314: Cao Family Crisis

Elsewhere in mid-air,

The "Mysterious Light Mirror" in Hu Yanfeng's hand suddenly burst with blinding white light.

A beam of light, as solid as a chain, shone directly onto Yin Wujiu.

Yin Wujiu's body suddenly stiffened, and he could not even escape with his Nascent Soul.

In that split second, a streak of black light flew from Hu Yanfeng's sleeve—it was a Soul-Slaying Nail no more than an inch long.

It silently sank into the center of Yin Wujiu's brow.

This "Soul-Slaying Nail" was an exceptionally vicious hidden weapon Magic Treasure, specifically designed to erode a Cultivator's Divine Soul.

The body of the nail was forged from Nether Cold Iron mixed with Soul-Eroding Sand; it was as thin as a cow's hair, dissolved upon entering the body, and struck directly at the Sea of Consciousness.

If an ordinary Cultivator lacked a soul-protecting secret treasure or special Cultivation Technique, once struck, their Divine Soul would melt instantly, like thin ice exposed to the scorching sun.

Yin Wujiu's strength was already inferior to Hu Yanfeng's, and after a bout of fighting, his tactics had almost entirely been figured out by Hu Yanfeng.

Now that he was pinned down for an instant by the light of the Mysterious Light Mirror and his Divine Soul was suppressed, the Soul-Slaying Nail took advantage of the opening—with the two working in tandem, even a Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, if they lacked countermeasures, would find it hard to escape death.

Yin Wujiu's pupils dilated, the Qi around his body receded like a tide, and his body fell straight down, crashing into the ground, lifeless.

Meanwhile,

at the third aerial battlefield—

Qi Tianchuan and Cao Qingyi's sword lights crossed, and Spiritual Qi splattered.

Although Cao Qingyi had the slight upper hand and her sword momentum was sharp, Qi Tianchuan only defended and did not attack, his movement technique drifting and elusive; he was clearly intent on stalling, not giving her a chance to break away and provide reinforcements.

Just as Cao Qingyi knocked aside Qi Tianchuan's protective Magic Treasure with a sword strike and intended to force a breakout—the corner of her eye caught the moment Yin Wujiu's body fell.

Her heart suddenly turned cold—with Yin Wujiu dead, Hu Yanfeng would be freed up, and the battle would tilt completely.

As things stood, her side was restricted everywhere, and defeat was already apparent.

Qi Tianchuan only needed to entangle her for a moment longer; once Hu Yanfeng coerced her younger brother... this time, it was truly inescapable.

Thinking of this, her gaze hurriedly swept over the area below—every part of the City Lord's Mansion was a chaotic battlefield.

Cao Tianxiong and Cao Jun were leading the guards and Guest Elders of the mansion, engaging in a melee with the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Qi family and the Piaomiao Sect.

The entire City Lord's Mansion was filled with the glint of blades and shadows of swords, exploding Talismans, and lightning and fire; occasionally, screams rang out, blood splattered before the steps, and the smell of blood permeated the air.

Cao Qingyi did not have time to think deeply and raised her voice: "Hu Yanfeng! Does your Piaomiao Sect truly not fear the Immortal Dynasty's accountability for acting in such a manner?!"

Hu Yanfeng tucked Yin Wujiu's qiankun ring into his sleeve, looked up at Cao Qingyi, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "The Qi family is, after all, an affiliate of my Piaomiao Sect. Your Cao family harmed Qi Tianchuan's son, Qi Wei. We have come to settle the Karma; what is wrong with that?"

"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext! Qi Wei's death has nothing to do with my Cao family!" Cao Qingyi's Sword Qi surged, her voice cold.

"Why bother quibbling." Hu Yanfeng's tone remained calm, "I have already investigated; Qi Wei's death... cannot be separated from your Dao Companion."

After speaking, he took out a palm-sized jade disc from his sleeve, with a few drops of dark red blood in the center—that was the essence blood of Qi Wei's biological father, Qi Tianchuan.

He tossed the jade disc into the air, formed hand seals with both hands, and muttered incantations.

Those few drops of essence blood suddenly evaporated, turning into a hazy blood mist; the light and shadows within the mist twisted, gradually revealing the fragmented scene of Qi Wei's final moments.

The image was intermittent and blurry, but enough to clearly distinguish the final moment—Qi Wei's eyes were wide open, his face full of horror, and a figure stood before him, raising a hand to press down...

On that face, there was a trace of an indifferent and eerie smile—it was clearly you.

Hu Yanfeng put away the jade disc, looked at Cao Qingyi, and said slowly: "Do you still want to deny it?"

This jade disc was called the "soul tracing disc," a special Magic Treasure containing a trace of the Law of Time and the Law of Death.

This treasure could use the essence blood of a close relative as a guide to trace the final residual image left in the Bloodline before the deceased fell, reproducing the blurry scene of the moment of death.

Coincidentally—the core Materials required to refine this special Magic Treasure, the "soul tracing disc," was precisely "soul slaughtering sand."

The Qi family's purchase of soul slaughtering sand from Langgan Pavilion was originally at the request of the Piaomiao Sect.

And this "soul tracing disc" had also only recently been refined by the Piaomiao Sect.

Who would have thought that as soon as it was successfully refined... it would be used immediately.

Seeing the face in the image clearly, Cao Qingyi's expression suddenly sank, as if covered by a layer of ice.

How could she have expected that the Piaomiao Sect would actually refine such an obscure Magic Treasure as the "soul tracing disc."

In fact, the Piaomiao Sect had no choice—these years, their Disciples had repeatedly fallen inexplicably, and investigations had yielded no results, which was why they had expended great effort to refine this treasure.

Seeing that she was speechless, a cold smile appeared at the corner of Hu Yanfeng's mouth.

The next second,

his figure suddenly plummeted, turning into a beam of light, and appeared instantly before Cao Tianxiong.

In an instant,

he raised his hand and pressed down into the void, and the massive Spiritual Pressure of a Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator crashed down!

Cao Tianxiong's expression changed drastically; before he could react, he felt as if he were being suppressed by a mountain, his knees went weak, and he knelt heavily on the ground.

At the same time,

Hu Yanfeng reached out and grabbed the void on the other side—

the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi suddenly condensed, turning into a translucent giant hand, which grabbed Cao Jun from the air not far away and pulled him in front of him.

After restraining the two, Hu Yanfeng looked up at the sky; his voice was not loud, but it clearly spread across the entire scene: "Cao Ruide, Cao Qingyi... do you still want to resist?"

The roaring in the sky suddenly stopped; Cao Ruide pulled back hurriedly, distancing himself from Qi Zhengyang, and looked down, his gaze icy: "Despicable villain, release my son!"

Cao Qingyi also forced Qi Tianchuan back with a sword strike, flames seemingly igniting in her eyes, her sword tip pointing directly at Hu Yanfeng: "Hu Yanfeng, if you dare to touch a hair on them... one day I will surely flatten your entire Hu family!"

Before the words had faded, both of their figures landed at the same time.

Both sides' forces separated quickly, forming two distinct lines on the ruins—the Killing Intent was biting, and the situation was on the verge of breaking out.

"Hmph, still daring to be arrogant." Hu Yanfeng snorted coldly, and his palm twisted in the void—

the Nascent Soul Power wrapping around Cao Tianxiong suddenly twisted and tightened!

"Ugh, ah—!"

Cao Tianxiong let out a painful roar, his bones creaking, as if he were being gripped in the palm of an invisible giant hand.

The Golden Core power within his body was already in chaos, and he couldn't even move a finger.

"You are courting death—!" Cao Ruide's hair and beard stood on end, and his Spiritual Qi surged explosively.

Qi Zhengyang stepped forward and smiled faintly: "Cao Ruide, if you act rashly... the first to die will be your two sons."

Hu Yanfeng also added: "Don't think about escaping. The Tianyang City teleportation array has long been closed; you... cannot escape even with wings."

Cao Ruide's teeth clicked together, his eye sockets bloodshot.

Cao Qingyi suppressed her anger and said coldly: "What exactly do you want?"