The Exterminating God Needle had barely neared the Zither Sword Immortal’s forehead when blood seeped from between his brows.
It seemed the Exterminating God Needle was about to pierce the Zither Sword Immortal’s brow at any moment, in that critical juncture of life and death.
Boom!
The Zither Sword Immortal seized the ancient zither before him and smashed it against the Exterminating God Needle, instantly repelling Feng Yan.
At the same time, the Zither Sword Immortal retreated several hundred steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The Exterminating God Needle was an exceedingly vicious sacred artefact, capable of slaying the souls of saints. Though it had not penetrated his brow earlier, the Zither Sword Immortal’s nascent soul had still suffered injury.
After all, Feng Yan’s cultivation was no inferior to his own.
The Wine Sword Immortal, who had been healing, opened his eyes at that moment.
“Junior brother, are you alright?” the Wine Sword Immortal asked with concern.
“I am fine. He cannot kill me.” With that, the Zither Sword Immortal sat cross-legged in the void and resumed plucking the strings, continuing to confront the powerhouses from the three sacred grounds.
The Wine Sword Immortal was about to resume healing when he suddenly spotted Yun Xi. Surprise flickered in his eyes as he swiftly arrived before her.
“Yun Xi, how did you get out?” the Wine Sword Immortal asked. “What of the other disciples?”
“They are all dead.” Yun Xi asked in turn, “How did you end up in such a state? And why are the people from the three sacred grounds besieging the Zither Sword Immortal?”
The Wine Sword Immortal fumed, “Do not mention it. The people from the three sacred grounds struck at me suddenly while I was locked in mortal combat with that little sixth. Fortunately, my junior brother arrived in time, or you would never have seen me again.”
“By the way, how did you emerge so quickly?”
“Have you already obtained the saint’s inheritance?”
Yun Xi shook her head and said, “I did not obtain the inheritance. Circumstances in the tomb changed, so I came out.”
“Then who obtained it?” the Wine Sword Immortal asked. “Was it Lin Tian, or Huangfu Qi and the others?”
“They are all dead.” Yun Xi’s words fell like a thunderbolt from the blue.
“Dead?” the Wine Sword Immortal asked in shock. “How did they die?”
Thus, Yun Xi briefly recounted the events in the tomb. Upon hearing it, the Wine Sword Immortal’s gaze swept over Fairy Baihua and the others before finally settling on Ye Qiu.
“You are Ye Changsheng?” the Wine Sword Immortal asked.
“I am.” Ye Qiu replied.
The Wine Sword Immortal was puzzled. “Strange. You are merely at the Golden Core realm. What method did you use to slay several prodigies?”
Ye Qiu said, “Perhaps I was simply fortunate.”
“Fortune?” The Wine Sword Immortal smiled and said, “Since you do not wish to tell this old man, I shall not press you. Regardless, you saved Yun Xi’s life. On behalf of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect, I thank you.”
Ye Qiu replied humbly, “Senior, there is no need for courtesy. To draw the blade in the face of injustice is the creed of we wandering heroes.”
The Wine Sword Immortal’s eyes lit up. “Well said, to draw the blade in the face of injustice. Young man, you are impressive.”
Ye Qiu smiled.
Yun Xi glanced at the battlefield and said, “Can the Zither Sword Immortal hold them off?”
The Wine Sword Immortal said gravely, “Though my junior brother’s cultivation is extraordinary, those three are no pushovers either. I fear he cannot withstand them for long.”
“Then what are we to do?” Yun Xi looked anxious.
Ye Qiu’s heart sank. If the Azure Cloud Sword Sect’s experts could not hold off the people from the three sacred grounds, he too would be in peril.
After all, he had slain their holy sons.
Real Person Changmei quietly tugged at Ye Qiu’s sleeve and whispered, “Little brat, the situation is dire. Let us slip away at once!”
Truth be told, Ye Qiu had no desire to wade into this muddy water. His cultivation was low, and a single misstep could turn him to cannon fodder.
Yet if the powerhouses from the three sacred grounds did not perish, once they finished off the Azure Cloud Sword Sect’s people, they would come for Ye Qiu. Even if he fled to the ends of the earth, the three sacred grounds would never let him go.
When the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold, as the saying goes. That described the present peril perfectly.
“Senior, if I may be so bold, where has the sixth elder of the Yin-Yang Sect gone?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Little sixth is dead.” The Wine Sword Immortal said, “Little sixth and I fought to the death, both of us gravely wounded. Then Feng Yan from the Primordial Sacred Ground caught him off guard and slew him with the Exterminating God Needle.”
Good riddance. It would be best if everyone from the Yin-Yang Sect dropped dead.
Ye Qiu breathed a sigh of relief and asked further, “Why have we not seen the powerhouse from the Heaven-Mending Sect?”
The Wine Sword Immortal said, “After the fissure appeared in the saint’s grand array, everyone vied to enter the tomb. That fellow from the Heaven-Mending Sect was the swiftest, but he ended up losing the hen and the rice. No sooner had he entered the fissure than the prohibitions of the saint’s grand array killed him.”
Dead?
Ye Qiu was taken aback. That meant the current enemies numbered only three. Once the powerhouses from the three sacred grounds were eliminated, all would be safe.
However, Ye Qiu was not so arrogant as to join this battle. The powerhouses from the three sacred grounds were all at the peak of the Transcendent God realm. The gap in their realms was too vast. Even with divine artefacts in hand, he could not possibly match them.
What to do?
As Ye Qiu pondered, Real Person Changmei spoke to him again. “Little brat, are you even listening to me?”
“This is a grudge between the Azure Cloud Sword Sect and the three sacred grounds. Let us not get involved.”
“Hurry and flee, or soon we will not be able to escape even if we wish to…”
Before Real Person Changmei could finish, he saw Ye Qiu produce a leaf from the Golden Sacred Tree.
“What are you doing?”
No sooner had Real Person Changmei spoken than he saw Ye Qiu hand the leaf to the Wine Sword Immortal.
“Senior, this junior has some medicine here. Perhaps it can aid in restoring your physical body. Why not try it?”
The Wine Sword Immortal took the leaf, his eyes widening in shock. “A divine medicine?”
He sighed then. “Pity. The divine medicine is not yet mature. Its efficacy is limited and cannot help me restore my body.”
The Golden Sacred Tree is a divine medicine?
Ye Qiu was somewhat surprised. Then, he produced a pill.
Real Person Changmei exclaimed in shock, “Little brat, this pill is…”
“It is useless to me anyway.” Ye Qiu handed the pill to the Wine Sword Immortal and said, “This pill was obtained by this junior from the saint’s tomb. Its grade is unknown, and I am unclear on its effects. Thus, I do not know if it can help Senior restore his body.”
The Wine Sword Immortal examined the pill for a moment, glanced towards the Zither Sword Immortal, then swallowed both the pill and the Golden Sacred Tree leaf in one gulp.
In an instant, his nascent soul radiated light, and his physical body began reforming at a visible speed.
It took only a few dozen seconds.
The Wine Sword Immortal’s body was fully restored. He stood and bowed deeply to Ye Qiu.
“Please accept my bow.”
Ye Qiu smiled and said, “Senior, it is but a single pill. There is no need for such a grand gesture.”
The Wine Sword Immortal said, “You do not know, but that pill just now was a pseudo-saint pill.”
“Though its efficacy falls short of a true saint pill, it far surpasses ordinary heaven-grade spirit pills. Otherwise, I could not have recovered so swiftly.”
Bloody hell.
Ye Qiu’s smile froze on his face.
Had he known earlier that this pill was a pseudo-saint pill, he certainly would not have given it to the Wine Sword Immortal.
It hurt to part with it!
The Wine Sword Immortal seemed to discern Ye Qiu’s thoughts and said, “This old man will not take your pill for nothing. Once the enemies are dealt with, I shall thank you properly.”
With that, the Wine Sword Immortal summoned the Seven-Coloured Fierce Sun Sword and stepped into the void, joining the fray.
