Chapter 176: Defeat Yao Yue!

Cold, trembling.

This was Yao Yue's state at this moment—her hands trembled, and even her eyelids quivered.

"The one I saw back then should have been Lady Lianxing."

Gu Qing glanced at Yao Yue and spoke in a voice trembling with emotion: "But after I saw Lady Lianxing, I couldn't forget her. When I asked others, I heard that Yao Yue, the mistress of the Yihua Palace, was peerless under heaven—I came to believe that the immortal maiden in that painting was none other than Yao Yue."

In that instant, Yao Yue grew utterly cold.

Along this journey, Gu Qing had shown boundless affection, abandoned his principles for Yao Yue, transforming from a righteous hero into a scheming, ruthless villain who let others fight and die for him—and on this Dongting Lake, he was even willing to sacrifice his life just to see her once.

Just one glance, and he would gladly kill himself.

How great a testament to Yao Yue's allure!

But now—you got the wrong person?

"Are you mocking me?"

Yao Yue asked, icy and still.

"How dare I, how dare I!"

Gu Qing quickly apologized: "I truly mistook you for someone else. Now that I think on it, the claim that Yao Yue is peerless under heaven isn't entirely true—at least you can stand shoulder to shoulder with Lady Lianxing."

I stand shoulder to shoulder with Lianxing?

Yao Yue drew a deep breath. In her heart, she was unique—no one could rival her, no one could be mentioned alongside her. Hearing Gu Qing invert the hierarchy, her voice held no warmth: "So—you're not going to die?"

Gu Qing nodded: "If I cannot see Lady Lianxing, I will die with unclosed eyes."

Gu Qing had swiftly switched sides.

"What about me?"

Yao Yue asked coldly.

"Er…"

Gu Qing looked at Yao Yue, thought for a moment, and said: "I loved you?"

"Shhh!"

Yao Yue stepped forward and struck—a flash, she crossed two zhang in an instant, appearing before Gu Qing.

The Yihua Palace's martial arts were dazzling in motion; in that instant, her palm strike was intricate and exquisite, concealing a suction force that enveloped Gu Qing completely.

Crush the Hardness Divine Claw.

In that instant, Gu Qing employed techniques from the Nine Yin Manual—his hands crossed, claws casting countless shadows: three left, three right, three up, three down—his Crush the Hardness Divine Claw split into twelve small circles, advancing and retreating to counter Yao Yue's moves.

Gu Qing and Yao Yue stood at the pinnacle of the mortal world; their techniques were swift, their transformations exquisite, their hidden force sufficient to split mountains and shatter rocks—yet the boat beneath them remained perfectly steady, showing no sign of damage.

In this exchange, Gu Qing's countless techniques flashed through his mind, drawn and used instantly—palm strikes, finger jabs, shoulder shakes, elbow thrusts—endless variations. Yao Yue's martial arts were even more unfathomable; this single set of Yihua Palace palm techniques contained endless mysteries, with power that could expel or draw in.

"Hit!"

Yao Yue clashed palms with Gu Qing—a strange force surged, aiming to draw Gu Qing's true energy back against himself.

This was the Yihua Palace's Yihua Jieyu.

In the world of the Passionate Swordsman, Gu Qing had once used Qiankun Dayi to earn fame for "using the enemy's method against himself." Now, he possessed the Jia Yi Divine Art, the Xiantian Gong, the Yijin Jing, and more—his true qi was the most refined, the most unpredictable. When he clashed palms with Yao Yue, her strange force failed to stir his true origin—instead, his own true qi rode the momentum and surged back, startling Yao Yue into a backward leap, returning to the bow of the boat.

Using an opponent's force against them was common in martial circles—but to apply it at Gu Qing's level, and to counter Yihua Jieyu, was nothing short of divine mastery.

"Jia Yi Divine Art," Yao Yue murmured, her sleeves fluttering like a fairy's, her expression filled with surprise.

The Yihua Palace's Mingyu Divine Art reigned supreme in this age; only the Jia Yi Divine Art could rival its internal energy. Beyond it, the higher one's internal energy, the more vulnerable one became to Yihua Jieyu.

"If not for the Jia Yi Divine Art, how could I dare stand beside the Yihua Palace Mistress?"

Gu Qing spoke gently, his gaze pure, bowing to Yao Yue: "Mistress Yao Yue, may I ask—is Lady Lianxing within the Yihua Palace?"

Yao Yue merely stared coldly at Gu Qing.

Earlier, Yao Yue had wanted to kill Gu Qing because he knew her plans; now, to kill him would be personal vengeance.

In the Yihua Palace, only Yao Yue had the right to take precedence. Yet before her, Gu Qing had first abandoned his reputation, risked his life to declare ardent love—then claimed his true love was Lianxing. This was a direct slap to her face.

Jiang Feng's secret affair with Hua Yuenu had already been unbearable to Yao Yue. Gu Qing's public proclamation of love, followed by his claim that he truly loved Lianxing—this was ten times, a hundred times more vile than Jiang Feng's betrayal.

Jiang Feng's departure with Hua Yuenu had pierced Yao Yue's heart with unbearable hatred.

But Gu Qing's conduct sent waves of hatred crashing through her—had her Mingyu Art not been inherently reclusive, she would have spat blood.

"Shhh!"

!

Yao Yue shot toward Gu Qing like an arrow.

Gu Qing was already at the stern; in that instant, his body swayed—and he flew backward, his palm strikes chaining through the air, meeting Yao Yue's blows again and again. In this exchange of palm strikes, they left the boat entirely, plunging into the waters of Dongting Lake.

"Pam! Pam!"

Gu Qing's toes tapped the water's surface, exploding spray as he flipped upward. Yao Yue's lightness was peerless—she touched the water once, gliding as if on ice, her palms swirling, launching arrows of water that surged toward Gu Qing.

Amidst the spray, Gu Qing focused only on Yao Yue's hands; all other water strikes struck his body—his Jia Yi Divine Art naturally repelled them. His palm solidified—he once again employed the Zhentian Sect's Lushuang Po Bing Palm.

Frost arrives with the frost.

Amidst the water's chaos, Gu Qing discerned the true and false in Yao Yue's palm techniques. On the Dongting Lake's surface, his palm strikes were singularly true—amidst Yao Yue's dazzling flurry, he often met her blows directly, using this Daoist palm art to drag her into a prolonged battle.

The bright moon shone; ripples spread on the water.

The two stirred waves of pearls on the lake, steamed by the Jia Yi Divine Art's heat. As their clash prolonged, a thin mist—white as silver, cloudlike—rose around them, dispersing and condensing endlessly.

"Pam!"

Gu Qing tapped the water again and leapt upward—while Yao Yue, at this moment, had water up to her knees.

In lightness, the Yihua Palace Mistress was indeed peerless—but Gu Qing possessed two systems of lightness: one ordinary, the other through extraordinary meridians. These two systems alternated, allowing him to compensate when one faltered, buying time—thus, though he flew back and forth, he remained light and free, while Yao Yue had been expending the same internal breath for this entire time.

Her lightness was beginning to fail.

As palms clashed, Gu Qing suddenly traced over a dozen large circles in his hands—these circles entangled Yao Yue's arm, and with one forward push, he thrust.

At this moment, Yao Yue's eyes blazed with hatred. As their arms twisted, she let the internal force strike her body—Yihua Jieyu made the energy swirl within her, enduring internal injury to deliver a crushing palm straight to Gu Qing's chest!

This was Yao Yue's calculated, last-ditch move to kill him while at a disadvantage.

"Bang!"

After this palm strike, Yao Yue's lightness gave out—her legs buckled, and she collapsed onto the surface of Dongting Lake. She watched as Gu Qing, despite the blow, remained unmoved in expression—yet beneath his feet, waves surged violently, and with this very momentum, he leapt once more into the air, one hand outstretched, pressing upon Yao Yue's peerless, untouchable face, slamming her hard beneath the water.

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle…"

Yao Yue suffered a defeat unlike any before—complete, utter, and total.

(End of Chapter)