The wind howled in his ears, but Gu Liyan calmly looked at Lei Li, whose face was contorted with rage and a fierce glint in his eyes.

"It seems you're not the main person, just a gofer."

Lei Li looked at the handsome and refined Gu Liyan and burst into laughter, "Haha, why would Master need to take action to deal with a weak and frail little fox like you?"

Gu Liyan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Master? Who exactly is your master?"

"Hmph, you're not worthy to know!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lei Li suddenly raised his hand, and a meteor hammer suddenly materialized in his hand. He then raised the meteor hammer and attacked Gu Liyan.

Gu Liyan leaped up to a tree more than two meters high, coldly looking down at Lei Li. "I have no grudge against you, so why are you my enemy?"

"No enmity? You are prey targeted by my master, how could you have no enmity with me?" Lei Li sneered.

Gu Liyan's expression hardened. In this world, he had never known anyone except Gu Yixian, yet the person in front of him was his adversary.

However, if one were to truly identify who his enemy was in this world, it would be the wild spirit that had attacked him before…

Thinking of this, Gu Liyan suddenly realized, could it really be...?

Seeing Gu Liyan stunned, Lei Li attacked her. Gu Liyan turned her hand and took out her jade flute to defend herself.

Suddenly, Gu Liyan felt a powerful force pressing down on him. In an instant, the jade flute was flung away, and the meteor hammer slammed into his left shoulder. The moment he was hit, Gu Liyan plummeted to the ground like a kite with a broken string.

In the distance, the masked man and Lei Dong, standing on high ground, were both slightly taken aback as they watched Gu Liyan being sent flying.

"I didn't expect this little fox to be so badly injured. This will save Lei Li some trouble," the masked man chuckled.

Upon hearing the masked man's words, Lei Dong frowned and remained silent.

Noticing Lei Dong's expression beside him, the masked man squinted and smiled, "Don't worry, you'll have your chance to shine eventually."

Lei Dong looked at the masked man in surprise, but before he could speak, a gust of wind suddenly swept over him, carrying a bone-chilling cold.

The two immediately lowered their heads, looking at the audience below—

Gu Liyan slowly got up from the ground, his body radiating a cold aura. As the coldness around him increased, the grass and trees around him were covered with a layer of frost.

Lei Li couldn't help but shudder, his hand gripping the meteor hammer stiffening slightly—

Gu Liyan raised his hand, and the jade flute that had fallen into the distance returned to his grasp. Looking at the lightning power being corroded by the cold, Gu Liyan coldly said, "We shouldn't have been enemies. Who told you to overestimate yourself..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the jade flute in Gu Liyan's hand split in two, becoming a sword and a sheath; one held in his left hand and the other in his right.

Looking at Gu Liyan, Lei Li suddenly felt a surge of fear. Before he could even speak, Gu Liyan lunged at Lei Li, aiming straight for his heart...

Lei Li stood there dumbfounded, watching Gu Liyan's sword hurtle towards her. She tried to retreat but found herself unable to move an inch. Looking down, she saw that her feet were frozen solid, and not only that, the ice was spreading towards her waist at a visible speed...

"Damn it, let me go, you cunning fox demon!" Seeing Gu Liyan almost within reach, Lei Li roared angrily.

A sharp purple glint flashed in Gu Liyan's eyes. He couldn't show any mercy; he absolutely couldn't leave any future trouble for Gu Yixian!

The sword blade stabbed towards Lei Li without mercy. Just when Gu Liyan thought that the person in front of her was about to die by her hand, a figure suddenly descended from the sky, pulling Lei Li back quickly like a bolt of lightning. Gu Liyan's sword blade missed its mark!

Gu Liyan frowned slightly as he looked at the person who had rescued Lei Li.

This person was lean and muscular, with well-proportioned calf muscles. He seemed to be a speed-type cultivator, unlike Lei Li, who was a strength-type character.

However, what made Gu Liyan feel pressured was not this speed-type guy, but the mysterious man behind him who was walking forward slowly, wearing a black robe and a black mask.

His lips and eyes were blood red, and the image of Gu Liyan could be clearly seen in his eyes. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he stared intently at Gu Liyan, while his blood-red lips curled up in a wicked smile...

"Who... are you?" Gu Liyan frowned slightly and stared at the masked man as she asked.

The person in front of him was not the same guy who had attacked him before, but Gu Liyan felt an extremely strong sense of oppression emanating from him.

The masked man smiled slightly, turned his head to look at the pale-faced Lei Li, and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Upon hearing the masked man's concern, Lei Li hurriedly shook his head, bowed respectfully, and said, "I'm sorry, Master, I failed to capture him..."

Gu Liyan glanced at Lei Li and Lei Dong, then at the masked man, and coldly asked, "Are you his master? What grudge do you hold against me that you would try to kill me?"

The masked man chuckled. "Hehe, don't you remember me? Oh, right, you've seen me before, but I was in my wild soul form before I found my physical body. No wonder you didn't recognize me."

Gu Liyan's pupils contracted. "You, you are that Desolate Soul..."

"Exactly!"

"You want to kill me?" Gu Liyan frowned.

"Kill you? No, no, no. I'm the kind of person who'll be ruthless to my enemies, but I'll show leniency to those who can become my friends, even if we've had our share of unpleasantness..."

"You want me to join you? To become your subordinate?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!