Chapter 124: Cloud State Hero

The Snow Ridge Twin Immortals, sisters Ye Lingsu and Ye Wanyue, were the most renowned women in the Qingzhou martial arts world. They were also acknowledged as peerless beauties, with some even considering them the two most beautiful women in Qingzhou, hence their nickname.

However, their true renown in the martial arts world came not from their beauty, but from their exceptional martial arts skills. Both were top-tier masters. The Snow Ridge Villa, which they founded together, ranked among the top ten forces in Qingzhou's martial arts scene. They had numerous impressive achievements to their names, establishing a formidable reputation across the jianghu.

At this moment,

When Juechen called out the name "Snow Ridge Twin Immortals," his face instantly turned ashen white. In that very instant, the Six Monsters of Qishan panicked, turning to flee without regard for their path, their steps stumbling as if chased by vengeful spirits.

But fast as they were, the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals were even faster.

One of them moved with light, graceful steps, her posture as serene as if treading on snow to find plum blossoms. With a casual wave of her hand, she delivered a seemingly weightless palm strike. This strike, though appearing devoid of force, carried an icy chill in its wake, ethereal as a phantom, formless yet omnipresent.

In an instant, the few who had reached the doorway seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand, their bodies uncontrollably sent flying backward. With several dull thuds, they crashed to the ground like discarded sacks.

All of them vomited blood.

Coincidentally, Juechen landed beside Gu Mo. His reaction was swift; his eyes widened, his face twisted into a grotesque snarl. Taking advantage of the chaos, he reached out to grab Gu Mo, attempting to use him to threaten the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals.

Juechen's hand shot out like a venomous snake, about to choke Gu Mo's neck. Just then, a white figure flashed like a phantom—it was Ye Lingsu.

Her expression was serene, like a celestial maiden beneath the moon. She lightly raised her hand and, with a seemingly casual grasp, firmly seized Juechen's wrist. This grip, though appearing gentle, contained immense power, akin to using a minimal force to deflect a much greater one.

Juechen felt a powerful force on his wrist, as if it were clamped tightly by iron pliers. Excruciating pain immediately followed, piercing him to the bone. He tried to break free but found his hand completely paralyzed, unable to move.

Ye Lingsu's cherry lips parted slightly; before they seemed to move, her voice reached him: "Such a handsome young gentleman, I can't let you harm him!"

With that, she applied slight pressure, giving a gentle squeeze. Several crisp cracking sounds echoed, and Juechen's hand bones broke like rotten wood, his palm instantly drooping limply.

Juechen's face was ghastly pale, and cold sweat poured down him like rain. He plopped onto his knees with a thud, shouting, "Why aren't you attacking? We're going to die!"

Just then,

A colossal boom reverberated.

The dozen or so deity statues in the main hall crumbled and disintegrated instantly, as if struck by divine wrath. Stone fragments splattered like flying concealed weapons, and from within the dust, over a dozen figures appeared like phantoms.

They exuded an intense murderous aura, their clothes flapping loudly, as if intent on turning the world upside down.

Ye Lingsu's willow eyebrows shot up in fury, and cold light burst from her beautiful eyes, sharp as a frost-covered blade in the depths of winter. She raised her hand and unleashed a palm strike that sliced through the air like a bolt of silk, heading towards the nearest enemy. Where the palm print passed, the air was forcibly torn, emitting a sharp whistle, instantly repelling several people.

She clearly saw their faces and recognized one of them: a man with an extremely thin, gaunt build, so frail he looked as if a gust of wind could blow him over. His face was ashy and bloodless, like a vengeful spirit freshly emerged from the underworld. Yet, his eyes were remarkably prominent, shimmering with an eerie green glow, like an owl's, radiating a chilling strangeness. His hair was messily draped over his shoulders, a few strands fluttering in the wind, adding to his grotesque appearance.

Ye Lingsu said coldly, "Fan Tangxi, the Soul-Chasing Whip! It truly is your Moon Worship Cult!"

Fan Tangxi replied coldly, "Fairy Lingsu, does this mean you already knew we were here? And yet you still dared to come?"

Ye Lingsu retorted, "If we didn't come, how else would we lure you out?"

Before her words even finished, Ye Lingsu struck swiftly.

At the same moment,

Meanwhile, Ye Wanyue's form was like the wind. With a light tap of her toes on the ground, she transformed into an afterimage. Her palm strikes, imbued with surging cold energy, crashed into the attacking masters. Each strike brought a muffled, thunder-like roar, and wherever her palm force touched, bricks and stones cracked open.

For a time,

Sisters Ye Lingsu and Ye Wanyue engaged in fierce combat with the dozen or so Moon Worship Cult masters. Their palm techniques were exquisite, their internal energy profound, and their footwork agile. Even when facing an encirclement by more than a dozen opponents, they did not fall into a disadvantage.

As the battle grew increasingly fierce, the Buddhist hall suffered collateral damage.

Under the impact of powerful true qi, the Buddha statues exploded one after another, sending shattered stones flying. The hall's pillars began to totter, and alarming cracks and frost appeared on the walls. Glazed tiles were shaken loose, shattering into crisp pieces on the ground, but their sound was entirely drowned out by the din of battle.

Both sides exchanged fierce blows, neither giving way. Blood stained the floor of the Buddhist hall, and a nauseating, bloody stench permeated the air.

Although Ye Lingsu and Ye Wanyue were highly skilled, the Moon Worship Cult members were numerous and used vicious methods. For a time, the sisters sustained some injuries, but the cult members were not unscathed either. The battle had devolved into a stalemate, making it difficult to determine who would win.

Just then,

Several Moon Worship Cult masters suddenly launched an attack on the unconscious merchant caravan members lying on the ground.

Ye Lingsu and Ye Wanyue's expressions subtly changed. As members of the righteous path and leading figures among the jianghu's righteous factions, they naturally could not stand idly by and watch innocent people be harmed by the Moon Worship Cult. They immediately prepared to intervene.

However, at that very moment,

A sudden turn of events unfolded in the hall.

A black figure suddenly shot up like a meteor, moving so fast that it was almost impossible to track, leaving only a trail of afterimages. Immediately after, violent palm winds roared forth, like the roars of ancient ferocious beasts, sweeping across the entire hall.

The attacker was Gu Chutong.

Her form was as light as a drifting catkin, yet imbued with an unstoppable momentum. Her dark hair danced wildly in the wind, like an ink-colored banner. Her palm shadows, like scattered blossoms filling the sky, enveloped the Moon Worship Cult members in an impenetrable assault.

This palm technique seemed gentle, yet it concealed a turbulent power. Each strike unleashed a fierce gust of wind that felt capable of tearing through the very air.

Her internal energy was profound, a testament to her deep mastery of the Bright Jade Skill. Wherever her palm reached, an invisible suction force manifested, causing the Moon Worship Cult members to be pulled and their movements to falter slightly.

Gu Chutong seized this opportunity, her palm strikes suddenly changing. The palm winds became incomparably fierce, like surging waves, one after another. With several muffled thuds, several Moon Worship Cult members were sent flying by her powerful palm force before they could even react. They arced through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, spitting out copious amounts of blood.

This sudden turn of events

stunned both the Moon Worship Cult and the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals.

The Moon Worship Cult members immediately became wary. Even the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals grew cautious, unsure whether Gu Chutong was friend or foe.

For a moment, the two groups who had been fiercely battling suddenly paused due to Gu Chutong's unexpected eruption of power.

Fan Tangxi of the Moon Worship Cult had a grave expression. He said in a deep voice, "Who are you, esteemed one? I hadn't even noticed such a master as yourself was present here!"

At this moment, the attention of everyone — the Moon Worship Cult members, the Six Monsters of Qishan, and the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals — was entirely focused on Gu Chutong.

Gu Chutong's personality was actually somewhat introverted. However, Gu Mo had always taught her to be open and confident when navigating the martial arts world, never to show timidity. Thus, just as during the last major battle at Fengming Ford, when she was the focus of many eyes, she would adopt a cold expression to mask her inner nervousness, appearing very aloof.

Consequently, no one would know that she was speechless due to excessive nervousness.

Therefore,

To alleviate her nervousness, she decided to kill everyone. If fewer people were staring at her, she wouldn't be nervous.

So, she quickly opened the book case on the ground and took out a sword — it was precisely the Spiritual Rhinoceros Sword gifted by Meng Qingkong.

The moment Fan Tangxi raised his eyes and saw the Spiritual Rhinoceros Sword in Gu Chutong's hand, his pupils contracted sharply. The color instantly drained from his face, and his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if he had been targeted by a malevolent ghost.

His teeth chattered as he gasped, "The Spiritual Rhinoceros Sword! You're Gu Chutong... Quick... quick..."

He couldn't even utter a complete sentence, with only one thought left in his mind: escape!

The next moment,

Fan Tangxi didn't hesitate in the slightest; he disregarded everything else and turned to flee. While the other Moon Worship Cult members, the Six Monsters of Qishan, and the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals hadn't yet reacted, he behaved like a madman, completely ignoring his surroundings. He turned and crashed into the wall behind him. With a tremendous crash, bricks and stones flew, and dust filled the air, his figure becoming faintly visible within the haze.

Immediately after, he forcefully tapped the ground with his toes. Using this momentum, he leaped high into the air like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, his true qi surging throughout his body as he attempted to use his qinggong to escape far away.

The instant he launched himself into the air, a muffled 'thump' sounded, and a blood-red hole suddenly burst open on his back. Crimson blood gushed out like a fountain, spraying into the air, a truly shocking sight.

Fan Tangxi's body suddenly stiffened. His forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and he stumbled in mid-air, swaying precariously like a kite with a broken string.

He slowly turned around, each movement seeming incredibly difficult, as if he were bound by invisible shackles. He looked down at his chest, where the blood-soaked hole, piercing through his body, gurgled with fresh blood, staining his clothes crimson.

He pointed towards the main hall, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth. His lips trembling, he stammered, "Gu Mo... it truly... was you..."

His voice, filled with unwillingness and despair, slowly echoed in the dead silent air.

At this moment,

Everyone in the hall remained bewildered.

It had happened too suddenly.

From Fan Tangxi's sudden mad dash to his abrupt death, only a few breaths of time had passed.

Not a single person present had discerned how Fan Tangxi died. Even the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals, with their profound internal energy, had only vaguely sensed a streak of sword qi flash through the air moments ago.

The two sisters quickly turned their heads.

They saw the handsome young gentleman whom they had previously found themselves taking extra glances at. He had now opened his eyes and stood up, exuding a unique aura. The only slight imperfection, however, was that his eyes were too empty and lifeless.

Suddenly, just then,

A Moon Worship Cult member, trembling all over, pointed at Gu Mo and stammered, "You... you're... the Hero of Yunzhou..."