“Ye San” raised his right palm once more, with azure lightning swirling in his palm, and several streaks of electric light directly struck toward Tang Ren.
Tang Ren had seen this technique of his before. As soon as Ye San raised his hand, he slashed the Canglan blade in an arc, forming a perfect defense around himself.
Crackling sounds filled the air as the electric light was drawn toward the blade, sparks flying in all directions, only to be swallowed by a deep black light resembling water.
Tang Ren managed to block the palm lightning, but nearly got pierced by the swordsman’s sudden accelerated strike of Zi Shang. Had the swordsman not been mentally controlled, his movements stiff and his sword techniques barely reaching half their usual strength, Tang Ren might have met his end right there.
Tang Ren vertically cleaved downward, striking the spine of Zi Shang. Influenced by Ye San, his body felt increasingly heavy, making it difficult to display the subtlety of his blade techniques. He was forced to rely on a style he wasn’t particularly skilled in—powerful and blunt.
Under the combined assault of Ye San and the swordsman, Tang Ren quickly became precarious. Although he could still unleash Canglan once more, the swordsman also had the ability to use Zi Shang one more time. If they canceled each other out, Ye San, with his mysterious martial arts, would still be there. Tang Ren, already exhausted, knew he wouldn’t come out on top.
If Tang Ren were killed or severely wounded, even if he managed to take down the swordsman, Meng Qi would face an immense crisis. Ye San was unlike other experts; his martial arts were bizarre, excelling at long-range attacks and drawing power from the forces of nature. This made it impossible for Meng Qi’s Deathless Seal Art to borrow energy and transform death into life fully. Relying solely on the Golden Bell Shield wouldn’t last long either. Even if he wanted to escape, how could his Wind God Legs outrun thunder or the moonlight?
Meng Qi, fully aware of the battlefield situation, altered his Evil Tribulation from a thrust to a chop, unleashing a ferocious and overwhelming slash toward An Shi.
An Shi was known for her agility and assassination skills. The Blue Snow Divine Needle killed instantly upon contact. Facing Meng Qi’s thunderous strike, she gracefully evaded like a figure dancing on water, her movements exuding an innate seductive charm. She maneuvered to Meng Qi’s side and stabbed downward with a pair of blue, venomous needles.
Moonlight poured in, creating a trail of needle shadows that became indistinct and elusive.
Without turning his head, Meng Qi strode forward like a war chariot, charging toward “Ye San.”
At the same time, Xie Jie circled back, its blade light resembling moonlight rippling on the river, ever-changing, as if emerging from An Shi’s very thoughts, shifting with her thoughts.
Both of them demonstrated the pinnacle of technical intricacy, yet Meng Qi’s “Evil Tribulation” always appeared to anticipate An Shi’s shifts in advance, adapting seamlessly. The blade, spine, and hilt whirled and maneuvered, intercepting the azure venomous needles.
The clash between Xie Jie and An Shi’s Blue Snow Divine Needle rang out over a dozen times in rapid succession, filling the air with a series of crisp, melodious clangs.
In a contest of blade against needle, Meng Qi’s superior strength and abundant vitality caused An Shi’s palms to go numb. Forced to abandon her offense, she activated her footwork to retreat and recover.
“Die!” Meng Qi roared.
Though An Shi had prepared herself, her feet still faltered slightly. Already pushed away by Meng Qi’s aggressive style, she could only watch helplessly as he charged violently toward Ye San. The exposed skin on his back turned bronze-colored, sweat flowing as two deep palm prints stood out on his bulging muscles.
Taking a deep breath, An Shi lightly stepped forward, chasing after him in a flash.
Meng Qi’s plan was to take advantage of An Shi’s weakness in direct combat, using sheer force to break free from her entanglement. He slashed toward Ye San, preventing him from assisting the swordsman in killing Tang Ren.
If they could hold out for just a breath or two, Tang Ren could easily slay the dazed swordsman before he had a chance to unleash Zi Shang again!
Ye San opened his vertical eye between his brows, revealing an eerie green glow. Shielded by his techniques, his spirit and body remained unharmed by the Thunderous Words. As he saw Meng Qi charging toward him, he forcefully pressed down with his left palm.
Meng Qi’s body immediately felt heavier, his momentum slowing. He sensed the surrounding air transforming into countless shackles binding him.
However, Meng Qi practiced the Golden Bell Shield and the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, his strength even surpassing Tang Ren’s. His muscles bulged, and with a sudden burst of force, a series of crisp sounds erupted around him, as if releasing cupping jars.
Shaking off his restraints, he moved as freely as a fish in water. Xie Jie transformed into a magnificent azure lightning bolt, crackling with electricity as it surged forward, paying no heed to An Shi behind him.
Ye San had intended to attack Tang Ren again, but seeing Meng Qi violently snapping the “shackles,” he had no choice but to sidestep and throw a punch, black flames igniting.
His right arm rapidly swelled, doubling in thickness. Though the punch appeared slow and heavy, it struck precisely at Meng Qi’s Evil Tribulation without the slightest deviation.
Bang!
Lightning flashed, shattering the dark flames. Meng Qi felt an overwhelming force surge through him—Ye San’s power was actually stronger than his own full-force strike!
Activating the Deathless Seal Art, Meng Qi used the force to propel himself away, then turned and slashed back, displaying overwhelming might, forcing An Shi to retreat once more.
“This is the power of a god!” “Ye San” said solemnly, his forehead glowing green.
Suddenly, the Shangshui outside surged into towering waves, reaching ten zhang high, crashing toward the courtyard.
The water surged violently, its clarity quickly turning dark and emitting a foul stench, making everyone feel nauseated.
Meng Qi did not dare to delay. The Evil Tribulation whirled around him, unleashing a tempest of lightning to forge an impenetrable barrier.
Without Ye San’s interference, Tang Ren had already gained the upper hand. Just as he was about to kill the swordsman, the black waves disrupted his movements. He had no choice but to vertically cleave Canglan, blocking the wave. The blade light flashed like a white horse passing through a gap, splitting the black wave in two as it flowed past Tang Ren on both sides.
At this moment, Meng Qi feared most that the swordsman, disregarding his own safety, would hide within the waves and unleash Zi Shang. That would force Tang Ren to block with Canglan again, leaving him unable to fight afterward, leaving Meng Qi alone to face Ye San and An Shi.
In that situation, even if Tang Ren threw Canglan to him, as a fake Tang Er, Meng Qi would still need time to communicate with and subdue the family treasure, not to mention the immense mental exhaustion from using “Break Purity.” Although his internal energy and true qi could remain at peak levels through the Deathless Seal Art, his spirit couldn’t. He would have to rely on the Sacrifice Technique—using a treasure weapon consumed far more spiritual energy than using Thunder Mark, as it required directly connecting with the heavens and earth, manifesting natural might without relying on the environment.
Moreover, whether Ye San and An Shi had coordinated in advance regarding Zi Shang was unknown. Even if reviving consumed much of Ye San’s energy, with An Shi’s assistance, they could still use Zi Shang to block Meng Qi’s Canglan. Then, the relatively unscathed Ye San could face Meng Qi and Tang Ren, who were both mentally exhausted, and the outcome was obvious.
Lightning coiled around him, the blade’s gleam like a silken ribbon, as the black waves dispersed around Meng Qi, flowing past him.
As he contemplated whether to escape with Tang Ren during the brief chaos caused by the waves, rallying reinforcements, or continue fighting and wait for Qi Zhengyan’s arrival, a sudden realization struck him—he could no longer sense Ye San, An Shi, the swordsman, or Chen Xiang!
—Meng Qi had delivered Tang Shu’s body to the Huanhua Rice Shop not only to alleviate the conflict between the Tang Sect and the Huanhua Sword Sect but also to notify Qi Zhengyan that the situation was intensifying, indicating the imminent emergence of the mastermind behind the scenes. He had instructed Qi to maintain close surveillance, while he and Tang Ren acted overtly, ensuring Qi would not overlook any critical developments.
The water calmed, returning to tranquility, with moonlight unchanged, pouring down as it had for millennia.
Inside the courtyard, the tall man’s corpse was battered and corroded into a pool of blood and mud. Only Meng Qi and Tang Ren remained.
They fled! They actually fled after such a mighty assault!
Just now, the mighty attack by “Ye San” and his group had actually ended with them fleeing!
Meng Qi was momentarily stunned but quickly grasped the situation. The swordsman had been forcibly controlled, which was why he had directly confronted Tang Ren. Otherwise, how could the Ye family act so recklessly, determined to ally with the evil cultists?
However, there was a limit to mental control—no matter how you controlled someone, you couldn’t make them do something akin to suicide unless they already had suicidal tendencies. The instinct to survive would cause their primordial spirit to erupt, breaking free from control!
(Note: “元神” is translated as “primordial spirit” here, which is a common rendering in Taoist and cultivation contexts. If this term appears in a different context, alternative translations like “original spirit” or “divine soul” might be more appropriate.)
Thus, if the swordsman were to activate Zi Shang a second time in quick succession, his vital energy and stamina would be entirely depleted. To a martial artist’s instincts, this would be tantamount to suicide.
In other words, Ye San couldn’t directly compel the swordsman to do so. He could only wait until the swordsman faced a life-or-death crisis or, under the influence of Canglan’s imposing aura, spontaneously activate Zi Shang. However, both An Shi and Ye San were weak in direct combat, their formations disrupted by Meng Qi’s domineering style, making it difficult for them to weaken Tang Ren. Tang Ren had already somewhat mastered his External Scenery sword techniques, making it unlikely he would give the swordsman an opportunity to unleash Zi Shang.
Given the disturbance they had already stirred up, if the battle had dragged on, experts from the Six Gates and other factions would have arrived. In full view of the public, they would undoubtedly opt to eliminate the cultists.
Therefore, Ye San used offense as defense, seizing the advantage before immediately fleeing.
“What decisiveness… not hesitating at all…” Even as an enemy, Meng Qi couldn’t help but admire.
He turned to Tang Ren and said, “Grandpa Ren, we must hurry to the Six Gates and request the activation of the city’s protective barrier to seal off the escape routes of the cultists.”
Having fought to this extent, how could he not realize that the “Ye San” on the opposing side was cultivating the Evil God!
Such a thing was deeply hated by the Six Gates and the aristocratic families, who would eliminate it at all costs.
Of course, the city wasn’t large, and the protective formation wasn’t strong. Meng Qi himself could break through it. However, doing so would expose their movements, leading to pursuit by the Six Gates and aristocratic families.
“We must also notify the families to kill the maid sent by Ye San!” Tang Ren gritted his teeth. Earlier, he had been locked in a battle between Canglan and Zi Shang, unable to focus on Meng Qi’s fight, and due to the urgency of the situation, he hadn’t suspected anything at the time.
“Agreed!” Meng Qi had no objections, as this would prevent Ye San from resurrecting.
Based on Jiang Zhiwei’s account, Meng Qi learned that during the activation period, those cultivating the Evil God needed to stay within three li of the furnace vessel’s body to resurrect, and could do so up to three times in a short span. Otherwise, their Yin spirit would dissipate.
…
“Qian Mian, let’s go. Whether Tang Er is real or fake, with the emergence of the Evil God’s cultivation, the Six Gates will undoubtedly see you as their primary threat. Our original plan is no longer viable,” An Shi said gravely near the Ye residence.
After the battle, she was roughly certain that Tang Er was fake.
Ye San’s face darkened as he said, “Damn it! I was counting on Prince Zhou’s conflict with the Huanhua Sword Sect to destroy the city and severely wound the four families, using their blood for a ritual to help the Evil God break through its bottleneck and ascend to the realm of true deities…”
His plan had two purposes: one was his sect’s mission, to incite chaos and increase hatred between the sects and aristocratic families; the other was to create conditions for his own breakthrough.
“The conflict won’t happen now,” An Shi sighed. “Let’s go, leave the city as soon as possible.”
Ye San shook his head. “You go first, take Chen Xiang with you. I’ll return to the Ye residence myself.”
“After preparing for so long, I’m not willing to leave like this. Even if I can’t perform the blood ritual on the four families, I’m still confident about the Ye family. As long as the Evil God breaks through, I can abandon this body. With a changed appearance, who could possibly find me?”
“Be careful of the court’s wrath and the aristocratic families’ anger. They might summon diviners and trackers,” An Shi was somewhat against it, not out of camaraderie, but out of fear of being implicated herself!
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