Deadlock

With the blessing of the Source Qi, the warm and gentle voice resonated in every corner of Huizhou County and reached the ears of everyone in the town.

The deafening cries and the chaotic, fleeing crowd suddenly fell silent for a moment.

The vast majority of people in Huizhou County are ordinary folks who work from sunrise to sunset, toiling away for a few coins.

Before that voice rang out, they had no idea what was happening in the usually peaceful county town.

All I know is that when I woke up, the world had changed.

Fire from the sky, accompanied by endless explosions, devoured their homes. The neighbors who were sitting in front of their courtyards yesterday, chatting and laughing, were blown to pieces. The raging flames, which could not be extinguished, continued to spread throughout the city.

The sudden sound provided them with the answer.

Assassination.

An assassination that resulted in the massacre of an entire city for the killing of one person.

How absurd!

But what's even more tragic is that even if they knew the truth, they were powerless to change anything. They didn't even have time to feel resentment towards the truth before they continued to scatter and flee, driven by their will to survive.

They prayed that they could survive this catastrophe.

Amidst the chaotic streets where people were fleeing, the calm demeanor of two men with Weeping Iron Mask stood out starkly against the surrounding disorder.

The two strolled leisurely against the flow of panicked people toward the central street where flames were rising.

It was Taishi Ran and Fatty Zhou who were in charge of finding Xu Yuan.

Looking at the chaotic crowd around him, Fatty Zhou asked with a smile:

"The fact that the Third Young Master of the Prime Minister's Prime Minister's Mansion would suddenly appear on his own initiative—could it be an imposter?"

Taishi Ran also looked at the fleeing crowd around him, but his voice was very low:

"The owner of that voice was indeed Xu Changtian."

A hint of interest flashed in Fatty Zhou's eyes as his calm gaze swept over the chaotic crowd.

"Is he stepping forward now to save these commoners with his own life?"

"He saved these mortals?"

Taishi Ran glanced at Fatty Zhou: "Is that realistic?"

Fatty Zhou was somewhat speechless, then gently shook his head. "That's right. Let alone hundreds of thousands, even millions of ordinary people are not worth as much as the life of the Prime Minister's Mansion son. He must have stood up because he had no other choice."

Taishi Ran gazed into the distance in the direction of the Exotic Beast Bureau, his words tinged with heaviness:

"This Third Young Master of the Prime Minister's Mansion must know something and is preparing to use Jing Xuelan as leverage in negotiations with us."

"Jing Xuelan"

Fatty Zhou murmured, his brows furrowing slightly beneath his mask, his smile fading, "You mean his target is Fairy Luo?"

Taishi Ran glanced at the mad old man in the sky. "Old Tian has already reported our numbers. Four Mortal Shedding Assassins. The only reason he dared to show himself is because he has a way to persuade Fairy Luo to back down?"

A look of confusion flashed across Fatty Zhou's squinty eyes:

"Even if the Prime Minister's Mansion has intelligence that knows about the relationship between Fairy Luo, Jing Tingxi, and Jing Xuelan, Fairy Luo is currently wearing Weeping Iron Mask. How could Xu Changtian recognize her?"

Taishi Ran's voice was natural, with a cold and melancholic tone.

"Xu Changtian, as the initiator of the great calamity of the world, naturally has his special characteristics."

Fatty Zhou remained silent for a moment, then glanced at the battleground outside the city, which belonged to the semi-saint level experts:

"Brother Taishi, shall we talk to him now? What about Fairy Luo?"

"Brother Zhou," Taishi Ran interrupted him.

He slowly turned his gaze and looked into Fatty Zhou's eyes:

"You want to negotiate with the one who initiated the great calamity of the world?"

"..." Fatty Zhou remained silent.

As a member of the Heavenly Oversight Pavilion, he was well aware of the implications behind the great calamity that befell the world.

At any time, any great calamity in the world is a target that the Heavenly Oversight Pavilion will stop at nothing to eliminate or suppress.

As long as the great calamity can be eliminated, let alone the life and death of a mere Jing Xuelan, even the high and mighty Pavilion Master can face death with equanimity.

However, the future is now shrouded in darkness.

If we kill Xu Changtian now, can we truly return to a peaceful future?

Fatty Zhou was unaware of this matter.

Judging from Taishi Ran's expression, the other party had probably already made a decision.

"Kill him."

Taishi Ran's indifferent voice rang in the ears of the withered old man and the middle-aged beauty, and was also caught by Xu Yuan, who was standing on the deck, with his Spirit Sight.

Upon hearing this message, Xu Yuan's heart sank.

The worst-case scenario still happened.

As a talk guy, he was confident that he could use Jing Xuelan's life to talk Luo Bingli, but the leader of the assassins clearly had no intention of letting him speak.

If you're not given a chance to speak, then the cards you're dealt will be for good.

Ruthless and decisive.

In that instant, time seemed to slow down considerably.

The middle-aged woman, upon receiving the order, did not act immediately; hesitation flickered in her eyes.

Because she loved Jing Tingxi so much, she didn't want his only daughter to die.

More importantly, Luo Bingli only agreed to participate in this assassination attempt because of Jing Xuelan. If something happens to Jing Xuelan, how will she explain it to the woman?

In contrast to the middle-aged beauty's hesitation, the withered old man, driven to madness, had his cloudy eyes instantly filled with boundless excitement upon hearing the command.

An uncontrollable emotion surged within him, and the withered old man's figure transformed into a blur as he swooped down towards the Mystic Eagle Pavilion.

The scorching flames around the Mystic Eagle Pavilion began to boil. The speed of the Mortal Shedding Realm was beyond Xu Yuan's current ability to react, but fortunately, there were people around him who could react in time.

It happened so fast!

Without any hesitation, Qianxi reached out her slender hand and grabbed Xu Yuan by the back of the neck, then suddenly leaped backward.

"Boom!!"

Almost instantly, the old man's thin, withered figure slammed into the pavilion deck where Xu Yuan had just stood, like an arrow, and pierced through the massive body of the Mystic Eagle below, finally crashing to the ground and raising a cloud of dust.

"Falcon!!!"

As a top-tier military-grade Demon Beast, the Mystic Eagle was almost immune to being startled and losing control, but under this excruciating pain, it still couldn't help but let out a painful screech.

However, the cry lasted for less than a few breaths before abruptly stopping.

Endless flames erupted from its blood-soaked, piercing wound, instantly engulfing its nearly hundred-foot-long wingspan and turning it into a gigantic, charred firebird.

They retreated nearly a hundred feet in an instant.

Qianxi, carrying Xu Yuan and the unconscious Jing Xuelan, landed on a pile of ruins. Her eyes were fixed on the old man who had emerged from the sea of fire, covered in blood and resembling a demon of flames.

The withered old man did not immediately launch another attack, but instead stared at the group of three with the look of a cat toying with a mouse.

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

The 'Lezi Man Plague' clearly made the old man fearless, but it also made him lose his rational judgment.

He began to pursue pleasure.

This is the only piece of good news among a sea of bad news.

Because of the fragments of memory within the illusion, Xu Yuan knew very well that for powerhouses at the Origin Beginning and Mortal Shedding levels, even the slightest difference in skill during a battle with someone of the same level could lead to utter annihilation.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Yuan glanced at the middle-aged beauty who had not yet joined the battle.

He didn't understand why the other person was standing there motionless, but this was an opportunity.

While this world's top expert may not be considered a glass cannon, the power of his magic far exceeds the limits that the physical body can withstand.

Although he didn't know Qianxi's strength, he thought that if he could take advantage of her loss of reason to kill her instantly...

Thoughts flashed through his mind, and just as Xu Yuan was about to send a telepathic message, Luo Xiran's voice rang out in his mind first, her voice extremely serious:

"Kid, next time that old man gets close to you, stand still."

"."

The leader of the Heavenly Oversight Pavilion was decisive and ruthless, directly plunging Xu Yuan into a true dead end.

Lou Ji was held up by Luo Bingli outside Huizhou County. Qianxi, whom Xu Yuan had borrowed from Li Yunqing, was not enough to give him the sense of security he wanted.

Faced with this situation, he could only walk one step at a time on the edge of death.

You should know that there are more than just these two Mortal Shedding want his life, this Soul Condensation Realm cultivator; there are two more Mortal Shedding lurking in the shadows.

The solution he had just come up with was nothing more than a desperate attempt to save his own life in a hopeless situation.

Even if Qianxi could instantly kill the old man who was playing with fire based on the information he gave her, and hold off the voluptuous woman, the other two Mortal Shedding cultivators hiding in the shadows could also take his life at any time.

The most deadly snakes are those that lurk in the shadows.

However, Luo Xiran's sudden voice gave Xu Yuan a glimmer of hope:

"What's the meaning?"

Luo Xiran's voice was serious and solemn:

"As long as I can get in touch with that old man's body, I will use a method to make that strange plague spread rapidly within him in a short period of time, and may even completely devour his sanity."

"."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan's hopes vanished instantly, and he let out a helpless smile.

Lou Ji once said that it took half a month for this disease to completely transform Jing Xuelan, a Grandmaster.

As a withered old man at the Mortal Shedding Realm, the time it would take for him to be completely infected would inevitably be longer. Luo Xiran's ability to make him deteriorate quickly is already a timely help.

After all, this is almost equivalent to turning this withered old man, who is now determined to kill him, into a "neutral monster".

But the problem is,

This little bit of charcoal fire was no match for him in the midst of the snowstorm.

Despite his helplessness, the will to survive led Xu Yuan to make a decision immediately:

"How do we do it?"

"Relax."

Luo Xiran answered decisively in her gentle voice, "Give me your body."

As soon as he finished speaking, before Xu Yuan could even open his mouth, countless fungal carpets quietly emerged from the Blood God Stone Pendant.

Part of it directly covered Xu Yuan's body surface, forming a Black Death Fungal Armor, while the other part poured into Xu Yuan's body.

As someone who had once Mortal Shedding Strange Ghost and even become a half-saint, Xu Yuan was no stranger to the fungal carpet entering his body.

These infiltrated bacterial mats, like tightly bound ribbons, firmly bind every cell in his body together.

With the support of these fungal mats, Xu Yuan could clearly feel his physical strength increasing rapidly at a morbid pace.

Sensing these changes, Xu Yuan, who was in despair, felt a strange sense of amusement.

They truly are a brother and sister.

Old Man Luo can refine the Source Qi with the power of his Will Soul, allowing him to temporarily possess strength comparable to Grandmaster.

Luo Laomei, on the other hand, used the fungal carpet as a medium to directly strengthen his physical body.

I just don't know to what extent the boost that Sister Luo will bring him will be compared to Old Man Luo.

Upon realizing this, Xu Yuan's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

My old problem has resurfaced; when I get nervous, I start thinking about all sorts of random things.

Composing himself, Xu Yuan glanced at Qianxi, who stood beside him as if facing a formidable enemy, and transmitted his instructions telepathically:

"Qianxi, keep an eye on that woman in mid-air. I'll take care of the old man who uses fire."

Upon hearing this, a hint of astonishment flashed in Qianxi's eyes, which had been serious.

Soul Condensation Battle Against Mortal Shedding?

What's the meaning?

Has the Third Young Master gone mad?

"Third Young Master"

Xu Yuan's gaze was fixed on the old man who slowly walked out of the sea of fire, and his voice was very soft:

"I remember Junqing said that you should do everything according to my orders."

"."

After a moment of silence, Qianxi gave a soft reply and then fell silent.

She had no liking for this Third Young Master Prime Minister's Mansion, and since he insisted on doing so, she would let him be.

If the other party dies, she will immediately rush back to His Highness's side to protect him.

Your Highness is still waiting for her.

Looking down from the sky, one-third of the vast Huizhou County has already been engulfed in flames, and the fire is spreading rapidly to the rest of the town.

And the person who started all of this is gradually moving towards Xu Yuan.

The withered old man's face was covered with wrinkles, his white hair was disheveled, and his magnificent robe was stained with the blood of the Mystic Eagle, but the lingering smell of blood seemed to excite him even more.

The old man wasn't walking fast, but in just a few breaths he had rapidly closed the distance between himself and Xu Yuan.

Hundred Zhang

Sixty feet.

Ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

Standing atop the ruins, Xu Yuan took out the Willowwood Ghost Blade and stared silently at the old man's withered face, which resembled tree bark, and the twisted expression of excitement on it, without uttering a word.

Upon seeing Xu Yuan's calm expression, the withered old man's face twisted with displeasure.

He was dissatisfied with the other person's performance.

He felt that the boy should be terrified, should kneel down and beg for mercy, should bring up his powerful father to intimidate him, and then be mocked and tortured to death.

However, the withered old man quickly resumed his twisted, sinister grin.

He wanted to tear off that handsome face of his and see if his expression could still be so calm.

Then,

His figure suddenly disappeared from Xu Yuan's sight.

The speed at Mortal Shedding was beyond Xu Yuan's ability to keep up, but just because he couldn't keep up didn't mean Luo Xiran couldn't.

"Bang!!"

A muffled thud rang out.

Luo Xiran held the Willowwood Ghost Blade horizontally in front of her, colliding it with the withered old man's fist, which was wreathed in flames.

The powerful force of the Mortal Shedding Realm cultivator caused the Willowwood Ghost Blade in Xu Yuan's hand to fly out and spin, embedding itself in a pile of ruins several dozen feet away.

With just one strike, even with countless fungal carpets protecting his body, Xu Yuan still felt some of his internal organs shatter.

However, because the fungal carpet bound the broken organs together, his body did not suffer any negative effects from the injury.

However, Luo Xiran's use of the Willowwood Ghost Blade to block the attack did not stop the withered old man's punch; it merely deflected it slightly from its trajectory.

With undiminished force, he punched straight through Xu Yuan's right chest.

Take some time to recuperate, take some time to recuperate.

I feel completely drained.