High atop Fenghuang Peak.
Song Yan was cultivating in her luxurious abode.
"──!?"
She felt the killing intent of Nascent Soul.
Her phoenix-like eyes snapped open.
Crimson flames ignited around her shapely body as she shot out of her abode in a streak of scarlet light while her long silver hair danced behind her bubble butt.
In mere moments she arrived at the highest vantage point overlooking the Li Clan settlement.
Floating a mile away, were Patriarch Zhen and four prime elders of the Zhen main clan.
They watched the distant destruction with folded arms and calm expressions.
Song Yan landed lightly beside them.
Her graceful brows wrinkled in fury.
She squeezed her jade-like cheeks until faint pink marks appeared.
"Patriarch Zhen! Why have you and the elders not interfered yet!? That was a full-powered Nascent Soul strike aimed at your own daughter's residence!"
Patriarch Zhen did not turn his head.
Song Yan's robust chest rose and fell quickly.
"Hmph!"
Without waiting for a reply, she stepped forward.
Phoenix flames wrapped around her ankles to swirl tightly as she got ready to involve herself.
『Li Qingmu… you better be fine, reckless fool…』
But before she could launch herself, a strong hand gently yet firmly blocked her path.
Patriarch Zhen's palm rested in the air in front of her.
"Enough, Yan'er. Stop babying that boy."
Song Yan froze, then flicked her lustrous silver hair back with an elegant toss. She crossed her sylph-like arms beneath her generous bosom and lifted her chin in defiance.
"Babying? Li Qingmu belongs to me. If any enemy dares come for him, they'll first have to prove they can afford to offend me."
Her voice was full of pride and class.
Patriarch Zhen finally turned to look at her and shook his head slowly.
"Not this time. If Li Qingmu cannot win this battle with his own strength, then he should stop provoking enemies far above his cultivation realm. A man must bear the weight of his own choices."
Song Yan's phoenix eyes narrowed elegantly.
"And what of your daughter? What if Rou'er is harmed in the crossfire?"
Patriarch Zhen chuckled low in his throat.
"Huo Wuji is not that foolish. If he dared lay a fatal hand on my Rou'er, I would personally remind him why this Zhen Guang remains one of the strongest in the Paragon Court."
Song Yan turned her face away and held her head high as though utterly unfazed.
"Fine. Just don't regret it later."
Yet inside, her thoughts raced like wildfire.
『I must find a way to intervene… that old monster Huo Wuji is half a step into Grandmaster Realm. Li Qingmu has heaven-defying talent, but the patriarch truly doesn't seem to care. There's no way he can bridge that gap alone…』
She took a deep, steadying breath as her flames cooled down and she forced herself to watch.
Back in the outer courtyards of the Li family palace.
Three entire courtyards were reduced to ruins.
Huo Wuji hovered with regal poise.
One was hand clasped behind his back as the other slowly stroked his thin, long beard.
"Perhaps I held back too much."
He gazed down at the wounded woman below.
Su Liyue leaned against a cracked wall as blood dripped from multiple gashes. Yet she still stood protectively in front of Zhen Rou as she trembled in pains.
Neither of them had bowed to Huo Wuji.
The man chuckled coldly.
"Ahh, charming. It seems you possess a Nascent Soul level defensive treasure hidden on your person. No wonder you survived my palm."
Su Liyue lifted her blood-stained face.
She nodded once, weakly.
"It's… the one Batian gave me years ago."
She turned her pale face toward Huo Batian, who floated nearby looking as though his heart had been crushed beneath a mountain.
"Now is probably… the time to say thank you. Since I'll likely die here anyway."
She coughed up blood.
Huo Batian's face twisted in guilt.
His lips parted.
Maybe to apologize or beg forgiveness… but Huo Wuji shot him a stern, warning side-eye.
The unspoken command was clear:
Do not disgrace us further!
Huo Batian clenched his fists until his knuckles popped then slowly looked away.
Su Liyue saw this and smiled gently.
"Don't feel guilty, Grand Elder Huo."
She coughed painfully.
"I don't deserve your sympathy… not after all the times I used you."
She wiped fresh blood from her lips with the back of a trembling hand.
"Who would have thought… a failure of a master like Huo Wuji could really raise a brilliant disciple with even a shred of humanity."
Huo Wuji's eyes flashed with fury.
Flames condensed in his palm and twisted into a burning chain that crackled.
"An insolent brat would dare speak!?"
The chain lashed out like a serpent and wrapped tightly around Su Liyue's slender neck.
"Sssss—!"
Su Liyue choked as she desperately grabbed the searing links with both hands. Blisters instantly formed on her fair skin as she was yanked forward and forced to her knees.
"Senior Sister Su!!"
Zhen Rou screamed, tears streaming down her small face as she tried to rush forward.
Su Liyue gritted her teeth, veins bulging on her forehead as she strained against the chains.
"Stay… back, Rou'er…!"
The burning links sizzled against her throat, filling the air with the scent of scorched flesh.
Huo Wuji gave the chain a casual tug, slamming her face-first into the cracked stone.
"Batian, kill this dog. End this farce."
Huo Batian involuntarily floated backward a step.
"Master… I'm not sure I can…"
Huo Wuji's face soured in open disappointment.
"Pathetic. Then I will do it myself!"
He raised his free hand for golden solar flames form into a blazing sun above his palm.
But in that exact instant—
BOOOOOOM!!!
The earth shattered.
A towering, four-armed Asura idol wreathed in raging red flames appeared out of thin air.
With a fist larger than a house, smashed downward with apocalyptic force.
The shockwave alone exploded outward like a tidal wave of destruction to shatter Huo Wuji's flaming chain and blast every single Core Formation expert tumbling through the sky like fallen leaves.
"What is that?!"
"A dharma idol!? But whose?!"
"It appeared out of nowhere!"
"Look at those four arms—ferocious! Far stronger than Li Qingmu's usual Asura!"
"No, no—this murderous aura…"
It was on a different level entirely!
Even from their distant platform, Song Yan's slanted eyes widened slightly, while Patriarch Zhen's brows finally lifted in genuine interest.
Huo Wuji snarled as he waved a sleeve to disperse the swirling dust and smoke.
"Which coward dares ambush this ancestor?!"
The haze cleared.
Li Qingmu stood calmly in the center of the crater.
In his left arm he cradled his worried Zhen Rou.
In his right he gently supported the badly wounded Su Liyue against his chest.
Zhen Rou's small hands clutched his robe.
"Husband! You shouldn't be here! It's too—!"
Li Qingmu lowered his head and gently knocked his forehead against hers.
"Stubborn wife. You beg me to stay out of trouble then do the exact same thing after."
Zhen Rou rubbed her forehead with both tiny hands as her cheeks puffed out stubbornly.
"…Sorry…"
He turned to Su Liyue as his voice softened.
"Are you alright?"
She coughed another mouthful of blood, yet managed a weak smile.
"At least… I'm not dead yet."
Li Qingmu smiled. He leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to her soot-streaked forehead.
"You'll be fine. I promise."
Su Liyue's eyes widened.
A deep blush spread across her pale cheeks.
From afar, Patriarch Zhen grunted loudly.
"Lecherous son-in-law!"
Still nestled in Li Qingmu's other arm, Zhen Rou slapped his chest with harmless little fists.
"Me too! I want a kiss!"
Li Qingmu chuckled and pecked her soft cheek.
Zhen Rou's pout instantly melted into a sweet smile.
"Sweet~♥"
Huo Wuji's face turned purple with rage.
Huo Batian stared silently at Su Liyue.
The way her eyes shone with deep, helpless love as she gazed up at Li Qingmu.
『She never once looked at me like that.』
His love was always fighting a losing battle.
Huo Wuji roared and shook the heavens.
"You woman-stealing dog! Adulterous scum!"
He pointed at them.
"I will burn you and that whore to ashes!"
Li Qingmu carefully set both women down behind him then rose to his full height.
His cold-looking eyes narrowed.
"Old thing. Today, I will teach you what happens when you disrespect my women."
Su Liyue's heart stuttered.
『…My woman? He… he really said that?』
She pressed a hand to her racing chest as her face burned even redder.
『How can this senior sister… blush like a little girl over a junior's words?』
Blackish-red flames erupted around Li Qingmu as the Asura Annihilation Sword manifested in his grip.
It let out a heaven-shaking hum.
The entire Li Clan settlement trembled.
Even the distant peaks seemed to bow under the sword's murderous intent.
Huo Wuji's pupils shrank at the terrifying pressure.
But he quickly masked it with arrogant laughter.
"Merely a sword treasure! This ancestor stands at the peak of Nascent Soul, half-step Grandmaster! Behold my supreme defensive art—Eternal Blaze Domain!"
Blazing golden flames exploded outward and formed an unbreakable sphere of fire around him.
Li Qingmu stroked his chin thoughtfully.
『That move should do it.』
He raised the Asura Annihilation Sword high.
"Tyrant Sword Art! Annihilation Flash!"
At the same moment.
Huo Wuji's aura surged violently as his Eternal Blaze Domain reached its dazzling peak.
He opened his mouth and laughed.
"This technique is the ultimate form of defense I have spent years cultivating in order to—!"
His tongue hooked in his mouth.
"Huh?"
A crimson flash.
That was all anyone saw.
The tip of the Asura Annihilation Sword stopped mere inches from Huo Wuji's frozen face.
Huo Wuji's mind reeled.
『That speed… I didn't even see it. This makes no sense. My body… still hasn't reacted.』
He broke into a cold sweat.
『I'm still staring at where he was standing…』
The next instant.
A violently rotating beam of crimson tyrant energy erupted like a bloody shooting star.
RUMBLEEEE!!
It tore across the horizon as it sheared the tops off every major peak in the sect and carved a bottomless ravine through mountains and sky alike that left a permanent scar of destruction visible for thousands of li.
The apocalyptic light died out.
Dust rose to the wounded sky.
Only Huo Wuji's lower body remained as blood sprayed from the cleanly severed waist.
The upper half was simply gone.
Dead silence blanketed the entire sect.
Every watching disciple and elder stood frozen.
Song Yan delicately cleared her throat as her cheeks turned a charming color of red.
『That was oddly… attractive…』
Patriarch Zhen's jaw hung open.
"HAAAAAAHHHHH!?"
He looked utterly dumbstruck.
An early Core Formation cultivator…
Had erased a half-step Grandmaster…
In a single strike.