I Knew Him Before the Rumors!

Boom! Ye Feng was blasted hundreds of zhang away by Liu Dongshi's slash, a ghastly wound suddenly ripped across his chest. Terrifying sword intent ravaged his front, mangled flesh and blood flying in all directions as the gash tore open hideously. Yet to everyone's astonishment, a deep wound had also been carved into Liu Dongshi's shoulder. Black mist billowed from the injury, and in the blink of an eye, the flesh and blood deteriorated into a puddle of rot. Without a moment's hesitation, the elder raised his hand and sliced the putrid flesh clean off his shoulder. Before Ye Feng even hit the ground, he plunged his hand violently into the void, tearing open a pitch-black rift in space. Forcibly checking his momentum, he shot toward Liu Dongshi once more! Ghastly ghost qi swirled around his sword as terrifying power erupted with a roar! His features contorted in fury, Ye Feng caught Li Guanqi out of the corner of his eye. He would never allow Li Guanqi to die before his very eyes! He had endured so much agony over all these years precisely so he could stand by Li Guanqi's side once again. "Ahhh!" Facing Liu Dongshi, who was far stronger than himself, Ye Feng pushed the power of his ghost hand to its absolute limit. Boom! In an instant, his entire right arm was engulfed in dense ghost qi, and Ye Feng's strength surged noticeably once again. "Ghost Slash: Abyss!" Sword light raged as terrifying might pooled within the slash. Wailing vengeful spirits seemed to howl within the beam, snarling incessantly at their foe. Yet right at that moment, He Yuanting flickered, instantly appearing before Liu Dongshi and slowly extending two fingers. Before the astounded eyes of the crowd, he clamped the surging sword light between just two fingers. Then, with a slight exertion of force, he crushed the blade of light into pieces. The spatial power that enveloped the area in an instant thoroughly annihilated all the aftershocks of the blast. Without hesitation, Ye Feng unleashed his greatest strength and slashed toward the chains! Yet how could He Yuanting give him that chance? With a flick of his hand, several more chains shot forth abruptly! Traveling with lightning speed, the chains violently pierced Ye Feng's body, suspending him in midair as well. Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! Ye Feng's face turned stark white as he coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood. A flicker of despair inevitably crossed his eyes. He had dared to boldly draw his sword against Liu Dongshi, an expert of the middle Void Refinement Realm. Yet... for a Body Integration Realm powerhouse to kill him was scarcely different from crushing an ant. Seeing this, Li Guanqi was driven to madness. He had never imagined that the reunion of the two brothers would end up like this. Ye Feng had known full well that this was no different from throwing his life away, yet he had chosen to strike anyway. "Old Ye!" He Yuanting looked at Li Guanqi holding the sword coffin. His expression remained cold, yet beneath it raged towering grief and wrath. Even under such circumstances, he suppressed his rage, turned to the young woman at his side, and gave a slight nod. Turning back to Li Guanqi, He Yuanting said chillingly, "My son... has little time left. Since you dared to strike him down, stretch out your neck and accept death." As if deaf to He Yuanting's death sentence, Li Guanqi forcibly circulated a bit of primal energy to retrieve some spirit stones and medicinal pills from the sword coffin. He placed them into the mouths of Jiuxiao and Pengluo respectively. Li Guanqi kept his head bowed, his disheveled hair still obscuring his face. In a raspy voice, he murmured, "Even if I wasn't the one who killed him... you're still going to kill me, aren't you?" Meanwhile, the Pavilion Master of the Tianji Pavilion in the Taiqing Domain was on the verge of losing his mind. He had only just received the news, and it shook his very soul with dread! He certainly knew who had gone to Zhongzhou, but if that person were to die... The entire Zhongzhou might cease to exist! "Hurry! Activate the teleportation array and bring the Boundary-Breaking Shuttle! Retrieve the Heart of the Ancient Kiln from the vault! Hurry!" "Hurry! Connect me to Li Changqing! He must stop He Yuanting! Hurry!" Scared out of his wits, the white-haired elder opened a storage space, pulled out an ancient key, and hurried away. Beside the young woman, the elder Li Changqing kept his hands tucked in his sleeves, remaining silent. Even he had felt a surge of appreciation for the golden-haired youth's talent. Yet with things having come to this, he was unwilling to provoke He Yuanting's wrath. He let out a soft, rueful sigh. Killing intent surged in He Yuanting's eyes. Sword light flickered from his raised hand, poised to strike. Pointing his sword at Li Guanqi, He Yuanting roared, "Li Guanqi! I will have you buried with my son!" The young woman behind Li Changqing snapped her head up, her beautiful ice-blue eyes filled with utter shock. Her eyes widened as she stared at the young man holding the sword coffin. At that moment, Li Guanqi raised his head slightly, revealing his handsome face and pure white eyes. Tears immediately welled up in the young woman's eyes. She had never imagined she would meet him here. Those eyes—it was him. Whoosh! Frosty qi flickered beneath the young woman's feet. Before even Li Changqing could react, she had already arrived in front of Li Guanqi! A cold sweat broke out across Li Changqing's back at the sight! The ice flower atop the young woman's head instantly erupted with dazzling ice-blue radiance, erecting a barrier before her in an instant. He Yuanting's sword light crashed into it. The ice flower barrier shattered almost instantly, and the ice flower hair ornament abruptly cracked apart! The sword light was halted by this power as well, but a massive shockwave swept through, scattering the cultivators within a thousand zhang into complete disarray. Debris from the already ruined buildings was hurled into the sky. Roving sword qi seeped through the barrier the woman had raised, cutting bloody gashes across her skin! Without uttering a sound, the young woman continually released her power, blocking all of the aftershocks. Both Li Guanqi and Ye Feng looked forward in utter bewilderment. This woman had been surrounded by an entourage the whole time, displaying an aloof coldness toward outsiders. Neither of them knew why she would step forward to block this fatal blow for him. Li Changqing stepped forward, instantly appearing before the woman, and waved his hand to scatter all the raging sword qi around them. He Yuanting narrowed his eyes at the woman and said in a heavy voice, "Wanshu, what is the meaning of this?" "Do you know that because of him, my son Yuning is about to die?!" The young woman took a slow, deep breath. Standing firmly where she was, she looked up at He Yuanting and spoke slowly: "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't care in the slightest." "But him... if he says he didn't do it, then he didn't do it!" At this, the onlookers were completely dumbfounded, breaking into clamorous discussion. "Could the Saintess know that fellow? Why else would she shield him like this?" "Hmph! So many people saw that fellow kill the Young Sect Master of the He family, yet she still protects him like this!" "With ironclad proof before us, someone actually believes he didn't do it? Hahaha, what a joke!" Because the Taixuan Sword Sect had an upright and righteous reputation, many people found He Yuning's impending death unacceptable and felt compelled to speak out against the injustice.