Since Hu Hong had stumbled upon this matter, he could not be allowed to leave. Moreover, if he could also capture the young master of the Hundred Flowers Island, he might be able to extract some benefits. With this Demon Cult spy here, he could simply pin everything on the cult.
Having made his decision, the intent to kill was set in Liu Ji's heart. The smile on his face remained unchanged as he suddenly said, "Since Young Master Hu is here, you are our guest. Why don't you stay and witness with me the miraculous sight of the Xuan Palace's secret treasure's emergence?"
Hu Hong had no idea what Liu Ji was referring to, but he had already begun circulating his inner energy to protect his vital points, just in case.
Suddenly a fierce light flashed in Liu Ji's eyes, and without the slightest warning, he attacked! His obese body erupted with shocking power and speed. His five fingers formed a claw, bringing with it a foul-smelling black wind, aimed directly at Hu Hong's throat! This strike was both fast and vicious; he was clearly serious, intending to kill his opponent in one move.
Hu Hong was horrified. He never imagined Liu Ji would turn on him so suddenly and decisively. Fortunately, he had already circulated his full power. The tip of his foot tapped the ground, and his body floated backward like a startled butterfly. At the same time, he flicked his sleeves, sending several fine needles shimmering with a dim light shooting toward Liu Ji's face like raindrops. It was the Hundred Flowers Island's signature hidden weapon, the [Bee Sting Needles]!
Liu Ji let out a vicious snort, not dodging or evading. His protective qi barrier erupted, shattering all the poison needles. His attack did not falter as he pursued like a shadow, his claws striking out in a combination, each aimed at Hu Hong's vital points.
The martial arts of the Hundred Flowers Island were known for their lightness and grace, not for brute force. Facing the full-force assault of a cunning, old fox like Liu Ji with his profound cultivation, Hu Hong was immediately overwhelmed and in grave danger. There was a muffled "thud," and Hu Hong was ultimately a step too slow. Liu Ji's palm struck him squarely in the chest!
"Pfft!" As if struck by a heavy blow, Hu Hong cried out, spewing a mouthful of fresh blood. His body flew backward uncontrollably. By a cruel twist of fate, the direction he was flying was straight toward the deep, dark-blue Yin-Yang Pool!
"Sploosh!" Hu Hong crashed heavily into the cold pool water.
And almost at the very same moment, in the other battle, Mo Xingyun, who had been holding on by a thread, had also reached the end of his rope. He managed to dodge the combined slashes of several black-armored guards, but due to his exhaustion, his footing faltered, revealing a fatal opening.
A veteran guard captain who had been circling on the flank saw his chance. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes. The battle-axe in his hand traced a strange arc, carrying a spiral of fierce energy, and hacked viciously at Mo Xingyun's back!
"Ugh!"
Mo Xingyun let out a pained groan he could not suppress. His back was instantly cleaved open by a massive wound, and blood gushed out. At that moment, an almost imperceptible, dark, mysterious light flashed from his back, absorbing some of the fatal force. However, the immense impact still caused his vision to black out, and his body, like a puppet with its strings cut, also fell backward toward the Yin-Yang Pool!
"Splash!"
Another loud splash echoed as Mo Xingyun, following right after Hu Hong, also fell into the Yin-Yang Pool.
The bone-chilling, extreme cold energy of the Yin-Yang Pool instantly invaded his limbs and bones, making his already hazy consciousness from his grievous injuries even more cloudy.
Just as his body continued to sink and his life force was about to be extinguished, the mysterious secret treasure that had lain dormant within him, originating from the depths of his bloodline, was violently stimulated by the unique energy of the Yin-Yang Pool. Sensing its master's impending death, it suddenly erupted with a brilliant, unprecedented radiance!
Coincidentally, the wound on Mo Xingyun's back from the black-armored guard's sword and the vital blood of the Ning clan descendant, sprayed from his chest by Liu Ji's heavy blow, also merged into the dark-blue pool water. The moment the blood touched the pool water, it was like a spark dropped into boiling oil. The entire Yin-Yang Pool began to churn violently, and countless dark-blue runes lit up from the bottom and walls, forming a massive, profound, and arcane formation pattern!
With the blood as the catalyst, the pool water as the medium, and the secret treasure as the core, through this accidental collision, the activation of some ancient ritual had been forcibly initiated in the most primitive and brutal way imaginable! Mo Xingyun's body seemed to transform into a source point of energy. Streams of incomparably pure, vibrant, and mysterious energy began to uncontrollably dissipate from his body, tinting the surrounding pool water with a faint, cyan-golden hue.
Not far from him, Hu Hong, who had also fallen into the pool, was in a similarly wretched state. The force of Liu Ji's palm strike had been so heavy that it had displaced his internal organs, and a sharp pain tore through his chest.
He endured the pain, and the moment he entered the water, he hurriedly began to circulate the "Night Heart Secret Art" of the Hundred Flowers Island. This secret art was a closely guarded secret of the island, capable of not only rapidly healing wounds but also, in moments of crisis, absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth for one's own use to replenish depleted strength.
The "Night Heart Secret Art" instinctively sensed the incomparably pure energy frantically escaping from Mo Xingyun's body nearby. Under Hu Hong's unconscious activation, it began to uncontrollably draw in and devour the secret treasure's energy that should have otherwise dissipated into the pool or returned to Xingyun's body, channeling it into his own meridians! Hu Hong felt waves of warmth mixed with sharp pain surge into his body. His injuries seemed to be healing rapidly, but at the same time, his meridians felt as if they were about to burst, forcing him to emit a series of suppressed, pained groans. He was still unaware of where this energy came from, simply assuming it was a special property of the mysterious pool. He desperately circulated his technique, trying to refine and absorb it.
On the shore, Liu Ji watched the strange energy fluctuations in the pool and the light emanating from Mo Xingyun. He was stunned for a moment, but then his eyes erupted with even greater greed and fanaticism. "Hahaha! So there really is a wondrous treasure! This brat must be hiding a massive secret! Men, go down there and drag him up! Dead or alive, I will personally handle him and take the treasure from his body!"
The few black-armored guards behind him were about to receive the order and jump in when a wondrous, sweet, and strange fragrance drifted down, carrying an indescribably supreme and terrifying aura, as if a celestial maiden had descended from the nine heavens. It suddenly flooded down from the spiral staircase above!
Following that, a stunningly beautiful figure, as if treading on moonlight and starlight, slowly appeared in everyone's sight. The newcomer was none other than the Holy Empress of the Immortal Palace, Ning Xuefei!
She wore a long, thin gauze dress. Beneath the gauze, her snow-white, delicate, and seemingly translucent skin was faintly visible. The top of the dress was form-fitting, perfectly outlining her proud, full, and ample breasts. They were so voluptuous and large that they swayed gently beneath the thin gauze with her steps, creating two breathtaking, waves of snow-white flesh. At the waist, the dress was tightly bound by a silver belt inlaid with fine purple crystals, accentuating her slender, flexible waist. Below the belt, the fabric of the dress flared out like a waterfall.
Her plump, round, and curvaceous buttocks stood high and firm behind her enchanting figure. Those two plump mounds, like perfectly ripe peaches, pushed the hem of the gauze skirt up by a few centimeters. With every sway of her hips, the two plump cheeks pressed and rubbed against each other under the thin gauze, creating layer upon layers of sensual waves.
The slit of the long dress ran all the way up to the root of her thigh. As she walked, her two slender legs, wrapped in flesh-colored stockings, were revealed. The stockings were as thin as a cicada's wing, perfectly clinging to the soft, supple skin of her thighs. Their delicate texture gleamed with a faint, oily sheen under the azure light, and the original pinkish hue of her skin was faintly visible beneath them. A circle of exquisite, matching lace at the top of the stockings was tightly fastened around the fleshy base of her thighs, leaving a shallow indentation on her full legs.
On her feet were a pair of silver, four-inch, open-toed high heels. The delicate uppers were made of only a few thin silver straps, accentuating her well-maintained, snow-white feet, painted with bright red nail polish, making them appear even more delicate and alluring. The high heels made her figure appear even taller and emphasized the already exaggerated curve of her plump, perky buttocks.
"Liu Ji!" Ning Xuefei's phoenix eyes blazed with fury, her voice as cold as ice, carrying an undeniable authority. "What are you doing here?! This is a forbidden area of the Xuan Palace. Without a decree from me or the Divine Emperor, who gave you the audacity to trespass here and cause such a commotion?!"
Seeing Ning Xuefei's sudden appearance, Liu Ji's heart leaped into his throat, and a flicker of panic crossed his face. He never expected Ning Xuefei to appear today, but he quickly forced himself to calm down. His eyes darted around as he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am acting on the secret orders of the Divine Emperor, pursuing a demonic cult spy who infiltrated the Immortal Palace. I tracked them here. These spies were exceptionally ferocious, and I had no choice but to engage them here. I have disturbed this sacred place and hope for Your Majesty's forgiveness!"
"A demonic cult spy?" Ning Xuefei raised her willow-leaf eyebrows, her gaze sweeping over the black-armored guards' corpses strewn throughout the hall, then looking at the churning Yin-Yang Pool. "It seems to me that Lord Liu has other intentions here." Her gaze was as sharp as a sword. She tilted her body slightly, and the thin gauze dress swayed with the movement. Beneath the high-slit hem, the curves of her long legs, sheathed in flesh-colored stockings, were fully revealed. The flesh of her legs gleamed with a lustrous, almost seductive sheen under the stockings. Combined with the light tap of her high heels on the ground, she exuded a heart-stopping allure. Her gaze fell upon the two figures floating in the pool water. One was Hu Hong, whom she had sent to investigate. The other, though his aura was faint, emitted the energy of the Ning clan's secret treasure and the faint sense of bloodline connection that sent a shock through her heart.
Her mind raced with thoughts. The activation of the Ning clan's secret treasure meant a monumental event had occurred. She could not let anyone know what had happened in the Xuan Palace tonight, and she absolutely could not let Liu Ji leave this place alive and reveal its secrets!
*****
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