Chapter 232

"Whoosh!"

A beam of light rose in the Dongcheng, shooting straight into the high sky and crashing into the cloud layer.

Immediately following were the second, third...

The beams of light rose from different directions, illuminating the Dongcheng.

Li Youyi retreated, the first layer of his magic armor already shattered, and there were sword qi bloodstains on his cheeks and hands exposed outside the armor.

Looking at Jiang Ning, her whole body was neat and flawless.

Eight against one, and still hard to match.

He held his sword and looked at the beams of light that had suddenly risen in the distance, slightly distracted, the ominous premonition in his heart growing stronger.

It stood to reason that Brother Qi Xiao and Shi Shishi had left a long time ago and should have found Brother Zuoqiu Ting... Brother Zuoqiu Hongting, who was in the Dongcheng!

But Brother Zuoqiu Hongting had not arrived yet, which was too abnormal.

Jiang Ning used her "Pavilion and Palace" and "Twin Wings" battle intent to beat back the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, and forced Li Youyi into the shadows of a corner with one sword strike: "I admit, you and the seven little ones are already very strong when you join forces, and if I want to kill you, I will definitely have to pay a not-insignificant price. But, the seven little ones' current attack power can threaten me, but it absolutely cannot threaten Ge Xiantong."

"What if their combat power increases by another grade? For example, reaching the level of Brother Qi Xiao and Chen Wenwu and the others." Li Youyi said.

Jiang Ning dared not imagine what combat power seven pure immortal bodies of the Seventh Sea would have if they joined forces; even she would probably only be able to retreat. Because the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors were more tenacious and harder to wound.

If there were really seven such helpers, it would be completely different!

She fell into hesitation: "Do you have confidence that you can raise them to that level within three days?"

"Should be possible." Li Youyi said.

Jiang Ning suddenly sighed: "Too late, the light pillars have already risen, I will no longer hide it from you... The south is a dead end. If you pin your hopes on escaping back to the Nancheng and borrowing the power of the Jiuli tribe and the Brother Zuoqiu Sect to resist Ge Xiantong, you will have ten deaths and no life."

"You don't have these three days!"

"How so?" Li Youyi asked.

Jiang Ning said: "Tonight, it is not the imperial court, the Far West Ash Region, and the Snow Sword Tang Court attacking the Lei Xiao Sect and the Longmen, but the five major forces joining hands to exterminate the Brother Zuoqiu Sect."

"The Longmen feigning defeat and the Lei Xiao Sect defending to the death while breaking their defenses are all part of the plan."

It was like a thunderclap on a sunny day.

Li Youyi's expression changed drastically, and he felt worried in his heart for Li Ling, Yin Jiu, and Shi Shishi: "Is it because the Brother Zuoqiu Sect has the support of the Jiuli tribe and the Zhu Men, and also occupies the home-field advantage, making their momentum grand, that you joined forces to deal with them first?"

"Bang!"

The two constantly changed moves and shifted positions.

Jiang Ning wanted to persuade him, and said very patiently: "Why is the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival in the city of Qiuzhouzhou? Why is the Brother Zuoqiu Sect willing to take out the city of Qiuzhouzhou as a battlefield?"

"Because this Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival is not a contest for the world, but held for Brother Zuoqiu Hongting alone. At least that was the case at the beginning!"

"The three young emperors, Ge Xiantong belongs to the imperial court, Luan Sheng Lin You belongs to the Far West Ash Region, none of them are the Hidden Dragon that the Dueguan is looking for."

"Only when Brother Zuoqiu Hongting proves her ability at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival and completes this trial can the Brother Zuoqiu Sect gain the support of the Dueguan. As for what level she needs to reach to be recognized, only the Dueguan itself knows."

"The others, some are spoilers, some want to make a name for themselves, some came for the rewards, and some want to beat Brother Zuoqiu Hongting down so that the Dueguan will turn to support them instead."

"Now do you understand why I opposed you participating in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival from the beginning? I don't want you to be used by Brother Zuoqiu Hongting and become a pawn on her path to becoming an emperor."

Li Youyi said: "Brother Zuoqiu Ting still has a lot of personal charm! If she wanted to use me, as Brother Zuoqiu Hongting, it would actually be harder for me to refuse."

"Besides, with the strength I had when I participated in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, how could I have the qualifications to be used by her? No! Luan Sheng Lin You, Tang Wanqiu, Ge Xiantong, and even you have come to the Dongcheng, and Yuwen Tuozhen and the others are indeed killing Longmen martial cultivators. To trick Brother Zuoqiu Hongting, you are not afraid at all that your headquarters stronghold will be uprooted?"

Jiang Ning said: "Of the five forces, no more than ten people know about this plan, so the people below are naturally fighting and killing for real."

"If it couldn't be real enough, if we didn't pour out in full strength, if we didn't pay some price, how could Brother Zuoqiu Hongting, who knows the city of Qiuzhouzhou like the back of her hand, fall for the trap?"

"On New Year's Eve, we wanted to defeat her directly, but she held on! The various forces have their own ulterior motives, contradictions, and little thoughts, and she used this point to gradually gain momentum."

Li Youyi said: "You lured her to take the initiative, which could tie all five forces to the chariot, so no one could try to be lazy or play tricks, and they would check and balance each other. If the Longmen and the Lei Xiao Sect still wanted to stay out of it, then having lost their defensive strongholds, they might really be wiped out by you tonight. This is not five against one, but all six sides are playing a game."

"Only when everyone loses their strongholds and has no way back can they be briefly united."

Jiang Ning stared at him deeply: "Regardless, the light pillars have risen, and the signal for the whole city to attack the Brother Zuoqiu Sect has been sent out. The Nancheng will definitely be a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood tonight. If the Brother Zuoqiu Sect can hold on until dawn, that would be impressive!"

Li Youyi said gloomily: "Perhaps you still underestimated Brother Zuoqiu Hongting."

Since Brother Qi Xiao and Shi Shishi did not find Brother Zuoqiu Hongting to come and save him, it meant that Brother Zuoqiu Hongting had already sensed something was wrong a step ahead, and it was very likely that she had already rushed back to the Nancheng.

A tall, black-clad figure stood against the wall in the shadows of the eaves just ten zhang away from the two, completely blending into the darkness, with no aura on his body.

"The imperial court has two people watching you, one is the number one powerhouse of Fengzhou, Feng Yin, whose speed is only a line behind mine. The other is a master from the palace who studied under a transcendent, Zhen Yuyan, who is proficient in tracking."

"They won't make a move on you, but they will follow you until Ge Xiantong arrives tomorrow at dawn."

Jiang Ning knew her plan had failed and she couldn't severely injure him, so she prepared to let him leave.

Because she believed that after knowing the Brother Zuoqiu Sect and the Jiuli tribe's situation was gone, Li Youyi would have nowhere else to go and could only withdraw from the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival.

"The torrent of the turbid world rolls forward. You can't stop it either!"

Jiang Ning retracted her sword into her ancestral field.

In the darkness under the eaves ten zhang away, the tall figure smiled slightly, flashed out quickly, and stared at the two who were no longer fighting. His right hand drew a circle, and the air seemed to turn into liquid, with ripples appearing.

Then, a large patch of dark weapons, dazzling to the extreme, shot out from his sleeve like a ball of fire, flying out from the circular ripples.

After the flames flew out, they made a clattering sound.

Looking closely, they were countless flame scales, like sparks filling the sky, filling the street, with speed as fast as a meteor.

"Golden Scale Fire Rain."

Jiang Ning's eyes changed in shock as she shouted.

In her haste, she had no time to release her Dragon Soul and battle intent, so she could only form seals with her palms and prop up a thick defensive barrier with magic power.

Li Youyi pulled out the Ghost Flag, stepped forward, and rotated rapidly, using the flag as a shield to form a vortex.

The Golden Scale Fire Rain was not only fast but also had terrifying penetrating power, piercing through Jiang Ning's magic power barrier and the Ghost Flag Li Youyi had propped up, landing on their bodies.

"Bang bang!"

Jiang Ning was wearing the official robes of a prefecture governor, while Li Youyi had the Corpse Clothing soft armor and two pieces of magic armor.

The two retreated, both only suffering minor injuries.

Li Youyi's two pieces of magic armor were both destroyed, pierced with several holes, and he immediately activated the blood mist and blood-colored scriptures in the Corpse Clothing soft armor to protect his body, his eyes observing the surroundings.

Jiang Ning swung her sword toward the shadows under the eaves, but the attacker had already left.

"Swish! Swish..."

The sound of breaking wind sounded one after another.

Seven figures rushed over from seven different directions, each with an expressionless face and eyes burning with flames.

"It's the Dead Embers among the Ember Spirits..."

Jiang Ning gave a reminder.

"Boom!"

One of the figures was still far away when it was blasted apart by Jiang Ning's sword, turning into sparks that covered a radius of ten zhang.

All matter within ten zhang was destroyed into powder, turning into a small area of ash.

The array light veils on the buildings on both sides of the street were wiped out, and the sparks rushed in. The buildings collapsed with a boom, burning in the ashes.

Jiang Ning and Li Youyi used their movement techniques to flash and dodge quickly.

"Booming!"

The other six Dead Ember figures surrounded them, turning into six balls of fire.

The flames turned into dust and sparks again, destroying everything nearby.

"Bang! Bang!"

The two rushed out from the dust and sparks filling the sky, falling to the ground, each spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Jiang Ning was injured more severely than Li Youyi.

Earlier in the flames, she had stood in front and used her prefecture governor's official robes to take the hit head-on.

"How are you?"

Li Youyi climbed up, crouching down, observing the surroundings with extreme vigilance. He waved his hand, and the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors rose into the air to search for the traces of the attacker.

Jiang Ning suppressed her injuries: "I'm fine!"

"See, your cooperation is full of holes; as long as there is the slightest opportunity, you will stop at nothing to put your allies to death."

"Big Phoenix has found him! Just leave him to me; we can't have any more contact, otherwise you won't be able to explain it when you go back!"

Li Youyi dropped these words, stepped on a dragon shadow, and appeared on the roof of the eaves more than ten zhang away.

He reached out a hand, gathered the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, and chased into the night curtain.

Feng Yin and Zhen Yuyan each used their movement techniques, one after the other, and arrived beside Jiang Ning.

"I'm fine! You have your tasks, go!" Jiang Ning said.

The two first-tier masters of the imperial court cupped their hands in a salute and chased after Li Youyi.

A dragon's roar resounded through the night sky, one after another, extremely high-pitched.

Li Youyi's heart was cold, and he pushed his speed to the limit, catching up to the tall black-clad figure on the inner city wall. The black-clad figure wore a mask and took out a two-foot-long wooden club.

"Bang bang!"

One sword and one club, the two figures clashed fiercely on the city wall.

It was much more intense than the previous clash with Jiang Ning, with killing intent and battle intent permeating the air. Every sword strike of Li Youyi was with all his might, wanting to kill him.

The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors accompanied Li Youyi, not attacking, only responsible for preventing the black-clad figure from escaping.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Youyi gathered his strength and released five battle intent divine shadows, and simultaneously five Li Youyis appeared, slashing out a sea-opening sword strike with high momentum.

The black-clad figure opposite had his eyes change suddenly, not caring about exposing his identity.

He raised the club in his hand above his head, and a mysterious and peerless power was released, pulling down a wisp of dark clouds from hundreds of meters high in the sky, like a tornado connecting heaven and earth.

Scriptures appeared on the club, and after he swung it, the vast clouds and mist surged out along with it.

"Whoosh!"

The Huang Long Sword slashed through the clouds and mist, colliding with the wooden club.

A sword qi shot straight forward, and with a snap, it slashed the mask on the black-clad figure's face, leaving a bloodline on his handsome face.

The black-clad figure turned and left, leaping off the city wall and disappearing into the darkness.

"Is it Long Ting?"

From the hurried glance just now, Li Youyi could not be sure.

But what was certain was that a bloodline had been slashed on that person's face, rather than sparks appearing beneath human skin, so he was definitely not an Ember Spirit. If Long Ting hadn't turned into an Ember Spirit...

Then why did he want to kill Zhu Huan?

Li Youyi let out a long breath and turned around.

Feng Yin and Zhen Yuyan appeared one after another.

(End of chapter)