“Ah Zu!” Yun Yuqing was surprised and happy when she turned around and saw that the one carrying her was Zu An.

When he saw the fine sweat on Yun Yuqing’s forehead, Zu An realized that she had been incredibly high-strung all this time. He said somewhat apologetically, “You’ve really had a hard time.”

“I’m fine.” Yun Yuqing quickly looked at Zu An’s chest and asked, “What about your wound?”

Zu An laughed and replied, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Did you forget that I’m the world’s hardest man?”

Yun Yuqing blushed. She harrumphed. What kind of situation were they in right now? Despite that, this fellow still didn’t forget to say such things.

“Impossible!” The black-clad figures looked at Zu An in disbelief.

What kind of power did a siege crossbow have?! A normal person might have already been blown to smithereens. It was already incredible for someone to still be in ‘one piece’ to the extent Zu An had been earlier. So why was it that not only had he not died, he instead looked completely fine? Only his complexion had paled a bit.

After all, they had all seen how he had been nailed to the wall by that massive crossbow bolt. Even if he didn’t die, he should still have sustained serious injuries. His internal organs should have been blasted rotten from the impact!

Once one cultivated to the seventh rank, they would obtain powerful regeneration abilities. However, they would still need at least half a month to recover! And yet, how long had this fellow taken? A stick of incense?

“Let me get rid of these annoying fellows first.” Yun Yuqing’s finger traced a final stroke through the air. A purple rune appeared in midair, and then the other faintly discernible runes became several times brighter.

“Tempest’s Exorcism!” Yun Yuqing exclaimed as her hands formed a seal. The runes shone brilliantly, firing countless lasers.

All the black-clad figures dodged frantically. The seven blade-wielding deathsworn took out multiple to defend themselves. Unfortunately, when the purple lasers struck their shields, they pierced straight through. Bloody holes opened up all across the deathsworn’s bodies. They fell to the ground one after another, dead.

Countless spear mirages appeared in front of the spear user, dispersing the purple lasers one after another. However, he knew he couldn’t keep it up forever. As such, he tapped his foot against the ground, launching his body and spear into a helix-shaped spin. He flew directly toward Yun Yuqing.

He knew that fighting against a rune master in long range combat was complete suicide, and only through close combat would he have a chance at victory. Unfortunately, a purple barrier of light flickered in front of him, blocking his advance.

The spear master roared, and his body began to spin even faster. Sparks flew between the tip of his spear and the barrier.

When he saw that the speartip had managed to penetrate the barrier, Zu An quickly moved in front of Yun Yuqing to protect her, calling out, “Be careful!”

Yun Yuqing smiled and said, “Don’t worry, this formation will use his power and add it to its own. The more power he exerts, the stronger its defenses will become.”

Zu An was stupefied. Isn’t this skill kind of ridiculous? Wouldn’t you be dead once you got trapped inside?

However, he also quickly realized that all things had a limit. If an opponent greatly exceeded Yun Yuqing in strength, they could just use brute force, or perhaps just tank straight through the purple rays.

Hadn’t that old dragon taken on her ultimate move when Zu An was on his way to the capital? He had still been fine afterward. Unfortunately, the opponents here were still far from being able to compare to that old dragon. Eventually, the spear could no longer resist the powerful force, and with a crisp crack, it snapped clean in half.

The tall and slender man became listless when he saw his spear break. His spear had been his life for many years. He had never parted with it, even when he slept. He was already one with the spear. His master had told him that as long as the spear still existed, so too would he. If the spear perished, he would as well.

As soon as that thought entered his mind, his body was penetrated by several streaks of purple light. Blood burst from his body. Even the powerful regenerative abilities of a seventh ranked cultivator had limits. It was completely impossible to recover from so many fatal wounds.

But even as he closed his eyes, he continued to stand in place without falling, like a spear.

Zu An sighed. “This person already reached a level where he was one with his spear. If not for the fact that he had encountered a rune master like you, rather than a close combat specialist, it would have been hard to say who would come out on top.”

Yun Yuqing nodded in deep sympathy. “His spear skills were indeed formidable.”

There was only a single person left standing. Countless silver and gold rings floated around him, protecting him like an eggshell and continuously fending off the surrounding rays.

However, those purple lasers were just too formidable. Many of the ring shadows vanished as soon as they made contact with the lights. Soon, the rings had decreased by a third of their original size.

The man was enraged. “How much longer are you all going to just watch?!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice full of bitterness and resentment.

However, it was in that moment of distraction that a purple ray penetrated through the center of a ring and hit his chest. His movements became sluggish. Then, he was hit by even more lasers, covering his body in bloody holes

 He collapsed, frantically gasping for breath. It was clear that he wouldn't make it. At that moment, he felt a bit of regret. Why the hell had he chosen rings with holes in their centers instead of shields?

However, he was even more resentful about another matter. He held out to his last breath, his eyes wide as he stared at a certain direction.

Zu An warned Yun Yuqing in a suppressed voice, “Be careful, there are people hiding in the shadows. One of them is even a spirit element cultivator.”

Yun Yuqing voiced her acknowledgment. She looked in another direction with a grave expression.

A figure out of view let out a seductive and flirtatious laugh. “Weren’t you so arrogant that you looked down on all of us before? What, you finally remembered us now that you’re dying?”

The figure’s laughter was filled with the sound of melodious bells, making their voice seem to seep into the souls of those who heard it.

A male and female daoist slowly entered area. Their attire was quite different from that of the black-clad figures.

The man’s clothes were half white and half black, divided perfectly down the middle. What was even more terrifying was that his face was actually half white and half black as well. He carried a soul banner in one hand, and his entire figure looked eerie and sinister.

A zebra? A yin-yang man? Several terms popped up in Zu An’s head.[1]

However, his attention was quickly drawn to the other person, whom even Yun Yuqing was subconsciously drawn to. She was a woman who walked with an alluring, catlike gait. She was covered in a blue mantle from head to toe, with a hood that completely covered her face. Zu An and Yun Yuqing could only vaguely make out her chin and her bright red lips. They could also vaguely see some golden hair on either side of her face.

The reason why their eyes had been drawn to the woman, apart from her mysterious outfit, was her massive chest. Not even her strange attire could hide it. Beneath her mantle were two fair legs. There was a red rope tied around her right ankle; attached to it was a small and exquisite bell that made pleasant sounds whenever she walked.

But right now, the man with the silver and gold rings didn’t feel any sense of admiration, and instead felt only endless resentment. He said, “Jia Sili, Shu Shuhao, master won’t let you go once he finds out that you watched us die without doing anything.”

Zu An was surprised. This fellow seemed to be cursing them on the surface, but in reality, he was telling Zu An their names. He probably wants me to get rid of them if I end up escaping. Tsk tsk tsk, just how much do you have to hate them to do this? You’re betraying a comrade even as you die.

The woman named Jia Sili giggled. “Didn’t you already use those deathsworn soldiers to test out that woman? We were also learning through you. But it seems you couldn’t handle being the ones who were used instead?” She added, “Besides, don’t try to scare us using your master’s name. I still haven’t settled my debt with all of you over what happened on the southern border back then!”