On the Mingxiu Peak, Sima Dengfeng had been forced to the edge of a cliff by Mu Jianyin and Shang Xi.
Sima Dengfeng shattered Mu Jianyin’s nine peach blossoms strike, but Shang Xi’s blades took off one of his fingers in exchange.
Crying in pain, Sima Dengfeng tried to look for an escape but he was stopped by Mu Jianyin.
“Let’s see how you unleash your Sima Family’s Painting Finger after losing your finger!”
Shang Xi’s knives drew another arc through the skies before returning.
Mu Jianyin’s sword pressed against Sima Dengfeng’s throat and she growled, “Speak. Who else is part of the Evil Remnants?”
Sima Dengfeng knew that there was no escaping death now, but a strange smile appeared on his face.
Shang Xi gasped, “Be careful!”
However, Mu Jianyin evidently didn’t need Shang Xi’s reminder as she started to retract her sword.
She was a step too late as Sima Dengfeng fell straight into the blade, slashing his neck.
“Hehe, you can’t stop the fusion of our worlds…” Sima Dengfeng’s eyes dimmed as he spat out his last words.
He was desperate to die as he scattered his life force the moment he sliced his throat on the blade. One had to know that a Martial Intent Realm cultivator had an enormous life force. They would be able to live for some time even if they sliced their throats. Naturally, that was only valid if their heads weren't looped off completely.
The resulting storm of heaven and earth qi from the Mingxiu Peak crushed every structure not protected by restrictions. The sign of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator falling swept through the lands.
Shang Xi stood beside Mu Jianyin and they watched as Sima Dengfeng’s body scattered in the wind. An awkward atmosphere quickly descended upon the two ladies.
“This… This is the first time we met in years, right?” Shang Xi broke the silence.
“Umm… Yeah.” Mu Jianyin sounded a little unnatural when she replied.
“Are you trying to avoid me?” Shang Xi asked while looking straight into her eyes.
“No…? Why would I?” Mu Jianyin revealed a stiff smile before turning her head away.
“Didn’t we already reach a conclusion?” Mu Jianyin whispered softly.
“I need to hear it from you. How did my brother really die?”
Sucking in a cold breath, Mu Jianyin’s body stiffened up. “I have no idea. It was really chaotic at that time. I could only focus on escaping. I didn’t notice anything else around me!”
“You said that he saved your life!” Shang Xi pressed on.
“Yes. I was in a state of shock after he did. He told me to run, and I did! He told me to not look back and I didn’t! I ran all the way back until I met Uncle Shang and the instructors. After that…” Mu Jianyin muttered.
“After that, they said that my brother died! However, they can’t find his corpse!” Shang Xi completed the sentence for her.
“That’s right…” Mu Jianyin nodded slowly.
“Since that’s the case, why do you try to avoid me all the time?” Shang Xi sighed.
Raising her head slowly, Mu Jianyin eventually turned her head away in shame. “He died saving me. I’m too ashamed to meet any one of his family members.”
“Oh?” Shang Xi snorted, “Since you’re afraid of meeting us, why did you instigate your niece to mess with my nephew?”
A frown found its way on Mu Jianyin’s face and she snorted, “We shouldn’t be interfering with the affairs of the younger generation, right?”
“If one day, my nephew learns that his father died because of you, how do you think he’ll feel?” Shang Xi continued.
At a loss for words, Mu Jianyin’s gaze landed on the knives in Shang Xi’s hand and she tried to change the topic. “Where did you get your weapons? Looks like you finally managed to obtain suitable weapons to complement your fighting style. It won’t be easy for me to defeat you any more…”
Shang Xi sneered once again. “Are you sure you’re one of the heads of the Outreach Division? Your attempt to change the topic really sucks…”
Before Shang Xi could say another word, the rattling sound coming from the bridges caught them off guard.
Yu Zhiqing’s spear tore through the barrier and he started his assault.
Shang Xi’s expression changed and she harrumphed, “I’ll head down there first. We’ll settle this later.”
Looking at Shang Xi’s leaving figure, Mu Jianyin heaved a sigh of relief.
However, her gaze quickly landed on someone who was on the verge of death.
“Mister Lu, stop pretending to be unconscious. Any more and I will have to silence you…” Compared to the weak demeanor she had when talking to Shang Xi, killing intent rolled off her when she snapped at Lu Yan.
“Wait… Don’t… I just woke up… I didn’t hear anything! Ahem… Deacon Mu, please spare… No… Please save me!”
Even though he was sneak attacked, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator wouldn’t die easily. He barely managed to keep his life.
Mu Jianyin’s gaze landed on him and she sighed, “You suffered pretty serious injuries…”
Lu Yan spat out a mouthful of blood in response. “I know how serious this is. I will most probably live. Everything depends on the help I’ll receive… Oh right. I suffered all these injuries to protect the Tongyou Peak. Even though I didn’t fight with the members of the Azure Spiritual Race, I was still injured by members of the Evil Remnants…”
Mu Jianyin nodded slowly. “Brother Lu, I heard that you weren’t from our You Continent. The Lu Family in the Ji Continent seems pretty famous…”
“Deacon Mu, there’s no need to beat about the bush. I’ll do anything in my power as long as you give the word…”
A smile appeared on Mu Jianyin’s face. “Brother Lu is too kind. Of course our Tongyou Institution will take care of you! After all, you kept us safe!”
Shang Xia was shocked by the sudden turn of events when Yu Zhiqing tore open a hole in the protection formation.
However, he couldn’t be bothered as he continued to chase Jin Guanchao down.
Perhaps it was because they had been expecting the barrier to be broken when one of the bridges was destroyed, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak gathered near the foot of the mountain ready for battle.
That was part of the reason Jin Guanchao ran into no obstruction when making his escape.
As the two of them ran across the mountain, they quickly approached the bridge connecting the Luohui Peak and the main peak.
Jin Guanchao and Shang Xia both saw the fluctuation of heaven and earth qi crashing into the earth in the form of a spear.
Soon after, they saw three massive chains locking Yu Zhiqing’s weapon in place. No one knew what he was thinking of, but Jin Guanchao increased his speed.
The bridge should have been protected by the experts of the Tongyou Peak secretly, but Jin Guanchao didn’t run into anyone there either! Shang Xia continued to chase as he saw a giant ball of flame flying straight into Yu Zhiqing, sending him flying out of the protection formation.
The ball of flame followed him out, and the protection formation showed signs of repairing itself.
However, Shang Xia quickly noticed that Yu Zhiqing managed to free his spear at the last moment and he held firmly onto it as he was thrown out.
Jin Guanchao’s intention was to head towards the foot of the mountain and escape during the chaotic battle that would break out. Seeing as Yu Zhiqing was sent flying, he changed his plan and ran in the direction of the Kaiyuan Peak.
Shang Xia gnashed his teeth as he continued his pursuit.
Yu Zhiqing basically took Dong Qianzui’s attack head on and he was sent flying out of the protection barrier.
Even with his cultivation base above Dong Qianzui, it wasn’t hard to imagine that he was seriously injured by the previous strike!
Luckily for him, he kept his wits and held on to his spear before he was flung out. Otherwise, he would fall into an extremely precarious situation when Dong Qianzui went out to fight him.
He knew that he wouldn’t be Dong Qianzui’s opponent if he didn’t have his weapon with him after suffering such a serious wound.
The cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak who rushed in with him were placed on the spot now that he was flung away.
Some of them died due to Dong Qianzui’s careless attack previously and the only man they were relying on was forced back! They would have to fight the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak alone!
It didn’t take long for forty riders from the Protection Division to appear. There were eight squads in total and they surrounded the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak.
When Yu Zhiqing blew up the Patrol Hall previously, he expected there to be some casualties at the very least. But the scheming Tongyou Institution had long since recalled everyone there when they chose to send Dong Qianzui to meet the enemy. They knew that his shameless actions would cause the other party to retaliate.
As such, the patrol squads remained completely unharmed!
Among the eight squads, there were four captains in the Martial Intent Realm and they were Zhao Yang of the Tongyou Peak’s Scripture Depository, Li Zengyu of the Outreach Division, Wu Tinghai of the Protection Division, and Kang Ci of the Outreach Division!
With Kang Ci as their leader, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak charged into battle.