Chapter 635: Got It

Only a short while after Guo Hongyao pursued him, Guo Hongkang was already anxiously waiting where he was. His previously somewhat settled mood became flustered. He flew a mile or two north but, fearing a trap, dared not proceed further.

"Perhaps Li Xijun has backup, and Guo Hongyao is merely showing her ferocity towards him. But if she ran into Li Qinghong, who cultivates lightning techniques, how could she be a match for her?"

He believed Guo Hongyao's life was at least not in danger. Although Guo Shentong had disappeared long ago and the East and West islands of Scarlet Reef were seemingly united but internally divided, diminishing the status of Guo Hongyao's branch considerably, she was still of the direct lineage and surely possessed numerous life-saving artifacts.

"Just a little longer... If there's no news from her in half an hour... she likely used some talisman to escape on her own. I have valuable treasures with me, so I can't just wait here idly."

Guo Hongkang waited quietly, one hand resting on his spiritual sword. With eyes closed, his other hand glowed red. He pressed two fingers together on his glabella, the Ascending Yang Palace, using a spell to extend his spiritual perception to its limit, but still observed nothing.

He had no choice but to give up. Opening his eyes, he vaguely saw a reddish-gray light in the distance, clearly the color of Blending Fire. He was inwardly startled and quickly clutched the talisman Guo Hongjian had given him in his hand, musing:

"It's only been a short while, and that woman has already used some talisman... Li Xijun is merely in the early Foundation Establishment stage; his sword energy is barely noticeable, not yet formidable. Either he's hiding his true strength, or he has backup."

Guo Hongkang immediately made his judgment and quietly retreated. His original plan of waiting half an hour was instantly abandoned.

"I'll wait for her for another quarter of an hour!"

Guo Hongkang was one of the top figures among the collateral branches. He had secretly practiced many spells and had a bright future, yet he still couldn't afford to offend Guo Hongyao, fearing that woman would go mad.

"If it weren't for this, I wouldn't care if that woman lived or died!"

He waited anxiously for a few breaths, finally seeing a faltering streak of light flying from afar. The spiritual light was too dim to discern clearly, vaguely accompanied by white mist.

"Hmm?"

Guo Hongkang squinted, seeing the person fall headfirst onto the shore. The protective spiritual energy around her dissipated, revealing a pale but delicate face. Who else could it be but Guo Hongyao?

The fire token lay dimly lit, stuck upright in the ground nearby. The woman was covered in blood, and her magical robe was also dull and lusterless. Grayish-red and crimson stains mingled, making her exceptionally conspicuous on the island.

"Serves her right!"

Guo Hongkang felt pleased. He immediately recalled the vague reddish-gray light in the distance and chuckled inwardly:

"This idiot suffered a great loss, using up all her trump card talismans just to block them... She fled all the way here. If I weren't here, you wouldn't even save your life!"

He moved with the wind, still curious.

"I wonder what that white light was... Perhaps it was the escape aura of some top-tier escape treasure."

Guo Hongkang slowly descended. On the island shore, Guo Hongyao continuously took several pills, and her complexion immediately eased. Guo Hongkang approached a few steps and saw a gleaming, cold sword lying beneath her clothes, still dripping with blood. He understood that Li Xijun had been killed by her and, while sighing, congratulated her:

"Congratulations, my lady, for personally slaying your enemy."

The Guo Hongyao before him seemed gravely wounded, already breathless, and said painfully:

"Come here!"

Guo Hongkang jolted at her shout and quickly stepped forward. He saw Guo Hongyao prop herself up by her waist. Her slender hand picked up the long sword, as clean as white frost, and an uncontrollable look of pain appeared on her face as she scolded:

"Why aren't you taking it?!"

Guo Hongkang was inwardly scornful but outwardly respectful. He hastily extended a hand to grip the scabbard's spine, but found his hand sinking. He looked up in a daze.

It turned out Guo Hongyao was still holding the hilt, not letting go. Her slender hand gripped the long hilt as naturally as if she had handled a sword a thousand times, her tender white fingers clearly defined, even conveying a sense of grace.

At that instant, Guo Hongkang's gaze swept past her hand and landed on Guo Hongyao's face.

Her expression was as cold as ice, and her eyes held a chilling intensity.

Guo Hongyao's face was beautiful. Now, the foolish and impulsive dissatisfaction that usually lingered on her face had vanished, replaced by an awe-inspiring, inviolable coldness that made one feel as if standing in a blizzard.

This aura, as still as frost and snow, made Guo Hongyao seem unlike herself, but rather like Heavenly Master Tianwan, who was imbued with frost and snow.

*Clang!*

How close was Guo Hongkang to Guo Hongyao, who was actually Li Xijun in disguise? The Hanlin scabbard was in his hand! He only registered everything before his eyes turning white, and a cold glint rising from his neck.

The moment Li Xijun drew his sword, Hanlin's sword light pierced Guo Hongkang's throat, cleanly severing his head with one strike, bringing a flurry of falling snow.

Li Xijun didn't know their relationship, but he understood that Guo Hongyao was unreasonable, and that various attitudes were harder to disguise than reactions to pain—any discrepancies in behavior under intense pain would be understandable.

Guo Hongkang indeed did not suspect anything and followed in Guo Hongyao's footsteps, decapitated by Li Xijun's sword.

"You!"

After all, Guo Hongkang was not Guo Hongyao. The shock in his pupils had just appeared. His first reaction was not to recover from the injury, nor to block the attack, nor even to create distance, but to activate the talisman in his hand.

*Boom!*

A dazzling reddish-gray light rose. The intense Blending Fire in his palm had turned pure black, like a large stone dropped into a lake, splashing fire everywhere. The seawater around the entire island was instantly sucked dry, and Blending Fire swirled, forming a massive empty semicircle on the sea surface.

This Blending Fire talisman exploded right next to both of them. Both were instantly engulfed in Blending Fire. Li Xijun's figure flew backward, leaving a long trail of gray fire.

Guo Hongkang's head had already been severed by Li Xijun. Now, struck by the Blending Fire, his body and head instantly separated and flew in different directions. The head flew in mid-air, eyes burning red, still muttering.

His body, however, quickly halted its movement in the firelight. It calmly formed hand seals to conjure wind, its long robe flapping, deflecting the Blending Fire, then went to chase the head.

Guo Hongkang's decision could not have been more correct. This talisman demonstrated his composure in crisis and his caution. If he hadn't been cautious enough to clasp the talisman in his hand beforehand, how would he have had the chance to interrupt Li Xijun now?

His neck upwards was empty, and the intense terror was not something an ordinary person could withstand, yet he activated it without hesitation and in time. Even if he had lacked one aspect of his quick thinking, by now he would have followed in Guo Hongyao's footsteps and become another soul vanquished by Li Xijun's sword.

Li Xijun swallowed blood and halted his figure in the air. Frost-snow spiritual energy surged from his qi sea to resist the Blending Fire on his body, yet the flames still flickered on him. Everything before his eyes was hazy, making it hard to see clearly.

"My eyes are injured..."

He had taken such a powerful talisman at such close range, yet only his eyes and face were injured, and Blending Fire surged within him rather than being burned to ashes. This was thanks to Guo Hongyao's magical robe on him; though he hadn't refined it, it was a Blending Fire-aligned magical artifact, and its nature could somewhat resist flames.

His spiritual perception was still usable. Li Xijun spat out a mouthful of blood, letting the sky full of blood mist turn into flames and vanish. Under his feet, Ming Shuang was urgently activated, and his long sword reversed, sending out three streaks of light.

Guo Hongkang was the caster and also cultivated Blending Fire himself, so the damage he sustained was, by any measure, lighter than Li Xijun's. He had already caught his head, but the sword qi at his neck was like a thick layer of frost and snow covering his wound, making it difficult for him to reattach.

"Sword qi! Li Xijun!"

Startled, he reached for pills, only to find three streaks of snowy-white sword light already wafting towards him. Li Xijun had already reverted to his original appearance; his eyes were burned grayish-white, and reddish-gray Blending Fire still flowed on his body.

In this brief moment, Guo Hongkang suddenly understood. He needed to stop to heal the wound on his neck, and Li Xijun also needed to regulate his breath and expel the Blending Fire, which was known for being insidious and difficult to deal with. A decisive battle must occur between them within dozens of exchanges!

"Guo Hongyao... how could it be! It was only a short while, and she even had to fly back and forth on the way, yet she died at his hands just like that!"

He now regarded Li Xijun's swordsmanship as top-tier of the Sword Sect's direct lineage. With one hand, he released several talismans to defend. His other hand flowed with Blending Fire, conjuring two gray lights. He formed hand seals to cast a spell, shouting:

"Strike!"

Instantly, two streaks of gray light crossed the sea at extreme speed. Without trying to block the three sword lights, they smashed directly towards Li Xijun, causing several clusters of gray fire to erupt around him.

Li Xijun was completely fearless. A colorful light emerged from his sleeve; the Chongming Mysterious Cavern Screen, which he had hesitated to use earlier for fear of exposing his identity, lit up beside him. A profound golden screen light enveloped him, firmly blocking the gray fire outside.

Scarlet Reef Island was not part of the Jiangnan Daoist lineage, nor were any of the seven from Chongming Hall of the Blending Fire lineage. Therefore, the painting on the screen did not shift. But the Chongming Mysterious Cavern Screen was, after all, an ancient artifact, more than enough to withstand his spell.

On the other side, Li Xijun's sword light also did not try to block the flames; it only went towards Guo Hongkang. Three agile and cunning sword lights danced, shattering the spiritual shield on his body.

"Fortunately!"

Guo Hongkang stared at the sword light with trepidation. Li Xijun was not far from him, and he had also considered the opponent a sword cultivator who could kill Guo Hongyao in a few exchanges. He had originally thought he would be cut in half, person and shield, by one sword. Now he let out a long breath, delighted rather than surprised, and thought to himself:

"It must be the burning pain from Blending Fire affecting his swordsmanship!"

Such things were not uncommon; those who cultivated Blending Fire were very familiar with it. Once Blending Fire contaminates something, it damages artifacts and harms lives, becoming more lethal over time. The pain, moreover, was beyond what ordinary people could endure.

"Now there's a chance."

Seeing that his spells could not stop the opponent and allowing Li Xijun to approach, Guo Hongkang, after a long period of concentration, finally summoned a flying needle from his acupoints. It appeared grayish-black, about a finger long, simple and unadorned. Guo Hongkang was overjoyed. He moved his lips and teeth, commanding:

"Go!"

Li Xijun, extremely close to him, suddenly felt a needle-like prick in his Ascending Yang Palace. His face was filled with pain and cold. With a thought, green light flickered on the screen, casting a dark green glow:

"Chongyuan!"

The Chongyuan of the Chongming Mysterious Cavern Screen was a "knock-down" technique, specialized in dealing with flying swords and spiritual lights. It immediately seized a black needle in mid-air, forcing it to stop bit by bit. Li Xijun clearly blocked the black needle, but still spat out a mouthful of blood.

*Pfft!*

Even though the black needle didn't hit, it still agitated the Blending Fire within him, attacking from both inside and out and leaving his insides in a mess. Li Xijun forced himself to stay alert. Ming Shuang Song Ling circulated, casting pain and emotions from his mind. The long sword in his hand glowed inch by inch, and he advanced several steps in a row.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this sword cultivator approaching again, and his highly anticipated artifact proving useless, Guo Hongkang was terrified out of his wits. The flames in his hand did not stop, yet he found a sky full of heavy snow, with feather-like sword qi falling upon his body, as if thousands of steel blades were piercing him, making him let out a miserable howl.

"Autumn Moon Listening Harmony!"

Guo Hongkang felt his ears shattering. The three streaks of sword qi vanished, and waves of coldness surged through his Ascending Yang Palace. How could he have a Foundation Establishment magical robe for protection? His body instantly turned into a mass of mangled flesh, transforming into showers of fire in mid-air.

The black jade box fell down and was seized by Li Xijun in mid-air. His chest was filled with flickering Blending Fire. He simply put the jade box into his embrace and sped away on the wind towards the distance.

Although the Blending Fire was not yet removed and he was temporarily unable to use eye techniques, he had already deduced:

"This place is very close to Xifeng Island; someone is bound to come looking! I must leave quickly!"

***

**Xuanyue Sect.**

On Xuanyue's main peak, Yuexi Peak, clouds and mist lingered, and music echoed. The True Master on the main seat wore plain clothes, his white hair gleaming like jade as it fell. He raised an eyebrow, looked to the side, and smiled:

"Daoist Junjian?"

A man in black sat in the guest seat beside him, frowning slightly. There was a hint of coldness between his delicate eyebrows. He only looked at the clouds and mist on the peak. Prompted by the True Master, he then replied:

"I naturally don't have the Mingyang spiritual item..."

After saying this, he pushed the white jade cup in front of him and raised an eyebrow to look at True Master Changxi, who was in the principal seat. He saw the old True Master gently say:

"Changxiao has been busy cleaning up Chengyan's mess earlier... He's restricted everywhere and won't act casually at this time. Moreover, with True Masters Hengxing and Kuangyu acting together, Changxiao couldn't calculate it; this move is beyond redemption."

Tulong Jian gently shook his head and replied:

"In my humble opinion, it's more complex. Changxiao is a master at manipulating fate; it's too early to draw conclusions now."

The young man slightly raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at Changxi and replied:

"Everyone is happy for this to happen. Scarlet Reef Island also wants the Six Ding Blending Fire Token in my possession. Even True Master Xiao has gone to the North Sea. This matter of passing the buck has finally been pushed to me, insisting that I confront Scarlet Reef Island."

True Master Changxi's white hair gleamed. He said gently:

"That's how it is. Even if you don't want to take a side, they will force you to. If you want to remain aloof, you can only do so alone."

Tulong Jian stood up, quietly looked at the old man in front of him, and said softly:

"Thank you for your guidance, senior. But Scarlet Reef Island made the first move this time. Tianwan either did it on purpose, or her divine abilities were insufficient. Neither side is entirely in the right, so there's no reason for Tulong not to go."

*It's precisely when neither side is entirely in the right that you, Tulong Jian, would go! Otherwise, why would Guo Hongyao have been sent?*

True Master Changxi gave him a deep look and sighed:

"The Li family are shrewd people. Now venturing deep into the East Sea, it might well be that they are relying on your favor. The world is bustling with activity. If a Purple Mansion realm cultivator wielding divine abilities acts purely on emotion and righteousness, they would meet the same fate as Donghua."

Tulong Jian laughed heartily, fiddling with a small golden hammer in his hand, only palm-sized, exquisite and charming. The Grand Void opened before him. He stepped inside, leaving only one sentence:

"As long as my conscience is clear, that's fine."