Toward evening, Xu Qingtong reached a mountain stream. The rushing water could be heard from far away. His primordial spirit had finished planting the flowers and herbs inside the Seven-Star Bracelet and returned to his niwang palace.
At the edge of the pool, Xu Qingtong took out the Seven-Star Bracelet and placed it in the water. With a thought, he sent a stream of water pouring into the bracelet. Soon, a small pool ten zhang square appeared in a low-lying area inside it.
His primordial spirit entered the Seven-Star Bracelet again, formed a spell seal, and drew water from the pool to water all the flowers and herbs. Only then did he return to his niwang palace, thoroughly satisfied.
Xu Qingtong was about to leave when two people suddenly appeared within the range of his divine sense, running toward him one behind the other. He hurriedly said, "Xiao Qi, go hide in those woods. Don't act rashly. Wait for my orders!" Without further hesitation, he leaped into the pool and swiftly sank to the bottom.
Once he had concealed himself, Xu Qingtong extended his divine sense toward the approaching figures.
They were a man and a woman. The woman running in front was none other than Dongfang Hui, who had come here with him. Her pale-purple dress was already in tatters, its neckline hanging open and her clothes disheveled.
The man following her was also someone who had come with them: Lin Qian, whom Xu Qingtong had once defeated.
From their appearance, the two seemed to have fought. Xu Qingtong could not make sense of it. He remembered that they had known each other for some time and seemed quite close. Before coming to Mist Valley, they had even spoken briefly, and Lin Qian had apparently called Dongfang Hui "little sister Hui." Just what kind of play were these two acting out?
Xu Qingtong dared not let his guard down. He steadied his breathing, focused his mind, and watched closely. Dongfang Hui seemed injured, her steps unsteady. Lin Qian, however, remained as calm and composed as ever, following her at an unhurried pace as though toying with his prey.
Before long, pursuer and fugitive reached the pool. Lin Qian said, "Little sister Hui, stop running. You've already been poisoned by my Power-Dissolving Powder. I'm afraid you won't be able to gather any magical power for seven days. You have very little left in your body. Without magical power, you probably won't survive even a day in Mist Valley."
Lin Qian approached Dongfang Hui with a flippant grin, his expression lecherous. "Why not give yourself to me, little sister Hui? Once we're husband and wife, surely you won't tell anyone that I killed An Chengbao and Qin Xinghan!"
Xu Qingtong's heart jolted at those words. He had never imagined that Lin Qian had killed both An Chengbao and Qin Xinghan. How ruthless!
Dongfang Hui's face was bleak. "I never thought the big brother Lin Qian I knew as a child would become so cold and cruel. An Chengbao and Qin Xinghan were rogue cultivators, just like us. It would have been one thing if you simply refused to help them, but why did you loot a burning house and kill them?"
"Qin Xinghan was a treacherous fellow. He deliberately let that demon beast chase him. He thought I couldn't see through his little scheme! Besides, he actually dared to set his sights on you. His death was no loss!"
"Even if Qin Xinghan brought it on himself, An Chengbao never offended you, did he?" Dongfang Hui demanded.
"An Chengbao? Hahaha! His mistake was seeing something he shouldn't have! He was just the son of some petty mortal official. So what if I killed him? If I hadn't, the fact that I killed Qin Xinghan would certainly have come to light!" Lin Qian said viciously.
"So you intend to kill me too?" Dongfang Hui asked coldly.
"Heh heh. I trust no one except the dead and my own people! I don't want to kill you, so I'll just have to make you one of mine!" Lin Qian said with a vile grin.
Dongfang Hui knew that even at her peak, she was no match for Lin Qian. Now that the magical power in her body was nearly exhausted, she had even less chance of resisting him. It seemed she could not escape death today! But she would never allow herself to be violated before she died!
At that thought, Dongfang Hui hesitated no longer and drove the golden hairpin in her hand toward her chest.
Xu Qingtong panicked at the sight. Sister Dongfang had left him with an excellent impression, and he could not bear to watch this beauty's fragrance fade and her jade shatter. He was about to intervene, but someone moved faster than he did!
Lin Qian's flying sword vanished in a flash. The next instant, Dongfang Hui's golden hairpin was knocked from her hand, and a cut opened across the back of that hand. Blood trickled down her arm.
"Want to die? Don't be in such a hurry! You can die after you've become a real woman. Your big brother has admired you for a long time." Grinning lecherously, Lin Qian slowly closed in on Dongfang Hui.
Helpless, Dongfang Hui could only retreat. Soon she was at the edge of the pool, with nowhere left to go. Gritting her teeth, she turned and jumped toward the water.
How could Lin Qian let her succeed? He darted forward and caught her arm. But at that very moment, something unexpected happened.
A streak of red light suddenly shot out of the water, heading straight for Lin Qian's face. He had never imagined someone else was hiding in the pool. Caught off guard, he had no time to summon a shield and could only raise his hand to protect his face while darting sideways.
With a swish, the Red Sun Sword pierced Lin Qian's palm and sliced off two fingers. Blood immediately gushed out. Having narrowly escaped that lethal strike, Lin Qian hurriedly summoned a Rejuvenation Talisman and slapped it onto his right hand to stanch the wound. At the same time, a shield appeared before him. Only then did he focus his gaze on the person in the water.
Xu Qingtong sprang out of the pool and darted in front of Dongfang Hui, shielding her behind him. With a beckon of his right hand, the Red Sun Sword flew back and hovered above his head. He turned his left hand over, and the Goumang Seal appeared before him. Only then did he speak. "Who would have thought Young Master Lin had such refined tastes, bullying a defenseless woman here? I'm truly impressed!"
His face livid, Lin Qian looked at Xu Qingtong and said coldly, "So it's you! I haven't seen you these past few days. I thought you were already dead! I never expected you to be so hard to kill. But I'm afraid your good luck ends here!" With that, he raised his left hand, and his flying sword shot straight toward Xu Qingtong.
Knowing Lin Qian's strength, Xu Qingtong dared not meet him head-on and hurriedly dodged aside. Lin Qian's flying sword followed him like a shadow, turning and flying toward him again. Left with no choice, Xu Qingtong activated the Goumang Seal and sent it out to block the sword.
With a clang, the flying sword struck the Goumang Seal. Xu Qingtong felt a jolt through his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering backward several steps. The Goumang Seal's light dimmed as well, and it fell to the ground. Seeing this, Dongfang Hui said anxiously, "Brother Qingtong, be careful! You mustn't meet him head-on."
Xu Qingtong steadied himself, glanced at Dongfang Hui, and nodded. "I understand!"
With two fingers on his right hand severed by Xu Qingtong, Lin Qian's spellcasting was severely hampered. Otherwise, after driving Xu Qingtong back with that strike, he would never have given him a chance to catch his breath. Seeing that his previous attack had failed to wound Xu Qingtong, he directed his flying sword at him again.
Xu Qingtong had few means left at his disposal. He could only summon a Shield Talisman to protect his entire body. When he saw Lin Qian's flying sword coming, he no longer tried to dodge. His primordial spirit gathered his divine sense into a sharp spike and thrust it toward Lin Qian's forehead.
With a crack, Xu Qingtong's shield failed to stop Lin Qian's flying sword and shattered at once. The sword struck his body. Then the Protective Armor he wore flashed and broke apart as well, and the flying sword pierced the right side of his chest. Fortunately, he had already reached minor mastery of the second level of the Heavenly Fire Body-Tempering Art. After breaking through two successive lines of defense, Lin Qian's flying sword had little force left, allowing him to barely withstand the lethal blow.
Before you continue