The Forbidden Path to Immortality - Chapter 60

Chapter 1 Relationship

Seeing Mingji’s miraculous flying sword, Li Xun gave her a powerful clap with his fist and shouted, “Great!”

Mingji smiled faintly and without saying anything, she retracted her sword and said to a disciple from the Never-Sleeping City who was bandaging the wound, “Bring me a bottle of ‘Xu Luo Sheng Ji San’.”

The disciple seemed stunned by her awe-inspiring power and was stunned for a moment. It was only when Li Xun nudged him from the side that he realized what was happening. He hurriedly took the medicine and presented it with both hands, his face full of admiration.

Li Xun glanced at him, blaming him for being so tactless. He took the medicine from him and was about to apply it to Mingji.

But just as he opened the lid, Mingji took it away and pressed it against his shoulder.

This time, she pressed on a sword wound. He gasped in pain and his body went limp.

Mingji did not shy away from suspicion. She tore open his shirt, smeared medicine on her hands, and covered his wound with her true breath. She said with a smile: “Since you have the ability to rush forward, you must have the ability to endure. You seemed very brave just now, why can’t you do it now?”

Li Xun’s face flushed, but he was a little surprised.

Mingji was talking about the “life-and-death” method he had just used. It was obvious that he had been noticed by Mingji. Although her original intention was good, it would be really depressing if she was exposed because of this!

Qingxu smiled and stroked his beard on the side. At this time, he also said: “Xun’er is rare to be able to be clear-headed in the fierce battle. With a clear mind and thundering methods, she is quite like the style of “Shinning Er” in the past!”

Mingji smiled when he heard this, and said nothing more. Li Xun knew her nickname was “Sword of Light” Ling’er, which must have been the nickname given to her by the elders of the sect.

Being able to compare her with Mingji felt quite good.

Mingji quickly treated all his injuries, while Qingxu asked a Huixuan Sect elder nearby for a pill of “Duanxu Lingjiao”.

This was a first-class bone-setting medicine in the Tongxuan Realm. With its warming properties, a serious injury like Li Xun’s could be healed in two or three days. After

he finished his work, he thought about the pain on Mingji’s shoulder. Injury.

Just as he was about to speak, it suddenly occurred to him that, while there were clear distinctions between elders and juniors, there were still differences between men and women.

It might have been fine if they were in an evil sect, but now, after all, he was a “righteous disciple.” How could he possibly handle the act of stripping off his clothes and applying medicine?

He suddenly understood the true meaning of the Never-Sleeping City disciple’s lack of propriety.

Mingji observed this, his lips curled up, and he said with a smile, “Now I see you’re not diligent enough . If you’ve truly reached the level of Void Infant Transformation, you wouldn’t need to apply medicine to these superficial injuries.”

Li Xun could only smile wryly, apparently embarrassing him, but in reality, also helping him out.

However, it seemed that Mingji’s injuries had truly healed after a short period of inactivity. The bloodstains on his clothes were still noticeable, though.

Qingxu was still smiling, but as his gaze swept across the battlefield, it grew bitter. “What exactly is Gu Zhixuan’s intention? What exactly is he doing? Since the forty-nine tribulations, there has never been such a chaotic battle in the Tongxuan Realm.” “

“You are just trying to show us your power, a bunch of rabble!”

The one who spoke was the Huixuan Sect elder who gave Qingxu the “intermittent spiritual glue”, Xuanfu Zhenren.

He was among the five elders who did not participate in the battle. His beard was as white as snow, but his face was rosy, and he looked like a baby. He was quite straightforward and had good relations with Qingxu.

Qingxu knew his temperament best and could only shake his head when he heard it.

Li Xun smiled secretly in his heart, but he understood what Qingxu meant.

“A rabble? If it were a rabble, who would risk thousands of years of cultivation to work for Yu Sanren? These independent cultivators and demons usually go their own way, and their own grievances are still unclear, but now they are all vying for the first place. I’m afraid there are some interests involved, which is the right thing to do! “

Qingxu just couldn’t understand what benefits Yu Sanren had to offer to coax this large group of scattered people to work hard for him?

Li Xun didn’t understand this question either!

Mingji was also thoughtful: “Yu Sanren should still have some reservations. Those real evil cultivators and monsters only worked but didn’t put in any effort today. There are also Niu Lishi, Bing Yaoniang, the Ten Monsters Against the Current, the Three-Headed Dragon Monster, etc., who are obviously all well-known evil demons attending the meeting, but they have not shown up so far. This situation still needs to be considered. “

Xuan Fu listened to those familiar names, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he hissed: “There is no need for them to come out, even if only Yu Sanren comes, the situation here will be reversed…”

The old Taoist was straightforward, and immediately changed his words when he heard something wrong.

Qingxu frowned: “I didn’t think so before, but looking at the situation on the field, and taking into account those hidden evil demons, the opponent’s strength should be above ours…”

He only said half of the words, but Li Xun also grasped the unfinished meaning.

“At this time, half of the elites of the righteous sects have gathered here, and their strength cannot be said to be strong. However, this so-called’Loose Cultivator Alliance’ can gather a stronger force than that. With such momentum, I’m afraid it will really not end well! “

Yes, it turns out that they are so powerful!

Li Xun had heard of many troublesome figures among the scattered cultivators before, but they were all fragmented and he had never integrated them into one group. Now it was an eye-opener.

Regardless of how Yu Sanren integrated all those scattered cultivators and monsters together, just this idea and this courage were enough to make people terrified!

Think about the other two scattered cultivators who were as famous as him. Maybe their scheming and cultivation were not inferior, but their courage was suppressed by Yu Sanren.

Yu Sanren was worthy of being the third scattered cultivator!

It’s a pity that it was not Li Xun’s turn to think about it anymore. A disciple from the Never-Sleeping City had already reported that the quiet room for the injured disciples had been prepared and that all the injured here were to be transferred to a safe area.

Li Xun, the injured, was naturally among them.

Before leaving, Li Xun’s eyes shifted, and he asked curiously, “Master, aren’t you going?”

Ming Ji smiled and swung his sword, striking him at the waist with the sheathed longsword: “How rude! Where am I injured?”

Li Xun snorted, knowing that Ming Ji would not take his minor injury seriously. He said no more, and instead called out, “Masters , be careful!” He then casually helped a seriously injured person and followed the leading disciple.

Xuan Fu watched Li Xun leave, nodded, and suddenly turned to look at the Taoist nun Yu Lan, who had been silent for a long time, and laughed, “Master, take a look at this child, how about reading his horoscope?”

Yu Lan’s ordinary face flickered, but she smiled without saying a word.

Xuan Fu wanted to ask more, but was stopped by Qingxu: “Don’t make things difficult for Fellow Daoist Yu Lan. My disciple’s future is up to him. Asking for divination is not the best strategy!”

“What Fellow Daoist Qingxu said is very consistent with the intention of our sect!”

Yu Lan nodded and smiled: “Asking for divination is ultimately like flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water, which is out of reach. However, as the saying goes, observing a person’s aura, life and death, disaster and fortune are unpredictable, but one can get a glimpse of the rise and fall of a person’s momentum. It’s okay to talk about this!”

As soon as these words came out, Ming Ji, who wanted to enter the battlefield again, retracted his foot and watched with interest.

Not far away, swords shone with dazzling light, and turbulent currents of energy collided, creating a chaotic battle. However, these five or six people, forming their own little world, appeared to be at ease.

Yu Lan said, “Not a common creature, not a rule-abiding person.”

“That’s all? Really?” Xuan Fu rolled his eyes.

“Shui Jing Sect, you’re quite skilled at playing dirty! Anyone can see that child has a promising future. Furthermore, judging by his tactics, he’s a spitting image of the ‘Ruthless Shan Ling’er’ of yesteryear. He’s certainly not one to follow the rules…”

Xuan Fu looked at Ming Ji and laughed heartily, an apology. Then, with a curled lip, he said, “Master Calculator, even if it’s just a job, you can’t be so lazy!”

Yu Lan smiled in silence.

Su Yao from the Tianxing Jian Sect next to him laughed and said, “Brother Xuanfu is so unreasonable! Fellow Daoist Yulan has already agreed that regardless of life or death, good or bad fortune, it only matters the rise and fall of reputation. There is nothing wrong with saying that. Besides, everyone knows that the people from the Shuijing Sect never speak unless they keep their mouths shut.

“At least you already know that the child will have a bright future. It’s a sure win to build a good relationship with him now!” “

This Immortal Master Su Yao is really an anomaly in the Tianxingjian Sect. He is chubby, with a simple face, looks like a good gentleman, and is talkative and good at making friends. He has friends all over the world and can talk to anyone.

Only when he speaks in this tone will he not be offensive and successfully get out of trouble.

Xuanfu cursed with a smile. He was bored at first, and when he heard Su Yao talking, how could he not like it? So he simply started to argue with Su Yao.

After talking for a while, he turned around and happened to see Tianhe, the elder of the Never-Sleeping City, who was staring at something that looked like a compass, so he shouted: “Old Tianhe, what are you going to do with this ‘Tianyi Plate’? Are you

looking for a Feng Shui treasure land for Gu Zhixuan?”

Tianhe glared at him, but there was some tension on his thin face: “Don’t make a sound! It’s strange. There was a reaction just now, why can’t I find it again? “

He talked to himself for a while, and when he saw that it was quiet all around, he looked up and saw the faces of the people around him. The corners of his mouth twitched: “Did anyone of you feel anything just now?”

“Ah?”

“I mean, did anyone of you feel that someone had just sneaked over?”

The four elders and an outstanding second-generation disciple shook their heads at the same time, and as soon as Taoist Nun Yu Lan shook her head, her heart skipped a beat.

A thought flashed through her mind, and then suddenly turned into a sentence, and jumped out: “There is an alert in the southeast direction, a strong enemy!”

Tianxin was knowledgeable and spoke without pretense. This was the amazing Shuijing Tianxin technique of the Shuijing Sect!

However, this time, “Tianxin” was a little late.

As soon as these words came out, a shrill scream was heard from the southeast! At the same time, a fierce and violent murderous aura, like a sudden storm on the grassland, swept across the city.

The thick and bloody pressure also went straight to the deepest part of people’s hearts!

“That’s where the injured disciples are recuperating! “

Amidst Elder Tianhe’s exclamation, six people suddenly jumped up at the same time and rushed straight in that direction.

It’s from the Three Emperors Sword Sect, an acquaintance!”

Arriving at the quiet room for recuperation, several disciples of the Never-Sleeping City who are proficient in medicine have begun to get busy.

As for Li Xun, the “patient” whose wounds have been well treated, he has nothing to do. He just walks around and greets several new friends among the injured.

As for the “acquaintance” from the Three Emperors Sword Sect, he and Li Xun have the same injury, both of them are injured on the face.

After the application of medicine and bandages, the handsome face looked a little strange. In addition, two years have passed, and it took Li Xun a while to recognize that he was the man who stood behind Luo Yuji when she was kidnapped.

The reason why he remembered him was because the guy’s eyes were too fierce at the time, which was in sharp contrast to his face.

Li Xun was a little worried that with the look and attitude of that guy back then, he might be able to recognize him. Bored, he thought, “Why not strike in secret and silence this brat?”

The thought amused him, and a silent grin curled up his lips. No one else could see, and he was content to relax.

But the next moment, his smile froze. Anyone who saw their own kind instantly ripped apart, flesh and blood splattering everywhere.

Li Xun wasn’t the only one, but the other disciples from various sects nearby were stunned.

It wasn’t until the second body tore apart, its fresh entrails spilling out in the gushing blood, that someone finally woke up, yelling, “Enemy attack!”

That cry became the third shattered corpse!

The suddenness of the shock, without warning, was like a sledgehammer crashing down on everyone’s heads, knocking them unconscious.

Li Xun was no exception. It wasn’t

until the fifth person’s head was shattered, its fragments striking his eye, that he finally awoke.

His brain reacted quickly, but even as he had a split second to formulate his escape plan, the sixth, seventh, and eighth people had already followed.

Then, Li Xun felt a pair of blood-red eyes sweep across his face, their soul-searing murderous aura instantly wiping out his thoughts.

“Ding!”

The jade warded off evil spirits pierced with a long-lost shriek, but Li Xun didn’t recover in time.

In his haze, he instinctively drew his sword,

completely forgetting the injury to his right shoulder. With

the sword halfway drawn, he felt a sharp pain rip through his shoulder and chest, and his body soared upwards like a cloud, crashing through the wall behind him.

The momentum continued, and he collided with a second wall before sliding back down.

The impact shattered two rows of his ribs, and countless bones were embedded in his internal organs. Even a cultivator with a strong vitality was left with only a sliver of life left.

The excruciating pain finally brought him back to consciousness!

“Why didn’t they kill me in one go?”

It was rare for him to think about such a question, and at this moment, a long-overdue scream finally came from the next room.

As the scream started, the wall he had just penetrated collapsed completely, and naturally, the entire house collapsed with it.

Ignoring the pain, Li Xun crossed his arms, only able to protect his face and chest before he was buried by the falling rubble.

The blow was so heavy that he spurted out another mouthful of blood, which all blocked the inner wall of the mask, sticky and disgusting.

“Damn it, if I can avoid that monster’s brutal hands, I will accept being crushed ten times!”

Li Xun’s mind flashed with the pair of blood-red eyes, and he shuddered!

He had seen many “red-eyed monsters”, such as the Demon Phoenix and the Blood Wanderer, whose eyes were red due to their physical constitution or the magic formula they practiced.

However, the demon phoenix’s eyes were shrouded in hatred, a chilling resoluteness; the blood-scattering man’s were ruthless, cruel, and deeply calculating. Their expressions were fundamentally different from the monster’s.

Li Xun had never seen eyes like these before, completely devoid of all impurities, filled only with bloodshed and slaughter, pure and incomprehensible!

Without a doubt, these were the eyes of a true demon!

As he pondered this, he suddenly felt the pile of rocks beneath him tremble violently, followed by a surge of air, sending rocks flying everywhere. In an instant, the burden on him was lifted.

However, the scene that followed was far worse than being crushed by the rocks.

He once again saw those chilling eyes.

But this time, Li Xun’s heart was surprisingly calm.

After so many years of training, if he still couldn’t mentally adjust to a critical moment, he would truly deserve death!

Although fear and panic still lingered, these unnecessary and useless emotions were suppressed deep within his heart, unable to cause even a ripple.

The situation was remarkably similar to the time Gu Yin ambushed me a few months ago, but with one crucial difference—I still had the strength to fight back!

The Jade Repellent roared once more, but this time, it was Li Xun who activated it, unleashing its incredible protective power.

A faint azure light emanated, flashing through the air. Almost instantly, an indescribable low hum echoed through the air, followed by a strange, sizzling sound, the tingling of flesh.

Finally, a dull, thud.

The instant the blast erupted, a tornado seemed to sweep through the surroundings, sending rubble and dust flying into the air, enveloping an area dozens of feet in radius.

Li Xun was blown away like a shred of paper, an unfathomable distance.

Before he even touched the ground, a piercing scream echoed in his ears, a tangle of pain and fury swirling within, like a hammer striking him head-on.

He spat out another mouthful of blood, the blood foam accumulated within the mask choking his nostrils, causing him immense pain. He fought back the pain, scanning his surroundings.

The thick fog of flying earth and rocks hadn’t yet settled when, amidst it, another sharp howl erupted. This time, the shockwaves were contained, surging back and forth within a limited radius.

Wherever the shockwaves reached, the flying earth and rocks were shattered into ever finer pieces, even dissolving into smoke under the influence of his true energy. The thick dust and mist quickly thinned considerably.

The figure of the “demon” finally emerged.

It was, to be fair, humanoid in form, and roughly speaking, it did resemble a human.

But who had ever seen a human nearly ten feet tall with sharp barbs on its shoulder blades?

The monster’s features were still hidden behind the smoke, revealing only its pitch-black skin, its lanky body as dry as a dead tree, and its blood-red eyes, filled with brutality and murderous intent.

If Li Xun wasn’t mistaken, the six eerie barbs on the other’s shoulders seemed to be emitting a mist.

While it blended seamlessly with the actual dust and mist, Li Xun could clearly sense it was filled with the wailing, resentful spirits.

They were barely visible, but deeper down, they were undoubtedly denser!

“Is its body filled with this stuff?”

The thought of being slapped by the monster made Li Xun nauseous. He grimaced and swiftly sank into the earth.

Above, the creature roared again, its sonic waves penetrating the ground, shaking Li Xun’s heart and soul. He nearly lost control of his magic spells and was crushed to death underground!

“Do you want to live? Get down here if you dare!”

Remembering that the monster had originally emerged from underground, Li Xun was certain it would follow.

So, he summoned You Yi and You Er, gathered his aura, and hid in the earth, ready to deliver a savage blow when the creature finally caught up with him.

However, when he released his aura, hoping to lure the monster down to kill him, a whisper suddenly rang in his ears.

He was shocked, and after discerning the meaning and source of the voice, You Yi and You Er, who had been waiting in anticipation, disappeared silently.

Then, a delicate hand gently wrapped around his waist, and he felt his body lighten as he was pulled away by the person.

“Qin Changshi?”

Li Xun asked tentatively. The other party’s earth escape technique was countless times stronger than his. In the blink of an eye, several miles had passed.

However, he did not receive a response from the other party.

If there was any response, it was only a low hum. Then, his eyes lit up, and the two of them had come to the ground, and Li Xun also saw Qin Wanru’s face.

Her face was very pale, and she did not react to Li Xun’s gaze, just staring at the ground not far away.

Li Xun glanced around and wondered, “There’s no one here… How did you get here?”

“I guess I had no choice!” Qin Wanru’s tone was remarkably calm, even a hint of a smile.

But beneath her frail, pitiful exterior, this calmness and smile lent a certain resignation, a heightened sense of shame. Did he even need a woman to protect him?

Shaking his head, Li Xun pushed this irrational thought out of his mind, quickly grasping the meaning behind Qin Wanru’s words.

In the surrounding atmosphere, countless invisible Qi woven into a vast web, drawing vital energy and emitting a strange hissing sound, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, eerie and chilling.

Within this vast web of Qi, the opponent was fully capable of restricting Qin Wanru’s path and trapping her in the desired location.

Li Xun’s mind once again visualized the demon’s appearance. Combining this with the vast information he had accumulated, he suddenly understood what kind of monster it was.

“Demon’s Throat!”

Li Xun cried out softly. He finally understood. This thing, three parts human and seven parts ghost, was actually the most mysterious and bloodiest of the Seven Demons!

Just as he cried out, a strange noise rang out. Seven streams of bizarre potential surged upward from an unknown depth underground. Three feet above the surface, they strangely intersected, triggering at least a hundred waves of qi to shift.

The surrounding air vibrated with a humming sound, as if thousands of invisible steel wires were being stretched to their limits, snapping straight at the pull of invisible hands.

Qin Wanru’s expression remained unchanged, but she merely glanced at Li Xun.

As Li Xun understood and flung out the sect’s flying sword for help, she gently raised her wrist and drew a dozen flawless circles in the air.

Each swirl generated a viscous force, attracting strands of vital energy powerful enough to rip apart limbs.

And after the rotation ended, a subtle repulsive force was generated among the layers of adhesion, causing the sharp “steel wire” to stick to her skin, but it only left a few white marks without breaking the skin or bleeding.

This demonstrated her mastery of true energy, reaching a pinnacle of perfection.

But this wasn’t enough; it was merely a prelude to the real attack.

Thus, as seven streams of true energy burst forth from the ground, seven long, bloody gashes appeared on Qin Wanru’s body.

Li Xun saw clearly that before each wound formed, she attempted a blocking motion, each time missing by a fraction.

However, each missed her vital points by a hair’s breadth, not affecting the range of her movements.

At that moment, the communication flying sword had just vanished from sight.

Though it sustained several bruises as it broke through the dense blockade, it still careened forward. The Demonic Throat made no effort to intercept it.

Clearly, it was more interested in the couple before it.

With a thud, a dark figure burst forth from Qin Wanru’s feet, engaging her face-to-face.

The surge of energy sent Li Xun flying dozens of feet away. As wounds re-opened throughout his body, at least two more bones were broken, and the pain nearly suffocated him.

Qin Wanru stumbled to her side, her left hand drooping, a faint bloodstain etched across her face.

Li Xun glanced at her sideways, then realized he couldn’t express himself clearly enough. He simply ripped off his mask, revealing his face smeared with blood.

“Why save me?”

“I just didn’t expect saving you would be so difficult!” Qin Wanru smiled calmly. “If I’d known it was Moruohou, I never would have come!”

Li Xun chuckled, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the distant flash of a sword.

Turning his gaze again, he finally saw Moruohou’s face clearly.

The infamous demon’s features were clearly defined, but a strange, scaly pattern stretched across its inky black skin, stretching across most of its face, skirting the corners of its eyes and merging into its forehead.

It had no head, but its skull was not smooth, but rather a mass of flesh and skin twisted together like an earthworm, with blood vessels bulging and even pulsating faintly.

It was at this moment that Li Xun realized its blood-red pupils were erect, elongated and eerie, with pale yellow eye whites, unmistakable from a wild animal.

Its ten-foot-tall body resembled burnt wood, its limbs even streaked with blood-red cracks. Six barbs on its shoulders, seemingly impenetrable, were actually slightly wriggling, their pores likely puncturing wisps of grayish-white mist.

Having spent so much time in the Ghostly Shadow Devouring Sect, Li Xun could confidently assert that this mist was the purest form of death energy!

Strangely, the Demon Throat didn’t advance. Its blood-red eyes darted over Li Xun and the other creature, its sinister, eerie gaze seeming to sear their presence into its very heart. Then, with another low hiss, its lanky body suddenly launched into the air, then vanished in a flash.

Qin Wanru sighed deeply, slowly sitting down, ignoring Li Xun as she went about tending to her injuries.

Li Xun’s injuries were ten times more serious than hers, yet his mind was perfectly clear. Amidst the pain, she could only grimace, barely putting her mask back on, and lying on the ground, letting him die.

A flash of light passed by, and Mingji and Qingxu arrived almost simultaneously. Seeing the two’s injuries, they were speechless for a moment.

At that moment, a faint note drifted through the air

. It wasn’t just Li Xun and the others who heard it; this soft, fragmented sound rang in everyone’s ears. The flute’s

natural sound was clear, but in this person’s hands, it had a completely different quality.

Three or five fragments that didn’t form a tune, yet somehow managed to pull out a thread hidden in the void, compelling one to listen intently.

To the cultivators, the notes, once heard, evoked a subtle shift in their minds.

How could one lose focus in the middle of a fierce battle?

Everyone’s heart sank, and at that moment, another long, passionate note rang in their ears.

That sound was like a sword unsheathed, slashing down head-on; it came from nowhere, giving no one time to react, piercing their chests!

The battlefield, stretching hundreds of miles, suddenly stalemated, then erupted into uncontrollable chaos.

Countless battles that had been stalemated were broken in one fell swoop. Under this sudden surge of energy, both sides, scrambling to protect themselves, decided the outcome instantly.

The bloodshed in that instant far surpassed all the previous moments combined! And from that moment on, no one dared to step forward,

save for the three pairs fighting at different levels!

“Gu Zhixuan?”

Qingming frowned slightly at the sound of the flute, but the ‘Heart Lighting Sword’ in his hand remained unaffected. With a gentle shake, a wave of sword light, as cold as autumn water, emanated, transforming the incoming heat into wisps of smoke.

Not only in front of him, but also within a five-mile radius, centered on him, was completely filled with steaming water. The icy sea water had dropped two inches in a sudden, stark contrast to the surrounding sea surface.

It was the Demon Phoenix!

Speaking of which, the hunt a hundred years ago was a complete siege by the numbers, and Qingming hadn’t had the opportunity to fight the Demon Phoenix one-on-one.

Today, however, was their first direct confrontation.

The encounter brought a special feeling to Qingming’s heart.

The Heavenly Demon Phoenix was truly a peerless demon, roaming the world for millennia. Her control over fire was unprecedented in the history of the Tongxuan Realm.

Under her control, the very nature of fire could undergo such a rich variety!

Great Light Fire, Seven Emotions Fire, Purgatory Fire, Eight Gates of Wind Fire… a single wave of fire energy could even contain dozens of different qualities!

Yet, in every gesture, she refrained from excessive transformation, unifying them in a magnificent and elegant manner, like the construction of a breathtakingly majestic building. Within this unparalleled scale of power and grandeur, she witnessed the exquisite and fluid flow of her creative ideas.

Qingming understood this all too well. Although both were masters of the “True One” level, he had only just entered this realm after forty-nine tribulations. In both cultivation and improvisational tactics, he was far inferior to the demon phoenix.

From the outset, he adopted a defensive stance.

The demon phoenix leisurely wandered around, while he effortlessly wielded his sword within.

Both appeared equally at ease, but in reality, his range of movement was being gradually reduced by the demon phoenix. When the critical point was reached, he was poised to face the demon phoenix’s powerful, volcanic eruption.

Just then, a distinct note emanated from the flute! Sure enough

, through the layers of mist, a fire gleamed in the demon phoenix’s eyes, facing him from a distance of several miles. Its slender fingers suddenly clenched, four fingers curled, and its thumb pressed lightly. A blazing beam of light pierced the mist and pierced Qingming’s heart.

Qingming tilted the “Heart Light” in his hand and blocked it diagonally. The sword made a vibration sound and the beam of light flew diagonally into the sky. The demon phoenix took the opportunity to spin around and broke the locked aura between the two people. His figure flashed and disappeared.

Before leaving, she glanced at him, sending him an intriguing look.

Qingming saw it clearly, and his heart tightened slightly!

At this time, he knew very well that the wars in the other two places had also been interrupted.

The current scene was very strange. Since the war was interrupted, the various scattered cultivators and demons who were originally fighting to the death, all carried the wounded and retreated.

Qingming was the person farthest away from the City That Never Sleeps. He stood on the sea, watching coldly as countless people and demons passed by him and retreated towards the polar ice field.

During this process, he did not draw a sword or make a sound.

These retreating cultivators cast vigilant or provocative glances at him, but he did not react at all.

The atmosphere in the City That Never Sleeps was very awkward. Among the orthodox cultivators, there were many people with fierce and irritable temperaments. They had just woken up from the threat of the flute sound. Seeing the demons retreat, they flew in pursuit.

But more people chose to be steady.

Just as the vanguard of cultivators was about to reach Qingming, figures flashed in the sky. Li Douliang, the leader of the Zhenhun Sect, and Ling Fengzi, the leader of the Xumiao Sect, descended from the water and stood beside Qingming, their faces solemn.

Li Douliang turned to gaze at the approaching cultivators and was about to speak when the flute sounded again, this time a short, sharp shrill note.

Suddenly, sword lights shone in the sky, and the dozen or so cultivators who had pursued them were hurled into the sea like dumplings, drowning in a horrific manner.

However, none of them were injured; they emerged dazed and confused, still unsure of how they had been knocked down!

During this entire process, the three sect leaders in the middle remained completely unaware.

Qingming gazed at the ever-present darkness ahead and whispered, “The ancient Taoist possesses unparalleled skills!”

Lingfengzi was a thin, amiable old Taoist. His eyes, habitually narrowed, always leaving only a slit, gave him a smile that made him quite approachable.

But his smile was a little bitter.

He lifted his sleeve, observing the long, horizontal and vertical slits crisscrossing his wide robe, and chuckled.

“Don’t judge too soon. Look at my sleeve! Fairy Qin’s skills are probably not much worse than her uncle’s!”

He was the only one of the three sect leaders who hadn’t yet reached “True Oneness.”

However, the Xumiao Sect’s “Seven True Secrets of the Void” were known as the Tongxuan Realm’s finest defensive form. Even facing a combined attack from Qingming and Li Douliang, they wouldn’t likely be in such a state of disarray anytime soon.

Seeing his dusty appearance, Qingming and Li Douliang exchanged a wry smile.

Just then, a faint commotion could be heard from behind.

A few breaths passed before a long, mournful howl suddenly echoed through the Never-Sleeping City. The sound was

so mournful and hoarse it felt like it was ripping through one’s heart and lungs. The three sect leaders were startled, and before they could recover, another mournful howl echoed. Then, another and another howl pierced the air, resounding through the clouds.

The nightless sky seemed to darken with the torrential mournful sound.