Chapter 97
The emerald-green barrier shuddered violently beneath the relentless barrage of sword qi, ripples spreading across its surface like waves on a storm-tossed lake.
Qi Qingji could feel the barrier's aura weakening with every impact.
His heart sank.
Once the barrier broke, his defenses would vanish completely. Then he would have to face Qi Qingxiong's sword qi head-on, and he had no other means of protecting himself.
"Brother Qingxiong, listen to reason! Think of the bigger picture!"
He retreated frantically, weaving through the incoming attacks as his amplified voice echoed across the valley.
"Once we leave this small world, you can do whatever you want to your brother. I won't complain at all!"
Clang!
The answer was another slash.
Sword qi crashed into the barrier. The already-fragile shield groaned under the impact, looking ready to collapse at any moment.
Qi Qingxiong stood before him like an immovable mountain, cutting off every possible escape route.
The Qingfeng Sword left his hand with a sharp hum.
The emerald barrier had already been weakened by the previous barrage.
Now, under the sword's final strike, a single fracture appeared.
Then another.
And another.
In the span of a breath, countless cracks spread across the barrier's surface like a spiderweb before the entire thing exploded into fragments of green light.
Qi Qingji's heart nearly stopped.
"No!"
He stumbled backward, retreating even faster than before.
The Qingfeng Sword circled through the air and returned to its master's hand.
Qi Qingxiong caught it without looking.
His robes billowed.
Sword intent surged around him.
"If you want my forgiveness..." His cold gaze locked onto Qi Qingji. "It's simple."
The pressure in the air intensified.
"Defeat me."
Qi Qingji nearly cried on the spot.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have feared fighting his cousin.
The problem was that he was guilty.
Extremely guilty.
A guilty conscience was far more terrifying than any sword intent.
A desperate thought flashed through his mind.
So the only way to calm Brother Qingxiong down... is to let him beat me up first?
His expression immediately turned miserable.
Sword cultivators were already infamous for their destructive power.
And Qi Qingxiong wasn't an ordinary sword cultivator. He had comprehended primordial sword intent.
If he actually let himself get beaten... Qi Qingji suddenly felt that death might be the kinder outcome.
Qi Qingji's face twitched.
Even while fleeing, he continued searching the valley with his divine sense.
Everything had started because of that mysterious female voice.
If he could find the culprit behind it, maybe he could shift some blame away from himself.
Unfortunately, no matter how thoroughly he searched, he couldn't find a single trace of an outsider.
Outside the small world, the image on the light screen shifted back to the valley.
Everyone immediately saw Qi Qingji fleeing in panic and the one chasing him was none other than Qi Qingxiong.
The crowd collectively sucked in a breath.
"They've only been out of sight for a little while. Why are they fighting now?"
Because there were too many trial participants inside the small world, the light screen could only display scenes one at a time, usually prioritizing battles.
One moment everyone had been watching other disciples.
The next moment, the screen had switched to the Qi brothers.
Kong Qianyun had just learned the name of her benefactor from the Yunxiao Sect disciples and discovered that he was currently participating in the trial.
Since then, she had been paying close attention to the screen.
When she heard the commotion around her, she instinctively looked over.
The sight that greeted her left her stunned.
"They were perfectly fine before I left."
If Qi Qingji held a grudge against Brother Qi, she wouldn't have found that surprising. After all, Brother Qi had deceived him.
But what she was seeing now was the complete opposite.
Qi Qingji was running for his life with his head lowered.
Behind him, Brother Qi radiated enough resentment to blot out the sky as he repeatedly attacked with the Qingfeng Sword.
One strike even sliced away a lock of Qi Qingji's hair and nearly took flesh along with it.
Kong Qianyun blinked in disbelief.
"Why is Brother Qi so angry? And why isn't Qi Qingji fighting back?"
The same questions appeared in everyone's minds.
Especially the disciples of the Cloud Soaring Sect and the Star Pavilion.
Originally, the alliance between their two sects had seemed unstoppable.
With both leading figures working together, they should have been sweeping through the small world.
Instead, the two leaders looked ready to kill each other.
Even the figures watching from the voi—Sword Venerable Chengfeng and Fengyun Zhenren—were drawn in.
Both wore puzzled expressions.
No matter how wildly they guessed, they could never imagine that all of this stemmed from Lou Yuqing's inner thoughts.
Gu Buqi and the others who knew about the mysterious inner voice understood exactly what had happened.
Unfortunately, understanding and explaining were two entirely different things.
They couldn't say a single word.
The sensation was maddening.
It felt like being the only sober people in a crowd of drunks, watching everyone stumble around in confusion while knowing the truth, yet being completely unable to explain it.
Not far away, Luo Buqi nearly choked on his own frustration.
His vision darkened.
He had only looked away for a short while. How had things turned out like this?
"Impossible!"
He stared at the scene on the light screen in disbelief.
"They're actually fighting each other?"
His voice rose higher with every word.
"Damn it! Aren't they cousins? At a time like this, they're turning on each other instead of dealing with Wendao Sect?"
The more he spoke, the angrier he became.
He had been hoping the alliance would wipe out the Wendao Sect disciples.
Instead, before they could even fight their enemies, their own side had already started tearing itself apart.
Behind him, the followers exchanged silent looks.
Then, almost in unison, they shook their heads.
With Lou Yuqing involved... nothing good ever seemed to happen.
Judging from the situation, another piece of Qi family gossip had probably been dug up and exposed.
Meanwhile, the chase was rapidly reaching its conclusion.
Qi Qingji cast a glance at the bracelet around his wrist.
Then, as though finally making peace with his fate, he gritted his teeth.
There was no other choice.
"Goodbye, Brother Qingxiong!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
The words he didn't dare say remained firmly trapped in his throat.
Come chase me outside if you dare.
Fortunately, he still possessed enough survival instinct not to voice that thought aloud.
Otherwise, Qi Qingxiong might truly go mad on the spot.
Spiritual light burst from the bracelet.
A teleportation array unfolded beneath his feet.
As his figure gradually faded, Qi Qingji finally felt a sliver of hope.
Once he got out, he would immediately return to Star Pavilion and enter seclusion.
Deep seclusion.
Very deep seclusion.
Qi Qingxiong wasn't a disciple of Star Pavilion. No matter how furious he was, there had to be limits to what he could do.
...Right?
The moment the teleportation light appeared, Qi Qingxiong understood exactly what Qi Qingji was trying to do.
His expression darkened instantly.
"Trying to run?!"
Sword intent erupted from his body.
A violent wind swept through the valley as his long hair whipped wildly behind him.
Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand.
A gigantic sword shadow condensed high above Qi Qingji's head before crashing downward with terrifying force.
Unfortunately, it was a step too late.
The teleportation light suddenly contracted.
Space twisted.
Then both the light and Qi Qingji vanished together.
The sword struck nothing.
Boom!
The entire valley shook.
The enormous sword shadow slammed into the ground and carved a massive ravine straight through the earth.
Dust billowed into the sky.
For a moment, everything trembled.
Then Qi Qingxiong's furious roar exploded across the valley.
"QI QINGJI!"
His voice echoed endlessly between the mountains.
"You'd better hide forever!"
His grip tightened around the Qingfeng Sword.
"Once this trial is over, your death day will arrive!"
A murderous smile appeared on his face.
"And you'd better pray I never find you!"
Back in the plaza, Qi Qingji happened to catch every word of Qi Qingxiong's furious threat.
The color drained from his face.
He pressed a trembling hand against his chest, his heart still pounding from the narrow escape.
Thank goodness he had run fast enough.
Otherwise...
Qi Qingji didn't even dare imagine what would have happened if that sword strike had landed.
No. This wouldn't do.
The moment he returned to Star Pavilion, he was going into seclusion.
Immediately.
Time healed all wounds, didn't it?
Five years. Ten years.
Surely by then Brother Qingxiong's anger would have faded.
Once the storm passed, this little misunderstanding would naturally be forgotten.
As Qi Qingji comforted himself with that thought, he had no idea that, sometime in the future, Qi Qingxiong would openly enter Star Pavilion under the perfectly reasonable pretext of visiting his cousin.
Then, after making his way to Qi Qingji's cave residence, he would blast the door off its hinges and personally settle every outstanding grievance between them.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle, Si Nidie finally looked away from the distant chase and smiled in satisfaction.
"Junior Sister, the alliance between those two sects has completely fallen apart. It seems victory is on Wendao Sect's side."
Lou Yuqing nodded happily.
"Looks like it."
She had originally been wondering how to sabotage their plans and throw their alliance into chaos.
Who would have thought they would accomplish it themselves?
A line of text quietly appeared on the system panel.
Meanwhile, Lou Yuqing formed a hand seal, preparing to remove the treasure concealing them from divine sense and head toward the mine to investigate.
She was just about to remove the treasure that concealed their presence from divine sense and head toward the mine to investigate.
Then her movement abruptly halted.
Not far away, a powerful divine sense swept across the area.
Si Nidie's expression changed slightly. She immediately stopped moving as well.
Neither of them dared make a sound.
The divine sense swept over their hiding place like an invisible tide.
For a brief moment, Lou Yuqing's heart tightened.
Fortunately, it didn't linger.
After passing over their location, the divine sense continued onward without hesitation, heading in the direction Qi Qingxiong and the others had fled.
Only after it had completely disappeared into the distance did the tension in the air ease.
Soon afterward, several streaks of light flashed across the horizon and sped into the distance, with Qi Qingxiong leading the group.
The moment he sensed the pressure behind him, his expression darkened.
A Golden Core cultivator.
There was only one Golden Core expert in this area, the Baishi Sect Master.
Originally, Qi Qingxiong had planned to destroy the mine and lure the Baishi Sect Master into a prepared formation. Once the other party was trapped, obtaining the Snow Lotus would have been a simple matter.
Unfortunately, nothing had gone according to plan.
The Baishi Sect Master had arrived at the mine ahead of schedule, and the unexpected conflict with Qi Qingji had thrown everything into chaos.
By the time Qi Qingxiong realized what had happened, the opportunity was already gone.
Feeling that powerful divine sense firmly locked onto him, he glanced back, vigilance flashing through his eyes.
Then he accelerated without hesitation.
Sword light tore through the sky as his speed surged, leaving the others farther and farther behind.
He knew exactly how dangerous the situation was.
His only chance of survival was to escape the range of that divine sense as quickly as possible.
As for everyone else...
At a time like this, he simply couldn't afford to worry about them.
Whoosh!
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
A figure in white streaked across the sky above Lou Yuqing and Si Nidie, moving so quickly that it was little more than a flash of light.
The man never spared a glance below. His attention was fixed entirely on Qi Qingxiong and the others fleeing ahead, completely unaware that two Foundation Establishment cultivators were concealed beneath him.
Only after the white figure vanished into the distance did Lou Yuqing finally let out a quiet breath.
"Senior Sister, that should be the Baishi Sect Master."
She felt a lingering chill at the thought.
"It's a good thing we didn't rush to the mine earlier. Otherwise, we'd be the ones being chased right now."
Si Nidie's gaze flickered.
"I didn't expect him to appear here either. While he's occupied with Qi Qingxiong and the others, we should leave immediately. A Golden Core cultivator isn't someone we can afford to provoke."
The stories of fighting above one's realm always sounded impressive.
In reality, unless someone possessed extraordinary abilities or some overwhelming advantage, defeating a higher-level cultivator in a direct confrontation was almost impossible.
After confirming that the Baishi Sect Master had truly gone far away, the two women wasted no time. Their figures transformed into streaks of light and shot toward Baishi City.
As for Qi Qingxiong and the others, neither of them knew what would become of them.
The spectators outside the small world, however, knew the outcome all too well.
Under the relentless pursuit of the Baishi Sect Master, everyone except Qi Qingxiong had already been eliminated.
Wanfu Inn
Back in her room, Lou Yuqing found herself thinking about the Hu family's ancestral worship ceremony.
Their plan for dealing with the Baishi Sect Master wasn't all that different from Qi Qingxiong's. Both relied on luring him into a killing formation before forcing him to hand over the Snow Lotus.
The slightest mistake could ruin everything.
If they failed, they would likely end up no better than Qi Qingxiong and the others.
With that thought in mind, Lou Yuqing took out a communication jade slip and attempted to contact Ling Yunxiao.
Nothing.
She frowned.
"Could the formation be blocking communication again?"
"Most likely." Si Nidie nodded. "We came back almost as soon as we arrived. Hopefully they've managed to make some progress over at Old Xue's village."
As she spoke, she picked up the snow rabbit stone carving and examined it once more.
Her gaze moved carefully over every detail, from the delicate carving marks to the tiny strands of fur etched into the stone.
Unfortunately, no matter how closely she looked, the carving remained as inscrutable as ever.
With a helpless sigh, she lowered it.
"Junior Sister Lou!"
An anxious voice suddenly rang out from outside.
The two women exchanged glances.
Lou Yuqing immediately stepped forward and opened the door.
The moment she saw the figure standing outside, her expression changed.
"Senior Brother Shen?"
Shen Lijun stood alone in the corridor. Blood stained one sleeve, and a fresh wound stretched across his arm.
"What happened?" Lou Yuqing asked quickly. "Why are you here by yourself? Where are Ling Yunxiao and Senior Brother Chu?"
Shen Lijun's eyes reddened at once. "There's a formation hidden inside Old Xue's village. We assumed everyone there was mortal and walked straight into a trap."
Guilt filled his face.
"They stayed behind to help me escape. Right now, they're still trapped inside the formation."
He lowered his head slightly.
"I wanted to contact you both, but I don't have either of your communication jade slips."
Si Nidie's heart immediately tightened.
"What kind of formation is it?"
If it was a powerful formation, they might already be too late.
As though sensing her concern, Shen Lijun quickly reassured her.
"Don't worry. It's only a Minor Five Elements Trapping Formation."
He paused before continuing. "Breaking out from the inside is difficult, but if we attack it together from the outside, rescuing them shouldn't be a problem."
Lou Yuqing nodded without hesitation.
"Then we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's leave immediately."
As she spoke, her gaze fell upon the blood still seeping from his arm.
"Senior Brother Shen, treat your injury first. Senior Sister and I will still need you to lead the way."
"That's right." Si Nidie immediately agreed. "Your injury comes first. If we end up fighting later, the wound will only get worse. If you don't have any healing pills, I can—"
Before she could finish, Shen Lijun gently waved her off.
A faint smile appeared on his pale face.
"Thank you for your concern, Junior Sisters. I do have healing pills. I was simply in too much of a hurry earlier and forgot to take them."
His smile deepened slightly. "Fortunately, you returned to the inn. Otherwise, this trip might have been for nothing."
The two women couldn't help feeling moved.
Despite being injured, he had rushed all the way here solely to save his fellow disciples.
Such loyalty was rare.
As if sensing their admiration, Shen Lijun lowered his gaze and swallowed a healing pill.
For the briefest moment, an unusual glimmer flashed through his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
The bleeding soon stopped, and some color gradually returned to his face.
A short while later, he straightened and looked at them.
"Junior Sisters. Let's go."
Without another word, Shen Lijun turned and headed toward Old Xue's village, with Lou Yuqing and Si Nidie following close behind.
Outside the small world, the real Shen Lijun stared at the scene unfolding on the light screen and nearly went mad.
"That's a fake!"
He almost wanted to charge into the screen himself.
"You have to see through it!"
Unfortunately, no matter how desperately he shouted, the people inside couldn't hear him.
Beside him, Chu Qingyang's expression was no less grim.