"You... Why?" Ji Yunxi was greatly startled by her words. She took two steps towards Yue Chen in disbelief.
Feng Xingzhi tightened his grip on his sword. His gaze towards Yue Chen deepened a bit. The muscles in his arms tensed up as he got ready to strike.
Yue Chen reached up and took off the mask on his face, revealing a face just like the young man in Ji Yunxi's dream. His eyes were as gentle as water, like the warm sunlight shining on Ji Yunxi. "I've said that I'll protect you, and I'll never go back on my word."
Ji Yunxi stared at the scars on his side face and neck left by practicing the forbidden art. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and the light in her eyes gradually dimmed.
She suddenly remembered that many years ago, a newly ascended young god was bullied by a group of high - ranking gods because of his handsome appearance. Although he was still just a young lad, he was extremely stubborn. He was beaten all over with blood and on the verge of death, yet he remained silent.
The smiling face of the young man in her memory overlapped perfectly with Yue Chen's appearance, except that there was no trace of greenness left on Yue Chen.
"Yue Chen, you actually ruined my good deed. I'll teach you a lesson today!"
Jiang Yaoji flew towards Yue Chen to launch an attack. Ji Yunxi pushed Yue Chen away with a palm and engaged in a fierce fight with her.
"I never thought you'd actually try to save him. He's the one who once hurt you!" Jiang Yaoji's sword pressed against Ji Yunxi's. She stared directly into Ji Yunxi's eyes and spoke in a voice only they could hear.
"Yunxi... Ugh." Yue Chen wanted to help Ji Yunxi, but as soon as he mobilized his inner strength, he felt a taste of blood surging in his throat. He covered his chest in pain and suddenly realized that he had been poisoned by Jiang Yaoji.
"He deserves to die, but not at your hands." After Ji Yunxi said this, she mobilized her inner strength and gave a strong shock. Jiang Yaoji's sword was shaken away.
"You're still the same as before, not changed at all." A smile curled up on Jiang Yaoji's lips, and there was even a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
"You're still as vicious as before!"
"Don't get in the way here." Feng Xingzhi pointed his sword at Yue Chen coldly. A wave of sourness welled up in his chest. He remembered that he had once noticed Yue Chen's special feelings for Ji Yunxi, but he knew this wasn't the time to be jealous.
Sure enough, as soon as Ji Yunxi finished speaking, Jiang Yaoji narrowed her eyes slightly. Her long and narrow eyes were filled with a terrifying coldness. She took two steps back and waved her hands quickly, mobilizing her divine power.
Golden divine power burst out from Jiang Yaoji's body like threads. The world suddenly lost its color. Dark clouds gathered densely in the sky above where everyone was, and strong winds howled.
Ji Yunxi felt as if she was being crushed and couldn't breathe. Her long blue dress fluttered in the wind, and an inexplicable fear welled up in her heart.
Feng Xingzhi waved his sleeve, and a golden light surrounded Ji Yunxi to protect her from harm.
Then he stepped on the ground and came to Ji Yunxi's side. "You're physically weak now. Step back. I'll deal with her."
"Okay. Be careful." Ji Yunxi gave him a deep look. Knowing that she would only be a burden to Feng Xingzhi here, she turned around and stepped back.
At this time, the golden light surrounded Jiang Yaoji tightly. Jiang Yaoji pressed her hands together and formed a spell. The spiritual power actually took the shape of a divine bird, slowly spreading its wings behind her as if it had come to life.
She gently pushed her hands forward. The divine bird let out a cry, circled in the air, and then flew towards everyone rapidly.
Feng Xingzhi's sword emitted a white light. White sword qi danced in the air. The sword qi was so bright that it was blinding. The world trembled, and a blazing light column pierced through the dark clouds.
He waved his sword, sending out sword qi. His moves were bold and powerful. The sword qi collided with Jiang Yaoji's magic in the air. The two powers were evenly matched. Everyone was dazzled by their light. Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the air. The air waves surged, and then everything returned to calm.
Everyone was affected by the sword qi and fell to the ground. They all suffered some internal injuries to varying degrees.
"Cough, cough!" Jiang Yaoji was shaken to the ground by the air waves. There were large and small cuts on her clothes. She propped herself up with her sword and tried to stand up, but the backlash from forcefully using the secret art just now made her stumble and almost fall again. Fortunately, Jiang Yanjü quickly reached out to support her.
"Xingzhi, are you okay?" Ji Yunxi immediately trotted to his side.
"I'm fine. Let's go."
"I'm okay, brother. Kill them." Jiang Yaoji winked at her brother, and Jiang Yanjü immediately understood.
There came the sound of clothes rubbing in the sky, accompanied by the humming of a sword. Ji Yunxi's eyes tightened, and Feng Xingzhi also stopped. They glanced at each other, then took off into the air and stood in two different directions.
Ji Yunxi landed steadily on a tree branch beside, while Feng Xingzhi landed on an open space not far away.
A sword with a sharp sword qi flashed past her face. The sword seemed to be conscious and turned a corner, then quickly stabbed at her again.
"You won't be able to leave so easily." Jiang Yanjü's deep voice sounded. Ji Yunxi looked over and saw that his two fingers were shining with spiritual power. Sure enough, it was him controlling the sword.
"Quickly dodge, Yunxi." Feng Xingzhi's face was as gloomy as if water could drip from it. He wanted to step forward to attack Jiang Yanjü, but was blocked by Jiang Yaoji with her sword.
"Feng Xingzhi, it's time for us to settle our score!"
"Get out of the way!" Feng Xingzhi was worried about Ji Yunxi. His face was as cold as if covered with a layer of frost, and cold air emanated from his whole body. But Jiang Yaoji remained unmoved.
"If you want to run, today will be your day of doom." Jiang Yanjü said over there and launched an attack. The sword broke through the air and roared forward.
Ji Yunxi stood on the tree. Her small face was full of determination. She saw the sharp blade shooting towards her like an arrow leaving the bow, with a dazzling light. The shadow of the sword was reflected in her eyes.
She mobilized her inner strength and clamped the sword body with both hands. Using the impact of the sword, she flipped backward, making a beautiful arc and spinning in the air.
Ji Yunxi let go of the sword and slapped the hilt of the sword hard with her palm. The sword blade pierced through the tree trunk. With a loud "boom", the tree was split in half. Ji Yunxi's eyes tightened. This was the moment!
"Yunxi!" Feng Xingzhi was extremely worried and shouted her name loudly.
Before everyone could clearly see Ji Yunxi's figure, she had lightly flown behind Jiang Yanjü. The sword in her hand was pressed against his neck. "It's over!"
Jiang Yanjü coldly glanced at the sword on his neck. Then his body rotated at an incredible angle. In an instant, the situation changed. Jiang Yanjü actually got out of Ji Yunxi's control.
"Jiang Yaoji, after all these years under my command, you still haven't made any progress." Yue Chen mocked as he looked at Jiang Yaoji. His voice attracted everyone's attention.
After hearing this, Jiang Yaoji suddenly realized something and immediately looked at her hand. "The forbidden art I practiced requires me to consume all kinds of poisons. I won't live as long as other emperors or high - ranking gods. You've just been contaminated with my blood. You're not far from death!"
"You actually... I'll kill you." Jiang Yaoji's eyes were blood - red as she stared at him viciously.