Chapter 65: He Guangyao Makes a Move

Hearing He Guangyao’s words, He Guangyao’s mouth twitched into a cold sneer as he spoke with a frosty tone:

"What am I doing?"

"Could Miss He have forgotten? Have you forgotten how you and Lu Changfeng mocked me back in the plaza?!"

"Weren't you enjoying yourself quite a bit back then?"

"Laugh! Go ahead and laugh for me again now!"

With those words finished.

He Guangyao extended his hand with a beckoning gesture, and a pitch-black longsword covered in intricate blood-red veins appeared in his grip.

A biting cold glade gleamed along the body of the sword, and the razor-sharp edge cleaved through the air, producing a shrill whistling sound.

An oppressive and murderous intent echoed throughout the space, which was shrouded by the dense forest.

"You...!"

He Jiaojiao furrowed her brows tightly, speaking in a chilling voice: "Do you intend to kill me?"

"Do you have any idea what the consequences of killing me will be?! My grandmother will never let you get away with this!"

During the previous period, she had been cultivating like a madwoman, and her current cultivation realm had already reached the first tier of the Genuine Dan realm.

Meanwhile, He Guangyao’s cultivation had already advanced to the fifth tier of the Genuine Dan realm.

The gap in strength between the two of them was astronomical.

Furthermore, He Jiaojiao was currently injured; even with the powerful defensive talisman of a pill cauldron protecting her body, she had no chance of victory whatsoever.

"Of course I'm afraid!"

He Guangyao let out a cold snort, speaking with indifference: "However, this place is within the secret realm!"

Our confrontation remains between us. Besides, I have no intention of taking your life—just hand over your jade token, and you can spare yourself from physical torment!"

Everyone understood that the jade tokens were open to being plundered; this was a rule understood by all disciples.

As he spoke.

Swish—!

He took a step forward, and the longsword in his hand erupted with an even more oppressive and fierce aura.

"You!"

He Jiaojiao’s expression shifted slightly.

Suppressing the terror rising in her heart, she spoke out: "If you don't kill me, are you not afraid that once we leave the secret realm, I will bring the people of the Divine Pill Peak to exact revenge on you?"

"Don't forget, the medicinal pills used by the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Peak are all refined by my Divine Pill Peak!"

"If you leave right now, I can pretend nothing has happened, and what's more, I can even persuade my grandmother to refine a fourth-tier pill for you!"

"How about it?!"

As she spoke.

Her right hand behind her back slowly formed a hand seal, and a subtle, obscure surge of spiritual energy began to churn and ripple.

The pill cauldron hovering behind her trembled slightly, as if it had already been awakened and activated.

"You truly refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

He Guangyao’s expression turned icy cold, having already perceived He Jiaojiao’s subtle movements.

He glanced at the pill cauldron artifact and sneered: "Originally, I only intended to scare you a little!"

"And incidentally, I wanted to watch Miss He trembling in fright!"

"But now it seems Miss He has no intention of cooperating. Since you are so unappreciative of what's good for you, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Within this secret realm, even if I beat you to the point of permanent disability, Peak Master He won't utter a single word of blame!"

Swish—!

Without the slightest hesitation, He Guangyao slammed his feet heavily against the ground.

His figure transformed into a streak of flowing light as he charged aggressively toward He Jiaojiao.

A fierce and piercing sword qi swept outward horizontally.

He Jiaojiao’s expression changed drastically. In a flurry of panic, she extended a hand and summoned the pill cauldron artifact, which trembled and raced to position itself directly in front of her.

Boom—!

The longsword and the pill cauldron collided with a deafening crash.

A dull, echoing roar reverberated throughout the entire dense forest.

At the epicenter of the explosion, an invisible shockwave blasted outward in all directions, the sheer destructive force causing numerous towering trees to crash violently to the ground.

Dust billowed into the air, while shattered stones and shredded leaves scattered wildly.

He Jiaojiao spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, her body hurled backward under the violent impact of the roaring shockwave.

While suspended in mid-air, another mouthful of blood escaped her lips, and the wounds on her back tore open once more, spraying fresh blood across the sky and earth.

The dust gradually dissipated.

On the ground below, He Jiaojiao’s face was pale as paper. Struggling to lift her head, she stared fixedly at He Guangyao with a venomous glare and spoke:

"You actually dared to strike with such intent?!"

"Are you not afraid of attracting other fierce demonic beasts?!"

He Guangyao let out a cold snort, his expression frozen and indifferent, offering no reply.

The longsword in his hand trembled once again, unleashing another surge of fierce sword qi.

This streak of sword qi was not aimed at He Jiaojiao’s fatal points, but rather targeted her arms.

Seeing this, He Jiaojiao hurriedly formed hand seals, driving the pill cauldron to shield her front once more.

Boom—!

The roaring crashes continued unabated, draining what little color remained from He Jiaojiao’s face.

The disparity in strength between them was considerable.

However, He Guangyao was also carrying injuries of his own, and He Jiaojiao’s pill cauldron artifact had been personally hand-picked by the Peak Master of the Divine Pill Peak.

For the time being, even He Guangyao found himself unable to easily overcome He Jiaojiao.

...

...

Lu Changfeng was speeding through the distant forest.

Over the past few days, every time he reached a new location, he would scour the surrounding area for the traces of demonic beasts.

The number of demonic beasts recorded on his jade token had already reached thirteen.

"This speed of hunting demonic beasts is still far too slow!"

Lu Changfeng frowned slightly as he lowered his gaze to his jade token.

Certain demonic beasts excelled at evasion and escape.

And precisely because of this trait, such beasts were exceptionally difficult to kill, dragging down Lu Changfeng’s overall efficiency.

Just as Lu Changfeng was pondering how he might increase his efficiency in slaughtering demonic beasts.

Boom—!

In the distance, a resounding explosion echoed through the air.

A terrifying surge of spiritual energy immediately rippled outward toward his current location.

"Oh?"

Lu Changfeng’s figure flickered as he landed atop a tree canopy to survey the surroundings. "A familiar aura?!"

"Who could it be?"

Within those surging waves of spiritual energy, the lingering aura carried a sense of familiarity to Lu Changfeng.

Directing his spiritual sense to sweep across the distance, he discovered that the epicenter of the explosion was quite far away.

"This shouldn't be a battle between demonic beasts!"

"That kind of aura... it seems to belong to someone from the Daoyan Sect!"

Lu Changfeng thought to himself, and without a moment's hesitation, he sped toward the epicenter of the explosion.

A short while later.

Lu Changfeng had already arrived at the location where the blast had occurred.

Standing atop the canopy of a giant tree, he looked down below.

And what he saw was startling.

On the ground below, a man and a woman were locked in a fierce and brutal battle.

Furthermore, it was glaringly obvious that the female was already at her absolute limit, destined to be defeated within three moves.

"He Jiaojiao?!"

...

On the ground.

He Jiaojiao’s face was as pale as a blank sheet of paper, her aura flickering and unstable, while the spiritual power required to manipulate her pill cauldron was nearly exhausted.

At this moment, her body was completely drenched in blood, her breathing was ragged and shallow, and her vision was growing increasingly blurry and unfocused.

"Hmph!"

He Guangyao let out a cold snort, speaking in a freezing tone: "You're still putting up a stubborn resistance?"

"Do you genuinely believe I wouldn't dare to kill you?!"

As he spoke.

The longsword in his hand slashed down upon He Jiaojiao once again, leaving a deep, bone-revealing gash, though the loss of blood caused it to seep out sluggishly.

Following this strike.

He Jiaojiao’s complexion turned even paler, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

Yet, she bit down on her lips so hard they bled, still refusing to utter a single plea for mercy.

"Good, very good!"

He Guangyao’s expression darkened menacingly as he spoke in a chilling voice: "Since you insist, I'll cripple you first!"

The next instant.

Swish—!

He Guangyao thrust the longsword in his hand straight forward, aiming directly for He Jiaojiao’s chest.

He Jiaojiao saw the incoming sword clearly, yet she no longer possessed the strength to parry or counterattack.

In the blink of an eye, that streak of lethal sword qi was right before her chest.

It was merely an inch away from piercing directly into He Jiaojiao’s flesh.

Right at that critical moment.

A figure clad in tight black battle attire quietly materialized by He Jiaojiao's side.

The newcomer extended two fingers and clamped down smoothly.

Clang—!

The razor-sharp tip of the longsword was caught firmly between those two fingers, rendering it entirely motionless.

"A cultivator at the fifth tier of the Genuine Dan realm, actually bullying a young girl?"

"Have you no shame?!"