He held a White Bone Staff. The bottom half was made from a leg bone, sharpened to a point, while the top half was wrapped in rings of hand bones.

The hand bones fanned out like a blooming flower, and at the very top, a human skull was embedded.

The skull was stained with blood, causing the entire White Bone Staff to exude a ghastly Yin Qi.

Suddenly, the withered old man looked up and spoke in a harsh, grating voice:

"They’re here."

The moment the words left his mouth, a sharp cry rang out:

"Who dares cause trouble at my Yuqing Pavilion!?"

"Sisters, save our people and slay the demon!"

A series of whooshes cut through the air as two squads of Yuqing Pavilion disciples appeared, twelve in total, charging into the fray.

The two Yuqing Pavilion disciples who had been desperately holding on were finally able to catch their breath.

The sounds of battle immediately intensified.

Both sides unleashed their techniques. For a time, powerful gusts of wind swirled and blood sprayed through the air.

At first, the opposing group was able to hold them off. But as more and more Yuqing Pavilion disciples arrived, they found it increasingly difficult to fend them off, and their casualties mounted.

The old man with the White Bone Staff, who was standing on a boulder, let out a furious roar. He slammed his staff down on the rock, and the immense force instantly shattered it.

He used the momentum to leap into the air, spun his White Bone Staff, and charged directly into the crowd.

Wherever the White Bone Staff passed, the Yuqing Pavilion disciples cried out in agony.

Each hand bone, each finger bone, was like the sharpest of blades. A single sweep across a person’s body left a gash deep enough to reveal bone.

Though the old man was as thin as a skeleton, he possessed boundless strength. He charged about wildly, and no one could stop him.

One Yuqing Pavilion disciple twisted through the air like a butterfly flitting through flowers, circling behind him. She executed the airborne finger strike, Butterfly Lovers, aiming for the vital point on his back.

But while she was still mid-air, the White Bone Staff whipped around, and its sharp tip pierced through her chest.

The old man flicked his wrist, pulling the White Bone Staff from her body, then swung it down with both hands in a wide arc.

With a bloodcurdling scream, another Yuqing Pavilion disciple, unable to dodge in time, was struck dead on the spot by the staff.

The scene was truly gruesome. Flames of fury burned in the eyes of the Yuqing Pavilion disciples.

But the gap in their Martial Arts was too great. They had the will to kill the enemy, but they were powerless to change their fate.

Just as the old man, White Bone Staff in hand, was about to wreak more havoc, a sharp command echoed from mid-air:

"What demon dares to harm the disciples of my Yuqing Pavilion!

"Die!!!"

The old man looked up. The newcomer was none other than Zhai Xing of Yuqing Pavilion.

The temperaments of Picking Stars and Embracing the Moon were polar opposites. Zhai Xing was fierce as fire, while Lan Yue was gentle as water.

Thus, upon seeing the disciples’ signal flare, she had rushed over at top speed. Seeing the Yuqing Pavilion disciples brutally killed by the White Bone Staff from a distance, she had become absolutely enraged.

Her body had yet to arrive, but the wind from her finger strike came first!

The old man looked up to see Zhai Xing in mid-air, her right hand already striking out.

As her finger extended, a powerful wind formed a vortex around its tip.

It burst forth suddenly, and a flash of white light shot straight toward him.

It was Yuqing Pavilion’s ultimate technique, the Three Lights White Jade Finger!

The corner of the old man’s eye twitched beneath his bone mask. He knew dodging was useless, so he poured all his Inner Strength into the White Bone Staff and thrust it forward to meet the attack.

A wailing sound, like the howling of a ghastly wind, emanated from the skull on the White Bone Staff.

Anyone nearby who heard it felt dizzy and nauseous, overcome with the urge to vomit.

Only Zhai Xing was unmoved. Instead, she pushed her Finger Power forward with even greater ferocity.

BANG!!!

With a muffled thud, the Finger Power collided with the White Bone Staff.

For a moment, the two were locked in a stalemate.

The bones in the old man’s body creaked and groaned. Zhai Xing’s face was grim as she relentlessly increased her Finger Power.

A cracking sound came from the White Bone Staff.

The old man’s expression changed drastically. Before he could react, there was a loud CRACK!

Under the pressure of her Finger Power, the skull on the White Bone Staff had shattered into pieces.

The old man let out a stifled grunt, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Zhai Xing roared:

"Die!!!"

Her Finger Power was unstoppable, and the White Bone Staff crumbled inch by inch.

In an instant, her white jade-like finger landed between the old man’s eyebrows.

With a burst of Finger Power, the bone mask exploded, and the old man was sent flying backward.

Zhai Xing was momentarily stunned, but then a thought struck her: ’Something’s wrong.’

’Logically, with the power of my Three Lights White Jade Finger, forget a skull—even a block of stubborn iron should have been pierced through by that strike.’

’But just now, although I heard the sound of bone cracking, that was all.’

Her Finger Power hadn’t completely penetrated the old man’s skull. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

She quickly looked over and, sure enough, saw the old man, who was still flying backward, suddenly flip in mid-air. He landed smoothly, pushed off the ground, and immediately began to flee into the distance.

"Where do you think you’re going!?"

Zhai Xing grew even angrier. ’I couldn’t kill him with one finger, and now the old bastard dares to run?’

But the old man’s movements were bizarre, like a wild beast in the forest. He took a completely unconventional path, and his speed was astonishing.

Zhai Xing gathered her strength to give chase, but the man was already about to disappear from sight.

Just as she was grinding her teeth in frustration, she saw the old man suddenly seem to crash into an invisible wall.

His entire body was thrown backward!

The old man looked up, his face filled with astonishment. He saw a plainly dressed young man walk out from behind a tree, followed by a woman with sharp, piercing eyes.

The young man spoke in a deep voice:

"This road is closed."

When Zhai Xing saw him, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Young Hero Fang!"

The newcomers were, of course, Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei.

They had arrived just moments after Zhai Xing. Seeing that the old man was no match for her, they hadn’t intervened, choosing instead to simply block his escape route.

Fang Shuwen frowned as he looked at the spot between the old man’s eyebrows. It had been struck by Zhai Xing’s finger, and the bone was caved in.

"Your Martial Arts... why do they feel so familiar to me?"