“Blue robe, get out of the way!”
Hearing that shout, Nangong Jun was momentarily bewildered. But before he could even collect himself, someone grabbed hold of him and yanked him aside—and at the very same moment, three pairs of feet came flying in, kicking straight at the Great Gu Master!
Nangong Jun, being a master himself, recognized instantly that these three kicks carried no ordinary force behind them—and indeed, these three kicks truly were extraordinary. With that single combined strike, the three forces merged together and sent the Great Gu Master flying clean off her feet!
Nangong Jun still hadn’t figured out what was happening!
Baili Weisheng immediately grabbed hold of him, turned, and fled, running for dear life! Xuanyuan Lige and Jun Beiyue, unencumbered by dragging anyone along, were naturally even faster than him!
When you can’t win, run!
Even among masters of the highest caliber, this was a principle worth holding to without exception!
Everything went smoothly, until, as they neared the cliff, they discovered Ziqing and Xinyun weren’t waiting for them at all—instead, they’d already been swarmed by a horde of poison corpses and were locked in chaotic battle!
Poison corpses were, in some ways, even more troublesome than the Great Gu Master herself!
Because while the Great Gu Master’s spirit carried only the scent of poison without any actual toxicity, poison corpses were different—for someone like Jun Beiyue, with absolutely no immunity to poison, a single touch meant certain death!
And so, Jun Beiyue found himself in trouble once again!
This time, Nangong Jun joined him in his misery.
Xinyun, quick-eyed and quick-handed, immediately conjured a barrier to protect Jun Beiyue and Nangong Jun the moment she spotted them, then plunged back into the swarm of poison corpses, frantically conjuring barrier after barrier.
Unfortunately, there truly were far, far too many poison corpses—no matter how fast she worked, she simply couldn’t keep up!
Baili Weisheng and Xuanyuan Lige were soon surrounded as well, unable to break free.
If this dragged on much longer, the Great Gu Master would catch up soon enough, and then things would become far more troublesome!
In the midst of the chaos, seeing everyone gathered nearby, Ziqing made a snap decision, shouting sharply at Xinyun, “Use the great barrier—hold off the Great Gu Master first!”
If they couldn’t trap the Great Gu Master, at least they could block her!
Ziqing had no understanding whatsoever of the principles behind barrier techniques, or what a consciousness-barrier even was—all she knew was that right now, blocking the Great Gu Master was all that mattered!
Hearing Ziqing’s words, Xinyun snapped back to her senses and immediately conjured a massive barrier, seemingly enclosing the entire cliff area within it!
Of course, this also trapped the densely packed swarm of poison corpses inside along with everyone else!
Now came the moment that would decide everything by sheer speed—they needed to leap into the cliff below all at once, down to the isolated island, without letting any poison corpses follow them into the water.
This was the final obstacle. The moment Ziqing jumped down, the illusory, endlessly sinking isolated island would transform into a real, true isolated island.
Every obstacle would vanish entirely—and that meant both the Great Gu Master and the poison corpses would be able to descend as well!
So, at the very moment they jumped, they needed to find some way to stop the Great Gu Master and the poison corpses from following them down. A barrier was undoubtedly the best solution.
But to jump down, they’d first need to break the current barrier.
In other words, Xinyun would need to break the barrier and immediately conjure a new one again, all within the brief instant it took for them all to leap off the cliff—an extremely short window of time indeed.
No further explanation was needed; everyone understood this was the only possible way.
Ziqing, Xuanyuan Lige, Xinyun, and Baili Weisheng together drove the poison corpses toward the right side, away from the cliff edge, in a brutal, all-out fight where all four of them fought as though staking their very lives on it!
Meanwhile, Jun Beiyue and Nangong Jun stood off to the side, watching helplessly.
Nangong Jun’s gaze never left Xinyun, watching her weave through the poison corpses without ever being poisoned, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter, as if he’d noticed something.
“What’s wrong?” Jun Beiyue asked.
“Nothing,” Nangong Jun said flatly, a flicker of heartache crossing his eyes before vanishing without a trace.
Ziqing and the other three were indeed formidable fighters—before long, they’d beaten down half the poison corpses. As for the remaining half, they had no intention of fighting them down at all.
Working in perfect coordination, the four of them managed to trap most of the remaining poison corpses within a new barrier—a barrier within a barrier. Even Xinyun found herself playing this trick for the first time.
But at the same moment, the poison corpses that had been beaten down began climbing back to their feet. Ziqing kicked one down and shouted sharply, “Xinyun, now!”
Xinyun immediately sealed off a barrier the instant the poison corpse tried to rise again!
Seeing this, Baili Weisheng and Xuanyuan Lige followed suit. And so, all four of them fought not only with tremendous satisfaction, but with surprising ease as well—watching from the side, both Jun Beiyue and Nangong Jun found themselves itching to join in!
Of course, Jun Beiyue’s attention remained fixed on their surroundings. At last, he spotted her—the Great Gu Master had already returned, standing off to the side, watching coldly, giving nothing away.
Before long, Nangong Jun noticed her too, murmuring, “Still not enough time!”
By then, Ziqing and the others had essentially dealt with the poison corpses, and walked over triumphantly. Xinyun waved a hand and broke the barriers around the two men.
But seeing the expressions on their faces, everyone followed their gazes—and sure enough, there stood the Great Gu Master, like a specter, standing just outside the barrier, in a corner, watching them coldly.
“She just won’t give up!” Baili Weisheng muttered, annoyed. Jun Beiyue glanced down at the churning, crashing waves below and said in a low voice, “Scholar, in the water—can you handle him?”
At these words, everyone froze, all turning to look at Jun Beiyue.
Baili Weisheng’s eyes went wide. After a moment, he suddenly clapped Jun Beiyue hard on the shoulder. “Buddy, you’re a genius!”
Jun Beiyue shot him a sideways glance and shook off his hand. “Well, can you?”
But before Baili Weisheng could even answer, Nangong Jun laughed. “Easier in the water than on land. I can’t manage it alone, but with him added in, we can at least trap her!”
As Nangong Jun spoke, he glanced at Baili Weisheng—he had, of course, recognized at a glance that Baili Weisheng was a Jinjiao himself.
“Good, then. Break the barrier, lure her into the water!” Jun Beiyue said seriously.
Everyone naturally agreed with this clever plan.
Facing the Great Gu Master, everyone readied themselves. They all knew, of course, that the Great Gu Master was simply waiting for them to break the barrier and leap off the cliff.
Ziqing took a deep breath, and Xinyun did the same.
The two women exchanged a glance and nodded. Xinyun’s hand, hidden behind her back, suddenly slashed through the air—and in that same instant, Ziqing flipped backward off the cliff, and almost simultaneously, everyone else leapt off as well.
The Great Gu Master, naturally, was no exception, her figure flashing forward like a shadow in pursuit.
But just as she braced herself against Xinyun’s barrier, Xinyun did nothing at all. Instead, it was Jun Beiyue and Xuanyuan Lige who swept back in from either side, both kicking her viciously at once, sending her plunging straight down into the sea!
At the very same moment, Baili Weisheng and Nangong Jun dove down after her in pursuit!
Just as Baili Weisheng and Nangong Jun hit the water, Ziqing was the first to land on the isolated island. Everything around her remained intact, didn’t vanish. The once-turbulent, crashing sea suddenly grew calm and still, and the isolated island, once teetering on the edge of sinking, settled into stillness as well.
Then, Jun Beiyue, Xuanyuan Lige, and Xinyun landed as well!
The isolated island—at last, they were truly standing on the isolated island.