387: This was a well-prepared punitive expedition.

With a thought, the "Eternal Calamity" suddenly rose high!

It was not a simple increase in size.

As its silhouette continued to tower, its shell began to evolve on its own—shattering stars, dying eras, exhausting Spiritual Qi... myriad tribulations were drawn from the depths of time and space, turning into surging veins upon its surface.

At this moment, this body of myriad tribulations towered into the sky, assuming a posture of myriad tribulations upon itself, transforming into an epochal tombstone to punish all living beings!

Qin Hongchen's pupils suddenly constricted.

Immediately afterward.

"I borrow the Law—Enlarge!"

The other half of the wheel of fate opened wide.

The form of the "Eternal Calamity" swelled once again!

The battle here could be seen clearly even from a hundred miles away.

Myriad tribulations evolved as Tribulation Qi intertwined and collided.

Qiyun City's protective array groaned under the overwhelming weight; the mere dissipated pressure caused the Divine Souls of countless Cultivators to tremble, nearly forcing them to their knees.

In the distance, in the neighboring town.

Watching this scene from afar, Qin Xuanji's gaze slightly narrowed.

He had originally thought that Ninth Brother's refusal of help was simply because he possessed some unknown trump card.

Who would have thought that what he saw today would be such an absurd and terrifying sight?

One copies others, copies himself.

One borrows the laws of others, borrows the laws of the future.

Starting off with five Heaven and Earth Laws leading the way—looking across the Three Thousand Continents, only the two of them could play like this.

Then came the clash of giant swords.

This had already exceeded the scope of a "magical duel."

It had become... a collision between monsters.

Qin Xuanji's gaze swept back and forth between the two monsters in the distance.

"Although Sixth Brother's aura is fluctuating violently from the outburst just now and his Dharma Image is withered, his Foundation remains undamaged. The Battle Intent and madness in his eyes are even stronger; his condition is still acceptable."

But when he looked at Qin Wangchuan, his brows couldn't help but furrow.

Ninth Brother's state was clearly much worse.

His breathing had become heavy and deep, each breath tugging at the unstable aura around him.

Several bloodstains appeared out of thin air across his body, as if invisible blades were continuously slicing his flesh.

Although he was evenly matched with Sixth Brother in the magical duel, these mysteriously appearing wounds were rapidly dragging down his condition.

"Ninth Brother... will lose."

Almost at the moment this judgment settled in Qin Xuanji's heart.

A figure as tall and upright as a mountain appeared silently by his side.

Qin Xuanji did not look back, but a habitual smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he said softly:

"Eldest Brother."

The newcomer was indeed Qin Wudao.

He did not look at Qin Xuanji; his eyes, as calm as an abyss, looked straight at the battlefield a hundred miles away where Tribulation Qi was churning, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.

"Why did you call me here?"

"Also, are Sixth Brother and Ninth Brother fighting?"

Qin Xuanji remained seated on that blue stone and nodded.

Qin Wudao's gaze finally turned to him, his eyes filled with deep confusion. "Sixth Brother's state of mind should be broad-minded because of that woman's return. Even if he had some minor friction with Ninth Brother, it shouldn't have reached this point."

"What happened?"

Qin Xuanji met his Eldest Brother's gaze, the smile on his face fading as he calmly spoke the answer:

"Because Ninth Brother killed Fang Yun."

The air suddenly fell silent.

It was as if even the distant booming sounds were briefly cut off by this short sentence.

The calmness on Qin Wudao's face froze for a moment; his chest heaved almost imperceptibly, and a trace of extremely complex emotion flickered deep within his eyes, which were usually as still as an old well.

He didn't ask further or question it; he simply turned around and prepared to step toward the battlefield.

However, with a flash of his body, Qin Xuanji blocked his path.

"Eldest Brother," the smile on Qin Xuanji's face had completely vanished, yet his tone remained steady, "where are you going?"

This was a question he already knew the answer to.

Qin Wudao stopped and looked at him. He was still calm on the surface, but beneath that calm, there was a surge like a storm about to break. "To ask what on earth is going on."

"I have a better suggestion."

Qin Xuanji did not look away, his steady gaze falling on Qin Wudao's face, his voice devoid of any ripples. "We wait here together."

"Wait until the matter is over, then go and ask for clarification. How about it?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere between the two fell into a brief, dead silence.

After a few breaths, Qin Wudao's voice finally rang out heavily:

"You want to stop me?"

Qin Xuanji didn't answer. His voice slowed as he spoke to himself, "Eldest Brother... Ninth Brother's actions may seem reckless, but they are not without order."

"That woman had problems long ago; killing her might not necessarily be a bad thing."

"Waiting here is the best choice."

"Just like you all did before?" A hint of sharp mockery entered Qin Wudao's voice. "Hiding in the shadows, watching coldly from the sidelines, while I was the only one who stood up?"

Facing this sarcasm directed at the past, Qin Xuanji did not refute it, but met it calmly:

"Yes. Back then... we were wrong. We shouldn't have sat by and watched the tragedy unfold."

His voice was steady, but deep within his eyes, it was as if something had been chipped away by those words, revealing a rare look of shame.

"But precisely because we missed it, and precisely because we want to make amends—"

Qin Xuanji looked up.

In those eyes that always wore a mask-like smile, as if everything were calculated, all disguises had now faded, leaving only a nearly stubborn seriousness and earnestness.

"Trust me, Eldest Brother. This time, waiting is the most correct choice."

Qin Wudao laughed, a laugh filled with distrust.

"You want me to trust someone... who has always shown himself through a false body?"

Hearing this, Qin Xuanji did not get angry but responded seriously, "Then if I show my true body now, would you change your mind and stay here to chat with me for a while, Eldest Brother?"

Qin Wudao was silent for a moment before giving a decisive answer:

"...No."

"As expected, I can't get through to you."

The smile on Qin Xuanji's face instantly vanished, and there was no longer any hint of a joke in his eyes, replaced by a nearly absolute calmness and determination.

He no longer tried to persuade him but simply raised his hand.

"Heaven and Earth Law: 'All Phenomena Are Impermanent Incarnation'."

Boom!

A towering Dharma Image, a hundred zhang tall and surrounded by a distorted halo flowing like water ripples, suddenly rose from behind him!

The face of the Dharma Image was blurred, seemingly changing constantly—at times compassionate, at times indifferent, and at times furious.

Qin Xuanji landed at the center of the Dharma Image's brow, his gaze like the Heavenly Dao looking down, locking onto Qin Wudao below.

"Eldest Brother."

His voice no longer belonged to an individual but was carried by many noises, turning into a grand and indifferent echo of heaven and earth.

"All phenomena are impermanent."

"This path is closed."

Responding to him was another unquestionable declaration—

"Heaven and Earth Law: 'Tribulation Fortune Upon Me, I Am'."

As the words fell.

Behind Qin Wudao, space collapsed with a bang!

That terrifying Dharma Image, with a blurred face and surrounded by countless dark purple World-Destroying Tribulation Thunders, began to solidify from the void.

However, at the very moment the Dharma Image manifested—

Qin Wudao seemed to sense something. He was suddenly taken aback, then abruptly turned his head, his gaze piercing toward the side path.

Almost simultaneously.

From deep within the path, a young girl dressed in a plain white immortal skirt with hair like a waterfall slowly stepped out.

She held a long sword wrapped in sealing cloth in her arms, her pace neither fast nor slow, like a leisurely stroll, yet in just a few steps, she had moved from the edge of the forest to a distance sufficient to influence the battle.

Then, she slowly unwrapped the sealing cloth around the sword.

As the sealing charms slid off silently, a section of the blade was finally revealed.

Frosty and clear, with a bone-chilling coldness.

Just the exposed part caused the surrounding temperature to plummet, and the vegetation was instantly covered in a thin layer of white frost.

Companion Imperial Sword · Frosty Sky.

"Zheng—!"

The clear ring of the sword was like ice cracking, instantly freezing all sound.

Frosty Sky, unsheathed.

As a flash of sword light lit up, "Tribulation Fortune Upon Me, I Am" dissipated before it could fully descend.

Law-Extinguishing Sword, Qin Qingzheng.

Her sword can sever all laws.

Naturally, that included the Heaven and Earth Law.

Qin Wudao's pupils suddenly constricted. Before he could react, the vast sound of breaking wind from above pressed down like a collapsing mountain!