Chapter 627

The long sword was stuck in the throat; his trembling hand lost its strength, and it took three full attempts to pull it out. He hacked twice more, and only then was the young man's head severed.

The gloomy old man's legs trembled as he watched in a daze.

The burly man surnamed Rui let out a long breath and was about to sheath his sword when he saw the head shift downward by an inch on its own, reattaching itself to the body. The skin at the connection point was smooth and delicate, without a trace of having been hacked.

"Ouch!"

A chill rushed to his brain; his legs shook, and he sat down hard on the ground. His teeth chattered uncontrollably, the world before his eyes spun, and he stared fixedly at that neck.

The blood drained from the old man's face, leaving it as white as a corpse's. Hearing the burly man surnamed Rui's teeth chattering, he stammered, "W-what... what is... going on!"

"How... how would I know!"

The old man inched away bit by bit, his hands trembling violently as they emerged from his robes, his lips quivering:

"I... I have never killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator before..."

Seeing that the young man did not wake up, the burly man surnamed Rui gradually regained his courage and muttered:

"Things have come to this... things have come to this..."

He actually picked up the long sword again, measured the position, changed to a vertical hack, and struck toward the center of the brows once more. After three consecutive strikes, a metallic clang finally split the skull in two again.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed!"

The old man's face, pale as paper, flushed with a hint of crimson. He was already hunched and stooped, but he jumped up like a toad, terrified:

"Are you trying to get yourself killed! Are you trying to get yourself killed!"

The old man immediately rode the wind and fled rapidly toward the north. The escape light behind him carried a trace of blood, clearly having used a blood-escape technique, as if something extremely terrifying were chasing him. He flew erratically in the air, leaving behind several howls that echoed through the sky:

"Are you trying to get yourself killed!"

The burly man surnamed Rui was almost scared into wetting himself by the old man's frantic screaming. The head he had finally managed to hack off had reattached itself again. Seeing stars, he looked at the handsome face before him and stammered, "It's not like I haven't practiced demonic arts... it's just reattaching a head... what's so strange about that..."

He comforted himself, yet he understood that the Li family was a righteous clan, making the scene before him all the more horrifying. The burly man surnamed Rui raised his sword for the third time to strike at the neck.

Daoist Rui took three strikes to split the neck open. This time, however, he was prepared; he lunged forward, rolled away while trembling, picked up the head, moved it away from the neck, and prepared to throw it aside.

But he suddenly stopped.

The head in his hands had its eyes open.

Those gray-white pupils stared at him quietly. The handsome face combined with those pupils possessed a strange, sacred quality. Despite the gray-white hue, Daoist Rui could read a chill within them. His heart felt as if it were about to shatter into pieces, and his head felt as if it had fallen into ice water; every part of him was shivering with cold.

The next instant, the young man spoke.

Snow-white sword Qi erupted from between his lips and teeth, transforming into countless sharp frost and snow that surged forward. Daoist Rui's wail was cut off in his throat, and he vanished completely from head to toe, leaving only countless frost and snow to stir up waves on the sea surface.

"Splash!"

Two storage bags fell to the ground and rolled twice.

The head floated back to the ground and reattached itself seamlessly to the neck. The young man exhaled a breath, and those gray-white eyes finally closed.

Grand Void.

When Daoist Rui entered the game, Tu Longjian sensed that something was wrong. The situation was the exact opposite of what had been expected; the Hengzhu faction clearly had not offered any help, nor had they sent any news.

Tian Wan was not surprised. Tu Longjian's gaze swept across a certain spot in the mundane world, and he understood as well.

"Senior Chang Xiao!"

Senior Chang Xiao, who had previously been delayed by the matter of Cheng Yan, had clearly been feigning ignorance all along. Now, he suddenly struck at Wang Fu's location, taking advantage of the situation to drag the Hengzhu people down.

In this way, the Hengzhu people could not intervene to pull Tu Longjian aside. The only way for Tu Longjian to save Li Xijun was to hand over the 【Six Dings Fire-Combining Order】, and the Hengzhu Dao, having botched the job, had killed Wang Fu but offended Tu Longjian...

Thus, Tian Wan before him held the winning hand, waiting for Tu Longjian to hand over the 【Six Dings Fire-Combining Order】. Yet Tu Longjian remained unmoved, and Li Xijun was subsequently decapitated three times.

But Tu Longjian remained indifferent throughout, appearing completely unconcerned, not even opening his eyes to look at the situation in the mundane world, quietly watching his opponent, a stark contrast to his previous demeanor.

He sat quietly in the lotus position. The True Person Tian Wan opposite him stared at him intently, seemingly unable to believe it. She sighed deeply and replied, "Jun Jian has great patience and great schemes."

Tu Longjian's voice was calm as he said in a deep tone, "Senior, you flatter me. I owe the Li family a favor; this piece of 【Mingfang Heavenly Stone】 is enough. From now on, I am square with his family. Other matters have nothing to do with me."

True Person Tian Wan looked at the frost and snow on the sea, shook her head gently, and whispered, "Everyone says you, Tu Long, are righteous, but in the end, you are nothing more than this."

After saying this, she felt it was pointless.

'I had hoped to trade favors for the 【Six Dings Fire-Combining Order】 in a no-cost business, but who knew this person would be so heartless when it came down to it? I can only plan further.'

She sighed with regret. Having waited and waited to no avail, the time Senior Chang Xiao could buy was limited. Dragging it out further would only lead back to a passive position. Tian Wan gave him a cold look and vanished into the Grand Void.

Tu Longjian manifested his form on the sea, looked at Li Xijun below, and pinched a seal to command, "Red Sparrow, carry the fire and pass my order."

A hazy flame flew from his sleeve, transforming into a large sparrow the size of a tiger or leopard. It circled him once, opened its mouth to inhale, and the 【Mingfang Heavenly Stone】, the storage bags, and Li Xijun—everything on the sea surface—instantly flew into its belly.

Tu Longjian said softly:

"The 【Mingfang Heavenly Stone】 is here; we are now square."

The bird also took his words into its belly and rode the wind toward the south. Tu Longjian looked around, understanding that many people were watching in the Grand Void, so he turned back into the Grand Void and strode away.

He returned all the way to his cave dwelling, where a young man in blue-white robes was already sitting. He had a handsome face with somewhat feminine features and was examining the collection in his cave.

Tu Longjian was not surprised and said softly, "Thank you, Senior Pu Yu."

This person was actually his good friend, True Person Pu Yu. He was sitting by the jade table and said casually:

"I have already preserved his soul. After all, he had not achieved divine powers and was not on the list, so he was easy to catch... Several old things have died; I fear there are few in the sea who know more about this matter than I do. They cannot see it! But you... to go to such great lengths, you really put in the effort."

A bitter smile appeared on Tu Longjian's delicate face as he replied:

"If I had protected him directly, how many Zifu cultivators would have been watching! From now on, I fear the Li family and I would never have a day of peace... Let everyone who schemes against me go find the Li family!"

"Tu Long only now understands the methods of True Person Xiao. To protect, yet not be too close, to let go when one should... otherwise, it would only harm them!"

He sighed gently and replied:

"It is good now. Li Xijun died before their eyes, which can be considered as clearing the debt of gratitude with the Li family. I don't have to stand openly behind them... They also know that scheming against the Li family cannot be used to scheme against me... Matters will be much easier to handle."

The young man in black changed the subject and said solemnly, "Senior, you govern yin and yang and understand life and death. I entrust Xijun's matter... to you, True Person!"

Thanks to

Headless Nanshan

Qin Mian y

taiwuwux

T Treading on the Clouds T

Drunken Dancing Flowing Clouds

Reward Alliance Leader