Qingyun Mountain, Tongtian Peak.

  In front of the Moon Cave Mansion, Gui Li, Lu Xueqi and Lin Jingyu stood facing each other. The already tense atmosphere suddenly seemed to freeze, as all three people's attention was instantly focused on the ancient sword stuck in the ground in the middle of the scene.

  Slay the immortal!

  The legendary sword that shook the world, entwining endless past events, determining the fate of many people's lives, now stands quietly inserted into the ground, looking ordinary and unremarkable, as if it has already merged with this land.

  But the name on the blade of the sword was so dazzling and arrogant, though silent but unruly, staring at the people around with a stern gaze, making it impossible for those beside him to breathe smoothly.

  It wasn't until much later that it seemed like they had just woken up from an unbelievable shock, and the three of them let out a sigh at the same time. But almost simultaneously, the atmosphere between them had quietly changed. Lin Jingyu's body instinctively moved forward, but after looking at the two people around him, he furrowed his brow and slowly steadied himself again.

  Lu Xueqi's expression was first stunned, and then a bright light seemed to flash in her eyes. Facing this ancient sword that had the highest status even among the top cultivators, she also slightly furrowed her brow. Afterwards, she subconsciously glanced at Guilei beside her, looking at his facial expression, quietly, and distanced herself from him.

  The ghost was silent, as if expressionless, but in his eyes, it seemed like a raging fire was burning.

  That sword, the ancient sword that had appeared in his nightmares day and night for ten years, was right in front of him. The rustic blade was now flashing with a faint light in the gentle breeze of the mountain wilds, reflected in his eyes, as if it had pierced into his chest.

  That one, gently falling in mid-air with a delicate and powerless green figure...

  "Ah!......"

  He seemed to erupt from his chest with a furious roar, tearing at his heart and lungs, charging towards the Exterminating Sword of the Ancients. A dark blue light flashed out, and the Soul Devouring Blade whistled forward in front of him, as if sensing its master's emotions.

  Suddenly, a blue sword edge killed from the side, Lin Xingyu held the dragon-slaying sword and blocked in front of him, the raging blue-green sword edge hard to block the sharp whistle of the mysterious black air.

  A loud muffled sound, two magical artifacts collided in mid-air and rebounded. Lin Xingyu was about to intervene when he suddenly felt that although he was under the bright daylight, his surroundings were accompanied by Gui Li's eerie artifact. The sky and earth suddenly darkened, and the air was filled with the howling of ghosts. His body felt as if it was being tightly bound by countless invisible threads, and even in front of him, terrifying illusions of the nine hells appeared involuntarily.

  The ghost in front of him had already turned his eyes blood red again at some point, with a strong killing intent, and his body was even more like a ghost.

  Lin Jingyu's eyes widened in shock, and with a loud roar, the black energy around him suddenly surged and burst forth, propelling him upward. Almost simultaneously, Gui Li's shadowy figure appeared where Lin stood, the dark energy dispersing like ghostly wings before re-coalescing into ghostly hands that engulfed Gui Li's form. The energy then converged from all directions, swirling like a raging torrent towards the ancient sword of extermination.

  Lin Jingyu was forced back in mid-air for a moment, unable to block it, and his heart was greatly alarmed. Just as he was about to shout in anger, he suddenly saw that in front of the ancient sword that killed the immortal, a bright light like autumn water burst out from the depths of the dark energy, like frost and snow, and a clear sound rang out, echoing far away, blooming like flowers in the midst of the dark energy, and a sword shot straight out.

  Tianyu!

  That snowy frosty white light, swept across the sky, wherever it passed, the dark energy dissipated, and pierced straight into the deepest front, blocking the way. Lu Xueqi appeared in front of the Zhuxian ancient sword, expressionless, with a clear and beautiful face, but her complexion was as pale as if she had lost all blood color.

  In the depths of darkness, two points of light like ghostly fires stared straight at Lu Xueqi, wailing and raging uncontrollably.

  What is it, in front of me, like a beast howling and panting, so strange?

  The black air suddenly surged, rising from the ground to several feet high in an instant. The two fierce ghost fires in the black air also disappeared instantly. Lu Xueqi's mouth twitched slightly, her face still pale and expressionless, but a glimmer of light flashed constantly in her eyes, as if thousands of mountains and rivers had passed by in an instant, and countless thoughts rushed to her mind in a flash.

  But she still refused to give up the Tianyue in her hand, and the ancient sword behind her suddenly seemed to turn into a deep chasm of ten thousand feet, making it impossible for her to retreat even an inch!

  An ancient sword, or a silent and ancient sect that raised her?

  She raised her sword to the sky and stabbed it in a desolate manner. The sword light was like snow, but carried a hint of bleakness.

  Darkness surged, ghosts wailed, in mid-air, in the direction of Tianyu's thrust, a dark shadow suddenly appeared, and Gui Li emerged from the depths of the darkness. However, before him, Xueyuan flew up, and in an instant, the originally sprawling black air poured down, the all-black Xueyuan shrieked incessantly, and the strange blood-red threads at the tip of his staff had all lit up.

  A pale hand stretched out from mid-air, grasped the Soul Devourer, and brought it down from the sky. The wind and smoke went wild, countless black auras condensed into a pillar in front of the Soul Devourer, striking downwards with a loud crash.

  Towards Lu Xueqi, and towards the silent ancient sword behind her.

  But she ultimately still didn't back down...

  Sword light like snow, towards the black air in front of splashing, not yet touched, around the chaotic rocks and dust, have been rolled up by great force, like a storm spinning and dancing. Lu Xueqi stood in the center of the whirlpool, her face gradually becoming blurred.

  Tianyue and Xiehun, two flying treasures that shone in mid-air, seemed to be trembling slightly, as if the battle from many years ago had returned before their eyes.

  Time is fleeting, like a passing thought, the intense rumbling sound finally still echoes in front of the Qingyun Xuan Yue Dong Fu.

  ********

  The wind and smoke quietly dispersed, the dust fell to the ground, and a few small stones on the ground rolled lonely and uncontrollably towards the distance, finally rolling into the depths of the grass thicket, never to be seen again.

  Lu Xueqi was still standing in the same place, her body hadn't moved an inch from its original position. Behind her, the ancient sword of slaying immortals seemed to be still emitting a faint, rustic glow, gazing at the woman's back.

  Somehow, this extraordinary woman's eyes and complexion at this moment looked so tired, as if the sword just now had exhausted her mental and physical strength. She lowered her head slightly, her eyes dull, staring blankly into the distance, and after a while, she slowly raised her head, looking forward in front of herself.

  That man!

  That man is like a madman!

  That taciturn man as silent as iron...

  Those eyes stared at her silently, without any murderous intent, anger, or affection and tenderness.

  Lu Xueqi's body suddenly trembled slightly, so faintly that even she herself almost thought it was her own illusion. But what followed was a sharp pain in her chest that made her almost double over and fall to the ground, like the sharpest steel needle piercing through her heart from deep within.

  Her pale face suddenly flushed, her body swayed slightly, and at the moment when her eyebrows furrowed, she seemed to be gritting her teeth in endurance, but suddenly closed her eyes and bowed her head.

  Tianyu let out a soft cry, and with a "ting" sound, the sword plunged into the ground. Lu Xueqi grasped the hilt of the sword, spitting out a small mouthful of blood that splattered onto the autumn-water-like blade.

  Blood, gradually congealing into beads, adhering to the smooth blade of Tianyue's sword, quivering slightly, then quietly falling off.

  A gust of wind blew from somewhere and swept across the empty space in front of the Fantasic Moon Cave, carrying a few faint whistling sounds.

  The dark energy dissipated, and the demon stood there indifferently. The Soul Devouring Sword shone with a mysterious blue light as it fell from the sky, and he reached out to catch it. Just as he turned his eyes to look at Lu Xueqi, Lin Jingyu had already withdrawn and reappeared beside her, holding the ancient sword of slaying immortals behind him.

  The fierce gaze of the ghost stared coldly at Lin Jingyu, then turned to Lu Xueqi's face. These two people who were almost the most important in the world to him now seemed no different from strangers in his eyes.

  In this world, a lifetime is but a fleeting moment, yet how many people can accompany each other till old age, unchanged for a lifetime?

  He gritted his teeth, bared his teeth, and smiled with a lonely arrogance, resolute and unyielding, striding forward. The ancient sword was ahead, even if it was an endless abyss, he would still charge towards it! Ten years of longing, ten years of piercing heartache, how could he abandon it in an instant?

  Lin Jingyu's face was filled with anger, and the dragon-slaying sword in his hand shone with a blue light once again. At this moment, Lu Xueqi suddenly stood up straight, although her face looked even paler, but her voice seemed to be as clear and moving as it was back then:

  "Halt!"

  Gui Lie's body stiffened for a moment, and he stopped in his tracks. Then, he gave Lu Xueqi a deep look before saying sternly, "Get out of my way!"

  Lu Xueqi's face was desolate as she said, "Listen to me for a moment, leave and never come back again."

  Lin Jing's eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced at Lu Xueqi, wanting to speak but hesitating. Gui Li heard him, but didn't catch the implication of Lu Xueqi's words, and coldly said: "You want me to destroy the Exterminating Immortal, I'll leave immediately."

  Lu Xueqi shook her head wearily and said in a low voice, "I can't let you do that. The people from the front mountain will be here soon. You can still leave now."

  Gui Li and Lin Jingyu were both taken aback at the same time, concentrating their minds to listen carefully, and indeed they heard a faint sound of human voices coming from afar, seemingly still a considerable number of people, arguing and shouting about something.

  It's not surprising when you think about it carefully. The Exterminating Immortal Sword is such a divine artifact in the Qingyun Gate, its importance is unmatched, and since they couldn't find it on the front mountain battlefield, they naturally came to search for it on the back mountain. Not to mention the back mountain, even if they had to turn the entire Qingyun Mountain upside down, the disciples of the Qingyun Gate would probably be willing to do so just for the Exterminating Immortal Sword.

  As the distant hum grew louder, it became clearer that the crowd was searching in this direction. Gui Li's face turned cold, and he suddenly let out a cold snort, his body moving swiftly as he flew towards Lu Xueqi and Lin Jingyu without regard for anything else.

  Lu Xueqi's face was pale, but before she could make a move, Lin Jingyu had already risen to his feet. His sword, Zhan Long, let out a loud "whoosh" as it sliced through the air like a torn silk, its blade shining brightly as it stabbed towards Gui Li with a powerful force, like a dragon dancing in the sky.

  The ghost's face was cold and gloomy, his body like a specter. With a wave of his left hand, the Soul-Devouring Rod flew out again, completely disregarding the might of the Dragon-Slaying Sword. It struck directly at Lin Xingyu's head. Lin Xingyu was taken aback by this ferocious and bold attack, which seemed to be more in line with his own style from back in the day. However, the ghost had turned the tables on him. Faced with such a fierce onslaught, Lin Xingyu's innate pride and competitiveness were stirred up. With a loud roar, he too disregarded the Soul-Devouring Rod, and the Dragon-Slaying Sword's momentum increased without diminishing. It seemed that he was determined to gamble with the ghost, seeing who had the bigger guts!

  Two people clashed, and it was a matter of life and death. Lu Xueqi, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but feel a jolt in her body as she stared intently at the scene before her, her eyes involuntarily filled with worry. Just as the two combatants seemed about to perish together, Gui Li's body suddenly shook violently on the spot and dispersed into the air like black smoke, vanishing into thin air like an illusion. Lin Jingyu was unable to retract his sword in time, and he flew forward, his heart already racing with a sense of foreboding. In his panic, he turned around to look back, only to see a dark figure materialize behind him like a specter, flying towards Lu Xueqi.

  This unusual technique is not something that can be found in the Qingyun Gate or the Tianyin Temple's Daoist teachings, nor has it been seen in the demonic sects. It is a mysterious and sinister technique that Gui Li slowly comprehended from the third volume of the "Tian Shu", which cannot be revealed to ordinary people. Today, I tried it out and achieved great success, even someone like Lin Jingyu was deceived. Even Lu Xueqi couldn't help but have a hint of surprise and doubt in her eyes.

  It's just that, somehow, the ghostly Ji who had unleashed the "Tian Shu" technique now seemed completely different from head to toe, not at all like the eerie and ominous figure people would imagine, but rather with a face that cycled through green, gold, red, and crimson auras, his expression hinting at pain, yet his movements swift as the wind, seemingly even more advanced than before.

  Lu Xueqi was secretly surprised, but vaguely understood. Unlike Lin Jingyu, in the Western Great Swamp's Divine Tree, in the "Heavenly Emperor's Treasury", she and Gui Li saw the mysterious third volume of the "Heavenly Book" at the same time. With her innate talent, compared to Gui Li, she had already memorized the Heavenly Book firmly in her heart.

  "The Heavenly Book" is indeed mysterious and unpredictable, but every word and phrase contains unfathomable profound principles. As a cultivator, she has been infatuated with it since birth, and if someone were to say that she hasn't devoted herself to studying it diligently over the years, they would be speaking nonsense. However, this kind of extraordinary technique is not something that can be shared with outsiders, and she hasn't told anyone about it either. Moreover, what she has seen is only the third volume of "The Heavenly Book", which is fragmented and incomplete, especially lacking the first volume that outlines the overall framework, making it even more abstruse and difficult to understand. Over the years, relying solely on her own innate intelligence and forced comprehension, she has gained some benefits for her cultivation, although not obvious ones. It's also because of this that the elders of Qingyun Gate haven't noticed anything unusual about Lu Xueqi's cultivation, otherwise, how could people like Daoxuan Zhenren, Tian Buyi, and Shuiguo Dashi have failed to notice the anomaly in her cultivation?

  At this moment, Lu Xueqi saw Gui Li's strange and eerie body technique with a slight frown on her brow. However, after seeing Gui Li deceive Lin Jingyu, his body suddenly reappeared in mid-air like an intangible object from the swirling black smoke, quickly transforming back into his original form without any reduction in speed, and flew straight towards Lu Xueqi.

  Lu Xueqi's teeth clenched, and suddenly her body retreated three steps to the side, revealing the Juxian ancient sword that was tightly pressed against her back. It appeared in front of Gui Lie. This move shocked both Gui Lie and Lin Jingyu, who was far away. However, unlike Lin Jingyu, who shouted angrily, "Lu Shimei, what are you doing?", Gui Lie's face showed a hint of joy.

  Lu Xueqi seemed not to hear, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes, as if she hesitated for a moment, but finally let out a soft shout. The Tianyuan divine sword stabbed out into the wind, but the direction of its blade was opposite to that of Gui Li, in the empty space three feet to the right front of the Zhuxian ancient sword.

  "Pffft!"

  A soft sound, the Tian Jue divine sword seemed to have stabbed at nothing, but somehow, Lu Xueqi's body shook violently. At the tip of the sword, after a brief moment of silence, blood suddenly splattered into the air. Meanwhile, the ghostly figure that was flying towards Zhanxian let out a shrill cry and transformed into a cloud of black smoke, dispersing in all directions.

  Just as the blood was splashing everywhere, Lu Xueqi's face turned pale and she seemed dazed. Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the air, and a dark figure burst forth from the shadows, its body seemingly impervious to pain. The Tian Jue divine sword was lodged in his shoulder, but he didn't appear to feel any agony. With a fierce pounce, the Soul-Devouring Rod's blood-red gemstone glowed brightly, unleashing a wave of dark energy that enveloped Lu Xueqi.

  Lu Xueqi's face lost its color, and in an instant, she felt her body's vital energy surging like boiling water, almost bursting out of her skin. Her mind was buzzing with pain, unbearable and intense. Her legs went soft, and she couldn't help but sit down.

  A shrill cry pierced the air, and in the moment when the Blood-Drinking Bead shone brightly before Lu Xueqi's stunning face, it suddenly turned back. At the same time, his left hand swung out, sweeping Lu Xueqi away. As Lu Xueqi flew out, the Tianjiao Divine Sword also followed suit. The moment it was unsheathed, a gush of fresh blood burst forth from Gui Li's shoulder like a fountain. Meanwhile, Lu Xueqi hovered in mid-air, but the Blood-Drinking Bead's demonic energy still surged and churned unceasingly. Her chest throbbed with intense pain, and she spat out a mouthful of blood with a loud "Ah".

  In the arena, Gui Li's body fell to the ground, his eyes no longer held anything else, only that ancient sword. At this moment, he was covered in blood, half of his body quickly dyed red with fresh blood, but he seemed to be unaware, his face as if having a strange and painful gnashing of teeth, staring straight at the ancient sword.

  An ancient, worn-out sword was quietly stuck in front of him, its blade, which was neither stone nor jade, couldn't even reflect his face. There was only a faint, fine crack, as if it were new.

  The demon let out a loud, maniacal laugh as he looked up at the sky, his eyes gleaming with madness. Ten years of memories flashed before him in an instant, but he didn't say another word. His left hand suddenly shot out and grasped the hilt of his sword, while his right hand beckoned back the Soul-Devouring Rod, tightly clutching it in his grasp. With a fierce cry, he struck down at the Exterminating Sword's blade, aiming for that thin mark.

  Lin Jingyu shouted loudly behind, desperately chasing after, but it was already too late. Lu Xueqi had just landed and her mind was still in a state of confusion. In the distance, the noise of that group of people suddenly grew louder, as if they had discovered something, and they all rushed towards the Huan Yue Dong Fu.

  But in that moment of time, who can do what?

  It's as if no one can ultimately stay with a fleeting moment!

  That flashing dark blue black light Soul Devourer swooped down in mid-air, its master's blood gushing out at this moment, flowing down his left hand, dripping onto the Exterminating Sword, crossing over the seemingly somewhat rough blade of the Exterminating Sword, slowly disappearing, yet not a single drop fell to the ground.

  In that instant, Gui Li's heart moved slightly, as if some strange and familiar scene had touched his heart, flashing through his mind like lightning.

  A moment later, he suddenly came to his senses:

  It's blood!

  His eyes caught a glimpse of his own blood flowing onto the blade of the Exterminating Immortal Sword, especially when it flowed into that crack, slowly disappearing without a trace, quickly and quietly merging into the sword.

  Slay the immortal! Slay the immortal! Slay the immortal!

  The Demon Slayer is actually the same as the Blood Bead, it can also absorb the vital energy of living things!

  He was shocked and couldn't hold himself, but the Soul-Devouring Demon Rod in his hand had already surpassed the speed of his thoughts, and it heavily struck the Exterminating Immortal Sword!