259: Blood-stained halberd

"Die!"

Xu Sanyan parried the incoming longsword with his great halberd, then swiftly charged into the crowd.

One man and one halberd, like a killing machine, blood splattered with each fall of the great halberd, accompanied by screams.

Holding the misty fruit in his hand, Xu Sanyan simultaneously protected the fruit and fought, his movements completely unaffected.

That great halberd was like a scythe cutting grass; every time it fell, it would reap a fresh life.

"Ah!"

One person tried to block with his sword but was cut in half, sword and all, scarlet blood spraying and staining the ground beneath his feet.

Jiang Yan clutched his longsword tightly, the sweat on his palm making the hilt slippery.

He watched with his own eyes as an Elder was disemboweled, foul-smelling organs spilling out and staining his clothes.

The Elder was not yet dead and could only lie on the ground howling, his shrill screams chilling to the bone.

Jiang Yan knew he was beyond saving; such injuries, even with an Immortal Pill, would be useless.

Suddenly, he felt some regret; perhaps he shouldn't have been swayed by Fang Qingge and blindly participated.

Treasures were good, but one had to recognize one's own abilities; blindly following would only lead to becoming cannon fodder.

But it was too late for regrets now.

Fang Qingge panted heavily, his eyes revealing deep shock; in just a few days, Xu Sanyan had reached such a level!

The first time the two fought in the Drum Tower, it ended in a draw.

The second time they fought over the Jade Slip, he easily escaped despite four of them ganging up on him.

This was the third time, and the gap between them was already extremely clear.

Yet, less than a month had passed between the first and third encounters.

"Disperse!"

Fang Qingge roared, and the crowd suddenly scattered, leaving Xu Sanyan standing in the center, bathed in blood, his contemptuous expression full of arrogant unrestraint, his great halberd lightly flicked, blood dripping from its sharp edge.

And the misty fruit was still held in his hand.

The still-living people on the ground wailed, countless severed limbs scattered around, making him appear like a demonic god crawled out of Hell!

This sight deeply shocked everyone.

Fang Qingge took a deep breath; in just half an hour, a third of the more than one hundred people were gone, and the remaining ones were all terrified, unwilling to fight him anymore.

"I lost, you may go."

Fang Qingge looked somewhat dejected, seeing his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, who used to respect him greatly, die tragically, which pained his heart.

"Why bother? I have never been fond of fighting, yet you insist on forcing me."

Xu Sanyan casually tore off his sash, shook his shoulder, and his blood-stained robe fell off, revealing his bare, muscular body.

Tu Wanshan narrowed his eyes, bowing his head slightly, wondering what he was thinking deep down.

Xiang Tan smacked her lips, staring blankly as Xu Sanyan walked through the crowd, everyone spontaneously making way for him, no one daring to block him.

Qin Manyang looked at that muscular body, silently swallowed, the shock in her heart no less than Fang Qingge's.

Speaking of which, she was the first to know Xu Sanyan.

Back on Qiyang Mountain, Xu Sanyan was merely at Foundation Establishment Completion, while she was already at the initial stage of Mystic Path Realm.

The second time they met, he was already the current Saint, and his cultivation had successfully broken through to Mystic Path Realm.

And now, in less than two years, she was still at the initial stage of Mystic Path Realm, while Xu Sanyan had already grown into an existence she had to look up to.

Only two years...

It felt as long as two hundred years.

Elder Ren and others nearby respectfully bowed their heads, not daring to look directly.

Xiang Tan also reacted at this moment, quickly pulling out clothes to drape over him, then closely followed behind Xu Sanyan, proudly puffing out her chest, making her clothes even more baggy.

Wei Xunzhu, standing not far away, looked at the Evil Qi-filled Xu Sanyan, a bitter smile on her lips.

To be born in the same era as such a figure, she wondered if it was fortune or misfortune.

It was fortune because she could witness the demeanor of such a Prodigy, their extraordinary talent; only by comparison did she realize the vastness of heaven and earth, reflecting her own insignificance.

It was misfortune because Xu Sanyan's brilliance was dazzling, and under his blazing light, she faded into obscurity.

Wei Xunzhu sighed, no longer possessing her former pride; what was being born with a hundred insects bowing, what was Refining Essence at seven, or becoming a Heaven and Man at twenty, all seemed so ridiculous now.

Xu Sanyan didn't know what they were thinking, holding the fruit in one hand as he strode away, Qin Manyang and the others following closely behind.

Tu Wanshan pondered for a moment, then also followed.

Fang Qingge looked up and sighed, "Alas, I lost both wife and soldiers..."

After this battle, Xu Sanyan's position as the foremost among the younger generation was completely established; no one could stand shoulder to shoulder with him anymore.

"Clang~!"

Suddenly, the sound of a gong appeared again, and another person disappeared, causing waves of panic.

Fang Qingge's heart suddenly tightened; was this ghostly thing still here?

It hadn't sounded for so long, he thought it had left.

But he hadn't provoked it, so why was it clinging to him?

Fang Qingge was full of melancholy, waving his hand, "Let's go."

With that, he led his people towards the direction Net Intent had left, Wei Xunzhu looked at the crowd behind her and still chose to follow.

Luo Qingwei and Fang Qingge were very close, so she naturally followed too.

Jiang Yan, however, stood still and pondered for a moment, finally making a decision; he didn't plan to get involved anymore, he would be content as long as he could safely wait until the Secret Realm opened, so he led his people in another direction.

As everyone dispersed, the place became completely silent, leaving only uncollected corpses.

After a long while, a phantom of a pavilion suddenly appeared beside the jade green tree branch, then gradually solidified, finally becoming completely physical and gently landing on the ground.

Bright lamplight emanated from inside the pavilion.

Creak—

The wooden door was pushed open a crack, and a woman dressed as a young lady stood quietly at the entrance, a light purple robe loosely draped over her, giving off a sense of lazy comfort.

Her bare feet beneath were shapely and well-defined, her pink arches forming a perfect curve, and even exposed, they were not stained with a speck of dust.

Her ten toes were painted with red nail polish, occasionally wiggling, further highlighting a touch of sensuality and playfulness.

The young lady casually gathered her loose hair behind her head, naturally tying it into a ponytail, and stood blankly within the doorway, not stepping out of the pavilion.

The young lady's beautiful eyes blinked lightly, looking up at the treetop where the fruit had originally hung, now completely empty.

"Alas..."

"Even the most meticulous arrangements will inevitably have flaws after tens of thousands of years."

The young lady sighed in her heart; this was already the seventh fruit lost in nearly ten thousand years.

As the fruits gradually decreased, she clearly felt the pressure from heaven and earth gradually increasing.

"Living..."

Confusion appeared in the young lady's eyes; she didn't know if living like this was any different from being dead.

For tens of thousands of years, she could only be trapped within the Secret Realm, not even daring to step out of the pavilion, yet the Heavenly Tribulation still refused to let her go.

Sometimes, she also envied Yuan Anping; at least he dared to risk his life for freedom, and although he ultimately lost, that courage was worthy of her admiration.

"Freedom..."

"Cage..."

The young lady recalled what Yuan Anping had said.

...