Li Zhixian's Fate Unknown, Heaven Dou City Turned Upside Down

"Roar—!"

Zhao Wuji's roar shattered the ice sealing him in.

His Martial Soul Avatar, over five meters tall, thundered through the forest. Surging Soul Power, like an uncontrollable raging tide, swept across every inch of land again and again.

"How far could you have run in such a short time?!"

He swept his gaze over broken branches, fallen trees, muddy pits, and puddles.

Nothing!

Still nothing!

He could not catch even the slightest trace of an aura!

At that moment.

The rain gradually subsided.

A bleak blue-gray light appeared at the horizon.

It only made Zhao Wuji more agitated.

Yet no matter how he pushed his Soul Power to search.

Li Zhixian's aura had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth, disappearing completely.

"That brat was struck by my Martial Soul Avatar. There's an eighty percent chance he's dead!"

"But I can't gamble on it..."

"That boy is far too monstrous!

"He absolutely cannot be allowed to live!"

With his killing intent set.

He stopped wasting effort sensing for him.

Instead, he began the most brutal kind of destruction.

Boom boom boom—!

His enormous fists crashed down like meteors.

Rows of trees snapped apart.

The ground was overturned by violent force, deep craters linking into one another.

He intended to turn this entire area upside down. Even if he had to dig three feet into the earth, he would find Li Zhixian.

The thunderous noise tore through the morning's silence.

Without the cover of the night rain.

Such commotion was especially piercing beneath the gradually brightening sky.

In the distance, the faint sounds of footsteps and voices drifted over.

Zhao Wuji's massive body abruptly froze, his expression turning extremely ugly.

"Damn it!"

He recalled Qin Ming's warning.

Li Zhixian had many friends!

He could not remain here any longer.

Zhao Wuji dismissed his Martial Soul Avatar, and his burly figure vanished into the depths of the ruined forest.

He had to take Ma Hongjun and flee Heaven Dou City at once.

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

Xue Qinghe, who had not slept well the previous night, had just finished the Crown Prince's morning lessons.

Walking beneath the towering red walls.

She was exhausted in both body and mind.

But at the thought of going to Lotus Lake later.

To eat with that bastard, her mood brightened again.

"I should hurry back to the palace."

A torrential rain had fallen all night.

The weather was now as muggy as a steamer.

She needed to return and freshen up before bringing Three Immortal Chicken to their meeting.

That bastard had such picky tastes.

Whether the chicken had been steamed too long or too little, he could tell with a single bite.

As she thought about it, the corner of Xue Qinghe's lips curved almost imperceptibly.

Crown Prince's Palace.

Xue Qinghe dried her long hair. Though she still wore the guise of a man, one could glimpse her breathtaking softness and beauty.

Just then.

Snake Lance swept in with a gloomy expression. He glanced at Xue Qinghe, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Young Master, there is some news. After hearing it, please... remain calm."

"Hmm?"

Xue Qinghe stopped drying her hair.

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in her heart.

"Speak."

"Last night, a battle between soul masters occurred in the eastern outskirts of the city. Judging by the auras, there may have been a Soul Sage involved."

"The eastern outskirts..."

Xue Qinghe's body suddenly stiffened.

She immediately understood what Snake Lance meant.

The eastern outskirts—that was where Li Zhixian lived.

"Li... Li Zhixian... where is he?"

"There was a faint smell of blood at the scene. Li Zhixian... has gone missing."

All color drained from Xue Qinghe's face.

Her body swayed three times. Only by gripping the edge of the table behind her did she barely steady herself.

Whoosh—!

Xue Qinghe's figure flashed away.

Ignoring her loose hair and the fact that she wore only silk stockings, she rushed out of the hall.

From afar.

A voice cold enough to flay bone pierced Snake Lance's ears.

"Seal the entire city!"

"No one is allowed to leave!"

Dugu Manor.

The rear kitchen.

Dugu Yan stood watch over a pot of soup.

From time to time, she pinched up a little powder and sprinkled it in.

The sight made several nearby cooks tremble with fear.

Miss Dugu had never cooked before. She must not confuse cooking with poison-making.

At that moment.

Several servant women who had gone out to purchase supplies returned.

They did not notice Dugu Yan and excitedly chatted among themselves:

"Haven't you heard? Soul masters fought in the eastern outskirts last night!"

"Oh my, I heard blood flowed like a river, and arms and legs were scattered all over the ground!"

"Tsk tsk, the one who died was even a young man. What a miserable death!"

Clatter—

The soup ladle fell to the floor.

Dugu Yan slowly turned around. Deep within her pupils, the emerald glow that had already faded lit up again, faint and eerie, as she stared coldly at the servant women who had spoken.

"What... did you say?"

Only then did the servant women realize she was there. They hurriedly dropped to their knees.

"Miss Dugu!"

"What did you just say... where... did soul masters fight?"

"The... the eastern outskirts, Miss. The death was terrible..."

Before the servant woman could finish.

Dugu Yan had already rushed out of the kitchen like a gale.

Dugu Bo, who was regulating his breath in the courtyard, saw her so distraught and asked:

"Yanyan, what happened?"

Dugu Yan clenched her teeth, her voice trembling.

"Something... happened to Li Zhixian!"

"What?!"

Ye Manor.

"Mother! Come with me, quickly!"

Ye Lingling was utterly unlike her usual quiet, delicate self.

She practically dragged Mother Ye by the hand and ran toward the manor gates without another word.

A trace of surprise flashed across Mother Ye's elegant, cool face.

This was the first time she had ever seen her daughter so flustered.

"Lingling, what kind of behavior is this for a young lady, throwing all decorum aside?"

Mother Ye frowned.

"Could it be that Li Zhixian likes rough women?"

"Mother!"

Tears had already filled Ye Lingling's sapphire-blue eyes, and her voice carried a sob.

"Li Zhixian... it seems something happened to him!"

"Hmm?!"

Mother Ye's expression changed sharply.

She grabbed her daughter's wrist in return, her steps three parts faster than Ye Lingling's.

"What happened? Tell me on the way!"

The eastern outskirts of the city.

That elegant little courtyard backed against the forest...

Perhaps it could no longer be called a "courtyard."

As far as the eye could see, bricks, tiles, and wooden beams lay scattered everywhere. There were only broken walls, charred earth, and deep craters.

Even last night's torrential rain had failed to completely wash away the faint scent of blood lingering in the air.

It showed just how brutal last night's battle had been.

The ruins were surrounded by crowds of onlookers.

A squad of royal guards hurried over and sternly cleared the area.

Xue Qinghe kept her face taut.

Step by step, she entered the courtyard that had once been familiar.

The devastation before her eyes drained the last trace of color from her already pale face.

Her steps were heavy and slow.

Her gaze swept inch by inch across shattered brick walls, overturned earth, and scorched craters...

She carried an almost cautious fear.

She feared not finding that familiar figure, but feared even more... seeing something she could not bear.

At that moment.

Another commotion rose from the outer perimeter.

Dugu Bo arrived with Dugu Yan, whose entire body radiated an icy, violent aura. Mother Ye arrived almost at the same time, pulling along the tearful Ye Lingling.

The four of them saw the horrific scene before them.

The air instantly froze, oppressive enough to suffocate.

"Who... who exactly did this..."

Dugu Yan's delicate body trembled, patches of green scales emerging along her neck.

Ye Lingling's sapphire-blue eyes lost their focus.

"The most urgent matter now is finding Zhixian."

Dugu Bo's gaze was icy.

Li Zhixian had shown the Dugu Family great kindness.

He was not a man who failed to repay kindness.

If Li Zhixian had truly been harmed.

Poison Douluo would make that bastard understand what it meant to wish for death.

Mother Ye clenched her hands tightly, a frigid frost creeping over her elegant face.

"Investigate! Mobilize all of the Ye Family's forces in Heaven Dou City! Even if we have to dig three feet into the earth, we must find Li Zhixian!"

Li Zhixian was the Ye Family's hope of allowing the Nine Heart Begonia to surpass the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

She would not allow anything to happen to Li Zhixian.

Xue Qinghe stood silently at the center of the ruins.

Her expression was terrifyingly calm.

But then, her gaze suddenly trembled.

Her eyes.

Locked onto a patch beneath the shattered tiles—

There, a familiar umbrella lay quietly.

Its canopy was torn, its ribs broken, covered in mud.

It was the very one...

She had personally given Li Zhixian yesterday.

There will still be three updates today, tonight~~

Thank you, dear readers~~