Minglong

Chapter 243 The Cicada Awaits (Revised)
The silver lightning bolt, like a crescent moon, swept an arc across the icy river. By the time it was clear, it had already approached the two people. The extremely cold blade wind directly turned the flying water into scattered ice crystals!
? !
Li Huaichuan was not careless and remained on guard against the super-grade poison witch hidden in the fog.

But even if a poison sorcerer reaches the highest level, they can only cast spells and poisons from a great distance. With such a fragile body, it would be a complete loss of mind to directly attack a martial artist's face. Therefore, he has always been wary of the Chaotic God Spell.

The blade that came at him was clearly the work of a genuine, top-tier martial artist. Moreover, it combined the stealth characteristics of the Gu Poison Sect with the aim of 'breaking the concealment and deciding life or death with a single strike,' making it a standard assassination technique!

By the time Li Huaichuan realized what was happening, the dazzling blade light had already shattered his protective aura and swept towards his neck, giving him no time to react.

Fortunately, Li Huaichuan had spent his life fighting and was skilled enough to react quickly enough to block the fatal blow. His right hand flashed back with his sword, parrying the blade, while he simultaneously swept the Minglong Spear at the ghostly assassin to his side.

Ding--

Boom——

The swift, lightning-fast scimitar was parried, and the nine-foot spear swept away the poisonous mist beside him, striking the blue-skirted woman hiding within it in the waist and abdomen.

The woman's cheeks were as white as jade, and her peach blossom eyes showed a hint of pain, but also a faint dark red, just like a nine-tailed white fox peeking out of a sea of ​​mist!

Li Huaichuan had seen many powerful individuals who practiced both witchcraft and martial arts, but he had never seen one this strong before. His defense was clearly rushed, and when he caught a glimpse of those red eyes, he knew he was in trouble!
As he expected!
The spear knocked the woman in blue away, and Li Huaichuan's vision distorted. The sea of ​​fog before him transformed into a bizarre and fantastical illusion, with a golden-red flame seemingly within reach floating in front of him. The signboard of the Lishan Sword Pavilion not far away had also changed to "Number One Under Heaven"...

Li Huaichuan knew this was a chaotic illusion, and in the blink of an eye he had already focused his mind and broken free, but it was too late!

Xie Jinhuan completely entrusted his life to his teammates, ignoring the incoming sword tide, and drew his Heavenly Gang Mace to sweep forward with all his might!
As Bu Yuehua was pulled away by the spear shaft, the power of the Heavenly Mace in his hand was also compressed to the extreme. On the other hand, Li Huaichuan, who was close at hand, had his aura dissipate, his weapon loosened, and his eyes showed a hint of dullness and unusual fervor.

Although it only lasted for a moment, it was enough to be fatal among peak martial artists!
clang--

Li Huaichuan blinked, regained his senses, and hastily raised his sword to parry the Heavenly Mace that was about to strike his face.

But Xie Jinhuan's short-range burst of power was terrifying. His heavy mace slammed into Tingxue Sword. The finely crafted blade remained undamaged, but was bent directly by the impact, and the remaining force still struck his face.

bang——

With a loud bang, Li Huaichuan's nose and cheek bones were shattered. Although he was a martial artist with a strong physique and his head was not blown off, half of his face was dented, blood and broken teeth flew everywhere, and he fell backward and crashed into the cliff behind him.

Boom——

Bu Yuehua was pulled out by a spear, fell onto the icy river, and bounced up again. With her single sword in hand, she moved with lightning speed and pressed down on him once more.

ding ding-

The martial artist's ability to withstand blows is second only to that of the Buddhists, but Li Huaichuan was hit so hard that his face was completely deformed. The fact that he didn't faint shows that he has a solid foundation, and it would be impossible for him to maintain his technique.

Faced with the lightning-fast blade and the opportunistic illusions and spells, Li Huaichuan could no longer defend himself. After only three consecutive strikes, he was slashed in the right arm holding the sword by the curved blade.

Although the wound was no more than half an inch deep, white smoke suddenly billowed from the cut surface. The excruciating pain that struck his soul and the feeling of muscle sluggishness quickly spread throughout his body, and Yu Kong's figure fell to the ground.

Boom——

Xie Jinhuan and Bu Yuehua had teamed up before. The moment Li Huaichuan lost his balance and fell, a Black Dragon Strike against a Pillar created a vortex in the misty sea, striking his back directly.

Li Huaichuan suffered a severe head injury and was parrying the surging blades that were within arm's reach. He had already exhausted all his strength. Facing attacks from both sides, he knew he was at his wit's end. A fierce look appeared on his deformed face. He disregarded the single blade coming at him and risked his life to thrust his sword straight at Ren Xin's heart.

Sa——

This sword strike was skillfully executed yet seemingly simple, producing a chilling sword cry that was so intense it could shake one's very soul. It was undoubtedly Li Huaichuan's strongest and final sword strike of his life!
Bu Yuehua was already being careful enough, but Li Huaichuan relied on his superior cultivation level to forcefully switch targets, making it impossible for her to avoid. She could only grit her teeth and raise her sword to parry, pushing the sword blade aimed at her heart towards the side!
chap——

Boom——

At that very moment, Xie Jinhuan once again touched the forbidden, forcefully opening the second level of the 'Kaiyang' technique, increasing his speed by another three points, and before the sword could penetrate flesh, he slammed the Heavenly Gang Mace into Li Huaichuan's side.

Boom——

With a deafening roar, Li Huaichuan's robes ripped apart, his ribs were torn open and his bones were shattered. The heavy mace pierced his abdominal cavity and smashed his lower back spine.

The figure, thrusting forward with all its might, was thrown sideways in mid-air by the impact of the dump truck, crashing into the rocky cliff to the side.

Rumbling--

A towering wave rose from the emerald green sea of ​​mist, followed by the collapse of the stone cliffs and the falling of rubble, creating a crater more than ten feet in diameter at the point of impact.

Xie Jinhuan was at his peak this time. He was not injured at first and briefly opened the second level of his body without causing his body to collapse. However, his explosive power exceeded his body's limit and he still instantly strained his muscles and meridians.

After blasting Li Huaichuan away, Xie Jinhuan caught a glimpse of Li Huaichuan's face and body, which were deformed and bent backward, and knew that he could not survive. He immediately sprang up and caught Bu Yuehua who was flying backward.

Bu Yuehua was already injured in spirit and soul, and had just been swept away by a spear. It was difficult for her to withstand Li Huaichuan's life-for-life sword. Although Li Huaichuan was knocked away at the critical moment, the sword still pierced into her left chest, penetrated the soft armor, and was only inches away from her heart.

Xie Jinhuan was quite startled. After catching him, she quickly looked him over and noticed that his dress was torn at the side, revealing his soft armor, and there was blood on his chest. However, there were no signs of a ruptured heart or internal injuries, so she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and picked him up.
"Come on!"

Because of the intense battle, Bu Yuehua didn't even feel the pain in her body. Her gaze was fixed on Li Huaichuan's direction. Only when she saw that Xie Jinhuan had shattered her ribcage did she breathe a sigh of relief. She raised her hand and gently hooked the Listening Snow Sword, which had flown to a distance, back into her hand. Then, she flew away with it...

……

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away, seven figures concealed in the snow observed the earth-shattering scene within Jianchuan through telescopes, all secretly gasping in astonishment.

He Can wasn't exactly a 'cheerleader,' but he'd been through too much in the past, so he wasn't at all surprised by Li Huaichuan's bitter defeat. He turned his head and mocked:

"Tsk tsk~ Is this the power of you Northerners? I thought you were going to lure someone into a trap and send some big shot to make the final decision, but it turns out it's just some worthless nobody. Xie Jinhuan is already an invincible first-rank expert, and he even has a super-rank protector by his side. You're sending Li Huaichuan to deal with him? Do you think Xie Jinhuan's achievements in the Southern Dynasty weren't impressive enough, and you're planning to send him to the North to continue racking up more glory?"

Zhang Chu actually felt this battle was quite dangerous, but Xie Jinhuan was so steady, and she even brought a top-notch female bodyguard, so Li Huaichuan's death wasn't unjust. He continued:

"Since things have come to this, should we retreat?"

Chu Xing was somewhat surprised by Xie Jinhuan's fighting prowess when he first met him, but he had been warned beforehand that one person couldn't handle this young man. Therefore, he wasn't surprised by the current situation and replied:
“Li Huaichuan is just a pawn. He is determined to kill us in order to seize the treasure. It would be best if we could kill him, as it would have nothing to do with us. If we can’t kill him, we can still greatly deplete the resources of these two people and give the people who follow us a legitimate reason to kill them.”

He Can roughly understood the meaning:
"Li Huaichuan was patrolling his own territory when he was brutally murdered by Xie Jinhuan of the Southern Dynasty, which would indeed prompt the Northern Zhou court and the righteous forces to launch a manhunt. But now that Li Huaichuan is dead, and Xie Jinhuan has caused such a huge incident, he will definitely flee to the Great Qian Dynasty to avoid trouble. Who in Lizhou can catch these two? You're not planning to use the constables of the yamen to kill them, are you?"

Chu Xing shook his head: "The higher-ups said they would help the south solve this problem, so naturally we have to do it well. Now, you can look at the east."

He Can and Zhang Chu looked slightly puzzled, shifting their gaze from Jianchuan to the eastern horizon.

To everyone's surprise, a fiery meteor appeared beneath the dark evening sky.

The fireballs approached straight towards them at incredible speed, but not at a constant speed; they flashed intermittently, leaping a considerable distance each time.

"The Thousand-Mile Travel Spell?"

He Can had a keen eye; just by looking at the imposing presence, he knew that the newcomer was the true ancestor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

The cultivator used the "Ten Thousand Miles Divine Travel Spell" but only produced embers of flame, which can only mean that this cultivator specializes in the Five Elements Fire Arts.

The only one in Northern Zhou who could display such power was Lu Yan, the leader of the Five Spirits Mountain Sect and the strongest fire magic sorcerer under the leader of the Divination Sect!
"The backup plan you mentioned, is it this Taoist priest?"

"Yes, Elder Lü was tricked and had his opportunity stolen by Xie Jinhuan in Fire Phoenix Valley the other day. He's furious right now. He suddenly sensed a battle between top-tier cultivators and rushed over only to find that Xie Jinhuan had killed the head of Lishan Sword Pavilion. What do you think he'll do?"

"..."

Zhang Chu frowned, sensing that the northern sorcerers were indeed capable. After thinking for a moment, he said:
"Old Demon Xie is probably really in trouble this time."

He Can had originally wanted to stay away from this place of trouble, but seeing that Xie Jinhuan seemed to be truly in dire straits, he really wanted to see how things went. Therefore, he carefully hid in the snow, observing with his binoculars, and even offered a warning:

"Xie Jinhuan has a black eagle with amazing eyesight. You'd better not be discovered."

"I know. That's why I hid dozens of miles away..."

……
-
Meanwhile, in the mountains and fields.

Xie Jinhuan carried the dizzy and traumatized Bu Yuehua and ran wildly into the mountains. Before they had gone even half a mile, a warning came from the sky:

"Chong-"

Then, a sliver of light appeared in the distant sky. Upon seeing this, Bu Yuehua's expression changed drastically.
"Oh no, it looks like Lü Yan is here. What should we do?"

Xie Jinhuan knew something big was going to happen today when he discovered that Li Huaichuan had suddenly appeared in an ambush. He was not surprised at all by Lü Yan's appearance.

He knew very well what he had done to Lu Laomo. If they met in the capital, he could rely on diplomatic immunity and the protection of Empress Dowager Guo. But if they met here, he had just killed the head of the Lishan Sword Pavilion in Lishan. The knife was directly handed to Lu Yan. If he was caught, he would surely lose his life.

He said he had fallen into a trap set by a sorcerer, and that Li Huaichuan wanted to kill him. He acted in self-defense and also obtained Lü Yanxin's help.

Given the history of Fire Phoenix Valley, if Lü Yan were to believe even a single word of his, it would mean he hadn't learned his lesson yet.

Discovering that the person behind the scenes had used almost every resource detrimental to him to orchestrate such a ruthless scheme, Xie Jinhuan was genuinely curious about who that person was.

But there's no way to investigate now. He can't control the wind, and Bu Yuehua's soul is injured, so he can't harness the power of heaven and earth. The two of them have to run on foot. Even if Lü Yan tells them to run ahead for a quarter of an hour, they still won't get there. So, he can only gesture for Meiqiu to run first, while looking around:
"Let's find a place to hide first. The Lishan Mountains stretch for more than 500 miles. If we hide well, Lü Yan won't be able to find us so easily. Let's treat our injuries first."

Bu Yuehua had only come to find her father's killer and hadn't expected to fall into such a desperate situation. Just now, Xie Jinhuan had even had to sacrifice himself to save her. Now, suppressing her headache, she put her arm around Xie Jinhuan's shoulder:

"It was all my fault for being so reckless. If Junior Sister Mu were here, she would never have pulled you here..."

"Alright. This is clearly aimed at me. With Bing Tuozi coming along, they don't even need to spread the word. She and I will definitely go to Baihua County to see what's going on..."

As Xie Jinhuan was speaking, he suddenly saw an old locust tree covered in snow deep in the mountains and forests. The inside was hollow and extremely well hidden. He immediately carried Bu Yuehua inside.

Shortly afterward, a deafening roar echoed across the sky:

Boom boom——

　I recommend a new book; you might want to check it out if you're interested. It's by the author, Ri Ri Sheng, a veteran author.
　　

(End of this chapter)