Yang Guo: I defied death and reached the heavens in The Return of the Condor Heroes

The girl who landed looked no more than eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in white as snow, and she was able to walk through the rain.

Zhao Zhijing stopped his attack, bent down to pick up the long sword from the ground, and coldly looked at the woman who had captivated Yin Zhiping.

He had to admit that the woman was indeed stunningly beautiful.

But that beauty, mixed with the aloof aura she exuded, made it impossible for anyone to feel any sense of closeness to her.

He snorted coldly, his heart filled with disdain and contempt—the saying "beautiful women bring disaster" is indeed true.

Yang Guo, nestled among the branches of an ancient pine tree, fixed his gaze on Xiaolongnu the moment she appeared.

His gaze lingered on the contours of her face for a moment, and he sighed inwardly:

As expected of a beauty of exceptional quality in the original work, she truly lives up to her reputation. Her temperament is aloof and outstanding, like a fairy from the moon palace descending to earth.

But he didn't dwell on the thought for long. His gaze quickly swept over Xiaolongnu and landed on the open stone door of the ancient tomb behind her.

The passageway inside the stone gate was deep and dark, and cold air seeped out from the cracks in the door, condensing into a visible white mist in the downpour.

Yang Guo's heart pounded like a drum in his chest.

All the forbearance and waiting within Chongyang Palace tonight, after experiencing all these changes, was for this moment.

His fingers gripped the tree trunk beside him silently, his knuckles turning slightly white.

But he didn't move. His rationality remained cold amidst his ecstasy; now was not the time.

The woman in white was still outside the door, her gaze coldly sweeping over everyone present.

He needed the perfect moment, a moment when everyone's attention was focused on the tomb and the stone gate was unguarded.

Opportunity can be fleeting!

Little Dragon Girl's gaze lingered on Granny Sun's injured right arm for a moment.

Then she slowly turned around and faced the crowd standing there in the pouring rain.

Dressed in white, she remained spotless amidst the pouring rain; raindrops automatically bounced off her within three feet of her.

Her gaze swept over Liu Erxi, Chen Cunding, and Hu Xizu from front to back.

His gaze swept over Shi Mang, who was still holding the machete, and over Zhao Zhijing, who was watching coldly from the sidelines.

The image paused for a very brief moment on Yin Zhiping, who lay in a pool of blood.

Then she spoke:

"Who are you? Why are you fighting in front of my ancient tomb and injuring Granny Sun?"

Xiaolongnu's voice was clear and calm, piercing through the clamor of the downpour and slowly reaching everyone's ears, each word clearly imprinted on their ears.

Even the rain seemed to subside as she spoke, as if even the heavens themselves needed to listen to her voice.

Shi Mang and the others stared at the girl before them, who resembled a fairy from the moon palace, and were all stunned and speechless.

The way Xiaolongnu made her entrance was too shocking—she walked in the rain, her clothes fluttering in the air, and the white silk on her body shone brightly in the dark night.

They had never even heard of such a skill, let alone seen it.

Seeing that no one responded, Xiaolongnu scanned the crowd with her eyes.

After being swept away like that, the Four Fiends' imposing aura as bandits in the greenwood had already dissipated by more than half.

Shi Mang was the first to react. Having spent half his life in the world of bandits, he knew the most about a life-saving rule: take advantage of any opportunity, and be timid when you encounter a ruthless person!

He narrowed his eyes, a slight smile appearing on his face, and clasped his hands in a fist salute as he spoke:

"Senior, the four of us are outlaws who have been misled by rumors. We heard that the ancient tomb in Zhongnan Mountain contains all the martial arts manuals in the world, so we were tempted by greed and came here to ask for a few books."

"We never expected to encounter both the old woman and that other person, which led to the fight. We even accidentally injured the old woman. We are so sorry for all our mistakes. We hope that you, sir, will forgive us this time. We will never dare to cause trouble again."

After Shi Mang finished speaking, he lowered his head, adopting an extremely humble posture, and even his tone was more respectful than the three people behind him had ever heard before.

Seeing that their eldest brother had already backed down, the remaining three had no intention of showing off and followed suit, bowing and clasping their hands in greeting.

Little Dragon Girl looked at the four men in front of her, who were soaked to the bone, but showed neither smile nor anger.

Shi Mang's response seemed like a gentle breeze passing by, failing to stir any emotion in him.

She turned to look at Granny Sun, whose forearm was injured, and spoke in a cool tone:

"Mother-in-law, is she alright? Is what he said true?"

Grandma Sun, clutching her right arm, leaned against the boulder and replied:

"I'm fine, just some minor injuries. What this person said is true, there's no exaggeration."

Little Dragon Girl nodded slightly and asked no more questions.

Her gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on Yin Zhiping, who lay in a pool of blood, and she spoke coldly:

"Take the person lying in the back and leave the tomb now. There's nothing you want in the tomb. Don't come back again."

The four demons breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Shi Mang was genuinely afraid that this powerful figure before him was capricious and might use this incident to have him and his brothers beaten to death on the spot, so he quickly cupped his hands in thanks.

"Thank you for your great tolerance, senior. We four brothers promise we won't..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by another unexpected turn of events—because Zhao Zhijing suddenly moved!

Just as Shi Mang was explaining the whole story to Xiaolongnu.

Zhao Zhijing finally snapped out of his anger, which was replaced by endless panic.

He reached out to Yin Zhiping and checked the breath of the body in front of him with his finger.

But his fingers trembled violently in the rain, and for a moment he couldn’t tell whether the faint scent was his breath or just the illusion of the wind blowing on his fingertips.

He placed his hand on Yin Zhiping's neck, but the rain had made his hand icy cold, and he couldn't even feel his pulse.

His panic deepened, and his mind raced with uncontrollable fantasies about the consequences if the sect leader and his senior masters found out about tonight's events.

Yin Zhiping's fate is currently unknown; even if he were alive, he would be a cripple.

The sect leader will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly, and all his actions will be fully investigated—sending people to monitor, follow, and refuse to help those in distress!

Each and every one of these incidents was enough to destroy the accumulation of more than twenty years he had made at Chongyang Palace.

He dared not think any further, but the thoughts in his mind were like a stampede of horses, which he could not suppress no matter what he did.

Zhao Zhijing became increasingly agitated as he thought about it. His hands and feet were as cold as stone, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably, but his forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat.

Just as he was feeling panicked and uneasy, he heard Xiaolongnu's voice. Her voice was clear and ethereal, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.

"Take the person lying behind and leave the tomb grounds now. The tomb..."

Zhao Zhijing suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on the white-clad figure, as if a demon were whispering in his mind:

It's all because of this woman!

If it weren't for her, Yin Zhiping wouldn't have come to the back mountain late at night; if it weren't for her, none of this would have happened tonight, and I wouldn't have fallen into such a terrible disaster!

But now this woman wants to let those four people leave!

If they leave, how am I supposed to explain this to Qiu Chuji?

We can't let them get away. We have to take these four back to the mountains to report back so that I can make amends!

Before Xiaolongnu could finish speaking, Zhao Zhijing did not hesitate at all. He pushed off the muddy ground with all his might, creating a deep pit.

The longsword in his hand moved like an eagle's claws, cutting a streak of light in the rain, and pierced straight toward Shi Mang's back.

Yang Guo, standing in the shadows, looked at the familiar sword strike and narrowed his eyes, as if he had remembered something.

Zhao Zhijing's sword strike came without warning, without a sound, and was incredibly fast!

Shi Mang bowed and thanked her, feeling fortunate that the girl in white hadn't investigated further, and that he and his brothers had escaped a calamity.

Little did he know that his back was already completely exposed to Zhao Zhijing's sword, and a murderous intent was about to befall him!

Just as the sword's edge was about ten feet away from Shi Mang's back.

A cold glint seemed to flash in Chen Cunding's eyes. His life-or-death instincts, honed by years of licking blood from the edge of a knife, made him lunge forward, shoving Shi Mang away from the original trajectory of his sword.

Caught off guard by the impact, Shi Mang tumbled into the mud and water. Before he could even curse, he heard the second brother's shrill voice coming from the side.

"Watch out, bro! This bastard dared to launch a sneak attack!"

As soon as Liu Erxi finished speaking, the bone-piercing dart in his hand was already thrown, and three cold lights flew straight towards Zhao Zhijing in a triangular shape.

Hu Xizu's long whip, like a venomous snake, swept towards Zhao Zhijing's legs like a dragon swimming close to the ground.

Zhao Zhijing's first sword strike missed, but he did not lose heart and followed up with a second sword strike.

In his view, the four opponents were exhausted and their strength was running out, so it was only a matter of time before he could defeat them.

He flicked his wrist, knocking the incoming dart to the ground, and then channeled his inner strength into the ground with his feet.

His figure leaped forward several feet like a golden goose, the cold light of the Yangtze River flashing in his hand as he continuously dismantled his opponent's hidden darts and whip.

Shi Mang tried to push himself up, but the soreness in his right arm made him wince.

He looked down and saw that his sleeve had been torn open with a long, narrow gash, and blood had seeped through the fabric, mixing with the mud and water on the ground, making it even more filthy.

"Hold!"

Shi Mang sealed several major acupoints on his right arm to stop the wound, and a fierce glint appeared in his eyes.

He looked up at the arena—Zhao Zhijing was fiercely fighting with the second and third brothers.

Both of them had already exhausted most of their internal energy, and could only struggle to hold on. The sword light and whip shadows intertwined in the rain, and for a time they fought to a standstill.

Chen Cunding stood to one side, holding a giant hammer, his eyes fixed on an opportunity to help.

However, due to Zhao Zhijing's swift movements, he couldn't get a hand in for a long time and was so anxious that he gritted his teeth.

Knowing that his opponent was troublesome, Shi Mang took a deep breath and raised the machete that was stuck in the mud with his left arm again.

"Fourth brother, don't just stand there! Go around him!"

He shouted at Chen Cunding, then drew his sword and charged into the fray from the side.

Upon hearing this, Chen Cunding immediately circled behind Zhao Zhijing, picked up his hammer, and swung it at him.

The four men formed a formation again, surrounding Zhao Zhijing.

Although Zhao Zhijing possessed abundant internal strength and was able to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, he was ultimately alone.

The four opponents coordinated perfectly; just as one of their longswords swung away a hidden dart, another's whip immediately followed.

The other two also seized the opportunity, occasionally stepping forward to launch a feint attack before retreating.

The four men, like eels, made Zhao Zhijing increasingly frustrated as he fought them. His moves gradually lost the balance and harmony of Quanzhen, becoming more and more impatient and ruthless, and he frequently used dangerous moves with his longsword.