The long night stretched on, and within his room, Zeluo’s quarters were periodically swept by fierce gusts of wind, eerie green glimmers, howling sandstorms, and ghostly wails that sent chills down one’s spine, evoking an overwhelming sense of evil and strangeness.
It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that these disturbances gradually subsided, allowing Zeluo to enter a deeper state of meditation, restoring both his spiritual essence and physical fatigue.
Meng Qi remained motionless, seemingly having come specifically to observe Zeluo.
A crimson red line appeared on the horizon as the sun slowly rose in the east, filling the air with a refreshing coolness and a moistness distinctly absent outside the oasis.
Meng Qi still hadn’t moved, indistinguishable from the other rats.
A servant brought a copper basin, a towel, and a food box, placing them by the door and waiting for Zeluo to open it himself. This was not the usual household practice, as no one could predict when the master inside might suddenly decide to cultivate, nor when he might finish, making continuous waiting impossible.
Footsteps gradually increased in frequency as the National Preceptor’s Mansion slowly deactivated its formation, leaving it only for vigilance.
The same occurred in the Kingdom of Halle. The city gates opened, and the merchants and travelers entering and exiting brought the beginning of a bustling and lively day.
Meng Qi dared not approach further nor reveal any killing intent. Even though the Eight-Nine technique excelled at concealment, he was still inferior in cultivation. The current distance was his limit; taking a few more steps would surely alert Zeluo!
This was based on “data” he had previously gathered by stealthily approaching Ju Jiuniang. Otherwise, why would he need to act so secretly when meeting Jiuniang? He could have simply visited her openly at night!
Even Ju Jiuniang, who had just crossed the first Heaven Ladder, couldn’t detect him at this distance when he bore no killing intent; Zeluo was no exception!
With a creak, the door opened and Zeluo stepped out. The courtyard instantly emptied of servants, who feared the old man and his disciples. Without explicit orders, they dared not approach, lest they be captured and have their souls extracted and refined at any moment.
Wrapped in a black robe, with short, coarse hair and a full beard, he wore his signature black eye patch, unchanged from the last time Meng Qi had seen him.
Meng Qi’s body’s acupoints subtly stirred as the “Great Sun” and the “Golden Crow” returned to the Ten Thousand Heavens, while “Stars” and “Cosmos” merged into his nine orifices, creating a chaotic and disorderly disturbance that transformed into primordial chaos.
Once chaos emerged, Meng Qi’s aura grew increasingly profound and unfathomable, as if he no longer existed in this world.
At the same time, Meng Qi had already prepared to revert from his transformed state.
With a flick of his right hand, Zeluo drew the food box towards himself, narrowing his eyes as he considered how to team up with his master to ambush Kuang Dao.
Now! Meng Qi resumed his human form and slashed with his long blade, cleaving from within outward, as if splitting the heavens and creating the world!
Zeluo suddenly felt his surroundings darken, followed by a flash of swordlight splitting through the chaos, advancing toward him with unstoppable force and unimaginable speed, like sunlight piercing through a darkened sky!
Who? Zeluo barely had time to react instinctively, raising his left hand to block while drawing his narrow, sinister saber with his right.
Puh!
The chaos was cleaved apart, his left arm severed at the elbow, and Zeluo couldn’t even transform into sand!
What kind of sword technique was this?
It seemed capable of cutting through anything!
Pah! Zeluo’s left hand hit the ground, instantly losing its flesh, its glow merging into his body. Yet the long blade did not halt, already reaching his chest.
That sharpness, that sensation of cleaving through chaos, sent chills down Zeluo’s spine, making him keenly aware of his fragile existence, as if the next moment he would be split in two!
Wu!
Ghostly wails sounded, and eerie green light surrounded Zeluo.
Under the long blade, the light silently split in two but ultimately blocked that unstoppable force of creation!
Pah! A ghostly green stone fell to the ground, breaking into several pieces.
Seizing the opportunity, Zeluo swung his evil saber sideways. It was pitch black, its blade qi like a cold wind, with ghostly faces emerging and biting at dark spirits.
The blade struck the physical body while ghosts devoured the spiritual essence!
As soon as the evil saber swung, Zeluo suddenly felt an intense heat—an unbearable scorching sensation even more terrifying than the desert sands. His entire body seemed to dry out, his breath filled with hot waves scorching his internal organs.
As the heat surged, a crimson streak of fire slashed toward him, like a blazing sun, pure and radiant, melting away the cold wind and purifying the resentful souls.
Cries of anguish filled the air as the blazing sun engulfed the courtyard, burning Zeluo. The attack followed a straightforward yet mysterious trajectory, with apparent “refractions” and “reflections” making it impossible for Zeluo to grasp.
With no choice, Zeluo shifted from a horizontal slash to a chaotic flurry, unleashing a defensive stance covering all directions to block the long sword.
Dang!
Upon impact, the evil saber ignited with bursts of flame, “purifying” the resentful spirits. Zeluo had been struck at a vulnerable spot and had hastily launched his attack without full force, causing him to stagger backward, then lift off the ground, flying briefly.
Meanwhile, the long sword also recoiled, its glow dimming as if partially extinguished by the cold wind and covered in layers of yellow sand.
Taking this chance, Meng Qi dashed forward, raised his long blade, and roared:
“Zeluo!”
His voice rumbled like thunder, with azure lightning surging, shaking the very essence of the soul.
It’s him?
Kuang Dao!
Zeluo could hardly believe his eyes. His mind momentarily faltered, his body shaken by the thunderous voice, his spiritual essence captured.
Meng Qi roared again:
“I’ve come to kill you!”
The long blade descended, embodying emptiness, reality, slowness, and swiftness, manifesting divine punishment. Dark clouds gathered without restraint.
Boom!
Five streaks of azure lightning struck in succession, carrying immense force, purging the evil and raining divine punishment from the heavens!
Across the entire Kingdom of Halle, people witnessed dark clouds gathering over the National Preceptor’s Mansion, with lightning as thick as water buckets striking downward.
General Wusun Qi and King Yanshi sensed the situation, one flying to the command center to activate the formation, and the other soaring into the sky, rushing toward the National Preceptor’s Mansion.
Neither chose to attack from afar, as they couldn’t lock onto the enemy’s aura, which would have devastated the surrounding area of the National Preceptor’s Mansion.
They cherished their own city!
Zeluo’s evil saber slashed upward in a bizarre motion, like a whirlwind’s vortex.
He sensed Meng Qi’s firm killing intent and his willingness to fight to the death. If he could hold on for just two more breaths, reinforcements would arrive, and then it would be Kuang Dao who would face life-threatening danger!
Even now, he still couldn’t figure out why Kuang Dao had suddenly appeared before him!
Didn’t he need to stabilize his cultivation base or practice external techniques?
How, then, could he be confident in killing him?
Could it be that someone who had survived four heavenly tribulations could complete everything in just over twenty days while traveling?
Hu! The sand swirled violently, completely drying out the surrounding buildings and cracking the earth, sending debris into the air.
Boom!
Rolling thunder of azure lightning tore through the sandstorm, completely dispelling the evil presence.
Dang!
The “Heaven’s Wound” struck heavily, deflecting the evil saber’s slash.
Under the bombardment of heavenly lightning, Zeluo’s defenses crumbled. Blood spurted from his seven orifices, but he managed to deflect the opponent’s blade slightly, narrowly avoiding a direct hit.
Zeluo was continuously forced on the defensive, unable to unleash even six out of his ten capabilities. Suddenly, his pupils constricted as he saw Kuang Dao’s back muscles bulge, and two additional arms grew from it!
Two additional arms?
As Zeluo gaped in shock, Meng Qi’s aura surged as if two selves had merged. His newly grown right hand raised high, then struck downward with a palm. Before it, darkness and light clashed, and the surrounding area erupted with cracking sounds. Buildings shattered, and space itself seemed to contract, as if the heavens and earth were collapsing, leaving Zeluo with no means of escape.
With no one else around, Meng Qi unleashed his full power!
“Die!”
As he roared, Zeluo watched the powerful, pristine hand descend toward him while his evil saber remained entangled with “Heaven’s Wound,” unable to return in time.
A fierce expression contorted his face. Suddenly, his eye patch ignited with a greenish flame, and a sinister beam shot straight toward Meng Qi’s forehead, like a deadly intent emerging from the depths of hell, brimming with deathly intent capable of penetrating any defense!
“Let’s die together!”
This was both ferocity and a calculated move. Only by trading lives could he force his opponent to change tactics, gaining a moment to breathe and await reinforcements!
At that moment, Meng Qi neither dodged nor evaded. Suddenly, a second head sprouted from his neck, blocking the sinister beam from hell!
The evil beam entered Meng Qi’s body, countered by flashes of thunderous light and the blazing sun. Blood streamed from his seven orifices, yet the descending palm strike did not slow.
Zeluo’s entire body transformed into sand, scattering outward in search of a chance to survive.
Pu!
His right hand struck the sandstorm, and the world tilted. Each grain of sand disintegrated into nothingness!
Even if he could transform into sand, could he possibly withstand the ultimate move derived from the Heaven-Shaking Seal?
“Ahh…” Zeluo screamed in agony. The sand gathered again, reforming his body.
But his head was already a blurred, shattered mess, with red, white, and green fluids spilling out.
Most importantly, his spiritual essence had been extinguished with a single palm strike!
On Zeluo’s shattered head, his remaining eye bore an expression frozen in terror, hatred, and disbelief.
After traveling over twenty days and covering tens of thousands of li, waiting through an entire night, Meng Qi had finally slain the evil saber!
Meng Qi reverted from his two-headed, four-armed form. With a flick of “Heaven’s Wound,” he sheathed the evil saber into his mustard seed ring and “swallowed” Zeluo’s personal “black pouch” into his body.
Then, a flash of flowing fire erupted, and raging flames quickly reduced Zeluo’s remains to ashes, spreading outward to erase all traces of the scene while leaving behind several charred, large characters.
After retrieving his treasures, Meng Qi “swallowed” the mustard seed ring into his body, shook his form, and transformed into a jade rat, silently slipping away from the courtyard.
At this moment, Wusun Qi had just arrived above the National Preceptor’s Mansion, but the enemy was already gone, leaving no trace or lingering aura!
He looked closely and saw large, flame-scorched characters in the center of the ruined courtyard:
“Kuang Dao slayed Zeluo here!”
“Kuang Dao slew Zeluo here…” Wusun Qi was both shocked and enraged, as if someone had slapped him hard across the face.
Kuang Dao was truly arrogant!
Daring to directly attack Halle, infiltrate the National Preceptor’s Mansion, and slay the evil saber, treating them as if they were nothing!
Amid these emotional fluctuations, Meng Qi, transformed into a rat, naturally drew no attention. He safely reached the back garden and found his “companions.”
Without leaving behind writing to divert attention, the presence of a rat surviving the periphery of an external realm battle would have been suspicious indeed!
“Damn that Kuang Dao!” He roared furiously, extending his spiritual perception to search the area, but found nothing!
At this moment, the city gates had not yet closed, and the bustling crowd of merchants made Wusun Qi suspect that Kuang Dao might have already blended into them, though he didn’t know whether he had already left the city!
“Damn that Kuang Dao…” His voice echoed far and wide, reaching the ears of an outer sect member at the edge of the immortal realm, shaking his very soul.
Was that really Kuang Dao?
How could he be so reckless!
But it seemed he had succeeded!
The formation activated, several external realm experts scoured the city but found nothing.
Halle could not remain locked down indefinitely. By the time a month passed and the Crying Elder returned, countless people would have come and gone.
The Crying Elder flew in midair, his face dark with fury, gazing down at the city below, his eyes filled with cruelty and hatred.
In his view, Kuang Dao, who must have feared the devouring of ten thousand souls, had likely already fled!
Inside a tavern below, a man dressed as a merchant, with a long sword at his waist, sipped fine wine and smiled at the ceiling, as if mocking the Crying Elder in the sky.
The innkeeper before him failed to recognize him as Meng Qi!
“It’s time to go to Bomi,” Meng Qi smiled, placed down his cup, and leisurely rose. Finding a merchant caravan, he hitched a ride and left Halle.
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