"Junior Sister Xiaomeng, when will Uncle Beimingzi stop?" Li Haimo's voice trembled as he hovered in the sky, his body screaming with exhaustion. Blood seeped from countless wounds, each one a stark reminder that this wasn't a game where a single potion could heal him. If this keeps up, I'll either collapse from fatigue or bleed out.
"I don't know!" Xiaomeng's voice cracked, her usual composure fraying. She was nearing her limit, her inner energy nearly spent. The notion of outlasting Beimingzi's true essence was a pipe dream—his Heaven-Man Unity realm allowed him to draw boundless vitality from the very world itself.
"Hold Xueji for me!" Li Haimo gritted his teeth and handed his sword to Xiaomeng.
"What are you doing?" Xiaomeng clutched Xueji, her eyes wide with concern.
Li Haimo's hands blurred, weaving intricate seals. Each gesture birthed glowing Daoist runes that filled half the sky, while golden array patterns surged from the ground below, soaring upward.
"What is this…?" Xiaoyaozi and the others, watching from a distance, felt a flicker of recognition but couldn't place it.
"Feng Hou's Qimen, Heaven's End!" Chishongzi declared. He'd gifted Li Haimo the Feng Hou's Qimen technique, and this was its pinnacle move, Heaven's End. Designed to counter practitioners in the Heaven-Man Unity realm, it could, when paired with the Daoist Heaven and Earth Discoloration, drain all worldly energy from an area in an instant. Without Discoloration, its power was greatly diminished.
"Heaven and Earth Discoloration!" Li Haimo roared, completing the final seal. The world turned monochrome, all vitality expelled. Beimingzi plummeted from the sky, and Li Haimo and Xiaomeng followed, collapsing to the ground.
"Are you two alright?" Chishongzi and the others rushed forward. Chishongzi's eyes were on Li Haimo, while Xiaoyaozi and the elders checked Xiaomeng. Satisfied nods passed between them.
"I'm fine," Li Haimo gasped, turning to Xiaomeng. "Are you okay, Junior Sister?"
"I'm fine," Xiaomeng replied, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. Suddenly, she staggered as Li Haimo, overcome by exhaustion, collapsed onto her, his weight pressing against her.
Xiaomeng froze, unsure what to do. Drop Xueji and Qiuli to hold him? Push him away? Tears welled in her eyes, her composure crumbling.
Chishongzi and the others, as if blind to the scene, busied themselves checking on Beimingzi. To their relief—and no surprise—he was unharmed, sprawled on the ground, fast asleep. Typical, Chishongzi thought. They carried him back to the forbidden grounds before returning to retrieve Xueji and Qiuli. They found Li Haimo still slumped against Xiaomeng, his head nestled against her chest, arms unconsciously wrapped around her slender waist.
"Uh, Junior Sister Xiaomeng," Chishongzi said awkwardly, knowing her reserved nature left her at a loss. "Why don't you hand me Xueji and Qiuli and take Wuchenzi back to recover?"
Clang, clang. Xueji and Qiuli hit the ground as Xiaomeng, without a word, whisked Li Haimo away, vanishing in an instant.
Chishongzi silently picked up the swords, eyeing Qiuli with a wry smile. "So quick to forget your comrades for a sweetheart, eh?"
Hum. Qiuli let out a clear, resonant hum, as if in reply.
In the days that followed, tales of the battle in the Human Sect's sacred grounds spread like wildfire through both the Heaven and Human Sects, then beyond. But the stories varied wildly.
The Heaven Sect claimed an outsider had invaded the Human Sect's gates, only to be repelled by Xiaoyaozi until Beimingzi emerged from seclusion to drive off the intruder—a suspected swordmaster.
The Human Sect spun a different tale: a master of mystical arts had attacked, only to be slain by Xiaoyaozi and the five elders using the Six Harmonies Sword Formation. The invaders? Likely the Yin-Yang School's Lord Xiang and Lady Xiang, absent from the martial world for too long.
As the rumors spread outward, they grew more outlandish: the Mohist Giant or Guiguzi himself, alongside Lord and Lady Xiang, had stormed the Human Sect to steal its treasures, only to be repelled by Beimingzi, who killed the Xiangs on the spot.
Far away, Ge Nie and Wei Zhuang, traveling the martial world, exchanged baffled looks before rushing back to the Valley of Ghosts. There, they found Guiguzi lounging in a chair, sipping tea, utterly clueless about the rumors.
In the Mohist Mechanical City, leaders gathered in a panic, unable to locate their Giant. Yan Dan, not a Mohist but present, hid a glint of ambition in his eyes. If Six-Fingered Black Hero is injured, this could be my chance to take his place.
At the Yin-Yang School's stronghold, Moon God, Star Soul, Lord Dong, and Chu Nangong convened at the Star Pool, confronting Donghuang Taiyi.
"Lord Xiang? Lady Xiang? I did send them out. What's happened?" Donghuang Taiyi asked, confused.
"Word in the martial world is they were killed on the spot by Beimingzi and the Human Sect," Chu Nangong rasped.
"Beimingzi! Human Sect! They're courting death!" Donghuang Taiyi's robes trembled with rage.
The others exchanged glances. Is Donghuang Taiyi overreaching? They invaded the Human Sect's gates and got killed—yet he wants to pick a fight? The Daoists haven't come knocking, and that's already generous.
"Rumors say a swordmaster led Lord and Lady Xiang to steal the Human Sect's treasure, only to be slain by Beimingzi and their experts," Lord Dong added.
"When did I send them to steal anything?" Donghuang Taiyi snapped, bewildered. "Contact Lord and Lady Xiang immediately."
After a long wait, the report came: no response. Lord and Lady Xiang were presumed dead.
"Then send a lavish gift to the Human Sect," Chu Nangong advised. "Invading their gates is no small matter, especially when they were killed on the spot."
"You handle it, Lord Dong," Donghuang Taiyi ordered, wary of Beimingzi's power. The Human Sect alone he could dismiss, but Beimingzi was another matter.
Lord Dong's face fell. Why me? Always stuck cleaning up messes. But the mysterious group that killed the Xiangs shocked him. Did we cover our tracks that well? No one's investigating us! Then he learned the Daoists had taken the blame. Unbelievable. They're covering for us? We'd better send a gift as thanks.
Thus, both sides embarked on a gift-giving mission.
"Why would the Daoists take the blame?" Master Ban asked Six-Fingered Black Hero aboard the Vermilion Bird Puppet.
"No idea," the Giant replied. "Maybe they want us to owe them a favor. The Human Sect and the Yin-Yang School aren't exactly friendly."
The Mohists headed for the Human Sect, only to cross paths with a Yin-Yang School delegation en route.
The Mohists froze. Did the Yin-Yang School figure it out?
Lord Dong, spotting the Mohist Giant, pieced it together. So it was the Giant leading the charge.
"You're here to offer gifts and apologies too?" Lord Dong asked, his status slightly lower than the Giant's.
"Apologies?" Six-Fingered Black Hero paused, then caught on and nodded awkwardly.
The two groups, one trailing the other, made their way to the Human Sect's stronghold. Meanwhile, atop Taiyi Mountain, the Daoists were blissfully unaware of the gift-bearing visitors converging on their gates.
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