Although Huode didn't fully understand what had happened here, he could more or less guess it must be related to that kid Gu Qingfeng.
Gazing at the cold, arrogant, and willful Leng Yanqiu opposite him, Huode felt genuine fear in his heart. Knowing she was not someone to be trifled with, he quickly offered an apologetic smile. "Big sister, let's talk this out properly."
"Hmph! Old thing, you'd better tell me where that trash surnamed Gu is," Leng Yanqiu said with utter contempt, her voice icy. "Otherwise, I'll make sure you die without a place to be buried today."
Hearing this, Huode's heart skipped a beat.
Originally, he had come to the Bingxuan Sect's celebration hoping to bask in Qingfeng's glory and regain some of the face he had lost back in the day. But now, not only had he failed to gain any glory, judging by the situation, he might very well lose his life here.
Not far away, Ancestral Patriarch Zhu Xia, collapsed on the ground, used all her strength to shout, "Yanqiu, you must not persist in your mistakes! If you don't believe this old woman, so be it, but you absolutely must not harm Huode! Otherwise... otherwise, if you anger Young Master Gu, no one in this world will be able to save you!"
"Heh heh, you old undying thing. That trash surnamed Gu fled the moment he discovered my arrival, not even leaving a shadow behind. And you still dare say he's not to be provoked? Heh heh... Anger him? No one in the world can save me?" Leng Yanqiu laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world, her laughter both charming and utterly deranged.
Huode also tried to persuade her. "Big sister, what your Ancestral Patriarch says is true. That kid Gu really isn't someone to mess with. When he starts killing, he doesn't care if you're a man or a woman. This old man advises you to be sensible."
However, Huode's persuasion seemed even more laughable to Leng Yanqiu than a joke, causing her laughter to grow louder, more intense, and more disdainful.
"Very well! Then this young lady will kill you right now and see just how that trash surnamed Gu is 'not to be provoked'!"
Seeing that Leng Yanqiu was about to kill Huode, Zhu Xia screamed like a madwoman, "Withered Leaf! Jin Ling! Quick! Stop her! Hurry!"
Withered Leaf and Jin Ling did not dare delay, instantly making their move.
Although they, like Zhu Xia, had lived for three thousand years, they were not human and could not cultivate, possessing no spiritual power whatsoever. Even though they could mobilize the power of the Bingxuan Source, they were still beaten until blood spurted from their mouths and noses by Leng Yanqiu in less than an instant.
Leng Yanqiu was a Four Realms Fivefold Illusory Radiance genius of the Great Nature, with a Nine Revolutions Golden Core.
Of course, if that were all, she would be no match for Withered Leaf and Jin Ling.
The truth was, after stealing Zhu Xia's Bingxuan Source, she had completely absorbed it with the help of the Bingxuan Heart, greatly increasing her strength. Combined with the power of the Bingxuan Heart, her might was especially terrifying. Withered Leaf and Jin Ling didn't even have a chance to fight back before her.
"Ancestral Patriarchs of the Bingxuan Sect? Hmph! In my, Leng Yanqiu's, eyes, you are just garbage trash." Leng Yanqiu stood proudly in the void, her beautiful face filled with arrogance, her eyes brimming with conceit. Four Realms Fivefold Illusory Radiance shimmered around her, and the frosty mist and light bloomed around her body like layers of ice-sculpted flowers. With a sudden wave of her hand, frost and flying snow transformed Withered Leaf and Jin Ling into ice sculptures.
Crack!
The ice sculptures shattered. Withered Leaf and Jin Ling were now covered in blood, collapsing to their knees on the ground, their condition unknown.
Witnessing this scene, everyone present was terrified, their faces pale with shock.
They knew Leng Yanqiu, having fused with the Bingxuan Heart, was powerful, but they hadn't expected her to be so shockingly formidable. The two Ancestral Patriarchs of the Bingxuan Sect had been frozen solid by her in a single move, then left covered in blood, their fate unknown.
Good heavens!
Huode was also badly frightened by the sight before him. Knowing that woman Leng Yanqiu was serious, he turned to flee, but was instantly surrounded by a group of elders led by True Being Yuhua.
"Sect Head, a beast like Huode is not worth you taking action personally. Moreover, since that little beast surnamed Gu was brought here by Huode, he must know the little beast's whereabouts. Why not hand him over to this old woman? I will naturally make him reveal where the little beast is hiding."
Perhaps intending to curry favor with the new sect head, True Being Yuhua quickly requested the task. Seeing Leng Yanqiu nod, she leaned on her dragon-head cane, looking at Huode with a sinister gaze and letting out a chilling laugh. "Tsk tsk, Huode, I never thought we'd meet again!"
The two were old acquaintances.
One could even say they were enemies.
At least, that's how Huode saw it.
Because back when he and his fellow disciples from the Yunxia Sect came to the Bingxuan Sect demanding they fulfill the dual-cultivation pact, it was this old woman before him who had given them a vicious beating. Huode had held a grudge about that ever since. If not for that, he wouldn't have begged Gu Qingfeng to attend the Bingxuan Sect's celebration—he had hoped to bask in Gu Qingfeng's glory and settle that old score.
He just never expected things to turn out like this.
"Huode, this old woman advises you to tell us the whereabouts of that little beast surnamed Gu. You might suffer less physical pain that way." True Being Yuhua took out a green bottle. Opening it revealed some boiling green liquid inside. With a sinister smile, she looked at Huode and said, "You should know this is Thousand Spider Myriad Poison Liquid. Just one drop on your body, and your entire form will fester—first the skin, then the bones, meridians, internal organs... until your whole body turns into a pool of bloody water."
"Damn your ancestors!" Huode sucked in a cold breath and cursed. "After all these years, you old hag are still this vicious!"
"Tsk tsk! I'll count to ten. One! Two!" True Being Yuhua wasn't in a hurry. Leaning on her dragon-head cane with one hand and holding the bottle of Thousand Spider Myriad Poison Liquid in the other, she watched Huode with that sinister smile.
To say he wasn't afraid would be a lie.
Huode glanced at the Thousand Spider Myriad Poison Liquid, couldn't help but swallow, then took off a reddish-copper ring he wore on his thumb. He sneered, "Old hag, I'm not afraid to tell you, this ring was given to me by that kid Gu. As long as I will it, that kid Gu will appear immediately, no matter where he is."
Huode chuckled darkly. "Although this old man can't stand you, old hag, I don't want your life either. You'd better be sensible and get as far away as possible. Don't force me to call that kid Gu over. Once he gets serious, none of you bastards will be able to handle it!"
"Tsk tsk tsk! That little beast surnamed Gu was so scared when he heard our Sect Head had arrived that he hid who-knows-where. And you still dare spout such wild boasts in front of this old woman? Tsk tsk! Not to mention that little beast wouldn't dare show his face, even if he did, our Sect Head Leng would make him die eight hundred times over!" True Being Yuhua continued her count, already reaching five.
"You ignorant, death-seeking woman, don't push me!"
As True Being Yuhua counted faster and faster, she had already reached nine.
Huode couldn't hold out any longer. Cursing, he focused his mind, extended his divine sense into the ring, and called out to Gu Qingfeng.
*Kid Gu! Where the hell are you! I'm about to turn into a pool of bloody water! Can't you at least come save this old man's life!*
No one answered him.
And by then, True Being Yuhua had already counted to ten.
Gu Qingfeng still hadn't appeared.
Huode was truly scared now. He cursed, "Kid Gu, you damn liar!"
Seeing that True Being Yuhua was about to pour the Thousand Spider Myriad Poison Liquid over his head, Huode immediately activated his Golden Core, preparing for a desperate fight. Unfortunately, his strength was too weak, and his Purple Mansion had been injured before. The moment his Golden Core activated, he was forced to his knees by the other Bingxuan Sect elders.