Entering the Bellsound Black Domain once again, Xu Yuan's objective was crystal clear.
I, Xu Changtian, might not be able to deal with you, Sword Madman Tang Ruofu, but can't I handle your wife who's poisoned with charm poison?
That said, Xu Yuan still harbored deep doubts regarding Tang Ruofu's earlier abnormal behavior.
Even now, he could not fathom why the man had let himself be run through with a sword, only to stab himself again right after.
He refused to believe the man did it for some so-called sense of fairness.
When someone was fresh out in the world, temperament might dictate their choices. But Tang Ruofu had been roaming the realm for decades since making his debut.
Across a span of decades, aside from those godsent terrors capable of beating an entire era into submission, everyone else either died clinging to their convictions or had their rough edges worn smooth, learning to compromise.
Tang Ruofu was clearly not the former.
So, what was this fellow scheming?
With one Transcendent Realm cultivator and one powerhouse who was perhaps a Semi-Saint facing two Origin Realm cultivators like them, the opponents already held an overwhelming advantage. What could possibly drive Tang Ruofu to make such a choice?
Thousands of thoughts flashed through Xu Yuan's mind in an instant, but he resolved to stick to the plan he had formulated.
Because of the sheer overflow of damage output, clashes between high-tier cultivators were never mere exchanges of techniques and moves; they were a battle of feeling out and dismantling each other's plays.
Whatever Tang Ruofu was planning, as long as Xu Yuan accomplished his own plan first, whatever the man was plotting would become irrelevant!
*Buzz—*
The moment he entered the Bellsound Black Domain, Xu Yuan immediately used the Heaven Eye art Tianyan had cast upon him to see the environment inside clearly.
The two women were already fighting.
And just as Xu Yuan had suspected, Xia Qing's Bellsound Black Domain held other lethal methods beyond merely sealing off a cultivator's four senses.
Slender, delicate fingers caressed the strings of the zither, playing supreme immortal music. With the sounding of each note, an invisible ripple quietly swept through the silent expanse.
The surging ripples passed like razor-sharp blades that severed hair on contact, slicing everything around them to absolute ribbons.
Xu Yuan could not see these soundwave blades at all—even with the aid of the Heaven Eye art, they remained invisible.
All he could see were the withered branches of the ghost trees along their path being shredded to pieces.
Fortunately, just because Xu Yuan could not see them did not mean Tianyan could not.
Tianyan hovered in midair, her expression calm and solemn, her delicate body draped in a faint golden luminescence.
Shifting and leaping, she was not nicked in the slightest by the terrifying, tidelike wave of sonic blades Xia Qing unleashed.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan felt somewhat reassured.
No matter how horrifying the enemy, having a godly teammate like Tianyan always provided the secure feeling of someone having his back.
The Heaven-Deducing Art seemed to counter Xia Qing's Bellsound Black Domain completely.
Not only did it render her immune to the domain's suppression of hearing, sight, qi, and soul, but it also allowed her to perceive the traces of those invisible soundwaves.
Yet Tianyan did not expose that she could see them. Instead, she chose the clumsiest method of response.
She dispersed a vast amount of Source Qi across dozens of yards around her; whenever an invisible sonic ripple swept through, the ambient Source Qi allowed her to detect it.
She was misleading Xia Qing.
In a fight to the death, victory hinged on who held more trump cards and whose killing moves could catch the opponent off guard.
In the next instant, Xia Qing, a Transcendent, and Tianyan, an Origin Realm cultivator, noticed Xu Yuan's return almost simultaneously.
Xia Qing's expression darkened slightly. She tapped the ground, preparing to pull back.
In just a brief exchange, she had already sensed how troublesome Tianyan was, let alone with the addition of Jinghe, who had held his own against Tang Ruofu for several breaths as an Origin Realm cultivator without falling.
Her cultivation was sufficient to handle the two of them, but Xia Qing had no intention of taking unnecessary risks alone.
Though she did not know what had transpired outside, this junior had spared no expense to shake off Tang Ruofu and return, which had to be connected to the trump card she had suspected earlier.
Jinghe's aura was already growing disorderly. So long as she waited for Tang Ruofu to return, the dust would settle.
In a flash, Xia Qing's slender fingertips swept violently across the zither strings in her arms.
A resonant clang transformed into a towering pressure that bore down on Xu Yuan and Tianyan.
The entire black domain began to tremble. The immense gravity warped the very air, and Xia Qing's manipulation of the Dao domain forged a chasm of gravity directly between herself and the two of them!
*Void-Stepping Slash.*
The spell patterns layered within his meridians activated once more. Xu Yuan's figure crossed the newly formed gravity chasm in an instant, appearing right beside Xia Qing.
Having fought up to this point, Xia Qing naturally knew that the chasm she had just conjured could not block Jinghe's spatial teleportation sword technique.
The moment Xu Yuan emerged, the sonic ripples around Xia Qing had already coalesced.
Sensing the chilling murderous intent surrounding him, Xu Yuan still held another layer of Void-Stepping Slash's spell patterns within his body, but this time he chose not to dodge.
The instant the killing intent closed in, the three-foot branch in Xu Yuan's hand, fluttering with faint fluorescent cherry-pink light, swung down without hesitation toward the voluptuous beauty before him.
Seeing that Xu Yuan did not retreat, Xia Qing's beautiful eyes narrowed instantly, her dignified and gorgeous face devoid of panic.
Since you refuse to back down, I'll sever the arm holding that branch right along with it.
The gap between Transcendent and Origin Realm showed itself once more.
Though she could not match Tang Ruofu's terrifying speed of striking second yet hitting first, her reaction speed as a Transcendent Realm cultivator was still an order of magnitude faster than an Origin Realm's.
That difference was more than enough for her to counter Jinghe's desperate gambit.
Just then, the crisp, soul-piercing voice of a young girl rang out within the empty black domain.
"Seal!"
The emotionless Heaven Character True Word seemed to cross time and space, taking effect directly within Xia Qing's body.
Feeling the murderous intent around him vanish, a feral smirk curled on Xu Yuan's lips.
A righteous two-on-one.
"..."
Feeling the abrupt sluggishness in her Source Qi, Xia Qing's pupils contracted violently.
She circulated her cultivation technique with frantic urgency, instantly breaking through the internal obstruction. Yet by the time she tried to channel her technique again to fend off Xu Yuan's strike, it was already too late.
Time seemed to freeze.
Xia Qing leaned backward, eyes wide, her dark pupils reflecting only the pink wooden branch expanding before her vision.
*Bang!*
A crisp crack resounded.
This time, no accidents occurred. The Charm God branch in Xu Yuan's hand struck true, landing squarely against Xia Qing's forehead.
Upon making physical contact, the branch—which had already reached its critical limit—shattered into countless glowing pink petals that enveloped Xia Qing's lush figure.
In the next instant, a gale burst from the flurry of blossoms. The glowing cherry petals clinging to Xia Qing's shapely curves were instantly crushed into fading specks of starlight by her powerful Source Qi.
The gust was so fierce that Xu Yuan, standing right beside her, reflexively took half a step back.
Yet he took only half a step, because he clearly saw the expression on the Transcendent mature woman's face.
Fluorescent cherry-pink light flickered continuously in Xia Qing's eyes. Her jade hands gripped the fabric over her chest, her breathing growing ragged as her voluptuous curves heaved in waves, a feverish crimson flush already overtaking her fair, smooth cheeks.
Within a single breath, Xia Qing, clad in crimson robes and crowned in gold, sank to her knees. She bit her plump red lips tightly, clamping her thighs together, her slender fingertips digging into the brown soil as though fighting desperately to suppress some overpowering desire.
Watching the woman in this dripping, alluring state with keen interest, Xu Yuan's lips curved into a smile.
It worked.
For a time, absolute silence filled the vacant Dao domain.
Xu Yuan studied the kneeling woman beneath him with fascination, while Tianyan watched coldly from a distance.
Though the fight was over, she dared not approach Xu Yuan on the ground.
Right now, that woman was like a source of bewitched souls, brimming with charm poison. If Tianyan drew close, she would likely end up succumbing right alongside her.
Before long, Xu Yuan tore his gaze away from the woman and looked up into the air outside the black domain.
There, Xia Qing's Dao domain was unraveling like a popped bubble.
And there stood a middle-aged man holding a sword.
With a casual reach, Xu Yuan grabbed the hair of the woman kneeling beside him, hauling her up to shield himself. Revealing only half his face, he stared at Tang Ruofu in midair and flashed a grin.
"You lose.
"Now,
"I can threaten you with this auntie, can't I?"
"..."
All the relaxed indolence on Tang Ruofu had vanished, replaced by a grave, chilling solemnity.
Seeing the man remain silent, Xu Yuan teased with a beaming smile, "Uncle, that glare of yours is really scary. If you keep looking at me like that, I can't guarantee this auntie's safety, you know."
As he spoke, a tiny crimson flame ignited on Xu Yuan's fingertip, and he pressed it against the Zhongji acupoint on the woman's spine.
Where the blood-red flame touched, it scorched a small hole straight through the red robe on Xia Qing's back.
Through the Zhongji acupoint, Xu Yuan channeled Source Qi carrying Meishen Dao Charm directly into her meridians.
Xia Qing's situation was different from Tianyan's.
Tianyan had contracted the Charm God cherry poison outside the illusory realm, which was why it could not be cured at the root.
Xia Qing, however, was afflicted within the illusory realm. Given her cultivation, if left unchecked, she would likely regain some sanity before long.
He had to keep dosing her continuously.
Watching the scene below, Tang Ruofu's expression turned so dark it seemed ready to drip water. "You think you've already won?"
Hearing this, Xu Yuan tilted his head slightly, showing half his face with a wide grin. "If you care about this auntie's life, Uncle, then I suppose I have."
"Heh." Tang Ruofu gave a low laugh, his gaze bone-chillingly cold. "Brat, I admit you have some tricks, but did you think I have none?"
Xu Yuan pulled his head back behind Xia Qing again, tightening his grip on her hair.
"Mm... ah..."
In pain, Xia Qing's entire body arched backward.
Listening to her enticing whimper, Xu Yuan licked his lips and let out a laugh. "Are you referring to the sword I stabbed you with, and the sword you used to stab yourself?"
"Perhaps," Tang Ruofu replied noncommittally.
"So cold... Where did that earlier leisure of yours go, Tang Ruofu? And to think they call you the Sword Madman. Tsk, tsk..."
Saying so, Xu Yuan gently exhaled a breath of warm air beside Xia Qing's ear, pinched her flushed cheek, and traced his broad palm slowly down her jawline, whispering softly, "Hoo... I recall that among the Yaoyue Sect's musical techniques, there's one called the Nine Sounds Mysterious Maiden Art. Sister, is that what you cultivate?"
"..."
Fluorescent cherry-pink light had completely consumed Xia Qing's eyes. After a moment of silence, her soft, watery voice answered with seductive delicacy, "Yes... ah..."
"Pfft."
Hearing her reply, Xu Yuan burst into laughter and looked up at Tang Ruofu. "Uncle, you've known this big sister for decades—don't tell me you've remained celibate all this time? Tsk, tsk..."
As he spoke, Xu Yuan tried to catch a flicker of fury in the man's eyes.
Anger might act as a stimulant for mortals, but for cultivators, it was sheer poison.
If Tang Ruofu charged in blind rage, he would be a dead man.
Unfortunately, Xu Yuan's ploy did not pan out.
After locking eyes for a moment, Xu Yuan shook his head in boredom, pulled his hand back, and called out clearly, "It seems your technique still needs some time to prepare, Uncle. Since you were willing to wager and wait for me earlier, how about we make a bet of our own right now?"
Tang Ruofu took a deep breath. "What do you want to bet?"
"Tch, what do you think we can still bet on?"
Xu Yuan scoffed, his narrow phoenix eyes slanting into slits as he asked in a gentle, leisurely tone, "Tang Ruofu, aside from our lives, is there anything left here worth wagering?"
Chapter 392