[Thirty meters. Twenty. Fifteen.]

Ye Yu watched Zhu Cangwen draw closer, saying nothing.

He knew it well: facing a woman this viciously intolerant of evil, any words were useless.

If so, better to save his strength—for a fight to the death.

Closer. Closer still. If she came just a little nearer, Ye Yu might have a crack to break the stalemate.

But Zhu Cangwen suddenly halted, her gaze cold on Ye Yu.

“There’s no fear in your eyes. Do you have some heavy treasure on you—is that why you’re so sure of yourself?”

“Heh. Leaning on externals will never make a true powerhouse.”

“Whatever you’ve obtained, it’s destined not to stop this sword of mine.”

Zhu Cangwen tightened her grip on the divine sword.

A tyrannical aura detonated.

Space around Ye Yu warped; the divine power in his body refused to answer his call.

That genuinely surprised him.

What god-art was Zhu Cangwen using? It was strikingly similar to his Equality of All Beings.

The only difference: she severed divine power purely by using sword intent to suppress—overwhelming the low with the high.

Against lower realms, that might work again and again.

Against higher-realm gods, the failure rate would soar.

In short, it was certainly less exquisite than Equality of All Beings.

But arguing the point now meant nothing.

Even with his yokai body tempered by demon-god arts, fully blocking a peak strike from an Ancient Deity-realm powerhouse was wishful thinking.

A three-great-realm gap could grind away anything.

If Zhu Cangwen brought that sword down, he would shatter on the spot.

What to do?

Ye Yu’s thoughts raced—Zhu Cangwen’s sword was even faster than he’d expected.

[ding]

A crisp, piercing note rang. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Then a terrifying shockwave blasted out, driving Ye Yu backward at speed.

The force was so great it shattered the sea of phantom sword auras overhead.

Ye Yu looked forward again—and a familiar figure stood there.

Heng Xuanzhen had condensed a divine sword from sword intent and stopped Zhu Cangwen’s strike.

A breeze lifted her side locks; from behind, the sword goddess was ruinously handsome.

Only now did Ye Yu fully understand what it meant to “cut down men and women alike.”

Heng Xuanzhen was that kind of existence—

her life defined by one word: stunning.

“Master-aunt... y-you’re alive?”

Heng Xuanzhen’s voice trembled.

Zhu Cangwen’s face stayed ice-cold. “When I sensed Ancient Sword Gorge being rebuilt, I knew at once—you were still alive.”

“After all, back then, you were the only one in the Alliance who wasn’t present.”

“To be honest, I’m glad you’re alive. But that you blocked my sword for a vile yokai god—I’m furious.”

Heng Xuanzhen glanced back at Ye Yu, then hurriedly said, “Master-aunt, you must not kill him. Without him, I could never have seen Master and junior sister again. Look—they’re right there.”

For the first time, a ripple touched Zhu Cangwen’s placid gaze.

“You mean these God Alliance martyrs drenched in demonic aura were summoned by this filthy yokai god?”

Hearing that, Ye Yu’s killing intent surged.

He was nearly done holding back.

Since she’d appeared it was “filthy” this and “vile” that.

What was it? Had a yokai god dug up your family graves—or stolen your man?

Why the murderous grudge?

It grated on Ye Yu’s ears—and even Heng Xuanzhen couldn’t take it.

She spoke up: “Master-aunt, don’t speak of Dao-friend Ye Yu like that. He’s actually a good man.”

“Without his rescue, I would have fallen long ago.”

“He—”

Before Heng Xuanzhen could finish, Zhu Cangwen pressed her divine sword to the girl’s shoulder.

The icy edge hovered a finger’s breadth from her pale neck.

“Junior niece,” Zhu Cangwen said, voice low, “have you developed feelings for a member of the yokai?”

Heng Xuanzhen blurted, “No, I haven’t. Ye Yu and I are only Dao-friends.”

Zhu Cangwen’s tone stayed frigid. “Though the God Alliance of Ancient Sword Gorge lies destroyed, as long as you and I draw breath, its rules remain.”

“The filth of the Lower Three Realms should all be cut down with a single sword.”

“And you call a yokai god your Dao-friend?”

“You’ve truly lost your senses.”

“Now go kill him—or I’ll kill you. Do you understand?”

Ye Yu’s pupils tightened sharply.

“Filth of the Lower Three Realms”—he’d never heard that phrasing before.

Did she mean yokai, demons, and ghosts?

Disgusting. No one chooses their origin. Why should the Lower Three be sentenced to die?

And this old woman was forcing Heng Xuanzhen to kill him?

Deranged.

Ye Yu had no intention of surrendering meekly.

He began issuing orders to the Demon Conversion summons.

No matter who moved first, they were to rupture the sword-intent seal—even if it meant their divine bodies shattered.

They had to launch a death attack on Zhu Cangwen,

to win Ye Yu a sliver of life to escape.

He studied Zhu Cangwen’s face carefully, fixing it in memory.

If a chance came in the future, he would tear her to pieces.

As for what Heng Xuanzhen would do, Ye Yu didn’t dwell on it.

Even if she acted, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

They were aunt and niece in the sect—and the only allies left.

Choosing should not have been hard.

But Heng Xuanzhen still didn’t speak. She simply stood there, silent.

Seeing no move, Zhu Cangwen shifted the blade a hair closer, kissing Heng Xuanzhen’s neck.

“So you truly intend to die yourself rather than kill this filthy yokai god?”

“Seems to me you’ve forgotten the Alliance rules.”

Her cold voice rolled over the gorge.

Heng Xuanzhen lifted her chin slightly, meeting Zhu Cangwen eye to eye.

“Master-aunt—first, Dao-friend Ye Yu is not filthy. He’s the most upright yokai I’ve met.”

“Without him, the Alliance might never have been rebuilt.”

“He gave me the strength to go on.”

“So rules or no rules, I don’t care. You won’t kill me—and you won’t kill him.”

As the words fell, countless sword shadows bloomed from behind Heng Xuanzhen, spearing into the clouds until heaven and earth paled.

White light flared in her eyes; her features turned solemn—holy and untouchable.