Chapter 326: Maidong Loses Control and Slashes Xin Yi

Xin Yi and Maidong were locked in a stalemate; he truly had not expected that, despite Maidong being at the Foundation Establishment stage, her Body Movement would be so agile, and her strength so extraordinarily great. He had to remain cautious and dodge at all times; if he were struck by a single palm of hers, he would certainly be severely injured.

It was not that Xin Yi could not defeat Maidong; if he were to unleash some Witchcraft, he could indeed restrain her. It was just that this would only hold true if the two were enemies—after all, taking a person's life was Xin Yi's specialty.

However, the two were not enemies. Even if he were to conceal his form and catch Maidong off guard to restrain her, given Maidong's strength, she would certainly be able to break free in an instant.

Xin Yi was momentarily caught in a dilemma; he could neither dodge nor fight.

It was at this moment that the sky suddenly brightened with a blinding spiritual light, and Xin Yi had to cover his face with his sleeve. He did not know what had happened, but in this instant, he understood that this was the perfect opportunity to take down Maidong.

This spiritual light had come suspiciously, but based on his many years of experience in life-and-death struggles, if the light were this blinding, Maidong would certainly be affected as well. As long as he could seize this moment to knock her unconscious, he would surely be able to subdue her.

Sure enough, as soon as the spiritual light dissipated, he saw Maidong kneeling on one knee, rubbing her eyes with her hands, appearing to be in great distress. Seeing this, Xin Yi did not care that his vision was still blurred; he suddenly gathered his Qi and lunged toward Maidong.

Even though he could not see clearly, Xin Yi did not hesitate in the slightest. He poured all his strength into his Cloud Treading Step, and just as Maidong was about to lower her sleeves, he delivered a hand-blade strike to the back of her neck.

Xin Yi used seventy percent of his strength in this strike, fearing he would fail to knock Maidong out, but things went contrary to his wishes. Maidong merely stumbled two steps, then turned with her sword, ready to slash at him.

Seeing Maidong turning her body, Xin Yi immediately twisted his own form. Taking advantage of Maidong not yet standing steady, he spun around to her back. The moment he withdrew his blade, he thrust his arms through Maidong's ribs and then exerted force to bind her.

Although Maidong still gripped her sword tightly, her spine was now being forcibly stretched, and her arm joints were locked by Xin Yi. No matter how much strength she had, she could not use it now and could only struggle in vain.

It was at this moment that streaks of heavenly fire poured down like a torrential rain, the whistling sound audible to the ear.

Having finally managed to restrain Maidong, a streak of flame plummeted toward the two of them. It was about to crash into them, yet Maidong did not care about the crisis at hand at all, only frowning with a cold face, wanting to break free from the restraint.

At this time, Xin Yi could not free his hands at all, and the restless Maidong left him with no options.

Suppressing Maidong was already difficult; Xin Yi was already covered in sweat, and the flame was nearly upon them. He could almost feel the scorching heat within the raging fire.

If they did not dodge now, both of them would surely die here!

Regarding the matter of death, Xin Yi had never feared it, but in his embrace was Guining, the person he was most reluctant to part with!

As if resigning himself to fate, Xin Yi closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them. With lightning speed, he hugged Maidong to his chest, exerted force from his waist, and leaped away from the dangerous spot.

A deafening sound erupted, and the earth seemed to tremble.

Holding Maidong, Xin Yi rolled on the ground for a long time amidst the hot wind, yet he still protected Maidong in his arms with all his might, fearing she would be harmed. Whether it was due to the impact of the wind, Maidong was much more docile now, no longer struggling as she had just before.

They did not stop until they collided with a pile of rubble. This impact was not light; Xin Yi had been exerting all his effort to protect Maidong, and now that his back had taken the blow, he felt a sweetness in his throat, and his breathing became disordered.

Even though he was in great pain, Xin Yi forced himself to sit up, wanting to check if Maidong was injured.

It was at this moment that a sword light flashed, and with a crisp chime of the blade, fresh blood sprayed out.

A left arm was severed and fell heavily to the ground.

Xin Yi's eyes were filled with astonishment; he had not even perceived the pain, but the loss of control over his left shoulder made him clearly understand that the arm on the ground, whose fingers were still twitching slightly, was his own left arm!

The wound on his left shoulder was very clean; if not for the intense pain arriving now, Xin Yi might have offered a word of praise. But now, he could only clutch his ribs, kneeling weakly on the ground, and with difficulty, he raised his head to look at Maidong, who was a zhang away.

Maidong's face was expressionless, staring coldly at the residual blood on her sword, yet hot tears welled up and fell incessantly, like a pouring heavenly river, overflowing without end.

Ah! It is Guining!

Seeing Maidong shedding tears, Xin Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although Maidong's expression was cold, he was certain that Maidong was definitely conscious.

"It's okay... it's okay..." Xin Yi swayed, trying hard to stand up, but he truly had no strength left. Blood was gushing from his left shoulder, making his consciousness somewhat chaotic, but he still spoke with difficulty, comforting Maidong.

"It's okay... Guining... this is not your fault, you need not feel guilty in your heart; none of this is what you wanted..."

Maidong did not change her expression, but her tears were like a mountain torrent.

"Oh my, this is truly a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple—one's own family failing to recognize their own!" Just then, Guihua flashed out from the side. Looking at the miserable state of the kneeling Xin Yi, she said with feigned pity.

Upon seeing Guihua appear, the nearly fainting Xin Yi suddenly became clear-headed. Although the massive blood loss made him dizzy, he stared at her without blinking.

"It's you!"

Xin Yi understood now where the external force Lu Ling had spoken of came from; it was definitely this Guihua before him. He knew Guihua's abilities all too well; there was no one else who could do such a thing.

Guihua walked to Maidong's side with feigned tenderness, raised her hand to stroke Maidong's face, and then looked at Xin Yi with a dissatisfied, sidelong glance.

"How can you say that? I am your master. As the saying goes, 'a teacher for a day is a father for life,' is this how you speak to your master?" As she spoke, she sighed, "A child grown is beyond a mother's control; I have exhausted my efforts to teach you skills, you truly make this mother's heart ache!"

The earlier heavenly fire had come suspiciously, but it was thanks to this fire that Guihua had been able to escape Guanchen. She truly had not expected that a mere minor Daoist would be so difficult to deal with.

How could Guihua know of Guanchen's prowess? Although Guanchen was usually taciturn, he was the Head Disciple of Fuyin Zhenren, and his abilities were truly outstanding.

Furthermore, hearing this, Xin Yi leaned against a tree trunk, wanting to stand up, but the intense pain left him unable to exert any strength. Cold sweat streamed down his face, his vision darkened, and he could only gasp for breath to keep from fainting.

"That's right, these skills of mine were indeed taught by you, but if I recall correctly, what I learned were all the techniques of my Lu Family. The Demon Race caused my family to be destroyed and scattered; as a member of the Demon Race, what right do you have to call yourself my master in front of me?"

This sentence exhausted all of Xin Yi's strength. He finally could not hold on and collapsed, the darkness surging like a tide, impossible to hold back. Yet even as he fell, he kept looking at Maidong, until the darkness pulled him away.