He was the first to jump out, and Mu Aotie was not far behind, jumping out as well.
The iron-faced man crawling on the ground looked back, knowing his life was over, yet he could not help but struggle in his death throes, crawling forward desperately.
Nan and Mu rushed up, ready to swing their swords and strike him down.
Yu Qing, who was looking out the window to assess the surroundings, suddenly shouted, “Stop!”
Nan and Mu naturally paused, looking at him in confusion.
Yu Qing jumped out of the window, walked over to the iron-faced man, and used his foot to roll him over. Resting one hand on his sword planted in the ground, he knelt on one knee, grabbed the man’s collar, and pulled him up. Staring at the iron-faced man, who now looked somewhat aged, he asked, “Confess honestly. Who is plotting against me, and who is pulling the strings behind the scenes to make you do all this?”
The iron-faced man was stunned for a moment, then chuckled weakly. “Want to know? I can tell you. First, put me in the Earth Spring to soak, and I will tell you. Otherwise, why should I tell you? If someone continues to plot against you, isn’t that just taking revenge for me?”
Yu Qing let him go and reached out to take his pulse, checking his physical condition. He found that the man was completely exhausted, his life force nearly depleted. Without entering the Earth Spring, even if he could escape, he probably would not live much longer. He could not endure any more tossing about, so taking him away for slow interrogation was out of the question. However, he could not possibly let this villain enter the Earth Spring again.
The reality was right in front of him. If he did not let the man enter the Earth Spring, the man indeed had no reason to tell him anything.
He stood up, gave up, and turned to leave. “Chop him!”
Nan Zhu immediately brought his sword down with a fierce expression, chopping until blood splashed everywhere.
Mu Aotie also swung his sword and joined in. The swords of the two rose and fell endlessly, chopping without pause.
As swordsmen, using a chopping method like this was somewhat abnormal, especially this endless hacking as if mincing meat into paste.
However, both were experienced. They knew that dealing with a demon full of evil qi, if not killed thoroughly, would lead to future trouble. Besides, they had already seen the iron-faced man survive even after his head was chopped off.
After thoroughly dealing with the iron-faced man, the three martial brothers sheathed their long swords and climbed back through the window into the pavilion…
Elder Wu, hiding in the mountain hollow and watching, had a blank stare.
He watched with his own eyes as the iron-faced man escaped from the pavilion. He was shocked. He actually was not dead?
He watched as the iron-faced man transformed from a three-headed, six-armed form back into a human shape. He roughly understood why the iron-faced man had severed his connection with him. He had not expected to encounter such a ruthless person who would not even spare himself.
He watched as the evil qi in the iron-faced man’s body was drained, causing him to collapse. He had originally intended to go over and demand an explanation, but he was so frightened that his hands and feet trembled. He knew all too well what the draining of such evil qi meant for himself.
His body was already long decayed, sustained only by evil qi. Once the evil qi was drained, he was afraid he would not even need the chaotic sword chops before him to be minced. He would instantly disintegrate into fine powder.
He did not believe that the collapse of the iron-faced man was something Yu Qing and the others could achieve. Instead, he thought it must be some trick used by the golden giant.
In short, he became increasingly terrified, not even daring to approach that pavilion…
Shen Qingcheng and Ning Chaoyi had not run far either. Knowing their cultivation was insufficient to outrun the iron-faced man, they also found a place to hide in the shadows and watch. They too saw the scene of Nan Zhu and the others hacking the iron-faced man to death with their swords, their eyes full of disbelief.
Seeing the three martial brothers swagger back, the two looked at each other. Shen Qingcheng said in shock and suspicion, “Did I see things wrong? They actually killed the iron-faced man? They actually have such ability?”
Ning Chaoyi was silent for a moment, then said, “We will know what happened if we just ask. Since he is already dead, let us go back.”
Shen Qingcheng hummed in agreement and was about to take the initiative to carry him on her back again.
Ning Chaoyi hurriedly said, “No need. My cultivation is still intact. Hopping along with my hands is not a problem.”
Shen Qingcheng suddenly said inexplicably, “If we can leave here alive, I want to go to Blue Treasure Lake and herd sheep with you. Will you despise me?”
The so-called despise merely referred to matters of a woman being available to any man.
Ning Chaoyi was slightly stunned, then smiled. “Come, carry me.”
Shen Qingcheng also smiled. She squatted in front of him, and her seemingly frail body lifted the disabled man onto her back, then swiftly flew towards the pavilion…
Inside the hall, Yu Qing found the chain pendant. He checked it, reconnected the broken part, and put it back around his neck.
Even until this moment, he still felt somewhat lingering fear.
At first, he had no idea if this bead was useful against a living cultivator. After all, cultivators could use spells to control it or resist it in various ways. He was forced to a dead end and truly had no other way. That woman Bai Lan had thoroughly tricked him, determined to drag him down to death with her. What could he do? He had to find a way to deal with it.
Fortunately, it actually worked, and even allowed him to counter-kill the iron-faced man.
He still did not understand what this bead was exactly used for, but judging by some of its effects, it could be considered a treasure he had picked up.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, seeing the necklace that was retrieved, also felt a wave of lingering fear. This time, they had truly licked blood from the blade again, and it counted as another narrow escape from death.
Back when they were at the Linglong Temple and life was dull and tasteless, the two had never imagined that their martial arts world would one day be so thrilling, and more thrilling than the martial arts world of most people. They had truly seen the grand world.
Just then, the three martial brothers looked towards the back door in unison. They saw a figure carrying someone coming in, and knew at a glance who it was.
The three martial brothers immediately leaped back into the hall. Now that Shen Qingcheng and Ning Chaoyi were weak and few in number, the three were not afraid of the other party wanting to settle accounts with Nan Zhu.
The two parties met and looked around at the bloody scene together. There was the dismembered Bai Lan, Nie Pinlan with a sword still stuck in her head, dying with her eyes wide open, and the corpses that had been killed in the hall earlier.
Bringing their gaze back to the faces of the three, Ning Chaoyi asked, “I saw you chop the iron-faced man to pieces. How did you manage that?”
Yu Qing hummed. “He was backlashed by the Earth Spring himself. We just took advantage of the situation.”
It was not that he liked to lie, but there was no need to voluntarily reveal the magic of the chain pendant. This way, it would be easier for everyone to get along peacefully, everyone would feel at ease, and it could avoid a lot of trouble.
“Backlashed…” Ning Chaoyi muttered to himself.
Nan Zhu shrank behind Yu Qing and Mu Aotie, feeling embarrassed to face them. After all, Ning Chaoyi’s legs were chopped off by the giant sword because he picked the golden fruit, and he had seen it with his own eyes.
Before the few of them had time to discuss what to do, they suddenly looked around in unison, as the palace was gradually brightening.
Various exits of all sizes leading to the outside world gradually had light seeping in, dispelling the darkness inside the hall.
The few of them quickly ran to the gate tower outside the hall, looked up at the sky, and saw the seawater slowly descending. They also saw the sky light gradually brightening behind the seawater…
On the vast ice field, a piece in the middle cracked open and gradually rose into the air.
Big Head was startled and quickly flew away, avoiding the place of trouble, circling in the air to watch.
Several figures flew out from the crack in the ice layer. The golden giant, along with Wu Sui holding his children and grandchildren, floated in the air and watched. They saw a massive block of ice, seven or eight li long and wide, and two or three hundred zhang thick, slowly rising into the sky.
At a glance, the few of them knew it had been cracked and pushed into the air by the lifting force of the Immortal Palace. The lifted ice block was as large as a city, and the lifting force of the Immortal Palace could be imagined.
Just as the entire Immortal Palace broke away from the sea level of the ice field, the massive lifted ice block finally cracked under the pressure. It quickly shattered into pieces and crashed down with a loud rumble.
Some crashed into the sea surface, splashing up towering waves, while others smashed onto the Immortal Palace.
Looking up from the gate tower, they first saw some relatively smaller ice blocks shattering and falling down. Smaller was only relative to the massive lifted ice block. To those watching, it still looked like a mountain was crashing down.
The scene was like the sky collapsing and the earth cracking. Although they knew the Immortal Palace had defences, Yu Qing and the others were still frightened and quickly darted back into the palace.
Amidst the loud rumbling, the palace shook. Yu Qing immediately worried about the remains hidden on the dome of the palace. He quickly flew to the wall and rapidly climbed up.
For him, he indeed had to take out the golden coffin. Even if he was to bury it, he had to take it out to bury it. He could not let Qiao Qie er die in a foreign land.
However, heaven did not fulfil human wishes. A shattered main ice block fell from outside, its massive volume crashing onto the outer body of the Immortal Palace with a loud rumble.
The shock caused the entire Immortal Palace to tilt highly and shake violently. The shock made Yu Qing cling to the carved railing, not daring to move easily. The shock made Nan Zhu and the others unable to stand steadily, and they all used spells to pin themselves firmly to the ground.
And the thing Yu Qing worried about most also happened. After stabilising his figure and looking back, he saw the golden coffin indeed slide down from the dome and fall towards the ground with a whoosh.
Yu Qing’s eyes were about to burst from their sockets. If the golden coffin smashed into the ground, what would happen? The remains inside would instantly be crushed to pieces.
He immediately spread his arms and jumped down with all his might, rapidly chasing after the falling golden coffin. But he was indeed a bit late. The weight of the golden coffin was there, and the speed of its fall was indeed fast.
Fortunately, the dome of the palace was right in the centre of the main hall, and the Earth Spring was also right in the centre of the main hall, just one above the other.
The golden coffin crashed into the water with a splash and instantly sank into the Earth Spring.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie were greatly shocked, as they saw Yu Qing actually rushing towards the Earth Spring regardless of everything.
“Fifteenth Brother!” Nan Zhu cried out in alarm, flying out to intercept him.
Clang! Water splashed in all directions. In the end, he could not stop him. Yu Qing’s figure had already submerged into the water.
Nan Zhu was just a tiny bit away from grabbing him.
Fortunately, the sinking force in the water was slow. Nan Zhu, with half his body plunging into the water, grabbed Yu Qing’s ankles with both hands.
Mu Aotie, who then rushed to the edge of the pool platform, grabbed Nan Zhu’s legs. The two who had plunged into the water were pulled out by him with great effort, like pulling a radish.
Yu Qing, who was pulled out, did not appreciate the favour. He roared angrily, “Let go!”
His cultivation was higher, so Nan Zhu alone could not control him. Mu Aotie immediately pounced and hugged him tightly, refusing to let go.
The three martial brothers rolled and struggled on the ground, instantly making a soaking wet mess.
What a joke. This was the Earth Spring. Going in would turn one into a demon. How could Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie let him soak in it?
However, with a lower level of cultivation, it was truly difficult to control him.
Yu Qing roared again, “If you do not let go, do not blame me for being rude…” Before he could finish, he was silenced. His eyes rolled back, showing the whites, and he went completely still.
Nan Zhu suddenly made his move. He pressed two fingers against the back of Yu Qing’s head, directly knocking him unconscious, and then quickly applied a seal on Yu Qing.
There was no other way. Neither he nor Mu Aotie could let Yu Qing ruin his entire life for a dead person. The deceased had passed, there was no need for this. They could only knock the sect leader unconscious.