The devastating blow that Meng Wanyue had originally aimed at Baili Weisheng’s most vital point had, at the very last possible instant, swerved past him entirely and struck Xuanyuan Lige square on instead.

In that instant, both Baili Weisheng and Meng Duo’er froze, unable to fathom what Meng Wanyue meant by this.

But everything happened too quickly for them to think it through — and the unbelievable followed at once.

The moment the strike hit him, a burst of light erupted from Xuanyuan Lige’s body — even more dazzling than Meng Wanyue’s purple light — and it forcibly rebounded straight back at her.

That purple light was simply too blinding — so brilliant that no one could make out what was actually happening.

In an instant, Xuanyuan Lige rose into the air above both Baili Weisheng and Meng Wanyue, the dazzling purple light having already condensed into a streaming current that rushed with astonishing speed toward Meng Wanyue, completely enveloping her and forming a protective layer around her.

In the span of a single spark, faster than words could describe, the purple light instantly halted the advance of every venomous insect on the ground. All of the venomous creatures clung uselessly against that light — not a single one could touch Meng Wanyue.

“A Five Elements body!”

Meng Duo’er cried out in shock, her eyes going wide as saucers as she stared at the impossible scene before her.

Heavens!

Xuanyuan Lige actually possessed a Five Elements body!

No wonder — no wonder Meng Wanyue, who had cultivated for over twenty years without ever mastering the instant sealing technique, had managed to achieve it in such a brief span while on the run, and had surpassed even her own level by such a wide margin.

A moment ago, Meng Wanyue had had no way out — the seal she’d already cast couldn’t be recalled, and she had no means left to form a barrier to protect herself. So she had chosen Xuanyuan Lige instead.

She’d drawn on the last remaining traces of Five Elements power within Xuanyuan Lige to form a barrier and shield herself.

Meng Duo’er remembered — when her father had saved Xuanyuan Lige, he had already been on the verge of death from illness.

If the last of that Five Elements power within him was forcibly drained away completely, how could he possibly go on living?

“No…”

The word slipped from Meng Duo’er’s lips, but everything had already come too late.

The purple light kept flowing endlessly from Xuanyuan Lige’s body into Meng Wanyue’s, and Meng Duo’er, utterly powerless to stop it, found herself marveling despite everything at just how much of that Five Elements power still remained within him.

Not only was it enough to form a barrier and protect Meng Wanyue — there was still power left over besides.

Baili Weisheng, who had already resigned himself to dragging Meng Wanyue down to death with him, could only stare in slack-jawed astonishment at this sudden turn of events.

Xuanyuan Lige himself was likewise enveloped in the purple light — more precisely, the light was erupting directly from the Tanzhong point on his chest. His eyes were closed, his pallor rendered even more bloodless in the glow of that light. No one could tell, in that moment, whether he was still alive, or already…

Baili Weisheng didn’t dare finish the thought. Seeing Meng Wanyue standing perfectly still as she absorbed Xuanyuan Lige’s power, he too abandoned all caution, snatching up a dagger nearby and driving it fiercely toward her.

Seeing this, Meng Duo’er panicked as well, immediately clasping her hands into a seal, trying to shatter the protective barrier around Meng Wanyue.

But both Baili Weisheng and Meng Duo’er’s efforts proved utterly futile.

Baili Weisheng stabbed again and again, striking like a madman, until the very tip of his blade snapped off — and still he couldn’t so much as touch Meng Wanyue.

“Break!”

“Break!”

Meng Duo’er, too, never paused for breath, straining with all her might to break the barrier.

But there was nothing she could do — her power simply had its limits.

“What do we do, he’s going to die!” Meng Duo’er cried out in alarm.

“You’re asking me what to do? Who am I supposed to ask!”

Baili Weisheng roared back furiously. Damned barrier arts — if Meng Duo’er, who actually practiced them, didn’t understand what was happening, what the hell was he supposed to know?

Never mind that failing to kill Meng Wanyue would bring serious consequences — if Xuanyuan Lige died, then everything, absolutely everything, would be finished.

Who else could command the Blood Zither? Who else could play the Lishang?

Every twist of this disaster had fallen entirely outside his expectations. Baili Weisheng retched, coughing up blood, his temper impossible to rein in.

But just then, Meng Wanyue — who had been utterly absorbed in drawing in Xuanyuan Lige’s Five Elements power — finally lowered her gaze coldly. Her expression was one of pure arrogance and wild pride, as though she were some malevolent god looking down from on high upon a helpless, unarmed mortal.

“I told you — you came here to die. But if you run now, you might just make it in time.”

As she spoke, Meng Wanyue suddenly burst into loud laughter. “Heh, if you do make it in time, go tell Han Ziqing to run while she still can!”

That thought had, in fact, already crossed Meng Duo’er’s mind — since Meng Wanyue meant to kill them anyway, perhaps this was the moment to flee.

After all, once Meng Wanyue finished absorbing every last bit of power from the Five Elements body, her sealing arts would undergo an enormous breakthrough — in both the speed of casting and the endurance of the barrier itself.

She couldn’t even imagine what unknown depths of power Meng Wanyue’s sealing arts might unlock after that.

It was simply too terrifying.

Meng Duo’er instinctively turned to look at Baili Weisheng — her meaning was clear enough: Xuanyuan Lige was beyond saving now. If they didn’t flee, all that awaited them was death.

But Baili Weisheng didn’t see it that way at all. Even if they fled now to find Ziqing and the others, they still wouldn’t escape Meng Wanyue’s grasp.

This was Nanzhao, not some other place — the slightest stir from Meng Wanyue could draw the attention of the entire Nanzhao royal court. They would only end up completely at her mercy, her word law over them.

“Go, quickly!” Baili Weisheng barked sharply. Meng Duo’er, foolishly assuming he meant to go with her, turned and walked several steps — only to realize Baili Weisheng hadn’t followed. Instead, with utter seriousness, he said, “Meng Duo’er. You go.”

Meng Duo’er sucked in a sharp breath — how could he do this!

Xuanyuan Lige was the type to be stubbornly single-minded, but this man wasn’t like that at all!

Staying here wouldn’t save anyone and would only cost him his own life. Running away might feel cowardly, but running to warn Ziqing and the others at least offered some small sliver of hope.

Meng Duo’er wasn’t afraid to die — she simply didn’t want her death to be meaningless.

Meng Duo’er spun around abruptly, about to speak, only to see Baili Weisheng tilting his head back to look up at Xuanyuan Lige, his clear eyes filled with unwavering resolve and conviction, as though hoping for something, believing firmly in something.

Was it Xuanyuan Lige? Did he believe in him?

By now, Xuanyuan Lige looked less like an unconscious man and more like a corpse. His eyes were shut tight, his lips drained of color, his body suspended in midair by the purple light, his limbs hanging utterly limp.

Meng Wanyue knew that even if this man was still alive, he wouldn’t survive another quarter hour. And judging by how the purple light’s brightness was now, the power of the Five Elements body was nearly spent as well.

What else was there left for Baili Weisheng to hope for?

What was left about this man for Baili Weisheng to believe in so firmly?

Meng Wanyue, too, noticed the resolve in Baili Weisheng’s eyes, and she laughed loudly. “You young people — stubbornness is your greatest flaw. Baili Weisheng, if you want to die alongside him, I’ll be happy to grant you your wish!”

The moment she finished speaking, the purple light surrounding both her and Xuanyuan Lige visibly began to weaken and shrink.

Not good!

The draining of the Five Elements body’s power was about to finish — Meng Wanyue was about to be free.

Meng Duo’er, abandoning all further thought, rushed forward, meaning to drag Baili Weisheng away.

But then, at that very moment…