master's secret decree, allowing you to act as you see fit. Everything you have done before and after has its reasons, and everything you have done has its foundation."

"I will assign a mission to all your acts of betrayal."

"You leaked the Xiangong's secrets? That was me having you do it deliberately, with the goal of drawing out all hidden enemies!"

"You stole the Xiangong's treasures? That was me having you do it, with the goal of testing the Xiangong's defenses."

"Even if you were to go on a crazed killing spree in the Xiangong, I could still find a reason for you."

"So, do you want to try and see?"

Once these words were spoken, Gongsun Qingmu's entire body shook, and his expression turned ugly instantly.

This move was, to him, like a fatal blow.

It fundamentally stripped his betrayal of its foundation.

After all... the Aurora Young Master's personal testimony was, in many cases, the most direct evidence!

In this way, none of his actions could be called betrayal!

At the same time, the incredible guess that the Young Master before him was an outsider also rose in his heart, becoming a storm that roared in his mind.

And the pressure from Xu Qing did not end. At this moment, Xu Qing leaned forward slightly, looking into Gongsun Qingmu's eyes.

"In front of me, your betrayal is a meritorious service."

"And if I say you have rendered meritorious service, your betrayal won't work!"

"If this were a time spanning ten thousand years, I might not have time to waste, but the remaining time for this fourth-layer world is only a few days."

"In a few days, you tell me... can I succeed in making your past, present, and future betrayals all fail?"

As Xu Qing's words fell one by one into Gongsun Qingmu's heart, the sense of danger in Gongsun Qingmu's aura grew even more intense.

Furthermore, behind him, the void distorted. In the blur, an iron sword containing a terrifying aura slowly formed, its sword intent seemingly ready to erupt at any moment.

Xu Qing's expression was calm. Regarding Gongsun Qingmu's aura and his seemingly imminent action, he still didn't care in the slightest, only shifting his gaze from the other party to the remnant sword.

"You want to assassinate me to form a betrayal?"

"Unless you have the ability to kill me instantly, otherwise... this is just a bitter-meat scheme I ordered you to perform."

"Of course, to protect you, I will order you to be imprisoned until the wedding catastrophe descends."

"So, whether your betrayal works or not depends on whether I allow it."

Xu Qing spoke indifferently.

Gongsun Qingmu's expression was gloomy, and he remained silent.

A sense of suppression continued to spread in his heart, finally turning into a hoarse voice.

"The Young Master didn't come here just to say these things, did you?"

At this moment, thunder echoed outside. Xu Qing raised his hand and grabbed at the iron sword manifested behind Gongsun Qingmu.

Gongsun Qingmu hesitated in his heart, but did not stop him.

Thus, the sword flew straight toward Xu Qing in an instant, and Xu Qing clamped it between two fingers of his right hand.

After examining it carefully, his voice came out amidst the lingering echoes of the thunder outside, as if continuing the intent of the thunder.

"If this sword were stained with my blood, and then I personally testified to your assassination... you tell me, would this be the greatest betrayal in the Xiangong, aside from harming the Immortal Lord?"

"Such a betrayal of assassinating the Young Master should bring you quite a few benefits."

As he spoke, Xu Qing's finger slid across the blade, and a drop of blood flowed from the wound, falling onto the sword. The moment it touched, the sword hummed immediately.

It was clearly excited.

And the space-time waves here also roared at this moment, more violently than at any other time.

But it was only an illusion, not yet successful; it still needed... permission and confirmation.

But to Gongsun Qingmu, it was also a violent churning of his mind, because he felt the intensity of this betrayal, and he also felt the huge benefits to himself if this betrayal were to succeed.

Thus, his breathing became slightly rapid as he looked at Xu Qing.

"This is the betrayal I prepared for you, and it could have originally allowed you to remain yourself while the betrayal succeeded."

"But you took the wrong path."

Xu Qing looked coldly at Gongsun Qingmu.

Gongsun Qingmu was silent. He naturally knew what the other party meant by taking the wrong path.

It was his act of reclaiming the Fox Beauty's identity.

It was just that he was helpless in his heart; after all, who could have imagined that an identity impossible to obtain would actually be obtained by someone.

He had already realized that the person before him was an outsider, and he also realized that Xing Huanzi... had a slim chance of success.

Thus, he was decisive in his heart. Without hesitation, he stood up and bowed deeply to Xu Qing.

"Young Master, how should I make amends?"

Xu Qing raised his hand and threw the elixir bottle containing Li Mengtu's poison over.

Then he took out the decree jade slip and imprinted his divine sense.

"Gongsun Qingmu of the Punishment Thunder Palace colluded with external enemies, betrayed the Xiangong, and attempted to assassinate me. Zhong Chi, using his self-created poison, guarded the sovereign, causing Gongsun Qingmu's assassination to fail, and personally poisoned Gongsun to death!"

"However, Gongsun Qingmu had prepared for many years and left behind clones outside, so issue a wanted order to the entire Fifth Star Ring, wanted... Gongsun Qingmu!"

After the decree was imprinted, Xu Qing released the blood-stained iron sword, letting it return, while he himself walked outside, not looking at Gongsun Qingmu again.

As for Gongsun Qingmu's next choice...

He had no room for choice.

Thus, the moment Xu Qing's figure walked out of the hall and stepped into the wind and rain, inside the hall behind him, Gongsun Qingmu let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with complexity as he swallowed the poison in his hand.

He indeed had no room for choice.

Facing the identity of the Young Master, if he did not obey, the other party had too many ways to make his mission fail.

Even if the Fourth True Monarch had personally spoken of the disciple's betrayal before, if the Young Master wanted to...

He could also reverse the situation instantly.

In this way, it was difficult for him to resist.

So, the only path before him was this one.

At this moment, as the poison spread, Gongsun Qingmu's body trembled, and his complexion gradually turned pitch black.

This poison was originally Li Mengtu's Constitution, and it had been blessed by Xu Qing, so its power was already astonishing. Plus, Gongsun Qingmu had given up resistance and self-rescue.

So it erupted extremely smoothly and swiftly.

A moment later, when Xu Qing's figure had completely disappeared into the wind and rain, lightning streaked across, and Gongsun Qingmu, who was sitting cross-legged in the hall, let his head hang down heavily.

He died of breathlessness!

His Dao vanished and his spirit perished!

As for the Evil Spirit Child's consciousness, it was also driven out of this fourth-layer world in an instant!

Just as Xu Qing said, he could have continued to stay, but he chose the wrong path, so he could only swallow the poison.

And the moment he died...

Two space-time waves reached completion within this Xiangong!

Roaring through space-time, they turned into a storm, shaking all directions.

One occurred here; it was the betrayal of Gongsun Qingmu's assassination, which now had a foundation and became a settled fact.

Thus, vast waves appeared.

And the other was at Zhong Chi's location.

The decree Xu Qing left for Zhong Chi became a closed loop at this moment!

The protection of the sovereign was successful!

Thus, the space-time storm grew even more intense, turning into a vortex that looked like a flower of space-time, blooming brilliantly in this night of thunder and rain.

At the heart of the flower, in the vortex, Xu Qing walked forward.

The direction he was heading was the... Sword Furnace where Qianjun and Biyi were!

That was Xu Qing's final destination tonight!

And as he approached, space-time waves rose one after another, and everyone's fluctuations were erupting to varying degrees.

Until the space-time waves from Li Tianjiao suddenly surged, and the change in space-time had already formed a trend!

Xu Qing turned his head and looked into the distance.

"Li Tianjiao's arm is broken."

At this moment, a large amount of space-time sand began to form around Xu Qing, circling him as the center, shining with dazzling light, making Xu Qing's figure appear illusory.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and continued forward.

It was as if he were walking through time, step by step, arriving at the Sword Furnace.

He saw the Sword Furnace!

The Sword Furnace stood within the array, pitch black all over, emanating an inexplicable might.

And the thunder here was more frequent than elsewhere; bolts of lightning, like heavenly tribulations, descended continuously, striking the Sword Furnace.

Every time they fell, they formed countless electric arcs, some of which scattered outward like a waterfall.

Viewed from afar, this scene was vast and mysterious.

The ground array was submerged by electric arcs, resembling a pool of thunder.

Moreover, sharp sword qi erupted within the Sword Furnace, seemingly wanting to undergo metamorphosis, wanting to break out of the cocoon!

"Compared to others, your way of hiding is both simple and extraordinary, actually inhabiting the sword embryo."

"If not for the multiple waves during this period, finding you would not have been an easy task."

"What's more interesting is that you two are actually taking this opportunity to be born ahead of time."

Gazing at the Sword Furnace, Xu Qing spoke indifferently.

His voice entered the Sword Furnace, and Qianjun and Biyi inside were each shaken. But what shocked them even more was Xu Qing's next sentence.

"That's fine too, it makes it more convenient for you to recognize a master!"

At the same time, the moment Qianjun and Biyi's minds were shattered by the words "recognize a master," in the distant sky, lightning like silver snakes roared across the firmament.

And amidst countless flashes of lightning, the Fourth True Monarch's figure, transformed into a long rainbow, was whistling toward the Sword Furnace.

In the electric light, his expression was gloomy, and the killing intent in his eyes had reached its peak! ===== CHAPTER 1122 =====