With a deafening "clang," his scimitar struck an irresistibly sharp giant sword, producing a shockwave that seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth.
A man in a light blue robe materialized out of thin air, holding a person in one arm while raising a sword with the other, effortlessly deflecting Hubalake's aerial strike!
Dai Qianfan's vital energy churned violently as a trickle of blood slowly seeped from the corner of her mouth. She narrowed her eyes slightly to look at the person before her, then gave him an angry shove. As her feet touched the ground, she staggered a few steps and chided, "You damned country bumpkin of a Seven, I sent thirty-two life-and-death summons and you didn't show up, but now you finally pop out! Did you calculate the exact hour just to watch me make a fool of myself on purpose?"
The moment Dai Qianfan saw him, her teeth itched with anger, and a stream of harsh curses tumbled straight out of her mouth. Only after she finished venting to her heart's content did she pause to review what she had just said, her earlobes turning bright red once she realized.
The man who had stepped in to save her had his long, flowing hair tied up high in a tall ponytail. He possessed a tall, sturdy build and refined, elegant features—he was none other than the Sevenfold Killing Monarch, Xie Qixing.
In the past, he and Dai Qianfan had studied under the same master. They had shared an innocent, youthful time of mutual affection; their families were well-matched in social status, and both sets of parents had intended to bring them together as Daoist companions.
Who could have foreseen that a third party would burst onto the scene? Shi Hensheng had appeared out of nowhere, successfully capturing the beauty's heart with his superb flirting skills and an exquisitely handsome face.
Defying her family's objections, Dai Qianfan had followed him without a backward glance, even becoming pregnant out of wedlock.
Heartbroken and filled with sorrow, Xie Qixing had fled to Guiyang, quietly taking on disciples there and wholeheartedly dedicating himself to teaching the Dao.
The battlefield of love was no different from a real one, yet just as the smoke cleared, an abrupt disaster struck.
Shi Hensheng, the very man who had sworn solemn oaths of eternal love, suddenly vanished without a trace, evaporating into thin air. A deeply wounded Dai Qianfan had no choice but to return to her state with a heavy heart and ascend the throne.
Xie Qixing rubbed his nose. The murderous aura that had enveloped him just moments before instantly vanished in front of Dai Qianfan, turning him as docile as a gentle lamb. He flashed her a shy, crooked grin and said, "Better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Look, didn't I arrive right on cue? Rescuing a damsel in distress at the eleventh hour isn't something one gets to encounter every day!"
Torn between laughter and anger, Dai Qianfan turned her face away to ignore him while secretly circulating her true essence to heal her injuries. The blow she had taken from Hubalake earlier was truly not light, though given her cultivation level, it was nothing too serious; about half a month in seclusion would be enough for her to fully recover.
Having just clashed weapons with the Sevenfold Killing Monarch, Hubalake had been shaken to his core by the opponent's formidable true essence, his internal organs churning incessantly. He had leaped back a few zhang to regulate his breath for a moment, only to watch the two of them bantering back and forth as if he didn't exist, completely ignoring him. An inexplicable rage flared up in his chest, and he sneered with casual derision, "Who would have thought that the renowned Sevenfold Killing Monarch would be so utterly devoid of backbone? Not only do you not mind being cuckolded, but you even shamelessly cling to her anyway. I've seen shameless people before, but never one quite this shameless. I am impressed, truly impressed!"
Hearing this, Xie Qixing did not get angry at all. He still grinned and said, "I like it, what of it? Unconvinced? If you've got the guts, come over here and bite me!"
Dai Qianfan's heart skipped a beat, as if she had been pricked unexpectedly by a needle.
Hubalake said with sour jealousy, "I've long heard that the Sevenfold Killing Monarch's Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique is the number one secret skill across the eight wastes and six directions. I wonder if you might let this lord experience it today?"
Xie Qixing lifted his eyelids and said dismissively, "Normally, a cleaver meant for an ox shouldn't be used to kill a chicken, but this lord has no desire to destroy your physical body while leaving your soul behind to plague the common people. So, I've decided to use the ox cleaver to scatter your soul to the winds instead, saving me the trouble later!"
Hubalake looked up and laughed. "I am truly flattered! Let me tell you a secret: the sun and moon in this Geothermal World for the past few decades are actually just two empty shells. Didn't your old flame tell you? Oh dear, oh dear, for all these decades, it is your dear old flame who has constantly nourished these two stones—which have lost their core essences—with her own spiritual blood, creating the daily illusion of the blazing sun and the hanging moon."
Hubalake's arrogant laughter drifted away in the cold wind. His two shrewd eyes narrowed, and he continued, "By the way, let me ask—I hear your Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique requires the energy of the sun. Is that true? If that really is the case, then I truly have to feel sorry for myself. After plotting and scheming so hard all this time, I won't even get to witness the true Reappearance of Chasing Moon and the Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique in the end. What a supreme regret in life!"
A heavy tightness gripped Dai Qianfan's chest. Her head buzzed as if ten thousand galloping horses were stampeding through it: How did he find out?
Everything Hubalake said was true!
The primordial spirits of the Yin and Yang primordial stones, which had faithfully guarded their posts in the Geothermal World, had somehow seized an opportunity, opened their spiritual apertures, and gradually developed sentience. After undergoing countless lifetimes of cultivation, the primordial spirits attained perfection and mastered the Dao!
Although the two primordial stones had achieved the Dao and ascended to the immortal realm, their bestowed immortal talismans and official seals still remained behind as the sun and moon of the Geothermal World, taking turns day and night to safeguard the peace of the realm.
Whether out of loneliness or some other reason, one day decades ago, the primordial spirits of the Yang stone and the Yin stone mysteriously disappeared one after another.
That spelled instant disaster, and the Qixian State was the first to suffer.
Even for cultivators, without the sun and the moon, the plants and animals in the depths of the earth would struggle just to survive, let alone practice immortality.
Called to duty in a time of crisis, Dai Qianfan tried various methods of remedy, only to discover that a handful of her own spiritual blood each month could nourish the empty stone shells. Although the radiance of the sun and moon was no longer as brilliant as before, it could finally operate in a daily, endless cycle as usual.
And so, month after month, year after year, Dai Qianfan had no choice but to nourish the stones with her own spiritual blood, allowing the Qixian State to barely drag out its existence.
Xie Qixing cast a pitying glance at Dai Qianfan, then quickly pulled his gaze back.
A sourness welled up in Dai Qianfan's nose, and she choked out, "Little Seven, it's true! You must be careful!"
To her surprise, Xie Qixing let out a loud, carefree laugh and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, that's ancient history! How could this lord not know? Ah, Brother Hu, use your brain—since my Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique is so closely tied to the sun, moon, and stars, how could I not know about this trickery? So, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I solved this little problem long ago!"
Hubalake's gaze darkened. He raised his chin and asked, "A little problem? Oh, I remember now—the sun in the surface world was transformed from an ancient golden crow, and its energy far surpasses that of the Yang stone here in the earth's core. But let me ask you, Your Excellency: are you planning to split this nine-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-mile crust and channel the sunlight from the surface down here? Hehe, I'd love to see you pull off a feat like that!"
The Sevenfold Killing Monarch replied, "Brother Hu, if I want to harness the energy of the surface golden crow for my own use, why would I need to go to such lengths? Over the past few years, whenever I had spare time, I took a trip to the surface world and discovered that mortal wisdom is truly boundless. They actually invented a gadget called a solar energy storage device. Take a look, it's right here!"
With that, he pulled a square black box from behind his back and added, "Such a tiny container, yet it's packed full of golden crow energy—enough for me to unleash several rounds of the Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique. Well, Brother Hu, would you like to try one out?"
Hubalake's face was as cold as frost, and though his heart fluttered with anxiety, he forced himself to maintain his composure. "You take any old piece of junk and treat it like a treasure. I've never even heard of it!"