Chapter 183: Zhu Huan's Death

The host killed the guest?

Zuoqiu Ting's movement technique was incredibly elusive. With just a blur, he bypassed the chaotic and noisy crowd outside the chamber, burst through a window, and leaped directly from the fourth-story pavilion, landing on the roof tiles and beams, completely disregarding the height of several dozens of yards.

The martial artists gathered by the railings of the North Hall immediately gasped in astonishment.

Although they didn't know what had happened or why Zuoqiu Ting instantly concluded that "something big was about to occur" and was rushing to the scene without hesitation, Li Weiyi and Zuoqiu Baiyuan stood up almost immediately, preparing to flee. They trusted the abilities and wisdom of Zuoqiu Lineage's first successor, knowing he wouldn't be alarmist and must have known more than them.

“Such speed. Could that Second Young Lady really be…” Qi Wangshu's eyes widened like brass bells, his heart restless. He was now certain of the "Second Young Lady's" true identity, which was simply inconceivable. He couldn't begin to guess who Li Weiyi truly was or how she possessed such power.

“It must be the Zuoqiu Lineage's first successor, the one who enjoys disguising himself! In that case, Brother Weiyi, don't leave today. First, lend me something.” Qian Yanzhen, seated directly opposite Li Weiyi, spoke in an unhurried tone, lightly tapping the table. He was still as handsome and as delicate and frail as before, but his eyes were completely different from earlier!

The few people who had already stood up, preparing to depart quickly, felt the air in the entire chamber solidify. All of them stared with shock at the only person still seated at the table: the most handsome man in Zhizhou.

“Brother Yanzhen, what do you mean by this?” Qi Wangshu felt as if he no longer knew him, a chill creeping up his spine and a prickle of unease in his heart.

Under Qian Yanzhen's gaze, Li Weiyi quickly composed his surprise and confusion, secretly channeling the spiritual energy within him: “We're not that close. Why don't you ask Old Qi to lend it to you instead?”

Qi Wangshu's lips trembled: “What exactly do you want to borrow?”

Qian Yanzhen slowly stood up: “This body I currently inhabit is indeed handsome and likable, but its value is too low. Brother Weiyi, if you lend me your body or your human skin, I would be eternally grateful. Killing Zuoqiu Ting, I imagine, would then be an easy task.”

The few people present, none of whom had weak cultivation, were aware of the existence of Ash Spirits. Therefore, as soon as Qian Yanzhen uttered those words, their hair stood on end, and they felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar. The clamor and shouts from outside seemed to fade into the distance.

“No.” Li Weiyi decisively refused, then moved with a cicada-like grace, rushing towards the chamber door.

Bright Moon Seven Star Pavilion was filled with experts. Even the fourth floor alone was home to top-tier masters. As long as he rushed out of the chamber and into the crowd, or burst through a window like Zuoqiu Ting, even if Qian Yanzhen's cultivation was higher, he could only sigh in helplessness.

But the distance of merely a few yards to the great door now seemed like a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers, impossible to cross. As Li Weiyi hurried forward, he clearly saw wisps of spiritual energy flowing across the walls, floor, and ceiling, moving faster than him. They converged towards the doors and windows ahead, intending to weave the entire chamber into a cage.

On the white stone plaza outside the main entrance of Bright Moon Seven Star Pavilion's first floor.

Zhu Huan, the successor of the Scarlet Gate Lineage, in his prime at just over twenty years old, had his body pierced from behind by a two-foot-long bone flute before he could even activate his magnificent spiritual artifact battle robe. The bone flute penetrated from his back through to his chest, accompanied by the sound of exploding lung tissue and spiritual sea. Blood continuously dripped from the flute's holes.

This sudden turn of events caught everyone present off guard. “This is bad! Long Ting killed the Scarlet Gate successor…” This alarmed cry rang out.

Conversely, Zhu Huan, whose body had been pierced, displayed the terrifying power of a successor, letting out a long roar first. The sixth-tier energy within his body surged out from his back like flames, transforming into a dazzling cloud of fire. The shockwave of his spiritual energy and the high temperature of the flames jointly assailed Long Ting, who had ambushed him from behind.

The young martial artists of the Scarlet Gate Lineage roared in unison, drawing their battle weapons and releasing their spiritual energy.

Realizing what had happened, Long Dian glared at Long Ting with an expression of utter shock. Then, his eyes narrowed, his five fingers forming claws, and behind him, a dragon shadow, circling the heavens and coiling around the earth, materialized, its might like an emperor descending to the world.

“Swish!” Long Ting had no chance to launch a second attack. He didn't even have time to retrieve the bone flute before he turned into an afterimage, streaking through the air towards the left side, where there were no martial artists from the Dragon Gate, Thunderclap Sect, or Scarlet Gate Lineage. After a single bound, he flew out of the plaza, shooting directly towards the sea.

Lu Cangsheng roared coldly: “Long Dian, you of the Dragon Gate… you cannot let him escape!”

“Leave it to me.” Long Dian knew full well the suspicion and unpredictable consequences that Long Ting's escape would cause outside. Whether dead or alive, he had to be brought back. Therefore, he immediately commanded his battle-intent manifestation, the dragon shadow, to pursue Long Ting into Bingzu Marsh.

Lu Cangsheng, being suspicious and cautious, was not reassured. He immediately gestured with his eyes, and instantly, seven or eight young experts from the Thunderclap Sect behind him rushed out, transforming into a blur of swift electrical light, hot on the heels of the two dragons.

Lu Cangsheng was about to go comfort the heavily wounded Zhu Huan…

“Rustle, rustle!” A chilling wind assailed him from behind. Countless round yellow paper effigies, carried by the chilling wind, surged out from the main entrance of the first-floor pavilion. The paper effigies were as sharp as blades and flew densely towards Lu Cangsheng. Martial artists closer to Lu Cangsheng couldn't block them even by releasing their spiritual energy, and they cried out in agony. Several immediately fell to the ground, dead.

“I knew it couldn't be just Long Ting!” Lu Cangsheng turned and unleashed a palm strike. His spiritual energy surged like a tide, shattering all the paper effigies into fine powder.

Heavy footsteps and loud laughter burst forth from the first-floor pavilion. The ground shook. A two-meter-tall, bare-chested giant, seemingly cast from bronze, rushed out. The moment he burst through the entrance, he bent his knees and launched himself forward, leaping and powerfully smashing a fist towards Lu Cangsheng.

“Boom!” Fist met palm. Violent energy scattered outwards, forcing all the martial artists present to retreat. Lu Cangsheng took three steps back but immediately stabilized his stance, his gaze remaining incredibly sharp throughout. He suddenly raised his right arm above his head, his five fingers positioned with his thumb and index finger pointing to the sky, and the other three fingers arranged in a staircase pattern.

In an instant, thunder rumbled in the clear sky. Dazzling streaks of lightning moved through the air, continuously flashing past the eaves and pillars of Bright Moon Seven Star Pavilion.

On the other side, Ming Niansheng, after the clash of fist and palm, flew backward. Clouds of ghostly energy appeared on his body, and his two-meter-tall bronze physique rapidly tore apart and expanded, transforming into its original form. His body grew several times in size, twin horns sprouted from his head, and a pair of wings emerged from his back. The yard-long red hair cascading from his head was particularly striking: “Well done, Lu Cangsheng. Allow me to experience your lightning arts properly.”

“Boom! Boom! Boom…” Thirty-six pillars of lightning descended from the sky, forming a circular Thunder Punishment Heavenly Prison that trapped Ming Niansheng's massive body.

It looked up. Strangely, despite being completely suppressed, a smile suddenly appeared in Ming Niansheng's eyes.

Seeing this smile, Lu Cangsheng immediately felt a premonition of disaster. He realized he had fallen for the enemy's feint and was about to search for Zhu Huan.

A piercing, ear-splitting cry of a bird echoed across the plaza. Powerful spiritual energy fluctuations erupted.

“Boom!” Zhu Huan, who was being escorted by a group of Scarlet Gate experts and preparing to withdraw, was struck by a giant claw that had materialized out of thin air. Already heavily wounded, he couldn't resist at all and was directly sent flying, tumbling on the ground, blood gushing from his mouth.

The full form of the giant claw materialized. It was a battle-intent manifestation of a six-colored peacock, towering a hundred meters high, its mental power radiating outwards, suppressing the souls and wills of many young Scarlet Gate martial artists for an instant.

The hundred meters was a phantom image, not the true height of the battle-intent manifestation.

In that instant, the six-colored peacock pinned Zhu Huan to the ground, using both its beak and claws to tear him to shreds. The Scarlet Gate successor's agonizing screams made all the martial artists in the pavilion tremble in horror, like a public execution, utterly arrogant and domineering.

From beginning to end, the Scarlet Gate martial artists never even saw where the enemy's true body was.

Everything happened extremely quickly. Although Zuoqiu Ting had rushed there at his fastest speed, by the time he arrived, Zhu Huan was already irrevocably dead, reduced to a mere skeletal frame.

“Hua Yuzi, since you're so eager to commit murder, don't even think about leaving today!” Zuoqiu Ting wasn't concerned with Zhu Huan's death, but rather with the true intentions of the Far West Ash Region. Whatever they wished to achieve, he absolutely could not let them succeed.

“Whoosh!” He surveyed his surroundings, his five senses greatly enhanced, then took a step forward. Beneath his feet, a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) imprint appeared, spreading out for dozens of yards. Countless ancient and mysterious Daoist characters flew up from the Bagua, forming a brilliant river of text that flowed across the entire plaza. This was a Daoist technique he had specifically cultivated to counter Hua Yuzi, supported by a Bagua spiritual artifact. Zuoqiu Ting had exchanged blows with Hua Yuzi before and knew that this demon not only possessed exceptional cultivation and power, but his concealment techniques and movement speed were also unparalleled among the younger generation. Even if Zhu Huan hadn't been injured, his chances of survival against Hua Yuzi's assassination would have been minuscule.

“Zuoqiu Ting, our target today is not you. There's no need for you to rush towards death.” The voice was vast, warm, and magnetic.

Hua Yuzi's true form was forced to reveal itself by the Bagua imprint and the river of text. His body was ethereal and indistinct. After several swift glides, he gracefully landed on the head of the battle-intent manifestation, the six-colored peacock. Wearing a liquid silver mask, he proudly gazed towards the seventh floor of the Bright Moon Seven Star Pavilion with an air of unparalleled handsomeness.

At this moment, screams echoed from the sea, drawing the attention of countless martial artists in the pavilion.

Without a second thought, Li Weiyi immediately retrieved the Yellow Dragon Sword from his spatial pouch and swung it, breaking through the door. However, to his surprise, the opponent's spiritual energy was immensely profound, and their control over it reached a terrifying level. The spiritual energy, which had been spreading across the walls and ceiling, instantly solidified into a large palm print, pressing down on him head-on.

The enemy's true body was behind, yet the palm print was in front. This was a blatant show of contempt, relying on a cultivation far superior to Li Weiyi's.

Li Weiyi knew all too well the only two advantages he currently possessed. First, the opponent's underestimation of him. Second, the opponent desired his complete human skin, so they would surely hold back in their attack. These two major advantages would only be useful when he launched his first sword strike. Therefore, this first sword strike was critically important.