Chapter 256: A Fierce Battle and Alarming News of Fufeng's Peril

"It's just that if things go this way, the Liu family will inevitably be criticized by others..."

Seeing the Cishi's wife leave the room, Lingxiang voiced her concerns, but Liu Cishi gave a hearty laugh:

"What of it? Since I began serving as an official, have I carried few bad names?" Liu Cishi laughed while sighing, shifting into a more comfortable position: "The heavens favored me, allowing me to gain meager military merits from a humble background and enter the imperial court. I don't know how many people are jealous of that. No matter how respectful they are on the surface, aren't I called a 'reckless brute' behind my back?"

"People, for the most part, simply cannot bear to see others doing well. Since that is the case, why bother with such ethereal things as reputation? The tongues belong to others, so let them talk. I consider my actions to be worthy of heaven, earth, my sovereign, and my parents. When I descend to the Yellow Springs, I can even boast a little to my ancestors; that is enough. Who knows, perhaps future generations will be enlightened, and I might even leave behind a good name, which would count as bringing honor to my ancestors."

Lingxiang did not expect Liu Cishi to be such an open-minded person. She hurriedly stood up and bowed, saying she was thanking him on behalf of all living beings. After the two exchanged polite remarks, they heard Liu Cishi add:

"However, although they are military men, I hope the little immortal will look after them a bit. Even though soldiers are meant to protect the peace and well-being of the common people, they are, after all, born of parents. If any harm comes to them, there will be those who feel the pain."

Upon hearing this, Lingxiang bowed again and repeatedly promised: "Cishi-daren loves his soldiers as his own children; this junior admires you from the heart. This matter involves the world beyond; how could I let the soldiers who protect our home and country suffer here? Please rest assured, Daren, this junior will certainly keep all the soldiers safe."

"First bow to heaven and earth! Second bow to..."

Liu Xia did not know who was beside him, but since the master of ceremonies had already chanted the rites, he had no choice but to bow in response.

Lingxiang watched the two newlyweds kneeling with a joyful expression, looking as if she were watching a good show. She sat upright, waiting for the two to finish their kowtows, when she heard someone shout from outside the house:

"Cishi-daren had already promised the marriage between the young lady and myself, why then marry your daughter to another?!"

This loud shout was full of vigor, and the originally noisy room suddenly fell silent. As the guests surrounding the two newlyweds dispersed, standing in the courtyard was none other than Chen Sheng, who had disappeared a few days ago.

But strangely, the surrounding guests did not seem surprised; there wasn't even any whispering, they just retreated uniformly to the sides.

And Lingxiang revealed a smile of ambiguous meaning at this moment: "General, you really have too much free time on your hands, even wanting to meddle in the marriage of a disciple of my Qingwei Peak?"

A disciple of Qingwei Peak?

Liu Xia was greatly confused. Although Lingxiang had given him some pointers before, he was a disciple of Chengxin Zhenren.

Could it be...

Liu Xia looked at the "bride" beside him, only to see him slowly lower the wedding fan covering his face, and it was actually...

"Xinyi!"

Who else could it be but Xinyi, with his heavy makeup and hair full of ornaments? No wonder he hadn't seen his shadow for half the day! But...

"Why is it you!?" Liu Xia stood up in surprise, jumping a full zhang away.

Xinyi looked at Liu Xia with great helplessness, his expression extremely embarrassed—he didn't want this either! But...

"Sigh! Don't even mention it!"

At this moment, Chen Sheng sneered: "I wondered who it was. So it's you, little demoness, actually playing tricks on me."

"Oh my! Since the General has graced us with his presence, why be so secretive? Could it be that you are not fit to be seen?" Lingxiang waved her hand with a smile, and the guests who were originally there to congratulate them turned into soldiers clad in armor, filing out from the room and surrounding Chen Sheng tightly.

At this time, Chen Sheng laughed, his skin suddenly becoming like thin mud, and before long it fell to the ground, revealing Guihua's true appearance.

"Just relying on these mortals, what can you do to me?"

"To deal with someone with such great supernatural powers as the General, mortals are naturally not enough." Lingxiang walked out from the room with a smile, "But this can."

As Lingxiang spoke, she stepped aside. Suddenly, a divine light enveloped Guihua, like a cage, making her unable to move a single step. Guihua covered her face with her sleeve and looked out with difficulty, only to see Banxia holding a mirror and shining it upon her.

"How does the God-Man Tiger Pattern Mirror feel?"

Under the shroud of this intense light, Lingxiang's expression was hard to see clearly, but the pride in her tone could not be hidden.

The God-Man Tiger Pattern Mirror was a divine object from a previous dynasty, bearing the patterns of Dongwanggong and Xiwangmu, and was most effective at restraining evil beings. When she first saw this treasure in Fuyin Zhenren's private treasury, Lingxiang was truly surprised. She hadn't expected her sixth senior brother, who was so pure-hearted and had few desires, to have such a treasure, so she naturally and rightfully pilfered it and tucked it into her own pocket.

However, although this mirror had divine power, it could only trap demons and evil spirits and could not harm them in the slightest. Therefore, even though Guihua was trapped in the divine light, she was still jumping around and cursing with full vigor.

"You ungrateful little demoness, how dare you scheme against your mother! Don't let me get out, or I will definitely skin you alive!"

Oh my! This is serious!

"Since the General has said so, how could you expect me to let you go? I cherish my life very much and am scared to death!" Lingxiang said, making a funny face, and then gave Liu Xia a look.

Liu Xia understood immediately, but he deliberately bypassed the heavily made-up Xinyi, walking a long way around before drawing the Huasheng Sword from under his wedding robe to approach Guihua.

But just at this moment, he saw Guihua smile eerily, and then she transformed into a wisp of green smoke.

"This is!" Xinyi exclaimed, "A fake body!"

Xinyi had followed Guihua for many years and naturally knew her abilities. Since the one that disappeared just now was a fake body, her true body must be nearby.

"Careful!"

Xinyi shouted, and at this moment, Guihua, wielding a Demon Blade, appeared out of thin air behind Liu Xia and slashed down viciously.

Seeing that the Demon Blade was about to land on Liu Xia's neck, Banxia hurriedly shone the God-Man Tiger Pattern Mirror in her hand onto him.

Hearing a sizzling sound, the Demon Blade in Guihua's hand turned into black smoke the moment it touched the light.

Lingxiang let out a long sigh of relief. That was truly dangerous just now; fortunately, Banxia reacted in time, otherwise, Liu Xia would have lost his life under Guihua's Demon Blade.

But the good times didn't last long. For some reason, dense clouds suddenly covered the sky, the sunlight under the corridor disappeared completely, and the divine light of the Tiger Pattern Mirror dissipated along with it.

"Hmph, it is just a mirror after all, and it can only rely on the light of others." Guihua sneered, drew another Demon Blade from behind her, and slashed toward Liu Xia.

However, it had given Liu Xia time to react; he rolled on the ground, and this slash missed completely.

But Guihua was no pushover. Just as Liu Xia dodged and before he could turn around, she flashed over and slashed again.

In the flash of lightning and flint, a dull thud was heard as the Demon Blade struck Xinyi's short blade.

"Good boy, you actually dare to go against your master!" Guihua sneered.

Xinyi frowned, his thin lips pressed tight. He then drew his long blade and swung it with force. Guihua had no choice but to use the momentum to retreat. At this moment, ice crystals shot toward her rapidly, and she hurriedly performed several somersaults in the air to dodge them.

"What are you saying, what are you saying!" At this time, Lingxiang shouted: "Stealing the bride is one thing, but you even want to steal the disciple? I am his proper master! You are nothing but a human trafficker; do you really think you're something special?"

Hearing this, Xinyi couldn't help but smile: That's right, the person before him was his enemy, what was there to hesitate about?

Thus, amidst a flurry of flying sand and rocks and a darkened sky, Xinyi disappeared in an instant. Seeing this, Guihua secretly thought it was bad and braced herself with twelve-fold focus, carefully watching for movements from all directions.

As for illusions, Guihua truly did not take them seriously. She was born unable to be troubled by illusions; this was her innate talent. But Xinyi's Witchcraft was different.

Ordinary illusions mostly confuse the mind, but Xinyi used the Lu Family Hidden Technique, sealing the enemy's senses and waiting for an opportunity to strike, taking lives when least expected.

Although it was essentially no different from an illusion, for so many years, Guihua had never figured out the mysteries of this Lu Family technique.

Just as Guihua was cautiously watching the movements around her, tree vines suddenly burst out from behind her, whipping toward her with the force of the wind.

"Whoosh, whoosh," the sound of wind was right by her ears. Guihua knew well that it was impossible for her to dodge it, and she could only use an extraordinary method to avoid it.

Suddenly, a crack appeared on Guihua's face, crackling and popping like molting skin, and while the tree vines had already wrapped around her entire body, she did not show the slightest bit of panic.

Just as the vines bound her, a black shadow darted out from the crack in that skin, flashing and leaping a zhang away after a few turns.

At this moment, Xin Yi suddenly appeared from the sky-filling dust, a cold light flashed, and he raised his blade to hack at the black shadow.

"Clang, clang!"

Sparks were seen bursting within the sand mist, sounding like the clashing of weapons. The crowd could not see clearly what was happening, but they dared not act rashly, fearing that a mistake might injure their own people.

"Clatter... jingle..."

In the midst of the clashing and ringing, several moves had already been exchanged, yet it seemed difficult to determine a winner, with only sporadic sparks appearing now and then.

This was no wonder; even if Guihua was injured, she was, after all, a fierce general under the Demon Lord, and having spent a long time with Xin Yi, she knew him inside and out. It was already no easy feat for Xin Yi to hold her off alone until now.

Just as the crowd waited anxiously, the sky-filling dust gradually subsided, and before long, four figures could be seen—Liu Xia holding the Huasheng Sword, the bound and whitened husk, Xin Yi with blades locked, and...

Guihua?

It certainly looked like Guihua, but what was strange was that she was entirely glistening white and wearing not a stitch of clothing.

Even for the well-trained soldiers, seeing this situation, some with poor composure could not help but be moved, and Liu Xia was even more flushed, his eyes not knowing where to look, yet he dared not shift them elsewhere for fear that Guihua might escape.

Banxia was also blushing, holding the God-Man Tiger Pattern Mirror in front of her face, shouting, "How truly shameless!"

However, Guihua did not seem to care, and self-importantly swaying her waist, she raised her brows and feigned allure: "Yo~ look at you all, you were the ones forcing this lady to molt, and now that I'm in this state, I haven't even felt shy yet, but you lot are complaining instead. Tsk tsk tsk! Look at you stinky brats, your eyes are like hungry wolves; have you never seen a woman before?"

As she spoke, taking advantage of Xin Yi's distraction, she flicked a finger at him, then instantly turned and retreated.

Xin Yi did not anticipate this move from Guihua; he felt his arm go suddenly numb, and then a force pushed him away, sending him retreating all the way to the corridor before he stopped. When he looked up again, Guihua was leisurely walking toward a soldier gathered in the courtyard.

"This little brother, seeing you so red-faced, could it be you're still a virgin? Why not let this lady..." As she spoke, she reached out to stroke the soldier's youthful face.

That little soldier looked truly quite young, his height only a little taller than Lingxiang. Seeing Guihua's outstretched pale arm, his mind instantly became dazed, and his body grew increasingly soft amidst those soft, charming sounds.

And just at this moment, a deafening sound rang out; it was Lingxiang:

"Guard your heart and mind! Stand still!"

This high shout was like a ringing bell; everyone present sobered up, and the little soldier who had nearly fallen into a trance regained clarity in his eyes.

Guihua was also startled; she truly had not expected Lingxiang's small frame to produce such a loud voice. But surprise was surprise, she did not stop her movements, and even cast a mocking glance at Xin Yi.

Seeing that pale, terrifying palm about to touch the little soldier, at the very moment of contact, an invisible force repelled Guihua.

Guihua flipped a few times and stood steady, looking at the little soldier with full suspicion—he was clearly just a mortal, so why did he have such ability? Looking closer, she discovered that the armor on the soldier was actually engraved with dark patterns; that was...

"Breaking Demon Talisman!"

Guihua exclaimed, but then Lingxiang laughed: "My, I knew the General was unrestrained, but I didn't expect you to be so shameless, not even sparing such a young little gentleman. This has truly opened my eyes!"

"If I didn't have foolproof preparations, how would I dare to lure you into the trap?"

Hearing this, Guihua's eyes tightened abruptly: No wonder this dead girl hadn't made a move for so long; she had been waiting for her here! As it stood, she had fallen into a cage, but...

"Hah! Petty tricks!" Guihua sneered: "No wonder you've been hiding behind a man all this time. I suppose this arrangement by Fucang Elder cost quite a bit of Spirit Power. What a pity, what a pity; although it's not easy to have such cultivation at a young age, it is ultimately nothing much."

Lingxiang laughed upon hearing this: "I advise the General to give up the idea of using provocation. To tell you the truth, I am a person who fears death; I avoid trouble whenever I can, so why would I go head-to-head with the General?"

"Oh? Is that so?" Guihua swayed her waist and sighed affectedly, "It's just that Fucang Elder is wasting his time here with me, but I wonder what the situation is like for those people in Fufeng County now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said."

Lingxiang's brows tightened at the question, and she exchanged a look with Xin Yi; the latter only shook his head, his expression also solemn.

When Chengxin Zhenren had found them, he had brought them to a hidden location in Fufeng County. Although they had left messages along the way, they were done very secretly, understood only by members of the Yuanqing Sect, and that house was also surrounded by an Array Formation.

How did Guihua know? Since she knew, wouldn't Bai Wuchang know as well? Then what she meant was...

Oh no!

Chengxin Zhenren was there dispelling the miasma for Long Qi, which required a great expenditure of energy, and when they left, they had only left Zhao Wuyang behind. If Bai Wuchang had really discovered them, that would be dangerous!