Another person on horseback hummed softly, and Liu Yan's black steed turned its head, moving toward the two.
From the moment that person spoke, Liu Yan fell silent.
He focused intently on playing the qin, while the hooded figure calmly played the flute.
The gentle melody grew increasingly like a sigh.
"...Who has ever listened to wind and rain, endured frost and dew? Favors and grudges weigh heavy, the road home stretches endlessly. Ask where in this world lies desolation—who can cross it? Who looks back on the path taken, the living soul given to death? Gazing at shattered gold and glass, bleached bones lie buried..."
The white horse carrying Tang Lizici and his companion moved through the Xiang Army as if unopposed. Their music and song completely overpowered Chai Xijin’s war drums. Even Chai Xijin set down his drumsticks, staring blankly as they advanced.
The white horse cut across the battlefield, passing war chariots, heading toward the black steed.
"This... is the Blade of Plum Blossom Control," Cheng Wenpao murmured in astonishment. The master of Plum Blossom Control was renowned in the Martial Arts World for his blade techniques—who would have thought his voice, when raised in song, carried such an aura?
The three horses met before the Central Plains Sword Association’s camp. Fu Zhumei and the hooded figure were heavily bandaged, evidence of fierce battles fought. Their timely arrival meant they must have heard the news. Seeing Liu Yan and Fu Zhumei joining forces to face the enemy, and Chai Xijin’s sound-based killing technique being suppressed, the members of the Central Plains Sword Association erupted in uproar—after all, Liu Yan was a prominent figure of the Fengliu Dian, a demonic sect that all righteous warriors sought to destroy. Even if Liu Yan had developed the antidote for the Nine Hearts Pill, the enmity could not simply be erased.
"Someone has used the name of the Gong Emperor to commit treason," said the hooded figure—Tang Lizici, of course. Still bearing the infamous title of "Master of Fengliu Dian," he could not reveal his true face. Ignoring the clamor behind him, he spoke softly to Wan Yu Yuedan, "But I have already killed that person. Sixteen pieces of 'evidence' of the rebellion have been handed over to the Dali Temple."
"So the Prince of Ji before us is here to reap the benefits?" Wan Yu Yuedan replied in a hushed tone. "But many have been afflicted with Queen Bee Congealed Frost. Even if we capture Chai Xijin, what about these scattered Xiang troops?"
"The Gu King... 'Summoning Lantern' Wang Lingze," Tang Lizici said slowly. "Capture Wang Lingze. With the power of the 'Gu King,' force them to stand down. We can deliberate on the antidote later."
"Wang Lingze?" Wan Yu Yuedan asked, puzzled. "Isn’t he already dead? Hasn’t he been dead for over twenty years?"
Tang Lizici gazed at the smoke-choked ruins of Piaoling Meiyuan and murmured, "Let us hope Lord Bai shows mercy and can dig a living Wang Lingze out of this inferno." Pulling his hood over his face, he flicked his sleeve—and vanished from the horse’s back.
Wan Yu Yuedan frowned at the faint sound of landing. The moment Tang Lizici disappeared before him, he leapt into the air, his hooded cloak spreading like wings—a sudden, soaring phoenix, rising high above the battlefield.
The thousands on the battlefield froze in shock. His flight surpassed even the heights of Wenxiu Shitai. The high winds tore away his hood, and his cloak billowed loose, revealing Tang Lizici’s silver-gray hair and striking, fiercely beautiful face to all.
Arrows paused for only a moment before raining toward him—not just from the Xiang Army, but also the Central Plains Sword Association’s hidden weapons, sleeve blades, and even flying swords.
The terror and hatred of the countless below transformed into a storm of arrows, accompanied by indistinct curses and condemnations, all aimed at Tang Lizici in midair.Tang Lizhi paid no heed to the chaos around him. Pausing mid-air for a brief moment, he suddenly accelerated, charging straight toward Chai Xijin's war chariot.
Chai Xijin raised his longbow. When Wenxiu Shitai had leaped earlier, he knew she would never make it onto the chariot—but if Tang Lizhi lunged, there was no way he could fail.
Yet Tang Lizhi's martial prowess was far beyond anything Wenxiu Shitai could match. The moment Chai Xijin lifted his bow, he realized his mistake—he shouldn’t have reached for the bow at all. He should have immediately unleashed his hidden weapon technique, "Layered Petals, Blossoming Radiance." There was no time to nock an arrow before Tang Lizhi was already upon the chariot.
Tang Lizhi lunged at Chai Xijin, and in that instant, a flash of gold streaked toward the space between Chai Xijin’s brows—a sword, hollow and ornate, woven from golden filigree! It was breathtaking in its extravagance, yet utterly devoid of substance. Chai Xijin released his bow without hesitation, neither dodging nor retreating. Instead, he fired "Layered Petals, Blossoming Radiance" directly at Tang Lizhi’s heart!
He was betting that Tang Lizhi still valued his life too much to trade blows in a fatal exchange.
Sure enough, Tang Lizhi’s sword missed its mark. He twisted behind Chai Xijin, evading the hidden weapon strike, and the hollow, dazzling blade vanished from his hand. Chai Xijin leaped back at the same time, joining the red-clad woman and the meteor hammer wielder.
Tang Lizhi’s lightning-fast swordplay on the chariot had gone unnoticed by most.
The crowd only saw him soar through the air and land atop the chariot’s command platform, where he flashed a radiant smile and uttered a single declaration.
Tang Lizhi said, "Between heaven and earth, in the realms of mortals and immortals, none stand above me—life or death be damned."
The army erupted in uproar. The members of the Central Plains Sword Assembly were incensed, some so furious they nearly spat blood.
Tang Lizhi smirked at Chai Xijin. "I’ll return to Fengliudian first. If you fail to slaughter everyone here, don’t bother coming back to see me."
Chai Xijin was still reeling from that single sword strike, barely managing to choke out a single word— "You—" —before the red-clad beauty and the meteor hammer expert behind him both struck at Tang Lizhi.
But Tang Lizhi leaned backward, letting himself fall from the chariot and vanish into the billowing smoke rising from Piaoling Meiyuan.
He truly was like a fleeting nightmare, a specter of crimson, forever teetering between human and something beyond.
The Central Plains Sword Assembly, now a furious, disorganized mob, turned their rage toward Chai Xijin’s chariot. Tang Lizhi, the infamous scourge of Fengliudian, had been right there—Chai Xijin was clearly his accomplice. These two had slaughtered their fellow martial artists, preyed on the weak, and enslaved the innocent with poison. If we don’t kill them now, these demons will come for us next!
What had begun as a desperate bid for survival had now become a vengeful assault. The crowd surged toward Chai Xijin’s war chariot.
The red-clad woman stared blankly as Tang Lizhi disappeared into the smoke.
Who could command such chaos?
A saint might have managed it.
But a villain… perhaps even more so.
Wan Yu Yuedan murmured, "Young Master Tang is injured."
The red-clad woman startled. "What do you mean?"
Bilianyi’s brows furrowed. Though his internal energy was depleted, his sharp eyes remained. "Young Master Tang is badly hurt. Otherwise, in that exchange with Chai Xijin, he wouldn’t have been forced back even a single step. Chai Xijin was too shaken by his presence to notice—if all three of them had attacked together, Young Master Tang might not have escaped."
"Yet now he’s risking himself by going to Piaoling Meiyuan…" the red-clad woman murmured. "He’s searching for ‘Summoning Lantern’ Wang Lingze—a man who’s supposedly been dead for over twenty years. If he’s still alive, he must be an extremely cunning and cautious individual." She bit her lip. "Who can lend him aid?" Bilianyi shook her head and said softly, "Our most pressing task now is to take advantage of the resentment Young Master Tang has stirred up, regroup our forces, and defeat Chai Xijin."
The Red Lady gave a bitter smile. "I'm not as composed as you are." She steadied herself and continued, "Please summon the Plum Blossom Control Master and Liu... Liu Yan. We can rely on the art of sonic attacks to retaliate in kind and strike back against Chai Xijin."
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