Chapter 1658

Meizhuang lady screamed: "She... she actually gave the soul-chasing flute to you!!"

Qin Yutong said expressionlessly: "Someone as sinister and vicious as you must always leave some means of restraint, otherwise you would be able to do as you please."

Meizhuang lady clutched her head; although she wore a silver mask on her face, hiding her current expression, her hurried breathing revealed her pain.

Qin Yutong asked: "Who killed my mother?"

Meizhuang lady said: "It... it is he..." She pointed her finger behind Qin Yutong; Qin Yutong instinctively turned her head slightly, and the moment her gaze left Meizhuang lady, she suddenly pulled a hidden mechanism, an iron cage dropped from the sky, enveloping Qin Yutong. Before Qin Yutong could play the soul-chasing flute again, Meizhuang lady raised both hands and continuously threw several phosphorous fire bombs; green flames instantly surrounded and sealed the iron cage.

Although Meizhuang lady feared the soul-chasing flute, after unleashing a series of attacks she fled immediately, daring not to pause, rushing forward a few steps, turning the cave mouth; behind her a stone gate fell, completely isolating Qin Yutong and herself.

Green flames roared around the iron cage; within the fire, a slender figure drew a dagger and cut an opening in the cage. Qin Yutong slowly walked out of the phosphorous-fire-surrounded cage and came outside; her face was burned into a mottled, horrific sight. Qin Yutong reached out and slowly lifted the mask burned by phosphorous fire—not a speck of phosphorous fire stained her outer armor, let alone harmed her.

A violent, muffled tremor came from underfoot, as if the entire Sword Heart Cave were shaking. Qin Yutong's eyes narrowed; this tremor must have come from the direction where Hu Xiaotian and the Sword Slave were fiercely fighting.

Hu Xiaotian was unfamiliar with the terrain; after looping around several times he was actually chased by the Sword Slave into a dead end, with no way forward, so he had to stop, gather his inner strength, and await the Sword Slave's arrival.

The Sword Slave's heavy footsteps drew nearer. A burly figure appeared before Hu Xiaotian; Hu Xiaotian's sword, which he had been readying, was swung out with all his strength—this strike had already exerted his maximum power, sword qi bursting forth, damaging even the rocks it touched. What Hu Xiaotian unleashed was precisely the most powerful move of the Seven Slays of Heaven Sword, Destroy Heaven and Earth.

Without thinking, the Sword Slave countered with the same move; both sword qi were extremely overbearing, colliding in the darkness. The sword qi Hu Xiaotian evoked in adversity was in no way inferior to that of the Sword Slave; as they both released their sword qi, they each made evasive motions, but the fact shows their evasion was ultimately a step too slow. Accompanied by a muffled gas explosion, the two sword qi met head‑on; the impact's power made the whole Sword Heart Cave tremble. The sword qi did not fully cancel each other out, and invisible blades continued to slash at each other. Hu Xiaotian felt his chest as if struck by a giant hammer; his body seemed to be seized by a huge hand and violently slammed against the rock.

The Sword Slave also failed to dodge Hu Xiaotian's sword qi; his chest was cleanly cut by it, and he let out a muffled grunt. Yet the earth‑shaking tremor caused by the colliding sword qi showed no sign of ending. The rock layer beneath their feet suddenly collapsed, and the two fell from a height together with the falling stones from above, plunging into a dark, unknown abyss.

Before Ji Feihua even entered the range of Wanren Mountain, she saw the jagged peaks ahead topple one after another, snow churning up, mist spreading. The impact of iron peaks striking the ground sent tremors like an earthquake; Ji Feihua's eyes showed alarm, not from fear but from worry—Hu Xiaotian should then be inside Wanren Mountain, yet she did not know what had happened; why had Wanren Mountain suddenly collapsed and split?

Many Sword Palace disciples also heard the commotion; one after another they rushed over upon hearing the news, gazing at Wanren Mountain still constantly collapsing, they too were at a loss, six‑senses gone, for such a natural disaster cannot be averted by human effort. Wanren Mountain, as a forbidden ground of the Sword Palace, had stood towering for decades, yet no one knew how it was built; the disciples had thought it would stand forever, but they never imagined that in their lifetimes they would witness its downfall.

Ren Tianqing stood on the roof of the Sword Pavilion, gazing far toward Wanren Mountain, his expression showing utter astonishment. A figure flew swiftly toward him; he focused his sight—it turned out to be the Master of Meizhuang. The Meizhuang Master stopped three zhang opposite Ren Tianqing, lightly landing on the roof, keenly noticing the bloodstain on his chest, and said somewhat surprised: "You're injured?"

Ren Tianqing did not answer her question, his gaze turning toward Wanren Mountain: "Did you destroy Wanren Mountain?"

The Meizhuang Master nodded.

Ren Tianqing angrily said: "Do you know that this concerns the secret of the Heaven‑Man Myriad Images Diagram?"

The Meizhuang Master snorted disdainfully: "Your prized disciple hides the soul‑chasing flute in her hand; even if we did not need the Heaven‑Man Myriad Images Diagram, I could not let her remain in this world."

"What?" Ren Tianqing's expression shocked beyond words; he had always thought Qin Yutong was merely a little girl kept in the dark, a pawn he used, yet he never imagined she possessed so many facets unknown to him.

The Meizhuang Master said: "If you cannot bear to lose her, now have someone dig through that rubble; perhaps you can still find her corpse."

Ren Tianqing gave a cold snort, said nothing more, and turned to stride away into the distance.

The Meizhuang Master also did not expect him to say he was leaving and just go; she shouted from behind: "Don't go yet, I still have something to say to you……"

Ji Feihua abruptly turned her head; the thousands of Sword Palace disciples behind her simultaneously felt a chilling killing intent approaching, frightened they all stepped back. The Sword Palace master Qiu Hanlight loudly shouted: "Form the formation!" Only he himself knew how fearful his heart was at that moment.

Ji Feihua coldly stared at Qiu Hanlight, her eyes devoid of any warmth or pity, she said word by word: "If he dies, today I will demand that every life in your Sword Palace, from top to bottom, be buried with him!"

No one doubted Ji Feihua's ability; everyone's hearts were shrouded in the shadow of death.

Qiu Hanlight gripped his longsword, feeling grim; he never imagined the foundation of the Sword Palace would ultimately be destroyed by his own hand. He had just witnessed Ji Feihua's martial prowess—she broke through their Sword Palace's most formidable Heavenly Net Sword Formation without breaking a sweat. If she truly harbored killing intent, the entire Sword Palace would be at her mercy to slaughter. Thinking of his beloved son, still missing without news, should anything happen to him, he would have nothing left to live for in this world. Qiu Hanlight gritted his teeth and said: "Whoever wins the deer is still uncertain!" Though he spoke firmly, the outcome was already clear in his heart.

As Ji Feihua was about to unleash the killing formation, her gaze fell upon the hilt of the light sword; she saw the green crystal inlaid there constantly flickering with a faint light, and she felt a surge of joy. The two light swords resonate with each other; from the state of her own sword she could tell the other light sword was definitely being used, and that sword was undoubtedly in Hu Xiaotian's hands. In other words, as long as Hu Xiaotian can wield the light sword, it proves his life is not in grave danger. Her killing intent vanished instantly, and she coldly asked Qiu Hanlight: "Are there still any mechanisms beneath Wanren Mountain?"

Qiu Hanlight did not know why Ji Feihua would ask that, hesitated a moment, and gave no answer.

Ji Feihua sent a mental transmission to Qiu Hanlight: "Today I open a net to give you a chance—if you honestly tell me the secrets of Wanren Mountain, I will spare your whole clan." By using this method to lay her cards before Qiu Hanlight, she was essentially giving him face; she also considered that if she spoke these words publicly, Qiu Hanlight, as head of the Sword Palace, would never yield before the crowd out of concern for dignity.

Qiu Hanlight waved his hand, signaling the disciples to retreat backward. He approached Ji Feihua; facing her he truly felt reverence to the utmost degree, understanding that the power of life and death over the entire Sword Palace lay completely in her hands. If he provoked her, he would hardly escape calamity. He spoke softly: "There is only a rumor that beneath Wanren Mountain lies a thousand‑chi pool, though we have never actually seen it; behind the mountain there is a Sword‑Washing Stream that never freezes, said to be the living water flowing from that thousand‑chi pool."

Ji Feihua nodded, tapped the tip of her foot, and her body shot toward Wanren Mountain.

The mountains collapsed and the earth split; Hu Xiaotian fell straight down from midair. He thought he would at least be smashed to a half‑crippled state if not pulverized, but while falling through the air he actually plunged into an icy, bone‑chilling pool. Before he could clear his vision of the surroundings, his head took a heavy blow—a falling mountain rock struck his skull. Hu Xiaotian felt his scalp tighten; fortunately he was underwater, the pool's buoyancy buffered the rock's impact, otherwise he would almost certainly have had his brains blown out.

A wave of sharp pain pulsed in his chest; Hu Xiaotian opened his eyes and saw a faint glow somewhere beneath him. He reached out and touched it, realizing the glowing object was the light sword. Above, debris continued to fall; in the water he dodged left and right, each movement tugging at his chest wound. Inside he wore an inner armor made of seven‑star sea‑snake skin—even a blade that could cut iron like mud could not pierce it, yet now the armor had split open a gap about a chi long, wounded by the Sword Slave's sword qi. Hu Xiaotian preliminarily judged that his breastbone had not been severed; without this armor he would likely have been disemboweled.

When the falling rocks gradually subsided, Hu Xiaotian endured the pain and surfaced. His head was piled with huge boulders; it was precisely these boulders pressing and supporting each other that temporarily formed the narrow space above. Hu Xiaotian took a few breaths, drew out the light sword and probed it in various directions; he noticed that when pointing toward the left‑front, the Lan‑colored crystal on the light sword flickered with markedly increased frequency. Hu Xiaotian secretly rejoiced, perhaps this was the way out. Just as he prepared to swim forward, his ankle suddenly tightened and a great force dragged him beneath the water.

Important things said three times: Monthly Ticket! Monthly Ticket! Monthly Ticket! (To be continued~^~)