"Pass down the order." Li Xun's voice had regained its calm, so calm that he sounded as if he were discussing something utterly ordinary. "Gather everyone. We're preparing to leave."
"Yes! Are we going to support Black Stone City?"
"Support them?" Li Xun glanced at him, and the look in his eyes sent an even deeper chill down the disciple's back.
"Of course we'll support them. The disciples of Fenxiang Valley care about all the people of the world. How could we stand by while the common folk suffer?"
He paused, his gaze returning to the mass of dark clouds.
"However, we'll have to be somewhat particular about how we provide that support."
The disciple didn't dare ask any more. He bowed to accept the order, then hurried away.
Li Xun stood alone on the cliff, gazing toward the distant mass of roiling black clouds.
The wind blew up from the valley, stirring his robes. The crimson hem looked like a flame on the verge of going out in the dusk.
Lu Jiuyuan.
His fingers slowly curled into fists inside his sleeves, his knuckles giving a faint crack.
Third time's the charm.
This time, I have to kill you!
Li Xun took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of venomous resentment in his chest, then turned and walked down the cliff.
Outside Black Stone City, the roars of the beast tide shook the heavens and earth.
On the city walls, the soldiers and cultivators defending the city fought desperately. Arrows and spells rained down, killing one demonic beast after another beneath the walls.
But there were too many beasts. As soon as one wave was killed, another came, as if they could never be wiped out.
The townspeople hid in cellars, temples, and ancestral halls. Listening to the inhuman howls outside, they trembled with fear.
Some whispered prayers, some wept in silence, and some huddled in corners with their children, stuffing the last scraps of food into their mouths.
The people from Fenxiang Valley still hadn't come.
Black Stone City might have been remote, but it was still within Fenxiang Valley's sphere of influence.
The city magistrate had already sent seven letters requesting aid. Each one had vanished without a trace, with no reply.
"Send another! An eighth one!" The city magistrate was a white-haired old man. His cultivation wasn't high, but he had guarded this city for thirty years. He had watched every brick and every inch of the wall being built.
At that moment, he stood atop the wall, his armor spattered with demonic beasts' blood. The blade in his hand had already chipped.
"My lord, we've already sent seven... The people from Fenxiang Valley aren't coming..."
"Then send an eighth! Keep sending them until they come!" the old man roared hoarsely. He cut down a demonic beast climbing the wall, then staggered and had to brace himself against the battlement to stay on his feet.
Just then, a streak of azure light suddenly shone in the distant sky. Sharp and pure, it was like a bolt of lightning splitting the darkness, filled with righteous power as it plunged straight into the beast tide.
Boom!!!
The azure light burst open, and dozens of demonic beasts were thrown away by the shock wave, shrieking as they fell into pools of blood.
Everyone on the city wall looked up. In the dusk, dozens of figures flew over from the horizon, their white robes fluttering and their sword lights gleaming like rainbows.
At their head was a young man in blue-green robes, a long sword in hand, his expression cold and stern and his presence as vast as the sea.
A woman in white followed behind him. Her Tianya Sword was drawn, its blue light flowing; the demonic beasts scattered before her as she passed.
Looking at the densely packed horde before him, Lu Jiuyuan suddenly asked, "Are you afraid?"
Lu Xueqi glanced sideways at him. "With you here, I'm not afraid."
The corners of Lu Jiuyuan's mouth lifted slightly.
They met each other's gaze. No extra words were needed; a single look was enough.
Lu Xueqi gave a slight nod and slowly raised the Tianya Sword, pointing its tip at the sky.
Lu Jiuyuan drew the Chengying Sword at the same time. Azure and blue sword light intertwined, tracing two entwined arcs across the sky.
They formed their hand seals in unison.
Lu Jiuyuan's fingers were long and strong, his seals flowing smoothly, each movement imbued with the rich spiritual power unique to the Taiqing Realm.
Lu Xueqi's movements were just as fluid. Her cultivation in the Shangqing Realm was on full display, every gesture precise as if measured.
"Nine Heavens Profound Thunderbolt, transform into divine thunder."
Their voices overlapped, one deep and the other clear, like the echo of a mountain stream and a deep pool.
For a moment, the world fell silent.
The wind stopped. The beasts fell quiet. Even the disciples on the city wall stopped breathing.
Only the two lines of the incantation echoed through the night sky, each word as clear as if carved into stone.
"Majestic heavenly might, draw it forth with the sword."
As soon as the words left their mouths, the sky overhead split open.
A bolt of purple lightning struck down from the clouds—not toward the ground, but into the empty space between them.
Then came a second, a third, and countless more, intertwining into a vast web of lightning that lit the entire city wall as bright as day.
The power of the lightning whipped Lu Jiuyuan's robes, making them snap in the wind. His long hair whipped about in the gale, but he stood unmoving, the Chengying Sword pointed skyward, purple arcs of electricity dancing along its blade.
Lu Xueqi stood beside him, the Tianya Sword likewise pointing at the heavens. Its blue light melded with the purple lightning, enveloping them both in a dazzling radiance.
"Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique—strike!"
They swung their swords in unison.
Boom!!!
Countless bolts of lightning poured down from the web, like furious flood dragons plunging into the beast tide.
The demonic beasts' shrieks rang out one after another.
At last, fear appeared in their blood-red eyes. The beasts in front tried to retreat, while those behind continued surging forward. The horde descended into chaos before the city gates, trampling and killing one another.
The lightning kept falling, bolt after bolt, each one clearing a swath through the beast tide.
The earth was blasted into the air. The charred craters filled with demonic beasts' corpses, and the air stank of burning flesh.
The Qingyun Disciples snapped out of their daze and summoned their flying swords. Sword lights of every color rained down into the beast tide.
The beasts scattered by the divine thunder had no time to regroup before the flying swords cut them down.
Some used Dazhu Peak's Pojun Sword Technique, its forceful Sword Momentum cleaving open a Giant Wolf's skull with a single strike.
Some used Fenghui Peak's Falling Leaf Sword Technique, their blades moving with nimble grace as they targeted the beasts' eyes and throats.
Some used Luoxia Peak's Rosy Cloud Sword Formation. Several sword lights wove together into a net, trapping a group of Venomous Lizards and cutting them to pieces.
The battle lasted less than half an hour.
The last few demonic beasts let out terrified cries, turned, and fled into the dark forest.
The area before the city gates fell quiet, leaving only corpses strewn everywhere and the reek of blood in the air.
The soldiers on the city wall stared blankly at it all, then erupted into hoarse cheers.
"We won! We won!"
The old city magistrate knelt atop the wall and bowed deeply in the direction of Lu Jiuyuan and Lu Xueqi.
Lu Jiuyuan sheathed his sword. The Chengying Sword gave a clear, ringing hum as the purple lightning along its blade slowly faded.
He turned to look at Lu Xueqi. She looked over at him at the same moment, and they smiled at each other.
A thin sheen of sweat glistened on Lu Xueqi's brow, catching the firelight.
Lu Jiuyuan raised a hand and wiped it away with his sleeve.
Lu Xueqi didn't pull away. She let him wipe her brow, her cheeks and the tips of her ears faintly flushed.
"Are you tired?"
"I'm fine."
"That strike just now was much better than when you practiced before."
Lu Xueqi looked up at him, the corners of her mouth curving. "You did a good job coordinating with me."
Their conversation was interrupted by a flurry of hurried footsteps.
Before you continue