### Chapter 363: Villain, Look at Me! Liang Xiaoliu!
—Hua Haomiao, a sword master of the Seven Xuan Sect, with a cultivation at the middle stage of Core Formation.
He wore a cyan robe and, with a cyan mysterious stone spirit sword, had roamed the Northern Region for nearly two hundred years. The sword cultivators who had been defeated by him were as numerous as cow hair.
If one were to disregard cultivation and only discuss sword arts, Hua Haomiao would have prided himself that even when facing Yun Tianchong, the sect master of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect and the foremost sword cultivator of the Four Domains, he would not have been defeated within ten moves.
However…
*Clang—*
The moment Gu Mingxin charged forward, a hint of astonishment flashed in Hua Haomiao’s eyes. In that instant, he immediately realized that he was merely a frog in a well in the Northern Region, catching only a glimpse of the sky through the well’s opening, unaware that the outside world harbored dragons and tigers.
The sword, moving at a speed close to madness, appeared to Hua Haomiao as merely a red shadow trailing light, its path impossible to discern. Hua Haomiao could only rely on his years of sword practice and his body’s instincts to raise his sword in defense.
*Ding—*
The moment their blades met, the air froze. The falling snow in the sky hovered motionless around the two of them. Then, it suddenly shattered.
*Roaring—*
The surging blood energy, entwined with wind and snow, caused the ground beneath Hua Haomiao’s feet to erupt with flying debris. Following this was Gu Mingxin’s frenzied roar:
“Liang—Xiaoliu!!!!!! Haaahhhhhh—!”
The bloody sword light scattered like a whip. Hua Haomiao truly wished he could blurt out, “You’ve got the wrong person!”, but he had no opportunity to speak. Watching the scattering sword light, he could only grit his teeth to barely withstand Gu Mingxin’s earth-shattering sword momentum.
*Ding ding ding—*
The spirit swords clashing between the two stirred up the snow, engulfing them. The four people outside could only see the sparks of clashing spirit swords flashing within the swirling snow and dust, along with the chilling bloody spiritual energy.
Wu Tianci and Lu Meimei nearby, as well as Hei Yang and Bai Yin, who floated in mid-air with their hands on their zithers, seemed to have become mere spectators to their sword fight, their gazes fixed on the flickering figures within the dust. Xue E, floating above Wu Tianci’s head, also looked terrified. It had been by Gu Mingxin’s side since its infancy, but it had never seen Gu Mingxin roar like this.
*Ding ding—*
*Swish—*
*Swish—*
Following two sounds of flesh being pierced, silence fell upon the street as the sounds emerged from the dust. The snow dust that had enveloped Hua Haomiao and Gu Mingxin slowly settled, and the silhouettes of the two standing figures gradually became visible.
Wu Tianci frowned slightly. He knew the outcome had been decided. Two sword cultivators of similar cultivation levels were not like law cultivators, who required dozens or even hundreds of exchanges to determine victory. Between sword cultivators, a fight could be decided in a single move, or at most ten moves, leading to life or death. Now, with both figures still standing within the dust, it was impossible to tell who had lost or won.
The four observers outside focused their attention on the two figures, holding their breath in anticipation of the result.
*Whoosh—*
The cold wind swept through the street, causing Wu Tianci and the others’ brows to quiver. Then, in the next moment, the slightly shorter figure on the right had its left forearm and elbow severed, falling slowly to the ground. Wu Tianci’s eyes widened, a hint of fear rising within him. Lu Meimei covered her mouth in fright. From this scene, it seemed Gu Mingxin had lost, her left hand cut off by the cyan-robed cultivator.
However, the instant the shorter figure’s arm hit the ground, the slightly taller figure opposite her seemed to crumble, transforming into orderly, square chunks of meat and collapsing. As the snow dust settled, Gu Mingxin, holding the blood-colored spirit sword, stood hunched beside Hua Haomiao, who had turned into body parts. The exposed flesh on her missing left arm instantly froze upon contact with the cold air. Hei Yang and Bai Yin, who had been watching from the side, showed a flicker of surprise in their eyes beneath their bamboo hats as Hua Haomiao lost his life in an instant. But they quickly recovered. They quickly distanced themselves, plucked their zither strings, and swept them forward forcefully. Ice-blue spiritual energy transformed into swords, sabers, spears, and halberds that hovered around them, shooting rapidly towards Gu Mingxin.
Wu Tianci finally snapped back to his senses. He immediately prepared to rush to Gu Mingxin’s side to help her block these strange treasures.
However—
“Don’t get in the way!!!”
*Clang—*
Gu Mingxin roared, stopping Wu Tianci from intervening. She raised her sword and unleashed several rings of bloody sword light, blocking all the incoming ice-blue treasures. She glared at Hei Yang and Bai Yin, who were keeping their distance in the sky. Seeing this, Xue E placed its hand in a sword finger at its brow, believing Gu Mingxin could not possibly handle those two strange cultivators alone. It immediately wanted to summon the black python to swallow them whole.
But before it could summon the black python, it received a blood-red glare from Gu Mingxin, like that of a vengeful spirit.
“Ah…”
Xue E was startled. This was the first time Gu Mingxin had glared at it so fiercely. It quickly lowered its small hands, but couldn’t help but say, “Mingxin, go first! This place…”
Before it could finish speaking, Gu Mingxin raised her sword, shattered the ground, and leaped towards Hei Yang and Bai Yin in the sky.
“Overestimating yourself!”
Bai Yin saw a sword cultivator charging directly at their treasures and strummed his zither strings again. Waves of demonic music expanded in a ring from the strings. Gu Mingxin, leaping into the air, felt a powerful force obstructing her from approaching the two above, and her head throbbed as if it would explode. Gritting her teeth, she stared intently at the two figures above. Unable to get closer, she reversed her grip on her spirit sword and, like throwing a javelin, retracted all her protective spiritual energy, concentrating it onto the spirit sword before throwing it forcefully at them.
*Boom—*
The blood-red spirit sword cut through the air like a siege crossbow, leaving a bloody line in its wake. Bai Yin, upon seeing this, played his zither and waved his sleeve.
*Dong—*
A dull bell chime sounded from the sky. A spiritual barrier enveloped the two brothers, blocking the blood-colored spirit sword an inch from their faces. The collision between the blood-colored spiritual energy of the spirit sword and the ice-blue water spiritual energy of the two created aurora-like streaks in the night sky, instantly illuminating the streets of the entire town. Gu Mingxin landed mid-air and then leaped again, stepping on the ground. With the strange demonic music’s obstruction gone, she was now before them. She grabbed the blood-colored spirit sword, injected more spiritual energy into the hilt, and propelled the sword to break through Hei Yang and Bai Yin’s spiritual barrier.
“Haaahhhhh—Break!!!”
Amidst her furious roar, the spiritual barrier, like glass, was pierced by the spirit sword, emitting cracking sounds that echoed through the sky. Bai Yin, seeing the unfavorable turn of events, broke into a cold sweat and called out, “Brother!”
However, Hei Yang, playing his zither, remained as calm as ever, his gaze fixed on Gu Mingxin, who glared at him.
*Crash—*
The spiritual barrier shattered. The blood-colored spirit sword pressed towards Hei Yang’s neck. But in the next moment, Hei Yang grabbed the head of his zither.
“You’re seeking death!”
*Ding—*
A spirit sword hidden within the zither’s head was unsheathed, drawing a flowing sword mark before him and blocking Gu Mingxin’s spirit sword. Then, *swish—* White blade entered, red blade exited. A spirit sword, as thin as a finger, pierced directly through Gu Mingxin’s vital point in her chest. Hei Yang’s eyes narrowed: “Haaah—” With a roar, he clamped down on Gu Mingxin’s right wrist, which held the sword, and with his other hand, he intended to twist the spirit sword, splitting Gu Mingxin in two from her chest. The girl’s right hand was already held, and her left hand had been severed by Hua Haomiao earlier; she had no means to resist. In Hei Yang’s eyes, she was now defenseless prey. With a slight exertion of spiritual energy through the spirit sword into her vital meridians, even if this girl possessed incredible abilities, she was bound to die. He looked at Gu Mingxin’s furious, glaring eyes and said, “In your next life…”
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Mingxin’s right hand, which he held, turned and gripped Hei Yang’s left wrist. Then, using his arm, she pulled herself closer to Hei Yang. As a result, the spirit sword piercing her chest went several inches further in.
*Swish—*
Hei Yang didn’t know what she was doing, thinking she was mad and would only hasten her own death. However, in the next instant, Gu Mingxin opened her mouth wide and, like a corpse demon, bit directly onto Hei Yang’s neck.
*Crack—*
“Brother!!”
Bai Yin, who was beside him,’s eyes widened in shock. Panicked, he quickly strummed his zither strings again. Ice-blue spiritual energy struck Gu Mingxin, emitting cracking sounds of bone fracturing. However, Gu Mingxin, like a hungry wolf, continued to bite down on Hei Yang’s neck. Hei Yang, seeing the ferocious eyes so close, felt a flicker of fear. He immediately understood what she intended and hastily tried to tell his brother to stop.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
*Boom—*
Bai Yin unleashed a powerful surge of spiritual energy with all his might, striking Gu Mingxin’s abdomen. With a sound of flesh being pierced, Gu Mingxin, using the force of Bai Yin’s spiritual energy, tore off a large chunk of flesh from Hei Yang’s neck with her teeth and then slammed violently onto the ground.
“Cough—”
Blood gushed from Hei Yang’s neck like a pillar, creating a waterfall of blood amidst the falling snow. His younger brother, Bai Yin, was terrified. He no longer had the energy to focus on the fallen Gu Mingxin. He immediately took out spirit medicine from his storage bag, intending to heal his brother.
“Brother!!!”
“Cough, cough—Yu… Yu Ti…” Hei Yang looked at him with dilated pupils, releasing the sword from his right hand and pushing away the spirit medicine his brother offered. “Protect… Protect me!”
“Brother!!”
*Swish—*
Gu Mingxin, who had been slammed to the ground by the spiritual energy, with bloodshot eyes, dragged her nearly unrecognizable body and leaped again to the side of the two. A stream of bloody sword light swept horizontally past the back of their necks. The two heads, along with the headless bodies of Gu Mingxin and Hei Yang and Bai Yin, fell to the ground almost simultaneously.
Seeing this, Wu Tianci could no longer stand still. He quickly stepped forward, preparing to catch her. However, Gu Mingxin, despite her severe injuries, did not fall. Her feet landed firmly on the ground, blood streaming from her entire body, and she let out a long roar towards the sky:
“Haaahhhhh—Liang Xiaoliu! Liang Xiaoliu! Liang Xiaoliu!!! You’re watching, right?!! Hahahaha—Did you enjoy it?! I killed all of your people!! Come on again!! You must have more than this, right? I haven’t killed enough yet!! Liang Xiaoliu!!!!”
“Mingxin!!” Xue E, seeing Gu Mingxin in this state, was terrified. “Quickly use spirit protection and let Lu girl heal you! You…”
“Senior Sister Gu…”
“Shut up!!!! All of you, shut up!!” Gu Mingxin glared at Xue E and Wu Tianci beside her, scanning the street left and right, searching for Liang Xiaoliu. “Hahahaha—Liang Xiaoliu!! Don’t be so shy!! Will you meet me?! Ahhhh—” Her wild cries echoed through the surrounding snow-covered mountains like wolf howls.
With a thunderous roar, the accumulated snow on a distant high mountain suddenly collapsed, turning into an avalanche that cascaded down the mountainside. Wu Tianci looked at Gu Mingxin’s state and murmured, “Liang Xiaoliu…”
Lu Meimei, shaking her full chest, ran over. Seeing Gu Mingxin like this, she looked around the street and quickly picked up the left hand that Gu Mingxin had just had cut off by Hua Haomiao.
“Sister Gu, hurry… I’ll reattach your hand first!!”
Wu Tianci looked at Lu Meimei’s arrival and, after a moment of silence, said, “Senior Lu, take care of Senior Sister Gu. I’ll go search the surroundings.”
“Ah…”
*Boom—*
With a loud noise, Wu Tianci leaped into the sky with the strength of a body cultivator, clasped his hands together, released his spiritual sense, and scanned all the cultivators in the town. This town, Longzhen, was a small town nestled in the mountains, with only a few hundred cultivators. His spiritual sense immediately detected a Core Formation stage cultivator hiding in a tall building to the east. His eyes narrowed, and he used the air as a stepping stone.
*Boom—*
With a sound, he charged in the direction of the Core Formation stage cultivator he had sensed. Gu Mingxin watched Wu Tianci depart into the sky, then scanned the street again. She heard Xue E say, “Mingxin, stop thinking about Liang Xiaoliu! Quickly condense your Qi and heal. There’s no one around.”
“… …”
*Plop—*
Upon hearing this, Gu Mingxin frowned slightly, seemingly displeased. She bit her lip lightly and directly collapsed into Lu Meimei’s large bosom.
“Ah?! Mingxin!! Don’t sleep!”
Lu Meimei was startled. She quickly formed a sword finger to check Gu Mingxin’s condition, looked around frantically, and then, holding Gu Mingxin, went over to the bodies of Hei Yang, Bai Yin, and the cyan-robed sword cultivator. Then,
*Swish—*
She reached into the abdomens of the three, felt around, and retrieved three dim golden cores covered in cracks. She fed them to Gu Mingxin.
“What is this… Sister Gu, wake up and swallow these golden cores before sleeping. Why are you trying so hard?”
Leaning in Lu Meimei’s arms, Gu Mingxin could no longer speak. Using her last bit of strength, she swallowed the golden cores and closed her eyes, falling asleep.
“Sigh…”
Xue E, floating in the sky, shook its head and sighed. It felt both pained and helpless. It quickly burrowed back into Gu Mingxin’s head to help regulate her meridians from within. Lu Meimei, holding her, looked around, then took her back to the inn where they were staying.
The heavy snowfall cascaded like a waterfall over the entire town, soon burying the three corpses in the street beneath the white snow. The rumbling sounds of explosions came from the east of the town, lasting for about fifteen minutes before abruptly stopping. Lu Meimei changed into presentable clothes and used her spiritual energy to heal Gu Mingxin. A while later, Wu Tianci returned, carrying a cultivator whose limbs were twisted in the wrong direction, who was barely alive. Lu Meimei glanced over and asked, “Who is this person?”
“This person was watching from the side while Senior Sister Gu was fighting those three. He was quite difficult to deal with.” Wu Tianci wiped a few scratches on his face, threw the person in front of Lu Meimei, and looked at Gu Mingxin on the bed with her eyes closed. “Senior Sister Gu kept calling out Liang Xiaoliu just now. I suspect this is him. Use your Bewitching Technique to get some information from him.”
“Mhmm.” Lu Meimei glanced at the person Wu Tianci had thrown, seemingly finding him unattractive and pouting with disinterest, but she still dragged him to the adjacent room.
… …
