Chapter 289 - 116: Transaction, Strike While the Iron is Hot, How Thoughtful of You

BOOM!

An earth-shattering rumble echoed as dust and smoke billowed. A mountain collapsed with a deafening crash, sending boulders flying through the air, showering down in all directions.

The scene before them descended into utter chaos.

The attacking Blood Phoenix and Fierce Bird were shattered by the Great Seal in a mere instant, exploding into a shower of Rune fragments that filled the sky.

As for Song Youwei, her graceful figure was sent flying backward as she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her face was instantly covered in crimson, and her vision blurred.

She crashed against a cliff face. That single blow had broken an unknown number of her ribs. If not for her formidable constitution, anyone else would have exploded from the shockwave alone.

’Someone half a step into the Eighth Realm is truly terrifying. He wasn’t even using his full strength, yet he possesses such horrifying power...’

Song Youwei struggled to her feet, but her body swayed, and she nearly collapsed again.

Duke Wei stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down on her from mid-air. His voice was hoarse and chillingly soft. "Little girl, this one has spared you many times on this journey. Be sensible and open your Sea of Consciousness."

After witnessing those people self-destruct in Yangchun City, he understood that there must be a Restriction in their Seas of Consciousness that would detonate upon any attempt to probe it.

However, as someone half a step into the Tribulation Bridge Realm, he had his own methods to circumvent it.

That was why he hadn’t tried to kill her. Instead, he had tormented her along the way, intending to drive Song Youwei to despair until she surrendered willingly.

As his words fell, Duke Wei brought one hand from behind his back and reached forward. The Void rumbled as surging golden light flashed. The Heaven and Earth Void Qi condensed, forming a giant hand that shot toward Song Youwei.

Song Youwei’s expression changed. She could clearly feel the world around her being sealed; no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free.

’Do I really have to use that thing here...?’

Beneath her sleeve, her delicate hand tightly clutched an ancient, unadorned talisman. It shimmered with a chaotic substance as the two energies of yin and yang flowed within, like life and death alternating.

This item was called a Death Replacement Ancient Talisman. It was incredibly precious, something she had once obtained from the grotto-abode of some ancient ruins.

As its name implied, it could take the place of its owner in death at a critical moment. It was a life-saving Secret Treasure refined by a great sect in ancient times specifically for their successors.

"Jiang Lan..."

Song Youwei felt that Jiang Lan had definitely set her up. He had warned her, but his warning had been far from enough.

If she had known this old eunuch was half a step into the Eighth Realm, she never would have so rashly and easily agreed to his request.

But just as Song Youwei was about to crush the Death Replacement Ancient Talisman to find a chance to escape...

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH...

The Void not far away suddenly began to tremble and hum violently.

Stream after stream of sharp Sword Qi tore through the sky, whistling as they arrived. They soon swept over the area like a deluge, so bone-chillingly cold that it felt as if one’s skin would split open.

"Who is it?"

Duke Wei reacted instantly. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he immediately abandoned his attack on Song Youwei.

He slapped out with his large hand, and a terrifying, wave-like aura rolled back to block the overwhelming tide of Sword Qi.

However, his expression quickly changed. He had no choice but to vanish from his spot to dodge a brilliant beam of sword light mixed in with the Sword Qi.

It was an Ancient Sword covered in rust, spewing Sword Qi. It didn’t look sharp, but it contained a terrifying, heart-stopping aura that seemed capable of slicing through the Void itself.

As the Ancient Sword whistled through the air, the rocks along its path exploded, pulverized into fine dust by the rampaging Sword Qi.

Duke Wei retracted his palm and stood still, his expression turning grim.

From beneath his wide robes, a Blood-red Short Spear appeared, barely six inches long and enveloped in a radiant glow.

He immediately sent it flying. Vein-like patterns flickered and interwove across its surface as it shot out like a streak of red silk to counter the attack.

But the next moment, with a sharp CRACK, the Blood-red Short Spear was easily sliced in two by the Ancient Sword upon impact, and the broken pieces fell to the ground.

The cut was perfectly smooth and flat, and the patterns contained within the spear had been completely obliterated.

"Who are you?"

Duke Wei’s face was cold and grim. He watched as the Ancient Sword was retracted, his gaze falling upon a slender figure wearing a Bronze Mask, who now stood among the trees.

While he had been attacking Song Youwei, that figure had appeared out of nowhere and launched a sneak attack.

If he hadn’t reacted so quickly, he might have even suffered a minor injury.

Moreover, there was something strange about that Ancient Sword. It looked ordinary, yet it could pierce the Heaven and Earth Void Qi around his body. It could not be treated as a common Magical Artifact.

"You injure my person for no reason, and you still ask who I am?"

The figure in the Bronze Mask just chuckled lightly. Their voice was vague and ethereal, making it impossible for even Duke Wei to tell if they were male or female.

Their figure flickered from the forest like a floating mote of light, reappearing in the next instant beside Song Youwei.

Song Youwei pressed her pale lips together, silently putting away the Death Replacement Ancient Talisman. She then took out a bottle of Elixir Pills, tipped a few out, and swallowed them whole.

’At least he has some conscience, not abandoning me here...’

"Who exactly are you?"

Duke Wei’s eyes narrowed. He couldn’t discern this person’s strength; they seemed to have no profound cultivation, yet they could appear here silently without him noticing.

"Who I am isn’t important. What is important is why Eunuch Wei isn’t guarding the Imperial Mausoleum, but is instead lingering here in Yangchun City."

"Now that is rather intriguing. Could it be that Yangchun City is hiding some kind of secret?"