Cold sweat dripped ceaselessly from fake Chen Zhou’s forehead. Yin Luo, who had jumped down from the top floor, was about to praise Fu Yuan and Black Fox Mask for arriving quickly when he turned and saw Ming Li standing in front. He froze, completely ignoring fake Chen Zhou, and pointed at Ming Li, asking: “Who’s this?”
Several deans had received Fu Yuan’s sound transmission, and now Yin Luo wore an expression of seeing a ghost, unable to believe his eyes.
As Yin Luo looked over, Black Fox Mask said: “It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
Yin Luo: “What am I thinking?”
Fu Yuan: “Whatever you want to think.”
Yin Luo stared at Ming Li and said irritably: “Speak plainly!”
Ming Li looked over unhurriedly: “Senior Brother, it’s these two who are teasing you. Why are you angry with me?”
Yin Luo drew in a sharp breath of disbelief.
Fake Chen Zhou’s reaction was similar. After hearing her words, he stared at Ming Li in shock: “You… are still alive?”
“You seem quite surprised. What, did my senior brother mention me to you?” Ming Li had just taken a step forward when fake Chen Zhou snapped out of his shock. His Body Technique Meridian operating at its limit, he used a life-risking method to forcibly break through Fu Yuan and Black Fox Mask’s restraint. Because he was certain they wouldn’t kill him here, when he rushed toward the blades, they withdrew to prevent his suicide.
As soon as fake Chen Zhou broke free from the sword and knife restraint, the suddenly illuminated star lines on the floor trapped him. The spirit technique swirling in the room broke the wind, making his body feel like it weighed a thousand jin. Even with his Body Technique Meridian enhancement fully activated, he was forced to the ground. A bloody sweetness surged in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, fearfully glancing at Ming Li from the corner of his eye:
“If you kill me now, you’ll never know where Chen Zhou is!”
The four people in the room felt relieved hearing this—it seemed Chen Zhou should still be alive.
“I won’t kill you now, but there are many ways to make you talk…” Ming Li had only spoken half her sentence when she suddenly frowned and looked up. Countless broken, irregular mirror shards appeared in the void above, and light blades formed from Star Force fell from the mirror shards like snow.
She reacted quickly with a wave of her hand, the formation swallowing the mirror blade attacks from the Infinite Mirror. However, similar mirror shards appeared on the ground, each reflecting their figures and spinning rapidly, creating multiple phantom images.
Everyone could feel the Star Force eruption from below—Nan Que’s sect treasure, the Infinite Mirror.
The Infinite Mirror was comparable to the peak of Heart Meridian cultivation. Once attracted by the scenery within the mirror shards, one might never wake up again.
Under the fierce attack of the mirror blades, Ming Li said, “Get out.”
Fu Yuan and Black Fox Mask helped cover Yin Luo, allowing him to grab the immobilized fake Chen Zhou from the ground and quickly retreat from the room. After they all withdrew, Ming Li instantly strengthened the formation’s power. The two Star Forces intertwined in a contest, and even the subtle wind sounds carried a piercing killing intent. The treasures inside Cangxiu Pavilion began to crumble to dust under the pressure of the two Star Forces.
The dust filled the room, and the entire Cangxiu Pavilion collapsed into ruins without warning.
The hanging lanterns fell and exploded, igniting a sea of fire.
People were witnessing for the first time the scene of a divine weapon clashing with a natural formation.
Yin Luo gazed at the slender figure with her back to them amid the ruins and fire, asking in a daze: “I’ve grown more haggard over the years because of their death, yet she’s growing younger?”
Black Fox Mask patted his shoulder: “Look on the bright side, you’ve got the least haggard baby face among us.”
Yin Luo: “Don’t remind me!”
After speaking, he lightly kicked the fallen fake Chen Zhou and angrily said: “Stop playing dead!”
Fake Chen Zhou, covering his shoulder injured by Ming Li, laughed coldly. As he laboriously raised his head about to say something, he suddenly noticed something behind Yin Luo, his eyes flashing slightly, and he closed his mouth without speaking.
Cangxiu Pavilion had collapsed, but the attack range of the Infinite Mirror was limited by Ming Li to her vicinity, not affecting Fu Yuan and the others behind her.
While she was fully focused on contending with the Infinite Mirror, from the corner of her eye, she saw the entrance to the Tidal Land in the ruins collapse downward, and several figures flew out from below.
The first to emerge was Dipper Mansion Dean Dan Xun, holding a golden fan bone. He used the spinning fan bone to shatter the pursuing mirror shards, producing crisp breaking sounds.
The next to appear was the black figure wearing a butter pastry paper wrapper. His curved twin blades were bloodstained, and his shadow-shifting technique beneath his feet was masterful, even making it difficult for the Infinite Mirror to keep up.
The last to emerge was Qiu Hong, with bruises on his face. His gaze followed the butter pastry paper-wrapped shadow. In a life-or-death moment, he took up the wine gourd at his waist, raised his head for a drink, and then spat out bluish flames that fogged up the mirror surfaces pursuing him, preventing them from reflecting.
Just as he finished spitting, he saw the bloodstained curved blade coming at him through the flames. Qiu Hong retreated with a flashing shadow, cursing involuntarily: “Why are you attacking me instead of fighting Bei Dou’s people first? Why the rush to hurt a fellow Earth Demon!”
After the butter pastry paper-wrapped shadow knocked him back with one blade, it flew toward the Infinite Mirror rising from the black well. Qiu Hong followed closely: “Don’t even think about it!”
Dan Xun, however, did not continue to compete with these two for the Infinite Mirror. Instead, he looked at the figure in the sea of fire and was slightly stunned.
The two Earth Demons were currently focused on the Infinite Mirror and hadn’t noticed the unusual sight in the fire. It wasn’t until they were moving that they suddenly noticed not only the Infinite Mirror shards below but also star lines flickering with pale purple light, causing them to stop and look back.
The Infinite Mirror’s main target had now changed from the three people causing trouble in the Tidal Land to Ming Li. However, it couldn’t break through the formation controlled by Ming Li, with numerous Qi Circulation word techniques blocking and pulling against it.
“…Zhou Li?” Qiu Hong called out tentatively.
Ming Li raised her eyes to look at Dan Xun standing atop a lamp post and smiled: “The Infinite Mirror has emerged. Is it alright for me to summon the Divine Wood Bow now?”
Dan Xun raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, his mouth corners uncontrollably wanting to rise: “Of course it’s no problem.”
*
Back at the wedding venue, the appearance and slaughter by the Earth Demons had made the atmosphere tense and subtle. The sects that had previously been uninvolved spectators were now on alert.
Song Tianjiu looked left and right, seeing everyone staring at the Earth Demons Sui Qiusan and Qian Li. With no one paying attention to him, he relaxed and reached out to grab an orange, peeling it in his hand.
All the pastries and meat dishes on his table had already been eaten.
The maid beside him was speechless, praying in her heart that no one would notice her sect master, as it would be too embarrassing for Dongyang.
The Vermilion Bird’s mournful cry continued. Of the seven mansion deans of Nan Que, after the deaths of Well Mansion, Chariot Mansion, Willow Mansion, and Wing Mansion, the three remaining—Ghost Mansion, Extended Mansion, and Star Mansion—were trapped at the wedding venue.
Recalling Yumei’s screams before her death, the faces of these three Nan Que deans were not pleasant.
“You Bei Dou people, to attack our Nan Que, have shamelessly collaborated with Earth Demons!” Star Mansion spoke with a chilling tone. “Has Bei Dou gone mad after losing its Pilgrim? How insecure, how weak and inferior must you be to seek help from Earth Demons, to become the running dogs of Earth Demons?”
Tianji and Kaiyang, having just received Fu Yuan’s sound transmission, were shocked and delighted. After hearing Star Mansion’s rubbish talk, they weren’t particularly angry.
Kaiyang, unable to hide the joy in his eyes, asked Tianji: “Really?”
Tianji crushed the sound token in his hand, raising his eyebrows: “Would this rebellious disciple dare fool me?”
Kaiyang: “You’ve already called him a rebellious disciple.”
Tianji let out a cold snort, his gaze involuntarily looking toward the direction of Well Mansion.
Some people noticed the unusual expressions of the Bei Dou people.
Princess Chang Xi, sitting with an elegant posture, looked at the two from Bei Dou and tilted her head thoughtfully.
The white-haired elder beside her said in a deep voice: “Bei Dou seems to have received some good news.”
Princess Chang Xi smiled: “With so many deaths in Nan Que, it’s hard for Bei Dou not to be happy.”
Then she sighed softly, “I wonder how he’s doing in Well Mansion. I hope he hasn’t been captured by Nan Que.”
The white-haired elder Hu Bixie respectfully asked: “Do you need him brought here?”
Princess Chang Xi shook her head gently: “If we forcibly bring him over, he won’t be happy. Let’s wait a bit longer… isn’t his good friend here?”
After speaking, she raised her eyes to look at Qian Li standing outside the formation.
Kaiyang glanced at Sui Qiusan within the formation, who smiled warmly, his gaze toward Qian Li full of affection. Kaiyang sneered: “This Earth Demon came with your Young Master’s wife from the Jiang Clan. If anyone is collaborating with these Earth Demons slaughtering your Nan Que disciples, it’s not us, Bei Dou, but your Young Master’s wife and the Jiang Clan.”
Star Mansion turned and glared fiercely at the Jiang Clan people upon hearing this.
Extended Mansion said in a deep voice, “Did the Jiang Clan never consider what would happen when Cui Sheng returns?”
The Elder of Jiang Clan smiled: “The people were killed by Bei Dou and the Earth Demons. What does this have to do with our Jiang Clan? Earth Demons are good at disguise, you all should know this best—otherwise, how could you not know that Wing Mansion’s senior disciple was an Earth Demon?”
The fact that Lin Xiao was an Earth Demon was indeed a huge blow to the Nan Que people—they never could have imagined it.
Ghost Mansion couldn’t help but look at Cui Yuanxi: “Young Master!”
Cui Yuanxi asked Jiang Ying with a calm expression: “Why?”
Faced with his questioning, Jiang Ying’s face showed some undisguised irritation. The gold ornament on her forehead shook lightly as she replied equally coldly: “You should have known when you chose to betray me.”
“I betrayed you?” Cui Yuanxi felt he had heard the biggest joke, his hands unconsciously clenching tight within his sleeves.
What hadn’t he done for Jiang Ying?
He had nearly killed Qing Ying to exchange for Jiang Ying’s current ability to cultivate her body!
But Jiang Ying turned to the Bei Dou people and said: “The person you’re looking for…”
Cui Yuanxi shouted in anger: “Silence!”
Jiang Ying turned back to look at him with a smile: “What’s wrong? Even now, don’t you know which side you should stand on?”
Even if just for a brief moment, Jiang Ying wanted to become the master controlling Nan Que, to make them bow and scrape before her, obeying her commands.
Cui Yuanxi glanced at the Elder of Jiang Clan and said to Jiang Ying: “Do you think the Jiang family can give you what you want?”
Jiang Ying: “At least for now, regardless of who it is, it’s certainly not you anymore.”
She was also resentful of Cui Yuanxi’s betrayal. The same face—why was I the one chosen to be abandoned?
“What’s going on? Weren’t they childhood sweethearts who grew up together and deeply loved each other?” Ye Yiyi exclaimed in surprise. “Now they look like they have a blood feud!”
Jiang Ying sighed: “It’s not quite a blood feud. It’s just that Young Master Cui… has already changed his heart and fallen in love with another woman.”
Ye Yiyi covered her mouth and looked at Cui Yuanxi, finding it hard to accept that the wedding she was attending had such a twist. She angrily said, “A lover turned heartless man. Coming here has truly been unlucky! Where’s my father? Quickly call him back. I don’t want to stay in this unlucky place any longer!”
With the young lady’s temper flaring, she rose to leave. The Pi Mansion Lord and other servants and disciples were all startled and surrounded her.
Ye Yiyi was still angry: “Bei Dou people, quickly remove the Full Moon Seal and let this young lady out! Otherwise, when my father returns, he won’t let you off!”
Ghost Mansion, with anger attacking his heart, pointed at the Jiang Clan people and cursed. The Jiang Clan, shameless enough, cursed back with nonsense.
Sui Qiusan smiled slightly at Qian Li outside the formation and said, “This is a bit noisy. Would you like to go somewhere quieter?”
Qian Li’s gaze was fixed on him, his usual joking manner all gone. When not smiling, his eyes and brows appeared somewhat fierce.
In response to Sui Qiusan’s proposal, Qian Li bit his lip, tasting the sweet blood in his mouth, and said hoarsely: “Alright.”
Ghost Mansion immediately turned to look: “Want to leave? Keep dreaming!”
Kaiyang and Tianji looked at the several quarreling groups with speechless expressions. Suddenly, the light pillars sealing the area shook, and the sound of branches being broken came from above, immediately attracting everyone’s attention to look up.
The Divine Wood Bow, which was floating high as the anchoring point of the formation, let out a cry. Everyone could see it was responding to someone’s summons.
“This…” Ghost Mansion, Dean’s mind went blank, not knowing how to describe the current situation.
Someone murmured, “Who could make the Divine Wood Bow respond?”
In this world, there was only one person who could make the Divine Wood Bow respond.
“That’s impossible…” someone from Tai Yi said softly. “Isn’t she dead?”
Qian Li, originally fully focused on Sui Qiusan, was also attracted by the Divine Wood Bow’s unusual movement. Seeing it about to leave in response to someone’s summons, for some reason, he thought of when he met Ming Li in Ji Dan.
Ming Li’s responses to inquiries about Bei Dou echoed in his mind, along with her Star Meridian power that was unusual compared to ordinary people… Qian Li’s gaze froze. Could it be…
Suddenly, people heard an explosion from a distance below. The Nan Que people’s faces changed: “It’s coming from the direction of Cangxiu Pavilion!”
A Nan Que disciple flew over with a flash of shadow, anxiously saying: “Young Master! Cangxiu Pavilion has collapsed!”
Cui Yuanxi’s face became extremely unpleasant, his gaze fixed on the Divine Wood Bow. At this moment, everyone’s heartbeats inexplicably quickened, waiting to see if the Divine Wood Bow would respond to the summons and fly away, or if it was just a momentary anomaly, a Bei Dou trick?
Princess Chang Xi asked: “How is it?”
Hu Bixie looked at the two Bei Dou deans, seeing them looking toward Cangxiu Pavilion, his heart sinking: “It could be as the Princess thought—in this world, only she can summon the Divine Wood Bow.”
With a swooshing sound, the Divine Wood Bow flew toward Cangxiu Pavilion under everyone’s gaze.
Ye Yiyi opened her eyes wide in surprise. The Pi Mansion Dean, seeing the Divine Wood Bow gone, immediately broke the Full Moon Seal. People from the Imperial City, Dongyang, and Nan Que had the same idea, and suddenly everyone moved.
Sui Qiusan was somewhat surprised, not having calculated the Divine Wood Bow situation, but reacted quickly, giving a signal with his eyes for the other Earth Demons to retreat.
As soon as the Full Moon Seal formation broke, Cui Yuanxi, protected behind the three Ghost Mansion deans, raised his hand. A circular golden mirror fell into his hand, surrounded by rotating, irregular fragments.
The Infinite Mirror!
Sui Qiusan nodded: “Take it.”
The Earth Demons at the wedding venue swarmed toward Cui Yuanxi, most wearing the clothes of wedding servants. Jiang Ying, panicked by this change, instinctively stepped back, but after just one step, Tianji Dean raised his hand to trap and block her retreat.
“Don’t think about hurting any more of our Nan Que disciples!” Ghost Mansion, with a heart full of resentment, finally released it with the dissolution of the formation, attacking Kaiyang.
The chaos erupted again, but just as it began, a clear arrow cry carried by star sparks came, killing, driving back the Earth Demons charging toward Cui Yuanxi.
The Divine Killing Arrow!
Cui Yuanxi’s pupils contracted as he used the Infinite Mirror to resist. The arrowhead entered the mirror, knocking him back while the erupting Star Force swept across the entire wedding venue.
Hu Bixie raised his hand to block the domineering Star Force of these two divine weapons, protecting Princess Chang Xi behind him. Tai Yi formed a group to protect Ye Yiyi. Song Tianjiu from Dongyang stood up to block in front of the sect disciples. His gaze looked in surprise at the Divine Killing Arrow flying toward Cui Yuanxi.
Bei Dou’s Pilgrim had shot the fourth Divine Killing Arrow.
Though its power was far from the first three, it attracted the attention of the entire Ancient Continent.
Book Sage, who had just left the Imperial Study of Da Qin, paused in his steps and looked south.
Yuan Lu, who was riding a horse touring the countryside, suddenly fell from the horse and exclaimed, “Wow!” as he got up, looking south.
The young emperor of Wufang Kingdom, sleeping in a flowering tree, opened his eyes with an expression of doubt, as if having dreamed of a ghost, and looked south.
Dong Yeshou was playing chess with the sect master in Dipper Hall. When he sensed the Divine Killing Arrow, his white chess piece fell in the center of the grid—absurdly placed, yet he couldn’t help but smile.
*
Cui Yuanxi retreated to the very back of the wedding venue. The Infinite Mirror absorbed almost all the force for him, but he still fell to the ground. As he rose, he heard the Infinite Mirror make a crackling sound. His breath caught, and he slowly looked down to see a small crack in the smooth mirror surface.
The Infinite Mirror…
The Vermilion Bird hovering above opened its mouth, transmitting Ming Li’s voice: “Cui Yuanxi.”
“Today, I give you two more choices.”
“For my next arrow, do you choose the Infinite Mirror or the barrier at Boundary Peak?”
Cui Yuanxi felt a sweet taste rising in his throat. His hand holding the Infinite Mirror turned white, and his red eyes looked toward Boundary Peak.
This voice struck Jiang Ying like lightning, leaving her face bloodless.
Qian Li rubbed his eyes, seeing Fang Hui walking with Cheng Jingbai and others, and murmured in confusion: “Zhou… Zhou…”
Fang Hui was about to respond when he looked up and met the gaze of Princess Chang Xi behind him.
At this moment, no one at the wedding venue dared to move rashly. Everyone’s face showed shocked disbelief. Dongyang, having a decent relationship with Bei Dou, directly asked: “Your Pilgrim… is in Nan Que?”
Kaiyang didn’t even look back: “I just found out too.”
How could you, of all people, only just find out about your own Pilgrim?!
The others all had “I don’t believe you” written all over their faces.
When the three Nan Que deans learned that Ming Li was still alive, and in Nan Que with the Divine Wood Bow, they no longer felt their previous humiliation and hatred, only fear.
Ming Li’s voice sounded again: “I’ll count to three.”
“One.”
“Two.”
Cui Yuanxi moved. He ran frantically toward Boundary Peak with the Infinite Mirror, completely ignoring the shouts of Ghost Mansion and others behind him.
Ming Li didn’t count to three but released the string. The fifth Divine Killing Arrow was even more powerful than before, and simultaneously, the formation operated, with star lines entwining at the foot of Boundary Peak.
The Divine Killing Arrow knocked Cui Yuanxi from midair. The Infinite Mirror shattered after this strike, and the flying fragments instead cut him. Cui Yuanxi fell to the ground, ignoring his injuries, and immediately rose to rush toward Boundary Peak with Flash Shadow.
But as soon as he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw star lines flashing with light. His heart alarmed, he watched his barrier being broken, and became almost insane: “No! Qing Ying!”
No!
He would not let Bei Dou’s people take Qing Ying away, not even the Pilgrim!
Cui Yuanxi rushed toward the top of Boundary Peak like a madman.
As the barrier broke and the earth shook, the wooden cabin was shattered by a Qi Circulation word technique that had traveled from afar, but it did not harm the beauty sitting by the window in the slightest.
The tremor made the cherry tree branches sway, cherry blossoms falling all around. Beneath the tree, a person held the Seven Stars Token in hand, slowly releasing their fingers, allowing the jade tablet to fall and shatter on the ground.
Cui Yuanxi reached the mountaintop, flying toward Qing Ying like a madman, but was pierced through the chest by a Qi Circulation word technique pursued from behind. The mouthful of blood he had been suppressing in his throat could no longer be contained and spurted out.
He tumbled to the ground from midair, covered in dust.
Cui Yuanxi lay awkwardly on the ground, laboriously raising his head to gaze at the figure beneath the tree. He wanted to say something, but spat out another mouthful of blood. His fingertips moved with difficulty, yet stubbornly and desperately, he crawled forward slowly.
“Qing… Ying…”
The distance between them was neither short nor long—about three steps away—but in his current condition, it would take him a long time to crawl there.
Cui Yuanxi’s gaze toward her was pleading, as humble as a dog about to be abandoned by its master.
He said: “Come… here…”
A puppet would obey its master’s command.
But Qing Ying stood up, her clothes fluttering. The branches gently rested on her head as if tenderly caressing her. She heard him, yet she slowly stepped back.
Cui Yuanxi’s outstretched hand froze in midair as figures appeared one after another, landing between them.
The four deans of Bei Dou: Dipper, Kaiyang, Tianji, and Tianxuan.
Her fellow disciples.
Her senior sister.
In this life, Cui Yuanxi would never have another chance to cross those three steps of distance.