Chapter 172: Fighting for Survival
Of the once-renowned "One Envoy and Twelve Generals" of the Innate Sect, only the Left Envoy Long Bailian and Xi Moguang, one of the Four Extraordinary Heroes, survived this fierce battle. However, they were also seriously injured, barely breathing, and limping along behind the father and son, fleeing in a sorry state like stray dogs.
A chilling breeze swept across the deathly silent Murong mansion, stirring up blood-stained dust and making a mournful sound. The thick, pungent stench of blood permeated the air, announcing the end of a massacre.
The moon was high in the sky over Longyang City, and Qiu Xia sat alone on the rooftop admiring it. "Hmm? Isn't that Ling Xueyan? What is she doing here in the middle of the night?" Qiu Xia wondered to herself. She saw Ling Xueyan slip into a room and then dismiss the two guards at the door.
Qiu Xia's eyes darted around, her brows furrowed slightly, and she moved as silently as a swallow towards the roof, carefully lifting a tile to peer down. Suddenly, her brows shot up: "A secret room!!" Ling Xueyan put away the huge landscape painting on the wall, and a hidden door suddenly opened behind the painting. Her figure disappeared into it, and then the scroll was restored to its original state.
"Ling Xueyan, I'd like to see what tricks you're up to!" Before the words were even finished, Qiu Xia had already leaped off the roof, gently pushed open the door and slipped inside. She rolled up the landscape painting, held her breath, and stealthily crept into the secret room. The stone steps wound downwards, and Qiu Xia's heart pounded faster with each step, her movements becoming increasingly slow and cautious.
After descending dozens of stone steps, Qiu Xia surveyed the deep, secluded passage by the dim light from the walls. "So many cells, it's clearly a hidden dungeon," she thought to herself. Just then, she heard Ling Xueyan's voice not far ahead. Qiu Xia quickly followed the sound, stealthily hiding around a corner of a cell door.
"Ling Xueyan, what exactly do you want?!" The young emperor, his body firmly chained to the wall in a "T" shape, struggled and shouted angrily at Ling Xueyan.
Ling Xueyan strolled leisurely, her voice laced with mockery: "Is this how you treat your savior? What a temper."
The young prince's head slammed against the cold wall with a thud. He snorted coldly, a contemptuous sneer appearing on his face: "My savior? My savior needs to lock me up here?!"
Ling Xueyan said indifferently, "Don't you think about it? That Xiaoyao Lang is righteous and hates evil, his martial arts are unfathomable. Even your adoptive father died at his hands. How could he let you go so easily?!" After speaking, she suddenly stepped forward, raised her hand and pinched the young prince's chin. "I captured you and locked you up here, precisely to save your life! To make your death more worthwhile! It's just a pity... a pity for this handsome face." As she spoke, her palm slowly stroked his cheek.
The young prince turned his head away in displeasure, panting and growling, "Make my death more meaningful? What do you want me to do?"
Ling Xueyan's lips suddenly curled up, a cold glint flashing in her eyes: "Your swordsmanship is quite good! How about... you teach me a few moves! Consider it a keepsake you'll leave behind after you die!"
"Oh? How do you want me to teach you?" The young emperor's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Ling Xueyan kicked the maple leaf sword leaning against the wall with a "snap," and the crimson blade was drawn from its sheath with a "clang." She gripped the sword in her right hand, slashing left and right, and two flashes of cold light appeared. "Clang! Clang!" With two crisp sounds, the iron chain on the young emperor's wrist snapped.
Immediately afterward, she flicked her wrist, and the longsword flew like an arrow towards the young emperor's brow! With a deep "thud," the young emperor raised his hand and precisely caught the blade, then twisted it to grip the hilt. The sword flashed downward, and with two sharp "cracks," the shackles on his feet broke.
The moment his body was freed, the young emperor stomped his foot and roared, "Ling Xueyan! I will use your lifeblood to nourish this Maple Leaf Sword!" With a sharp cry, the sword light cascaded down like a waterfall, rushing straight at Ling Xueyan!
Ling Xueyan sneered, "Then let's see if you have the ability! Don't disappoint me!" Her figure shifted sideways like a ghost, dodging the sword blade aimed at the leader. She gathered powerful energy in her palms, the wind whistling through them, using both fingers and palms to directly confront the incomparably sharp maple leaf sword in the young emperor's hand. Each clash produced a clanging sound of metal striking metal.
The young emperor launched a series of attacks, but seeing Ling Xueyan's composed response, his sharp sword strikes landed on the edge of her palm as if hitting fine steel. He frowned and said, "You're quite good at blocking!" With a cold shout, his footwork suddenly became unpredictable, his crimson figure like a ghost, his speed increasing dramatically, leaving only afterimages in the dim dungeon.
Seeing this, Ling Xueyan's expression hardened: "Are you going to fight to the death?! No matter how fast you go, it won't change your fate!" Before she finished speaking, her inner energy surged and erupted, her hair moved without wind, and her skirt was billowed by the strong wind.
With the boost of her powerful inner energy, Ling Xueyan's speed also increased dramatically. The two figures instantly transformed into two flashing streaks of light, their afterimages appearing and disappearing in every corner of the cramped cell. "Bang! Bang!... Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!... Clang! Clang! Clang!..." The sounds of palm winds whistling, sword energy tearing through the air, and the clash of forces were incessant, shaking the walls and causing dust to fall in a flurry.
Qiu Xia hid around the corner of the prison gate, her eyes fixed on the battle between the two. Observing this, she couldn't help but sigh softly, "This person's swordsmanship is superb; I'm afraid I might not be able to defeat him. I never imagined Ling Xueyan's palm techniques were so exquisite, her martial arts cultivation so profound. I underestimated her..."
"...Whoosh whoosh whoosh...Clang clang clang...Whoosh whoosh..." The sounds of fierce fighting were endless, with sharp sword energy cutting through the dungeon and powerful palm winds surging everywhere. The two figures separated and reunited in an instant, and in the midst of the clanging of metal, they had exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on the young emperor's forehead, his face ashen: she clearly hadn't used her full strength yet! This entanglement with me was obviously to probe my sword techniques! At this thought, his eyebrows suddenly shot up, his energy focused in his dantian, and the maple leaf longsword in his hand held no more restraint, transforming into a deadly crimson rainbow, completely disregarding Ling Xueyan's overwhelming palm strikes, each move aimed at mutual destruction!
In a flash, "whoosh... swoosh... crack... hiss!" The two figures crossed paths and stopped abruptly. The young emperor took a solid blow to the chest, causing blood to spill from the corner of his mouth. Ling Xueyan's left arm was also severely injured, a deep sword wound revealing the bone, blood instantly soaking half of her sleeve black.
Ling Xueyan glanced at the wound and was instantly enraged. Her eyes, like those of a venomous snake, stared intently at the young emperor: "You want to trade your life with me?!" As she spoke, she tore off her tattered sleeve with a "rip" and simply bandaged the wound on her arm.
The young emperor suppressed the churning blood in his chest and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Isn't this exactly what you wanted? Dying is more worthwhile!!" After saying that, he endured the injuries to his chest and internal organs, gathered his energy again, and pointed the sword directly at Ling Xueyan.
Ling Xueyan laughed in fury, snorting heavily, "Then die!!" With a sharp shout, her figure moved like smoke, and her palm wind was already aimed at the face of the young emperor!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
