"P-pick me up?"
Xu Ziyan froze where she stood, momentarily at a loss as to how to react.
After a brief daze, Zhai Yuan's expression abruptly turned cold.
"You actually dared scheme against this commander!"
As he spoke, a piercing blade cry rang out, and an enormous blade shadow wreathed in flames suddenly descended from the sky, as though it would cleave the entire courtyard in two.
"Boom...!"
But with a tremendous crash, a black shadow that suddenly flew up from the courtyard blocked the enormous flaming blade shadow.
A closer look revealed that the thing blocking the blade shadow was a long-haired Blood Garment Vengeful Ghost.
Seeing the Blood Garment Vengeful Ghost stop the strike, Zhai Yuan immediately declared smugly:
"With such meager abilities, you dare storm my Evil Dog Ridge?"
Yet no sooner had he spoken than a swish rang out, and the flaming blade shadow sliced straight through the Blood Garment Vengeful Ghost, splitting it in two.
"Boom!!"
The next instant, the enormous flaming blade shadow continued crashing down toward the courtyard like thunder falling from the heavens.
The blade force bearing down with it transformed into an invisible weight, enveloping the entire courtyard before the blade reached it.
But when the blade shadow was only a dozen or so zhang from the courtyard, Zhai Yuan finally reacted. He suddenly took a Jade Flask from his sleeve and smashed it against the ground.
"Crack!"
The instant the Jade Flask shattered, a boom rang out, and five black shadows shot skyward in succession like columns of smoke.
"Boom!"
Amid a deafening collision, the enormous flaming blade shadow was stopped once again.
Only then did Zhai Yuan and Xu Ziyan see clearly that an old man stood ramrod straight at the hilt of the enormous blade shadow.
That figure