It's Xiao Jiu'er's voice!
Lin Zhao knew instantly that the people from the Mountain Peak Villa had found a way to interfere with the Hundred Flowers Realm's situation. Without a second thought, he used his last bit of stamina to ignite a Speed Talisman. With a "peng," white energy currents surged around him, drastically slowing down everything nearby. The next moment, Lin Zhao had already moved away on his sword. A majestic and terrifying sword energy descended from the sky. Xiao Jiu'er's strike was so powerful it seemed less like an attack meant for a ninth-realm martial artist and more like one that would kill even an eleventh-realm martial artist like Xu Beibei.
"Ah?!"
Xu Beibei looked up in terror at the sword energy descending from the sky. A chill spread through his heart. The moment his gaze fell upon the sword energy, his body froze. His momentum was completely locked. At this moment, any arrogant thoughts of "no sword cultivator in this world is worthy of killing me" vanished from Xu Beibei's mind. This sword strike was absolutely beyond his ability to resist.
"Your Highness!"
Not far away, the old flood dragon, its scales covered, on the verge of transforming, looked at Xu Beibei with horror. Before he left, Emperor Xu Chen had clasped his old minister's hand and repeatedly instructed him to protect Xu Beibei, who was notoriously stubborn and prone to trouble. But now, the old flood dragon's heart was filled with despair. The sword strike from the sky wasn't something Xu Beibei could block, and even the physical body of this old ancestor flood dragon wouldn't be able to withstand it. It would be annihilated in an instant. The person who unleashed the sword seemed to have surpassed the realm of a peak Nascent Soul sword cultivator, and by a vast margin. The two were simply incomparable.
"Old Chen!"
Xu Beibei looked at the sword energy in the sky, despair in his eyes, and shouted, "Remember to avenge me! Tell Father that no matter what, that little bastard Lin Zhao must die!"
The next moment, the sword light cascaded down. Xu Beibei's body erupted with fist intent, and his fists unleashed surges of powerful fist energy, as if he were going to confront it head-on. It was useless. After he extended his fists, the sword energy poured down, directly turning Xu Beibei's arms into a rain of blood. Immediately after, Xu Beibei's entire body was annihilated by the sword energy, vanishing in an instant and turning into dust in the heavens and earth.
"Your Highness..."
The old flood dragon gritted his teeth.
"Brother Lin Zhao!"
From the sky, a young martial artist's thunderous roar echoed, "I'll clear the path for you!"
It was Chen Ben!
Lin Zhao was overjoyed. If Chen Ben was here, then it was fine.
...
"Hmm!?"
The old flood dragon's heart trembled. He suddenly felt his entire body immobilized, locked by a surge of powerful fist intent. Even more terrifying was that this fist intent was remarkably similar to the punch Lin Zhao had thrown at the second prince in the Green Hut Inn. The next moment, the old flood dragon's expression turned incredibly ferocious. The two golden inverse scales on his chest exploded consecutively, transforming into a mass of dragon-kind fiendish energy that swirled around his arms. He looked up at the sky and roared, "Do you really think you are like gods, high above all else?!"
Saying this, the old flood dragon furiously lunged towards the sky.
Unfortunately, there was nothing in the sky except for a fist that descended from above, enveloped in righteous fist intent. Where the fist energy exploded, it was as if a torrential downpour had begun in the sky. The fiendish energy unleashed by the old flood dragon's inverse scales was like dust meeting a gentle breeze, instantly scattered. Following this, cracking sounds of bones echoed from all over his body. The dignified ninth-realm flood dragon was utterly vulnerable under Chen Ben's punch. By the time the powerful fist energy poured onto the ground, the old flood dragon's body had already turned into a rain of blood.
"Boom—"
The earth trembled violently. Chen Ben's punch directly created a bottomless pit in the woods outside the Green Hut Inn. The entire Mount Lu shook intensely because of this punch. Thousands of soldiers from the Xu Dynasty were thrown off balance, their faces filled with horror. No one had expected things to turn out this way.
The second prince, Xu Beibei, a ninth-realm martial artist, and his accompanying servant, the old flood dragon, a ninth-realm demon, were instantly killed by a single sword strike and a single punch from the sky. What a bizarre turn of events! Could Lin Zhao truly be the legendary banished immortal, existing beyond the Hundred Flowers Realm?
In the sky, the heavenly gate closed instantly. Lin Zhao didn't even have time to bid farewell to the people from Mountain Peak Villa, nor did it seem necessary. Since they could intervene at the last moment, they must have been monitoring his every move in the Hundred Flowers Realm.
"What are you waiting for!?"
Lin Zhao, holding the Limpid Spring, steered his flying sword Red Leaf and darted forward, grabbing the heavily injured Yu Qingqiu's arm and pulling her onto the flying sword. He shouted loudly, "Break out!"
Liu Liying consecutively ignited three Iron Cavalry Slaughter Array Talismans, and instantly, figures of blood-colored iron cavalry appeared in the night sky, directly charging at the cavalry formations of the Dragon String Iron Cavalry. They pierced through the formation with almost no effort. As Lin Zhao, Liu Liying, and Yu Qingqiu broke through the encirclement, the cultivators who had luckily survived in the Green Hut Inn also charged out one by one. About a dozen or so finally broke through the forest and escaped to safety.
After breaking out of the cavalry encirclement, everyone scattered like birds and beasts. However, many of them cupped their fists towards Lin Zhao before they left, saying solemnly, "Young Hero, we will forever remember your life-saving grace. If fate allows, we will meet again in the martial world!"
Lin Zhao cupped his fists gently and bid them farewell.
"Pfft!"
At that moment, Yu Qingqiu coughed up another mouthful of blood, her face extremely pale.
"Are you alright?" Lin Zhao asked.
"I'm fine..."
Yu Qingqiu shook her head, struggled to stand, cupped her fists, and said, "Thank you, Lin Zhao. If you hadn't been here, Yu Qingqiu would surely have died today... Thank you..."
"No need for pleasantries."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "It's a shame Xu Beibei acted so ruthlessly and so unexpectedly. I couldn't save Shen Lanzhou."
Yu Qingqiu's eyes turned red. "Previously, I had many misunderstandings about Young Master Shen. I thought he was just an arrogant dandy, but I never expected Young Master Shen to risk his life to save me. I, Yu Qingqiu, have failed Young Master Shen..."
"Alright, stop talking."
Lin Zhao stood on the mountain, looking at the clusters of torches below. "The Dragon String Iron Cavalry suffered a great loss tonight with Xu Beibei's death. They will surely be severely punished by the Emperor. Now, to escape blame, they will undoubtedly search the mountain tonight. This place is not safe to linger. We should leave as soon as possible, or more trouble will arise."
"Mhm."
Yu Qingqiu nodded.
Just then, a ethereal voice drifted from the mountain.
"Young Hero Lin, please wait."
It was Qi Dongshan's voice.
The next moment, mountain and water spiritual energy flowed, and Qi Dongshan and Mao Niang appeared in front of Lin Zhao and the others. In fact, Qi Dongshan had not left after his injured breakout. Instead, he had used the power of the Lord of Mount Lu to observe the battlefield from above, looking for an opportunity to help Lin Zhao and the others. But it seemed he wasn't needed. The heavenly gate suddenly opened, and an immortal descended with a sword and a punch, already helping Lin Zhao escape.
"Old Qi, Madam."
Lin Zhao smiled and cupped his fists. "Old Qi, you look much more distinguished now. Mao Niang, do you still think Old Qi is far behind Scholar Zhou Jinyan?"
Mao Niang's pretty face flushed. "Young Hero, please don't tease me..."
Before them, Qi Dongshan and Mao Niang stood together, like a perfect couple. Lin Zhao couldn't help but try to set them up. He smiled and said, "Actually, after Old Qi changed into the mountain lord's form, you two look much more suited for each other. If Mao Niang doesn't mind, you could consider Old Qi. Of course, if you do mind, then absolutely don't consider him. Just let Old Qi continue to cook over the fire. Liking someone is not something that can be forced."
"Thank you for your guidance, Young Hero."
Mao Niang smiled and nodded, then her beautiful eyes sparkled as she looked at Qi Dongshan and said, "Just based on your words, Young Hero, when we meet next time, Old Qi will certainly have a few drinks with you until we're both drunk."
"Mhm, we'll see next time."
Lin Zhao got on his sword and smiled. "The Dragon String Iron Cavalry will soon search the mountain. You need to avoid their momentum and hide. It's possible that once the news reaches the capital, a warrant for arrest will be issued. You won't just need to hide for a while, but possibly for a long time, until things calm down in the Xu Dynasty. Then you can consider coming out, either to roam the martial world or to open a shop, whatever you prefer."
"We'll open the shop."
Mao Niang said, "Although I'm just a mere mountain spirit, I happen to love the world's earthly delights. When things calm down, the Green Hut Inn will definitely reopen. Old Qi might still be the same old cook. If Young Hero has time, be sure to come back for a visit. At that time, accommodation and food will be free. Old Qi and I will accompany Young Hero for a drunken farewell."
"Alright, it's a deal!"
Lin Zhao cupped his fists and smiled. "Let's go, let's go. If the Xu Dynasty issues a sea hunt order, I'll definitely be the first one they'll want to apprehend."
Qi Dongshan chuckled and cupped his fists. "Lin Zhao, on your journey, may it be smooth sailing!"
"Farewell."
Lin Zhao waved his hand, steered his flying sword, and disappeared into the night sky with Liu Liying and Yu Qingqiu.
...
In the early morning, amidst the swirling mist of a nameless mountain, Lin Zhao and the others rested briefly. Liu Liying and Yu Qingqiu were both healing their wounds, while Lin Zhao gathered firewood and started a bonfire. He then cooked a pot of spirit rice porridge. After the two had finished healing, they each had a bowl of porridge. This spirit rice porridge was a good thing. After drinking it, stamina recovered extremely quickly. For Liu Liying and Yu Qingqiu, this top-grade spirit rice porridge could accelerate the recovery of spiritual energy in their spiritual cores and speed up their healing, bringing considerable benefits.
After drinking the porridge, Yu Qingqiu stood up and walked before Lin Zhao, cupped her fists, and bowed. "Young Hero Lin, Qingqiu must take her leave now. The incident at the Green Hut Inn will have far-reaching consequences, and perhaps even Qingqiu's sect will be implicated. Therefore, Qingqiu must return to the sect as soon as possible to inform her master of everything that has happened here, so that the Jade Swing Sect can make preparations. Furthermore, Seven Stars Valley also needs to be notified of the relevant information, otherwise, there might be trouble. In short, thank you for this time, Young Hero. Qingqiu has nothing to repay you with, except to hope that we can truly meet again in the martial world. At that time, I will sincerely accompany Young Hero to tour the mountains and rivers and have a good journey through the martial world."
"Mhm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Go, travel safely."
Yu Qingqiu rode her sword away and disappeared into the mist.
Lin Zhao then looked at the sky and then at Liu Liying. "Yu Qingqiu has left. You are also a free person. If you wish to leave, I will not stop you. What do you say?"
Liu Liying pursed her red lips. "Liying wishes to follow Young Master."
"Then..."
Lin Zhao pondered for a moment. "Let's go down the mountain and find another boat. Traveling by water to Jiangning Prefecture would be safer."
"Yes, Young Master!"
...
Moonlit night.
A small boat drifted on the Lingze River. On the riverbank, the wild donkey followed, munching on tender wild grass.
Liu Liying sat at the stern of the boat, her red dress shimmering with golden light. Lin Zhao sat at the bow, holding a green bamboo fishing rod, still engrossed in fishing. The fish basket tied to the small boat already contained many ribbonfish, culter, and grass carp.
"Young Master."
Liu Liying looked at the young swordsman in the cyan robe and said softly, "Liying has been following you for so long. It's time I revealed to you the innate divine abilities of the Fan Goddess."
"Oh?"
Lin Zhao was surprised. There was actually such a thing as innate divine abilities? He had thought the Fan Goddess was just delicate and beautiful, capable of captivating both fish and geese.