"Damn it!" Miao Kong exclaimed in a low voice—the ambush had been exposed, and the two most difficult opponents had not yet fallen into the trap!
Sure enough, that exclamation was a crucial warning, causing Huo Zhanbai and Wei Fengxing, who arrived shortly after, to stop in their tracks. Standing outside the door, they cautiously looked towards the source of the sound, and simultaneously gasped in surprise!
In the darkness, lights gradually illuminated, their flickering glow revealing six bodies suspended high in the air, writhing in agony.
"Don't look into his eyes!" Huo Zhanbai exclaimed in surprise as soon as he saw the man in black in the center, before their eyes even met, and pulled Wei Fengxing away. "It's a pupil technique! Just look at his body and foot movements to judge where he's going to attack."
“Heh,” the owner of those eyes laughed under the lamplight, “As expected of Young Master Huo the Seventh.”
The young man sitting in the depths of darkness was covered in wounds; his limbs and throat bore bloody marks from the iron shackles, as if he had suffered unimaginable torment. Pale and emaciated, he raised his eyes and smiled. That smile seemed to radiate a dazzling light—a light that emanated not only from his pupils, but even those not directly watching him felt the room brighten!
"Tong, it's been a long time since we parted ways at Medicine Master Valley." Huo Zhanbai composed himself and spoke slowly.
His pupils involuntarily trembled, and the eerie light in his eyes dimmed slightly. His killing intent lessened: Medicine Master Valley… Medicine Master Valley. These three words were inextricably linked to a certain person; the mere thought of them struck the softest spot in his heart in an instant.
At such a critical moment of life and death, he couldn't help but lose focus.
"Quick!" Huo Zhanbai instantly noticed this subtle flaw and shouted to Wei Fengxing beside him, "Save them!"
The two men pressed their feet forward, lunging like lightning towards their six comrades hanging in mid-air. Their twin swords flashed out like lightning, slicing through the silver ropes binding their throats. A sharp clang rang out, a snapping sound. One of the hanging men plummeted to the ground.
"Sixth Brother!" Wei Fengxing recognized Xu Chonghua and rushed over to catch him.
However, he suddenly felt a jolt throughout his body.
With a soft "whoosh," the other's fingers silently struck a vital acupoint on his chest, freezing him in place for a moment. At the same time, another hand swiftly reached out, snatching the longsword from his hand in the instant his body stiffened, and flicking it back, pinning it firmly to the crossbeam.
"Sixth Brother!" Wei Fengxing exclaimed in disbelief, looking at his colleague who had suddenly turned on him.
"Sixth brother?" The man wearing the bronze mask sneered, looking at Huo Zhanbai. "Who's your brother?"
Huo Zhanbai stood there, staring intently at him, his eyes burning with fury: "Xu Chonghua! You—you really betrayed us? Which side are you on?!"
“I never take sides,” Xu Chonghua sneered. “I am only loyal to myself.”
"You betrayed Dingjian Pavilion, fine, but you don't even care about Qiushui and her child?" Huo Zhanbai gripped his sword tightly, his body trembling slightly, trying to persuade this defector, "How much suffering she has endured in the past eight years—you didn't even ask!"
“Don’t mention that bitch to me,” Xu Chonghua laughed disdainfully, “Even if she were dead, I wouldn’t bat an eye.”
"..." Huo Zhanbai's body stiffened for a moment.
What did he say? What did he mean by "autumn water"?
“She married me out of spite—just as I married her to spite you,” Xu Chonghua replied coldly. “After eight years, haven’t you realized that?”
Huo Zhanbai stared intently at his colleague and rival in love: Over the years, he had speculated a thousand times why Qiu Shui had suddenly married into the Xu family of Runan, thinking that she had been coerced or had changed her mind—but he never expected that the reason would be so simple.
"For that woman alone, I have a reason to kill you." Xu Chonghua, wearing a bronze mask, sneered and drew his sword.
"But what about your child?" Huo Zhanbai's eyes flashed with anger. "Do you know that Mo'er was sick for eight years? Do you know that he just died?"
The masked man was startled, and his cold smile vanished from his lips.
"I have a son?" He murmured, looking at the sword in his hand—when he was ordered to infiltrate Kunlun, the child was still in his mother's womb. He never even got to see the child before it died!
"It's better that he's dead!" However, after a brief silence, he sneered again, "Who knows whose bastard child he was?"
"Shut up!" The fire of anger finally ignited completely within him, bursting forth. Without another word, Huo Zhanbai lunged forward: "Xu Chonghua, you're beyond redemption!"
"Throw away the Ink Soul Sword!" Xu Chonghua didn't even try to block the sword. His fingers gripped Wei Fengxing's throat on the ground, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent. "Don't give me any more high-sounding advice! Do you believe I'll kill Wei Wu?"
The sword's momentum suddenly weakened halfway through and stopped in mid-air.
Seeing that he had indeed stopped, Xu Chonghua burst into laughter and viciously grabbed Wei Fengxing by the throat: "Discard your sword immediately! I'll count to six now, and I'll kill one person for each count!"
"one……"
"Whoosh!" Before the sound faded, Mo Hun flew out like a dragon, piercing deeply into the upper part of the beam. "Ha." Looking up at the seven swords embedded there, Xu Chonghua let out a triumphant laugh that he could no longer hide behind his mask. He sealed Wei Fengxing's acupoints and slowly walked towards the unarmed Huo Zhanbai, the sharp sword in his hand gleaming brightly.
"Huo Qi, you really are a man of deep loyalty." Xu Chonghua laughed sarcastically, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "You treat Qiu Shuiyin this way, and you treat your brothers the same way—don't you find it tiring to live like this?" Before the other could retort, he raised the sword in his hand. "Without a sword in your hand, your martial arts skills are mostly useless, aren't they? Today is the day I avenge my past grievances!"
At this point, he turned his head and nodded slightly to the person in the depths of darkness: "Tong, cooperate with me."
Tong had remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. Only now did she realize what was happening. Without saying much, she simply clapped her hands lightly—instantly, the shadows lurking in the darkness stirred, and the assassins gained complete control of the narrow entrance passage of Snow Prison.
In addition, six daggers were stuck to the throats of the six swordsmen of Dingjian Pavilion.
"Go ahead and do it." Tong clapped his hands, speaking expressionlessly, his eyes lowered as he stared at a small jade bottle in his hand—the last memento that woman left him before she left.
"Good!" Xu Chonghua laughed loudly, "Let's join forces to destroy the Seven Swords, and from now on, the Central Plains and the Western Regions will be ours!"
He showed no mercy any longer, thrusting a deadly sword at his unarmed colleague—a hatred and malice welling up from the depths of his heart, a desire to tear the man before him to pieces. For so many years, in every way, this man had constantly suppressed him; how could he not hate him?
Huo Zhanbai dodged the lightning-fast sword flashes in the darkness, but dared not retaliate.
Because if he were to retaliate, those daggers would slit the throats of his colleagues!
Xu Chonghua was somewhat taken aback—sword energy! Although he had no sword in his hand, every time Huo Zhanbai made a move, invisible sword energy would pierce through the air, separating his sword Bai Hong! This person's swordsmanship had actually improved to such a level after eight years?
His eyes burned with increasing hatred. He wasn't in a hurry to kill his nemesis all at once, but slowly, step by step, approached, his longsword grazing Huo Zhanbai's hands and feet several times, leaving several wounds of varying depths.
"Clang!" The sword pierced towards his brow. Huo Zhanbai couldn't dodge in time and could only raise his hand to catch it.
The sword swept across her left wrist, leaving a long wound.
"Hahahaha..." The pungent smell of blood made Xu Chonghua unable to control his laughter any longer. "Huo Qi, you crippled one of my arms back then, today I'll break your hands and feet! Even the divine physician of Medicine Master Valley can't save you!"
In the Valley of the Medicine Masters... in such a life-or-death situation, he suddenly paused for a moment.