Chapter 235

Silver lightning, like a crescent moon, swept across Binghe in a curved arc; by the time they saw it clearly, it had already drawn near their sides, the icy blade-wind instantly turning the flying water into scattered ice crystals!

?!

Li Huaichuan was never careless and had always been wary of the Super Rank poison witch hidden in the mist.

But poison witches, even those who entered Super Rank, always cast spells and poisons from afar—those frail bodies charging straight at a martial cultivator's face were pure madness; thus, he had always guarded against the mind-disrupting spell.

Yet the blade slashing toward him now clearly came from a genuine Super Rank martialist, and combined with the Poison Sect's stealth traits, it embodied the standard assassination technique: "Break the concealment with one decisive strike to settle life or death!"

By the time Li Huaichuan sensed it, the dazzling blade-light had already shattered his protective aura and swept toward his neck, giving him not a single moment to react.

But thanks to a lifetime of fighting and surviving, Li Huaichuan's cultivation was ultimately higher—he still barely managed to react to this killing blow, his right sword flashing back in an instant to block the blade, while his Minglong Spear swept sideways at the ghostlike assassin.

Ding—

Boom—

The swift, crescent blade was blocked; the nine-foot spear shaft swept aside the mist beside him, striking the blue-robed woman's waist and abdomen.

The woman's cheeks were as pale and jade-like, her peach-blossom eyes showing pain, yet tinged with a faint dark red—like a nine-tailed white fox emerging from the misty sea!

Li Huaichuan had seen warriors who cultivated both witchcraft and martial arts before, but never one this strong; his parry had been rushed, and in that fleeting glimpse of her red pupils, he knew disaster was coming!

His instincts proved correct.

The spear flung the blue-robed woman away, and Li Huaichuan's vision warped—the misty sea transformed into a bizarre illusionary realm, a golden-red flame floated before him, within reach, and the sign of Lishan Sword Cottage had changed to "Number One Under Heaven…"

Li Huaichuan knew this was the mind-disrupting illusion, and instantly focused to break free—but it was too late!

Xie Jinhuan entrusted his life entirely to his teammate, ignoring the incoming sword tide, drew his Tian Gang Iron Club, and swung it forward with full force!

As Bu Yuehua was flung away by the spear shaft, the power in his Tian Gang Iron Club had been compressed to its limit—and the nearby Li Huaichuan's protective aura vanished, his weapon loosened from his grip, his eyes dull and unnaturally fiery.

Though it lasted only an instant, in the realm of peak martialists, it was fatal!

Dang—

Li Huaichuan snapped back to awareness and raised his sword in haste, barely blocking the Tian Gang Iron Club as it smashed toward his face.

But Xie Jinhuan's short-range explosive power was terrifying—the heavy, grounded force of the iron club struck the Tingshui Sword; though the fine blade remained unbroken, it was bent outright, and the residual force continued, slamming into his face.

Bang—

In the explosion, Li Huaichuan's nasal bones and cheekbones shattered; though as a martialist his physique was robust and his skull wasn't crushed outright, half his face caved inward, blood and broken teeth spraying as he reeled backward and slammed into the cliff behind him.

Boom—

Bu Yuehua, flung by the spear, landed on Binghe and bounced up instantly, dragging her single saber, swift as thunder, pressing in again.

Ding ding—

Martialists' resilience ranked second only to Buddhist cultivators, but after such a devastating blow, Li Huaichuan's face was grotesquely deformed; the fact he hadn't fainted proved his foundation was solid—he could no longer maintain his form.

Facing the thunder-speed saber and opportunistic illusionary spells, Li Huaichuan could no longer defend himself; after blocking three strikes in succession, the crescent blade sliced his right arm holding the sword.

Though the wound was no deeper than half an inch, white smoke suddenly erupted from the cut, spreading agonizing soul-piercing pain and muscle sluggishness across his body, causing his aerial stance to plummet to the ground.

Boom—

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua had partnered before; as Li Huaichuan lost balance and fell, the Black Dragon Ramming Pillar technique tore through the misty sea, carving a vortex-shaped void that struck his lower back.

Li Huaichuan, his head severely injured, had already exhausted himself blocking the wave-like blade at close range; realizing he was cornered, his twisted face twisted into a ferocious snarl—he ignored the incoming saber and lunged forward with a final, lethal thrust straight at his opponent's heart.

Sa—

This sword strike was deceptively simple, its sword-song piercingly mournful, even unsettling the soul; without doubt, it was Li Huaichuan's strongest—and final—sword strike of his life!

Bu Yuehua had been cautious enough, but Li Huaichuan, relying on his realm advantage, forced the exchange—she could not fully evade it, and could only grit her teeth and raise her saber upward, deflecting the sword-tip sideways from her heart.

Crack—

Boom—

In that instant, Xie Jinhuan touched another taboo, forcibly opening the second gate, "Kaiyang," boosting his speed another third, and as the sword pierced flesh, he slammed the Tian Gang Iron Club into Li Huaichuan's side.

Boom—

With a thunderous explosion, Li Huaichuan's robes burst open, his ribs split open, bones shattered, the heavy iron club driving straight into his abdominal cavity, shattering his lumbar spine.

His forward-thrusting body, under the impact of a mud truck's force, was flung sideways through the air, crashing into the adjacent cliff.

Boom boom boom—

The emerald mist sea surged into towering waves; the cliff cracked and collapsed, showering rubble, leaving a depression over a zhang wide at the point of impact.

Xie Jinhuan was at full strength and initially unharmed; though briefly forcing open the second gate didn't cause his body to collapse outright, the burst of power exceeded his physical limits, instantly straining his muscles and qi channels.

After flinging Li Huaichuan away, Xie Jinhuan caught a fleeting glimpse—Li Huaichuan's face deformed, his torso bent backward—there was no way he could survive. He immediately leapt forward, snatching Bu Yuehua as she flew backward.

Bu Yuehua had already suffered soul damage, and just now absorbed a spear strike across her body; she could barely block Li Huaichuan's life-for-life thrust. Though he was knocked aside at the last moment, the sword still pierced her left chest, piercing her soft armor, leaving only an inch between blade tip and heart.

Xie Jinhuan was startled—he quickly checked her and saw her side robe torn, revealing the soft armor, bloodstains on her chest, but no sign of ruptured heart or lung damage; he exhaled in relief and pulled her into his arms.

"Go!"

Amid the battle, Bu Yuehua hadn't even felt the pain; her gaze remained fixed on Li Huaichuan. Seeing Xie Jinhuan had shattered his rib-spine, she relaxed, raised her hand lightly, and the Tingshui Sword, far away, flew back into her grasp; then she hurled two flying daggers at Li Huaichuan, still lying in the crater.

Bang bang—

Li Huaichuan still clung to survival instinct, struggling to move; as the two flying daggers slammed into his lungs like cannonballs, two bursts of blood mist erupted, and he went utterly still…

Meanwhile, dozens of li away.

Seven figures hid in the snow, observing the earth-shattering scene inside Jianchuan through distant-viewing lenses, all drawing sharp breaths.

He Can wasn't a "Xie fan," but he'd seen too much—he felt no surprise at Li Huaichuan's bitter defeat, and turned to sneer:

"Tsk tsk~ Is this your northern people's famed strength? I thought you'd set a trap and send someone to deliver the final blow—but all you got was this trash? Xie Jinhuan's already invincible at Rank One, and he's got a Super Rank bodyguard beside him—you sent Li Huaichuan to face him? Are you trying to make his southern campaign record look even more brutal, so he can come north and keep grinding?"

Zhang Chu actually thought this battle was perilous, but since Xie Jinhuan was so composed and brought a Super Rank female bodyguard, Li Huaichuan's death wasn't unjust—he replied:

"Given how things stand, shall we retreat for now?"

Chu Xing had never seen Xie Jinhuan before and was slightly stunned by his combat power, but before this mission, his superiors had already warned him: if one person couldn't handle him, this scene wasn't unexpected—he replied:

"Li Huaichuan was just a pawn. He initiated the killing intent for the treasure—killing him is best; if he fails, he still drains these two's reserves, and gives whoever comes after them a legitimate reason to kill them outright."

He Can roughly understood the meaning:

"Li Huaichuan was patrolling his own territory when he was brutally killed by Xie Jinhuan of the Southern Court; this indeed allows the Northern Zhou imperial court and the Righteous Path to launch a manhunt. But since Li Huaichuan is dead, and Xie Jinhuan has caused such a huge incident, he will surely flee to Great Qian to avoid the storm. Who in Lizhou could possibly catch these two? You wouldn't be planning to use the Constables' blades to kill people, would you?"

Chu Xing shook his head: "The superiors said we must help the South resolve this trouble, so naturally we must handle the matter flawlessly. Now, look to the East."

He Can and Zhang Chu looked slightly puzzled, shifting their gaze from Jianchuan to gaze toward the eastern horizon.

Unexpectedly, they discovered a fire meteor appearing beneath the dim evening sky.

The fire meteor rushed straight toward them at incredible speed, but not at a constant velocity; instead, it flashed intermittently, leaping forward a great distance with each flash.

"Ten Thousand Miles Divine Travel Incantation?"

He Can's vision was not poor; judging solely by the momentum, he knew the approaching figure was the True Ancestor of Northern Zhou.

Casting the Ten Thousand Miles Divine Travel Incantation yet leaving behind a trail of fiery embers could only mean this cultivator specialized in the Five Elements Fire Method.

And among Northern Zhou, the only one capable of displaying such might was none other than Lu Yan, the Head of Wuling Mountain, the strongest Fire Spellcaster beneath the Zhang Sect of the Divination School!

"The backup plan you mentioned is this Daoist priest?"

"Yes. Lu Lao was at Fire Phoenix Valley the day before yesterday, tricked by Xie Jinhuan and robbed of an opportunity. He is currently furious. Suddenly sensing a clash between Super-Grade cultivators, he rushed over and discovered Xie Jinhuan killed the Head of Lishan Sword Hut. What do you think he will do?"

"..."

Zhang Chu frowned tightly, feeling that the Northern Demon Daoist had some substance. After thinking for a moment, he said:

"This time, Xie Laomo Xie is truly in trouble."

He Can had always wanted to stay far away from this place of strife, but discovering that Xie Jinhuan seemed truly trapped in a desperate situation, he actually wanted to see the outcome. For this reason, he carefully lurked in the snow, observing with a Thousand-Mile Mirror, and added a warning:

"Xie Jinhuan has a black eagle with astonishing eyesight. Make sure you are not discovered."

"Understood. That is why we are hiding dozens of li away..."

——

Meanwhile, amidst the mountains and wilds.

Xie Jinhuan carried Bu Yuehua, whose soul was injured and who was dizzy, sprinting wildly into the mountains. Before they had run half a li, a warning from Meiqiu came from the sky:

"Clang—"

Immediately after, a line of firelight lit up the distant sky. Seeing this momentum, Bu Yuehua's expression suddenly changed:

"It's over. It seems Lu Yan has arrived. What should we do?"

Xie Jinhuan knew that when Li Huaichuan appeared suddenly to ambush them, something major was about to happen; Lu Yan's appearance did not surprise him at all.

He knew very well what he had done to Xie Laomo Lu. If they met in Jingcheng, he could rely on diplomatic immunity and the protection of Empress Dowager Guo, but meeting here, where he had just slaughtered the Head of Lishan Sword Hut on Lishan, was like handing the knife directly to Lu Yan. If caught, wouldn't they demand his life?

He had fallen into the Demon Daoist's trap. Even if Li Huaichuan wanted to kill and he acted in self-defense, Lu Yan would have to believe it.

With the incident at Fire Phoenix Valley preceding this, if Lu Yan believed even a single word of his, it would mean he hadn't suffered enough losses yet.

Discovering that the mastermind behind the scenes had almost mobilized every resource unfavorable to him, making the situation so desperate, Xie Jinhuan was genuinely curious about who the mastermind truly was.

But there was no way to investigate now. He could not ride the wind, and Bu Yuehua's soul was injured, making her completely unable to control the power of heaven and earth. Relying on their legs to run, even if Lu Yan gave them a fifteen-minute head start, they could not escape. At that moment, he could only make hand gestures to tell Meiqiu to run first, while looking around left and right:

"Find a place to hide first. Lishan stretches for over five hundred li. If hidden well, Lu Yan won't find us easily. Let's treat the injuries first."

Bu Yuehua had only come to find the murderer of her father and truly did not expect to fall into such a desperate situation. Just now, she even had to let Xie Jinhuan harm himself to save her. Now, suppressing her headache, she embraced Xie Jinhuan's shoulder:

"It is all because of my recklessness as an elder. If Junior Sister Mu were here, she would never have dragged you into this..."

"Enough. This is clearly aimed at me. If Seeing Bing Tuozi followed, we wouldn't even need to spread the news; she and I would definitely go to Bai Hua County to see what is happening..."

While Xie Jinhuan was speaking, he suddenly saw an old locust tree covered in snow deep within the ancient forest. Its interior was hollow and extremely concealed. Immediately, he carried Bu Yuehua and drilled into it.

Shortly thereafter, the sound of wind breaking roared from the sky above:

Boom-boom—

(End of this chapter)