Chapter 465: Trapped in a Crisis Amidst the Struggle

"Watch your feet!" Xin Yi shouted loudly.

Before Long Qi could react, he heard a strange cackle, and the Shiyin Xiao's bizarre face was pressed right before his eyes.

"Hehe! Got one!"

Two flashes of cold light flickered within the shadows, and he saw the Shiyin Xiao raising its axes, swinging from bottom to top toward Long Qi's chest.

If these two axes landed, it would surely split him in two.

Xin Yi was greatly alarmed and hurriedly moved to save him.

This Shiyin Xiao's assassination methods were eerie, capable of slipping into shadows; Long Qi was already injured, and facing such a strong opponent, he was surely no match.

Just as Xin Yi moved, he heard the sound of chains, and turning his head, he saw the Nine-Ring Broadsword coming through the wind, blocking his path.

Xin Yi hurriedly bent his waist to dodge, ignoring the broadsword chasing closely behind him, and with a sliding lunge, he rushed desperately toward Long Qi.

Just as the Shiyin Xiao raised its axes, a "clang" was heard; the Lujiao Changren intercepted it just in time, followed by a "clash," and Long Qi, using strength in his waist, braced his sword against the ground and performed a backflip, blocking the rusted blade that was swinging toward Xin Yi.

Long and Xin understood each other without a word, their coordination perfect, each blocking a fatal blow for the other.

Their eyes met, and they knew what the other was thinking; in the blink of an eye, sword light and blade shadows flashed, their moves complex as they each faced their respective enemies.

The Shiyin Xiao did not anticipate Xin Yi's sudden strike and could not easily slip back into the shadows for a moment, forced to raise its axes to parry. However, being a Dark Guard of the Demon Lord, after only a few moments of panic, it was already handling Xin Yi's blade techniques with ease.

Facing Long Qi, who was leaping over with his sword, the Rusted Ghost was not flustered at all; with a forceful tug of its arm, the thrown blade flew back, hooked to the chain, and went straight for Long Qi's spine.

Xin Yi's moves were tight, not daring to slacken in the slightest; he knew well that if he could not entangle the Shiyin Xiao and gave it a chance to escape, their already dire situation would only become more desperate.

Fortunately, Long Qi remained composed; just as the rusted blade neared, he twisted his body, pressed a hand against the blade, used the momentum to flip and dodge, and swung his long sword, sweeping toward the Rusted Ghost.

Over the years with the Hanyu Pill in his body and under Wuji's guidance, Long Qi had fully mastered the technique of borrowing force to strike; though it was a forced measure, it had tempered his temperament, making him understand that not everything had to rely on brute force.

However, the Rusted Ghost was no slouch; just as Long Qi neared, its robe suddenly billowed, and it easily dodged the sword's momentum.

No one knew how it did it, not even Long Qi, who was in close proximity; he only knew that after a rustling sound, his sword passed right through, with no sensation of having struck anything at all.

Strange, truly strange...

It clearly passed through its body, so how could it have struck nothing?

Meanwhile, Xin Yi's battle situation was also not optimistic.

At first, the two were evenly matched, but before long, Xin Yi's momentum was completely crushed, retreating step by step under the Shiyin Xiao's twin axes; within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he was forced into a corner.

Although the Shiyin Xiao possessed the Qianying Guashu, its close-quarters combat was also excellent; Xin Yi could hardly block the twin axes with one arm, and having already expended great physical strength, falling into a disadvantageous position against such a strong enemy was inevitable.

Yet, even after retreating to the corner, Xin Yi still gripped his blade tightly; he was waiting for an opportunity for a counter-kill.

Seeing Xin Yi panting like an ox, the Shiyin Xiao gave an evil, sinister smile, swinging its sharp axes as it approached Xin Yi without restraint.

"To have cultivated the Demon Race's heart technique for years only to turn into such a piece of trash is truly laughable." As it spoke, it pressed up to Xin Yi's face and said viciously: "Trash should die!"

Looking at the bizarre face whose medicinal effects had not yet faded, Xin Yi first feigned shock, and just as the Shiyin Xiao raised its axes, he released the long blade in his hand.

Now!

Xin Yi extremely quickly drew a short blade from his waist; a flash of blade light passed, and the Shiyin Xiao's two firewood-like arms were severed, black blood spraying out instantly.

The two axes fell to the ground with a thud, along with the two arms whose fingers were still twitching.

The Shiyin Xiao kicked Xin Yi, then, like a crazed beast, it looked up and shrieked incessantly while stumbling about in a chaotic frenzy. Xin Yi spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching his injury; his ribs seemed to have broken in several places, but he dared not slacken, rose with his blade, bit the short blade, and combined it with the long blade.

Although the Shiyin Xiao was severely wounded, in Xin Yi's view, this person was certainly not as simple as it appeared.

Just now, it had clearly been a flaw it intentionally exposed!

Sure enough, the Shiyin Xiao, which had been shrieking, changed its face in an instant, its expression full of madness.

The Shiyin Xiao turned its head and revealed a smile that chilled one to the bone, and at that very moment, its body suddenly shattered and exploded, black blood splashing everywhere, bizarre in the extreme.

It...

It actually self-destructed...

But before Xin Yi could recover, that black blood began to squirm, gathering together one after another; before long, it had gathered into the shape of the Shiyin Xiao, and amidst the firelight, its laughter echoed through the great hall, chilling to the core.

Seeing the shadow-like monster, Xin Yi's heart sank, yet the change happened in an instant; while Xin Yi was still focused on what was in front of him, a sharp axe pierced his back, and in an instant, blood stained his long robe.

Xin Yi knelt on the ground, leaning on his blade, blood gushing from his mouth; looking back, attached to the axe handle was a shadow, and connected to it from afar was none other than the Shiyin Xiao.

!

This was the Shadow Control Technique, the Shiyin Xiao's unique skill; this shadow-like monster was its true form, and the previous shell was merely a skin it had parasitized.

The Shiyin Xiao was born in the Blood Pool Hell; it was originally nothing more than a mass of blood, a blood demon manipulated by Nether Qi.

The wounded Xin Yi had no strength to rise, but the crazed Shiyin Xiao manipulated its black blood tentacles, raised the other axe, and went straight for Xin Yi's face.

Seeing the sharp axe approaching, Xin Yi thought of Maidong.

Having finally found his Guining, was he to stop here after all...

How could he be reconciled to this!

But no matter how unreconciled he was, what could he do? He had no strength left at all.

As the sharp axe swung down, just as Xin Yi was in despair, the Rusted Ghost's Nine-Ring Broadsword flew in just in time, knocking away the Shiyin Xiao's axe.

It was Long Qi.

Long Qi had long since discovered Xin Yi's plight and was about to rush to save him, but he had been intercepted by the Rusted Ghost.

Seeing Xin Yi in imminent danger, Long Qi was burning with anxiety, but the Rusted Ghost was too difficult to deal with, and he was unable to divide his attention.

Yet in an instant, Long Qi thought of a way; he turned and ran, as if he had made a certain decision, ignoring the Rusted Ghost behind him.

The Rusted Ghost naturally would not let Long Qi go, swinging its broadsword and throwing it, chasing closely behind Long Qi's back.

Long Qi listened carefully to the sound of the chains, and when the broadsword neared, he gathered his Qi, leaped, performed a backflip, and using the momentum, kicked the rusted blade away, hitting the Shiyin Xiao's axe perfectly.

Thank goodness he made it...

Long Qi let out a long sigh of relief, but at that moment, a buzzing sound filled his ears, and his vision began to blur.

His consciousness suddenly became chaotic, and his mind felt as if thousands of troops were passing through, the pain unbearable.

Long Qi clutched his head and knelt on the ground in agony.

What has happened to him...