Chapter 198: Fate’s Grip

The demonic beasts that suddenly emerged from the forest looked exactly like the one they had found fox fur from when they were helping Shen Xu.

Previously, Shen Xu and the others had suspected that the one wounding people outside the city was a fox demon; now, it seemed it might actually be Qingqiu Zhaoying.

“Shen Xu said the number of demonic beasts outside Yelan City has surged lately. Does it have something to do with you?”

Meng Yingxing’s thoughts aligned with Xiu Qingcheng’s. He looked around warily, his expression darkening.

“Don’t go throwing dirty water on me; this has nothing to do with me,” Qingqiu Zhaoying spoke coldly. The tip of his sword, wreathed in green flames, turned away from Meng Yingxing toward the surrounding demonic beasts.

“However, it does have everything to do with the demon sword in your hand.”

Having said that, Qingqiu Zhaoying took the lead, thrusting his sword into the body of a demonic beast.

Green flames erupted instantly, using the demonic beast’s life force as fuel to burn fiercely.

“What do you mean by that!?”

Xiu Qingcheng knit her brows, probing for the deeper meaning in his words.

What did he mean by the “trouble” attracted by this sword?

And what did he mean by the appearance of demonic beasts being related to the demon sword?

But with the demonic beasts attacking aggressively, Xiu Qingcheng and Meng Yingxing had to first deal with the monsters in their way.

“Master, these demonic beasts are of a species I’ve never seen before.”

After several exchanges of sword light, the number of beasts decreased slightly, and Meng Yingxing noticed something peculiar about them.

“But they all have one thing in common—just like the beast Shen Xu was chasing when we first met her, they all have four eyes.”

With a single stroke, Xiu Qingcheng split a pouncing bird-like beast perfectly in half. The beast fell, slowly turning into ash on the ground.

She took an extra look at the beast; it did indeed possess four eyes.

‘Four eyes?’

Thinking of four eyes again, the first person who came to Xiu Qingcheng’s mind was the woman she met in Zhongyang Town a few months ago—the one who called herself a General of the Rift, Hua Bukai.

That eerie woman also possessed strange quadruple eyes; was there some connection between them?

Qingqiu Zhaoying, Xiu Qingcheng, and Meng Yingxing—three people who were just moments ago trying to kill each other—had now formed a unified front due to the appearance of these beasts.

Although Qingqiu Zhaoying didn’t belong to a Demon King bloodline, his powerful demonic energy controlled the fox fire spirits to suppress the beasts. Meng Yingxing deeply felt a heavy pressure, as if a great mountain were pressing down on him.

Of course, no matter how powerful the man was, he couldn’t compare to the Master in his heart.

Currently, as Meng Yingxing held the Ting Tian Sword, all the beasts before him were being annihilated by Xiu Qingcheng and Qingqiu Zhaoying, leaving him without a single chance to strike.

A sense of emptiness welled up in Meng Yingxing’s heart as he glanced at his palm. He wondered if he used his demon power, would he also be able to slaughter everything alongside Xiu Qingcheng?

But Master said demon power was dangerous; he couldn’t make her worry.

A moment later, the last four-eyed beast turned into dust.

Before Xiu Qingcheng or Meng Yingxing could catch their breath, Qingqiu Zhaoying suddenly struck.

In a flash of shifting shadows, he appeared before Meng Yingxing and grabbed him by the throat, hoisting him high into the air.

Taking advantage of Meng Yingxing’s inability to move, Zhaoying’s hand reached for the youth’s, attempting to snatch the Ting Tian Sword from his grip.

“Xie Zhaoying! How dare you!?”

Xiu Qingcheng naturally noticed his actions, but since her spiritual energy had not yet recovered, her strength was greatly diminished, and her body didn’t react in time, giving Zhaoying his chance.

Xiu Qingcheng intended to rush over, but Zhaoying tightened his grip on Meng Yingxing’s neck slightly, forcing her to stop.

“You’d best not move a muscle. I might not be able to handle you at your peak, but can’t I handle your disciple?”

“As long as your disciple obediently hands over the demon sword, I won’t harm a hair on his head.”

Xiu Qingcheng gritted her teeth, glaring at Qingqiu Zhaoying with fury. She only regretted that her usually decisive, cold-blooded self hadn’t lopped off this fox’s head earlier!

She felt a surge of absolute rage brewing in her heart, along with a worry that felt entirely redundant to her.

She should have just charged in to kill him, yet out of fear that something might happen to Meng Yingxing, she stood obediently in place according to Zhaoying’s words.

‘Xiu Qingcheng, this isn’t your style.’

She questioned herself, yet she could only clench her fists tightly.

‘This damn disciple! He only knows how to make people worry!’

‘If things are this dangerous now, it’s Meng Yingxing’s own fault! If I hadn’t wasted my spiritual energy helping him break through safely, I would have finished Zhaoying before he even moved!’

‘Now look at this—he’s being held by the throat of fate!’

“Let go!”

Qingqiu Zhaoying growled as he held Meng Yingxing’s neck. Yet even so, Meng Yingxing’s grip on the Ting Tian Sword remained deathly tight; Zhaoying couldn’t pry a single finger loose.

“Never… impossible!”

Meng Yingxing’s eyes bulged slightly as he resisted through gritted teeth.

If he couldn’t even protect his own sword, how could he have the face to stand beside his Master?

“As long as the demon sword is here, those beasts will appear day after day, putting Yelan City in danger!”

“If even Xie Yuguang couldn’t achieve it back then, how can you, a mere Tiny Star Realm cultivator, expect to!?”

“Let go! Not just for yourself, but for Yelan City!”

Qingqiu Zhaoying roared, the force in his hand gradually increasing, attempting to place more pressure and threat on Meng Yingxing.

He didn’t know what the youth’s hand was made of; even under these circumstances, he found it difficult to pry it open despite using all his strength.

Did this youth truly intend to protect this demon sword even at the cost of his life?

Why? Had the sword turned into some peerless beauty and bewitched his soul?

“Meng Yingxing, let go.”

Xiu Qingcheng looked at the pained expression on Meng Yingxing’s face and spoke with a heavy heart.

She told him to let go because once he was free from Zhaoying’s grasp, she had a thousand ways to kill this fox.

She wouldn’t dare act like this against her disciple, but even if it were an old acquaintance, she would do what needed to be done.

“What does the life or death of Yelan City have to do with me…”

Meng Yingxing’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse and low, carrying a trace of agony.

Perhaps saying this sounded harsh, or even seemed to violate the fundamental tenets of a spiritual cultivator.

But compared to Yelan City, Meng Yingxing cared more about the Ting Tian Sword—he cared more about Xiu Qingcheng.

“I will… never… let go!”

In a sudden burst of strength like a dying flash, Meng Yingxing lunged upward, swinging his left hand violently toward Qingqiu Zhaoying—

In that instant, Zhaoying’s pupils dilated as he caught a glimpse of purple mist suddenly rising in his peripheral vision—

Within that purple mist was a power that felt incredibly familiar to him.

The purple mist transformed into a wildly shaped, sharp claw on Meng Yingxing’s hand, tearing toward Qingqiu Zhaoying with immense destructive force.

“Meng Yingxing!”

Xiu Qingcheng was startled, her body leaning forward instinctively.

She hadn’t expected Meng Yingxing to use that small portion of demon power to condense a claw so soon.

The purple mist collided with the green flames, instantly producing a violent explosion.

Two figures were thrown apart amidst the rolling dust and smoke.

Taking this opportunity, Xiu Qingcheng rushed over to take the Ting Tian Sword from Meng Yingxing’s hand.

Yet this stubborn disciple—who knows what he was being so headstrong about—kept his grip on the hilt just as tight even though his consciousness was fading.

“Disciple, let go! It’s me, your Master!”

Her words acted like a spell; Meng Yingxing’s hand instantly relaxed, and the Ting Tian Sword returned to Xiu Qingcheng’s grasp.

She flicked the blade and instantly erupted with power, turning to kill Qingqiu Zhaoying.

‘Damn it, I can’t take this anymore! I’m going all out against you!’

Xiu Qingcheng gathered all her current strength. Red veins, like flowing blood vessels, pulsed on the Ting Tian Sword as she lunged at Zhaoying with a swift, fierce thrust.

The sky-filling sword light reappeared. Zhaoying’s expression turned grim as nine fox tails suddenly unfurled behind him, meeting Xiu Qingcheng’s attack with overwhelming demonic energy once more.

Just as both sides were about to unleash their full power to annihilate everything around them, Shen Xu suddenly rushed out from the nearby trees, shouting at them:

“Stop! Don’t fight anymore!”

Qingqiu Zhaoying looked at Shen Xu and instinctively pulled back his strike.

Previously, Xiu Qingcheng had never quite understood the feeling of an “emergency stop,” but now she suddenly understood it.

It was that feeling of wanting to fire but being unable to.

However, she would not stop; even Shen Xu’s arrival was useless.

The sky-filling sword light instantly pierced through Zhaoying’s entire body without resistance. At the same time, Xiu Qingcheng completely sealed his demonic energy once again.

This time, she used an even more powerful force to impose the seal than before.

When Xiu Qingcheng landed, her body made of spiritual energy was gradually turning transparent. She was transforming into tiny particles, merging back into the Ting Tian Sword in her hand.

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