Volume One, Chapter 81: Love at First Sight

"This..." Gu Zhen furrowed his brows lightly, his words stuck at the edge of his lips. Before he could say anything more, Yu Fei directly seized Wen Xuyu, her grip somewhat forceful.

"Alright, Senior Brother, leave her to me. I see you still have plenty of patients here—no need to worry about these trivial matters!"

Yu Fei’s eyes brimmed with tenderness and admiration. Fortunately, she had arrived in time; otherwise, Wen Xuyu would have seized another opportunity.

Qin Mingyue had always found Yu Fei’s double standards intolerable—gentle and charming before Senior Brother Gu, but disdainful to anyone else.

A flicker of displeasure crossed Wen Xuyu’s eyes. She easily freed herself from Yu Fei’s grasp, her tone indifferent. "It’s fine, you all..."

The Grand Elder, upon witnessing Yi Tianyun’s formidable power, was not overly astonished. He thought the level was decent, but not to the point of defying the heavens. All that strength was under his control, hardly exceeding his expectations.

"Come on, let's hurry back. If Zhou Lei escapes, we'll regret it too late," Zhuang Lier urged anxiously.

Moreover, they carried heavy shields; with such defenses, the Ming army’s arquebuses could not possibly penetrate them—a fact the Tartars had already tested.

These men raced to the gate, the leader quickly pulling out his identification card and swiping it across the access panel. The door opened smoothly, and they surged inside.

"Second Senior Sister, we'll take our leave as well," Third Senior Brother Bie Youdian and Fourth Senior Brother Tie Tong echoed respectfully.

Further out on distant streets, local folk parades—flower street processions, drum troupes, heroic dancers—occasionally passed through, drawing crowds to watch the lively spectacle.

The power of Dragon Sword surged, and Fan Lang wielded it once more, clashing with Burning Heaven’s technique. This time, the outcome was different: the two forces were evenly matched.

Luo Hou let out a thunderous shout, thrusting his staff, which transformed into a beam piercing the enormous dragon’s head above.

In truth, had Ban Ming been present, he would have been astonished by Shu Xue’s display just now.

"Try a little first to see if it tastes good," Shandi suggested. He could tell his sister was already full, but he brought it out merely for her to sample.

"No, you mustn't get involved. That man is a peak Martial Emperor—none of you are his match, even together," Li Tianyu quickly shook his head in refusal. He knew that should Wang Xi and the others confront the man in black, Brother Fu, they’d only be sending themselves to their deaths in vain.

"Are you sure?" Mu Wanqiu had already regained her composure; she refused to believe Gu Qin would perish so easily.

To break this formation, one must destroy its core, which had been suppressed by a formation master using a quarter of the Heaven’s Absolute Array. In other words, to break the grand formation, the Heaven’s Absolute Array must be overcome.

Sweetie nodded confidently, trusting her own skills. "When should we escape? When we disembark?" If they waited until the various factions began negotiations, the chance to escape would diminish greatly.

"That’s a clever idea. I agree—every time Zhu Mengxi arranges dozens of celebrities, it’s too extravagant. After all, we’re auctioning items, not holding an awards ceremony!" Qin Zheng raised both hands in agreement.

Joel sneered at the string of dull gray beads, turning his head away so as not to look at Bai Ling’s Buddhist beads.

Azure Lotus was Xiao Yixue’s signature treasure. Though not a top-tier artifact, it was nearly so, and its power was astonishing when fully unleashed.

"But I still don’t know what the skill actually is!" Chu Cheng looked at Xia Tian, baffled. Since the token came into his possession, he’d been searching for any clue about the skill.

When Shu Yi hung up, Long Jiuyuan asked, "Who are we taking?" Shu Yi replied, "Ma Yong, Xiao Ying’s husband, heard that National Security questioned Xiao Ying. He’s gone to Lin City Bureau, saying he has something to report. Chief Long, you and Ouyang hurry back to the bureau and bring him over." Long Jiuyuan and Ouyang Shuai rushed out immediately.

Spiritual power is generally invisible and colorless, except for some special cases where only the wielder can perceive its hue. Sweetie’s own was a pale milky white. The so-called spiritual power ranking is determined by the quantity of spiritual power.

Contractors are divided into Spirit Manipulators, Spirit Fusers, Profoundborn, Profound Openers, Twelve Grades of Contracts, Half Lords, Grand Lords, and Spirit Lords.

Lin Fan smiled, jesting, "Have you ever heard of soul-nourishing chicken soup? Today, to sell this technique, I’ll pour you a bowl of spiritual chicken soup."

Moreover, when one’s power is depleted, it takes a long time to fully recover to peak condition.

To express his dissatisfaction, Qin Daguang dragged out the last syllable of "get out," his face animated with emotion.

The vulture knew well that only Zhang Yixiang could save him now, but his phone had been taken by Qin Mingqiang, leaving him unable to contact Young Master Zhang.

After the previous encounter, Sun Zhaoming dared not let his guard down against Ling Zhiyuan, fearing his schemes would backfire.

Seeing he was still asleep, I secretly rejoiced, quietly getting out of bed to dress. I freshened up in the bathroom, and when I returned to the bedroom, he was still asleep.

In an instant, dark purple energy surged forth, transforming into a light pillar that shot straight into the sky, shattering the starlit dome overhead.

Outside Jade Sword Mountain, the wind whipped and snow fell fiercely, but within the platform, all was calm. On the vast terrace, jade balustrades and carved railings surrounded clusters of crystal palaces, seemingly sculpted from ice and snow. Sunlight refracted off them, casting rainbow hues, lending an illusory and dreamlike beauty.

The Demon Lord raised his hand, signaling silence. The devotees dared not utter a sound.

At last, another breakthrough—after countless years of accumulation and endurance, hope finally appeared.

Wu Yi swallowed the pill, and now, freshly awake, the pain in his tendons and bones eased. Looking at the crowd, Wu Yi realized he was at Tang Fortress. He took a deep breath, a faint, tired smile on his face, and tried to rise and pay his respects.

They climbed the watchtower, gazing out over the river. It was deep night, heavy fog blanketing the water. All they saw were the silhouettes of warships, soldiers shouting and beating drums, their momentum fierce.

Peak Golden Immortal was only seventy percent of his experience. The formation’s killing of enemies did lessen Zhu Qi’s experience gain, but twenty thousand demon crystals were still a bargain.