The sword Wuhen in Hua Yanyang's hand slowly lowered, and the primal fluctuations that had been forcibly severed between heaven and earth gradually converged and returned to their proper positions.
His gaze fell on the blue and white figure ahead, a cold and indifferent smile curving his lips. His voice, though not loud, carried a chilling intensity that pierced the soul, echoing across the entire Salt Desert.
"Chi Xiyue... It's been a long time." As soon as she finished speaking, even the scattered soul crystals in the world seemed to tremble slightly at that moment.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone carrying a hint of surprise, a touch of amusement, and a chilling edge. "You actually showed up here."
Chi Xiyue didn't turn around. Her robes flowed slowly in the air, and light and shadow naturally intertwined around her. Her voice was clear but carried an undeniable sharpness, "Hua Yanyang, your Hua Lineage is becoming more and more unscrupulous these days, annihilating an entire sect without a sound, not even bothering to make a fuss."
Her gaze swept lightly over the lingering traces of blood and causal cracks deep within the Salt Desert; those traces that had not yet dissipated were as clear as engravings in her eyes.
Hua Yanyang chuckled lightly, but his eyes held no warmth. "What a joke." He raised his hand and gently swept it away, instantly suppressing the lingering aftershocks of slaughter in the void into deeper logical gaps. "Do you have any evidence that my Hua Lineage was responsible?"
His tone shifted, his gaze landing on Qin Yu, "On the contrary, it's this person behind you who personally wiped out the entire Realm Breaking Heavenly Sect; that's the truly 'despicable' one."
Chi Xiyue finally turned her head slightly, her eyes as cold as knives. "Stop trying to confuse the issue." She took a step forward, and an extremely thin path of light automatically unfolded in the void. "The fact that the Hua Lineage joined forces with the Realm Breaking Heavenly Sect to destroy the sect is already common knowledge, and he—"
Her voice paused slightly, carrying an undeniable certainty, "He is a Free Spirit Unfettered Guest Heaven's Venerable the Boundless Realm Divine Sect." She looked directly at Hua Yanyang, "You can't possibly be unaware of what Unfettered Guest Heaven's Venerable means, or are you so stupid that you can't even admit it?"
A cold glint flashed in Hua Yanyang's eyes, and the smile on his lips gradually faded. "I don't want to waste any more words with you. You can't protect him today." The sword intent in his hand condensed once more, and the entire space faintly emitted a tearing sound. "Today—he will die."
The words had barely left his mouth when—"Haha, what a boastful tone!"
A sound exploded from afar, its shockwave piercing through the billions of soul crystals in the Salt Desert. The previously deathly silent space suddenly erupted into violent fluctuations, and figures stepped out from the void rifts, their auras pressing down like a torrent, instantly forcibly splitting the power structure of this area.
Thousands of figures descended simultaneously behind Qin Yu!
Auras fell like stars, spreading out in layers. The Chi Lineage's battle formation was completed in an instant, and a complete Lineage formation structure appeared in the void. The chains of laws interlocked and directly clashed with Hua Yanyang's pressure.
The leader, Chi Ninghua, stood in mid-air, her aura restrained yet as deep as an abyss. The True Annihilation Realm · Peak quietly swirled around her, never erupting, yet causing the entire space to remain still. Beside her, Chi Huaping and Chi Tongyue stood on either side, their Eternal Silence Realm · Supreme like two walls pressing down on the heavens and earth, steadily supporting the formation.
Behind them, Shen Qingchen and Su Qingyuan also appeared, both looking at Qin Yu almost simultaneously, their voices transmitted directly through their divine senses, "Brother Qin!" "Young Master Qin!"
Qin Yu's eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded in response without saying a word, but that moment of confirmation was enough.
Hua Yanyang glanced at the suddenly deployed force, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, before he sneered again, "Not bad." His tone was casual, yet tinged with sarcasm, "I didn't expect the Chi Lineage to mobilize such a force for a mere ant."
Chi Xiyue stood at the forefront, her breath steady, yet her voice was like a sharp blade being drawn, "Today, you must give the Boundless Realm Divine Sect an explanation."
As soon as she finished speaking—"Explanation? What explanation do you want??" another voice slowly descended from a higher point in the void.
The voice carried a faint hint of laughter, yet it caused the heavens and earth to sink simultaneously, and in an instant, the void cracked open once more.
One, two, ten, a hundred... thousands of figures emerged as if slowly walking out from another layer of narrative.
The leader of the Hua Lineage, Hua Yuening, took a step forward, and her aura at the pinnacle of the True Annihilation Realm · Peak directly collided with Chi Ninghua's. Silent cracks instantly appeared in the air. She was tall and slender, with a cold gaze. Ancient primordial patterns flowed on her robes, each pattern slightly distorting the surrounding rules.
Beside her, Hua Lingxi and Hua Qingyan stood side by side, their Eternal Silence Realm · Supreme unfolding like double blades, locking the space layer by layer. And a little behind them, Hua Jingmeng slowly stepped out.
His gaze immediately fell on Qin Yu, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned upwards, a smile carrying undisguised killing intent and amusement. He thought to himself, "Qin Yu... you really are lucky. Everyone thought you'd died in the Endless Abyss."
Between heaven and earth, two great families, with over a thousand powerful figures, stood facing each other.
The auras intertwined with a thunderous roar, and the rules collided violently. Even the forbidden land deep within the Salt Desert, known as the end of End of Samsara, trembled faintly at this moment.
The ancient bronze gate, sealed for millennia, emitted a dull, ancient echo, as if awakening, as if resonating, seemingly witnessing an Ultimate confrontation that could overturn an era and rewrite the entire course of cause and effect, about to erupt completely.
The air was completely frozen.
Between heaven and earth, the two camps stood like two immovable mountains pressing down on the void, their auras intertwined yet never truly erupting. On the Salt Desert, billions of soul crystals trembled slightly in silence, the wails sealed within each crystal suppressed to extremely deep frequencies, not even the "sound" itself daring to escape in the slightest.
Chi Xiyue and Hua Yanyang stood facing each other from a distance, at the void node in the center of the arena, like two anchor points fixing the entire spatial structure. Neither of them took another step forward, nor did they truly restrain their power. The tension between them, that "any movement would lead to total collapse," solidified in the air, and even the flow of time was slowed down to an extreme degree.
Chi Tongyue stood at the rear of the formation, her gaze never leaving Hua Yanyang. Her divine sense gently probed out, quietly landing on Chi Xiyue. "Senior Sister, it's not advisable to act rashly today." Her tone was extremely low, yet crystal clear. "Although Hua Yanyang at the same cultivation level as you, once the battle begins, it will be the disciples who truly bear the brunt of the impact. Our formation may not be able to withstand that level of fluctuation."
Chi Xiyue's gaze remained unmoved, her entire being seemingly integrated with the space itself. She responded softly, "I understand." Her tone was Ultimate calm. "But we cannot retreat first." Her aura subtly expanded, stabilizing the Chi Lineage's formation. "If we retreat, it will be an admission of being suppressed, and from this point on, all initiative will fall into the hands of the Hua Lineage."
On the other side, Hua Qingyan's divine sense also quietly transmitted, her voice carrying a hint of suppressed tension, "Senior Brother, this situation is not suitable for forced advancement." She looked at Chi Xiyue ahead, a trace of apprehension flashing in her eyes, "Her aura has completely locked onto us. Once you collide head-on with her, the aftershocks will be enough to collapse our formation."
Hua Yanyang exhaled softly, his eyes growing even sharper. "I know." His gaze swept over the Chi Lineage's ranks, a slight smile playing on his lips. "But we can't retreat first either." He lightly stroked the hilt of his sword. "Otherwise, the Chi Lineage will think our Hua Lineage is too afraid to confront us directly."
The air grew heavy again, and both sides, with over a thousand powerful warriors, remained completely still at this moment, none of them making a move.
No one dared to make the first move. Time passed slowly, like a thread being stretched out, ready to snap at any moment.
Just as Hua Yanyang suddenly took half a step forward, seemingly about to speak and break the deadlock—
Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Several loud explosions erupted from the far distance.
It wasn't the sound that came from inside, but rather the space itself that trembled first, followed by—a rumbling—a rumbling—!!!
A series of deafening roars seemed to erupt from the very foundations of the world, causing the entire structure of the Skeleton Star Sea to shift violently. Countless soul crystals on the Salt Desert simultaneously shattered into dust.
An extremely terrifying wave erupted from the direction of the bronze giant gate, "the End of Samsara." The wave had no form, yet it made everyone present feel a jolt in their Fate Soul, as if some higher being was forcibly prying open the structure of this universe.
Chi Xiyue and Hua Yanyang turned their heads almost at the same time, and for the first time, their gazes showed the same change—solemnity.
There was no communication, no probing.
A cold glint flashed in Hua Yanyang's eyes, and in the next instant, he made his decision. He turned around directly, his voice sharp and decisive, "Go." He looked at Hua Qingyan, "Take everyone and return to the clan immediately."
Before the words were even finished, the Hua Lineage formation was activated instantly. Thousands of people tore through the void at the same time, and rifts appeared one after another, like spatial wounds. All the auras were gathered together in a very short time. Hua Yuening, Hua Lingxi, Hua Qingyan, and even Hua Jingmeng disappeared into the void rifts at the same time, without leaving even a trace of residual fluctuations.
On the other side, Chi Xiyue also did not hesitate. She turned to look at Chi Tongyue, her voice steady yet carrying a hint of swift decisiveness, "Take them back to the clan first."
Chi Tongyue nodded without asking any further questions. With a wave of her hand, the Chi Lineage formation instantly opened a retreat channel, and thousands of people surged into the void rift like a tide. Before leaving, her gaze suddenly fell on Qin Yu again.
In that instant, her brow twitched slightly, as if a memory had been touched, or as if a faint sense of familiarity had swept through her heart.
She didn't linger, but that one glance was incredibly deep; the next instant, she vanished with the formation.
In an instant, only two people remained in the world: Chi Xiyue and Qin Yu, along with the lingering aftershocks of the battlefield.
Chi Xiyue turned around, her gaze falling on Qin Yu. Her aura had been concealed, but the unfathomable pressure remained. She spoke softly, "Young Master Qin."
Her tone was calm, yet carried an invitation that brooked no refusal. "Would you mind coming back to my clan with me?" She paused slightly. "There are some things I need to discuss with you in detail."
Qin Yu stood rooted to the spot, his gaze fixed on the direction from which the deafening roar had erupted. The space there was still slightly distorted, and a subtle, imperceptible fluctuation continued to spread. He understood now that, just moments before, both Hua Yanyang and Chi Xiyue...
They all made the same judgment: the changes there were far more dangerous than the current standoff. He turned his gaze back to Chi Xiyue without asking any further questions.
Without testing him, he simply nodded slightly. "Okay." His voice was deep and decisive. "Thank you for saving me, senior."
Chi Xiyue didn't say anything more. She turned around and tore open an extremely stable spatial passage with a wave of her hand. The passage did not contain simple spatial power, but rather a fixed "path" that led directly to the core domain of the Chi Lineage.
She stepped in, Qin Yu followed closely behind. The void slowly closed, and the Salt Desert returned to its deathly silence, leaving only the still-unresolved tremors in the distance, which continued to spread silently.