Chapter 769: General in the Midst

Outside Taixu, the city lord of Danxian secretly arrived at a prearranged location with Li Qianjun and his retinue in tow.

"Are you sure your information is reliable?" Li Qianjun asked.

"Absolutely, Commander Li. I've been sending spies in an attempt to lure Shenfeng's army into attacking Danxian, only to discover that their commanders are all hiding around Taixu. Worried that I would startle them, I didn't dare investigate in more detail. That's why I sent for you, Commander."

"Taixu?" Li Qianjun frowned at the barren ruins of the city.

He had once been the city lord of Taixu, the original location of the Taiqing Immortal Sect. He was very familiar with the area.

He felt a little uneasy, but with his Boundless Immortal relic in hand, he didn't think he had anything to fear.

"Where are they?" Li Qianjun asked.

"Over there!" The city lord of Danxian pointed at a forest shrouded with fog.

Li Qianjun looked over and frowned. "That is a good hiding spot."

The next moment, Li Qianjun turned to the city lord of Danxian. "You've already betrayed Hongyue, haven't you?"

"Of course not, Commander Li!"

"Our spies haven't received any information about Shenfeng's plans. How could you have identified where its commanders are? Do you really think I'm so easy to trick? It looks like you have a death wish," Li Qianjun said coldly.

"No, no! I haven't betrayed Hongyue, Commander Li!"

"Arrest him!"

"Understood!" Li Qianjun's subordinates shot forward.

Just then, a burst of golden light came from afar.

"Who's there?"

The cultivators whirled around to see the golden light split up into hundreds, thousands, then tens of thousands of diffuse beams. They headed straight for Li Qianjun and his subordinates.

"The demon-subduing golden hoop?" Li Qianjun frowned.

He threw a punch. His fist transformed into a black vortex that deflected the countless copies of the demon-subduing golden hoop. They coalesced back in the Demon Child's hand.

The Demon Child shot forward and roared, "Li Qianjun, I'll make you pay for what you've done!"

"Ridiculous!" Li Qianjun tossed out his Taiqing burial pagoda, which clashed against the demon-subduing golden hoop in a flurry of sparks.

The city lord of Danxian turned to flee.

"No one can save you now!" Li Qianjun shouted. He reached out for the city lord of Danxian himself.

Just then, a shadowy figure shot straight at Li Qianjun and punched him.

"Who's there?" Li Qianjun frowned as he retaliated with a punch of his own.

Li Qianjun exchanged blows with the shadowy figure. The resulting shockwave sent everyone flying.

"Ye Sanshui? Die!" Li Qianjun roared.

Ye Sanshui scoffed. "You're the one who should die!"

Ye Sanshui sent Li Qianjun stumbling back with a fist just in time for him to witness the city lord of Danxian escaping.

"Take down that traitor at any cost!" Li Qianjun roared.

"Understood!" His Golden Immortal subordinates rushed toward the city lord of Danxian.

"Help!" the c ity lord of Danxian exclaimed.

Just then, beams of light shot out of the forests in the vicinity. Ye Dafu and a group of golden cultivators had emerged.

"Die!" the golden cultivators roared.

They blocked Li Qianjun's subordinates, allowing the city lord of Danxian to flee.

"Demon Child, today, on His Majesty's orders, I'll be clearing away the rabble on your behalf. Li Qianjun is yours to handle. Leave the Taiqing burial pagoda to me!" Ye Sanshui shouted.

He shot toward the Taiqing burial pagoda and blocked it for the Demon Child.

The Demon Child turned to Li Qianjun and roared, "Li Qianjun, die!"

Li Qianjun exchanged blows with the Demon Child. There seemed to be little disparity in strength between them; both retreated about a hundred meters from the impact.

"You really are overconfident, aren't you?" Li Qianjun said coldly.

"Say whatever you want. You won't have an opportunity to do so after today," the Demon Child replied coldly.

The two cultivators began to fight each other once more.

Meanwhile, in another Immortal city, Yuan Wudi was listening to a subordinate's report.

"Vice Commander, my avatar is with Commander Li. The Demon Child and Ye Sanshui are attacking him at the moment, and Ye Dafu and the others are attacking us in turn. What do we do?"

Yuan Wudi was silent for a moment. "Have you reported this to His Majesty?"

"One of us has an avatar at Hongyue's capital. His Majesty should have heard of it," his subordinate reported.

"Good." Yuan Wudi nodded.

"Will the commander be in danger?" the subordinate asked.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to Li Qianjun. His Majesty predicted that something like this might happen, though not this quickly," Yuan Wudi replied.

"Understood!"

Yuan Wudi smiled coldly. "Since Ye Sanshui and the Demon Child are attacking Li Qianjun, then Yongding must be unguarded at the moment."

"Vice Commander, do you intend to raid Yongding?" his subordinate exclaimed.

"And why not?"

"Yongding's particularly dangerous. Didn't you suffer at Xiao Nanfeng's hands last time?" his subordinate replied cautiously.

"So what? What happened back then is different from what's going to happen now. Follow me!" Yuan Wudi declared.

"Yes, Vice Commander!"

Yuan Wudi secretly left the barracks and vanished over the horizon.

Back in Taixu, the fight continued.

Li Qianjun was simultaneously attacking Ye Sanshui with the Taiqing burial pagoda and taking on the Demon Child personally. As a result, he was forced back by the Demon Child again and again.

Even so, he didn't panic. Everything seemed to be under his control. Just as he was about to be defeated, Li Qianjun drew a longsword and slashed at the Demon Child.

The sword brimmed with energy, and the Demon Child was sent flying back.

"That Immortal sword from before? A Boundless Immortal relic?" the Demon Child exclaimed.

"I deliberately went easy on you when attempting to rescue the saint's main body. That's the only reason you escaped unharmed. I don't plan on going easy on you again. Die!" Li Qianjun roared.

He sent another slash at the Demon Child, who blanched and defended with his demon-subduing golden hoop. Both he and his relic were sent flying.

"I'll kill you!" the Demon Child roared.

He duplicated his golden hoop once more. Tens of thousands of copies of the relic struck Li Qianjun.

"It's only a Golden Immortal relic. Do you really think you can take me on with it?" Li Qianjun scoffed.

His sword emitted thousands of blades of energy that cut all the copies of the hoop apart.

The hoops all vanished, leaving only the original copy behind—only for that to break into countless fragments as well.

"My golden hoop!" the Demon Child suddenly cried out in despair.

"That golden hoop is a relic your mother, that wench, stole from the Taiqing Immortal Sect. She attuned to it for many years and never even let me touch it. In the end, she gave it to you—and now it's ruined. Aren't you upset? Haha!"

The Demon Child suddenly thought about what his mother had told him when she handed him the relic.

"My dear child, this is my finest treasure. It'll surely guard you and keep you safe. No matter where you go, keep it with you, alright? It'll protect you like I do."

His mother's words echoed in his ears. After her death, whenever he thought of her, he rubbed his golden hoop tightly. Now, Li Qianjun had taken even that away from him.

"Mother!" the Demon Child cried out in anguish.

Black smoke gushed out from his body as if he were about to undergo a demonic transformation again. His body spasmed in pain.

"Demon Child, Li Qianjun's trying to provoke you! Come to your senses!" Ye Sanshui shouted.

"Ha! As if he'd listen to the likes of you. His mind might as well be under my control. Now, die!" Li Qianjun roared in laughter.

He swung his Immortal sword at the Demon Child again.

"Be careful!" Ye Sanshui shouted.

Just as his sword technique was about to strike the Demon Child, a green sword array emerged from the black smoke around him and shot straight toward Li Qianjun.

"What?!" Li Qianjun exclaimed.

The two sword techniques exploded as they struck each other, then dissipated in the air.

The next moment, green swords manifested all around the Demon Child, slowly revolving around him in a loop.

"When did the Demon Child develop such a potent technique?" Ye Sanshui exclaimed.

"Third Uncle, the Demon Child's body is forged out of the seventh-grade lotus, a Boundless Immortal relic. Has the Demon Child managed to attune to it?" Ye Dafu's eyes widened in surprise.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He had witnessed just how frightening the relic was. Unfortunately, the Demon Child had never yet been able to command it—until now.

"You!" Li Qianjun thundered.

He regretted his provocation immediately. How had slicing apart the Demon Child's demon-subduing golden hoop given him the enlightenment he needed? That was ridiculous!

"Li Qianjun, I'll kill you!" the Demon Child bellowed in rage.

More and more swords manifested around him. As the Demon Child charged forward, all the swords hurtled toward Li Qianjun like a flood.

"Damn it!" Li Qianjun cursed, defending with his own sword.

The two techniques clashed in the air in another blistering explosion.