The sword’s tip was just about to pierce him, and despair filled Guan Tianyue’s eyes.

But at that very moment, Xu Chongshan suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His body’s aura broke, and he was sent flying backward by a blast of Black Death True Qi.

Guan Tianyue, having narrowly escaped death, leaped forward and threw a palm strike, intending to finish off this powerful foe.

Just then, a figure flashed by. Zuo Qingshuang caught the falling Xu Chongshan and sent out a palm strike of her own.

The two streams of True Qi collided with a deafening BOOM that shook the entire hall.

Guan Tianyue staggered back two steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Zuo Qingshuang remained motionless, but her gaze snapped sharply toward Li Nanchen.

"When?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

As the word left her lips, she violently spat out a mouthful of blood!

’Xu Chongshan’s hate-filled strike should have been a fatal blow to Guan Tianyue.’

’Even my own palm strike should have injured him.’

’The Black Death Demon Technique is formidable, but it has its limits. Thirty years ago, in a one-on-one fight against its practitioners, both Xu Chongshan and I would have lost more often than we won.’

’But after thirty years of dedicated cultivation, the Golden Jade Divine Technique—Zhuji Pavilion’s ultimate art that Xu Chongshan and I practice—is far superior to the methods of these demonic paths.’

’Now, Xu Chongshan has been defeated, and even though I forced Guan Tianyue back, I’m the one coughing up blood.’

’It isn’t because my Martial Arts are lacking. It’s because I’ve been poisoned.’

’And it’s painfully obvious who administered the poison!’

She just didn’t know when she had been poisoned, or what kind of poison it was.

Li Nanchen didn’t answer her question. Instead, he looked outside the main hall.

The sounds of battle were rolling in from all directions, like a tidal wave.

The faces of everyone in the hall had already darkened at this turn of events.

Someone, confused, voiced their question:

"Li Nanchen, why are you doing this?"

Another, unable to contain their fury, roared:

"Li Nanchen, you deserve to die ten thousand deaths!!!"

Others said nothing, attempting to break out.

But as soon as they tried to circulate their Inner Breath, they felt their meridians twist as if being churned, and they too coughed up blood just like Zuo Qingshuang and Xu Chongshan.

Li Nanchen sighed softly.

"Everyone, you might as well save your strength. The poison you’ve been afflicted with is called Life-Ending Powder. While it’s not a fast-acting fatal poison, as soon as you circulate your Inner Strength, it will damage your meridians and obstruct the flow of True Qi."

"The more you try to force your qi, the heavier your injuries will become."

"Right now, the entire Zhuji Pavilion, from top to bottom, is slowly falling into the hands of my Black Death Sect."

"I have but one question for you all..."

"Are you willing to submit to my Black Death Sect?"

"You’re with the Black Death Sect?"

Zuo Qingshuang stared at Li Nanchen in disbelief.

The black-robed figure to Li Nanchen’s left let out a soft chuckle, took a step forward, and spoke slowly.

"He is my son."

"And you are?"

Zuo Qingshuang felt the man’s voice was indeed somewhat familiar, but after thirty years, whose memory could be sharp enough to remember a voice?

The man pulled back his hood, revealing a face that might once have been gentle.

Unfortunately, a scar running across his entire face had destroyed one of his eyes, making the once-gentle features look exceptionally sinister.

Zuo Qingshuang’s pupils contracted slightly.

The face slowly merged with the memory of an impossibly arrogant figure from her past.

A name escaped her lips:

"Feng Mantian!?"

"You’re the Black Death Sect Leader, Feng Mantian!"

The Black Death Sect Leader, Feng Mantian!

Thirty years ago, relying on his perfected Black Death Demon Technique, he had battled the masters of the Seven Great Sects at Purple Sun Mountain.

In that battle, the old Pavilion Master had not taken action. The one who fought was the current Pavilion Master of Zhuji Pavilion, the senior brother of Zuo Qingshuang and Xu Chongshan—Lou Yuxiao!

In the end, Feng Mantian had taken a sword and a palm strike before falling into a bottomless chasm.

The sword wound on his face was a gift from Lou Yuxiao.

Feng Mantian roared with laughter.

"I never expected that even after all this time, Miss Zuo still remembers this old man so fondly."

"Thirty years ago, your Zhuji Pavilion joined forces with the other six Great Sects to besiege my Black Death Sect."

"You destroyed the foundation of my Black Death Sect in a single stroke!"

"Thirty years later, I have returned, and not a single one of your Seven Great Sects will escape!"

"And the first to fall will be your Zhuji Pavilion!!"

Hearing this, Zuo Qingshuang burst into laughter instead.

"Such arrogant blustering from a brute. It’s laughable."

"Thirty years ago, my late master was unwilling to bully a junior, which is why he had my senior brother fight you."

"And now... you don’t even dare to face my senior brother."

"You think you can sweep through the Seven Great Sects just by relying on a few dirty tricks?"

"Do you even believe your own bullshit?"

"Let me ask you, if my senior brother weren’t in seclusion, would you dare show your face before him?"

A dark glint flickered in Feng Mantian’s eyes.

"Such a sharp tongue!"

"Monk Jile, what do you think of this woman?"

"Not bad."

Monk Jile was a portly Great Monk with a ruddy complexion and a beaming smile.

His eyes were long and narrow, giving him a rather Buddha-like appearance.

Yet there wasn’t a trace of compassion in his gaze.

"Then she’s yours," Feng Mantian said lightly.

A cold, harsh light flashed in Zuo Qingshuang’s eyes, but she said nothing in response.

’Right now, I am the fish on the chopping block, and they are the knife. A thousand words wouldn’t harm a single hair on their heads.’

Xu Chongshan forced himself to his feet.

"If you want to touch my junior sister, you’ll have to step over my dead body first!!"

"Senior Brother!"

Zuo Qingshuang said urgently.

"Just focus on your qi circulation! Don’t worry about me!!"

"...There’s that phrase again."

Xu Chongshan gave Zuo Qingshuang a helpless look.

"You girl, you’ve been disobedient since you were little... Among all of us martial siblings, you have always been the most stubborn."

"But what could we do? You were the youngest. Whether it was Master or your senior brothers, you were always the most doted upon..."

"Even I, your senior brother, was strict on the surface... but in reality, I always let you have your way."

"But this is no time for mischief."

"I will absolutely not allow these animals to defile you in the slightest!"

"Unless... I’m dead!!"

Having said this, he lowered his voice and continued.

"I’ll use my life to buy you a sliver of a chance to survive."

"After you leave, you have two choices. One, go to the back mountain to find our eldest senior brother... but I fear that path may be blocked."

"The second... is to leave Jiuning Mountain."

"Announce this matter to the Jianghu!"

"Our Heroic Dao of the Jianghu will surely join forces to exterminate this evil!!"

Without another word, he spun the longsword in his hand. Enduring the agony of the Life-Ending Powder churning in his meridians, he channeled his True Qi and struck.

Blood poured from his seven orifices, yet he would rather fight to the death than compromise!!

But Zuo Qingshuang did not leave. Instead, she stepped forward to join him.

"Word of what happened today will get out sooner or later. When has there ever been a wall in the Jianghu that doesn’t leak?"

"We were all taught by the same master and have muddled through half our lives together. Don’t even think about walking the Yellow Springs Road alone!!"

Seeing Xu Chongshan and Zuo Qingshuang’s unyielding defiance in the face of death, the others in the hall also roared in anger.

"We of Zhuji Pavilion would rather die on our feet than live on our knees!!"

"Rather die on our feet than live on our knees!!"

"Good, good, good!!"

Feng Mantian laughed maniacally.

"In that case, this old man will grant you your wish!!"

Black Death True Qi gathered around his body. Xu Chongshan and Zuo Qingshuang, though covered in blood, showed no less of their sharp fighting spirit.

Just as the two sides were about to clash in a desperate struggle...

A whistling sound grew from the distance.

A figure in green robes traced a perfect arc through the air before crashing down with a THUD right between the two groups.

Everyone looked toward the entrance to see a plainly dressed young man walking in. He was holding one girl by the hand, carrying another on his back, and dragging the corpse of a Cyan-faced Ghost with his other hand.

Seeing their gazes on him, the young man looked up and smiled.

"Wow, it’s really lively in here."

...

...

PS: By the way, today’s the Winter Solstice. Have you all had your dumplings?