The Empty House Record

After a night of fierce fighting, both Cangli and Hidden Nine were exhausted, their magical energy almost depleted.

The injuries were so severe that even a martial artist with slightly weaker cultivation would have died. The two of them had only managed to hold on until now thanks to their formidable cultivation and physical strength, but they were now at their last gasp.

For Hidden Nine, the blow was a double blow to both his body and his mind.

Gradually, the sobbing stopped.

Exhaustion, weakness, pain, grief... overwhelmed him like a tidal wave, and Hidden Nine lost consciousness, collapsing beside Yin Shi's corpse. Their hands were still tightly clasped together.

Li Weiyi stepped forward, intending to do something.

"Let him rest for a while! Even the strongest person has their breaking point."

Cangli took out a pill bottle, poured out a Crimson Healing Pill, and stuffed it into Hidden Nine's mouth.

The pill melted.

In the blink of an eye, Hidden Nine was enveloped in the Blood-colored Pill Mist.

Cangli took one pill himself, slumped against the wall, his unparalleled elegance vanished, and coughed violently a few times, blood flowing from his mouth and nose again.

He struggled to maintain his fighting spirit and prevent himself from falling asleep. His tiger-like eyes were fixed on Li Weiyi, and he seemed to be deep in thought when he suddenly said, "Li Jiufu and I are no match for Phoenix-born Unicorn-young. Even just holding him back resulted in injuries along the way. It was Qin Li's sword formation that trapped Phoenix-born Unicorn-young for a moment, and Li Jiufu's sacrifice of an arm that gave me the opportunity to severely injure him. He won't recover from his injuries within ten days."

Li Weiyi asked, "Did Phoenix-born Unicorn-young suffer serious injuries?"

Cangli's eyes were filled with boundless hatred. He nodded slightly and said, "Among the younger generation, Phoenix-born Unicorn-young and Ge Xiantong's combat strength surpasses everyone else, creating a significant gap. But if he wants to kill me, he will have to pay a price. I only regret that my spear only pierced his body and failed to hit his heart or Qi Sea."

Only then did Li Weiyi notice that Cangli had no gun in his hand.

One can imagine the perilous and intense chase throughout the night, the fierce battles and clashes, and the thrilling final showdown between several people and one man.

Bai Shu returned and entered the room, her face filled with panic. "I cleaned up all the bloodstains around here! But... it seems someone has already caught up with us!"

"The Longevity Pill Ticket, Dragon Seed Ticket, and Dragon Bone Ticket in the invitation to the Qianlong Lantern Festival will interact with each other; they cannot be hidden or lie down on at will."

Cangli remained calm, focusing on healing his injuries and restoring his magical energy. He took out an invitation card with the words "Cangli" engraved on its surface from his bosom. "I'll hold them back for a while. Li Weiyi, take the invitation card and Li Jiufu and go find Zuoqiu Ting."

"If he loses too, you must escape the city immediately. Even if the invitations and various Exchange Ticket become worthless, we can't let them get away with it. With your cultivation speed and combat strength that makes you invincible in five moves among those of the same realm, you will surely be able to avenge us in two or three years at most."

"A cultivator strives not for a moment, but for a hundred lifetimes! You have a choice, but I do not."

"Swish! Swish..."

Outside Qin Garden, sharp whistling sounds of wind breaking echoed continuously.

The Defensive Formation in the garden has been fully activated, with layers of Light Veil upon layers of Formation Script floating on them.

Some formations cover the entire garden, while others only cover a small area, scattered in Maze Illusion Formation.

Before the Qianlong Lantern Festival, Hidden Nine and his group spent a lot of time and resources preparing. This is also why they fled to Qin Garden.

Li Weiyi leaped up and landed on a tree near the array of Light Veil by the courtyard wall, looking out.

"Boom!"

The sounds of footsteps and iron hooves were dense.

Countless young martial artists appeared on the wide street outside the main gate. Some wore the Battle Robes of the Three Chen Palace, some were cavalrymen from Night City, some were Buddha's Crossing Bandits from Coffin Mountain, and some were even Demon Race martial artists...

More than a dozen forces, large and small, with their gleaming armor, sharp weapons, and fluttering banners, surrounded the entire Qin Garden.

From the highest point on the nearby street, Li Weiyi successively saw the "Kudi" and "Truth of Cessation" from the Four Noble Coffin Mountain Four Truths, the "Chen Wenwu" of the Three Chen Palace, and the "Ming Niansheng" under the seat of the Young Venerable...

This is just the top expert that Li Weiyi knows, and who is easily visible from a high vantage point.

They pursued extremely quickly; Cangli and Hidden Nine arrived at Qin Garden only moments before they had already surrounded the place. It was safe to say that even if Li Weiyi had fled immediately, she certainly wouldn't have been able to escape.

They didn't attack immediately because Cangli and Hidden Nine were too strong; they could even severely injure Phoenix-born Unicorn-young. Who would dare to easily break in?

A master who has reached the end of his rope is often the most terrifying.

Peach Plum Mountain, One Hundred Zhang, First Heaven.

On the edge of the cliff in the Third Heaven, under the Ancient Peach Tree, Hidden Lord, Zuoqiu Ling, and some of the elders from Zuoqiu Courtyard were all on edge, their eyes fixed, unable to sit still.

They had already anticipated this and knew that the first wave of the Qianlong Lantern Festival would be very difficult.

The worst-case scenario they envisioned was that Ge Xiantong and Phoenix-born Unicorn-young joined forces to first eliminate Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Jiu Li Tribe.

If you can't withstand this most difficult first night, you'll lose everything.

We don't need to win; as long as we hold on, the Du'e Temple will naturally give us a very high evaluation.

Hidden Lord knew that Qin Garden's defeat was inevitable, and the lives of Cangli and the others were no longer in their own hands. He clenched his fists, but there was nothing he could do.

Zuoqiu Ling towards the east city, hands on his hips, and angrily cursed, "Phoenix-born Unicorn-young injured, yet those two in the eastern border dare not attack. What are they waiting for? If the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Jiu Li Tribe are completely eliminated, they will be next. Don't they understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'?"

Yin Jun, with his restrained nature, said, "Lu Cangsheng is good at defense; he would never act without certainty. With only the Dragon Gate... even Long Zhexian of the Dragon Palace can only remain a dormant dragon. It can only be said that Luan Shenglin's martial arts and intelligence are both extraordinary, as if they had foreseen today's situation. The move to kill Zhu Huan has finally shown its power, making it impossible for the Thunder Cloud Sect and the Dragon Gate to cooperate sincerely anymore."

Zuoqiu Ling, "Cultivating thunder magic is for offense; it comes unstoppable and goes without end, destroying everything in its path. Lu Cangsheng's personality shouldn't be suited for cultivating thunder magic; no wonder he was suppressed by the Dragon Hall. In comparison, Zhu Yibai has much more courage."

All eyes turned to the battlefield in the western city.

It was Zhu Yibai of the Zhu Clan who restrained the two young martial arts armies, the Que Rong and Quan Rong, who were under the command of the Ash Region in the Far West, as well as the top expert under Phoenix-born Unicorn-young, "Hua Yuzi," and the second expert, "Qi Jin," among others.

Otherwise, if the Phoenix-born Unicorn-young, its ferocity would be even greater, and Cangli and Hidden Nine would have no chance of escaping. The Zuoqiu Courtyard would likely have already collapsed.

It can be said that it was precisely because Zuoqiu Ting won over the Zhu family in advance that the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Jiu Li Tribe were able to hold out until now.

An elder from the Zuoqiu Courtyard said, "You're only looking at it from your own perspective. Lu Cangsheng and the Dragon Hall are sitting back and watching the tigers fight; why wouldn't they be happy to do so? For them, now is indeed not the best time to make a move."

Not only them, but Longevity Realm Giants of the Fourth Heaven, Fifth Heaven, and other major forces were all watching the situation on the three important battlefields in the city. Many elders were discussing and speculating on the development of the situation after the Jiu Li Tribe was eliminated.

Hidden Lord stared intently down the mountain, never expecting that Cangli and Li Weiyi would bump into each other and both end up trapped in Qin Garden.

As if he had made up his mind, he suddenly stood up.

But Zuoqiu Ling pressed down on his shoulder and pushed him back.

Suddenly.

An elder from the Zuoqiu Courtyard clan exclaimed in surprise, "The gate to Qin Garden... actually opened on its own..."

Although everyone knew that Qin Garden's defenses were practically useless against a large number of experts, they were still secretly shocked and looked down at each other.

"Squeak!"

Following Li Weiyi's instructions, Bai Shu opened the two main gates of Qin Garden.

Holding a broom, sweeping the steps.

Looking at the densely packed enemies outside, she was speechless and extremely nervous, but she had to pretend to be calm, composed, and cheerful, without showing any fear. In her heart, she felt that Li Weiyi had something wrong with her brain.

The people on the street were all utterly confused and bewildered.

Chen Wenwu stood atop the roof of a building opposite the main gate of Qin Garden, sword on his back. "It's Bai Shu, Calamity Fire Realm Great Mind Master from the Earth Wolf King Army. What does she mean by this?"

"Open the door and sweep the steps to welcome them. Is this... a sign of surrender?"

"Cangli Falsely Claims Southern Tiger, hiding inside himself while sending a Woman Comes Out to Surrender."

"This woman is quite charming, almost too beautiful to be true. I'll go and win her over first."

Mie Di was about to make a move, but was stopped by Kudi: "Things are unusual, we must not act rashly. Do you really think that someone as proud as Cangli would willingly be captured and admit defeat?"

Mie Di's expression hardened, and when he looked at Bai Shu, who was cheerfully sweeping the steps, he also felt that something was strangely abnormal.

This doesn't look like they're about to surrender or admit defeat!

Yuwen Tuozhen, the Young Master of Night City, sat atop the Night Scale Giant Beast. His expression suddenly changed as he considered a possibility. "Why did Cangli and Li Jiufu flee here? Could they have made some arrangements beforehand?"

"What can we arrange? You're all so hesitant and timid, I'll go," Ming Niansheng.

Yuwen Tuozhen said, "What if it's Large Amount of Thunder Law Profound Ice? The current situation feels like they're trying to lure us all in and then perish together."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Ming Niansheng was already heading towards the gate, immediately retreated. "Let's wait for the Young Venerable to arrive. Thunder Law Profound Ice isn't omnipotent. Now that we've seen through his scheme, we have our own strategies."

The three heavens of Peach Plum Mountain.

Zuoqiu Ling stared in astonishment. "These people are actually intimidated and dare not venture out?"

Hidden Lord frowned in thought, "Qin Garden is shrouded by arrays of varying sizes, so they can't see what's inside. Those with insufficient cultivation can't break in. And those with strong cultivation are too afraid to die."

"If only one or two people go in, they will definitely be killed. If too many people go in, what if there are Killing Trap set inside, such as Large Amount of Thunder Law Profound Ice? Wouldn't they all perish?"

"This level of strategic maneuvering is something I hadn't anticipated."

"Your Jiu Li Tribe was prepared long ago to perish together with the enemy if you were defeated?" an elder from the Zuoqiu Courtyard exclaimed in surprise, feeling that the top martial artists of the younger generation of the Jiu Li Tribe were too reckless.

"How could that be? Wouldn't it be better to flee the city after defeat and abandon the Hidden Dragon Competition?"

Hidden Lord shook his head slightly and sighed, "Even if Large Amount of Thunder Law Profound Ice is deployed, it can only hold out for a short time at most."

"The Empty House Stratagem?"

Zuoqiu Ling exclaimed, "It's quite impressive that Cangli came up with this plan. As long as we can buy some time, many variables can be created."

"It couldn't have been his idea."

The Hidden Lord knew his son too well; he was intelligent and courageous, but not so cunning.