Hearing Bi Xiao’s words, Tian Yan’s face darkened instantly, she glanced at the white-haired man in the distance, “Stop this Backer King!”
She paused, then added, “Don’t kill him!”
With that, she turned toward Bi Xiao, “Woman, I’ll rip that mouth of yours apart soon enough!”
Bi Xiao laughed, “Come on then!”
As her words fell, her body suddenly turned ethereal, and in the next moment, a tree emerged from within her.
Tian Yan’s eyes narrowed, “The Shenhuang Ancient Tree!”
Bi Xiao smiled faintly, “Without some tricks up my sleeve, would I dare come here? Tian Yan, I’ll be waiting for you in the Zhouyuan Realm!”
With that, she looked at Ye Xuan, “Young Master Ye, until we meet again!”
Her voice faded, and she turned toward the spacetime tunnel!
And Tian Yan didn’t stop her!
Nearby, Ye Xuan glanced at Tian Yan, curiosity stirring in his chest—why wasn’t this woman stopping Bi Xiao?
Was it because of that Shenhuang Ancient Tree?
At that moment, Bi Xiao vanished completely into the spacetime tunnel.
Tian Yan turned to face Ye Xuan, staring at him silently.
Ye Xuan turned to leave.
But then, the white-haired man stepped in front of him.
Ye Xuan abruptly spun around, strode quickly to Tian Yan, and spread his arms wide, “Come on, kill me!”
Tian Yan stared at him intently, Ye Xuan stepped closer, saying earnestly, “I’m begging you to end me!”
At that moment, the white-haired man clenched his fist and swung it straight at Ye Xuan!
Having just emerged from seclusion, he was unaware of prior events.
The punch came roaring in, and Ye Xuan didn’t dodge.
If it landed, his soul and body would be obliterated!
Just as the fist was about to smash into Ye Xuan’s head, Tian Yan flicked her sleeve.
Boom!
The white-haired man was flung back a thousand feet!
He looked at Tian Yan, bewildered.
Tian Yan didn’t explain, she turned to Ye Xuan, gave him a thumbs-up, “You’ve got guts!”
With that, she turned and left.
Ye Xuan shrugged and walked away.
After he departed, the white-haired man approached Tian Yan, bowing slightly, “Ancient Priestess, why not kill him?”
Tian Yan’s face was expressionless, “Kill him, and the Tianqi Clan is finished!”
The white-haired man was stunned, “How so?”
Tian Yan glanced at him, “Tian Que, don’t touch him!”
With that, she turned and vanished into the distance.
Tian Que fell silent.
…
Back at the Dao Spirit Palace, Ye Xuan entered Little Tower.
His expression was grim.
His physical body was gone!
In that clash with Tian Yan, his combat instincts and strength had been utterly overwhelmed!
She’d traded an injury for his life!
He had to admit, there was still a significant gap between him and Tian Yan, unless he used his bloodline power combined with the Qingxuan Sword, only then might he stand a chance.
But this defeat wasn’t without gains.
Every fight brought rewards—each failure let him pinpoint his shortcomings.
Ye Xuan began repairing his body.
A day later, his physical form was restored, he left Little Tower, and the moment he did, A Dao Ling appeared before him, her face grave, “Something big is happening at the Heavenly Tomb!”
Ye Xuan frowned, “Something big?”
A Dao Ling nodded, pointing at the ground, “Feel it!”
Ye Xuan looked down, and after a moment, his brows furrowed again—he felt the earth trembling, not just the ground, but the surrounding space too!
A Dao Ling said solemnly, “I suspect that woman might be planning to destroy this alien world!”
Ye Xuan was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ll go check it out!”
With that, he headed straight to the Heavenly Tomb.
At that moment, the entire Tianqi Clan had gathered before the altar, Tian Yan stood atop it, her hands forming a strange seal as she chanted under her breath.
Ye Xuan’s arrival drew the attention of the Tianqi Clan’s powerhouses.
Seeing him, their expressions were a mix of complexity.
The Backer King was here again!
They’d love nothing more than to tear him apart and drink his blood, but they didn’t dare act against him.
That plain-skirted woman was the nightmare of every Tianqi clansman!
That day, if Ye Xuan had nodded, her sword would’ve fallen, and the once-glorious, invincible Tianqi Clan would’ve vanished entirely!
At that moment, Tian Yan opened her eyes from atop the altar and looked at Ye Xuan, saying nothing.
Ye Xuan stared back, “What are you doing?”
Tian Yan’s face remained blank, “What’s it to you?”
Ye Xuan smiled, “If you’re planning to destroy this exiled land, I should warn you—this place is tied to Qing’er, if you wreck it, I can’t guarantee she won’t show up!”
Tian Yan glared at him, “You only know how to threaten me with her, huh?”
Ye Xuan thought for a second, then said, “How about giving me some face and not destroying this place?”
Tian Yan looked at him, “You think your face is worth that much?”
Ye Xuan spread his hands, “Then go ahead and destroy it! Once you do, Qing’er will definitely appear! Wanna bet on it? Bet your entire clan’s lives! If she shows up this time, I’ll definitely nod!”
Nod!
Tian Yan’s face twisted, turning almost feral.
Back then, the Plain-Skirted Woman had asked Ye Xuan if he wanted the Tianqi Clan wiped out—if he’d nodded, the clan would’ve been erased from existence!
To the Tianqi Clan, that was an unbearable humiliation!
Tian Yan stared at Ye Xuan, her killing intent unmasked.
Ye Xuan grinned, “Miss Tian Yan, do you want to kill me?”
Tian Yan sneered, “How could I dare, Backer King?”
Ye Xuan glanced at the Tianqi clansmen around him—they were all watching him, their eyes brimming with unhidden murderous intent!
Seeing this, Ye Xuan’s eyes narrowed!
He suddenly realized that staying out of the Tianqi Clan’s affairs might’ve been a mistake.
Just then, a Tianqi woman stepped forward, resembling Tian Yan by six or seven parts.
She approached Ye Xuan with a faint smile, “Young Master Ye, our Tianqi Clan won’t destroy this exiled land!”
Ye Xuan looked at her, “And you are?”
She smiled, “Tian Yan’s my sister, I’m Tian Ji!”
With that, she walked to Tian Yan’s side, took her hand, and continued, “Young Master Ye, there’s no real enmity between us, things only escalated this far due to a misunderstanding! Now that it’s cleared up, there’s no need for hostility! You don’t want this world destroyed, and the Tianqi Clan is willing to honor that—we won’t ruin this place or bear any ill will toward you, rest assured!”
Ye Xuan laughed, “You seem quite different from your sister!”
Tian Ji smiled faintly, “My sister’s a bit hot-headed!”
Ye Xuan glanced at the silent Tian Yan, then turned to leave.
No one stopped him!
Soon, Ye Xuan disappeared into the distant sky.
After he left, the clansmen turned to Tian Ji, some visibly displeased.
Tian Ji’s show of deference to Ye Xuan had rubbed them the wrong way.
Tian Ji said softly, “So far, he hasn’t meddled in our conflict with the Shenhuang Clan, yet we’ve kept antagonizing him, let me ask you all—if he truly teamed up with the Shenhuang Clan against us, what would we do?”
She suddenly roared, “What would we do?”
The outburst shattered her earlier gentleness.
What would we do!
Her voice thundered like a lightning strike.
Tian Ji coldly scanned the Tianqi powerhouses, “You glare at him with murder in your eyes, I ask you—if he were lying here, would you dare kill him? Would you?”
Silence fell.
Tian Ji pressed on, “Even now, we refuse to face a truth—or rather, we’ve been dodging it, what truth? That our Tianqi Clan is no match for them! Our entire clan, before that Plain-Skirted Woman, is nothing but a single sword’s prey! If that’s the case, what right do we have to make an enemy of Ye Xuan?”
The clansmen’s faces darkened, Tian Yan included.
Tian Ji shook her head slightly, “We can’t beat her, yet we keep picking fights with Ye Xuan—I can’t fathom why we’re doing this, for our Tianqi pride? Do we have any pride left before that Plain-Skirted Woman? The strongest in Zhouyuan Realm history are circle-creators, but her? Her strength is at least beyond that!”
She glanced at the crowd again, “Forgive my bluntness, but before that woman, our Tianqi Clan is like ants! If she didn’t want to temper Ye Xuan, our clan would’ve been wiped out back then!”
The scene fell deathly silent!
Tian Ji turned to Tian Yan, “Sis, I know you’re unconvinced and annoyed at Ye Xuan, but you have to see—we can’t afford to provoke him, if he joins the Shenhuang Clan, we’ll be in deep trouble! Stop antagonizing him!”
Tian Yan’s eyes closed slowly!
Truth be told, how could she not know what Tian Ji was saying?
But she just couldn’t stand Ye Xuan—an ant who’d dared provoke her time and again, what gave him the right? What made him worthy?
The Plain-Skirted Woman!
Tian Yan’s eyes snapped open, “Tian Ji, you’re right!”
With that, she looked to the spacetime tunnel in the sky, opened her palm, and behind her, the altar trembled violently, a moment later, a terrifying black beam erupted skyward, plunging into the tunnel.
A glint of ferocity flashed in Tian Yan’s eyes, “Let’s go!”
Her voice fell, and she turned into a streak of light, following the black beam into the tunnel, behind her trailed countless Tianqi powerhouses!
The entire clan departed!
The altar began siphoning the spiritual energy of the Heavenly Tomb, though it didn’t touch the energy beyond, for if it did, the entire alien world would collapse!
Soon, every Tianqi powerhouse vanished.
The alien world returned to stillness!
At the Dao Spirit Palace, Ye Xuan gazed toward the Heavenly Tomb, knowing a great battle was about to begin!
At that moment, a woman appeared before him, seeing her, Ye Xuan froze—it was Ye Ling!
And seeing Ye Ling, Ye Xuan was dumbfounded!
Because she was just a soul now!
What had happened?
…
