On a mountain peak of moderate height, Xu Ziqing stood pale-faced with both hands pressed against one thick vine.
From this main vine, dozens of blood-red tendrils shot upward to catch Yun Lie as he fell through the sky.
Xu Ziqing had forced the vines into a nearly mature state for a short time. But the effort had drained almost all his true essence, leaving him scarcely able to circulate any at all.
He had tried to form his Golden Core earlier, but the Jin brothers had interrupted the breakthrough. Now he could not easily reenter the necessary state.
He had watched the fierce battle overhead with his heart in his throat.
Never before had he seen his senior brother in such a desperate condition!
When Yun Lie was struck down, Xu Ziqing could only force his vines beyond their normal limits.
Yet even in this nearly mature state, they remained short of true maturity.
How could they so easily catch a falling Yun Lie?
The spear and greatsword had canceled one another’s force, but the shock waves released by their collision remained terrifying.
In his present condition, Yun Lie could not resist them. He could only fall and leave his fate to chance.
The demonic vines surged around him, thrashing wildly to shatter some of that residual force and reduce the pressure.
But the energy was far from easy to break. With every wave of force blocked, another vine was torn apart.
When the final remnants were at last dispersed, only the thickest vine remained. It carried Yun Lie down toward Xu Ziqing.
Xu Ziqing staggered, then forced his weakened body forward.
He caught Yun Lie in his arms, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
The white robes were shredded, and wounds covered his body. Wherever skin was exposed, the marks of tremendous impacts could be seen.
Yun Lie’s expression remained icy, as though the injuries belonged to someone else. But when Xu Ziqing sent the last trace of true essence he could summon into his senior brother’s body, he immediately discovered the severity of the damage. Yun Lie’s meridians, muscles, bones, and internal organs had all suffered grave injuries.
A full-force strike from a Nascent Soul ancestor really was not something a Golden Core cultivator could withstand.
Despite Yun Lie’s formidable foundations and embryonic Minor Cosmos, he had been unable to cross that gulf.
Xu Ziqing breathed deeply and hurriedly took pills from his storage ring, pouring several into his palm and bringing them to Yun Lie’s lips.
Yun Lie swallowed them and immediately sat down to regulate his breathing.
Xu Ziqing also swallowed a handful of pills to restore his own strength.
Neither dared waste a moment. They used every breath to recover true essence.
Meanwhile, the battle in the sky continued.
After striking Yun Lie down, the handsome man instantly shifted to Ancestor Bliss’s side.
He embraced the ancestor anxiously. “Darling, what’s wrong?”
That embrace briefly distracted Ancestor Bliss.
The Jin brothers, whose internal organs had been injured by the sonic attack, seized the chance to retreat. They cast several spells upon themselves before their condition began improving.
Jin Shi said with lingering fear, “We really shouldn’t have pushed that old monster so hard! He’s terrifying!”
Jin Cheng smiled bitterly. “If we’re careless, we might actually die here!”
Ancestor Bliss had been so fiercely provoked that a heart demon had nearly invaded his mind, causing him to lose control.
Now that his lover had come to comfort him, he felt much better and was no longer as frenzied.
The handsome man did not fully understand what had distressed him, but seeing his expression settle brought relief.
He summoned his spear again, raised its tip, and said, “Darling, rest for a while. I’ll deal with them!”
Ancestor Bliss clutched his chest and said through clenched teeth, “Go, but be careful!”
The handsome man moved to face the Jin brothers. Without further discussion, he twirled his spear and attacked.
The twins exchanged a glance and summoned weapons of their own at almost the same instant.
They darted forward, one from the front and one from behind, employing a coordinated joint attack.
Because of their unusual constitutions and their past, the brothers had remained small and physically weak. Even after forming Nascent Souls, their bodies could not compare with those of ordinary powerful cultivators. A direct contest of brute force was difficult for them.
Fortunately, they had always been inseparable. Besides investing enormous effort in their natal treasures, they had mastered agile movement techniques. One used a long weapon and the other a short one, complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Their coordinated advance and retreat made up for some of their physical disadvantages.
Now Jin Cheng wielded a short dagger, while Jin Shi carried a long whip. One hard and one supple, one short and one long, they worked with an exceedingly swift footwork art to keep the handsome man occupied.
The man had only recently returned to Nascent Soul, but Ancestor Bliss had transmitted power to him and stabilized his realm. He had also recovered the skills and experience of his previous life. At early Nascent Soul, he was an outstanding fighter.
Against the Jin brothers together, he was hardly at a disadvantage.
The battle grew fierce. The whip attempted to ensnare his spear, while the dagger pressed closer and closer. Their weapons collided with ringing sounds and showers of sparks.
The Jin brothers fought with increasing determination, leaving the handsome man little opportunity to escape.
Ancestor Bliss was a renowned Nascent Soul ancestor who had cultivated for ages. Earlier, the twins’ provocations had caused him to lose control. Now he saw his lover fighting so hard for him and felt a rush of sweetness. He circulated true essence and swiftly healed much of his injuries.
In a good mood once again, he moved beside his lover and struck Jin Cheng away with a palm. Then he pointed at Jin Cheng’s dagger, making it emit a mournful cry.
Jin Cheng retreated several steps, distressed for his weapon.
What sort of technique did Ancestor Bliss possess to exert such power?
He had no time to ponder. A moment later, Ancestor Bliss attacked him directly.
Jin Shi was left to face the handsome man alone, while Jin Cheng was almost immediately suppressed by the ancestor.
Neither twin was particularly powerful compared with other Nascent Soul experts, and their situation became extremely dangerous.
On the ground, Yun Lie continued regulating his breathing while keeping a careful watch on the battle overhead.
Ignoring his damaged meridians, he forced medicinal power through his dantian. Yet he recovered only thirty or forty percent of his strength.
Now the Jin brothers, who had come to their aid, were clearly in trouble. How could Yun Lie sit there recovering while others risked their lives on his behalf?
He halted his cultivation and stood.
Xu Ziqing had been watching him constantly and noticed at once.
He too had seen the Jin brothers’ difficulties and was deeply worried.
Although he still did not know what the twins had originally intended, they were now truly risking their lives to help. He would never forget that kindness.
As soon as Yun Lie rose, Xu Ziqing understood his intention. However little strength Xu Ziqing had, he would go with him. He would never survive alone by abandoning his senior brother.
But Yun Lie looked at him and suddenly tapped his shoulder.
Power rushed through Xu Ziqing’s body. It sealed away even the small amount of true essence he had just recovered, leaving him unable to move.
Xu Ziqing was horrified. “…Senior Brother!”
“If you go, you’ll only die,” Yun Lie said.
Xu Ziqing’s heart shook violently. He gritted his teeth. “We were going to marry. If we cannot marry, then we should die together.”
Yun Lie looked at him. “Better to preserve your life and avenge me.”
He formed another seal. The ground beneath Xu Ziqing opened. He sank into the earth immediately.
Darkness swallowed everything. He became as helpless as wood or stone, unable to see or move.
At the same moment, Yun Lie leaped into the air. A black-gold rainbow erupted from his sword embryo and flashed toward Ancestor Bliss.
Jin Cheng had been suffering badly under the ancestor’s attacks. Yun Lie’s arrival took some of that pressure off him.
Jin Shi noticed that Yun Lie had returned to battle despite his injuries and smiled faintly.
Jin Cheng, seeing no trace of Xu Ziqing, quickly guessed that Yun Lie had hidden him away. His esteem for the sword cultivator rose.
The Jin brothers normally lived according to their whims. Even they did not know what had possessed them to fight so desperately for strangers this time. Had Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing fled, the twins would have been deeply disappointed. But Yun Lie’s willingness to return and risk his life convinced them that their unusual impulse to help had not been wasted.
Yun Lie knew nothing of their thoughts. He followed his own principles, never deviating from his Dao heart.
Having resolved to fight to the death, he would not hesitate.
Ancestor Bliss looked at him and sneered. “In such a hurry to die? Then I’ll oblige you.”
His arm shot out like a venomous snake, trying to seize Yun Lie’s shoulder.
Yun Lie lowered his body and slashed back with the long sword.
Unwilling to meet its edge, the ancestor shifted aside.
But his grasping force continued onward. Although it missed Yun Lie, it produced an explosive crack that distorted the surrounding space, revealing its terrible strength.
Yun Lie had evaded the first attack, but how many more could he avoid?
Seeing Yun Lie intervene, Ancestor Bliss spat out a streak of black light containing a blood-red demonic saber. It flew directly toward Jin Cheng. The ancestor then disregarded the twin and shifted close to Yun Lie. Both hands reached out repeatedly, clawing at every part of him, seeking to crush his bones and pulverize his body.
Jin Cheng had his own deadly threat to handle. He exclaimed, “A demonic treasure! You’re actually a practitioner of the demonic path!”
Ancestor Bliss’s face twisted viciously. Demonic radiance enveloped him, and a boundless resentment seemed to pour from his body with every movement.
Yun Lie’s gaze turned colder. “A demon who infiltrated the sect. You deserve death.”
Ancestor Bliss snorted. “Bold words from someone about to die!”
Yun Lie struck again, his sword intent unleashing a violent storm. Under that bitterly cold killing intent, everything seemed in danger of freezing.
He was now overtaxing his own potential in an attempt to drag the ancestor into a fatal contest.
But the difference between their cultivation realms remained far too great. Yun Lie caused his opponent trouble, yet Ancestor Bliss could release still more true essence and crush the storm beneath it.
In a sudden blur, Ancestor Bliss closed the distance, appeared right beside Yun Lie, and thrust out a hand.
His entire arm penetrated Yun Lie’s dantian, shattering everything within.
Meanwhile, Xu Ziqing lay buried beneath the mountain earth.
Yun Lie had sealed him away to preserve a chance of survival.
But with his senses blocked, Xu Ziqing grew more desperate than ever for his senior brother.
He gathered every remaining scrap of power and hurled himself against the restriction!
Once, twice, three times!
He refused to stop, even if it damaged his meridians.
Had Yun Lie laid this restriction at his full strength, Xu Ziqing could never have broken it, no matter how desperately he struggled.
But Yun Lie had already been gravely injured. Driven by overwhelming determination, Xu Ziqing struck it dozens of times until it suddenly shattered.
He burst through the soil and looked into the sky.
The sight nearly drove him mad.
He saw the arm that had pierced straight through his senior brother’s dantian…
Xu Ziqing’s face turned white as paper. He almost lost the power of speech.
An indescribable terror seized him. The whole world before his eyes seemed to turn blank.
All he could see was his senior brother’s bloodstained white robe, and grief filled his heart.
Then a fissure suddenly tore open in the empty sky.
A figure stepped out, glanced around, and struck Ancestor Bliss with a palm, sending him flying.
“How dare you attack my benefactor?”