A figure clad in green robes, with a green mask covering their face, moved stealthily among the distant trees. Yu Konghou and Zhu Yan were locked in combat, the Essence of Demon's Pearl Spit causing fallen leaves to swirl and ignite sporadically. Within a radius of several zhang, rabbits and rodents scurried away, birds took flight in alarm—chaos and noise filled the air.
Amidst this turmoil, Ren Qingchou spotted the green-robed figure circling the trees several times. Whatever they were doing, they suddenly turned and darted straight toward him. Just as the figure flashed forward, Yu Konghou abruptly glanced back—though he was engaged with Zhu Yan, how could he afford to let his guard down around Ren Qingchou? Yet this sudden appearance of the green-robed figure was beyond his expectations. He had barely heard any footsteps, the sound of displaced air, or even the rustle of fabric as this person approached.
The reason he turned was because he heard Ren Qingchou's breathing suddenly change.
As he turned, the bizarre halberd of Raging Orchid No Trace thrust straight toward his ribs, carrying a scorching wind tinged with darkness. Yu Konghou leaped upward, his right-hand sword "Kunlun Jade" tapping the halberd once more to propel himself higher. Like a pink butterfly with billowing sleeves, he swung his robes and descended toward Ren Qingchou.
Raging Orchid No Trace gripped the halberd and followed suit, leaping with the weapon and searing Inner Energy, lunging straight for Yu Konghou.
From Ren Qingchou's perspective, it all happened in an instant—the masked green-robed figure, Yu Konghou, and Raging Orchid No Trace were all charging toward him simultaneously.
In the blink of an eye, the green-robed figure arrived first. Upon seeing Ren Qingchou's grievous chest wound, they raised a hand and swiftly embedded five golden needles into his chest, staunching the bleeding and preserving his last breath. Yu Konghou, who followed closely behind, frowned—he had initially suspected the hidden figure to be Tang Lici, but he had never heard of Tang Lici possessing such golden needle healing techniques. This person didn’t seem to be Tang Lici after all.
Even if this person wasn’t Tang Lici, they still deserved death. Yu Konghou spread his sleeves, pivoting midair as if to land behind the green-robed figure. Yet as he twisted his waist, "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" lashed out—he struck while turning, his back now facing the green-robed figure. The blade of "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" was concealed by his body, making it impossible for the green-robed figure to see.
But a flash of silver light followed—the blade, having circled halfway around his body, coiled toward the green-robed figure. Instead of dodging, the figure charged headlong into Yu Konghou's embrace.
Yu Konghou was still midair, his "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" already extended to its limit. Hastily, he brought "Kunlun Jade" down upon the green-robed figure's head. The figure's agility was extraordinary—they dodged effortlessly, forcing Yu Konghou to pivot again and retreat backward.
But behind him was Raging Orchid No Trace.
Zhu Yan's halberd arced through the air, striking Yu Konghou squarely on the right side of his waist. The sharp, grotesque halberd carved a long, bloody gash. Though wounded, Yu Konghou remained composed. "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" swiftly coiled midair, wrapping around Zhu Yan's halberd with a series of metallic clangs—seventeen or eighteen loops—firmly locking the deadly weapon in place.
Zhu Yan strained against it, but "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" and the halberd were now tightly entangled, effectively binding him and Yu Konghou together. Forced to endure the strike, Yu Konghou felt his qi and blood churn violently in his chest, fury rising within him. Something stirred in his sleeve—a small black snake, the complete opposite of "Melting Snow," darted out and bit Zhu Yan's arm.
The green-robed figure, now on the ground, let out a surprised sound. "Little Linglong?"He actually recognized the strange black snake in Yu Konghou's hand.
Seeing that "Little Linglong" had bitten Zhu Yan, Yu Konghou coldly smirked, certain that Zhu Yan would either die or be severely poisoned. "Indeed, Little Linglong." Despite Zhu Yan's poisoning, Yu Konghou still thrust his Kunlun Jade sword toward Zhu Yan's chest. The two fell together, crashing heavily to the ground. The Kunlun Jade pierced an inch into Zhu Yan's chest but could go no further, blocked by the "Essence of Demon's Pearl Spit" as if striking a thousand-pound boulder. Meanwhile, Yu Konghou's True power surged violently, causing blood to gush from the wound at his waist, accompanied by a faint black aura.
As both men faced mutual destruction, the man in green swiftly picked up the barely alive Ren Qingchou and fled into the woods. Yu Konghou withdrew his Kunlun Jade, but Zhu Yan twisted his long staff, using sheer brute force to snap the thin silk cord of Yu Konghou's "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" in his left hand. Yu Konghou was stunned—the "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms," which had claimed countless lives, now tangled around Zhu Yan's Strange Halberd.
Reacting swiftly, Yu Konghou kicked Zhu Yan's wrist. The Strange Halberd, now entwined with "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms," was small but surprisingly heavy. The slight delay allowed Yu Konghou's kick to land, sending the halberd flying from Zhu Yan's grip and crashing to the ground behind him.
The man in green hurried deeper into the forest with Ren Qingchou. Yu Konghou, who had been thrown off balance by his earlier lunge, leading to this mutual injury with Zhu Yan, couldn't let him escape. This man clearly wasn't Tang Lici. After kicking Zhu Yan's halberd away, Yu Konghou leapt up, initially burning with rage and ready to chase the man in green. But then a thought struck him—facing two opponents alone, with Zhu Yan acting unpredictably and the green-clad man's origins unknown, while he himself was injured, the situation seemed dire.
Yu Konghou calmed down, his thoughts turning cold—Tang Lici had released Zhu Yan and sent the man in green as Ren Qingchou's backup. This green-clad man was no ordinary foe, yet he had rescued Ren Qingchou and fled without hesitation. This was...
Something was wrong!
After leaping up, he mustered all his strength and dashed away from the man in green and Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan wouldn't let him escape. He leapt after Yu Konghou, his fingers like claws, aiming for Yu Konghou's shoulder. Yu Konghou took a deep breath, his figure flickering as he suddenly reappeared three feet ahead of Zhu Yan. Zhu Yan's grasp met empty air, his brows furrowing. With a sudden roar, he mimed holding a sword mid-air and slashed a crimson-black blade of energy toward Yu Konghou's back.
Yu Konghou spun around, and the blade pierced his chest. Both men crashed heavily from the air, rolling in the dust.
By then, the man in green had long vanished. Yu Konghou felt his meridians burning as if on fire—the "Essence of Demon's Pearl Spit" had seeped deep into his organs. He spat blood and looked up at Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan, the Raging Orchid No Trace, had a scorched-black face, the venom of "Little Linglong" coursing through him. His sinister Inner Energy, the "Demon's Pearl," harmed both foe and self, leaving him critically wounded.
Yu Konghou grabbed his Kunlun Jade and struggled to his feet. Even though Zhu Yan seemed one strike away from death, he didn't linger, staggering away into the distance.
Zhu Yan crawled up, dragging himself forward to seize the eight-foot-long sword he had thrown earlier.
Yu Konghou sprinted ahead without looking back. Zhu Yan lifted the sword, which hummed and whistled through the air as it shot toward Yu Konghou's back.Yu Konghou identified the source of the sound and flung the Kunlun Jade behind him without hesitation, willing to abandon his famed weapon if it meant escaping this place immediately.
An eight-foot-long sword came soaring through the air, while the Kunlun Jade spun toward it. The two deadly blades clashed midair with a thunderous explosion, sending a burst of sparks raining down like a fiery storm. This was nothing like what Yu Konghou had anticipated. He turned back in horror, only to see the dried leaves and vegetation, already parched by the Essence of Demon's Pearl Spit , beginning to ignite in the downpour of flames.
But this was only the beginning. Beyond the surrounding thickets, a fiery line snaked outward—someone had poured flammable material around the woods without his notice. The fire spread rapidly, fanned by the wind into a raging dragon of flames, trapping him and Zhu Yan within its grasp.
Tang… Li… Ci!
Yu Konghou seethed with hatred. This man in green hadn’t come to kill—he had come to set the world ablaze!
Zhu Yan had been given a different weapon, and within that eight-foot-long sword lay hidden flammable material. Tang Lici had somehow tricked Zhu Yan into exchanging his intimidating halberd for this sword, making Yu Konghou overlook the true danger. If his suspicions were correct, the flammable substance wasn’t limited to the sword alone—Zhu Yan’s entire body, including that fearsome halberd, was likely coated in it!
He whirled around, glaring at the Strange Halberd entangled with his Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms . The weapon lay on the ground, oozing a dark, oily substance drop by drop. Zhu Yan’s earlier swings had ignited the air not solely due to the profound Essence of Demon's Pearl Spit , but because this halberd had been secretly leaking oil. As Zhu Yan brandished it, his Inner Energy ignited the oil, causing flames to erupt midair.
And this oil must have been spread everywhere Zhu Yan had stepped, planting the seeds of fire across the land.
Tang Lici… had truly left nothing to chance.
He had exploited Raging Orchid No Trace to the fullest, only to abandon him in this inferno, intending to reduce both Raging Orchid No Trace and One Peach Three Colors to ashes—scattering their bones to the wind.
Staggering toward Zhu Yan, Yu Konghou wore a strange, eerie smile. Today, we both suffer defeat, both teetering on the brink of death… But do you truly believe Young Master Tang’s flames… can burn us to nothing? He retrieved a pill from his robes, stroked it regretfully, then forced it into Zhu Yan’s mouth.
Tang Lici’s absence was his greatest miscalculation!
The encircling flames roared higher, whipped by the howling winds that swept through the valley, feeding the blaze. Trees dehydrated under the scorching heat before bursting into flames. Thick ashes drifted down from above, mingling with still-glowing embers. Dusk deepened, the sky darkened, yet this place blazed like a pearl clutched in the jaws of a mountain-dwelling dragon, radiant amidst the silent, shadowed peaks.
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