Chapter 505: Storm Approaching

In an instant, a sound wave burst forth like a tsunami, fiercely slamming into Lu Xiangxiang.

She felt a tremendous force surge forth, her whole body like a broken kite being fiercely blown away, with a loud Bang! she heavily struck the shield, then tumbled miserably to the ground.

Qian Yunzhou stood in midair, a flash of undisguised disgust and coldness crossing his eyes.

The flute's sound grew ever more mournful, wailing and lamenting, surging wildly toward Lu Xiangxiang on the ground.

Ahhh...

Lu Xiangxiang painfully clutched her ears, her sea of consciousness feeling as if it would be torn apart by this demonic sound; the intense pain made her whole body convulse, curling up on the ground into a ball, she let out a miserable, wailing scream.

Everyone saw this and felt a jolt of shock.

They instinctively felt that Qian Yunzhou's treatment of Lu Xiang was really too much.

On the high platform, Formless Immortal Venerable Xu Yanzhi slightly narrowed his eyes, a flicker of displeasure and heartache flashing in their depths.

Soon, Lu Xiangxiang lost consciousness.

And this match naturally ended with Qian Yunzhou's victory.

Lu Xiangxiang was helped down by her fellow disciples, looking quite embarrassed.

Next, Sikong Banxue, Qian Yunzhou, and Yuan Yao all went onto the dueling platform to draw lots.

Sikong Banxue drew a bye.

Yuan Yao faced Qian Yunzhou.

"Little Sixth Sister, we really have some fate between us," Qian Yunzhou said, the corners of his lips curving into an arc, his eyes showing a hint of tenderness.

His fingertip rubbed the jade flute, then he lifted his head to glance at the current rankings, he softly sighed: "Even if I beat you, and beat everyone else left, I still couldn't let Flying Cloud Island rise to second place, sigh..."

Immediately afterward, Qian Yunzhou gazed into her eyes, half-smiling, and transmitted: "Little Sixth Sister, if you call me Brother Yunzhou, I will concede."

Yuan Yao furrowed her brows, her whole face writing "unwilling".

"Qian Yunzhou, I won't call."

"You're truly disobedient." Qian Yunzhou had anticipated this, transmitting helplessly yet indulgently.

As his words fell, he raised his hand and said, "I concede."

Upon hearing this, everyone was greatly shocked.

"Why would Qian Yunzhou concede?!"

"Those two seem to know each other..."

"No wonder Qian Yunzhou said that earlier; he knew that even if he won to the end, he still couldn't let Flying Cloud Island reach second place, so he simply gave up."

"But when he faced Lu Xiang earlier, he didn't concede? Didn't you hear him call Yuan Yao 'Little Sixth Sister'? Their relationship must be anything but ordinary!"

"Not ordinary? I think Qian Yunzhou might not be able to beat Yuan Yao, so he conceded early."

"Hey, look—First Province and Ninth Province are now only twenty-nine points apart!"

Everyone chattered in discussion.

The people of Flying Cloud Island saw this; although they had some reservations in their hearts, they said nothing.

Yuan Yao saw Qian Yunzhou actually voluntarily concede, and she was somewhat surprised.

Before stepping down from the platform, she quietly said to Qian Yunzhou, "Thanks."

Upon hearing this, Qian Yunzhou's eyebrows rose slightly, and the corners of his mouth blossomed with a smile.

Meanwhile, beneath the platform, the white-clad youth pressed his lips together.

Immediately afterward, Ying Wuji naturally found himself facing Xie Zixu.

Ying Wuji gazed at the bewitchingly beautiful youth before him, feeling wary, and deeply knowing that with his current strength he could not possibly defeat Xie Zixu.

Xie Zixu had been concealing his true strength all along.

Xie Zixu...

Xie Yan...

They are the same person.

Ying Wuji naturally knew his identity secret, but he had no intention of exposing it, for the other's enemy was precisely—the Formless Immortal Venerable Xu Yanzhi.

He wanted to drain Xie Zixu's spiritual power as much as possible.

After the referee announced the start of the match, the two highly anticipated top-tier sword cultivators clashed.

Kui Qian Immortal Venerable once again reinforced the protective spiritual shield on the platform.

People all over the cultivation world watching the match were betting on which of the two would win.

At this moment, Yuan Yao solemnly fixed her gaze on every move on the platform; whenever she saw her Youngest Senior Brother or Xie Zixu injured, her brows furrowed even tighter.

Yuan Yao could see that her Youngest Senior Brother, due to his prior injury, moved sluggishly, yet he stubbornly held on and exerted all his strength to deal with Xie Zixu.

Meanwhile, Xie Zixu had no intention of prolonging the fight; he only wanted a quick, decisive battle!

As time trickled by, the battle entered the white-hot stage.

At the same time, Lu Xiangxiang also woke from her coma, recalling Qian Yunzhou's betrayal of her, her heart feeling as if it were torn apart, hurting terribly.

Then, she received a transmission from Xu Yanzhi.

"It's time."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiangxiang looked toward the white figure on the platform, a dark hue appearing in the depths of her eyes.

"Good," she replied.

She lowered her eyes slightly, then immediately rose.

And Lu Xiang's departure went unnoticed by anyone.

Yuan Yao's attention was focused on the match between Ying Wuji and Xie Zixu, so she did not notice Lu Xiang's sudden departure.

After a moment, for some reason Yuan Yao suddenly felt an empty hollowness in her heart, and also a bit of panic...

She instinctively glanced at the stand where the First Province disciples were, her eyes swiftly scanning for Lu Xiangxiang's figure.

But there was no sign of her on the viewing platform.

Yuan Yao's heart sank.

Where did Lu Xiangxiang go?

Then she faintly felt a somewhat odd gaze aimed at her, and she abruptly turned her head to look.

Only the Immortal Venerables on the high platform were watching the match.

Among them was the male lead, Xu Yanzhi!

But relying on Yuan Yao's intuition, she could be certain that the person who had just been staring at her was Xu Yanzhi!

The two of them…

Yuan Yao furrowed her brows tightly.

Just then, the match between Ying Wuji and Xie Zixu had already been decided.

"First Province's Xie Zixu, wins!"

Upon hearing this, the people of the First Province showed excited expressions.

Now the First Province and the Ninth Province have opened a gap of fifty‑nine points!

That means Yuan Yao must defeat Xie Zixu and Sikong Banxue for the First Province to take first place!

And this is nearly impossible!

Sikong Banxue's and Xie Zixu's cultivation levels are both higher than Yuan Yao's!

Yuan Yao reached out to support Ying Wuji as he stepped down from the platform, and with a solemn expression she sent him a mental message: "Youngest Senior Brother, Lu Xiangxiang is missing; I fear she may take action."

Upon hearing this, a solemn expression appeared on Ying Wuji's deathly pale face.

He replied via mental transmission: "I will search for her whereabouts; you focus on your match. If you cannot defeat Sikong Banxue, there's no need to push yourself—losing is fine."

Seeing her worried look, Ying Wuji guessed her concern and sent a mental message: "In my previous life, nothing major happened at the Immortal Sect Grand Tournament. Perhaps Lu Xiangxiang just left by chance."

Actually, Ying Wuji also felt that Lu Xiangxiang's sudden disappearance must have a reason.

And to reassure Yuan Yao, he spoke soothingly.

Hearing this, Yuan Yao pressed her lips and nodded slightly.

Immediately after, the one‑on‑one platform match pitted Yuan Yao against Sikong Banxue.

Everyone knew this was a crucially important match!

As long as Sikong Banxue defeats Yuan Yao, the First Province can secure first place in the Immortal Sect Grand Tournament.