Ning Xiu Dies!

Hearing the voice, Tang Ru grabbed Li Guanqi, his face flushed with wild excitement. "It really is him!! It's really him!!!" "Hahahaha!! If Grandmaster Sun refines pills for us, we'll definitely crush my eldest brother and second brother!" Li Guanqi said softly toward the jade slip, "Wuzi City, Treasure Pavilion, Tang Ru." Yet as soon as those words left his mouth, a grave and heavy voice came from the other end of the jade slip. "Little Friend Li, are you sure it is Tang Ru of Wuzi City?" "Yes, that's him." "The Tang family... Little Friend, do you know what's going on behind all this?" At those words, Tang Ru's expression froze. Someone of Sun Miao's standing naturally knew about certain hidden affairs. He undoubtedly knew about the trial between the three Tang brothers of the Treasure Pavilion in the Great Xia Domain as well. Standing aside, Tang Ru said rather awkwardly, "If Elder Sun is unwilling, it's fine. We shouldn't put him in a difficult spot." He didn't want Li Guanqi caught uncomfortably in the middle either. Yet Li Guanqi spoke with absolute firmness. "I know, and I stand with Tang Ru. "If it troubles Elder Sun, then forget it. I won't impose on you." With that, Li Guanqi tossed the jade slip onto the table and said with a smile, "Don't worry. I'll get you some other treasures later." Before he had even finished, Tang Ru saw the jade slip on the table flashing ceaselessly, its light blurring into a continuous glow. "No imposition at all, no imposition!" "Look at you, why get angry so quickly?" "Don't be like that! I never said I wouldn't agree—it's just the three Tang brothers, isn't it?" "Since he is Little Friend's good brother, then he is also my, Sun Miao's, good brother!" "Can I refuse to help a brother in need? I'll set off for Wuzi City right now." "Little Friend? Elder Li? Brother Li? Say something... Look at you, why are you being so petty?" Tang Ru was utterly dumbfounded as he listened. In his impression, Sun Miao was an exalted existence, someone practically half-touching the heavens. How could he act before Li Guanqi like a... *cough, cough*. Li Guanqi pondered for a moment and said softly, "Later on, you can just go to the Great Xia Sword Sect to look for him." Tang Ru's pupils constricted instantly—in a flash, he understood many things! Tang Ru let out a long breath and said sincerely, "Thank you." Li Guanqi smiled, nodded, and then asked softly, "By the way, how do I get to the Lingxu Continent?" Tang Ru smiled, flicked his wrist, and produced a jade slip. "Inside is a route map to the Lingxu Continent. Because invisible barriers separate all the continents, the only way across is through special teleportation passages. "There's also a rough map of the Lingxu Continent in there, though it should be enough for you." Li Guanqi took the jade slip and smiled. "You really are sharp. When did you think of all this?" Tang Ru smiled faintly and replied softly, "From the moment you asked me for the Demon Slaying Flowers." Having reached this point, Tang Ru's expression shifted slightly, and he added, "If you're going to the Lingxu Continent, you must be careful." "Hmm? Why? Do you mean Juexian Mountain is very powerful?" Tang Ru shook his head and said gravely, "The Lingxu Continent's environment is quite different from the Qingyun Continent's. "The customs are far more ferocious. Moreover, humans, ghosts, and demons coexist there, so the conflicts are much more intense." Li Guanqi nodded silently. He hadn't expected the environment there to be so complex. Once business was settled, Tang Ru thought for a moment before speaking up again. "Regarding the Mo Family... I kept an eye on them afterward, but it seemed as if they were warned by someone. There was no follow-up." Li Guanqi pondered. "I asked the Tianji Pavilion about that matter, but they didn't know why either. "Back then, I thought the Mo Family wouldn't let things rest, but unexpectedly it turned out like this... "Still, it doesn't matter. As long as the Mo Family's old ancestor doesn't intervene, the current Mo Family poses no threat to the Great Xia Sword Sect." Tang Ru sighed in admiration. "Indeed. Who would have thought the Great Xia Sword Sect would rise so swiftly?" Just as the two were chatting, Tang Ru suddenly brought up a woman's name. "Old Li, you've got quite the luck with women, haven't you?" Li Guanqi frowned and said, "Luck with women? Women have always liked me, hahaha." Tang Ru looked at his strikingly handsome face and said somewhat jealously, "True enough. With a face like that, your romantic fortunes couldn't be bad. "No wonder Ning Xiu from Blazing Flame Valley couldn't forget you, saying nothing even after being injured." Li Guanqi's brow furrowed. "That inn proprietor? What happened?" Tang Ru's expression shifted slightly, and he frowned. "You didn't know? "Back when Dark Crow was hunting you down, they went to that woman to force your location out of her. But she never spoke, and in the end, she was saved by a mysterious figure. "I thought you knew about this." In Li Guanqi's mind surfaced the image of that woman he had met only once. He had never expected so much had happened afterward. Li Guanqi slowly stood up and said softly, "I'll go have a look. Later, just head straight to the Great Xia Sword Sect to find Sun Miao." With a step, he flashed out and vanished from the room. Sitting in his chair, Tang Ru couldn't help but sigh. Life was truly fickle. He had thought he was at the end of his rope, yet with just a few words, Li Guanqi had solved all his problems. Above Blazing Flame Valley. Dressed in a fresh white brocade robe, Li Guanqi stepped out from the void. Suddenly! The thick stench of blood hanging in the air caused his face to change drastically! His divine sense surged like a tidal wave, instantly blanketing a thousand zhang around him. Lightning exploded beneath his feet! *Whoosh!* The inn's entrance was smashed to pieces in an instant. Beside scattered tables and benches, severed limbs littered the floor, and blood had soaked the ground into a purplish black. *Whoosh!* Taking a step, he flashed up to a woman's room on the second floor. Pushing the door open, he saw Ning Xiu, dressed in green robes, lying in a pool of blood. Blood welled from her chest. Her face was ashen, her eyes half-shut, her aura faint and drifting—already on the brink of death. Raising a hand, Li Guanqi released a torrent of primal energy to seal her heart meridians. Gathering Ning Xiu into his arms, Li Guanqi's eyes dimmed with sorrow; her heart was already shattered beyond repair. Her three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls had also been cruelly crushed by sinister means. She had almost no time left. Feeling warmth spread from her arm, Ning Xiu used the last ounce of her strength to open her eyes. Tears spilled uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but mouthfuls of blood surged forth instead. Li Guanqi closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight, as towering fury abruptly surged within him! Intuition told him that the woman before him had been brought to this state entirely because of him... Because of him, she had... Li Guanqi's voice turned hoarse without him realizing it. "Who was it... Tell me..." The corners of Ning Xiu's lips twitched, forming a faint smile. By now, her eyes were blurred with tears, unable to make out the face of the man beside her. With great difficulty, she lifted a trembling hand to touch Li Guanqi's face. Her lips parted slightly, but only the shapes of her words could be seen: "Don't... go..." "I... like... you..." "No... regrets..." *Thud...* Ning Xiu's hand gradually turned cold and fell limply to the floor. Her tear-filled eyes slowly closed, two streams of tears trailing from their corners, as though she were departing with a lingering unwillingness and countless regrets. Li Guanqi looked down, feeling the cold corpse in his embrace, sitting frozen and numb in place for a time. He let the crimson blood stain his snow-white robe. A knot of stifled rage clogged his chest, and Li Guanqi roared toward the heavens! "Ahhh!" The terrifying power unleashed in an instant leveled the buildings outside Blazing Flame Valley to the ground! Carrying the woman, Li Guanqi stood atop the rubble and silently walked toward a stone cliff in Blazing Flame Valley. To be loved was supposed to be a joyful thing, but now... It was heavy. *Buzz!* A mysterious figure abruptly appeared three zhang in front of Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi, his eyes bloodshot, jerked his head up and demanded in a frigid voice, "Tianji Pavilion... Can't you even protect your own people?!"