Chapter 362 Who are you going to kill?
Lightning strikes incessantly within the Wujian Mountain Abyss, with bolts of all sizes falling one after another, ravaging everything on the ground. Outside the entrance to the Thousand-Foot Cliff, scorched earth and burnt trees can be seen everywhere, with withered branches and broken leaves stuck in the ground, threatening to trip and fall if one is not careful.
Amidst the desolate and eerie scene, several figures could be vaguely seen moving swiftly, while the sword energies chasing behind them exploded with sharp bangs.
Xia Feichen carried the unconscious Fang Tianchen forward using the Wind Riding Technique. Both of them were covered in blood, and although it was impossible to tell where their injuries were, the smell of blood was very strong, and their complexions were not good.
There were many dead branches piled up on the ground. Xia Feichen was out of breath and tripped, falling to the ground with the person on his back.
The blue shadow sword energy chasing him from behind finally found an opportunity, emitting a sharp cry as it attacked Xia Feichen, who had not yet gotten up.
Upon seeing this, another figure moving swiftly changed direction and came forward, holding a sword horizontally in front of him. The silver-white scabbard collided with the pursuing blue shadow's sword energy, producing a pleasant sound, and successfully repelled the sword energy.
Xia Feichen was relieved. He picked Fang Tianchen up again and said to Zhongli Shan, who had blocked the sword energy, "Thank you."
“Let’s go,” Zhong Lishan said briefly.
He held his sword to help Xia Feichen block the pursuing sword energy. The long sword in his hand was never drawn. Even in the most dangerous moment, he only used a few Bagua Life Techniques. Each time he used it, his brows furrowed more.
When Zhongli Shan held his sword, his sleeves fluttered, revealing a section of black Taoist incantation patterns on his wrist; the blazing sun pattern on his left hand and the crescent moon pattern on his right hand rose from his hands to his neck and shoulders.
When Zhonglishan was pushed back half a step by the even stronger sword energy, two figures, one in white and one in blue, stood on the charred, withered tree, looking down at the young man who held a sword in his hand but could not draw it.
The two are Bei Shan and Duan Mingde, both from the Bing family. This looks like a duel between disciples of the Bing family.
“Zhong Lishan, why are you doing this?” Duan Mingde looked at Zhong Lishan and said leisurely, “Qin Yidong has already given you enough face by only sealing your military arts with a curse for your father’s sake.”
Bei Shan remained calm and silent, but his imposing aura was overwhelming, and most of the sword energy that chased after Xia Feichen and his companions was his.
Duan Mingde continued to persuade him: "If you cooperate with us, you can help Qingyang obtain the fragment, and then present it to His Majesty when you return. That would be a great achievement."
Zhongli Shan said, "If Your Majesty asks me to retrieve the fragments, I will naturally go."
"Does His Majesty have to tell you this personally?" Duan Mingde laughed. "Then you are truly foolish."
As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his sword, unleashing a powerful sword aura that sent Zhongli Shan, who was blocking his path, flying back several feet.
Zhongli Shan did not linger in the fight. He turned around and used the Bagua Sheng Technique to confuse the two of them before leaving.
Duan Mingde snorted and immediately caught up.
...
The two groups arrived at the entrance of Thousand-Foot Cliff during their chase. Further ahead was the end of a narrow passage, a dead end.
Xia Feichen gritted his teeth and decided to go in to buy time. He had only taken two steps forward when he was blocked by the barrier inside and was thrown out.
His core energy was almost exhausted, and he could barely even use the Wind Control Technique.
When Zhongli Shan landed using his Wind Control Technique, he happened to see Xia Feichen being bounced away by the barrier.
"Where did this barrier come from?" Xia Feichen scrambled to his feet, looking disheveled.
“Someone entered Thousand-Foot Cliff first.” Zhong Lishan examined the barrier before him. “It’s a technique from the Ghost Daoist school.”
Before Xia Feichen could think of any other way, he saw Bei Shan and Duan Mingde catching up.
Duan Mingde said loudly, "Even if you run any further, the end of Thousand Feet Cliff is a dead end."
His gaze swept over Xia Feichen, and he said, "General Xia, you are exhausted and have no strength left to use the Nine Streams Technique. If you continue to escape, you will have to rely on your two legs to run away."
After saying that, he looked at Zhonglishan again: "And you, you were hit by the Heavenly Secret Curse of the Ghost Daoist. The sun and moon are in the same sky. If you use any of the nine arts, it will only hurt yourself and others. You must have suffered a lot of backlash from the Five Elements Qi while using the Wind Control Technique to travel along the way."
Duan Mingde's words carried a sarcastic tone, making people feel uneasy with his sarcastic remarks.
A murderous glint appeared in Xia Feichen's eyes: "I should have killed you first."
Duan Mingde showed no anger, but simply laughed and said, "You're dreaming."
Despite being at a disadvantage, Zhong Lishan remained calm and composed, asking in a steady tone, "What do you want?"
Duan Mingde said, "Hand over Fang Tianchen and Binghuo Kuixing."
Zhong Lishan: "He has already eaten it."
"Then cut him open." Duan Mingde raised an eyebrow. "You won't have time to refine the Ice and Fire Star."
"How is it?" Zhonglishan asked Xia Feichen.
Xia Feichen said coldly, "Impossible."
“You heard that.” Zhong Lishan looked back at Duan Mingde. “How about we change our request?”
Duan Mingde pointed his sword at Zhonglishan: "Then there's nothing to talk about."
He glanced at Beishan beside him and asked, "Your duel in the Sword Domain was interrupted by Kong Yiyi last time. Are you going to let me have it this time?"
Beishan looked at the young man blocking Xia Feichen's path and said calmly, "It would be dishonest to win, so I will not make a move."
Duan Mingde shrugged: "Then I'll do it."
“We’ve fought countless times since we were kids, whether it was in the National Academy, the Military Academy, or the Taiyi Academy. One more time won’t make a difference.” Duan Mingde looked at Zhong Lishan provocatively, showing no intention of holding back.
Zhong Lishan said expressionlessly, "They've always been my defeated opponents, so this time won't make a difference."
Duan Mingde's expression became slightly awkward for a moment, but before he could say anything to save face, Zhong Lishan looked behind them and said, "But if you want to fight me this time, you'll have to ask her first."
Bei Shan frowned, his hand already on the hilt of his sword, but the crescent-shaped red sword shadow had already reached Duan Mingde.
Duan Mingde turned around in surprise, and the blessing amulet on his shoulder moved accordingly, neutralizing the sword shadow.
His expression changed instantly, and he immediately raised his sword to block. The remaining two red crescent-shaped sword shadows attacked from Duan Mingde's left and right, colliding with the sword and shield he released.
Duan Mingde turned around, sword in hand, and looked coldly at Li Jinshuang, whom he thought hadn't caught up.
The young woman wore a bright yellow dress with a few drops of blood on her sleeves. Her usually quiet and calm, beautiful eyes were unusually cold as she stared intently at Duan Mingde, carrying her sword as she walked towards him.
"Did you kill Su Qingyou?" Li Jinshuang asked Duan Mingde.
Duan Mingde sneered, "She ran right into my sword."
Li Jinshuang said indifferently, "Since you've killed him, why bother with excuses?"
Duan Mingde was surprised that she would make sarcastic remarks, and his displeasure became even more obvious. He then turned his attention to Zhong Lishan: "Did you tell Li Jinshuang that I killed Su Qingyou? You were clearly there at the time. If Su Qingyou hadn't run into me, how could she have died by my sword?"
Zhong Lishan, who loved watching the spectacle, remained calm and composed: "Su Qingyou had no way to escape from your Wild Goose Returning Sword Formation. No matter what she did, she would have died."
Duan Mingde: "My Wild Goose Returning Sword Formation is for killing Fang Tianchen."
Zhong Lishan also said, "It was Su Qingyou who died, not Fang Tianchen."
Duan Mingde laughed and said, "Is her life mine too?"
“How can it not count?” Zhong Lishan’s gaze fell on Duan Mingde’s shoulder. “If you hadn’t been blessed by a master just now, her Qimen Three Blades would have seriously injured you with the first one.”
“That was Li Jinshuang’s sneak attack,” Duan Mingde said proudly. “In a one-on-one fight, she is no match for me.”
“Did you hear that?” Zhong Lishan looked at Li Jinshuang again. “He was very arrogant.”
Li Jinshuang strode towards Duan Mingde, her body shrouded in a violent aura. She said, "I am not your opponent to duel with, but your enemy to kill."
Duan Mingde sneered, but in the blink of an eye, the surrounding Five Elements Qi exploded, and a huge black shadow appeared behind Li Jinshuang. Its monstrous form always made people feel scared and terrified.
Four heads, eight long arms, pairs of dark and dangerous black eye sockets on their heads, and sharp, cold longswords without hilts in their hands.
Li Jinshuang's sword spirit is named Siyi.
Duan Mingde looked at the enormous figure and realized that Li Jinshuang was serious. Without hesitation, he ran his fingers across the sword, and another tall figure holding a sword appeared in the reflection of the long sword on the ground.
His sword spirit is in human form, wielding two swords, and is named Fang, because the skeletal sword spirit has a decaying fang in its mouth.
Li Jinshuang moved with lightning speed, arriving before Duan Mingde like an arrow released from a bow. Their weapons clashed, the two slashing and blocking, sparks flying from their swords. Behind Duan Mingde, the sword spirit Jianya leaped forward, drawing its blade, to confront the towering sword spirit Siyi.
Duan Mingde's footwork was graceful, and although he was forced to retreat repeatedly by Li Jinshuang's rapid attacks, he was still able to handle the situation with ease.
The sharp sounds of swords clashing were incessant, rapid and intense, giving everyone's ears and eyes no time to rest.
The two sword spirits were entangled, making it essentially a two-on-two battle. On the sword spirit side, Fang was clearly at a disadvantage, while the outcome of the clash between Duan Mingde and Li Jinshuang was still unclear.
Duan Mingde had just entered the Ninth Realm, while Li Jinshuang was only at the Seventh Realm before entering the Abyss of No Return. Despite the difference of two realms, her extraordinary sword spirit gave her the ability to fight against a Ninth Realm sorcerer.
Xia Feichen frowned and asked Zhong Lishan, "She's only at the seventh realm, can she handle it?"
Zhong Lishan glanced at Bei Shan, who hadn't made a move: "It's not necessarily true that the other person won't make a move."
“Beishan can’t possibly stand idly by,” Xia Feichen said. “Qin Yidong wants to seize the Ice and Fire Star to pave the way for the fragments. He’s helping Qin Yidong, so he can’t just watch Duan Mingde die at Li Jinshuang’s hands.”
After saying that, he couldn't help but glance at the barrier behind them, wondering which selfish or cowardly person was secretly doing something shameful in Thousand Feet Cliff and had to set up a barrier to let people out.
After watching for a while, Zhong Lishan said loudly to Li Jinshuang, "He is using the Six Jia Startling Steps. It seems that the distance is very close, but in fact, he is always six feet away from you."
Duan Mingde cursed Zhong Lishan inwardly for meddling, but before he could finish his curse, Li Jinshuang had already heard what he said and immediately offered a solution.
The girl's upward sword strike seemed to knock Duan Mingde back, but in the instant he was knocked back and had no time to move, she made a hand seal to summon an array. A golden armor-piercing array unfolded beneath her feet, shattering Duan Mingde's protective aura. With a flash, the silver-gleaming blade finally broke through the false distance and arrived in front of Duan Mingde.
They've been caught!
The cold, sharp blade pressed against the warm skin of his throat, and Duan Mingde felt a chill run down his spine.
A resounding clang echoed in their ears. As the sword spirit's twin blades wrapped around Li Jinshuang's sword in a cross shape and pushed it outward, the sword spirit Siyi's eight hands slashed down simultaneously, shattering the twin blades into pieces.
The fanged sword spirit form disappeared, but Duan Mingde took the opportunity to resolve the crisis, dodging backwards repeatedly, his face turning fierce.
"Zhong Lishan, if you're so impatient, why don't you take action yourself?" Duan Mingde said angrily.
“I only told her about the footwork you used. It was Li Jinshuang’s own solution. What does it have to do with me?” Zhong Lishan said indifferently. “Besides, I don’t like two against one. It’s not a fair fight.”
Li Jinshuang didn't give Duan Mingde a chance to continue speaking. At this moment, she relied entirely on speed to win, as swift as the wind and thunder, putting pressure on Duan Mingde.
How could it be so fast?
Duan Mingde's back was soaked with cold sweat. While he was defending with all his might, he managed to summon the sword spirit Fang again. However, the sword spirit had just taken shape when it was pierced through by the anticipated Four One and then disappeared.
"Li Jinshuang! Do you really dare to kill me?" Duan Mingde's retreat was blocked by four people. He laughed in anger and swung his sword with one hand. The sword light was bright blue and wild geese flew out from the sword.
"Then I won't hold back." A murderous glint appeared in Duan Mingde's eyes.
The Heavenly Secret Wild Goose Returning Sword Formation unfolded beneath his feet, firmly trapping Li Jinshuang and the sword spirit Siyi within it.
Countless pale purplish-brown goose feathers fell from the sky, each one as heavy as a thousand pounds, yet incredibly sharp. They flew rapidly, crushing one of Si Yi's heads and breaking the white blade in its hand.
Li Jinshuang frowned slightly as she looked at the sword formation before her that had also killed Su Qingyou.
She entered the Abyss of No Return a month earlier than Yu Sui and the others. Initially, she went to find Xun Zhiya, but by chance, she met Su Qingyou, and the two were forced to travel together in the Abyss of No Return.
For Li Jinshuang, Su Qingyou was her second female friend after Yu Sui.
The process was much more complicated and tortuous than Yu Sui's. Su Qingyou already had a prejudice against Li Jinshuang because of her cousin's entanglement with her. Furthermore, she lost her cultivation level in the Sword Domain because of Li Jinshuang, which made her hate her even more.
During their time traveling together in the Wujian Mountain Abyss, the two went through life and death. Su Qingyou finally changed her opinion of Li Jinshuang and accepted her. She even apologized to her for her previous prejudices and misunderstandings. In the blink of an eye, she died innocently under Duan Mingde's sword.
Li Jinshuang clearly couldn't accept it and rarely acted impulsively.
As countless heavy goose feathers swooped down, Li Jinshuang held her breath and accelerated again, so fast that her figure was no longer visible.
Beishan and Zhonglishan, who were watching the battle, were both surprised by Li Jinshuang's speed at this moment, and subconsciously wondered if they could be faster than her.
Duan Mingde clearly couldn't do that; he had already realized that Li Jinshuang had an absolute advantage in speed during their previous pursuit of him.
So at the moment Li Jinshuang moved, Duan Mingde waved his hand, summoning the flying wild goose feathers to his front to form a shield wall. The next moment, Li Jinshuang appeared in front of him, gripping her sword with both hands and slashing rapidly!
With another crisp sound, Li Jinshuang's longsword was covered by all the goose feathers in the formation, and the blade struck the shield wall, shattering into countless fragments.
The shattered sword fragments flew back and struck Li Jinshuang's face, leaving streaks of blood.
A flash of silver light streaked across her dark, bright eyes. Duan Mingde had seized the opportunity to launch an attack, and his gleaming longsword, which had been under pressure all along, began to counterattack. Li Jinshuang barely managed to dodge it by sidestepping.
Li Jinshuang dodged Duan Mingde's sword, but couldn't dodge a goose feather that landed on her shoulder.
A goose feather is as light as a feather, leaving no trace when it falls into the water, but in this formation, it is the opposite; it is as heavy as a thousand pounds, pressing down on the mountains.
Li Jinshuang was knocked to the ground by a goose feather, creating a huge crater. Blood welled up in her throat, but she managed to hold it in.
Duan Mingde snorted and was about to make a move when he was stopped by the sword spirit Siyi, which had not yet disappeared. Siyi's huge body lay down on the deep pit, protecting Li Jinshuang below.
Feathers of geese landed on the sword spirit, making a crisp sound as if bones were breaking.
Seeing this, Xia Feichen thought to himself, "It's over. Li Jinshuang has lost."
Thunderclaps echoed across the sky. Zhong Lishan had already gripped the hilt of his sword with his right hand, about to strike, when he sensed something was wrong.
Beneath the stark white skeleton, a bright yellow figure swayed and rose amidst the exploding air. Li Jinshuang looked up, peering through the gaps in the bones at Duan Mingde, who was using the Wind Control Technique in mid-air.
"You're the one who insisted on courting death, so don't blame me." Duan Mingde looked down at her.
Li Jinshuang breathed slowly, closed her eyes, and the rekindled protective energy was like a raging fire. The Five Elements Light Core, which had just stopped, was now running rapidly, and the Five Elements energy was surging out from the light core.
"You've advanced to a higher realm?" Xia Feichen asked hesitantly.
“It’s been upgraded,” Zhong Lishan said, his hand still resting on the hilt of his sword, his eyes glancing at Bei Shan not far away. “Besides the upgrade, there’s something else.”
Li Jinshuang broke through the seventh to the eighth level, raised her still movable left hand, and as her open five fingers slowly tightened, the eight hiltless long blades in the sword spirit's hand appeared in her hand, overlapping and transforming into a new longsword.
The longsword still had no hilt, and seemingly delicate five fingers gripped its blade tightly.
Xia Feichen saw Li Jinshuang's sword spirit suddenly shatter completely, but a huge amount of energy surged into Li Jinshuang's body: "What is this?"
Zhong Lishan raised his eyebrows and said, "In military strategy, the spirit and the divine are one. The sword spirit is a separate entity that is materialized, but now, she has taken over the power of the sword spirit for herself."
Duan Mingde was still amazed by the spiritual unity between Li Jinshuang and the sword spirit when Li Jinshuang's figure disappeared from his sight. She lightly touched the goose feather in front of her with her toes and disappeared in an instant.
The sharp sound of the blade slicing through the goose feather was crisp. The feather broke in two, and only after the pieces scattered did Duan Mingde see Li Jinshuang approaching with a sword through the crack.
"Feather Shield!" Duan Mingde called out urgently.
Li Jinshuang struck the feather shield with her sword again, but this time the feather shield shattered.
The sword energy pierced through the feather shield and struck Duan Mingde's face first. It was as if he had been slapped in mid-air and knocked down.
The moment the feathered shield shattered, Beishan and Zhonglishan simultaneously drew their swords.
Beishan's Water Moon Sword slashed from behind Li Jinshuang, and Zhonglishan intervened to block the sword from behind.
The Shuofeng Sword in Zhonglishan's hand was pitch black and cold, exuding a chilling aura, completely opposite to the almost transparent Shuiyue Sword.
As the north wind begins to blow, all things begin to hide.
The longsword that flew to the back of Li Jinshuang's neck was frozen by frost and snow. Li Jinshuang then charged toward Duan Mingde, who had fallen to the ground. Only after landing and drawing her sword did she realize that the person was an illusion.
Li Jinshuang frowned, and just as she was about to take a step, she couldn't hold back the mouthful of blood in her throat and spat it out.
She was severely injured by Yan Yu's blow, and her right hand was no longer able to move. Otherwise, if she had been holding the sword in her right hand, she would have been even faster, and Bei Shan wouldn't have had time to save her.
Zhong Lishan looked to the other side, where Bei Shan, holding a sword, stood protectively in front of Duan Mingde and was also looking at him.
"Water, moon, flower," Zhongli Shan said calmly. "You're getting more and more skilled at it."
Beishan glanced at the Shuofeng sword in his hand and finally spoke, "You must have hurt yourself badly with that sword strike just now."
Zhong Lishan didn't speak, but instead sheathed his sword. As soon as it was sheathed, his right hand was frozen and unable to move due to the backlash of the Sun and Moon in the Sky.
Beishan's sword strike just now was meant to force Zhonglishan to make a move.
If Zhong Lishan hadn't intervened to stop Li Jinshuang, Li Jinshuang would have been crippled or killed.
"Get out of the way!" Duan Mingde wiped the blood from his face and stood up, furious. "She asked for it, and I'll grant her wish today!"
Beishan looked at Li Jinshuang, who was severely injured and had little strength left: "Don't waste any more time."
Duan Mingde was already furious: "She must die today!"
Bei Shan looked somewhat helpless and lowered his voice, saying, "Although Zhong Lishan is restricted by the Sun and Moon in the Sky, if he insists on using the Divine Sword Technique, it will take us more time to deal with him. If Xia Feichen recovers, they will take turns wearing us down, which will be disadvantageous for us."
"I can kill Li Jinshuang before that brat uses his divine sword technique!" Duan Mingde, his mind consumed by killing intent, drew his sword, passed Beishan, and walked towards Li Jinshuang.
Just as Beishan was about to continue persuading him, he suddenly felt the temperature around him rise. This familiar feeling made him subconsciously tighten his grip on the sword in his hand.
The dry branches that Duan Mingde stepped on cracked and sprang to life, bursting into flames.
The sudden high temperature caused the withered branches and broken trees on the ground to catch fire. In addition to these dead things, the living people also felt the five elements in their bodies being burned and devoured.
Who are you going to kill?
A girl's sweet voice rang out from behind, and everyone looked in surprise toward the entrance to Thousand Feet Cliff, only to find that the barrier's door had been opened at some point.
The girl in the blue dress standing at the entrance had a pair of extremely dark and bright eyes. Countless fire patterns spread outward from her feet, trapping all the people outside in the Blazing Sun Formation.
Beishan frowned as he looked at Yu Sui at the entrance. It was indeed her.
Xia Feichen and Zhong Lishan, who were standing at the entrance of Thousand Feet Cliff, were also stunned. They never expected that the person who came out of the barrier would be Nangong Sui.
She is indeed a disciple of the Ghost Daoist School, and she even advanced to the eighth realm overnight. Could it be that the barrier at the entrance... was set up by Nangong Sui?
Xia Feichen's expression suddenly became subtle.
Li Jinshuang hadn't expected to run into Yu Sui here, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her. She was focused on killing Duan Mingde and hadn't noticed the changes in the Gu worms.
"Nangong Sui?" Duan Mingde was taken aback by Yu Sui's sudden appearance, but when he realized what she had just asked, his face immediately turned ugly.
"Withdraw the Blazing Sun Formation!" Duan Mingde shouted. "This is between me and them, it has nothing to do with you!"
Yu Sui strolled out of the entrance. With each step she took, Duan Mingde felt the temperature around him rise, and the sword in his hand became scalding hot.
Yu Sui said, "If you want to kill her, then it has to do with me."
Duan Mingde laughed in anger, pointing his sword at Yu Sui: "You want to save Li Jinshuang too?"
Bei Shan once again blocked Duan Mingde's path, stopping him from provoking Yu Sui, and first showed goodwill: "We only want Fang Tianchen."
Yu Sui placed two light cores at the entrance, one inside the barrier and the other outside. The one outside the barrier was accidentally shattered before she could even see anyone, while the one inside the barrier allowed her to see everything that had happened.
"Then why are you going to cause trouble for Fang Tianchen instead of bullying Li Jinshuang?" Yu Sui pretended not to know anything and took the initiative to attack, "I can't stand seeing her being bullied."
Li Jinshuang is seriously injured, Zhong Lishan has a seal on his body, Fang Tianchen is unconscious, and Xia Feichen is exhausted and unable to fight anymore. If this drags on any longer, Qin Yidong will be leading people to follow.
Moreover, Yu Sui could not leave Qianchi Cliff.
Before she made her move, she gave Zhong Lishan a look, signaling them to go into the Thousand-Foot Cliff.
Zhong Lishan understood and led Xia Feichen inside.
"Nangong Sui, although you are stupid, you don't even consider the timing and occasion. If it is His Majesty's plan..." Duan Mingde's vicious words were not finished when he was burned by the fire patterns climbing on his hand. His five fingers trembled and he even dropped his sword.
Yu Sui made a hand seal, and thunder and fire burst forth. Duan Mingde cried out in pain as his eyes were burned, and he was led away from the Blazing Sun Formation by Bei Shan.
The emperor is far away and the country is high up.
Yu Sui will not kill anyone from the Duan family for the time being, unless he is determined to die.
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