Chapter 1114: Thin Facade

The giant crane hovered in the sky, and as its wings flapped, a fierce gale howled between heaven and earth.

However, what truly pressured Zuoqiu Qingyu and Lvluo was not the white crane, but the white-haired man seated atop its head.

The Genesis Qi pressure emanating from him made it difficult for them to breathe, even from such a distance.

Both women's faces turned pale as a result.

Tong He's sharp gaze fixed on the two women. He said calmly, "Ladies, surrender. You cannot escape."

Zuoqiu Qingyu bit her lip lightly and replied, "Sir, we had no intention of offending you. The previous conflict was merely an accident. Why pursue us so relentlessly? Are all people from Hunyuan Heaven so arrogant and overbearing?"

Tong He's gaze rested on Zuoqiu Qingyu before slowly shifting to Lvluo. He said, "You may leave, but your friend needs to stay."

He was very concerned about Lvluo's ability to disrupt their beast-taming techniques, viewing it as a significant threat.

Hearing this, Zuoqiu Qingyu knew further words were useless. She grabbed Lvluo's wrist and urged, "Go!"

Ding-ling!

As the golden bell jingled, Zuoqiu Qingyu's figure instantly transformed into a faint streak of light, shooting towards the depths of the cave.

"Stubborn," Tong He muttered, shaking his head at the sight. The next instant, the giant crane beneath him abruptly flapped its wings. An overwhelming storm swept downwards, tearing through the very mountain in its path. Wind blades, seemingly imbued with sentience, swirled towards the rapidly fleeing figures.

Bang! Bang!

The area was instantly thrown into chaos. Zuoqiu Qingyu fled at full speed with Lvluo, but the wind blades raging behind them clung like maggots to bone.

Fortunately, her movement technique was incredibly profound; she managed to evade the sweeping wind blades with breathtaking narrow escapes.

"What incredible movement techniques," Tong He couldn't help but feel surprised at this sight. The girl's power was clearly only at the early Heavenly Sun stage, which was merely average within their Beast-Taming Domain's team. Yet, if it were solely a competition of movement techniques, even Tong He himself might not be able to match her.

After all, to continuously evade his attacks while burdened by another, her movement technique was truly astonishing. It seemed the people of Cangxuan Heaven, despite their weaker cultivation, still possessed some commendable qualities.

"But in the end, it's futile."

Tong He shook his head slightly, then raised both hands.

The moment his hands lifted, four formidable wind walls, formed from Genesis Qi, surged up in the surroundings. These walls blocked off the area and began to rapidly compress inwards.

Within this prison of wind walls, no matter how fast Zuoqiu Qingyu moved, it would be useless.

The wind walls would continuously shrink Zuoqiu Qingyu's evasion space until there was nowhere left to hide.

Zuoqiu Qingyu also noticed the wind walls closing in from all sides. She bit her red lip, a hint of helplessness flickering in her narrow peach blossom eyes. The opponent was too strong; while her movement technique was exceptional, she couldn't confront him head-on.

"Xiao Lan!"

At that moment, Lvluo sharply called out.

The small blue bird on her shoulder immediately soared into the air, spewing a stream of blue cold qi from its beak. The cold qi collided with one of the wind walls, and frost spread, freezing the wall solid before it shattered into countless ice fragments.

"Qingyu, hurry and go!" Lvluo urged.

Zuoqiu Qingyu's spirits lifted. She maximized her speed, pulling Lvluo as they rapidly fled.

"Oh?"

Tong He watched in surprise, then his gaze settled on the small blue bird on Lvluo's shoulder. He said, "An exotic species with the Sky-Ice Phoenix bloodline... No wonder those fellows were interested."

"But unfortunately for them... they met me," Tong He said with a faint smile, forming a hand seal with one hand.

Beyond the shattered wind wall, vast Genesis Qi swept forth, transforming into an immense, sky-obscuring azure Genesis Qi hand.

The colossal Genesis Qi hand cast a direct shadow as it heavily swatted down towards Zuoqiu Qingyu and Lvluo.

Within such a vast range, no movement technique, no matter how fast, could evade it.

Seeing this, Lvluo gritted her teeth and formed a hand seal with her small hand. The blue bird on her shoulder transformed into a wisp of blue light and merged into her body. Immediately, icy-blue patterns appeared on her pure and captivating face, and her Genesis Qi surged dramatically.

Lvluo opened her small mouth and blew forcefully.

An icy-blue storm swept forth, seemingly giving birth to an incredibly massive blue giant bird within it. The giant bird, carrying boundless cold qi, roared out and clashed head-on with the descending Genesis Qi hand.

Boom! Boom!

The moment they collided, a violent Genesis Qi shockwave erupted, shattering and collapsing the surrounding mountains.

Lvluo and Zuoqiu Qingyu bore the brunt of the impact; both were sent flying backward, slamming heavily into the mountain wall.

Pfft.

Lvluo spat out a mouthful of blood. The ice patterns on her cheeks vanished, and the bird named Xiao Lan reappeared on her shoulder, its feathers now dull and looking somewhat weak.

"Qingyu, you go quickly, don't worry about me!" Lvluo said, gritting her teeth.

Zuoqiu Qingyu snorted coldly, "Go where? If we're going to die, we'll die together."

Lvluo clasped Zuoqiu Qingyu's hand and said despondently, "Our Cangxuan Heaven is too weak. And with those bastards from the Sacred Palace, they've split our Cangxuan Heaven forces into pieces as soon as they arrived."

Zuoqiu Qingyu also sighed softly. Compared to other heavens, Cangxuan Heaven was indeed too weak. This was evident from the fact that even those at the early Heavenly Sun stage, like themselves, were sent simply to make up numbers. And it was important to remember that before the struggle for the Ancient Origin Heaven began, they were only at the late Divine Dwelling stage, just a step away from the Heavenly Sun stage.

In truth, aside from comparisons with certain monstrous talents, their cultivation speed was already considered top-tier, given that the cultivation conditions in Cangxuan Heaven were far inferior to those in Hunyuan Heaven.

However, due to the emergence of this All-Heavens Great Contest, their respective sects provided them with vast amounts of cultivation resources, which allowed them to seize the opportunity to break through to the Heavenly Sun stage and gain qualifications to enter the Ancient Origin Heaven.

Of course, not everyone received such treatment and fortune. Those who obtained such rewards within each sect were few and far between, which highlighted the talent of Zuoqiu Qingyu, Lvluo, and others among their peers.

But alas, no matter how great the talent, without sufficient cultivation resources to support it, it's like a clever cook without rice. The Hunyuan Heaven forces they faced didn't necessarily have better talent than them, but looking around, one rarely saw anyone at the early Heavenly Sun stage.

Lvluo looked up at the colossal Genesis Qi hand descending from the void and said, "It looks like we're both going to die here. How pathetic."

Zuoqiu Qingyu put her arm around Lvluo's shoulder, gently comforting her.

Lvluo hugged the small blue bird and suddenly said, "Do you think if that guy Zhou Yuan were here, Cangxuan Heaven wouldn't be so miserable in this Ancient Origin Heaven?"

Zuoqiu Qingyu froze, recalling the young man she hadn't seen in years. Back in Cangxuan Heaven, after Zhou Yuan caused such an earth-shattering commotion, he vanished without a trace. There were even rumors that he had already died...

If that guy were truly leading Cangxuan Heaven, surely things would be different, wouldn't they?

"What's the use of talking about that now? We don't even know if he's alive or dead," Zuoqiu Qingyu said, her eyes dimming slightly.

"And Yaoyao, I haven't seen her in years either. I wonder how she's doing," Lvluo pouted. At this point, she had given up struggling, as the power gap between them was simply too vast.

The white-haired man's strength was absolutely top-tier even among the Heavenly Sun stage cultivators in their Cangxuan Heaven.

In their current desperate situation, they couldn't help but miss their two long-lost friends.

The two women huddled together as the colossal Genesis Qi hand, imbued with terrifying power, pressed down from above, cracking the earth.

"Eh?"

Just as they were awaiting death, Lvluo's eyes suddenly widened. She saw white filaments abruptly appearing above their heads, spreading at an astonishing speed until they formed a giant white spider web.

"What is that?" Zuoqiu Qingyu also asked, somewhat astonished.

Just as they were bewildered, the colossal Genesis Qi hand slammed violently onto the white net. At that instant, a terrifying Genesis Qi shockwave raged outwards.

But to Zuoqiu Qingyu and Lvluo's astonishment, the seemingly fragile spider web somehow withstood the colossal Genesis Qi hand's attack. When the Genesis Qi storm dissipated, the white net remained firmly suspended above them, protecting them beneath it.

In the sky, Tong He, riding the giant crane, subtly narrowed his eyes.

Immediately, his gaze, along with Zuoqiu Qingyu's and Lvluo's, fixed on the center of the spider web.

There, a shadow rippled, and a slender figure slowly materialized into view.

Concurrently, a laugh rang out.

"Captain Tong He, these are my friends. I hope you'll do me a small favor and hold back your hand."

The instant this voice sounded, an unmistakable look of shock appeared on Zuoqiu Qingyu's and Lvluo's beautiful faces, and they exclaimed in unison.

"Zhou Yuan?!"