The underwater world fell into complete silence!

The water waves, transformed into arrows, sliced through the water, appearing slow yet in truth deadly swift, shooting directly toward the man cocooned in seaweed!

Xuanyuan Lige hovered in the water, his cold, clear eyes utterly merciless, his entire focus fixed on those water-arrows. Yet he had no idea that, at that very moment, within the seaweed cocoon, though Jun Beiyue’s limbs remained bound, his entire reserve of internal energy had gathered at his tightly sealed lips. His deep, dark eyes likewise fixed upon the incoming water-arrows, yet seemed to see straight through them, all the way to the man’s own heart.

Suddenly, with a “whoosh,” he exhaled a breath from his mouth, instantly forming a bubble in the water that shot violently through a gap in the seaweed, driving fiercely toward the incoming water-arrows!

This was no longer a contest of weapons or speed, but of the sheer force behind them!

Jun Beiyue clearly held the upper hand—that bubble, far from bursting against the water-arrows, instead violently repelled them back!

Xuanyuan Lige was shocked, immediately moving to defend, yet to his utter surprise, the bubble’s force suddenly surged even greater, striking directly into his own chest!

“Boom!”

A violent impact—the bubble shattered, the water-arrows dissolved back into water, these formless weapons incapable of physically wounding anyone!

Yet! The sheer force they carried struck squarely into his chest!

“Pah!”

Xuanyuan Lige couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan, nearly opening his mouth involuntarily—and one had to remember, underwater, the moment his mouth opened, his breath-holding technique would fail entirely, and at this depth, beneath such a vast underground sea, he would surely die without question!

Fortunately, he managed to hold back, yet blood couldn’t be stopped from trickling steadily from his lips, gradually spreading through the water, blurring his pale face!

At that very moment, the seaweed’s withering had already spread further, and the massive seaweed cocoon suddenly withered and crumbled away entirely, revealing the black-clad figure within—his handsome face frighteningly cold and severe!

Suddenly! His cold eyes narrowed, his lean, powerful body surging forward violently, cutting through the water like a sharp arrow. Xuanyuan Lige immediately retreated, drawing upon the ever-strengthening undercurrent, retreating steadily deeper toward the lakebed as he faced Jun Beiyue!

Jun Beiyue pursued relentlessly. Xuanyuan Lige, suffering severe internal injuries, could only hold on by virtue of his favorable position and the water’s assistance—otherwise he’d never have withstood this at all!

All of this, Jun Beiyue clearly saw through completely!

Originally, back at the border between Eastern Qin and Da Zhou at the Three Nations territory, he’d already had no intention of sparing this man’s life—how much less so now!

Having already harbored the intent to kill him from the start, and with this man now clearly intent on killing him in return—

A flash of ruthless resolve crossed his eyes. Suddenly, he halted. Xuanyuan Lige, seemingly anticipating what he intended, immediately twisted his body sideways—and sure enough, several water-arrows materialized out of nowhere right beside him!

There was simply no way to see how or where they’d appeared from!

Such an ability, Xuanyuan Lige had witnessed once before, at the Three Nations territory—this man could unleash formless sword-radiance, and only as it drew close to its target would it transform into wind blades, striking down with no warning whatsoever!

This was precisely the most terrifying aspect of the Gu family’s internal cultivation technique—sword-radiance transforming into wind blades!

That was when he’d first begun investigating him—the Gu family’s true heir couldn’t possibly be as simple as merely an adopted son!

Having his attack dodged by Xuanyuan Lige, Jun Beiyue felt no anger—rather, a flicker of appreciation, a playful smile crossing his eyes as the hand clasped behind his back suddenly swept forward without warning!

Let’s see him dodge this one!

But then, suddenly, countless vines burst forth from the depths of the water, their stems extraordinarily thick, quite unlike the seaweed from before, their spreading speed far more frenzied still—instantly ensnaring Xuanyuan Lige’s hands and feet, and simultaneously binding Jun Beiyue’s limbs as well!

Jun Beiyue felt no urgency, waiting patiently. Yet unexpectedly, these vines seemed to have learned their lesson, no longer attaching themselves to human skin and flesh—thus avoiding the risk of poisoning.

In the blink of an eye, both men found themselves completely and utterly bound!

Jun Beiyue summoned all his strength, violently struggling free, instantly shattering the vines apart—only to find himself quickly ensnared once more, this time bound even more tightly than before!

Xuanyuan Lige had long since given up struggling, a cold, resigned smile flickering across his eyes, seemingly at peace with it now!

Yet even in such a state, Jun Beiyue had no intention whatsoever of sparing him. His dark, sinister gaze never left the man’s chest, his mouth slowly beginning to swell with gathered breath once more!

Death, for everyone, was an inevitability.

Only, for him, it was perhaps even more inevitable still—so inevitable, in fact, that he’d long since stopped caring about it.

The only thing he truly cared about was this: he absolutely would not die at this man’s hands!

Without him, Da Zhou could never have survived these past five or six years—had it not been for him, Da Zhou would have already fallen after the disaster in the northern borderlands!

No one knew what he’d prepared and waited for, back when Western Chu had first stirred up the northern border crisis for Da Zhou!

Yet this man, riding alone across a thousand miles, single-handedly resolved an entire great war, destroying Eastern Qin’s golden opportunity!

Chu Tiange was despicable enough, but Jun Beiyue was truly Eastern Qin’s greatest enemy!

No one understood this better than he did!

From the moment of his birth until now, never had he felt such an overwhelming, desperate unwillingness to die as he did in this very moment!

He threw everything he had into it. Even with his arms bound, his hands, drawing strength from some unknown source, suddenly grew gaunt and skeletal, yet brimming with power.

His time was shorter than others’—which meant he had to work harder than anyone else to compensate!

Over ten years of practicing his fingering technique hadn’t been mere idle repetition!

One poised to strike, the other with a hidden arrow ready to loose—tension crackled between them, and all the while, the surrounding vines continued their frenzied growth!

Yet, at that very moment, suddenly a current surged up unexpectedly from the depths below, carrying with it a figure that came to rest squarely between the two men!

This… Baili Weisheng!

His face was ashen, his mouth slightly agape—one glance was enough to tell this was already a corpse!

A flicker of suspicion crossed Jun Beiyue’s eyes, while Xuanyuan Lige was equally puzzled—could it be that their earlier suspicions about this fellow had all been wrong?

Dead so easily, just like that!

This couldn’t possibly be some kind of trick, could it? How could he have died from something like that, underwater?

Just as the two men hesitated, the undercurrent from the depths surged forth once more—and within this current were countless vines, baring their fangs and claws!

This could only be the Bai family’s work!

If they didn’t leave now, they wouldn’t suffocate from lack of air, but from being crushed and bound by these vines!

Jun Beiyue could already feel the vines binding him growing tighter and tighter, carrying a force capable of crushing bone. His cold gaze swept across the surroundings—a solid mass of green in every direction—finally settling on Xuanyuan Lige, equally bound and constricted beside him!

What a fine Bai family—their previous debts hadn’t even been fully settled yet, and here they were, daring to sabotage his plans!

Without a moment’s hesitation, he channeled a burst of force from his back, instantly tearing free of the vines. Just as the vines surged toward him again, he immediately shifted his body, dragging Baili Weisheng’s corpse over to block all the incoming vines!

These vines seemed entirely uninterested in dead matter, refusing to climb onto it. Jun Beiyue shot Xuanyuan Lige a glance, then turned and shot upward toward the water’s surface!

At the same time, Xuanyuan Lige’s claw-like hands tore through the vines binding him as well, likewise rushing upward—if they didn’t leave now, the vines would surely seal off this entire area completely!