Unexpected

In an instant, a golden seal a hundred zhang across materialized in midair, radiating a brilliance as blinding as the sun. The terrifying giant sword slashed down violently, and as the surrounding void warped, countless fine, pitch-black fissures faintly appeared! From the mere aftershocks of the sword qi, vast swathes of towering ancient trees across the mountains below toppled over. Heavy frost swept across the landscape, transforming the mountain range into a frozen forest. In contrast, the mysterious talismanic seal of glittering gold subtly distorted under the disruptive force of the origin energy domain. *Pfft!!* You Daozi spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the seal and shoved violently upward with both hands!! In a flash, the seal collided head-on with the frost greatsword!! Terrifying power erupted in midair. *Boom!!!* The fearsome blast shattered the entire barrier, leaving hardly an inch of ground intact within a radius of a thousand zhang. Even Li Guanqi, who had already fled several hundred zhang away, was blasted back several hundred more zhang by the concussive force, hurtling through the air like a kite with a snapped string. *Spurt!!!* Li Guanqi spat a mouthful of fresh blood, the immense shock nearly knocking him unconscious. Just then, the sword spirit's urgent voice rang sharply in his ear! "Don't pass out! That woman isn't dead—she's coming for you!!" The sword spirit's shout instantly snapped Li Guanqi's dazed consciousness back to reality. Through his mind's eye, he saw a blood-drenched woman behind him, closing in rapidly! Her flesh was mangled and torn, and her once-gorgeous robe was shredded in tatters. Yet within the former barrier, there was no longer any breath or sound from the old man. The woman's face was deathly pale, still bearing faint golden spirit imprints left by the seal, and her dead-fish eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Li Guanqi!! "Halt!" Her haughty voice rang by his ear, sounding like the toll of a death knell. Li Guanqi bit the tip of his tongue, letting the coppery sweetness of blood fill his mouth to force himself awake. He could hear her clearly enough, but all he wanted was to flee as far as humanly possible! Stop? How could he possibly stop? Unless he had a death wish. Yet even an emaciated camel was bigger than a horse. Badly wounded as Cheng Yun was, her speed was still far beyond anything Li Guanqi could match. In just a few breaths, she caught up with him! Li Guanqi drew the Red Lotus sword without the slightest hesitation and slashed backward with the Seven Fiends Sword technique!!! *Boom!!!* This strike was practically the absolute pinnacle of what he could achieve. Purple thunder whinnied into life, and a fearsome sword light instantly tore through the void, warping space faintly in its wake! Beneath her disheveled hair, the woman's eyes flared with shock when she saw the blow. With a slight shift of her body, she flipped her hand and thrust her sword forward!! A flash of sword light shattered the Seven Fiends Sword in an instant, and carrying the power of frost, it severed the tendons in Li Guanqi's hand!! *Ugh!!* Li Guanqi let out a muffled grunt, the sword slipping from his grip!! Yet Cheng Yun also groaned, spitting a mouthful of blood as a glaring trail of blood appeared across her throat!! Had she dodged a split second slower, Li Guanqi's strike would have slit her throat on the spot. Cheng Yun wasn't the only one stunned; Li Guanqi was momentarily taken aback as well. He hadn't expected her to be weakened to the point where even his attack could wound her! Immediately after, he felt an overwhelmingly potent frost power virtually freeze his entire dantian!! Before he could react, the woman's frail body collapsed against him, and her ice-blue longsword came to rest sharply against his neck. Her completely emotionless voice whispered in his ear: "Move! Find... a hidden... place!" "Right now... the frost poison... inside you... only I can... cure." "If you don't... want to die... keep me... alive." With that, her head slumped, and she passed out cold against him. Li Guanqi's expression turned as dark as thunder. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined finding himself in such a predicament. Yet he also sensed numerous unfamiliar auras rapidly closing in on the area! The terrifying pillar of light from earlier had naturally drawn many covetous gazes. Even though many had already died, it had done nothing to deter human greed. With thoughts racing, Li Guanqi had no real choice. He hoisted the woman onto his back and fled the area at top speed. As for the old man's corpse, he didn't dare go back to look for it. What if the old bastard wasn't fully dead yet...? *Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* Less than thirty breaths after Li Guanqi departed, several figures appeared in rapid succession inside the valley where the barrier had stood. Immediately after, several pitch-black spatial rifts slowly tore open, and every person who stepped out radiated an immensely powerful aura. Li Guanqi plunged into the forest and smeared demonic beast dung all over both of them to mask their auras from being detected. Even so, he had to stomach intense revulsion while slathering it on the woman. Normally, as people cultivated the Dao, their appearance and bearing became far more striking and refined. Yet there were always exceptions... things that even cultivation could not change. Like this old witch on his back. Just knowing she had lived for thousands of years ensured he felt not the slightest inkling of anything else toward her. Eventually, relying on his powerful divine sense, Li Guanqi evaded several search parties in succession and brought the woman to a secluded cave several hundred li away. The cave had been abandoned for who knew how many years, tucked away inside a mountain cleft and obscured by thick weeds and tangled vines. Had his eyes not happened to catch it, even he might never have spotted it. It was thoroughly hidden, making it a perfect refuge. He dumped the woman straight onto the ground, then stepped outside to further camouflage the cave entrance. Having finished, Li Guanqi collapsed onto the dirt, panting heavily. Yet with every breath he took, countless icy crystals condensed in the air. In less than two shichen, the frost poison inside him had accumulated to such a dire state! Even channeling his primal energy with all his might did nothing to suppress it. He turned to look at the woman on the ground, his expression darkening further. He had no idea what he would face once she woke, but it certainly wouldn't be pleasant. Just as he was fretting over what to do, the sword spirit suddenly manifested. She glanced down at the woman on the ground with a furrowed brow, a look of disgust in her eyes, and spoke softly: "Why did you bring her back?" Li Guanqi's brow knitted at the question. He lifted his arms, which were frozen stiff by the power of frost, and said, "Didn't you see? Only she can neutralize this frost poison. If I didn't bring her along, what else was I supposed to do?" The sword spirit shrugged. "This woman is a mid-Soul Formation cultivator. Are you sure you'll even survive once she wakes up?" Li Guanqi stared back at her, eyes wide, before saying, "Then what should I do? Wait around to die?" The sword spirit pointed at the woman. "Just stab her to death with a sword! It's just a little frost poison, isn't it?" Before she had even finished speaking, Li Guanqi snatched the longsword from the woman's hand and drove it straight through her heart! Suddenly! A faint golden phantom of an origin spirit floated out from the woman's body! Her eyes were filled with shock and bewilderment. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the sword spirit reached out a hand and yanked her over with invisible force!! Slender jade fingers applied a slight squeeze, and before the woman's terrified gaze, the origin spirit shattered to pieces!! Having crushed the woman's origin spirit with casual ease, the sword spirit offered a faint smile. "She probably died without ever understanding why she had to die." Li Guanqi shrugged rather helplessly. Had he been in her shoes, he probably wouldn't have understood it either.