“Masters, where do you think you’re going?”
The voice was eerie, carrying an endless, bone-chilling cold. A white-clad figure suddenly appeared from the void, abruptly standing before the Empress in verdant imperial robes and the red-haired young girl, cutting off their retreat.
The man was tall and slender, handsome as a painting.
A gentle smile played on his lips, yet there was no warmth in the depths of his eyes—only a chilling coldness pervaded them.
Blood Queen’s cold sweat poured down, her heart instantly sinking to the bottom. How could he be so fast? The [Heaven-Deceiving Stone Plate] had clearly shielded them from the [Heavenly Emperor Spirit-Locking Array]. How on earth had he tracked them down so quickly?
Beside her, Su Bai said nothing. The moment she saw Zhou Xuan, her head lowered slightly, her eyes lost their luster as if her soul had been snatched away.
“Original body, I…” Blood Queen clenched her silver teeth, firmly grasping the Longevity World-Extinguishing Flag. She had just been about to say she would burn her origin to stall him for one or two moves so Su Bai could take the chance to escape.
However, a jade-like hand pushed her aside from behind, leaving behind a simple, “Sorry, I lied to you.” Su Bai stepped forward. Though her cultivation should have been completely sealed, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from her at this moment!
The surrounding scenery began to distort, as if surging waves were rising violently. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth was absorbed by this power, and the entire sky began to turn snowy white.
Witnessing this, Blood Queen’s beautiful eyes widened in shock.
‘Original body… her cultivation has recovered? If it’s recovered, then doesn’t the advantage lie with us in this round?’
Zhou Xuan’s originally indifferent brow furrowed slightly, a hint of doubt and alertness flashing in his eyes. However, after only a moment, he seemed to see through everything. His thin lips parted, spitting out four cold words: “You are not her.”
Su Bai—no, at this moment, she should be called Gong Qianxue—slightly raised her eyes, her gaze falling on Zhou Xuan. Her thoughts involuntarily drifted back to a few minutes ago, to a conversation with Su Bai after she had broken through the barrier with a single sword strike.
“Phew! You’re finally here.”
“Time is tight; we must leave quickly.”
“No, before that, there’s one more thing. Lean in closer.” Su Bai’s expression was grave.
After hearing Su Bai’s plan, Gong Qianxue’s eyebrows knitted slightly. “Do we really have to do this?”
“To deceive heaven and earth, to deceive others and oneself… if one cannot even deceive themselves, how can they hope to blind that wretch!” Su Bai’s face was as calm as water, her words filled with deep emotion and endless sorrow. “I know that wretch too well. He will absolutely leave a tracking mark on Blood Queen. I raised him myself; I know him.”
Gong Qianxue did not hesitate for long before agreeing. “In a moment, I will first entrance my second Nascent Soul, making her believe she is me to go create chaos. Then, I will entrance myself to believe I am you, drawing that wretch’s attention to create an opportunity for you to escape. At the same time, I will leave a back door for myself. When I encounter Zhou Xuan again, I will be able to regain my clarity.”
—
Back to the present.
3,000 strands of black hair turned white, and the verdant imperial robes transformed into moon-white palace attire. Gong Qianxue drew her sword and pointed it directly at Zhou Xuan, her eyes filled with the flames of heartless cold.
All of this seemed long, but in reality, it happened too fast, too suddenly!
In Blood Queen’s eyes, Su Bai had suddenly become Gong Qianxue, suddenly pointed a sword at Zhou Xuan, and her combat power had suddenly surged to a terrifying degree.
Zhou Xuan frowned. “I didn’t expect you to be Master’s clone—an alternative self.”
“The debt of saving my life, the affection of raising me, the providence of achieving the Dao, and the treachery of a rebellious disciple—none shall be forgotten for 10,000 lifetimes!” Gong Qianxue had no intention of reminiscing. She abruptly crushed the [Heaven-Deceiving Stone Plate], the icy flames in her eyes burning wildly. She slowly clenched her right hand into a fist and raised it high above her head, extending only her index finger.
Secret Technique: Heartless Heaven and Earth — Shattered Heart Mirror, Extinguished Affection, Severed Connection, Ended Thought… Sacrificing everything of one’s soul and flesh to seek the great power that transcends reincarnation.
Sword Skill: Heaven and Earth Sunder Together — Break Delusion, Slash Love and Hate, Destroy Obsession, Sever Karma… Discarding all the world’s distractions to forge the edge of the Heartless Heavenly Sword.
After hundreds of years of painstaking research and meditation, she used a heartless mind to stir the desires and the vast red dust of the world. She condensed the sword light of endless emotions and desires, slashing toward Zhou Xuan with a violent descent!!
Sword qi traversed horizontally, appearing as if it would tear this vast world apart. The ring of the sword resounded through the highest heavens!!
Everyone in the Azure Emperor’s Divine Palace heard it clearly, all of them startled by this world-shaking commotion.
“Wretch!!” Gong Qianxue roared. “Have a good taste of this!”
“This sword technique is named—”
“Xuan-Slayer!!”
In an instant, a massive sword shadow that seemed to blot out the sky suddenly fell, hacking down toward Zhou Xuan’s head like Mount Tai, enveloping his entire body.
Zhou Xuan held his spear to block!
“Can you block this strike, fueled by 1,000 years of cultivation?!” Gong Qianxue’s laughter echoed throughout every corner of the Azure Emperor’s Divine Palace!
*Rumble!!*
Terrifying energy waves surged and swept in all directions. The protective restrictions of the entire Azure Emperor’s Divine Palace shook violently, and even the [Heavenly Emperor Spirit-Locking Array] above the firmament was shaken slightly!!
When Blood Queen, who was at the center of the battlefield, recovered from the terrifying aftershocks of the magic power and looked toward Gong Qianxue again, she saw that the flesh and blood had turned to ash. The skeletal remains had collapsed, leaving behind only a set of moon-white palace attire.
Zhou Xuan still stood in place, though his expression flickered slightly. He looked down at the web of his thumb and saw blood dripping down. He raised a hand to wipe it away and smiled calmly. “As expected of Master.”
“I’ll help you!!” Blood Queen held the Longevity World-Extinguishing Flag and suddenly leaped out. Not hesitating to burn her own origin power, she charged straight at Zhou Xuan.
Though she didn’t know what kind of plan Gong Qianxue and Su Bai had reached, it did not stop her determination for revenge in the slightest!
“For those children! Wretch, give me your life!!”
Zhou Xuan’s expression remained calm and composed. He gently waved his white sleeve, and an invisible force instantly enveloped Blood Queen, sending her directly back to the Azure Emperor’s sleeping quarters. At the same time, he applied numerous restrictions, completely isolating the inside from the outside and locking down this piece of heaven and earth.
Then, he arrived at the place where Gong Qianxue had fallen. Behind him, a phantom shadow of a creature with no head or tail, holding a massive object in its mouth, flashed by. In an instant, the dust gathered, condensing into bones, and brand-new flesh grew upon those bones. She was still dressed in the moon-white palace attire, looking every bit the cold, icy fairy she once was.
Gong Qianxue looked slightly dazed, but in the next moment, Zhou Xuan roughly grabbed her long hair and slammed their foreheads together. “You want to die? Did you ask me first?”
The man let go, and a gentle smile immediately surfaced on his face. “I know Master and you ‘clones’ can contact each other. So, pass a message to Master for me—she better run fast. Don’t let me…”
The man’s voice sounded in her ear, bone-chillingly cold and deep, carrying endless frost: “Catch her.”
—
*Phew!*
“I finally escaped.”
100 miles away from the Azure Emperor’s Divine Palace, in a small market, Su Bai, who had blended into a corner of the crowd, held the [Heaven-Deceiving Stone Plate]. Her imperial robes had transformed into simple white clothes as she squeezed toward a secluded corner of a small alleyway.
With hidden weapons and overt schemes intertwined like a net, and conspiracies used as a counting board, she had finally escaped death’s door under layer upon layer of careful planning.
However, now was not the time to celebrate. She had to wait at least until Bai Changsheng and the others arrived in secret to lead her safely away from the Central Province. Only then would she truly be safe.
Thoughts surging like a tide, Su Bai quickened her pace and forced her way into the alley. The narrow passage was dimly lit, but she unexpectedly bumped into someone. Golden light shone, mighty and overbearing, holding a weapon. It was—
“Old Ghost Destiny?”
“Prison Lord?”