199: Mistake

"The River-Severing Fury Palm!"

Seeing his fellow disciples, with whom he had spent many years, die one after another, Duan Qianqiu was overcome with rage and raised his hands to attack Shen Lian once again.

Bang!

The moment their palms collided, both Shen Lian and Duan Qianqiu retreated several steps.

"Shen Lian, return my brothers' lives!"

Pain and hatred made the Spiritual Qi within Duan Qianqiu boil, and his attacks became increasingly frenzied.

Right now, he had only one thought in his mind.

To crush Shen Lian to pieces.

Shen Lian, however, saw at a glance that his opponent's mind was in chaos. He immediately put away the Phoenix and engaged him empty-handed.

In the span of a moment, they exchanged hundreds of blows; Duan Qianqiu and Shen Lian were evenly matched.

But the state of the two was worlds apart.

One was attacking with frenzied, full force, his eyes filled with monstrous rage.

The other was calm and composed, parrying every move and neutralizing all of his opponent's offensives.

As one waned and the other waxed, the tide of battle had subtly shifted.

Even with the support of an Imperial-grade divine weapon, it could not withstand such insane consumption of Spiritual Qi.

After a hundred moves, the frequency of Duan Qianqiu's attacks was far less than before.

Shen Lian seized the opportunity and decisively launched a counterattack.

"Void Concealment: Breaking Momentum!"

As their palms met again, a trace of blood appeared at the corner of Duan Qianqiu's mouth—a sign of physical and Spiritual Qi exhaustion.

"Void Concealment: Yin and Yang Convergence!"

Seizing this opening, Shen Lian's counterattack was like a landslide, giving his opponent not a sliver of room to breathe.

The Yin and Yang Qi combined hardness with softness, suppressing Duan Qianqiu until he was mentally and physically exhausted. He was already at a disadvantage, forced to rely on instinctual willpower to desperately parry.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you attacking? Where is your arrogance from just now? Where is your madness? As a piece of trash like you, how do you have the face to say you want to avenge your companions? Hahaha!"

These arrogant and provocative words constantly irritated Duan Qianqiu's tense nerves.

"Then I will grant your wish. Die!"

His rage blazed. As Shen Lian's palm approached again, he used a bare-handed locking technique, forcibly grabbing Shen Lian's wrist.

"Hmm?"

Just as Shen Lian's expression turned grave for a moment, Duan Qianqiu raised the power of his spirit-shaking might and flashed a sinister grin at him.

"Qianqiu's Sole Sovereign Palm!"

Exhausting his last remaining strength, Duan Qianqiu struck out with his strongest palm, aiming directly at Shen Lian's face.

"Void Concealment: Neutralizing Momentum."

Boom—

As the palm struck, Void Concealment neutralized seventy percent of the Imperial might's residual force, while simultaneously, the Indestructible Dao Body within Shen Lian activated on its own.

After a massive explosion, both of them retreated 30 feet, stopping simultaneously to prepare for the even more brutal finishing blow.

The two stood still, with only each other in their eyes.

Disregarding his own physical exhaustion, Duan Qianqiu forcibly circulated his Spiritual Qi once more, preparing his next killing move.

Meanwhile, as the heaven and earth root within Shen Lian circulated on its own, the consumed Spiritual Qi had already recovered to its original state.

But he did not move again, his cold eyes also fixed on his opponent.

The air suddenly went quiet; the two motionless figures understood that the next move would determine life and death.

Xu Feifei, who had been closely monitoring the battle, noticed the abnormality. Her thoughts shifted, and she immediately abandoned the plan to board the immortal boat and flee.

"Right now, Shen Lian's attention is entirely on Senior Brother; he shouldn't have noticed my presence. If I take this opportunity to launch a sneak attack from behind, I can definitely kill him on the spot."

Thinking of this, she immediately suppressed her aura and quietly circled to 100 feet behind Shen Lian.

"Shen Lian, I won't let you kill me. I want to live, live better than anyone else. You can't scare me at all!"

"Now, as long as you die, I won't have to live in fear anymore and can be my Island Master in peace."

The madness in her eyes flickered incessantly. As she lightly raised her jade hand, an Imperial-grade Jade Xuanxiao Spear was already aimed at Shen Lian's back.

"As long as I thrust it in, I will be free. No one in the world will be able to bind me anymore, and my past can be easily whitewashed."

"Yes, as long as I thrust it in, once I thrust it in, I will be safe."

Harboring such crazy thoughts, Xu Feifei moved her feet lightly, inching a few steps closer to Shen Lian's back.

At this moment, Shen Lian was fully focused, locking eyes with Duan Qianqiu.

And Duan Qianqiu also happened to see Xu Feifei appear behind Shen Lian at this moment.

"Why is Junior Sister here? I understand; she intends to use this to kill Shen Lian. Since that's the case, I should cooperate with her."

Having made up his mind, Duan Qianqiu moved his feet half a step without changing his expression, his eyes staring fixedly at Shen Lian like a wolf.

Shen Lian's gaze was equally sharp, his eyes completely locked onto his opponent.

"Shen Lian, go to hell!"

Closing in to a distance of 30 feet, Xu Feifei suddenly let out an angry shout, gathering all her Spiritual Qi into the spear tip and thrusting it fiercely toward Shen Lian's heart.

"Immortal Cloud Piercing, Bird in Flight Vanishes."

This ultimate strike, carrying the conviction of a killing blow, was like a shooting star chasing the moon, thrusting fiercely toward Shen Lian's back.

Just as Xu Feifei thought this strike was about to succeed.

"Afterimage Lingering Light."

Shen Lian suddenly spun, dodging the spear tip that was mere inches away, and left an Afterimage in his place.

The Xuanxiao Spear missed its mark, but its momentum remained undiminished, charging straight toward Duan Qianqiu's chest.

Puchi—

"Ah—"

With a squelching sound, blood splattered.

The ultimate strike had actually pierced directly through Duan Qianqiu's chest.

This unexpected scene left Duan Qianqiu, who had been fully focused, with no time to react.

"What, this..."

Coming to her senses, Xu Feifei was instantly terrified. Seeing Duan Qianqiu, whose heart had been pierced by her, she immediately let go of the spear.

"Island Master... Junior Sister... You... why..."

Duan Qianqiu slowly knelt to the ground, a large mouthful of blood gushing from his mouth as he looked at Xu Feifei in disbelief.

"No, Senior Brother, I didn't mean it! I, I just wanted to help you!"

Regret flooded Xu Feifei's mind like a tide. Looking at the dying Duan Qianqiu, she knew she had caused a catastrophic disaster.

Duan Qianqiu glared angrily at Xu Feifei and wanted to say something, but after being pierced by the Xuanxiao, his life force was fading rapidly, leaving him with no strength to speak.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing and collapsed to the ground.

"Senior Brother! Don't die!"

Xu Feifei's desperate cry rang out on the beach.

Just then, Shen Lian's voice rang out lightly from behind: "How touching. Xu Feifei, I really must admire you, you bitch. In order to repent to me, you were actually willing to kill one of the Seven Sages of the Immortal Island. How is it? How does it feel to kill your own fellow disciple?"

"No, it's all you! It's all your fault!"

Xu Feifei, nearly breaking down, accused Shen Lian.

"The one I wanted to kill was you! If you hadn't dodged, my Senior Brother wouldn't have died!"

"Hahaha!"

Shen Lian laughed with extreme arrogance.

"Idiot, I honestly hadn't noticed you preparing a sneak attack from behind until I saw Duan Qianqiu's footsteps shift, which made me suspicious."

"I stared into his eyes, and sure enough, I saw your reflection in his pupils."

"To be honest, he shouldn't have died like this, but since he chose to cooperate with your schemes to ambush me, I naturally gave up the plan of fighting him head-on."

"Actually, even if I hadn't dodged, that spear of yours couldn't have done anything to me. I just wanted you to taste what it's like to suffer the consequences of your own actions. Hahahaha."

Upon hearing this, Xu Feifei was instantly furious: "Shen Lian, I will definitely kill you!"

"Now, with you and that rat who only knows how to use hidden weapons, can you do anything to me?"

Shen Lian paced toward Xu Feifei.

"Speak, how do you intend to die?"