Chapter 867: The Awakening Tail (2/2, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

A massive boom drew the attention of Juan Niao Lou and those around it; everyone looked up to see three figures rising with ice pillars, then suddenly halting midair.

"What's going on?!"

"Damn it! Was that the Juan Niao Lou Tired Bird Great Array? Just shattered like that?!"

"My god, what happened?! Who are those guys?!"

Below, people were in chaos, but Qi Ba Jiu Daren stood on the ice pillar, frowning toward the distance.

"Qi Ba Jiu Daren, what's wrong? We should return to Ji Bing Sect and strategize—this disturbance is huge, Liehuo Sect will surely act!" Ni Dongmei said anxiously.

"... Be quiet. It came faster than I expected. A very strong person has arrived."

Following Qi Ba Jiu Daren's gaze, Fang Yue saw two dark shadows rapidly approaching.

When Fang Yue squinted and recognized one of the figures, his expression turned stunned.

"Tian... Ruichi??"

When the two figures stopped before the three, one of them was indeed Tian Ruichi—presumed missing and captured by Juan Niao Lou.

But Tian Ruichi himself seemed unaware of this; he appeared to have no memory of being captured by Juan Niao Lou.

When he saw Fang Yue, he too wore a look of shock, as if he could not fathom why Fang Yue was here.

"Brother Ye, what are you doing here?"

"I came to rescue you, but I never expected you wouldn't be at the auction below—you're just standing here like nothing happened, blocking me!"

Regaining his composure, Fang Yue's face darkened. If Tian Ruichi was unharmed, then his intelligence source was flawed!

The Seventh Prince and his steward... lied to me!

"The auction below?"

Seeing Fang Yue didn't seem to be lying, Tian Ruichi froze.

The auction below was the Black Bird Auction—full of banned goods. How could I possibly have been there...

Tian Ruichi suddenly fell silent, as if realizing something, staring blankly at the tall man beside him.

After leaving to search for Jing Yan and Zhenchen, at the fourth clinic, he suddenly received a message from the steward saying both had been found and taken back to the mansion, and that his master was looking for him, urging him to return to Tian Jian Sect.

Since they were safe and already found, he had the steward and Fang Yue deliver a message explaining the situation, then returned to his sect.

He knew nothing of what happened after that.

But judging from the current situation, things were far from over as he'd assumed.

"Master, what exactly is..."

"Don't ask what you shouldn't."

Tian Ruichi fell silent, clenched his fists, lowered his head, and said nothing more.

And beside him, the man was none other than... Tian Jian Sect's Sect Master, 【Tian Jian】 Jian Wufeng!

Though both stood on flying swords, hovering midair,

Tian Ruichi's flying sword was controlled by Tian Jian Jian Wufeng—not because Tian Ruichi possessed such power himself.

"I originally thought the Yu-level powerhouse guarding Juan Niao Lou avoided it because he refused to be constrained. Now I understand—he was too ashamed to show his face. And I never imagined Tian Jian Jian Wufeng would be Juan Niao Lou's dog!"

Though Ni Dongmei's strength was mediocre, her words were vicious.

"Insolent!"

【Tian Jian】 Jian Wufeng's eyes turned icy; an invisible sword qi instantly materialized—then froze solid. Everything before him grew hazy—he was encased in a massive block of ice.

Bone-chilling cold pierced his five viscera and six bowels; even his internal energy seemed utterly frozen, unable to circulate.

His pupils contracted; 【Tian Jian】 Jian Wufeng froze in place.

How many years... how many years!

This terrifying pressure at the brink of death, this suffocating sense of crisis!

Who is this woman?!

Sword qi erupted uncontrollably from within him.

The ice cracked and shattered into a thousand shards.

But before him, Fang Yue and the others were gone.

That ice block hadn't just frozen his internal energy—it had seemingly frozen his senses in that instant!

He'd thought the three were still before him; in truth, it was only his senses that lingered!

"Incredible ice power! What an terrifying woman!"

A thrill surged through him.

He'd heard of Qi Ba Jiu, knew Ji Bing Sect had suddenly produced a Supreme Sect Master.

But he never imagined that woman would be this strong—strong enough to make even me... subtly fear her!

"Master! Master, are you alright?!"

Beside him, Tian Ruichi, seemingly unaffected, anxiously asked after his condition.

"I'm fine. Tell me—in which direction did they leave?"

Tian Ruichi hesitated, then pointed north.

But 【Tian Jian】 Jian Wufeng, as if seeing through Tian Ruichi, immediately chased in the opposite direction!

"South, right? Go back to Tian Jian Sect. I'll return shortly."

Tian Ruichi stared, shouting frantically: "Master! Master! It's not that way! Why won't you believe me... don't hurt Brother Ye! He saved me! Master!"

But no matter how he screamed, Tian Jian showed no reaction, vanishing quickly into the wilds.

The flying sword beneath Tian Ruichi, now too far away, began losing Tian Jian's control, losing balance, and plummeting toward the ground.

"Are Jing Yan and Zhenchen really back at Qi Huang Fu? Why did Brother Ye think I'd be at the Black Bird Auction? He seemed to believe I'd become an auction item—what exactly is going on...? I must see the Seventh Prince and get to the bottom of this!"

A massive ice pillar plummeted toward the ground.

Fang Yue anxiously held Qi Ba Jiu Daren in his arms — soft and limp, eyes closed, as if she had lost all strength in an instant and passed out.

"Qi Ba Jiu Daren! Qi Ba Jiu Daren!"

"... Ye Ge, it's Tail."

A weak voice slowly rang out. Tail opened her eyes and smiled at Fang Yue.

"We finally meet again, Ye Ge. Too bad I still dragged you into this..."

Tail's eyes were very clear, without the special quality of Qi Ba Jiu Daren's, so she was very easy to recognize.

Seeing that Tail was fine, Fang Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're alright. You don't need to be so distant with me. Even if you hadn't said anything, the day I learned you were in trouble, I wouldn't have just sat by and done nothing — sooner or later, I would have gotten involved anyway."

"Ye Ge..."

Tail felt a surge of emotion in her heart and was about to say something, when she heard a heavy boom. Accompanied by a tremor, a massive block of ice crashed into the ground, smashing the surrounding trees one after another and gouging out a huge crater.

But she herself was gently lifted by Fang Yue, who leapt once, dodging the danger, and landed steadily.

Ni Dongmei beside them was treated the same way.

"Tail, are you alright!" The moment she landed, Ni Dongmei asked anxiously.

(End of this chapter)