Dead?
Was Hua Xiong truly annihilated?
He possessed a full three Rings of Light!
Each one had been nurtured for who knows how many years. Three immortal protections, their power boundless—even a Nascent Soul Ancestor who had weathered several tribulations would have been helpless against him!
And now he was just... gone. Annihilated so thoroughly not even ashes remained, his very soul turned to dust and scattered into nature.
What was even more terrifying was that no one knew how he died.
That man in white, Gu Qingfeng, hadn't moved from start to finish. Just one word—'annihilate'—and Hua Xiong truly was reduced to nothing...
Had they not seen it with their own eyes, no one would dare believe it was real. Even now, witnessing it firsthand, everyone still couldn't believe it. Even Su Hua was no exception. The dozen or so reincarnated great powers in the distance, seeing this scene, were also thrown into panic, sinking into a deep fear as if they had glimpsed a ghost from ten thousand ages.
"Gu... Gu Qingfeng, just what... what are you?"
Finally, Su Hua could no longer suppress the curiosity in her heart. Fighting back the trembling within, she asked the question whose answer everyone wanted to know.
Gu Qingfeng looked toward the west, in the direction of the Nine-Hua Alliance's Taixuan Stele, and replied softly, "What I am has nothing to do with you."
"I!" Su Hua was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.
Just then, a group of over ten people sped over from the distance. Each of them possessed profound cultivation, their bodies shimmering with a bloody radiance, as if blazing flames were burning around them.
This was Bloodfiend Gang!
Those arriving were undoubtedly Chixiao People.
Ziyang and the others focused their gaze. The arrivals were indeed the Chixiao People garrisoning the Leiyun and Dianyun branch halls. The one leading them was none other than Elder Incense Master Fang Qing.
Seeing the old master, Ziyang and the others were visibly excited and immediately stepped forward to pay their respects. In their youth, they had all been disciples of the Chixiao Sect's Black Nether Banner, and Fang Qing had been the Incense Master of the Black Nether Banner, their leader. They had followed Lord Chixiao through countless battles, wading through seas of blood together. Though not blood brothers, their bond was deeper than kinship. Ziyang and the others held immense respect for this old master.
Fang Qing was an elderly man with graying hair, his expression grave—more precisely, filled with murderous intent.
Indeed.
Some days ago, he had gone to the Great Northwest Frontier Domain intending to pay a visit to Old Man Heishui. However, Old Man Heishui was away and had not returned. It was then that he received a message from his disciple, Ma Qian, informing him that his grand-disciple, Ma Zhengtian, had been beaten half to death. He immediately rushed back, but on the way, he was ambushed by several Immortal Dynasty agents, delaying him for a few days.
What Fang Qing never expected was that, not long ago, his spirit suddenly suffered a shock. Without a second thought, he accelerated his journey.
He had once given his disciple Ma Qian a Soul-Link Bracelet, precisely for fear that Ma Qian might encounter mortal danger. When his spirit was shocked on the road, he knew Ma Qian must be in grave peril. Thus, he had rushed here like a madman.
Seeing Ziyang and the others, Fang Qing first felt a surge of joy, then urgently asked, "Where is my disciple? Has something happened to him?"
Ziyang didn't know how to explain the situation to Fang Qing. But Fang Qing, perhaps having spotted Ma Qian kneeling on the ground, barely clinging to life, instantly charged over.
Ma Qian wasn't dead.
But he only had one breath left.
Now kneeling on the ground, he looked neither human nor ghost.
Fang Qing rushed over, shouting.
"Disciple!"
Since Fang Qing was an Incense Master of the Chixiao Sect, he was naturally someone who had waded through seas of blood. With one glance, he could see that Ma Qian's current condition was essentially no different from death. He erupted in fury, his Bloodfiend Gang burning wildly!
Roar!
A Dragon-Elephant Spirit roared forth, its dragon cry shaking the heavens, its furious elephant aura intimidating the earth.
"Who! Who harmed my disciple!"
From mid-air, Gu Qingfeng responded, "It was me."
"Give me your life!"
Fang Qing summoned his Crescent-Moon Blade, brandishing it with both hands, intent on slaying Gu Qingfeng.
"Old Master! You mustn't! You mustn't!"
Seeing this, Ziyang and the others instantly flashed over to block Fang Qing, saying, "Old Master, he is Lord Chiyan!"
"Even if he were the son of the Heavenly King himself, it wouldn't matter!" Fang Qing's eyes were bloodshot, his killing intent blazing as he glared at Gu Qingfeng. As Ziyang and the others tried to explain, Gu Qingfeng's voice came through:
"Ziyang, step back."
"Lord, the old master is just blinded by rage, he's lost his reason..." As Ziyang spoke, Gu Qingfeng barked sternly, "Step back!"
Gu Qingfeng's angry shout carried no imposing aura, yet Ziyang and the others dared not delay any further and all retreated.
"Fang Qing, make your move. Let me see what you're capable of."
"You junior! Today, this old man will cut you into a thousand pieces!"
Fang Qing raised his Crescent-Moon Blade with both hands, his Bloodfiend Gang burning wildly, crackling with crisp sounds. A nine-meter-tall Dragon-Elephant Spirit coiled around the Crescent-Moon Blade, emitting an ear-splitting roar.
Gu Qingfeng simply stood there, still not dodging or evading, his body still devoid of any spiritual aura. As Fang Qing charged, a bizarre scene unfolded once more. Fang Qing, eyes bloodshot, raised his Crescent-Moon Blade but did not bring it down.
He wasn't frozen in mid-air like Hua Xiong had been earlier; he could still move. Everyone saw clearly—Fang Qing wasn't incapable of moving. Rather, facing Gu Qingfeng, he simply couldn't bring himself to swing that Crescent-Moon Blade.
Was he afraid?
Or terrified?
No!
It was neither fear nor terror!
As for what it was, no one knew. Not even Fang Qing himself knew.
He only knew that his Dragon-Elephant Spirit seemed to hold a deep reverence for this man in white before him.
This feeling of reverence gradually restored reason to his rage-blinded mind.
Seeing this, the other Chixiao People who had arrived with Fang Qing, thinking something was amiss, all summoned their Bloodfiend Gang and Dragon-Elephant Spirits, brandishing their Crescent-Moon Blades to strike. Similarly, facing Gu Qingfeng, their blades halted in mid-air, utterly unable to descend.
Every Chixiao Person was inseparable from their Dragon-Elephant Spirit. If the spirit revered, so did they.
This reverence felt to them as if it were innate, deeply ingrained. It came from the Dragon-Elephant Spirit, from the depths of their hearts, even from their souls. That wasn't important. What mattered was that this reverence involuntarily reminded them of a person—someone they also revered.
A person who had once led them to heaven and earth, slaying gods when they met gods, slaying buddhas when they met buddhas.
A person who had given them a second life, who had earned them respect.
A person who carried all their glorious, arduous years.
A person they dared not think of, yet missed to this day.
It truly was that feeling.
So nostalgic.
And so astonishing.
"Well?" Gu Qingfeng asked expressionlessly, his tone light. "Weren't you going to take my life? Why aren't you moving?"
Fang Qing, now restored to reason, exchanged glances with the dozen or so other Chixiao People. In each other's eyes, they saw shock and terror.