Wait a Moment! Stop!

The dust cleared, and looking at the spear at the center, Li Yang's expression turned extremely ugly.

It had only been a few days, yet these people had already caught up. He had erased every trace along the way, including Youqin Xuanya's.

"What rat dares to skulk here? State your name!" Li Yang gripped his sword, scanning his surroundings with a wary roar.

"Heh, that would be me, of course, Junior Brother! And Xuanya, I've missed you dearly these past few days!" A cold, sinister laugh came from high above. Li Yang and Youqin Xuanya looked up to see Yuwen Ling holding Yuan Qing by the shoulder, helping him resist the surrounding miasma. The speaker was Yuan Qing, his gaze at Li Yang no longer warm as before, but filled with extreme venom.

"Junior Brother, tell me—you, a Ninth Stage of Spirit Transformation, why did you ruin my plan? How dare you ruin my plan? Tell me, how should I deal with you?" His words were as chilling as the underworld, dripping with murderous intent toward Li Yang.

"Deal with me?" Li Yang returned to his initial coldness, pointing his sword at Yuan Qing. "You've turned heaven and earth upside down. You attacked fellow disciples, and now you act so openly. Shouldn't you be afraid of me dealing with you?"

As if hearing a joke, Yuan Qing burst into laughter. "Deal with me? Junior Brother, with your mere Ninth Stage of Spirit Transformation cultivation? Have you forgotten that General Yuwen beside me is an Origin Immortal? So what gives you the audacity to boast about dealing with me? Oh! I remember now—the five subordinates I sent to attack you and your Senior Brother are all dead. So you must have some treasure in hand, right? Something capable of killing a Return to Dao Ninth Stage—that's quite impressive. Unfortunately, I have plenty of immortals here. Li Yang, be smart and hand over the treasure, pledge yourself to me, and perhaps I'll spare your life."

"Ridiculous! As if I'd listen to you!" Li Yang sneered. "I'd rather give this treasure to a dog than to a beast who harms his own sect brothers. I'll tell you this—I've already reported to the sect. Venerable Wangqing is on his way. If you surrender now, you might have a sliver of hope."

"Ha ha ha ha!" Yuan Qing laughed heartily, then lightly clapped his hands. "Junior Brother, you're clever and quick-witted, but unfortunately, you're not very good at lying. None of my channels have detected any message sent out by you. Oh, right—you're just a mere Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator. You couldn't send out any message anyway."

Yuan Qing's demeanor showed he had Li Yang completely figured out, making both Li Yang and Youqin Xuanya's expressions sour. Their thoughts had been seen through.

"Junior Brother, be careful!" Suddenly, a sharp sword thrust out from the air beside Li Yang, followed by a distorted figure flickering into view.

"Immortal in the north, man in the south, soaring clouds swallowing fire, the Four Seas shine extraordinary! Fire Qilin Sword Box! Open!" With three clangs, the sound of swords echoed for ten miles. Youqin Xuanya pointed her sword at Li Yang, and her flying sword directly blocked the fatal strike, then slashed at the attacker.

"Clang!" The metallic clash sent the attacker reeling back.

"Go!" Youqin Xuanya's long hair danced in the wind. Fire lotuses bloomed around her, reflecting off her delicate, flawless skin and illuminating her star-like eyes before they crashed into the surroundings.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom." A series of explosions forced all the hidden figures out into the open.

"Attack together!" Seeing this, the group no longer hid their presence and struck at Youqin Xuanya and Li Yang with full force. Youqin Xuanya's sword fingers traced continuously through the air, her flame-wreathed flying sword darting back and forth, holding off three opponents at once. As she soared and danced, her long skirt fluttering, she was as dazzling and enchanting as a fairy maiden dancing in flames. Her heroic bearing made Yuan Qing, watching from above, reveal a look of infatuation.

Yuan Qing's eyes flickered with heat. "General Yuwen! This time, we absolutely cannot let Xuanya slip away again!"

"Rest assured, Fourth Young Master. Last time, we were unprepared for her having a translocation treasure talisman," Yuwen Ling replied in a deep voice. "Her mana is already running low. Once she's spent, I will move in and capture her."

"It's just a pity that she holds some aversion to you, Fourth Young Master. The Love Gu's effect may be halved."

"So I have a question, and I ask that you answer it, Fourth Young Master."

"Speak!"

Yuwen Ling's tone grew grave. "I am quite puzzled, Fourth Young Master. How is it that in sixty years, you failed to win the Sixth Princess's heart?"

"If today's plan fails, or if the Love Gu cannot take effect, we must kill the Sixth Princess here. So I ask that you prepare yourself in advance."

Yuan Qing's expression turned sour. He clenched his fist, anger flashing in his eyes. "If that's the case, then I'll leave it to you, General Yuwen."

Yuwen Ling felt some regret that the Fourth Young Master had not explained the reason for his failure, but he still accepted the task. "Rest assured, Fourth Young Master!"

"Boom!"

A sudden explosion from Li Yang's side drew both Yuan Qing and Yuwen Ling's attention.

"Boom, boom, boom."

Another series of blasts sent the three men besieging Li Yang scrambling back, covered in dust and ash, too afraid to advance.

"Impressive power—comparable to a full-force strike from the Ninth Stage of Void Refining. And from the look of it, he has plenty more of these. This must be what took down Yang Dang and the others."

Yuan Qing quickly analyzed the situation and formed a plan. "This item seems mass-producible, and it even possesses killing power on par with the Return to Dao Ninth Stage. Otherwise, someone of Yang Dang's cultivation wouldn't have fallen. If this were used in an army, it would be an unparalleled weapon."

"General Yuwen, I must ask you to capture this brat and force the refining method out of him."

Yuwen Ling naturally understood its value. He replied in a low voice, "Rest assured, Fourth Young Master. I will take him now."

With that, he set Yuan Qing down and flew straight at Li Yang.

"What the hell, no honor among fighters!" Li Yang cursed as he turned and ran, shouting back at Youqin Xuanya, "Senior Sister, let's split up! I'll draw the enemy away!"

Slapping on a Thousand Mile Travel Talisman, Li Yang's legs churned so fast that he actually dodged two of Yuwen Ling's attacks. This infuriated Yuwen Ling, who had just ascended to immortality and was full of swagger.

"After him!"

His three subordinates gave chase, and he flew up to follow closely behind.

From above, he rained down attacks on Li Yang, forcing him to slow down. Soon, his three men caught up.

They surrounded Li Yang. One of them, a Return to Dao cultivator, sneered, "Brat, where do you think you're running? Men, get him!"

Seeing no way out, Li Yang raised a hand and shouted, "Wait a moment!"

The three paused and actually stopped, thinking Li Yang had given up.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a Void Refining Realm subordinate was struck by a giant hammer, instantly flattened into a meat patty.

On the hammer were two words. Its name was...

'Wait a Moment!'

The sudden turn of events stunned Yuwen Ling and the two surviving subordinates.

Wasn't this just shameless?

But Li Yang didn't freeze. Several golden pills flew toward another Void Refining subordinate.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

Five explosions in a row. No scream. The man was reduced to ash in an instant.

"You're dead!"

Yuwen Ling and his last subordinate erupted in fury and charged at Li Yang.

Li Yang repeated his trick, turning his head away as if terrified, and begged loudly, "Stop!"

The two immediately went on alert.

Then, a sword burst up from the ground, cleaving the last Return to Dao subordinate in two.

On the blade were two words: 'Stop!'