Chapter 1051 - 285: Snow Ridge’s Lone Swan, Sorrowful Sword Shadows; Nine Netherworld Fiends Stain Frosted Blade

Guo Xiangyu seized the chance to move forward swiftly, her left hand displaying the "Soul Capturing Hand" from the Nine Yin Scripture. Her fingertips emitted a faint bluish glow, aiming directly at the veins on the black shadow’s wrist. This move contained hallucinatory effects; even before her fingers reached him, the black shadow already felt illusions blooming before his eyes.

The black shadow was in shock and anger, abandoning his saber to strike with his palm. His palm emitted a strange purple-black hue, which was the secret "Red Sand Palm" passed down in the Western Regions.

This palm force was fierce and domineering, coupled with potent poison; wherever the palm wind reached, the ground instantly turned charred black.

The two palms collided, the muffled sound like thunder. Guo Xiangyu was pushed back three steps, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. Yet, in that instant of retreat, she swept her bamboo saber horizontally, executing the lethal "Heaven and Earth Lifelong" move from the Hundred Victories Qimen Sancai Saber!

This move combined the soft force of the Nine Yin Scripture with the strange and unpredictable Hundred Victories Saber Technique. The arc drawn by the bamboo saber carried a fierce gale, and where the saber light passed, the air emitted a piercing explosive sound.

The black shadow raised his arms to block hastily, only to hear a crisp "snap." The arms trained to be as hard as iron by the Red Sand Palm were severed cleanly! A column of blood shot skyward, and Guo Xiangyu tapped the ground lightly with her feet, her bamboo saber like a shooting star piercing the sun, aiming straight at the black shadow’s throat with the essence of the "Heart Crushing Saber Technique" from the Nine Yin Scripture.

In the muffled sound of the saber cutting into flesh, the black shadow’s eyes widened, letting out strange gasps from his throat before his whole body fell heavily onto the snow, twitching a few times before ceasing to breathe. Blood meandered down the slopes, dyeing the large stretch of snow into a ghastly dark red.

Guo Xiangyu sheathed her bamboo saber and retrieved the Lesser Returning Pill, Great Returning Pill, Soul Gathering Pill, Heart-Protecting Pill, and Soul Reviving Pill given to her by Shi Feiyang, using the Qiankun Holy Water of the Divine Water Palace to aid in taking these pills.

She then sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and began circulating her energy to heal her wounds.

Faced with Shi Feiyang’s enigmatic "Deep Concealment of Body and Name" lightweight technique, Lu Wen Tripod shouted aloud, "What a cunning rabbit with three nests!"

The sword momentum suddenly changed, employing the forbidden move "Ice Soul Cold Pool" of the Celestial Mountain Sect.

In an instant, the temperature within ten zhang dropped sharply, frost forming into icicles on the sword, freezing the accumulated snow into ice walls as it passed, even the jade bracelet on Guo Xiangyu’s wrist bore intricate ice patterns.

Shi Feiyang’s pupils constricted, his whole body surging with True Qi like boiling water, the cloak billowing as he joined his fingers like a sword, unleashing the Shaolin’s Flower-Picking Finger mastery. As his fingertips pierced through the air, a piercing boom erupted, tearing a gap in the swarm of sword shadows.

Lu Wen Tripod’s sword tip barely reached Shi Feiyang’s face, but it was firmly pinched by two fingers emitting golden True Qi.

"Crack!" The cold gleam abruptly extinguished as Lu Wen Tripod exerted strength to withdraw the sword, yet the blade remained motionless, only feeling a vast and powerful Inner Strength counterattacking along the sword edge.

Seeing the Shaolin True Qi swirling around Shi Feiyang’s fingertips, Lu Wen Tripod’s face turned ashen, "It’s...it’s actually Shaolin mastery! I, Lu Wen Tripod, the Celestial Sword of Tianshan, am defeated today..."

Shi Feiyang suddenly released his hold and stepped back, clasping his hands and speaking in a deep voice, "Elder Lu, wait! I am the Grand Squad Leader of the Heroic Sakura Association, Shi Feiyang, and have no ties with the Nine Flags Gang. The ones slain earlier were the villains forcibly occupying the deer grounds, by no means your disciples. If Elder trusts me, our Heroic Sakura Association is willing to aid you in asserting justice!"

Before the words even finished, the distant and intermittent whistles from the Nine Flags Gang reached their ears, countless torches flickering like ghostly fires in the dark.

Lu Wen Tripod laughed skyward, his laughter desolate like a tearing cloth, "Fine! Today I’ll trust you once! But if there is even half a deceitful word..."

Before finishing, he twirled his sword to form a sword flower, advancing toward the approaching mob of the Nine Flags Gang.

The path of the sword was littered with flying blood and snowflakes, severed limbs mixed with ice shards scattered in all directions, painting a gruesome Asura Painting under the moonlight.

The northerly wind wailed, sweeping fine ice crystals across the summit of Helan Mountain, yet as it touched the two embracing figures, it transformed silently into a tender caress.

Shi Feiyang’s dark cloak fluttered audibly, akin to the most vigorous strokes in an ink-washed landscape painting, then he knelt on one knee, pressing his palm against Guo Xiangyu’s blood-stained back. As he activated the Bright Jade Technique, a gentle jade-colored glow enveloped him.

Guo Xiangyu’s hairpin with red plum flowers had tilted askew, only accentuating her pale cheeks like plum blossoms enduring frost, eliciting tender compassion.

"Xiangyu, do not be afraid, I’m here." Shi Feiyang’s voice was low and resolute, the warmth from his palm slowly traversed Guo Xiangyu’s meridians, dissipating the intense pain surging within her body.

He cast his gaze downward at the trembling shoulders of the person in his arms, eyes filled with affection, his fingertips unconsciously caressing her slender back, seeming to infuse all gentleness into this subtle motion.

At this moment, Helan Peak suddenly erupted with sharp calls as several dozen black shadows came slashing through the wind.

Shi Feiyang appeared oblivious, gently wiping away the blood from Guo Xiangyu’s lips, the gesture as tender as if touching a rare treasure.

Moonlight glinted off the strangers’ grim weapons, resembling the sharp fangs of evil spirits, encircling them like trapped beasts in a cage.

"Celestial Sword" Lu Wen Tripod’s white hair fluttered as he held his long sword horizontally against his chest, the copper bell on the hilt ringing crisply. He cast a wary glance at Shi Feiyang, seeing the youth concentrate on healing the woman in his arms, exuding an aura of reassuring calmness.

Suddenly akin to the howl of wolves, nine loud whistles echoed from below, a breach swiftly forming in the encircling crowd, splitting apart like a tide.

The Nine-Colored Banner fluttered forth, crimson like fire and black as ink, each adorned with a fierce Taotie design.

The flag bearer’s steps aligned with the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, and where they passed, the accumulated snow froze into sharp spikes, the icy air looming towards everyone’s face.

"Welcome, Gang Leader!" The sound surged like mountains and seas. An elderly man with a bristly beard strode forward under the blood-stained banners, with a Nine-Section Steel Whip coiled with dark red cloth around his waist, and with each step, blackened footprints were left on the ground.

Shi Feiyang finally rose slowly, holding Guo Xiangyu securely in his arms. His palm was warm, ironing out her waist through the thin fabric, a deep voice whispered past her ear, "Hold on tight, my Xiangyu."