Chapter 335: Who Will Come?

None of the three could afford to hold nothing back, risking their own weakness or even exhaustion, because once the fight ended, retaliation and ambushes from “companions” would be foreseeable……

The Nine Sects of Evil have never been a unified organization; their mutual hatred is no small matter. While they may join forces for mutual benefit, it is not uncommon for them to turn their backs on each other once the task is completed, and those from the Left Path are no different……

They would not risk their lives in this endeavor. With “companions” present and the possibility of reinforcements arriving later, it was only natural to fight more conservatively. Thus, they would not strongly counterattack his assaults, mainly trying to wear down his strength while seeking opportunities to wound him……

However, if they faced a deadly and unavoidable attack, their years of martial cultivation and battlefield experience were no illusions. When the time came, they could still fight with their lives……

As he stepped forward and roared, these “terms and conditions” flashed through Meng Qi’s mind one by one, as if they could help predict his opponents’ actions and guide his own combat strategy.

He had to strike the right balance—not pressuring any one opponent into a desperate situation where they had no choice but to fight for survival unless he was certain he could kill them within one or two decisive strikes. Yet, he could not afford to harbor thoughts of escape or defense, frequently evading and lacking the ferocity needed to push his enemies into a tight corner, allowing them to calmly counter and gradually wear him down, accumulating minor injuries into serious ones or simply prolonging the battle.

This was precisely the understanding Meng Qi had already grasped when launching his attacks!

Whether he could seize the chance to survive amidst the encirclement and assassination by three masters depended entirely on strictly adhering to this balance.

When masters contend, the battle of minds takes precedence!

The mindsets of Flame Humanoid Demon, Qing Sanren, and Luo Hun Xiao seemed to clearly emerge in Meng Qi’s mind……

As his long blade rose, Meng Qi channeled his Qi to its fullest, secretly employing the Illusory Demon Steps. His body moved with the blade’s momentum, seemingly shrinking the distance like teleportation, instantly closing the gap between himself and Flame Humanoid Demon.

At that moment, a mournful and lingering Xiao melody arose, stirring unease deep within the heart. This sensual and decadent sound made Meng Qi feel increasingly agitated, as though his body was wrapped in invisible bindings, slowing his movements.

Qing Sanren, known as the “Shadow-Cold Palm Phantom,” floated through the air as if gliding just above the ground, keeping pace with Meng Qi’s full-speed advance. His martial arts skills were truly extraordinary, nearly arriving before Meng Qi himself.

He raised his right hand, and white mist gathered around him, condensing into ice crystals. With a single palm strike, he aimed directly at Meng Qi’s back.

Snowflakes danced, and his Qi manifested as white icy serpents, surging forth with overwhelming force, enveloping Meng Qi from all possible escape angles. The chilling cold was astonishingly powerful.

Without unleashing his ultimate techniques, this palm strike alone was nearly as powerful as a full-strength attack from Jiang Hengchuan. Though his power had greatly diminished, his cultivation level remained formidable!

Even before the palm strike reached him, the coldness had already begun seeping into Meng Qi’s body, his blood circulation slowing slightly, his movements becoming heavier.

Sure enough, they hadn’t used their ultimate moves directly……Meng Qi’s mind remained calm, undisturbed by the slightest ripple. Ignoring Qing Sanren behind him, he fully activated the Eight-Nine Mystical Art and Golden Bell Armor. His body radiated a dark golden glow, his muscles bulging, stretching his clothes tight, as if dragging a thousand-pound cart. Without hesitation, he slashed directly at Flame Humanoid Demon.

As Meng Qi closed the distance with his “shrinking the land” technique, Flame Humanoid Demon had already swung his blood-red thin blade. If he had hesitated even slightly due to the Xiao’s binding and slowing effects, he would have been laughed out of the martial world!

The thin blade vibrated rapidly, its searing heat mingling with the air currents, suddenly erupting into crimson flames. His Qi took physical form, and if Meng Qi were struck, the “flame Qi” would burn through his meridians.

His sword stroke was strangely unnatural, unlike any conventional technique, filled with an awkwardness that seemed to border on the formless realm, as if it had been launched by a true demonic master—truly terrifying.

Yet Meng Qi, still bound by the lingering effects of the Xiao melody, ignored Qing Sanren’s palm strike from behind. With reckless abandon, his blade shifted direction, the air turning hazy as it transformed into a dazzling display of the mortal world.

From the very beginning, Meng Qi had unleashed an Outer Manifestation killing move without holding anything back, appearing as if he were truly fighting for his life!

Although the effects of the Xiao melody prevented this slash from reaching its full potential, Flame Humanoid Demon was no Jiang Hengchuan. Unable to withstand Meng Qi’s attack purely through his cultivation level, his Flame Demon Blade slowed drastically, its force becoming as gentle as a mother’s caress.

His expression was filled with wild passion, visions of power, beauty, gold, secret manuals, treasures, and land flooding his mind. He pulled back his thin blade, as if attempting to embrace all these desires.

Wu! The Xiao melody twisted into a complex trill, striking directly into Flame Humanoid Demon’s heart. Against Meng Qi’s A-nan Breaking Precept Blade Technique, they had already prepared.

The Heaven’s Scar blade pierced through his protective Qi barrier. With his own control and the Xiao’s assistance, Flame Humanoid Demon regained clarity. His thin blade trembled, slicing diagonally forward, transforming into a flame dragon that collided head-on with Heaven’s Scar.

Clang! Meng Qi did not hide the Heaven’s Scar’s nature as a treasure weapon. With a single strike, he severed Flame Humanoid Demon’s Qi energy attached to his blade.

At the same time, Qing Sanren’s icy palm strike had already struck Meng Qi’s back.

Without attempting to block, Meng Qi thrust his left sword forward. The blade’s light was pure and brilliant, brimming with deathly aura—Yanluo’s Edict, a technique he hadn’t used in a long time.

Puh! Meng Qi spat out a mouthful of dark green blood. His back’s clothing tore, the golden glow cracked, yet his sword strike grew even faster.

Forward only, no retreat!

Using the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, Golden Bell Armor, and Deathless Seal Art, he endured Qing Sanren’s non-lethal palm strike, holding back his nearly frozen meridians. He channeled part of the incoming force into his sword strike, creating a terrifying effect.

Just having barely blocked Meng Qi’s “Falling into the Mortal World” technique, Flame Humanoid Demon gritted his teeth and swung his thin blade back in defense against the life-or-death strike.

Suddenly, the surrounding space brightened, tinged with a dark red glow, as if a pile of firewood had ignited around Flame Humanoid Demon.

Heaven-Man Resonance!

The thin blade carved a blazing trail, sending waves of flame surging forward like tangible fire, blocking Meng Qi’s strike.

Clang! Clang! Clang! After a series of rapid blade and sword collisions, Flame Humanoid Demon seized the opportunity to retreat, unwilling to fight to the death with Meng Qi, who resembled a frenzied tiger. As long as he blocked Meng Qi’s escape route, it would suffice.

He had already used an Outer Manifestation killing move in that last exchange, which had barely saved him. Thus, he had no intention of using another ultimate technique, which would drain his spirit and deplete his Qi.

Despite his superior cultivation level, without techniques like the Phantom Transformation Art, Deathless Seal Art, or Heaven-Shaking Earth-Shattering Art to cultivate his spirit, he could only maintain about three Outer Manifestation techniques at most.

Therefore, even though he knew that if he pressed forward aggressively, countering Meng Qi’s Outer Manifestation move with his own, Qing Sanren might seize the chance to kill the “Crazy Blade,” he had no intention of doing so. That would drain him completely, and if he wasn’t careful, Meng Qi’s final, nearly Outer Manifestation-level deathblow might drag him down with it!

Moreover, it was best to avoid techniques that drained one’s essence and blood—they were extremely difficult to recover from. Thus, using another Outer Manifestation move would be his absolute limit.

As Qing Sanren’s palm struck, Meng Qi used the injury to propel himself forward, forcing Flame Humanoid Demon to retreat. Then, using the rebound force from the blade-sword collision, his body twisted like a phantom, turning to face Qing Sanren, who was rushing forward like smoke and shadow.

Wu!

The Xiao melody suddenly sharpened, and Meng Qi’s soul trembled as if pierced by invisible arrows. If not for the previous Spirit Calming and Toxin Removing Pill’s effects, he might have already fainted, leaving him vulnerable to another palm strike from Qing Sanren.

Gritting his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his eyes, he endured the damage to his spirit and the slight dizziness. Gripping his blade even tighter, he swung his long sword downward, absorbing all surrounding air currents and vitality, making the void seem to shrink, as if the entire world contained only this single slash.

The slash was overwhelmingly dominant, fierce and unstoppable. Qing Sanren dared not be careless. His figure flickered, and he crossed his palms, unleashing freezing cold Qi, as if attempting to freeze Heaven’s Scar in place.

He still possessed the power of a half-step Outer Manifestation cultivator, allowing him to faintly sense Meng Qi’s Qi flow, so he dared not underestimate this slash.

Puh!

The terrifying palm strike hit Heaven’s Scar, but it felt insubstantial, like striking rotten wood.

How was this possible?

His Qi flow was an illusion?

Qing Sanren was stunned. Suddenly, the Heaven’s Scar he had unleashed surged upward like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, soaring to great heights. In the blink of an eye, it slashed nine times in rapid succession, the air currents overlapping like layers of thunder splitting the clear sky. Yet, the target wasn’t Qing Sanren—it was “Soul-Falling Laughter” Lin Biyu at the entrance of the mountain shrine!

Meng Qi had not yet employed his Purple Thunder energy, but with the sword technique “Thunder Roars Across the Nine Heavens,” he directly unleashed Heaven’s Scar. Silver-white lightning crackled and swirled, coalescing into a dragon-like blade aura that tore through the void from a distance, reaching Lin Biyu in an instant.

Crack! Crack! Crack! The thunderous sound echoed continuously. The ground turned scorched black, and several green pines beside the mountain path snapped cleanly with a crisp sound, their cleanly cut surfaces releasing drifting pine needles wrapped in tiny arcs of electricity.

Sensing the blade Qi, a deep crack formed in the mud, and the lightning dragon surged toward Lin Biyu, locking onto her tightly, making escape impossible.

Meng Qi, riding the momentum, followed closely behind the blade Qi, as if determined to kill Lin Biyu.

His forward trajectory was strange, curving closer to Flame Humanoid Demon rather than Qing Sanren, almost circling around.

Lin Biyu had not expected the Crazy Blade to break free under such constraints and attack her. Skilled in sound-based techniques and poison, she had no effective counter against this pure-force lightning blade Qi. She activated her footwork, but could not escape. In an instant, she was cornered.

Wu!

The sound emitted from the holes of the jade Xiao directly formed a wall of air currents in front of Lin Biyu, vibrating the blade Qi’s structure, making it waver.

Pah!

The lightning dragon sliced through the air wall.

Lin Biyu’s face turned pale. Seizing this brief respite, she spat out a mouthful of essence blood, staining the Xiao’s tube red.

She blew seven short notes in rapid succession, as if merging into one. The emitted Qi took form—a crimson phoenix-like bird, resembling a Bifang, lunging toward the blade Qi.

Boom!

The blade Qi exploded, the crimson phoenix dissipated, and the remaining lightning sparks crackled, striking Lin Biyu directly. Her protective Qi barrier shattered, and parts of her body were scorched black, entering a brief state of paralysis.

“Damn it!” Seeing Meng Qi charging toward the helpless Lin Biyu, Qing Sanren roared in anger, unleashing his ultimate technique. Both palms struck simultaneously, and the surrounding coldness intensified, snowflakes swirling into the air, and puddles of mud instantly freezing.

Two palm strikes each transformed into ice serpents, snapping toward Meng Qi’s neck. He, too, had unleashed his ultimate move, determined to stop Meng Qi from killing Lin Biyu.

Meanwhile, Flame Humanoid Demon, having retreated first, was the first to counterattack. His thin blade slashed downward, vibrating at high speed, friction igniting the air, and the released blade Qi transformed into a fire dragon, aiming at Meng Qi’s back.

Instinctively, he chose a non-Outer Manifestation move, reasoning that it was only meant to delay Meng Qi—after all, Qing Sanren was still there!

Indeed, he was unwilling to use another Outer Manifestation move……Suddenly, Meng Qi changed direction, abandoning his pursuit of Lin Biyu and deliberately throwing himself into Flame Humanoid Demon’s blade Qi.

Hua! A deep wound tore open his right side, nearly exposing his flesh and bones, the golden glow dimming further.

Activating the Deathless Seal Art, Meng Qi used the blade Qi to redirect himself again, like a great roc spreading its wings, dodging Qing Sanren’s two ice serpents in half a breath and arriving directly before Lin Biyu.

A flash of swordlight, and Meng Qi lunged forward again, hiding behind a pillar of the mountain shrine.

Crack! The pillar shattered under the furious attacks of Qing Sanren and Flame Humanoid Demon.

Lin Biyu’s forehead bled, her eyes frozen in disbelief and unwillingness, her legs giving way as she slowly collapsed.

From the very beginning, Meng Qi had decided to eliminate the Luo Hun Xiao first, the one capable of long-range attacks and control. Otherwise, he would be restricted, unable to escape or fight back, leading to certain death!

Meng Qi wielded sword and blade, his clothes torn, muscles bulging, the golden glow darkening. Wounds marred his body, blood flowing, blood trickling from the corner of his eyes. Roaring, he declared:

“The first to accompany me in death!”

“At my current state, if you want to kill me, someone must die with me!”

He stepped forward, his aura overwhelming, his presence fierce and unrestrained, his voice like rolling thunder:

“Who’s next?”