Tang Licie slashed open his abdomen to draw his sword, blood splattering along the way, while Liu Yan clutched Chai Xijin, retreating step by step to evade the arrows and weapons raining from afar. With a metallic clang, Tang Licie's blade intercepted Dashu's meteor hammer. The "Golden Thread Melody" trembled like a blossoming flower, leaving a wound on Dashu's hand.
Dashu recoiled in pain, but the "Golden Thread Melody" pursued relentlessly, grazing his clothes. In the blink of an eye, another gash opened on his right arm. The third strike reversed upward from his throat—blood sprayed three feet high. The entire sequence, from the sword blocking the meteor hammer to this fatal blow, lasted but an instant.
Dashu's eyes widened in fury and shock before he collapsed backward, lifeless.
Without pause, Tang Licie—having executed three lethal sword changes in one motion—rushed toward Liu Yan and Chai Xijin.
Liu Yan continued retreating, now perilously close to the fiery pit from which Tang Licie had earlier emerged.
The underground fires of the Drifting Eyebrow Manor had not yet fully extinguished. The fractured rock layers and ceiling radiated scorching heat, warping the surroundings into a surreal, distorted landscape. Even before Liu Yan drew near, his hair curled and singed from the intense temperature.
Perhaps it was this very heat that made the long strands binding Chai Xijin brittle and dry. With a sudden snap, Chai Xijin broke free, roaring as he seized Liu Yan and hurled him backward.
Midair, Liu Yan faced a sky filled with arrows and blades.
Meanwhile, Chai Xijin staggered back, now teetering on the edge of the fiery abyss.
Having slain Dashu, Tang Licie stood seven paces from Liu Yan and over ten feet from Chai Xijin. If he chose to save someone, Liu Yan would survive.
But Chai Xijin, barely steadied after his narrow escape—
"Kill Fang Pingzhai!" Liu Yan bellowed.
The name "Fang Pingzhai" made Chai Xijin hesitate momentarily.
Tang Licie lowered his gaze—then lunged straight for Chai Xijin.
Blood arced through the air, blending with the crimson of his fluttering robes.
Seeing his unwavering resolve, Liu Yan exhaled in relief. As the arrows and blades hurtled toward him, he faced them calmly—not closing his eyes in resignation, but watching each projectile fly his way.
The whistling arrows missed him by inches, the archers too distant to strike true.
By the time the second volley arrived, those charging to kill Liu Yan had already reached him. Zhang Hemo, Dong Hubi, Meng Qinglei, and Li Hongchen converged before him, their palm strikes and weapons weaving a tempest of lethal force.
Liu Yan stepped toward Meng Qinglei's blade—
But then, a flash of gold erupted before him. A soft hum resonated like the blooming of a gilded udumbara flower. Golden threads interlaced and shimmered before exploding outward, deflecting the quartet's attacks and even knocking aside some of the incoming arrows.
Liu Yan froze—then landed safely.
He whirled around. What had just shielded him was Tang Licie's sword!
In Liu Yan's stunned gaze, in the widened eyes of Zhang Hemo, Dong Hubi, Meng Qinglei, and Li Hongchen—Tang Licie flipped his grip and hurled the blade. His figure blurred like a scarlet ribbon as he crashed into Chai Xijin, sending them both plummeting into the fiery pit.
Liu Yan screamed, "A-Li!"
The already disoriented Meng Qinglei and the others jolted, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
Meng Qinglei halted mid-motion, staring blankly at the smoke-choked inferno.
Dong Hubi remained frozen in his combat stance, utterly stunned.
"Young... Young Master Tang?"Liu Yan staggered toward the fiery pit. The temperature was unbearably high. With each step he took closer to the entrance, patches of his hair were singed, and his clothes gradually caught fire. Though no visible flames remained in that place, the heat was even more intense than that of an open blaze.
Just... just moments ago, Tang Lici had knocked Chai Xijin down.
He had thrown himself forward, crashing into the opening in Chai Xijin's guard, using his own momentum in midair to send Chai Xijin tumbling into the fiery abyss.
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