The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

The Soul-Locking Arrow, trailing a silvery-white flame, hurtled through the air.

The thousands of feathered kites and countless blades of light flew upwards in reverse, like a meteor shower flowing backwards.

The moment the feather blades clashed with the arrow's edge, flames engulfed the sky, and a shockwave swept across the entire Yaoguang City, illuminating it as if it were daytime.

The Pavilion Master of Fengxiao Pavilion slowly walked out from the flames.

The black cloak billowed in the wind, its edges embroidered with delicate silver gardenia branches.

One by one, the blossoms spread upwards along the hem of her dress, appearing and disappearing in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The hood covered most of her face, revealing only a delicate chin.

The fragrance of gardenias permeates the air amidst the smoke and blood, cool and refreshing, incongruous yet unyielding.

"Junior brother."

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, neither too fast nor too slow, like gardenia petals falling on ice.

"It seems you're determined to oppose me."

Before the words were even finished, the Soul-Locking Bow lit up again.

Three arrow beams converged simultaneously, pointing in three different directions—the Three Lives Tree, the Ice Netherworld, and the Nine Directions Know.

"Senior sister, from beginning to end, you've been the one forcing me."

Jiu Fangzhi spoke, his voice heavy with sorrow.

Three arrows were fired simultaneously; there was no way to avoid them.

"Ha, junior brother, the most useless thing in this world is emotion."

"You, if you're going to be ruthless, then be ruthless to the end. Ruthlessness is the way."

Fengxiao Pavilion Master's posture remained elegant and languid, holding a bow in one hand and casually adjusting the cloak on his shoulder with the other.

It was as if he wasn't launching a fatal blow, but merely straightening a coat that had been ruffled by the wind.

"Even if I perish today, I will not allow you to destroy the Three Lives Tree again!"

The old Taoist priest struggled to his feet from the ruins.

His Taoist robe was already tattered and torn, his body was covered in blood, and one arm hung limply at his side.

But he still managed to form a hand seal with his remaining hand, which trembled slightly.

His voice was hoarse and resolute, but his eyes shone with an astonishing light.

The gaze of the Pavilion Master Fengxiao swept over him, lingering for such a short time that it was almost negligible.

"Tsk, overestimating yourself."

Four words slipped lightly from her lips.

The arrow pierced through the air and arrived.

"Taoist priest, step back."

Jiu Fangzhi's voice was steady and restrained.

The thousand-feathered kite fully unfolded, and countless runes lit up simultaneously.

"Her arrow formations were coordinated; if one arrow was blocked, the other two would take advantage of the opening."

"You can't protect the Three Lives Tree. I will."

He chose to use the Thousand Feather Kite to intercept both arrows aimed at the Three Lives Tree and the Ice Netherworld, and used the Spirit Pattern Shield to take the arrow aimed at him head-on.

The moment the thousands of light blades collided with the two spirit-locking arrows, the spirit pattern shield was already cracked.

His arms trembled violently, his tiger's mouth split open, and blood dripped down the handle.

But he did not back down.

Upon seeing this, Bingyou rushed towards the Pavilion Master of Fengxiao Pavilion.

"I happen to need a dragon to concoct medicine for me."

Fengxiao Pavilion Master raised the Spirit-Locking Bow and aimed it at Bingyou.

The spirit patterns on the bowstring lit up faster than ever before, as if they had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

The Soul-Locking Arrow was originally designed for slaying dragons, and the runes on its tip were specifically designed to target the bloodline and meridians of the dragon race.

An arrow pierced the body, locking away the dragon's soul.

"Bingyou, come back!"

Jiu Fangzhi's voice ripped through the night sky.

He saw it, saw the faint smile on the lips of the Pavilion Master Fengxiao, saw her fingers, which were strumming the strings, deviate slightly by an inch.

That wasn't an arrow aimed at Bingyou; it was a lure.

They lured him to drop his last bit of defense.

His entire focus was on what lay ahead, on maintaining the balance between the Thousand Feather Kite and the Spirit Pattern Shield.

He didn't see it.

The third arrow, the one aimed at him, suddenly seemed to twist just before it hit the shield.

Then it changed direction, silently circling in a strange arc, and aimed straight at his back.

That was the true killing move of the Pavilion Master Fengxiao.

She knows her junior brother too well.

I know he will protect everyone in the crucial moment, and I know he will put himself last.

He knew that he had given all his defenses to others, leaving himself with only a thin shield.

The real killer move is hidden in the shadows.

He is clearly an extremely evil ghost doctor, a being as poisonous as the blue gum tree in the eyes of the world, yet he is also extremely affectionate and passionate.

She knew better than anyone that his biggest weakness was that he was too sentimental.

"Young master, be careful!"

The old Taoist priest's shouts were torn apart by the wind.

He used his last bit of strength to push the golden light in his hand behind Jiu Fangzhi.

But the light was too weak, so weak that it was blown away by the air current before it could fly more than three feet away.

Jiu Fang realized it was too late to turn back.

His spiritual senses had already detected the arrow.

But he couldn't move.

The Thousand Feathered Kite was still locked in a stalemate with the two arrows in the air, while the spirit-patterned shield was struggling to hold on in front of it.

If he removes any one of the defenses, the other two arrows will take advantage of the opening.

He has no choice but to gamble.

Betting that the arrow was off by an inch, betting that you were a bit luckier.

But he knew in his heart that the arrows of the Pavilion Master Fengxiao never missed.

At the critical moment, a silvery light appeared on the horizon.

The light poured down from above the clouds; it was neither sunrise nor moonrise.

Rather, it is an extremely cold, silvery-white color, carrying the scent of ice and snow.

The dragon scales reflected a chilling light unique to the Snow Dragon under the starlight.

One by one, like millions of mirrors simultaneously facing the night sky.

A dragon's roar pierced the sky.

A giant silver dragon swooped down from the clouds, its body covering the sky and obscuring half of the city.

The dragon's breath preceded the attack; the icy air spewed from the dragon's mouth, freezing the air wherever it passed.

The ground was instantly covered with a half-inch thick layer of ice, and even the Silver Dust Gu were frozen into tiny ice crystals that fell down in a rustling sound.

On the dragon's head, a slender figure stood against the wind.

The alchemist's green and white robes fluttered in the wind, his long, ink-black hair billowing in the high-altitude gale.

The Longevity Sword was already half an inch out of its sheath, its blade shimmering with silver and blue spiritual light, making her profile appear as cold and jade-like as ever.

"Lord Fengxiao Pavilion—"

The sound descended from above, clearly piercing through the swirling snow and the smoke and blood, reaching the ears of everyone present.

"Your opponent is me."

Before the words were even finished, the Longevity Sword was already drawn.

A sword cleaved down.

The sword light cascaded down like the Milky Way from the heavens, its silvery white tinged with a hint of dark blue, striking precisely the center of the shaft of the Spirit-Locking Arrow behind Jiu Fangzhi.

The moment the sword and arrow touched, a piercing metallic scraping sound tore through the night sky, and sparks flew like fireworks.

The arrow was split in two, and the broken arrow fell limply to the ground.

The arrow tip bounced twice on the bluestone slab before finally coming to a stop.

At the same time, Tang Xixue waved her left hand lightly.

The sword light transformed into several streaks of light that shot out, narrowly missing the other two arrows.

She didn't confront them head-on; instead, she gently flicked the arrows, changing their direction.

That group's strength was extremely small, so small that it could almost be ignored.

But that one-inch deviation is enough.

The arrow aimed at the Three Lives Tree grazed the trunk and blasted a three-foot-deep hole in the city wall.

The arrow aimed at Bingyou grazed half an inch from its belly, chipping away a corner of the edge of a dragon scale.

Bingyou broke out in a cold sweat, but was unharmed.

Three arrows strike simultaneously.

Tang Xixue sheathed her sword and stood atop the dragon's head, her robes fluttering in the wind.

The snow dragon slowly descended beneath her feet, and the hurricane it stirred up blew away most of the dust on the city wall.

"Junior Sister!"

When Jiu Fangzhi saw Tang Xixue return, a glint instantly appeared in his eyes.

A delightful surprise, like frost and snow meeting the blazing sun.

"Senior brother, I'm back."

Tang Xixue nodded and smiled slightly at him, like a crabapple blossom falling on a lake, creating ripples in his heart.

Then she looked at the old Taoist priest.

"Master, I have not failed you."