Meanwhile, Lin Wujiu sped toward Qisha's location, accompanied by elders of the Lin family.
Li Guanqi, for his part, set out alongside Han Feng.
The two groups rushed toward the border between the two prefectures, one approaching from the east and the other from the west.
As for Lin Jinting, he set off for the Linluan Realm together with Lin Shengwu—two powerhouses of the True Immortal realm!
Along the way, Han Feng closely observed Li Guanqi's every move.
He noticed that even under such circumstances, Li Guanqi remained terrifyingly calm.
His pure-white eyes revealed not the slightest ripple of emotion, as though everything were entirely under his control.
At that moment, however, Qisha was fraught with peril; facing Liu Xiong, he possessed almost no power to resist.
The disparity between their cultivation realms was simply too vast...
*Spurt!*
Having forcibly sustained his escape technique to fly over such an extended period, Qisha had nearly reached his limit.
His eyes flickered. Twisting midair to dodge the lethal ambush of two hidden weapons, he struck the tree trunk beneath his feet, which suddenly detonated, sending his speed surging once more!
Behind him, a sharp glint gleamed in Liu Xiong's eyes as a report sounded beside his ear.
"Captain, word has come from Quping Prefecture. Two exceptionally powerful auras are speeding over from not far beyond Nether Spirit Valley!"
Liu Xiong narrowed his eyes and murmured under his breath, "To think the two of you actually came together.
"In that case, it's the perfect chance to wipe you all out in one fell swoop!!"
Pulling out a pitch-black jade slip, the man transmitted a quiet message: "Mobilize two squads to muster at Ziyun Pass!"
Lowering the jade slip, Liu Xiong muttered softly, "At this rate, we should reach Ziyun Pass right on time!"
Immediately afterward, undercurrents surged through the underground networks of Qinzhou and Quping Prefecture. Almost the instant Liu Xiong's message was received, two squads of Xutian Palace assassins concealed within the underground assassination syndicates began to assemble!
As these two squads mobilized, each numbered five men.
Without exception, the weakest among them was at the second tier of the Heavenly Immortal realm!
The squad leader was a top-tier assassin at the fifth tier of the Heavenly Immortal realm!
Li Guanqi hurtled through the skies with Han Feng, pushing his speed higher and higher.
Eventually, Li Guanqi simply donned his mask, driving his velocity to the absolute limit.
By this point, even Han Feng found it difficult to keep up.
After all, as the possessor of a lightning spiritual root whose movement techniques had reached supreme perfection, Li Guanqi moved so fast he became a blur.
It reached the point where Li Guanqi had no choice but to leave Han Feng behind and speed ahead alone toward the border between the two prefectures as fast as he could!
Ziyun Pass!
According to Li Guanqi's estimate, if Qisha had not been overtaken by his pursuer, the most probable place they would converge was Ziyun Pass.
Along the way, Li Guanqi remained in constant contact with Lin Wujiu, periodically checking Qisha's location.
"Be careful, kid. The assassins of Xutian Palace are no pushovers."
Lin Wujiu's expression was grim; he had never felt this way before.
For the first time... there was someone he cared about in his heart.
Yet now someone dared to target the person he cared for!
He would never yield an inch!
Although in his interactions with Qisha the youth had always seemed blunt and uncommunicative, Lin Wujiu had been genuinely happy the moment Qisha arrived in Qinzhou City and raised an arm to wave at him.
Thus, the instant he received the news, he had set out immediately.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Li Guanqi replied. "Besides, with my current strength, ordinary Heavenly Immortals truly don't concern me."
"No matter what, we must save Qisha!" Lin Wujiu declared. "Even if... our opponent is Xutian Palace!!"
As Lin Wujiu spoke those final words, his voice was resolute and forceful, his gaze unwavering.
Both put down their jade slips in unison, pushing their speed to the peak.
Meanwhile, within the vast mountain range adjoining Ziyun Pass, deafening rumbles echoed incessantly.
Terrifying sword qi crisscrossed the landscape.
Looking down from high in the heavens, one could see vast swathes of towering ancient trees collapsing amid the mountainous forest.
Clouds of dust billowed as startled birds scattered in panic, accompanied by the nonstop roars and shrieks of enraged beasts.
A dark figure burst out violently from the billowing dust.
Qisha clutched his arm, his eyes keen as blades, while a faint bloody glow swirled over the Seven Kills Seal on his neck.
His gaze was razor-sharp. Qisha knew full well that if he unsealed the Seven Kills Seal right now, the best outcome would be mutual destruction.
Once the seal was unleashed, he would completely sever his path to longevity.
With his current strength, even releasing just a sliver would incur a price he could not bear.
Yet now...
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
Several silhouettes leaped into the air and surged out of the dust, encircling him in a tight cordon.
Every one of them had a cultivation base of at least the Heavenly Immortal realm; with his current strength at merely the seventh tier of the Mystic Immortal realm, he could not possibly contend with them!
Liu Xiong shifted in a flash to block Qisha's path, letting out a cold sneer.
"Qisha, the moment you slew your master and betrayed the organization, you should have foreseen today.
"To awaken your Seven Kills King Seal, Xutian Palace expended countless resources. Did you really think you could simply walk away whenever you pleased?"
Hearing this, Qisha erupted in fury. The saber condensed from immortal essence in his hand slashed out, instantly unleashing several sharp, fierce saber beams!
Contempt filled Liu Xiong's eyes. With a casual flick of the short saber in his left hand, he shattered the saber beams to pieces.
"With your meager strength, deluding yourself into thinking you can resist is nothing short of pure folly!"
Furious, Qisha gritted his teeth and spoke slowly, "Back then... Xutian Palace slaughtered my adoptive parents before taking me away!!!
"Did you truly think I didn't know?!!
"All these years, I hid this deep within my heart, never daring to let on in the slightest!!!!
"The blood debt of slaying my parents—one day, I will repay it to Xutian Palace a hundredfold!!!"
Bloodshot veins filled Qisha's eyes as he glared at Liu Xiong, his eyes nearly tearing at the corners with rage.
Liu Xiong frowned slightly, visibly surprised.
Tilting his head slightly toward Qisha, an inscrutable gleam flickered in the man's eyes.
"You were only three years old back then, yet you can actually remember such things?
"Heh. No wonder everyone said you were dull-witted when you were first brought back."
Hearing this, Qisha narrowed his eyes as an extraordinary surge of power churned within his body.
He spoke slowly, word by word: "If I hadn't played dumb, I would have been dead long ago...
"Since that's how it is, let us settle this once and for all today!!"
The moment those words fell, the Seven Kills King Seal on Qisha's neck abruptly flared with blood-red light!
An indescribably terrifying aura erupted from around Qisha's body!
"Seven Kills Seal: Heart Slay!"
As the words rang out, Liu Xiong's face changed drastically!
In sheer horror, he roared, "Look out!!"
Before his voice could fade, a terrifying flash of saber light streaked past Liu Xiong's ear!
A lock of Qisha's hair turned white in an instant.
Yet in exchange, one of the black-robed men suffered a shattered sea of consciousness, his divine soul pulverized!
Though the blade light flashed past, his body bore no external wounds whatsoever.
The Heart Slay technique of the Seven Kills Seal was a purely spiritual attack!
Even though Qisha was currently only at the seventh tier of the Mystic Immortal realm, he had crossed a major realm to instantly execute a second-tier Heavenly Immortal cultivator!
And this... was the terror of a king-grade physique.
The trump card that allowed a cultivator to slay foes across a major realm!
One had to remember that at this moment, Qisha was merely a cultivator of the Mystic Immortal realm...
From this, one could see why Xutian Palace clung to him so tenaciously and refused to let go.
An assassin possessing a king-grade physique was an invaluable treasure to Xutian Palace.
Chapter 1685