Jiang Zhiwei and Qi Xias cries were still echoing, when a figure suddenly emerged from the stone wall above, wearing black clothes, with white hair scattered, looking like a fierce ghost. His palms and feet were stuck in the stone crevices, agile as a monkey, and in two or three moves, he arrived at Qi Xias head, striking down from mid-air in the pose of "Eagle Pouncing on Rabbit".

  The direction he came in was exactly opposite to the direction the skull flew in!

  Qī Xià had received many sneak attacks and assassinations in the Great River Gang, so he was basically on guard against similar situations. If an unknown object was thrown in, first, hold his breath to prevent poisoning, second, keep an eye out in all directions and listen carefully to prevent being attacked from multiple sides.

  So, even if she was shocked by the death of Qing Jing for a moment, screamed out loud, and lost the best opportunity to defend herself, she still quickly came back to her senses, exerted force under her feet, and dodged the fatal blow with a swift movement.

  At this moment, a hand wearing an iron gauntlet plunged deep into her left shoulder. Next, the "White-Haired Vicious Ghost" seized the opportunity before the arrival of the cyan-glowing Splitting Water Stab and with a swift flip of her body, she sent a large splatter of blood flying to the other side.

  At this time, Jiang Zhiwei also reacted and whispered: "Zuo Er."

  Meng Qi immediately took two steps to the left, and then a sword light flashed like water, splashing towards "White Haired Evil Ghost".

  Before he could finish speaking, a grey shadow flashed in from the direction of the doorway, its long knife reflecting the dim yellow light of the torches on the wall as it darted straight for Jiang Zhiwei.

  It turned out to be two rounds of feinting!

  The long knife fell down, chopping towards Jiang Zhiweis left shoulder and also chopping towards Meng Qis head.

  The sword light directed at the "White Haired Evil Spirit" suddenly disappeared, and Jiang Zhiweis long sword had somehow turned upside down. Without looking back, she stabbed directly towards the upper left side of her body, while the gray shadow seemed to be actively throwing itself onto the sword tip.

  She was actually luring the enemy!

  Hui Ying forced a half-turn, his left palm stretched out, pressing against the sword tip.

  With a whoosh, the long sword pierced through his palm, but he also borrowed the momentum to pounce to the left, avoiding the long sword.

  "Jump back two." Jiang Zhiwei said in Meng Qis ear, her voice was fast but clear as pearls falling onto a jade plate.

  Facing this level of combat, Meng Qis meager fighting experience was completely useless, and he could only keep telling himself to believe in the "expert", to believe in Jiang Zhiwei.

  He jumped back two steps, and Meng Qi managed to maintain his balance due to his training in the Arhat Fist. Meanwhile, the grey-clothed mans long knife, which had been swung out horizontally after he landed, was parried by Jiang Zhis sword, which had been opened up at a distance. The clash of the blade and sword produced a clear ringing sound.

  At this time, Ge Chongshan and others who were exploring the outside and searching nearby had already heard that there was movement over here, and they all rushed back.

  "The White-Haired Fiend" and "The Man in Grey" saw this, and their offensive suddenly became fierce. Jiang Zhiwei had Meng Qi to substitute for her steps, but Meng Qis own strength was only just completing the "Hundred Days of Building Foundation", and he had never learned the art of leading the rhythm, so his pace was relatively slow. Furthermore, with limited oral instructions, they could not complete the intricate coordination, so Jiang Zhiwei could only focus on defense. Except for necessary steps, she greatly reduced her movements, and for a time, she and Qi Xia, who had been severely injured on his left shoulder, were both forced to guard the gate cautiously.

  Meng Qi moved according to Jiang Zhiweis instructions, while feeling the sharp knife momentum, his heart was icy and slightly fearful. Subconsciously, he thought that compared to this gray-clothed persons knife skills, his previous fight with Cheng Yongzi was like a childs play!

  After a fierce wave of attack, "White Hair Evil Spirit" and "Grey Clothed Man" suddenly jumped out, leaving the range of combat, taking advantage of Ge Chongshan and others still having some distance, madly rushing towards a temporarily deserted tunnel.

  Theyre trading offense for a chance to escape!

  Qī Xià and Jiāng Zhǐ Wēi were suppressed, fully defending themselves, unable to counterattack for a short while, and could only watch as the two figures flashed to the edge of the door.

  Suddenly, a long sword thrust out from the corridor outside, as agile as a snake, forcing "White-haired Evil Spirit" and "Grey-clothed Man" to retreat backwards to avoid its edge.

  "Brother Zhang!" Qi Xia saw that the person who drew his sword was Zhang Yuanshan with a sorrowful expression.

  Jiang Zhiwei said without thinking: "Advance five."

  Meng Qi took a big step forward, cutting off the retreat of "White-Haired Evil Spirit" and "Gray-Clothed Man". Jiang Zhis long sword was unsheathed, encircling "Gray-Clothed Man" within its own sword light.

  Zhang Yuanshan did not lose his composure due to grief and indignation, his long sword drew circle after circle, tightly wrapping the "White-Haired Evil Spirit" in place. Occasionally, his sword was like a spiritual snake, pressing the "White-Haired Evil Spirit" into a flurry of activity, making it difficult for him to escape.

  The water spear flashed with a green light and appeared, Qi Xia also rushed over to assist Jiang Zhiwei, so that the "gray-clothed person" could not find an opportunity to escape.

  "Brother Ma! Brother Tan!" Ge Chongshan entered the stone hut and immediately recognized "White-Haired Evil Spirit" and "Gray-Clothed Man", who were actually Ma Lianghan and Tan Wenbo, two great heroes who had been trapped before.

  Two people showed a greenish complexion and had blue lights in their eyes, without saying a word, they were trying to find the weakness of Jiang Zhiwei, Zhang Yuanshan and others, attempting to escape.

  "Alas." Ge Congshan let out a long sigh and joined the battle formation with other experts.

  Then, the battle gradually became one-sided. In less than ten breaths, Tan Wenbo, who looked like a "white-haired fierce ghost", was pierced by several long swords and died on the spot. Ma Lianghan was injured by knives and swords, and then suffered a blow from Ge Chongshans iron fan, temporarily losing his combat effectiveness. He was subdued by Ge Chongshan after being pressed at several major acupoints.

  "Who are these two?" Ge Chongshan asked, looking at Zhang Yuanshan and Qi Zheng who had joined the battle later.

  Jiang Zhi let out a sigh: "Both of them are junior fellow disciples, and this one on the ground is also."

  Since she has already mentioned Su Wuming, there is no need to involve other peoples masters, lest Ge Chongshan becomes suspicious. A hidden world master, others havent heard of it very normally, things always have coincidences, but several havent heard of it, thats a bit strange.

  "Zhang Shixiong, you guys?" Qi Xias previous and current forms of address dispelled Ge Chongshans suspicion due to the difference in swordsmanship. Perhaps that Su Wuming "senior" was a peerless sword god who mastered many schools of swordsmanship and martial arts, teaching his disciples according to their abilities.

  Zhang Yuanshans face was filled with sorrow as he said, "I and Qing Jing Shidi, Zheng Yan Shidi first rescued Tan Wenbo Daxia, everything was normal, then immediately rushed to rescue Ma Liang Han Daxia from the predicament. However, just as we opened the last stone gate, Tan Wenbo Daxia suddenly launched a sneak attack from behind, secretly harming Qing Jing Shidi. I was held back by Ma Liang Han Daxia who pounced out from the front and couldnt turn back to assist."

  "Qing Jings junior brother made a desperate counterattack before dying, also injuring Tan Wenbo, the great hero. With Zhengyans junior brother fighting with his life, we managed to repel them and chased after them. Who would have thought that they led us in circles and returned to the original stone chamber, beheading Qing Jings junior brother!"

  Although he still called him "Daxia", his tone was extremely sad and indignant.

  Meng Qi didnt gloat over Qing Jings misfortune, who had once tripped himself and repeatedly targeted him to test Jiang Zhis swordsmanship. Instead, he felt a pang of sympathy, like the death of a rabbit followed by the sorrow of a fox. Qing Jing was dead, who would be next? Himself?

  This feeling reached its peak after seeing Zhang Yishan, who was usually calm and composed, rarely showing anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Before even meeting the master of Hidden Emperor Fortress, two companions had already died, so what kind of tragic outcome would the final battle bring?

  Ge Chongshan and others listened quietly to Zhang Yuanshans account, also thinking of their good friend who had died at the hands of Ding Changsheng earlier, with the same sorrowful expression on each of their faces.

  "Zhang Xiaoyou, dont be too heartbroken. Qing Jing Xiaoyou died for the righteous path of Wulin. We will remember him and justice will prevail! Please calm down with me and lets head to the Central Great Hall to meet up with your master and others." Ge Chongshan said with a hint of sympathy.

  "Well, lets not delay any further. Everyone, lets set off now." Zhang Yuanshan composed himself, regaining his calm and determination, as if he had matured a lot in a short period of time.

  Ge Chongshan nodded: "Alright, Zhang brother, Zhao brother, please stay here and keep an eye on Ma brother. Well go find the antidote and come back."

  At this time, its best not to bring Malan Han along, otherwise, if someone were to unseal his acupoints, it would add another powerful enemy.

  "Brother Ge, the great demon is plotting something evil in the Central Grand Hall. We can also make use of this opportunity. Now is not the time to be careless!" Zhaos skilled hand said urgently.

  Ge Chongshan sighed: "I know, I know, the more effort we put in, the more hope for success. But cant we just leave Ma brother here? Maybe someone in black will come to rescue him."

  After being injured, the cyan gas on Mahras face dissipated a lot. At this time, the medicine seemed to relieve a bit, and he shouted in pain: "Chongshan, kill me! Kill me!"

  Ge Chongshan merely controlled his inner energy with a point of his finger and did not render him immobile or speechless.

  "He seems even more out of control than Cheng Yongdaxia..." Jiang Zhiwei whispered to Meng Qi, who was carrying her on his back.

  "The longer it takes, the more impossible it is to resist the drugs power." Meng Qi guessed.

  Ge Chongshans right hand holding the iron fan trembled slightly: "How can this be! How can this be!"

  When the time comes to kill him, he will only feel guilty, not conflicted. But having already subdued him, yet still wanting to personally take his life, that is absolutely a torment of the soul for his closest friends.

  Mara gasped for breath and said with great effort: "I, Im done! After eating that ghost thing, I, Id rather die than live! Chongshan, kill me! This is saving me!"

  Suddenly, he seemed to have accumulated a bit of strength and jumped up, using his throat to charge towards the long sword of a nearby expert.

  That master was caught off guard, thinking he had been ambushed, and his long sword stretched out instead of shrinking back, piercing Ma Lianghans throat.

  Mahra slowly fell down, a hint of smile on her face.

  "Brother Ma!" Ge Chongshan cried out in shock and grief.

  At this time, Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei saw that the firelight shadow on the stone wall opposite seemed to move like a ghost, forming three rows of text.

  Jiang Zhiwei, Zhang Yuanshan, Qi Xia, Qi Zhengyan, and Zhen Ding rescued Tan Wenbo from the control of the Heart-Grabbing Pill, escaping their suffering. They completed one of the branch tasks and each received a reward of ten merits.

  "Jiang Zhiwei, Zhang Yuanshan, Qi Xia, Qi Zhengyan, and Zhen Ding saved Ma Lianghuan from the control of the Heart-Stealing Pill, completing one of the branch tasks. Each was rewarded with ten merits."

  "All side quests have been completed."

  Meng Qi and others were silent, their mood did not improve at all, even Ma Liang Han was counted among them.