Beat Down

On the boundless plains and hills Capital North, a massive, Sun Veil fog stretches across the sky, its ominous aura causing birds and beasts within hundreds of miles to flee in the opposite direction.

Above this eerie mist, in the sky, stood a long-haired man dressed in white, his hair as white as snow.

After receiving the message from Heavenly Message Crystal, he sped along without stopping to the location he had agreed upon with Lou Ji.

But looking down at the eerie mist that should have been a county town, a hint of unease flashed in Feng Jiuxuan's narrow eyes.

He didn't know what had happened here before he arrived, but looking at the mist below that was almost able to block the Sacred Source's detection, what had happened here earlier was definitely not good news.

Changtian

A deep worry flashed in Feng Jiuxuan's dark eyes as he slowly took out his spirit Azure Abyss, from his Sumeru Ring and held it in his hand.

However, his worries did not affect his rational judgment.

Lou Ji.

Given Lou Ji's cultivation level, it's absolutely impossible for her to die here. And if the other party isn't dead, then she wouldn't abandon this strange phenomenon and leave.

He wanted to call the other person out first to ask about the situation.

Taking a deep breath, his snow-white robes fluttered without wind. Just as Feng Jiuxuan was about to use the Source Qi to amplify his voice, a graceful figure flew out from the deep black mist below.

The moment Feng Jiuxuan saw the other person, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. Before the other person even got close, he asked with a hint of urgency:

"Lou Ji, where is Changtian now?"

Lou Ji flew to within three zhang of him and stopped, answering directly and bluntly:

He's still in the black fog below.

"."

Upon hearing this, Feng Jiuxuan breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing slightly. However, he immediately noticed something amiss from Lou Ji's expression.

This was an expression he had never seen on Lou Ji's face before.

It's too serious, so serious it's almost unsightly.

With a slight sinking feeling in his heart, Feng Jiuxuan asked in a deep voice:

"You failed to protect Changtian?"

Lou Ji did not deny it, and nodded slightly.

"Um."

"With your cultivation level..."

"Now is not the time to discuss this."

Lou Ji interrupted Feng Jiuxuan's attempt to question her, pointing her slender index finger at the black mist below and quickly saying, "The black mist below was released by Changtian. Although he is still alive, his body has undergone a transformation."

The sheer volume of information contained in those few words momentarily stunned Feng Jiuxuan, who was new to the place. He instinctively wanted to ask what had happened, but he quickly grasped the crux of the matter.

At this point, what happened here before is no longer important.

The important thing is that Changtian is still alive.

And whether this so-called mutation that happened to him is reversible.

However, he was merely a sword cultivator and did not understand the principles of mutations or those medicinal substances.

After a moment of silence, Feng Jiuxuan slightly tightened his grip on the Azure Abyss Sword:

"What do you want me to do?"

Lou Ji glanced down:

"Subdue and capture Changtian alive."

Feng Jiuxuan's eyes showed a hint of surprise:

Why don't you do this?

A hint of helplessness flashed in Lou Ji's eyes:

"I already tried before you came here. Because of that anomaly, Changtian's strength is now approaching that of a half-saint. In addition, his strange abilities are effective against me. I cannot capture him alive without harming him."

The wind howled, and for the first time, surprise appeared in Feng Jiuxuan's eyes.

He knew Lou Ji's strength very well. If it weren't for that incident back then damaging her foundation, she would probably have already become a saint by now.

She actually said she couldn't capture Changtian?

Lou Ji ignored the expression in Feng Jiuxuan's eyes, her beautiful gaze fixed on the mist below, her voice heavy with seriousness:

"I conducted the experiment two days ago. Changtian is now able to devour flesh and blood, and today he has absorbed the entire population of the city below."

Feng Jiuxuan already had a general idea of what had happened, so he didn't ask any more questions. He just glanced at Lou Ji indifferently.

The tacit understanding formed from years of working together allowed Lou Ji to instantly understand the other party's meaning.

He's about to make his move.

Without any hesitation, Lou Ji's slender figure transformed into a streak of purple light and shot directly into the distant sky.

As they sped along, Luo Xiran's voice suddenly rang in Lou Ji's ears:

"Chief Lou, aren't you going to tell that sage about Changtian?"

Lou Ji glanced back at the white-robed man standing between heaven and earth upon hearing this, and replied softly:

He probably doesn't need this.

The vast expanse of heaven and earth, the boundless black mist, like a terrifying behemoth, lay prostrate on the ground, devouring all the light around it.

In the silence,

"Bass--"

The white-robed man standing in the void slowly drew his Azure Abyss Sword. The blade hummed softly and suddenly gleamed with a chilling light under the rising sun.

Feng Jiuxuan stared calmly at the vast cloud of mist below that filled his entire field of vision, without any surge of Qi around him. He simply swung his sword downwards suddenly.

The sword blade sliced through the void at a speed invisible to the naked eye, yet it seemed to leave no ripples on the ground.

White clouds drifted across the sky, and the black mist continued to spread outwards, just as it had when he arrived.

But this tranquility lasted only a moment.

Then,

"Buzz--"

There was no sword light, no surging Qi, and no booming sound; there was only a soft sword hum.

As the sword's cry rang out, the eerie mist that had been clinging to the ground below dissipated like the smoke rising from a farmhouse.

"." Luo Xiran.

A moment of silence,

Luo Xiran's gentle voice carried a hint of hesitation:

"Chief Lou, are all the saints of your time like him?"

"."

Lou Ji didn't reply immediately, but seeing this scene, the worry in her heart was completely relieved, and she smiled:

"I don't know, but among the people I know in this world, there shouldn't be anyone who can surpass Feng Jiuxuan."

In the eyes of the two women,

After unleashing that sword strike, Feng Jiuxuan immediately sheathed the Azure Abyss Gui Sword and slowly lowered it to the ground with the scabbard in hand.

Luo Xiran asked in a low voice:

"Is he preparing to engage in close- Changtian?"

Lou Ji had completely regained her languid and relaxed state, and said softly:

"Senior Luo may not know, but Changtian was very naughty when Changtian and always liked to cause trouble. Almost all the high-ranking officials in our Prime Minister's Estate beat him up, but he never changed his ways and no amount of beating could teach him a lesson."

"The only exception is probably his maternal uncle. Ever since Changtian stole a treasure from Feng Jiuxuan's room and got a beating, he hasn't been back."

Luo Xiran's voice still carried an urgent and solemn tone:

"No, can the situation be the same now as it was back then?"

"What's different?"

Lou Ji asked softly, her smiling gaze fixed on the retreating figure as he slowly walked towards Xu Yuan, and said with a light laugh:

"This should be the second time Feng Jiuxuan has beaten up Changtian. I wonder if it will teach him a lesson now."