Chapter Thirty-Two: Elder Congui

"You shouldn't have come back! This is a mess you can't get involved in!" Long Yun took a deep breath, his voice strained with difficulty.

"Take a Biyu Pill first. Don't speak." A familiar voice sounded, and at the same time, a slender figure in flowing robes slowly rose to stand beside him. Her garments fluttered in the wind; though her features were obscured, it was clear that the jade-white hand hidden in her sleeve was trembling uncontrollably.

A chilling murderous aura began to emanate from her, so intense that even Long Yun couldn't suppress a shiver.

The Fourth Senior Brother had finally regained his senses by now. Spotting Xu Zhan lying motionless on the ground, he was struck with a sudden shock, then stared in disbelief at the woman in white.

"Miss, why would you deal such a vicious blow to one of our own?" Despite his anger, Fourth Senior Brother dared not provoke a disciple of the Phoenix Pavilion, yet he could not help but question her.

"I need no reason to kill him," the woman in white replied flatly, her voice utterly devoid of emotion.

"Miss, don't you think that's a bit much?" Fourth Senior Brother's eyes flickered as he spoke.

Before he could finish, a flash of white darted forward. In a heartbeat, his body was sent flying through the air, blood spraying from his lips in three great gouts.

Fourth Senior Brother was aghast—he had never expected such ruthlessness from her, nor for her to act at the slightest disagreement. Her strength far surpassed his own; that strike just now had left him feeling utterly powerless, both from the speed and the force of her palm.

It was a feeling he had only ever experienced in the presence of his Eldest Senior Brother or his Master.

The woman in white stepped toward him, her voice dropping so only the two of them could hear, "Anyone who threatens his life must die."

With that, and under the unwilling gaze of the Fourth Senior Brother, she placed her palm upon his shoulder. A surge of force flowed into him, erasing every last trace of vitality from his body.

"You should leave here quickly! There are more of them than just these few. You're still injured—if any other masters arrive, you might be dragged down with me!" Long Yun swallowed the Biyu Pill, feeling his injuries ease slightly, and quickly spoke up.

The woman in white said nothing. Instead, she walked to Long Yun's side and sat down, beginning to channel her energy to heal herself, paying no heed to Long Yun's words.

Long Yun could only shake his head with a bitter smile, a trace of helplessness crossing his face. Recalling the instability in her aura earlier, he sighed inwardly yet again.

As he pondered, a sudden agonized scream rang out—the battle by Xiao Leng's side had reached its conclusion. The cry came from Cui Huaigu, whose sword arm had been severed at the root by Xiao Leng.

Xiao Leng gave him not the slightest chance. His sword danced like a silver dragon, snowflakes swirling in the air, and with one stroke, he cut open Cui Huaigu's throat, ending his life.

"How are you?" Xiao Leng came over to Long Yun, asked quietly, then sat down as well to recover his strength.

Long Yun forced himself to circulate his energy, letting the Biyu Pill's effects heal his wounds, and said, "Senior Brother Xiao, I appreciate your help. If you leave now, no one will know you killed Cui Huaigu!"

"It doesn't matter," Xiao Leng replied indifferently, closing his eyes. Long Yun felt a wave of frustration—why were these two always like this?

Left with no choice, he too closed his eyes and let his inner power flow, his wounds mending rapidly under the Biyu Pill's influence.

Barely the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn had passed when the sound of fluttering robes broke the silence. The three of them opened their eyes at once, looking toward the approaching noise.

An elder in white, appearing to be in his sixties, strode through the air toward them. Even before he landed, his gaze fell upon the corpses on the ground, and his face darkened to a terrifying degree.

"Elder Cong Gui of the Heavenly Sword Sect!" Long Yun instantly recognized the elder. He was a senior under Qiudi, the grand elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect, named Cong Gui.

His own cultivation was at the Eighth Stage of the Post-Heavenly Path, the pinnacle of the Returning Sage realm. He was the strongest of the sect after Qiudi himself. The nearby corpses—Cui Huaigu and Fourth Senior Brother—were both his disciples!

As he slowly landed, Cong Gui's visage was thunderous with rage. Cui Huaigu and Fourth Senior Brother were his proudest disciples, his greatest hopes, and now they both lay dead before him, their lives extinguished.

A fury unlike any he had ever known welled up inside him. His chilling gaze swept over the three, and he spoke coldly, "Was it you three who killed them?"

"It was me," Long Yun spoke up first.

Xiao Leng lifted his head as well, adding, "We all took part."

"Idiot! Usually you’re so frugal with words, but now you decide to babble," Long Yun thought to himself, rolling his eyes.

Cong Gui nodded. "Impressive. Xiao Leng, as a disciple of the Sword and Man School, you helped Long Yun kill disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect. You deserve to die! And as for the rest of you, no one will leave here alive today!"

His eyes swept over the three once more. He knew the woman in white was from the Phoenix Pavilion, but the pain of losing his disciples had driven him mad—he had already forgotten the grand elder's instructions.

Besides, if he acted swiftly, the Phoenix Pavilion would never suspect him.

With that thought, a murderous gleam flashed across Cong Gui's face as he slowly drew the longsword from his back.

The three stood at once, exchanging glances. Each saw the same grim resolve in the others' eyes. Among them, only the woman in white retained the strength of the Returning Sage realm.

Had she been at her peak, Cong Gui would not have been able to withstand even a single blow. But now, her cultivation had recovered barely a tenth; she could deal with the likes of Fourth Senior Brother, but against Cong Gui, she stood no chance.

Xiao Leng, though at the Bone Transformation stage, was worlds apart from Cong Gui, not even in the same league. As for himself, Long Yun thought, he was like an ant even at full strength, let alone now, with only a fraction of his power restored.

Cong Gui advanced on them step by step, his sword's aura flickering, the killing intent building, his face twisted with rage.

"You're no match for him. I'll hold him off—use the chance to escape!" the woman in white said calmly. With a single motion, she drew a longsword scattered on the ground into her palm.

But before she could marshal her energy, the swish of robes split the air. To everyone's surprise, it was Long Yun—the weakest among them—who shot forward first, sword gleaming as he charged directly at Cong Gui!

"Be careful!" the woman in white cried out. She dared not hesitate, darting forward like lightning, her blade slashing through the air, a wave of icy energy coalescing into a spectral phoenix.

Yet compared to the one she had summoned beneath Mount Bikou, this phoenix was smaller and less real, a clear sign of how much her strength had waned.

Xiao Leng was the last to act. Snowflakes swirled around his sword, his strike angling toward Cong Gui's ribs—a move with a hint of ambush. Usually, Xiao Leng would never stoop to such tactics, but life and death left him no choice; perhaps he made this one exception for Long Yun's sake.

Faced with their near-perfect coordination, Cong Gui's lips curled in a faint smile. His sword swept a half circle through the air, unleashing a fan-shaped wave of sword energy!

The trio's attacks struck the fan-shaped sword curtain, and a thunderous explosion erupted.

All three spewed blood skyward. The woman in white staggered back, blood staining her veil; Xiao Leng was sent reeling back over thirty paces, collapsing to the ground.

Long Yun fared worst of all—his entire body was flung aside, losing all ability to fight once more.

Still not enough. Even united, the three of them couldn't match this old monster. This time, it seemed they truly would perish together.

"Long Yun!" The woman in white, suppressing her injuries, darted to Long Yun's side, placing a hand on his shoulder, channeling her energy into him in a steady stream.

"You two are quite the pair," Cong Gui sneered, leveling his sword. "But save your affection for the afterlife—there you can be a pair of doomed lovers!"

With a single slash, a sword energy seven or eight zhang long swept toward them, merciless and unstoppable, intent on ending all three lives in one stroke.

As the blade drew ever closer, a triumphant smile spread across Cong Gui's face.

Suddenly, a clear and resounding phoenix cry pierced the air—crisp, enchanting, and yet utterly soul-shaking.