Xiahou Yuan felt the Astral Qi around him suddenly seize up. His vast Protective True Astral Force seemed ready to shatter at any moment!
No! No! This was nothing like the power someone in the True Astral Realm should possess!
The man before him was far beyond anyone he could fight!
Terror tore through Xiahou Yuan. His will to live overwhelmed every shred of dignity—after all, his entire lineage depended on him. "Senior! Senior! I... I was forced into it! It was the Ninth Princess. Yes, the Ninth Princess made me do it! Senior..."
"Very well."
Yue Qingshan's tone remained even. "I know."
Just three words, without the slightest change in his voice.
Yet that tone sent Xiahou Yuan's soul reeling, as though he had plunged into an icy abyss.
The man had no intention of letting him go!
Xiahou Yuan steeled himself and let out a fierce shout. Astral Qi surged around him, and several razor-sharp streaks shot out like sword light, stabbing toward the figure in the doorway!
At the same time, he hurtled backward. Wind rose beneath his feet as he lunged desperately for the window!
He had to escape! If he could get through that window, he still had a chance to live!
Bang.
Yue Qingshan merely swept his sleeve. The sharp streaks of Astral Qi, powerful enough to pierce iron and stone, dissolved into nothing.
Xiahou Yuan was one step from the window. Escape was almost within reach...
A gaunt hand appeared like a ghost and clamped tight around his throat.
His frantic dash toward the window stopped dead. The relief of a man who thought he had escaped froze on his face.
"Ghk..."
One last sound rattled from Xiahou Yuan's throat, and the light in his eyes swiftly faded.
The surging Astral Qi around