Beheading

Guo Hongyao offered a sarcastic remark, while Li Xijun held back the hook snake before him. She was an immortal sect disciple, and they were standing outside the defensive array; if a fight broke out, disaster could easily follow. He spoke only with polite deference: "This matter was our fault, yet this hook snake is the spirit beast of our clan elder. We cannot hand it over to Senior merely to vent your anger. I must ask Senior to think twice." Hearing his words, Guo Hongyao found it pointless to keep throwing her weight around. Sweeping her eyes over the crowd, she turned to Xu Xiao beside her and said: "Hand over that Six Ding Combined Fire Medallion." The Li family still carried some reputation, and Guo Hongyao was wary of talisman swords or stray sword qi. Having traveled ten thousand li to get here, she wanted to secure the prize safely in her pocket first. Yet after holding out her hand for a moment, nothing was placed in it. "Hmm?" Guo Hongyao glanced over, only to see Xu Xiao chuckle nervously before whispering: "Senior... the spirit artifact has already acknowledged me as its master. I fear it cannot be brought out." All of Xu Xiao's abilities were bestowed by this spirit artifact; how could he bear to part with it? Though Guo Hongyao had saved his life, he knew full well that everyone coveted a Purple Palace spirit artifact, and he would never surrender it so easily. Guo Hongyao gave a casual grunt, but turned away from him, a flicker of impatience crossing her face: 'Nothing more than a lucky wretch! How dare he try to play games with me? If Grand-Uncle Master's methods hadn't artificially boosted his cultivation, could he have stirred up even the slightest ripple against an established clan?' Turning back to the Li family members, Guo Hongyao still needed to pacify him with gentle words for now, so she smiled and asked: "Xu Xiao, how do you wish to punish them?" With his thoughts on Liu Lingzhen, Xu Xiao spoke up: "I have a woman still at the foot of the mountain. I want to bring her up first." Guo Hongyao had hardly expected him to actually start ordering her around. Forcing down her irritation, she looked at Li Xijun and commanded: "Hurry up and fetch her!" Just as Li Xijun was about to use this pretext to step back, Guo Hongyao deliberately chose to assert her dominance over him. Hooking her finger, she said languidly: "Not you. Let the others go." Beside them, Chen Mufeng bowed his head and descended, soon bringing Liu Lingzhen back up. Xu Xiao hurried over on the wind to meet her. Seeing him separate from Guo Hongyao, Li Xijun quietly took a step to the side. Reunited, the two exchanged a few affectionate words before Xu Xiao looked up once more, glaring at Li Xijun with venomous hatred. Guo Hongyao frowned: "What else?" Li Xijun thought to himself that things were looking grim when suddenly a heat flared at his waist—it was the tracking jade pendant growing warm. He quickly lowered his sleeve to conceal it, fighting down the surging joy in his heart as he completely blocked out its gentle glow, thinking: 'An elder is drawing near!' Seeing Xu Xiao about to ride the wind back to Guo Hongyao's side, Li Xijun immediately stepped forward to deliberately stall for time, cutting in before Xu Xiao could speak: "Does Lady Liu or the Xu family have relatives or friends in town? Why not bring them along as well?" Xu Xiao frowned, but Liu Lingzhen beamed with delight, saying happily: "Brother Xu, why not bring those sworn brothers of yours along as well? Wouldn't it be wonderful to enjoy life together in an immortal sect?" Guo Hongyao's expression darkened at the words. Xu Xiao, noticing her displeasure, shook his head: "What status do they hold? An immortal sect is no place for people like them." Guo Hongyao was utterly sick of the couple's cloying display, and turned her gaze back to Li Xijun: "Hand over that treasured sword of yours as compensation!" Li Xijun feigned reluctance, but Guo Hongyao gave him no chance to drag things out. With a beckoning wave of her hand, the treasured sword on his back leaped into midair, struggled twice, and reluctantly fell into her grasp. "A fine sword indeed." Hanlin was elegantly crafted, clear as a pool of cold water. Guo Hongyao was quite pleased, yet seeing that Li Xijun was not weeping bitter tears of remorse, she felt he had gotten off too lightly, and a faint irritation rose within her: 'Let us see how long you can keep up that front!' She had been pampered in luxury and privilege since childhood, accustomed to everyone bowing to her will. Arrogant and imperious, she flipped the cyan blade and pointed it from afar at Li Xijun's neck, the overt threat unmistakable. "Hiss!" With a roar, Li Wushao reverted to his true form, transforming into an enormous hook snake. Eyes as large as windows glared fixedly at her. Guo Hongyao sneered: "With just you—huh?... Who's there?!" She hesitated for a breath, only to see a streak of purple light tearing through the void like thunder, illuminating the lake's surface in stark violet and white. Before Guo Hongyao could speak, a cold bark rang out: "How dare you, you wench!" Guo Hongyao was infuriated. Looking out, she saw a female cultivator riding the lightning toward them, clad in jade armor and jade boots. Purple thunder coursed through her long hair, emitting halos of silver-white light—a figure of heroic and valiant grace. The clear, resonant voice jolted everyone's spirits. Stung by the insult, Guo Hongyao pulled the sword back and turned her gaze toward the purple radiance. Li Qinghong had crossed a thousand li, only to find upon arrival that her nephew was being held at swordpoint by a Foundation Establishment female cultivator, while their subordinates stood braced as if facing a mortal threat. A fury beyond words gripped her heart, and opening her mouth, she spat out a streak of white light. "Rumble!" The white light expanded in an instant, suffused with an aura of destruction. At the slightest contact, purple lightning cascaded down like a waterfall. Startled and enraged, Guo Hongyao had no time to respond with words; the long, thin jade slip in her hand flared with red light as she raised her arm to ward off the blow. 'Aunt has arrived!' Li Xijun was fully prepared, having plotted this moment long before. Grabbing the hook snake, he bellowed: "Kill him first!! Kill him!" Li Wushao froze for a fraction of an instant before his long hooks shot forward in response. He, too, had been gathering power for a long time—an attack originally prepared for Guo Hongyao, now redirected straight toward Xu Xiao. It tore through the air in an instant, whistling shrilly across the sky. In the blink of an eye, Xu Xiao had no time to react. He managed only to take a single step back and raise the medallion in his hand, casting forth a burst of red light. But having fought a prolonged, fierce battle, his qi sea was already depleted; the red barrier was as fragile as rotten tofu, easily pierced right through. His protective shields capable of resisting Foundation Establishment power had already been exhausted. Xu Xiao felt only a sudden heaviness in his chest as the hook snake's tail drove straight through his torso. "Brother Xu!" Liu Lingzhen was half a beat slower to react, throwing herself onto him. Xu Xiao felt a cold sensation across his throat as the hook snake's second tail swept through his neck, severing his head clean off his shoulders. Xu Xiao's eyes still held lingering horror. The dying dregs of his consciousness flashed through scene after scene, images flickering through his mind like fleeting dreams and phantoms: Holding beauties in his arms... trampling great clans beneath his feet... joining an immortal sect... One instant showed him breaking through Qingdu and crushing Lijing underfoot; another showed him embracing Lingzhen and holding Hongyao. In the hollow void of his mind surfaced one final thought: 'Why did it end like this... It wasn't supposed to be like this...' "Spare him!" Struggling desperately within the sea of lightning, Guo Hongyao shouted, but not a single person paid her any heed. The crowd watched as the head tumbled down and disintegrated into ashes amidst the lightning. With his sudden death, Liu Lingzhen lost the support of his magical wind, plunging downward with a bloodcurdling scream before smashing into a bloody pulp below. Li Xijun felt an exceedingly faint snap resound within his mind, as though a taut string had broken. The world before his eyes remained exactly the same, yet felt somehow different. "Damn you!" Guo Hongyao finally broke free from the sea of lightning, dark smoke billowing from her entire body. Gnashing her teeth in hatred, she glared at Li Qinghong before her, laughing in sheer fury: "Fine... Very fine..."