Strangely enough, both sides suddenly stopped fighting and rushed towards Yun Xi together.
Cursing a few times, the Holy Master quickly placed Yun Xi on a strange platform. He took out an octagonal object from his bosom, which was as big as a palm and looked like a bronze mirror. With his other hand, he made a strange gesture. After a few quick movements, he pressed the "octagonal bronze mirror" against Yun Xi's chest.
The restlessness in her chest suddenly subsided. Yun Xi's mind cleared instantly, and she suddenly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling of the secret chamber.
Yi Yuan reacted quickly. With a soft "clang", his sword rang out as it shot straight towards the Holy Master's chest, forcing him to take an involuntary step back.
Ling Yan, in perfect coordination, reached out and snatched Yun Xi away, then flashed back.
The situation changed suddenly. Just as Zongzheng Fengyi reacted and was about to grab Yun Xi, Shen Zhou blocked him firmly.
The Holy Master's green eyes were full of malice as he said menacingly,
"If you take her away now, do you want her to die?"
"The Mind - Reading Gu is only temporarily suppressed, not removed. In less than two quarters of an hour, when the Mind - Reading Gu emerges, her blood will be drained and her bones will melt. She will die a miserable death on the spot. Don't you care anymore!?"
Yi Yuan's phoenix - like eyes flashed as he thought to himself:
Two quarters of an hour... it's enough.
Although he knew he couldn't really defeat this old monster, the Holy Master, he could still fight desperately to delay him.
"Ling Yan, take Xiao Xi away!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Yi Yuan gave the order. Then he tightened his grip on his sword and straightened his body to block the Holy Master's way.
"Are you crazy!?"
Zongzheng Fengyi looked at Yi Yuan in disbelief, as if he were seeing a stranger.
"Aren't you the one who treasures Yun Xi the most? How can you just watch her die now!?"
But the Holy Master keenly sensed something was wrong.
Given Yi Yuan's deep love for Yun Xi, he would never have insisted on taking her away if he knew it meant certain death.
Unless... Yi Yuan had a way to make the Mind - Reading Gu recognize Yun Xi as its master!
There was only one possibility: the Drunken Gu Ring was indeed in Yi Yuan's hands.
Although he didn't know how it got into Yi Yuan's hands or how he knew the method of transferring the Gu, in any case, he mustn't let Yi Yuan take Yun Xi away now!
Even if it meant destroying it, the Mind - Reading Gu must not fall into the hands of others!
Thinking of this, the Holy Master's eyes turned cold as he shouted to Zongzheng Fengyi,
"Stop her! The Drunken Gu Ring is indeed in Yi Yuan's hands!"
As he shouted, he quickly retreated.
Yi Yuan was momentarily stunned by the Holy Master's unexpected move. Before he could figure out what was going on, he saw the Holy Master's body press against the wall. The Holy Master threw out a few last poison - smoke bombs with a "shua shua" sound, then knocked hard on the stone wall. Instantly, he disappeared behind the stone wall as it rotated.
Yi Yuan cursed inwardly. It wasn't because of the poison smoke, as he had taken the antidote in advance. It was because the Holy Master's action clearly indicated that he was going to take a shortcut to block Ling Yan and Yun Xi!
Without time to worry about anything else, Yi Yuan turned around and chased after him in a hurry.
The whole incident happened in the blink of an eye.
Shen Zhou knew that Yi Yuan couldn't defeat the Holy Master, so he didn't want to engage in a long - drawn - out fight. He feigned an attack and then ran to help.
Zongzheng Fengyi naturally wouldn't be left behind. The few of them chased each other one after another.
Relying on his familiarity with the underground passage, the Holy Master turned left and right. In just a short while, he blocked Ling Yan at the intersection of two secret passages.
Yun Xi had already regained consciousness. When she saw the Holy Master, she instinctively stepped in front of Ling Yan.
She knew that Ling Yan couldn't defeat the Holy Master, and the Holy Master wouldn't hurt her.
But unexpectedly, the Holy Master was completely different this time. Without the slightest hesitation, he stabbed his Emei daggers straight at her heart.
"Miss!"
Ling Yan let out a cry of alarm and quickly pulled Yun Xi behind her. She blocked the attack with her long sword. With a "ding", the sword in Ling Yan's hand... broke.
The Holy Master didn't stop. He twirled his Emei daggers with a "whoosh" sound and then sliced through the clothes and flesh on Ling Yan's collarbone, revealing a bit of white bone.
"Ling Yan—"
Thinking Ling Yan was dead, Yun Xi was overcome with horror and grief. She let out a heart - rending shout and rushed forward regardless to catch Ling Yan.
A glint of joy flashed in the Holy Master's eyes: She's come to me herself!
The next moment, he twirled his Emei daggers again and stabbed fiercely at Yun Xi's heart.
"Clang—"
The sound of metal colliding echoed through the secret passage.
Yi Yuan arrived just in time and blocked the attack with his sword.
But for some reason, the Holy Master suddenly seemed fearless and attacked with extreme cruelty. After Yi Yuan blocked one attack, the Holy Master immediately changed his move and attacked from another tricky angle.
Yi Yuan found it extremely difficult to defend. In just a few breaths, there were several wounds on his body.
Blood was already oozing uncontrollably from the corner of his lips. Yi Yuan propped himself up with his sword, unable to stand straight anymore, but he still stubbornly guarded the people behind him and refused to take a single step back.
"Heh—utterly stupid."
The Holy Master found it ridiculous. He coldly commented and continued his attack without pause, stabbing straight at Yi Yuan's chest.
There was no way to dodge...
Yi Yuan thought so.
He had almost exhausted all his strength.
But the next moment, Yun Xi spread her arms and stood in front of him.
"Anyway, I'm going to die. Let me save you just once..."
"Shh—"
It was the sound of a weapon piercing flesh.
But Yun Xi didn't feel any pain. She turned her head and saw that it was Shen Zhou who had blocked in front of her.
"A... Zhou!?"
With her almond - shaped eyes wide open, Yun Xi's mind went blank. Instinctively, she turned around and caught Shen Zhou's blood - soaked body.
Unlike Yun Xi and the others who were shocked, the Holy Master remained calm. He just thought Shen Zhou was in the way.
He neatly pulled out his Emei daggers and aimed straight at Yun Xi's heart again.
How could Yi Yuan let him succeed?
Even though he knew he couldn't block the Holy Master's attack in his current state, he still spun around with all his might and firmly stood in front of Yun Xi.
The Drunken Gu Ring was in his hand. He mustn't let Xiao Xi get into trouble at this critical moment!
Yi Yuan thought to himself.
He was already prepared to be pierced by the Emei daggers, but at this moment, a hoarse voice suddenly sounded behind the Holy Master:
"Father."
The Holy Master's hand froze.
During this brief moment of hesitation, a sharp dagger suddenly pierced through the Holy Master's chest from behind, splashing drops of blood.
Looking at his pierced chest in disbelief, the Holy Master endured the pain and quickly swiped his Emei daggers backward, but he missed.
"Hui... Zhi?"
Turning to look behind him, the Holy Master only saw a woman with a scarred and horribly ugly face.
"Who... are you?"
Lan Chu had come at some unknown time. In the only clear eye on her terrifying face, there was full of the joy of revenge.
"It's me, Father."
Lan Chu curled her lips, and the movement of the scars on her face looked extremely strange.
"I'm the one you personally ordered Mo Tong to kill. I'm the one who didn't want to be controlled by you anymore and failed to complete the task you gave me. So... I'm the one you mercilessly abandoned and killed."