Goodbye, Lin Qingxue

Bingxuanzi stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with melancholy.

"As expected, with my strength alone, even if I can suppress three Soul Formation cultivators, I still cannot kill one in a short amount of time..."

Wu Tianxing and the others were speechless. "..."

What on earth was this guy talking about?

Bingxuanzi looked up to the sky and sighed heavily. "Little friend Ye Shu, I have failed you. Since conventional methods will not work, let this old bag of bones offer up its last bit of warmth!"

"You mongrels, die together with me!!"

Before his voice even faded, Bingxuanzi's aura suddenly skyrocketed. The frost around him condensed into a tangible suit of armor, and a blinding blue light burst forth from his eyes.

Crack, crack, crack—

An even more sinister and biting cold filled the cave. Blue ice pillars sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain from the ground, the rock walls, and the domed ceiling, transforming the entire cavern into a forest of ice.

"Are you crazy?!"

"If this keeps up, you'll die too! We can talk this out, there's no need to go to such extremes, right? We're all brothers here, why take it this far?" Seeing that Bingxuanzi was about to self-destruct, Master Mochen and Wu Tianxing were terrified and repeatedly tried to dissuade him.

Medusa was right beside them. Even if they were lucky enough to survive, the Snake-man army, currently in peak condition, would tear them to shreds.

Even Mu Yunxi was somewhat bewildered.

Struggling to get up from the ground, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and muttered to herself, her eyes full of confusion. "It's only been a mere two months. What kind of charm does that little thief have? To make a Soul Formation expert so fiercely loyal that he'd even self-destruct to take everyone down with him?"

No one could answer this question.

Within the world of ice and snow, Bingxuanzi stood suspended in the void. In this moment, he was the main character of this world, and everyone's eyes were firmly locked onto this madman.

A dead silence fell.

Only his voice could be heard as he suddenly chanted:

"A martial arts fanatic all my life,

A true soulmate is the hardest to find.

Today I bid farewell to you,

We shall raise our cups again in the underworld."

As his words fell, a dazzling, brilliant light erupted explosively from his body.

"This lunatic!"

Wu Tianxing and the others turned pale, using all their might to condense a barrier in front of them.

The light was blinding, but it possessed no destructive power whatsoever.

There was no explosion, no shockwave. Just as Wu Tianxing and the others were growing suspicious, a loud boom echoed. The light dispersed, revealing that the top of the rock wall had been forcefully punched through, exposing the night sky outside.

"Hahaha!"

"Get drunk today while there is wine, worry about tomorrow's sorrows when tomorrow comes."

"Everyone, I'll be taking my leave first!"

By the time everyone reacted, there was no sign of Bingxuanzi where he had just been standing.

Only his laughter remained, echoing throughout the cavern.

Wu Tianxing and the others froze for a moment before finally realizing what had happened.

This old geezer never intended to self-destruct at all!

From the very beginning, this old thing was planning to run away!

"Dammit!"

Mu Yunxi gritted her teeth. She suddenly remembered from her memories that Bingxuanzi hadn't actually recovered his cultivation right now; he had merely temporarily unsealed it. Seeing his astonishing momentum just now, she actually thought he dared to self-destruct. Who would have thought he was just running away!

What a humiliating disgrace!!!

"Chase him!"

"Right now, he's at most at the Golden Core stage."

Mu Yunxi didn't even care about healing her injuries. With a flash of her figure, she swept up Su Xiao's remaining group and rushed into the tunnel Bingxuanzi had punched out.

Wu Tianxing and Master Mochen followed closely behind.

Although they had been played, no matter how you looked at it, Medusa's formation was broken.

Since things had come to this, it was time to scram!

Only after they had all left did an ice sculpture next to Bai Ling suddenly emit a series of crisp cracking sounds. A young boy draped in sackcloth leapt out of it, shaking off a body full of ice shards.

"Tch, a bunch of cowards, and they want to chase me?"

Bingxuanzi curled his lips in disdain.

Bai Ling turned her head and looked at him with admiration, sincerely praising, "You're really amazing."

"Of course! Do you know who I am?" Bingxuanzi smugly raised his chin. Then, as if remembering something, he sighed again, put his hands behind his back, and gazed up at the large hole in the domed ceiling.

"Kid, this is as far as I can help you."

Pushing the time back by the duration of one incense stick.

Above the cavern at this moment.

Outside the Snake-man city, a figure wearing a green dress was rushing over through the desert, cursing all the way.

"Stinky Grandpa! Stupid Grandpa! Bad Grandpa!"

"I hate Grandpa the most!"

Lin Qingxue muttered curses under her breath as she flew on her sword.

"Saying 'I've got everything handled,' but as soon as we left the sect and got off the flying shuttle, he disappeared in the blink of an eye. He just left me all alone to wander in this broken desert, not even afraid that I might be swept away and killed by some sandstorm."

"He even made me get lost in the desert."

"If I can't make it in time... that heartless man is dead for sure..."

As she spoke, a trace of worry flashed in Lin Qingxue's eyes. She knew full well from her memories just how dangerous it was when Ye Shu seized the fire back then. It could be said it was entirely based on luck; a single wrong step would mean eternal damnation.

Now Feng Mengli had turned against him.

Her master and senior sisters were also coming to interfere.

"Heartless man, you'd better be smart and not come to snatch this broken fire..." Lin Qingxue murmured softly, involuntarily speeding up her sword flight.

At the end of the desert.

A towering city was already faintly visible.

"What... is going on here?"

Lin Qingxue landed her sword and looked at the Snake-men slumped over on the city walls with a dumbfounded expression.

She stood on the city wall and looked down.

The entire city of Snake-men had fallen to the ground, snoring sounds rising and falling as if they were holding a grand collective sleep convention.

At the same time, the sound of explosions occasionally came from beneath the ground.

"It's Master's aura." Lin Qingxue's expression changed.

As expected, Master had also been reborn. They were here to steal the heartless man's fortune, or even to kill him.

Moreover, they had already reached the underground cavern.

The conflict had already begun.

It seemed... she was too late.

Lin Qingxue could hardly imagine how the heartless man, without Feng Mengli's help, could survive her master's sneak attack.

Even if she were present right now, it wouldn't help.

As a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, without her grandpa, how could she protect Ye Shu from a group of powerful Soul Formation experts?

It was simply impossible.

However, just as she was losing all hope, the Female Mandarin Duck Sword in her hand suddenly let out a trembling hum.

"This is?"

She abruptly raised her head.

The next second, a group of colorful figures suddenly appeared at the end of the street. It was a group of women dressed in feathered neon garments, surrounding a little girl. On the little girl's back was a young man in white clothes, his entire body emitting fire.

Even if that figure turned to ashes, Lin Qingxue would never forget it.

"Heartless man!"

Lin Qingxue grabbed her sword and charged over.

Seeing someone suddenly charge at them with a sword, the dancing girls hastily surrounded Xiao Qingli in the center, watching her warily. Only Xiao Qingli, who was carrying Ye Shu on her back, raised her head. Through the mottled flames before her eyes, she forced a few words out of her mouth with great difficulty.

"Qing... Sister Qingxue?"