The street of the tavern was located on the central axis of Tian Bei City, fifty feet wide and seventeen li long, leading directly to the Tian Bei City Lord’s Mansion. At this moment, both sides were filled with demonic cultivators wandering around.
Yun Jiujiu walked in the center of the street, pretending to be a seductive cultivator looking for male companions. Her gaze swept left and right.
To be honest, she was quite bewildered at the moment.
Her intuition told her that the cultivators on the street had all seen through her identity as an immortal cultivator. However, no one had stopped her when she entered the city with her token or at the city gate. Moreover, Chang Long and the others who were with her had even scolded her, saying she “looked like a demonic cultivator.”
Yun Jiujiu was now unsure whether her intuition was correct or if Chang Long and the others were right.
But in any case, she had already infiltrated Tian Bei City.
After gathering useful information, she would simply slip away.
Therefore, Yun Jiujiu ignored the gazes cast at her from both sides and scanned the sides of the street, looking for any place where she could gather information.
However, after walking about a hundred paces along the street towards the City Lord’s Mansion,
Suddenly, a man with black hair carrying a silver sword walked out of the gate of a tavern on one side of the street.
Ye Anping walked to the center of the street, his spiritual sword hanging from his right side. Due to Gu Ming Xin’s blood, his entire body was emitting a dense killing aura at this moment.
Whoosh—
With a whistling sound as his sword slashed through the air, the demonic cultivators on the street immediately understood that someone was finally about to make a move. In an instant, they quickly squeezed into the shops on both sides, leaving only Yun Jiujiu and Ye Anping on the street.
Even if Yun Jiujiu were foolish, she would have sensed something was wrong at this point. But after thinking about what Chang Long and the others had said, she still raised her voice slightly, adopting the tone of a seductive cultivator from the inside, and asked:
“Fellow Daoist, what are you doing?”
Ye Anping heard Yun Jiujiu’s tone, which sounded like a child selling herself, and was instantly at a loss for expression. However, since Gong Yimo was watching, he simply signaled her with his eyes:
—Jiujiu, after three exchanges, pretend to be defeated and let me capture you.
However, Yun Jiujiu was, after all, not Feng Yu Die, nor was she a Junior Sister. Moreover, Ye Anping was wearing Kong Huayuan’s human skin mask at the moment.
Seeing Ye Anping making gestures at her, Yun Jiujiu twisted her eyebrows, thinking he wanted to invite her to dual cultivate or something.
After all, she looked like a seductive cultivator right now.
“Fellow Daoist, I am an elder of the Hehuan Sect. Don’t think just anyone can get into my bed…”
Ye Anping looked helpless, sighed, and then asked back:
“Miss Yun Er, do you really think you look like a demonic cultivator right now?”
“…”
As soon as these words were spoken, Yun Jiujiu’s heart felt like it was struck by lightning. She trembled slightly and glanced at the pavilions and shops on both sides of the street, as if she suddenly understood.
“Damn it!!!”
A furious loli voice rang out.
Immediately, a golden light flew out from Yun Jiujiu’s storage bag, transforming into a heavy sword seven chi long, which landed in her seemingly weak small hands.
Boom—
Yun Jiujiu, without a word, smashed the sword onto the street, raising a cloud of smoke and dust in the middle of the street.
Taking advantage of the dust cover, Yun Jiujiu turned her head without looking back and fled towards the city gate, cursing:
“I knew this idea was unreliable!!”
Although Yun Jiujiu felt that the demonic cultivator blocking her path was nothing special, this was, after all, a wolf’s den. No matter how reckless she was, she wouldn’t be so reckless as to fight alone among wolves.
The small figure only left a golden line on the street, heading directly towards the Tian Bei City gate.
However, the city guards at the gate were all arranged by Gong Yimo. When Yun Jiujiu rushed to the city gate, the two heavy iron gates, each weighing ten thousand jin, merged into one.
Roaring—
A bloody spirit wall rose from the city wall, instantly cutting off Yun Jiujiu’s escape route.
Ye Anping calmly chased Yun Jiujiu to the Tian Bei City gate. Seeing Yun Jiujiu standing there foolishly at the city gate with no way out, he also gripped his spiritual sword.
At the same time, Gong Yimo also flew over, bringing four Nascent Soul cultivators from Tian Bei City, and appeared above the two of them.
Feng Yu Die and Gu Ming Xin were also among them.
Because Ye Anping had previously instructed them not to make a move or speak under any circumstances, they were currently standing on their flying swords behind Gong Yimo and the four Nascent Soul demonic cultivators of Tian Bei City.
Gong Yimo smiled, watching the scene unfold, and said:
“Daoist Brother Liang, you can go all out.”
“What the hell?!”
Yun Jiujiu looked up at Gong Yimo and the several Nascent Soul demonic cultivators surrounding them in the sky and immediately understood that she had been tricked. She cursed loudly, took out her wine gourd, bit off the stopper, and took a big gulp.
Then, she stomped her foot forward forcefully.
Boom—
The paved street instantly cracked into countless fissures, causing the entire city to tremble slightly.
“Damn demonic cultivators!!”
The next moment, Yun Jiujiu turned her head to look back at Ye Anping. Her eyes beneath her golden bangs blazed with anger. Using the force of her earth-shattering step, she transformed into a golden light in the opposite direction and charged at Ye Anping with her sword.
“Die for me!!!”
Boom—
The heavy sword dragged a golden dragon shadow, whistling through the air and pressing directly towards Ye Anping’s face.
Among the three young ladies of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect, only Yun Xi cultivated the orthodox Leaf Shadow Sword Art. Yun Yiyi’s “Soft Water Sword Art” and Yun Jiujiu’s “Mountain Dwelling Sword Art” were branches derived from the Inquiring Sword Art.
Ye Anping’s gaze was calm as he looked at the heavy sword, as if he could see through it. He slowly raised his right hand, “Bai Yue,” and gently rotated it.
Clang—
Yun Jiujiu’s golden spiritual energy and the spiritual energy that Ye Anping had disguised with Gu Ming Xin’s blood instantly tore apart the ground within a hundred feet around them, and then vanished.
“!!”
Yun Jiujiu’s eyes widened. She had just swung her sword with all her might.
However, the demonic cultivator in front of her seemed to have seen through the weak point of her sword art and easily deflected her heavy sword with his seemingly brittle and soft sword.
In an instant, Yun Jiujiu also reacted. The demonic cultivator in front of her was definitely related to the Moon Shadow Sword Sect.
Ye Anping looked calmly at Yun Jiujiu’s face and reminded her with his eyes:
—Do you know who I am now?
However…
Yun Jiujiu took a step back, stabilized her body, and used the force to her advantage. She twisted and swung her heavy sword in a circle, bringing it towards Ye Anping from the other side, roaring:
“Who the hell are you?!”
“…”
Ye Anping’s heart sank. He glanced at the corner of his eye, looked at his foolish sister-in-law, gritted his teeth slightly, and then, using the Inquiring Sword Art like before, struck the weak point of Yun Jiujiu’s spiritual sword, followed by a whip kick.
Bang—
“Ugh—”
Yun Jiujiu, who was kicked in the abdomen, immediately flew backward towards the city gate.
Boom—
Her back heavily hit the ten-thousand-jin iron gate, and then she slowly slid down, kneeling on the ground and planting her greatsword into the ground, struggling to spit out a mouthful of blood.
The exchange had only taken a moment, but Gong Yimo, who was in the sky above, showed a trace of confusion in his eyes as he looked at Ye Anping. He hadn’t even seen clearly how Ye Anping had blocked Yun Jiujiu’s two heavy strikes that seemed to have the power to destroy a city.
However, he could see that Ye Anping had not moved even half a step after blocking the two swords from the second young lady of the Yun family, still standing in the same spot.
Gong Yimo frowned. When he first saw “Liang Da Liu,” he thought he had a mysterious aura and some strength, but he was a rogue cultivator, so he didn’t estimate him highly.
But after the two strikes just now, “Liang Da Liu” was definitely not a rogue cultivator who had reached the Nascent Soul stage through luck alone.
An unknown sword art, coupled with a killing aura comparable to that of the Gu Young Master of the Tian Mo Sect, and now the spiritual sword in his hand that shone with silver light.
“Hmph… This Daoist Brother Liang…”
Just as Gong Yimo was re-evaluating “Liang Da Liu’s” strength in his mind, a roar suddenly echoed from Yun Jiujiu below, reverberating throughout the city.
—”Hah—! I’ll give you all hell!”
Yun Jiujiu gritted her teeth and looked at Ye Anping in the distance, realizing that if she didn’t get serious, she would likely be finished here. At this moment, she directly activated all the spiritual energy in her Qi Sea, filling every inch of her meridians.
Roaring—
The wind and clouds changed drastically between heaven and earth. Yun Jiujiu’s desperate move resonated with the Heaven’s Abyssal spiritual脈 where Tian Bei City was located, causing it to tremble.
Golden spiritual energy surged around her. Yun Jiujiu took a deep breath, took a step forward, rested her spiritual sword on her shoulder, and wiped the blood from her mouth.
“I’m going to—damn it, I’ll self-destruct with you demonic cultivators!!”
Seeing that Yun Jiujiu was about to self-destruct her Nascent Soul without a word, Ye Anping’s originally calm eyes showed a hint of difficulty.
He had hinted so clearly, yet Yun Jiujiu still hadn’t realized his identity. And now she was even preparing to fight him to the death.
If Yun Jiujiu fought desperately, he might not be able to handle it without going all out.
But if he went all out, the killing aura of Gu Ming Xin might not be able to conceal his Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul…
If Gong Yimo didn’t intervene, he would have to let Gu Ming Xin help. But Gu Ming Xin was careless in her actions, and there was even a possibility that she might strike Yun Jiujiu down with a single sword…
Ye Anping felt a bit troubled, but fortunately, Gong Yimo was no longer planning to spectate.
He had asked Ye Anping to fight Yun Jiujiu to test Ye Anping’s depth. Now that he had tested enough, Yun Jiujiu couldn’t die.
Tian Bei City still needed the second young lady of the Yun family as a hostage.
“Elder Chen, make your move. If you don’t act soon, Daoist Brother Liang will complain.”
“Yes… Young Master.”
A white-bearded old man floating beside Gong Yimo immediately moved his right hand, unleashing his own killing aura.
Instantly, countless blood-red vines broke through the ground around Yun Jiujiu and immediately latched onto her body, binding her shoulders, ankles, and torso.
This white-bearded old man was an elder of the Nine Nether Sect. The Ghost Spirit Art he performed was called “Blood Soul Ghost Technique,” a ghost technique he had created over a hundred years.
The blood vines summoned by the technique would drain the spiritual energy from the body of the person entangled. If there was no one to help, once ensnared, it would be impossible…
Swish—
Yun Jiujiu looked at the blood vines on the ground with disgust. Although her limbs were bound, she simply swung her greatsword with force and cut through the blood vines:
“Damn it, what disgusting stuff!!”
Seeing that Yun Jiujiu had easily broken free of his technique, the white-bearded old man was somewhat surprised. But before he could perform the technique again, a golden light shot up from the ground and passed directly through his chest.
Yun Jiujiu’s eyes widened in rage. In an instant, she appeared before him, holding the greatsword with both hands, and swung it forcefully, stirring up a golden spiritual light that enveloped a vortex of wind, tearing the white-bearded old man’s body into pieces in an instant.
“Heh… A mere illusion! I’m going to—”
Gong Yimo, who was standing nearby, looked at Elder Chen’s fate and a hint of horror appeared in his eyes.
Killed him instantly?!
He had heard before that Yun Jiujiu was a prodigy with innate divine strength. But he thought that no matter how much of a prodigy she was, she wouldn’t be able to kill a cultivator of the same realm, a Nascent Soul cultivator, with a single blow.
Therefore, Gong Yimo had only brought four Nascent Soul demonic cultivators with him.
And now, seeing this scene, he understood that he had completely underestimated Yun Jiujiu.
Gong Yimo quickly placed his hand on the hilt of the pitch-black spiritual sword at his waist, assuming a swordsman’s stance.
After eliminating the white-bearded old man, Yun Jiujiu immediately glanced at Ye Anping.
She could tell that the old man just now was a pretense, but the demonic cultivator who blocked her two strikes was definitely not easy to deal with.
Since she was unlikely to escape anyway, she might as well kill as many as she could!!
Before that demonic cultivator could make a move!!
Yun Jiujiu glared at Gong Yimo, her killing intent solemn.
Boom—
Immediately, a loud explosion echoed out. Yun Jiujiu took a step forward, her golden spiritual energy enveloping her body, and once again transformed into a golden light, heading straight for Gong Yimo’s face.
The other three Nascent Soul cultivators beside Gong Yimo immediately joined forces to form a spirit wall to block her.
However—
“Hah—!”
The heavy sword directly struck the spirit wall formed by the three Nascent Soul cultivators.
Although it did not shatter directly, it caused the spiritual energy to explode, and the three of them staggered, clearly feeling the strain.
“Young Master Gong, please first…”
Boom—!!
She couldn’t break Gong Yimo’s spirit wall with one sword, but Yun Jiujiu did not hesitate. She twisted and swung her spiritual sword again, striking it.
This time, a crack appeared on the spirit wall in front of Gong Yimo.
Seeing hope, Yun Jiujiu’s eyes lit up with excitement. She continued to wield her greatsword and smash upwards. However, when she swung her third sword, she finally noticed—
Not far behind Gong Yimo, stood two women.
One had black hair and the other white, both wearing a pair of silver masks.
Yun Jiujiu felt that the white-haired one looked somewhat familiar…
“Hmm?”
Just as she was wondering, a figure suddenly emerged silently from the ground below.
Ye Anping had originally wanted to watch more of the show and wait for Yun Jiujiu to defeat the three demonic cultivators beside Gong Yimo before making a move, but now he couldn’t wait any longer.
After all—
Roaring—
The sky curtain, which had been dispersed by Yun Jiujiu’s spiritual energy, was once again gathering dark clouds. Blood-red lightning crackled between the dark clouds, bringing with it a majestic pressure like the sea.
Ye Anping could tell that the City Lord of Tian Bei City had arrived.
If he didn’t act quickly and defeat Yun Jiujiu, the City Lord of Tian Bei City would have to take action.
After all, he was a Deity Transformation stage cultivator. No matter how powerful Yun Jiujiu was, after taking one of his lightning spells, she would be halfway to the gates of hell.
A blood-red light shot towards them from the direction of the City Lord’s Mansion.
A middle-aged man in a black robe appeared above them. His eyes calmly looked down at Yun Jiujiu, who was surrounded by immortal spiritual energy, with disdain, as if looking at a child.
“Yimo…”
Upon seeing this, Yun Jiujiu instantly recognized that this man was most likely the City Lord of Tian Bei City. However, her face showed no fear. Instead, she shifted her gaze directly to him:
“Damn it!! Old demonic geezer!! Today, I’ll even take care of you…”
Saying this, Yun Jiujiu turned her head and intended to charge directly at the City Lord’s face.
Seeing her like this, Ye Anping was truly angered. Before Yun Jiujiu could move, he appeared behind her and struck the back of her neck with his sword hilt.
Bang—
Yun Jiujiu didn’t even realize Ye Anping had appeared behind her, but her neck was tough. After being struck like this by Ye Anping, she didn’t faint directly. Instead, she twisted around and swung her greatsword backwards.
“Fuck—!!”
“…”
Ye Anping’s eyes twitched. He raised his left hand and poked a finger directly into Yun Jiujiu’s turning abdomen, then lifted his knee and slammed it into her abdomen:
“Ugh—Your grandma’s… Ah—!”
Before Yun Jiujiu could finish cursing, Ye Anping raised his right hand and hit her abdomen with his elbow.
The air vibrated with the impact. Yun Jiujiu instantly leaned back and fell straight towards the ground, creating a large pit in the already broken street.
Dust billowed everywhere. The golden spiritual energy that had surrounded Yun Jiujiu instantly dissipated.
Seeing this, the City Lord of Tian Bei City slightly raised his eyebrows. He instantly teleported from a thousand feet in the sky and appeared in front of Ye Anping, reaching out to stroke his beard and observe him.
At this moment, Gong Yimo and the other three Nascent Soul cultivators quickly withdrew their spiritual energy and cupped their hands, saying:
“Greetings, City Lord.”
Gong Yue, the City Lord of Tian Bei City, nodded and reached out to brush off some dust clinging to his adopted son’s collar, reprimanding:
“Yimo, playing around is fine, but don’t lose your life…”
“Yes…”
Then, he turned his gaze to Ye Anping and asked:
“Who is this person?”
Gong Yimo quickly introduced Ye Anping:
“This person is named Liang Da Liu. He was a rogue cultivator before and now wishes to find a place to stay in Tian Bei City in this situation.”
Gong Yue stared at Ye Anping’s face for a while and said with a smile:
“Daoist Brother Liang, your appearance is quite similar to someone I know.”
Ye Anping cupped his hands and bowed, smiling:
“Senior Gong must be referring to the eldest young master of the Kong family from the Ghost Spirit Sect, right? I once had a chance encounter with Young Master Kong. It was quite amusing. We met on the street and stared at each other for a long time…”
“Heh heh…”
Gong Yue probed Ye Anping with his spiritual sense. Seeing the dense blood aura emanating from him, he snorted coldly. He looked around and found that Elder Chen had been destroyed, so he simply said:
“That is also by chance. Chen Yu was originally in charge of the Blood Prison of Tian Bei City. He was injured like this by this Sword Sect girl… So, his position will be temporarily taken over by you.”
“…Thank you, Senior Gong.”
Gong Yue glanced at Ye Anping again, then looked at Gu Ming Xin and Feng Yu Die, who had been silent the whole time. Seeing that they also cupped their hands and bowed, he left only one sentence:
“Yimo, clean up… Don’t be so playful. This Sword Sect girl can be refined into a Blood Pill. My Tian Bei City does not need a hostage to protect it. As for those immortal sects in the Southern Domain, they cannot break through my Tian Bei City.”
“Yes…”
After receiving Gong Yimo’s reply, Gong Yue turned into a streak of blood-red light and flew back towards the City Lord’s Mansion, like an old man taking a stroll.
The blood-red lightning and dark clouds that had gathered above Tian Bei City dispersed accordingly.
The demonic cultivators hiding in the shops on both sides of the street, seeing that the storm had subsided, came out of the shops and curiously gathered around the large pit that Yun Jiujiu had made.
Ye Anping looked at Yun Jiujiu and said:
“Shall I deal with this girl?”
Upon hearing this, Gong Yimo grinned crookedly, patted Ye Anping’s shoulder, and said:
“City Lord Gong has already spoken. Daoist Brother Liang will not need to ask for my permission for anything he does in the future. You can take this Sword Sect girl if you want her.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, right! If Daoist Brother Liang intends to refine her into a pill, remember to leave me a lock of hair or something. I want to mail it to Seven Star Pass, hehe…”
“…Mm.”
Ye Anping nodded, then exchanged a look with Gu Ming Xin and Feng Yu Die beside him. He leaped from the sky and landed beside Yun Jiujiu.
Yun Jiujiu’s mouth and nose were covered in bloody foam, and her eyes were already a bit unfocused.
The kicks Ye Anping had delivered to her had all landed on her acupuncture points. Although not fatal, they were enough to seal her spiritual sea and immobilize her limbs.
Seeing Ye Anping land in front of her, Yun Jiujiu gritted her teeth, opened her mouth, and said:
“Who the hell are you?! Why…”
Ye Anping was somewhat helpless. Since there were still many demonic cultivators watching, he quickly took out a rag and stuffed it into her mouth, then carried her up from the ground.
Seeing that Gong Yimo and the other Nascent Soul cultivators had left, Ye Anping finally breathed a sigh of relief and whispered:
“Your brother-in-law.”
?
As soon as he said this, Yun Jiujiu’s already agitated eyes instantly focused.
As if she had just realized, she quickly turned her head to look at Feng Yu Die, who was wearing a mask beside him.
“Mmmph mmmph mmmph?”
“…”
Although her speech was unclear, Feng Yu Die inexplicably understood.
She was probably asking: “No Que Que (boyfriend)?”
Ye Anping ignored her. He glanced around at the surrounding demonic cultivators, then carried Yun Jiujiu and ascended into the air on his sword, heading towards the direction of the Tian Bei City Lord’s Mansion.
…
