About ten minutes later.

Having dispelled the [Clear Wind] state, Qi Yun sensed a familiar aura. He slowly turned to look at the mountain forest on his left.

Zheng Yi had arrived.

This wisp of aura was his signal.

’It’s time.’ Lightly rubbing the bridge of his nose, Qi Yun’s gaze hardened. He then strode forward, heading toward the stone forest below—toward Wu Tao.

Within the stone forest, Wu Tao was already waiting. His right hand unconsciously caressed the hilt of the sword at his waist, again and again.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH—

The faint crunch of footsteps on gravel grew closer.

Hearing the sound, Wu Tao turned around eagerly. A flicker of immense joy crossed his eyes when he saw the familiar figure.

’He’s here.’

Seeing Qi Yun arrive as promised, Wu Tao was overjoyed.

’Oh, Brother Qi. Don’t blame me. Who told you to be so audacious as to kill the Master’s blood relative?’

’The Master is furious. How could you possibly survive?’

’We both came from Ling Family Mountain; we’re practically colleagues. You’re going to die anyway. If your death can help me enter the Inner Mansion and become the Master’s personal disciple, at least it will have been for a good cause.’

’And I... I’ll be able to reach the heavens in a single leap!’

As the thought flashed through his mind, the last shred of guilt he felt for betraying Qi Yun vanished. Wu Tao licked his dry lips, put on an overly familiar smile, and strode forward to greet Qi Yun.

"Brother Qi!" he called out, his voice full of warmth, even as his hand secretly closed around a Jade Talisman.

At this moment, seeing Wu Tao’s posture and bearing, and especially sensing the perfected aura of the Qi Refining Third Layer on him, Qi Yun understood everything perfectly.

He had initially wondered if Wu Tao was being coerced or controlled.

’It looks like this little bastard willingly went over to the enemy.’

’He must have received some incredible benefits!’

"Brother Wu, long time no see, long time no see." While responding to Wu Tao, Qi Yun silently scanned his surroundings, trying to find the hidden disciple of the Flower Moon Hall Master.

But just as the distance between him and Wu Tao closed to less than thirty yards...

This ’colleague,’ who had sent two consecutive inter-mansion letters to invite him here, suddenly attacked, violently crushing the Jade Talisman hidden in his hand.

CRACKLE—

The instant the Jade Talisman shattered, a vicious, blood-red Sword Qi erupted forth. It tore through the air, sweeping toward Qi Yun with an utterly terrifying killing intent.

’This distance!’

’This speed!’

Qi Yun had no time to form hand seals or chant a Spell to defend himself.

"Brother Qi, better you than me. Don’t blame heaven or earth; blame your own greed for blinding you. You messed with someone you never should have touched."

Having activated the Jade Talisman, the smile remained on Wu Tao’s face, but his eyes had turned cold and greedy.

This strike wouldn’t kill Qi Yun, but it would sever his legs, leaving him with no ability to escape.

But just as Wu Tao was about to watch this bloody and thrilling scene unfold...

A pale, shrieking blur shot out from behind Qi Yun. Accompanied by a piercing, strange cackle, it crashed head-on into the scarlet Sword Qi!

BOOM—

A deafening explosion erupted. The ground shuddered violently, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

The Sword Qi had been forcefully shattered by that strange blur!

The blur wobbled back to Qi Yun’s side, where it floated up and down, standing guard.

"What is that thing?! A Magical Artifact?!" Wu Tao’s heart pounded as he witnessed this, his expression turning ugly.

’That bastard... he was prepared?!’

Waving a sleeve to clear the dust, Qi Yun chuckled softly. He glanced sideways at the [Protective Skeleton], which now had a massive crack on its head and was close to being split in two, yet was still grinning and cackling.

*[Skull Curse: New sentinel function added. Automatically activates upon being attacked. After entering sentinel mode, will slowly consume True Qi.]*

This was a new function of the Version 2.0 [Skull Curse].

There was no need to cast it manually. As long as it sensed approaching danger, the [Skull Curse] would activate on its own and manifest to protect him.

And once this miraculous feature was active, it would continuously consume Qi Yun’s True Qi until it was depleted.

Having blocked Wu Tao’s insidious and vicious strike, Qi Yun continued walking step by step toward his former colleague, a smile on his lips.

"Brother Wu, your letters were so sincere, constantly bringing up the bond we share from our time at Ling Family Mountain...

"So what’s this? Is a sword strike to the heart your welcoming gift?"

Wu Tao’s heart leaped in his chest, stung by Qi Yun’s cold gaze. He instinctively took half a step back.

"You... What kind of Magic is that? I’ve never heard of it!"

"Your version of Magic is too old; of course you haven’t heard of it." Shaking his head slowly, Qi Yun showed no mercy. He formed Sword Formulas with his hands and chanted a Spell. As his True Qi spun rapidly, a seemingly ordinary Basic Sword Qi tore through the air, shooting straight for Wu Tao’s heart!

"What’s too old? Hmph! It’s just a mere Basic Sword Qi..."

During this time, Wu Tao had received a fair bit of guidance from Zhou Hao, so his insight was no longer what it once was.

The moment he saw the Sword Formulas Qi Yun was forming, he instantly recognized it as nothing more than an ordinary [Basic Sword Qi].

The True Qi in his body surged. Wu Tao flipped his palm, and a three-foot-long Magic Sword appeared out of thin air. Its blade was jet-black, engraved with bright gold Ancient Seals, and it faintly exuded a sharp aura.

As he poured True Qi into the Magic Sword, the Ancient Seals on its blade lit up, and an invisible Sword Aura began to flow along its edge.

"Let’s see what progress you’ve made in the last six months."

Leaping forward, Wu Tao wielded his Magic Sword, completely unafraid of the Sword Qi Qi Yun had launched. With a nimble movement, he sidestepped the attack and thrust his own sword forward.

WHOOSH—

But in the next second, the Sword Qi he had clearly dodged bizarrely whipped around behind him.

With a sickening squelch, it pierced through Wu Tao’s defenseless chest.

Its power, comparable to the Red Night Sword Qi, instantly blasted a bloody hole through Wu Tao’s chest.

Wu Tao’s face froze. He looked down at his chest in disbelief, the sudden wave of agony so intense he almost dropped his Magic Sword.

"How... how is this possible..."

’But I clearly dodged it...’

The black sword in his hand fell to the ground with a CLANG. He stumbled and collapsed, his eyes wide, his face a frozen mask of shock and confusion.

Bloody foam bubbled from his mouth, choking his unfinished words. His body twitched a few times, then fell completely still.

’I told you your version of Magic was too old, but you didn’t believe me.’

Lowering his gaze to Wu Tao’s gradually silencing form on the ground, Qi Yun’s eyes were calm as he silently scanned the deep shadows around him.

’Wu Tao was just bait.’

’A far more expendable piece of bait than me.’

’And now that he’s dead, the main act should be making their entrance.’

SWOOSH—

An impossibly fast, wickedly sharp gust of wind, wrapped in terrifying power, shot out from the gloomiest corner without any warning.

It aimed straight for the center of Qi Yun’s back!

It was so fast that even the White Bone Skeleton didn’t have time to react.

The hair on his neck stood on end. Acting on pure instinct, he violently twisted his shoulder and waist. The Sword Qi scraped past his shoulder blade.

The searing wind stung his skin!

Without a moment’s hesitation, not even sparing a glance to see his attacker, Qi Yun kicked off the ground. He shot away like an arrow released from a bow, heading for the outskirts of the stone forest!

And yet, a cold smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

’The fish has taken the bait!’

...