Chapter 1792

Meizhuang seemed to have guessed Quan De'an's thoughts, she chuckled and said, "Are you thinking of joining forces to get rid of me? Since I dared to come, I naturally won't fear you." She gracefully turned in place and said to Hu Xiaotian, "Do you recognize this set of Phoenix Armor?"

Although Hu Xiaotian was still smiling, his smile had become forced; he naturally recognized it—this set of Phoenix Armor belonged to Qin Yutong.

Madame Meizhuang said, "I'll give you a choice: kill Quan De'an and bring those two skulls to me, and I'll spare Qin Yutong's life!"

Quan De'an's heart sank; his gaze toward Hu Xiaotian was filled with vigilance. Under Meizhuang's threat, Hu Xiaotian might really do that, after all, his own life meant nothing to him.

Hu Xiaotian's eyes remained fixed on Meizhuang from start to finish; he softly sighed and said, "You are truly despicable!"

Madame Meizhuang gave a bewitching smile and said, "Only a despicable woman is lovable."

Hu Xiaotian looked at her with contempt and said, "From head to toe you have not a single lovable trait, you pretentious old woman—no wonder no man likes you."

That remark struck Meizhuang's berserk point; she shouted sternly, "Hu Xiaotian, do you truly not care whether Qin Yutong lives or dies?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "You are a fickle woman; even if I obeyed your orders, you would still not spare Miss Qin. If something happens to her, I can only kill you for revenge. Rather than wait until then to kill you, I might as well act now—I still have some ways to force you to tell the truth."

Madame Meizhuang coldly replied, "You think you can do that?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Then let's try!" Before he finished speaking, he rushed at Meizhuang, acting without hesitation—Heaven-Splitting Sword! The blue-white blade turned into a curtain of light that devoured heaven and split earth, slashing down toward Meizhuang's head.

Meizhuang had thought she already controlled the situation, gripping Hu Xiaotian's lifeline, but she never expected him to dare strike her—could this brat not care about Qin Yutong's life?

Hu Xiaotian had thought it through thoroughly; given Meizhuang's character, even if he killed Quan De'an, reclaimed the skulls and gave them to her, she would still not tell him where Qin Yutong was. Rather than be restrained by her, it was better to gamble—subdue Meizhuang and force her to reveal Qin Yutong's whereabouts.

On the matter of dealing with Meizhuang, Quan De'an and Hu Xiaotian shared the same view—today they absolutely could not let her leave Long Ling Shengjing alive. Otherwise she would reveal their collaboration, possibly endangering Qiqi.

Although Madame Meizhuang was unrivaled in poison and insect control, facing someone of Hu Xiaotian's absolute strength she dared not clash head-on. As soon as Hu Xiaotian moved, her body slid like a water snake to the right rear; though she fled quickly, she still could not escape his sword momentum—the light sword's edge still grazed her shoulder. With a buzz, the light blade contacting the Phoenix Armor burst forth a large expanse of red-and-white light, and Meizhuang's body slid backward along the sword's momentum.

After learning Heaven-Splitting Sword from the Sword Demon Dongfang Wuwo, Hu Xiaotian had been unstoppable, yet clearly striking Meizhuang did not inflict serious injury—this greatly exceeded his expectations. Moreover, after the light sword hit Meizhuang, its glow noticeably dimmed while the Phoenix Armor suddenly brightened. Hu Xiaotian had experienced this before; when he fought Ren Tianqing, Ren's Lone Moon Slash could absorb the light sword's energy, and now it seemed the Phoenix Armor did the same. The light sword was not invincible; against different opponents one should choose different weapons.

Before Meizhuang could stop her steps, Quan De'an silently approached from the side, a palm striking toward her back. He timed it perfectly, calculating her possible retreat route with crystal clarity; this palm also gathered all his strength, holding nothing back.

Where the palm landed, it suddenly slipped, the force veering to one side. Meizhuang relied on the Phoenix Armor's strong defense and her own graceful footwork, slipping out like a fish from beside Quan De'an. Even so, she dared not prolong the fight, sprinting away in an attempt to escape their pincer attack.

How could Hu Xiaotian let her escape? If Meizhuang fled, Qin Yutong would be in danger. That earlier strike made him realize the Phoenix Armor could likely block the light sword. He sheathed his sword, leapt into the air, and dove forward, employing the Art of Soaring, pushing his internal energy to the limit as he pursued Meizhuang.

Quan De'an, having lost a leg, was considerably inferior to the two in lightness and martial skill. As he sighed at his inadequacy, a muffled buzz came from behind; he turned and saw a blue arc of light spinning toward him, its edges continually expanding as it moved. He was greatly surprised—apparently, besides Meizhuang, another formidable person had infiltrated Long Ling Shengjing tonight.

Quan De'an leapt up, trying to dodge the arc, but his right prosthetic limb refused to obey. In the crisis his body leaned back; he watched the arc brush past his chest, swing around, and fly back.

Quan De'an's gaze followed the arc, seeing the lake-light resting in the hand of a gray-clad person. That gray-clad figure floated in midair, calmly looking at Quan De'an and softly saying, "Eunuch Quan, how have you been?"

Quan De'an blinked hard; the person before him was clearly Ren Tianqing, chief of Xuantian Guan. How could that be? Ren Tianqing was obviously accompanying Qiqi at the Yunyao Terrace night banquet—how did he slip away to get here? Could the one at Yunyao Terrace be a fake?

Ren Tianqing evidently would not give Quan De'an time to think; he waved his arm, sending the Lone Moon Slash flying again. Accompanying the slash's arcing trajectory, Quan De'an felt his right prosthetic limb being pulled by a strong attractive force. His movement was greatly affected; he secretly inhaled, then suddenly leapt up, intending to use the Lone Moon Slash's pulling power to attack Ren Tianqing.

Ren Tianqing's expression remained unchanged; the Lone Moon Slash suddenly burst forth with splendid radiance, then shot toward Quan De'an at astonishing speed.

Seeing the situation turn bad, Quan De'an untied the leather pouch at his waist and used it to block the Lone Moon Slash.

Ren Tianqing furrowed his brows; Quan De'an must have guessed he was determined to obtain the two skulls, so he did not hesitate to damage them to oppose the Lone Moon Slash. He slightly moved his palm, and the Lone Moon Slash shifted direction, skimming the ground to slash at Quan De'an's ankle.

Quan De'an leapt up, never expecting the Lone Moon Slash, with a "duo!" sound, to stick to the sole of his right foot—apparently his prosthetic and the slash had generated a strong attraction. He snorted coldly, then slammed his right foot down hard, intending to stomp the Lone Moon Slash into the ground.

With Quan De'an's internal strength, a single stomp could shatter stone; this right leg of his had been specially forged from refined steel by Hong Beimo, its hardness and flexibility no less than a normal limb, and he had long used it with ease. Yet when he stomped with full force, the entire prosthetic suddenly lost control—the powerful attraction from the Lone Moon Slash beneath his foot actually stiffened the prosthetic's joint.

At that moment Ren Tianqing suddenly launched, throwing a straight punch at Quan De'an's face.

Quan De'an wanted to retreat, but his right foot was firmly stuck to the ground by the Lone Moon Slash. He gasped in shock, having no choice but to meet Ren Tianqing's punch head‑on; the two fists collided with a loud "peng!" Quan De'an's body visibly leaned back, and the Lone Moon Slash under his foot spun violently, twisting and deforming his entire prosthetic limb.

Even at his peak Quan De'an was no match for Ren Tianqing, let alone now when his martial prowess was at most seventy percent of his peak. His prosthetic finally could not resist the Lone Moon Slash; the slash's light swept over his left ankle, cleanly severing his left foot. Quan De'an said nothing, extending his ten fingers to grab at Ren Tianqing.

Ren Tianqing snorted coldly, his body suddenly rising a zhang; Quan De'an's body shuddered, and ten sharp fingernails detached from his fingers, flying out like ten cold stars toward Ren Tianqing's face. Trapped by the Lone Moon Slash, he could only resort to this self‑mutilation to deal with Ren Tianqing.

Ren Tianqing stood still; the ten fingernails shot forward until they were still an inch from his face, then could advance no further, blocked by his protective gang qi.

Quan De'an nodded, seized the two leather pouches containing the skulls, and hurled them behind him.

Hu Xiaotian had been distracted by Meizhuang; when he heard the commotion behind him, he finally realized that more than one person had followed them into Long Ling Shengjing. He muttered "oh no," abandoned Meizhuang and turned to rescue, but by the time he arrived it was too late—Quan De'an had already thrown the two leather pouches.

Ren Tianqing reacted with lightning speed; his body swayed, and in an instant he was above Quan De'an's head, snatching the two leather pouches in his hand.

By then Hu Xiaotian had just arrived; he threw a punch at Ren Tianqing. Ren Tianqing's body swiftly retreated, while the Lone Moon Slash flew out simultaneously, sweeping past the base of Quan De'an's remaining left leg and cutting it off as well. Quan De'an's body went limp with a thud, collapsing prone on the ground.

Ren Tianqing stepped onto the Lone Moon Slash and instantly vanished into the darkness.

Hu Xiaotian shouted angrily, "Where are you going, you bastard!"

Quan De'an weakly said, "Don't chase… that's fake…"

Hu Xiaotian stopped, then saw Quan De'an lying in a pool of blood, both legs gone. Although he usually felt no fondness for Quan De'an, seeing him so miserable stirred his compassion; he bent down, sealed Quan De'an's pressure points to staunch the bleeding, and comforted him, "It's fine—I can still help you bind this leg." But he was merely consoling Quan De'an; the final strike of the Lone Moon Slash had not only severed his left leg but also sliced off a large portion of his torso. Even if surgery were performed now, Quan De'an's chance of survival would be slim.

Quan De'an's blood‑soaked right hand grabbed Hu Xiaotian: "Too late… listen to me…" He shoved a key into Hu Xiaotian's hand: "Under the giant cauldron… there is a secret chamber… a skull lies… inside…"

Second chapter uploaded, new week, please cast a few recommendation votes! (To be continued~^~)