Mei Siguniang retreated uncontrollably. The handsome young man who had been fawning over her and standing beside her had already scrambled to the side in fright, daring not to obstruct Xu Mu's line of sight, lest he be caught in the crossfire.
Those who had been watching and mocking also quickly avoided Xu Mu's gaze, voluntarily retreating further. Even some accompanying elders from major sects took half a step back.
Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu had instantly killed five third-stage royal guards, even silencing the fourth-ranked disciple of Plum Blossom Valley, who had made it onto the Xuan Ranking. A genius of this caliber would shine like the sun anywhere.
The woman gazed at Xu Mu, a captivating fragrance emanating from the petals between her brows, filling the air and causing all who inhaled it to become lost in a hazy, rosy trance.
"You may be very strong, a rare genius indeed, but Prince Zhou Yuan is still beyond your reach."
Upon smelling the floral scent, her body felt filled with energy, and the female disciple from Plum Blossom Valley gained renewed confidence. She calmed down and said to Xu Mu with a serious expression.
Xu Mu remained expressionless. A gale whipped up around him, carrying the solemn and killing aura of the Great Dao of Death. Scarlet malevolent energy clashed with the floral fragrance in the air, as if a storm were sweeping through a flower garden, instantly annihilating the scent.
Sensing Xu Mu's imposing power, the female disciple from Plum Blossom Valley turned pale again. The flower petals between her brows flickered incessantly, as if a powerful energy were accumulating within, yet failing to erupt.
Xu Mu stood his ground, watching her quietly until the light between her brows faded.
Mei Siguniang's lips were pale. In the end, she chose not to act, knowing she had no chance of winning. Xu Mu's strength might have surpassed even the strongest among the twelve members of Plum Blossom Valley!
"If you don't dare to act, then don't speak such nonsense, saying I'm not worthy of comparing myself to anyone."
Xu Mu spoke as he walked past Mei Siguniang.
The others in the vicinity remained silent, no one having anticipated things would unfold this way. The might of Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu had far exceeded everyone's expectations.
"Mei Siguniang, don't take it too hard," the handsome young swordsman said, approaching the woman. He looked back at Xu Mu's receding figure with apprehension, remarking meaningfully, "With their strength, their backing must be considerable. It's a pity they've offended the wrong person!"
"His Highness the Seventh Prince is not far ahead. This brat won't be arrogant for much longer!"
Mei Siguniang nodded slightly at this. She stared intently at the backs of Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu, her eyes burning with indignation.
She wanted to see how Xu Mu would continue to be arrogant when facing a true prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the powerful guards by his side.
"Wait, why did they turn?"
At this moment, someone exclaimed in astonishment.
The female disciple from Plum Blossom Valley paused, then quickly regained her senses. She gazed at the final stretch of the clear mountain path ahead. Beyond this point lay the deepest part of the Sword Pavilion, where the Seventh Prince resided, along with Nalan Mucuo and the newly forged nine Immortal Swords.
Yet, Xu Mu had veered off course.
The path he had taken was one of the most peculiar mountain roads in the Sword Pavilion. It was devoid of any swords along its route, leading only to a teleportation array at its end.
"Teleportation array..." Mei Siguniang murmured the words, and then suddenly understood. She smiled mockingly at Xu Mu from afar, "I thought you were some hero who dared to kill the Seventh Prince's guards, but you don't dare face him yourself and want to escape via the teleportation array?"
Xu Mu frowned upon hearing this.
He had actually wanted to ignore the woman all along. With Plum Blossom Valley behind her, it was possible one of her elders was lurking in the crowd, waiting for him to make a move so they could apprehend him on legitimate grounds.
He dared to attack the Seventh Prince's guards because, in Taocheng, he had seen the prince's reliance – the fourth-stage lord named An. He believed that even if he and Zuo Mingqiu were outmatched, they wouldn't be killed by that person. Thus, when the guards provoked him, he killed the five of them. Beyond that, he didn't want to provoke anyone else.
But this woman was pushing her luck.
Zuo Mingqiu sensed the displeasure on Xu Mu's brow and immediately understood his thoughts. He promptly stopped.
"Take this one move. If you survive, I'll let you go."
As Zuo Mingqiu spoke, his hand movements were rapid as he formed seals. The Bagua disk rotated, encompassing all things, finally settling on the Li Fire hexagram.
The seals stopped, and the Li Fire stabilized. The temperature in the space suddenly soared, as if the very air were igniting, turning a fiery red.
"Not good, Mei Siguniang, retreat quickly!"
A young man yelled in alarm and quickly rolled to the side to dodge. Others did the same. Despite being surrounded and warned, Mei Siguniang remained rooted to the spot.
She looked at Zuo Mingqiu, her teeth clenched, her hands gripping two clusters of petals, exuding a terrifying aura. She was clearly preparing for a fierce battle with Zuo Mingqiu.
Mei Siguniang's reasoning was simple: as a disciple of Plum Blossom Valley, she possessed its pride. Her pride would not allow her to retreat a second time.
But this choice would make her regret it for the rest of her life.
In an instant, the fifty-meter radius centered on Zuo Mingqiu became a sea of fire. Purple fire elemental energy transformed into streaks of flame that soared and roared through the sky. Trees, plants, and rocks along the way were instantly reduced to ashes.
"Come on!"
Mei Siguniang roared, and the six flower petals between her brows exploded completely.
"Boom!"
Wind elemental energy swirled around the ethereal petals, forming a fierce plum blossom hurricane that continuously expanded outwards around her.
The plum blossoms were cold, and the hurricane was fierce. Together, they could easily shred meteoric iron.
But they could not shred intense fire.
The wind only made the fire burn more fiercely.
Thus, after the sea of fire and the hurricane clashed and stalemated for three seconds, the plum blossom petals hidden within the fierce hurricane ignited.
Zuo Mingqiu's expression was calm as he slowly closed his palms. The sea of fire began to shrink, and the hurricane weakened in size, but the flames burned ever more intensely, trapping Mei Siguniang within. Her teeth clenched tightly as she used all her strength to break free. Despite unleashing numerous abilities, she couldn't escape the fiery cage. The space grew smaller and smaller, threatening to engulf her.
"Damn it!"
The female disciple from Plum Blossom Valley turned deathly pale. Her clothes began to burn. The peculiar foreign fire could not be extinguished and was freely scorching her tender white skin.
"——Ah!"
A pained scream emanated from within the cocoon of fire.
"This is bad!"
Upon hearing the scream, the surrounding cultivators couldn't help but turn their heads away.
The outcome was now clear: Mei Siguniang was no match for the black-hatted man. Trapped within the fire cocoon and unable to break free, without external assistance, she would soon turn to ash!
"Esteemed Daoist, please show mercy. Mei Siguniang has not offended you; there's no need to create more bloodshed!"
The handsome swordsman, named Jiao Lan, was now looking at Zuo Mingqiu with great anxiety, attempting to plead for Mei Siguniang.
Jiao Lan was frantic. He had spent all his fortune and resources, pouring countless financial and material assets into Mei Siguniang, just to establish some connection with Plum Blossom Valley.
Originally, Jiao Lan had planned to use this trip to the Sword Pavilion as an opportunity to deepen his relationship with Mei Siguniang, and then completely attach himself to Plum Blossom Valley, becoming a dominating force in the martial world.
But Zuo Mingqiu's appearance had shattered all his plans. He showed no mercy, controlling the flames to form a large hand that fiercely grasped the cluster of plum blossoms, denying them any chance of escape.
Seeing this, Jiao Lan could no longer restrain himself. If Mei Siguniang died, all his previous efforts and money would be in vain. He drew his sword, shouted, and charged at Zuo Mingqiu, a sword qi imbued with a frosty chill whistling out.
"Release Miss Mei!"
"You're courting death!" Xu Mu's brows furrowed. He raised his hand, and a terrifying pillar of flame erupted from his sleeve, instantly dissolving Jiao Lan's sword qi and then rushing towards his body.
Jiao Lan's pupils contracted. He quickly stopped in mid-air and then summoned a round shield imprinted with a snow mountain illusion. He leaned his full strength onto his right shoulder.
The erupting pillar of flame struck the shield. Lava splattered, and the snow mountain melted. The terrifying impact pushed him back dozens of steps, nearly sending him tumbling down the mountain from the boardwalk.
In one strike, Jiao Lan's magical artifact, the snow mountain round shield, was almost destroyed. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He stood with difficulty in the middle of the mountain path, staring at Xu Mu in sheer terror, his courage to attack completely gone.
Just as everyone thought Mei Siguniang was about to be burned to ashes by Zuo Mingqiu, a fierce hurricane suddenly swept through the space. Brilliant plum blossoms condensed into a grand formation, engulfing both Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu, and then instantly contracting.
"You dare!"
A woman in white, treading on plum blossoms, arrived, shouting. She was the strongest contemporary person in Plum Blossom Valley, ranked seventh on the Xuan Ranking. Unlike Mei Si, her plum blossoms could envelop the hurricane, not be mixed within it.
Therefore, even though Xu Mu immediately conjured a flame dragon and rushed out, he could not destroy the hurricane. Instead, he was swallowed by the plum blossom hurricane formation, which formed its own world. As plum blossoms filled the sky, condensing into a single mass like a hole in the ocean, an endless stream of them disregarded the flames and poured towards Zuo Mingqiu and the fire cocoon.
Zuo Mingqiu's brows furrowed. He casually manipulated the Bagua array disk, and two stone dragons rose from the ground to protect him. However, at the same time, his fire cocoon was destroyed by the woman's plum blossoms. A cluster of plum blossoms wrapped around her body and flung her out.
"Mei Siguniang!"
Seeing this, Jiao Lan cried out in pleasant surprise and rushed forward to catch her.
"Did I give you permission to act!"
Zuo Mingqiu was somewhat angered. Dark golden Dao source attached itself to his body, and terrifying flames surged upwards like spewing lava. Combined with the Li Fire and the hurricane, it instantly erupted with earth-shattering might, blasting a huge hole in the plum blossom hurricane created by the woman in white.
"Bang!"
The woman in white's expression grew grave. She retreated, waving her sleeve and creating ten layers of petal barriers to successively weaken the explosion's impact. Zuo Mingqiu tore through the barriers with his hands and attacked the woman like a ferocious beast, forcing her to retreat further and further. After more than thirty paces, her face turned pale, and she unleashed her power. The plum blossom between her brows shone with a terrifying illusion.
The phantom of a plum tree, blooming proudly on a snow-capped mountain peak, appeared behind her. Its branches were lush and its essence flowed like gold, resembling an immortal wood.
"Immortal Burial Plum Art!"
As the woman shouted, the plum tree standing proudly on the snow-capped peak suddenly swayed. The snow mountain bathed in sunlight began to tremble, and a terrifying, apocalyptic avalanche was triggered, roaring down towards the ground, as if capable of burying the entire world.
Upon closer inspection, the snowflakes that formed the endless avalanche were actually shaped like plum blossoms.
The onlookers fled hundreds of meters away from the battlefield in shock. This woman's Immortal Burial Plum Art was a cultivation method that only the past valley masters of Plum Blossom Valley were qualified to practice.
"It is said that Fairy Mei San has unparalleled talent. She was taken as a personal disciple by the Valley Master upon entering the valley, and ranked seventh on the Xuan Ranking upon entering the world. I never expected her to have learned the Immortal Burial Plum Art. Could it be that the next Valley Master of Plum Blossom Valley has already been decided to be her!" a fourth-stage elder said, gazing at the roaring avalanche with trepidation.
This monstrous avalanche, with each snowflake containing the origin of the Plum Blossom Immortal Art, combined to form a force as vast as the ocean. Even he would find it difficult to deal with, let alone the younger generation.
"The strength of Fairy Mei San is definitely more than seventh on the Xuan Ranking!" the elder thought for a moment, then sighed involuntarily.
"Let's see how you handle this!" Jiao Lan said with a ferocious smile as the avalanche descended. Others might not know, but due to his relationship with Mei Siguniang, he was aware that Fairy Mei San had been getting very close to the royal family recently, seemingly on the verge of marrying Zhou Yuan.
And her strength was much greater than what was publicly known. The Valley Master of Plum Blossom Valley had even gone so far as to directly impart her the fundamental cultivation method. In terms of killing power alone, Mei San could threaten ordinary fourth-stage lords. He did not believe Zuo Mingqiu could withstand it!
All the previous thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
In that instant, Zuo Mingqiu could do many things.
First, he clearly saw the appearance of the woman descending from the sky: white clothes as pure as snow, clean and noble brows, superior and arrogant features, truly like a cold plum blossom blooming in winter. The petals between her brows exuded an unyielding will.
Then, he glanced back at Xu Mu, signaling him not to act, and that he would handle it himself.
At this moment, the avalanche had reached the mountainside.
Zuo Mingqiu spun the Innate Bagua array disk. Spring, summer, autumn, winter, wind, rain, thunder, lightning – all things in the world, countless series of combinations flashed by. Finally, it suddenly locked in place, and a towering golden mountain bathed in sunlight appeared behind Zuo Mingqiu.
By now, the avalanche had reached the foot of the mountain and was about to engulf him.
Thus, Zuo Mingqiu pushed his hands forward.
On the summit of the golden mountain, the fruit tree bathed in sunlight swayed, and the entire mountain began to shake. Boundless golden sand cascaded down, reflecting its dazzling golden light onto the entire world.
Then, the avalanche and the golden sand collided.
Each grain of golden sand was as hot as the sun, and each piece of plum blossom snow was as cold as frost from the deepest hell.
The two collided.
Hundreds of millions of cold plums bloomed, and hundreds of millions of golden sands exploded like the sun. As they collided, the entire illusory world was torn apart.
The snow mountain and the golden mountain shattered simultaneously.
Both trees withered.
The terrifying impact and explosion were contained within their respective illusory worlds, but some residual power still leaked out. Consequently, everything within a hundred-meter radius instantly turned into nothingness. Zuo Mingqiu and Mei San both spat out a mouthful of blood and were sent flying backward.
"Bang!"
Mei San crashed into a pile of rubble in the Sword Pavilion, embedding herself in the mountain peak with a loud noise.
Zuo Mingqiu slid backward for over twenty meters before hovering in the air, expressionlessly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Mei San was on the ground.
Zuo Mingqiu was in the air.
...