Chapter 1333: Life and Death Are Already Decided

"Brother Ximen, to preserve Xuan Wei's jade-like countenance, I even brought out a rare Ice Soul. How is that for sincerity?" Yucang asked with a smile.

He pressed down with one hand. The Ice Soul sank back into Xuan Wei's mouth, and with a grasping motion of his five fingers in the air, her lips slowly closed again.

It sounded generous, but that was all it was. They had not done this out of any particular consideration for Xuan Wei. They simply had no idea when Ximen Qingkong would come looking for them and feared her corpse would decay in the meantime, so they had found a way to preserve it.

Yucang withdrew his hand, then held it out. "Where are the things? Hand them over, and I guarantee I'll return her to you and let the two of you leave!"

Yucang stood on the slope. Ximen Qingkong sat on horseback below. Their gazes met.

One knew perfectly well that even after obtaining the things, he would never let the man go. Ximen Qingkong had delivered himself straight to their door. There was no possibility Yucang would give him another chance to seek revenge. Had he been an ordinary man, releasing him might have been harmless. But Ximen Qingkong's cultivation posed far too great a threat. The number-one expert on the Golden Core Ranking could be looked down upon, perhaps, but he could never be ignored.

The other man knew just as clearly that even if he handed over what Yucang wanted, he would not be allowed to leave.

Besides, he did not have those things in the first place.

There were two of them. He remembered that one had been hidden inside Xuan Wei's dressing mirror, and the other inside her bracelet.

He did not know whether the thing inside the bracelet had simply been hidden too well or what had happened. Xuan Wei herself had already fallen into their hands, yet somehow they still had not found it.

But even if Ximen Qingkong knew where both things were, he would not have told them today.

Because he had never intended to leave alive.

His gaze shifted away from Yucang and settled on Xuan Wei's peaceful, lifeless face.

All the years they had spent together flashed one by one through his mind.

He raised a hand, caught the gray cloak at his shoulders, tore it free, and casually flung it away.

His hand reached behind him.

It closed around the hilt.

He drew his sword.

Yucang's expression changed sharply. "Ximen Qingkong, if you don't want this woman's corpse desecrated, you'd better behave yourself!"

Clang!

The sword came down.

A sword-aura slash tore toward the opposite side.

Under the sudden eruption of Ximen Qingkong's overwhelming spiritual power, the horse beneath him went weak in the legs and collapsed to the ground.

Everyone on the slope scattered in alarm.

The corpse being carried on the board, however, had nowhere to dodge.

The sword-aura struck it directly and shattered Xuan Wei's body apart.

She had been the target of that blow from the beginning.

He would not leave her remains here to be desecrated.

He had come in person, and with his own hand, put an end to that possibility.

Heavenly Mechanism Aura-Breaking Arrows hissed from all directions.

Countless ox-hair needles spread over the area.

Ximen Qingkong ignored them completely.

His body abruptly transformed into a blue sword-shadow and shot forward.

"Kill him!" Yucang roared while retreating at speed.

The moment Xuan Wei's corpse was destroyed, he knew every bit of leverage he had prepared had become useless. His fury was beyond description.

Dugu Jing and Guo Xingshan triggered the Heavenly Sword Talismans they had been holding in readiness.

Yet Ximen Qingkong did not charge them head-on.

His sword split open the earth, and man and sword became one as he plunged straight beneath the slope.

A jagged crack ripped through the ground, racing toward the retreating Yucang.

Dugu Jing and Guo Xingshan immediately guided the massive sword-aura shadows from their Heavenly Sword Talismans along the fissure.

Boom after boom tore through the earth. Soil and stone exploded into the air.

But the crack in the ground was only a false trail created by Ximen Qingkong exerting force underground.

He himself had never gone that way.

A blue streak suddenly burst from the earth beneath Dugu Jing.

The attack tore upward through him, splitting his body in two.

Blood and the cleaved halves of his corpse were hurled outward amid the collapsing torrent of talisman power.

Guo Xingshan, who had been directing wave after wave of sword-aura attacks along the false trail, sensed the change and recoiled in shock.

He tried to pull back the overwhelming power of his Heavenly Sword Talisman and turn it against Ximen Qingkong.

Too late.

A streak of blue light swept irresistibly across his neck.

He never saw his own head fly into the sky.

He only felt his vision spinning wildly, as though his body had suddenly ceased obeying him, while consciousness faded at terrifying speed.

With no one left to control it, the immense power released by the Heavenly Sword Talisman instantly tore his headless body apart.

The moment Ximen Qingkong burst from the ground and killed Dugu Jing, the sword in his hand had already left his grasp and flown toward Guo Xingshan.

Both men died almost in the same instant.

Fast.

Far too fast.

This was the killing power of the number-one expert on the Golden Core Ranking.

Every cultivator who witnessed it was shaken.

Still retreating through the air, Yucang's eyes nearly split with rage.

The two trusted disciples he had spent so many years training were simply gone.

And beneath the rage was fear.

Neither disciple was weak. Both could unquestionably be counted among the experts of the Golden Core Realm. Yet Ximen Qingkong had killed them together with a single exchange.

Yucang knew that even if he himself faced the two of them together, he could never have done the same.

The blue sword-shadow flashed back.

Ximen Qingkong, rising through the air, caught it in one hand.

In the next instant, he plunged underground again.

A violent rupture in the earth surged toward the place where Yucang was about to land.

Of the two Xiaoyue Pavilion Elders retreating with him, one immediately unleashed a storm of sword strikes into the ground. Razor-sharp sword qi shredded the earth apart.

The other held a Heavenly Sword Talisman in hand, guarding with extreme vigilance.

Still descending, Yucang suddenly looked up.

A flying mount belonging to the army was circling overhead.

He swept both sleeves and shot upward again, spinning through the air before landing on the mount's back.

His gaze remained fixed on the ground.

Rumble!

The earth suddenly split outward in a spiderweb pattern, frightening countless people into retreat.

Bang!

At one corner of the camp, the ground exploded.

A blue sword-shadow shot into the sky.

A group of cultivators immediately launched themselves after it.

"Go!" Yucang barked.

The cultivator controlling the flying mount urged it forward. Its wings beat hard as it accelerated away.

Ximen Qingkong's upward momentum was already running out.

He swept the sword behind his back, merged man and sword into one, and transformed into a streak of blue light that shot after them.

Most of the pursuing cultivators could not manipulate spiritual power in empty air with anything like Ximen Qingkong's freedom.

Once their initial momentum was exhausted, they had no choice but to fall back toward the ground.

Only a handful could spread their sleeves and launch themselves onward again.

Even then, they were nowhere near as fast as Ximen Qingkong's sword-flight.

Seeing him closing rapidly from behind, Yucang was alarmed.

A Heavenly Sword Talisman was already clenched in his hand.

The blue sword-shadow suddenly drifted upward, carving an arc across the sky.

Then it plunged.

Its speed increased again.

Ximen Qingkong was upon them.

Yucang immediately unleashed the sword-aura shadow of his Heavenly Sword Talisman.

At the same time, Ximen Qingkong swept out a sword-aura shadow of his own Heavenly Sword Talisman.

Boom! Boom! Boom...!

Twelve thunderous explosions shook the heavens.

Twenty-four enormous sword-aura shadows clashed twelve times in succession.

The cultivator riding the flying mount threw himself away in panic.

The flying beast itself was torn into flesh and blood, unable to endure the shockwaves generated by forces of that magnitude.

The last pair of sword-aura shadows annihilated each other.

The blue sword-shadow swept forward with the momentum of the clash and slashed toward Yucang.

Yucang thrust both hands forward.

A rotating disk of radiance like a millstone appeared before him.

The moment the blue sword-shadow struck, the revolving radiance caught it and dragged its charge to a halt.

The shifting blue light stopped.

Within the sword-aura generated from his own body stood Ximen Qingkong, sword extended before him, his cold gaze locked on Yucang.

The millstone-like radiance had not only trapped the force of his sword. It was slowly turning him along with it, man and sword still fused as one.

Locked against each other, the two men descended rapidly.

Neither yielded.

Both poured their own cultivation into the struggle.

Yucang did not dare relax.

Ximen Qingkong's sword force was simply too sharp, too unstoppable. Yucang knew that the instant he released his hold, the sword might cut him down.

As the two continued falling, Yucang opened his Dharma Eye.

Fresh pinpricks were visible on Ximen Qingkong's scarred cheek.

He instantly understood.

The Heavenly Mechanism Aura-Breaking Arrows had already struck him.

A savage expression crossed Yucang's face. "Brother Ximen, you're poisoned. The harder you force your spiritual power, the faster the poison will erupt. My men are already on their way. You're alone and you can't escape. Surrender now. For someone of your age to have reached a realm like this makes you a rare cultivation genius. I may even consider sparing your life!"

Ximen Qingkong's reply was indifferent.

"Life and death are already decided. Who can spare whom?"

Yucang gave a cold chuckle. "Since you're determined to seek death yourself, don't blame this old man!"

With a nasal grunt, a Heavenly Sword Talisman floated out from his sleeve.

Ximen Qingkong's cold gaze swept over it.

He understood Yucang's intention immediately.

With Yucang's level of cultivation, he was fully capable of controlling the Heavenly Sword Talisman remotely.

"Life and death are decided!"

Ximen Qingkong's voice suddenly rang like steel.

The hand holding the sword behind him moved.

Fast enough to leave no time even to cover one's ears against thunder.

The instant the blade came forward, both hands closed over the hilt.

His slightly hunched body exploded into motion as waist, shoulders, arms, and sword twisted together in one violent surge.

The sword swept toward the heavens.

His voice echoed through the sky.

"No self. No sword. Sever!"

The cry shook the open heavens.

Yucang's eyes flew wide.

Inside the sword-aura surrounding Ximen Qingkong, a razor-sharp flash burst out like lightning.

It appeared and vanished in a single instant.

A startling glimpse.

Boom!

The rotating millstone of radiance before Yucang split apart as though cleaved by a lightning bolt.

Blood burst from his mouth.

He lowered his head sharply.

A red line ran across his body, beginning at his left arm and slanting all the way to his right waist.

Then his spiritual power ceased obeying him.

Only then did he see his own body separating diagonally.

Thud! Thud!

The two halves struck the ground several zhang apart.

Blood sprayed violently, whipping the grass leaves around them.

The two men had already been close to the ground during their descending clash.

Yucang's upper half rolled twice before stopping.

A hoarse "heh... heh..." came from his throat.

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

By staking his own body on the answer, he had finally learned the difference between himself and Ximen Qingkong.

Ximen Qingkong landed still holding the posture of the upward sword stroke with both hands.

On his scarred face, his eyes remained coldly fixed on Yucang.

He suddenly released one hand.

Without even looking, two fingers caught the Heavenly Sword Talisman fluttering down from above.

Then his body swayed.

He quickly planted the sword into the ground for support.

His lips had already turned a deep blue-black.

Across from him, a miserable smile slowly appeared on Yucang's face.

His lips moved as though he wanted to say something.

No sound came.

The light in his eyes gradually faded.

People were already rushing after them through the sky. Some flew under their own power, while others approached on flying mounts.

They had witnessed the battle in midair.

Now they saw Yucang's two severed halves on the ground.

Every one of them paled in shock.

Ximen Qingkong steadied himself, took two steps forward, and planted one foot directly on Yucang's face.

Then he raised his sword.

His cold gaze pointed toward the group descending from the sky.

Not a word.

Only the sword.

The oncoming group stopped short.

No one dared approach.

Especially because Ximen Qingkong still visibly held a Heavenly Sword Talisman in his other hand.

The cultivators landed one after another, keeping their distance as they formed a loose encirclement.

One Elder seemed to notice something and shouted, "He's poisoned! He can't hold out much longer!"

The meaning was obvious.

Wait.

Let the poison kill him.

Still no one moved closer.

Ximen Qingkong looked at the Heavenly Sword Talisman in his hand.

Then, before everyone's eyes, he flung it away.

In the next instant, dragging his sword behind him, he charged straight toward the Elder who had spoken.

[End of Chapter 1333]