Chapter 323: The Bai Clan of Mount Taicang! Old Grudges! Child of Fortune! Battle for Inheritance!

At this time, Xu Ruoyun froze. But hearing that question, the corners of her lips couldn’t help but curve into a faint smile.

“Most likely, only him.” She already understood the young Daoist’s intent. Relief flooded her heart, and she even let out a muted laugh.

As Xu Ye heard this, he furrowed his brows, and his face grew darker.

“Are you really stupid, or just pretending? No matter what, I look exactly like one of those heroes who saves damsels in distress. How could I just take the pills and then wash my hands of the matter?” Li Yanchu sneered.

Immediately, Xu Ye’s face twitched, and that polished demeanor of a noble family’s son vanished and was replaced by raw agitation. “You bastard, you’re courting death!”

Clang!

He thrust his sword forward, and the surrounding qi surged violently toward him, coalescing into a dazzling arc of sword qi.

However, Li Yanchu met it head-on with a single punch.

Bang!

Blazing blood and qi surged from his fist, shattering Xu Ye’s sword qi.

Immediately, Xu Ye’s expression turned icy. With a swift movement, he activated the Seven-Star Step and instantly appeared before Li Yanchu.His sword qi gathered again, this time bursting forth as three simultaneous arcs, each sharp enough to shear through steel.

But Li Yanchu did not retreat, instead, he advanced. His movement left afterimages in the air as he slipped through the razor-thin gaps between the sword qi. His five fingers curved like hooked talons, latching directly onto Xu Ye’s arm.

At this time, Xu Ye’s eyes widened in shock, and his face drained of color. Images of Zhuge Zheng and Tang Lin’s grisly deaths flashed through Xu Ye’s mind, and he immediately crushed a jade pendant in his hand.

In the next instant, he slipped free from Li Yanchu’s iron-clamp grip and shifted position.

Boom!

Li Yanchu’s palm followed up instantly.

Void-Splitting Palm!

The strike roared like raging wolves and crashing waves, like a great river in flood. Xu Ye felt a suffocating wind pressure bear down on him, making it hard to breathe. He quickly stacked thirteen layers of sword qi and...

Clang!

With one slash, dazzling sword light descended. It was tyrannical and unstoppable, forcibly splitting apart Li Yanchu’s palm force.

“You really think I’d be afraid of you!?” Xu Ye sneered.

His

Stacked Sword Art

was a formidable art, which allowed him to layer sword qi upon sword qi.

At this time, Li Yanchu’s gaze went icy cold. In the next moment, he appeared directly behind Xu Ye and used the Daoist art, Godspeed.

Seeing this, Xu Ye’s eyes went wide in horror. However, he had no time to react...

Crack!

His spine snapped under Li Yanchu’s punch, and his whole body collapsed to the ground. Instantly, he was limp and powerless.

Xu Ruoyun’s eyes widened. For a moment, she was stunned, and her rosy lips parted slightly in shock.

Weren’t they just trading blows evenly a moment ago!? How had he been crippled in a single strike!

A stream of clear light shot out from Xu Ye’s body, condensing into the image of a stately, elegant woman.

“Fellow friend, for my sake, I beg you to spare his life!”

This was a protective charm bound to Xu Ye, triggered automatically in moments of grave danger. Only, Li Yanchu’s strike had been too swift, and the woman’s projection had appeared just a heartbeat too late.

“A white serpent spirit?” Li Yanchu circulated his spiritual power, activating his Qi Sight.

What stood before him was no noble lady at all, but a great white snake with its tongue flickering.

“I am Bai Yu. This child has ties to me. I ask you to show mercy. The Bai Clan of Mount Taicang will be eternally grateful.”

This was no mere wild demon cultivator, but one of the Five Great Immortals beyond the passes: Fox, Weasel, Snake, Hedgehog, and Rat. Their influence ran deep and tangled, and they had colossal power.

Xu Ruoyun’s face went deathly pale, and at the same time, a surge of unspeakable hatred flooded her heart. The doubt that had gnawed at her for years was finally answered. If Xu Ye carried a Bai Clan safeguard, then her mother’s untimely death could not be unrelated to him.

Yet now, with Bai Yu’s appearance, surely this young Daoist would waver. Even the most powerful monks and Daoists preferred not to offend a celestial clan like the Bais.

At this time, Xu Ruoyun bit down on her lip, and her fists were clenched so tight her nails pierced her white palms, while her eyes burned with unwillingness.

Bai Yu, of course, was confident of this as well. Her beautiful eyes fixed intently on Li Yanchu, and she was already calculating how best to save Xu Ye.

This young man possesses tremendous fortune, tied to the schemes of the Five Great Immortal Clans taking control of the Central Plains, so there could be no mistakes.

“A mere demon... dares to talk about saving face with me? What a joke!” Li Yanchu gave a cold laugh.

Boom!

He then struck out with a single palm, and that stately, elegant woman was instantly blasted into nothingness and scattered like ashes.

At that time, Xu Ruoyun’s eyes lit up. Li Yanchu had, in the most domineering and brutal fashion, savagely slapped the Bai Clan of the Five Great Immortals across the face.

Swiftly, Li Yanchu rifled through Xu Ye’s belongings. Earlier, this fellow had produced two bottles of pills from his robe.

When Li Yanchu had used his Godspeed to appear behind him, it was precisely out of fear that his strength would lose control and smash him to pieces. So instead, he had only broken his spine, turning him into a cripple.

Immediately, Xu Ye’s face twisted in agony as he grinded his teeth. He had heard every word of the exchange just now. Never had he imagined this young Daoist would so completely ignore the “rules of the game”.

Bang!

The second son of the Northern Marquis, a man burdened with great fortune and tangled fate, had his head kicked clean off.

At this time, Li Yanchu stripped the corpses of Zhuge Zheng and Tang Lin as well, taking everything of value. Then, he ignited all three corpses with the pure yang fire born from a warrior’s refined qi, burning them swiftly to ash. Without hesitation, he seized the stunned Xu Ruoyun and vaulted away.

Moments later, a clear, piercing crane’s cry echoed, thereafter a figure descended from the heavens. It was Danyangzi. The ancient city within the Jade Altar was vast, and without prior secret signals, it was nearly impossible to regroup.

Danyangzi had descended on another section of the city. Sensing the lingering aura in the air, his expression shifted slightly.

“It’s not Daoist True Fire, nor Buddhist Karmic Fire, but yang fire ignited by the true qi of a warrior. To think that within this Jade Altar Blissful Land, such a martial powerhouse has appeared!”

He was born aligned with the element of fire, and thus was particularly sensitive to the presence of flame. After surveying the area, he immediately mounted his white crane and soared skyward!

The Jade Altar brimmed with spiritual energy and was truly a fine place for cultivation, worthy of the name “Blissful Land.” Yet at this moment, the qi currents were chaotic and excessively dense. Clearly, a legacy was about to emerge. An immortal’s inheritance was what Danyangzi valued most!

“But he’s only a warrior. Even if he has cultivated yang fire with his true qi, it will never compare to the profundity of Daoist arts. He has no hope of claiming the inheritance!”

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

In truth, the only one Danyangzi truly feared was Fire Virtue Sect’s Ye Hongyun, along with a scant few others. Compared to Murong Longcheng, or Chen Tianyuan of the Suspended Sword Sect, it was Ye Hongyun who posed the greatest threat.

For now, vengeance for Hong Baiwei wasn’t his priority. His true task was to find Ye Hongyun and kill him! Otherwise, once the immortal legacy emerged, that disciple of the Fire Virtue Sect would become his greatest enemy.

***

Meanwhile... In a narrow alley of the ancient city, a scholar in a pale moon-white robe lay collapsed in a pool of blood with his face frozen in shock.

A gaping bloody hole pierced through his chest. Before him stood a girl in a green dress holding a long flute with her hands slick with blood, and her expression was icy cold. She looked toward the heart of the city, her eyes full of venom.

“Damn Daoist scum! To so shamelessly slight me and even shatter my soul-split body!”

She was none other than Bai Yu, who had taken on a disguise to infiltrate the Jade Altar Blissful Land. Even Xu Ye himself had not known that this immortal from beyond the passes had secretly followed him inside!

At this time, Bai Yu’s eyes were filled with venomous hatred as she bent over the scholar’s body and began to devour it in great mouthfuls.