Chapter 130

A cry—

A giant blue bird streaked across the sky, whipping up a violent gale like a mountain-shouting, sea-roaring tempest.

Shao Hanshang and Chen Jin'an, who had just been eagerly awaiting, instantly paled, fear flashing in their eyes, like old rats hiding in dark gutters who suddenly saw a cat.

"Is that the madwoman? How is she here so fast?"

Yue Shan's face trembled violently; without hesitation, he leapt onto the Wind Thunder Falcon's back, actually trying to flee.

One moment he radiated killing intent, wild and boundless; the next, he was like a cat seeing a mouse, fleeing in panic.

Yue Shan's drastic reversal left Qin Shuo stunned, and he unconsciously glanced toward the western horizon.

Whoosh!

At the very moment he lifted his gaze to the sky, a phoenix-wing gilded halberd over a zhang long came crashing down from the heavens with a thunderous boom, embedding itself into the ground.

It landed perfectly, right in front of the fleeing Yue Shan.

Then, he only felt a flash of red light before his eyes; Yue Shan, who had just been lofty and aloft, was as if trampled by an elephant—he didn't even have time to scream before being stomped straight into the ground, rubble flying high.

"Hiss!"

Qin Shuo sucked in a cold breath; the newcomer's strength and aura were simply unparalleled in his experience.

"Madwoman?"

Amid the dust and smoke, Yue Shan let out a furious roar filled with terror.

But before he could finish his words, a flash of red cloth appeared in the smoke, and another heavy foot came down.

Yue Shan opened his mouth, and a gush of fresh blood spurted out, his eyeballs nearly squeezed from their sockets.

"What are you? You dare lay hands on someone from the Demon Suppression Division!"

The icy voice echoed down the street; far away, Shao Hanshang and Chen Jin'an both shrank their necks, their eyelids twitching wildly.

This madwoman...

How did she get here so fast?

Wasn't it said that Yunzhou would at least delay her for three or five days?

How did she also arrive just one day after Yue Shan?

Shao Hanshang glared at Chen Jin'an with a furious expression, his eyes filled with questioning and annoyance.

Chen Jin'an wore a bitter expression, yet also didn't know how to explain to the other party.

Logically, Hall Master Lu should value the Longxiang Relic highly and thus personally intervene to stop her.

Could it be...

That Hall Master Lu was also beaten?

Just as this thought arose, a clear chime rang out from afar; the phoenix-wing gilded halberd lifted itself from the ground and leapt into the smoke-filled ruins.

Fu Lingyuan gripped the phoenix-wing gilded halberd and slammed it heavily onto the ground, making the entire long street tremble.

"Are you tired of living?"

The woman's black hair flew wildly; the phoenix-wing gilded halberd, over a zhang taller than her, loomed large as her phoenix eyes flowed, her words radiating killing intent.

"Fu Lingyuan, you dare insult me?"

Yue Shan roared in anger, thunder-strike gang qi crackling and exploding on his body as he stubbornly held up his head beneath the red shoe, inch by inch pulling himself from the earth.

"Insult me? So what? I still dare to kill you!"

Chime!

The phoenix-wing gilded halberd trembled slightly, its sound like an ancient celestial phoenix's low chant—clear and melodious, yet carrying an inviolable dignity and domineering aura.

Upon hearing this, Shao Hanshang, who had originally wanted to sneak away, felt his eyelids jump violently; he could only steel himself and shout loudly:

"Division Master, spare him!"

At that moment, he no longer cared about exposing the connection between Wind Thunder Valley and Zhenwu Hall, and leapt toward the ruins.

If Yue Shan died, today's matter would truly blow up—far beyond what a mere Prefecture City Lord like him could withstand.

If it were someone else, he might still hope they'd restrain themselves out of fear of Yue Shan's status as a True Disciple of Wind Thunder Valley.

But this person...

Is someone who could chase and slash a Prefecture Governor down the street.

If she says she'll kill, she truly will!

Even if Wind Thunder Valley kicks up a fuss afterward, what can they do?

Could we really go to war over a single True Disciple disciple?

When the time comes, the unlucky one won't be anyone else—it'll be me, this Prefecture City Lord.

Either the sect sends me to take the blame for this Division Master, or the valley elders vent their anger on me, bearing the sect's wrath over losing a True Disciple.

In short, the outcome won't be good either way.

So, Yue Shan cannot die!

At least, not die in my Songyang Prefecture City.

Shao Hanshang leapt onto a rooftop near the ruins, yet dared not get too close, truly awed by the Division Master's aura.

Moving any closer, he worried he wouldn't even be able to speak clearly.

He bowed deeply toward the small figure in blue armor and red robe, wearing a great red cloak, and spoke humbly:

"Master, Yue Shan acted rashly only because his mind was clouded by hatred.

I hope you will spare his life in consideration of his many years of slaying demons and the meritorious service he has rendered to the people of Yunzhou."

"Clouded by hatred?"

The red-robed girl snorted coldly, just about to deliver another kick to the person beneath her foot, when Yue Shan suddenly bellowed like a madman:

"Fu Lingyuan, you're going too far!"

Boom—

It was as if countless thunderbolts had exploded simultaneously.

A violent, boundless Thunder Strike Gang Qi erupted on Yue Shan's body, blasting the petite figure standing on him into the air.

The next second, Yue Shan, as if bathed head to toe in thunder and lightning, rose from the deep crater in the ground.

Around him, Thunder Strike Gang Qi wandered like lightning snakes, emitting a scalp-numbing crackling and bursting sound.

A terrifying, brutal, and maddening aura spread from his body.

Immediately afterward, everyone saw a Unique Horned Kui Ox, entirely condensed from Thunder Strike Gang Qi, rise up behind him.

The Kui ox was blue-black all over, its body bathed in blue, white, and purple lightning, exuding an ancient, savage aura; its physique was sturdy, its eyes glared angrily, and its massive horns pointed to the heavens, as if it had stepped from antiquity.

Most terrifying of all, at its brow was a vertical-eye-shaped Purple Heaven Thunder Pool, within which endless thunderous liquid surged, emanating a heart-pounding aura of destruction.

Five Thunders Transformation Hand, Thunder God Extinguishes the World!

This is the ultimate killing move evolved from the profound mastery of the Five Thunders Transformation Hand, a top-tier secret art.

It is said its power can rival divine abilities!

However, this killing move carries immense backlash; the user must gather all their True Essence and spirit into a single point, visualize the divine thunder pool and the primordial Kui ox, and unleash a destructive strike.

After one strike, no strength remains.

It can be said this is Yue Shan's last lifesaving trump card, not used under ordinary circumstances.

But now, as the Ninth True Inheritor of Wind Thunder Valley, he had been stepped on with a foot, his face pressed into the ground—this humiliation, how could he bear it?

Seeing Yue Shan fight desperately, Qin Shuo decisively retreated.

At this moment, Yue Shan was more than ten times as dangerous as before.

If the opponent had unleashed this killing move from the start, he would have fled immediately, never considering a direct clash.

True Disciples, in any sect, are the objects of painstaking cultivation and high hopes.

Their desperate, explosive killing moves are absolutely terrifying!

Moreover, Wind Thunder Valley is famed as Yunzhou's First Alchemy Sect, with tens of thousands of disciples, yet only a handful of True Inheritors.

Such a sect's True Inheritors naturally possess formidable strength, and when they erupt, they are naturally even more horrifying.

"Yue True Disciple!"

Shao Hanshang was also startled by this sudden turn of events.

What's with suddenly going all-in like this?

If you really anger that grandmother, she'll slash you with one blade—who will I find to reason with you then?

Indeed, facing Yue Shan's desperate explosion, Fu Lingyuan remained expressionless.

She shook her Phoenix Wing Gilded Halberd, and a lofty phoenix cry echoed across the field, actually pressing down the bellowing primordial Kui ox.

"Since you insist on seeking death, then I shall grant your wish!"

Ke—

As if a phoenix's cry shook the nine heavens, resounding through the clouds.

Fu Lingyuan's Phoenix Wing Gilded Halberd blazed with light, as if an ancient divine phoenix was being resurrected.

In a daze, everyone seemed to see a divine phoenix reborn from fire, soaring through the nine heavens and ten earths, crimson clouds piercing the sky.

An unimaginable pressure spread from that fiery petite figure, almost no one could resist it, as if the Martial Saint himself had descended.

The masters of the Songyang Prefecture families trembled in their souls, unable to resist the urge to kneel and worship.

This was utterly involuntary, like ants glimpsing a dragon, filled with innate awe.

"Martial Saint Divine Ability, Heavenly Phoenix Nine Slashes!"

Shao Hanshang's face turned pale, realizing that this mad woman, who by her own power had suppressed countless heavenly prodigies of Yunzhou so they could not lift their heads, had truly been enraged and would now slaughter Wind Thunder Valley's Ninth True Inheritor.

"Divine ability?"

Having already retreated from the battlefield and taken position on the roof to watch, Qin Shuo raised his brow, his eyes flashing with surprise.

On the woman in the blue armor and red robe, he sensed an aura similar to the Longxiang Divine Ability.

This was the profound mystery left by the Martial Saint's enlightenment of the Dao; though each varied, they were equally deep as the sea, profound and boundless, impossible to grasp.

"Unexpected, the Division Master of the Demon Suppression Division actually possesses a divine ability—no wonder He Mingjing, that fellow, holds this woman in such high esteem."

Qin Shuo's heart trembled.

Likewise possessing a divine ability, the person before him was far stronger than himself.

If I could also possess strength equal to hers, what damned True Inheritor—I could slay them with a single blade just as well.

As his thoughts drifted, the two figures in the field moved.

Yet what no one expected was that Yue Shan, who had unleashed his desperate strike, suddenly turned and fled.

Indeed, he just ran—head down, never looking back.

Under the empowerment of Thunder God Extinguishes the World, his speed reached the extreme, like a white light shuttling through Songyang Prefecture City, vanishing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

Such a dramatically charged scene dropped jaws all around.

Everyone stared blankly at the white light that had disappeared from view.

Damn, you were just roaring so fiercely, striking a battle-ready pose—just to run faster now?

Even Qin Shuo was left dumbfounded by Yue Shan's sneaky maneuver.

I thought he was an iron-boned man, but turns out he's the Great Sage of Escape!

Fu Lingyuan also clearly hadn't expected Yue Shan to flee; after a momentary daze, she immediately shouted angrily: "Dare to trick Old Lady? Today I'll chop off your dog head!"

Ke—

Above the firmament, bird cries split the sky.

A massive green bird spread its wings and flew horizontally, stirring up a huge airflow as it swooped down, drawing gasps and alarm from the city.

Huh!

Fu Lingyuan lightly tapped his foot, leapt up dozens of zhang in a flash, landed precisely on the great bird's wings without leaning or swaying.

"Qin Shuo, once this matter is settled, you and He Mingjing stay in the prefectural city; await the Flying Star General's arrival, then you shall go to Yunzhou together with him!"

As the words faded, the person and bird were already far away.

Qin Shuo watched them disappear into the distance, about to leave, when he heard Chen Jin'an call out from not far away:

"Qin Brother, I have long admired your great name; I am Chen Jin'an of Zhenwu Hall—might I trouble you for a word?"