"Hiyah!" he roared, flinging Tianyi towards the sky, then swiftly sprinted towards the stone wall where Yu Li's body lay. Yu Li had certainly noticed the subtle transformation in the treasured sword held by Ye Xiu. He continued to use the moonlight's reflection to keep his sword's glare hidden as he directed it towards Ye Xiu. Ye Xiu’s footwork had reached its extreme; every patch of ground he traversed sent stones scattering in waves. He tumbled back and forth, leaping everywhere, dodging the lines of light emanating from the flashing stone walls by soaring up and dropping down. Finally, as he neared Yu Li, he launched himself forward in a dive, snatching Tianyi just as it descended from above. After the two forces converged at an oblique angle, they pierced the stone wall with an indescribably supersonic speed.

"Tianyi•Vertical Sword Decimation," Ye Xiu uttered lightly, and with that, the sound of shattering stone echoed back as "Clang!"

"Hoo, hoo." Ye Xiu stopped. The stone wall Yu Li had used for concealment was now gone; everything seemed to have concluded in this 'Dead Gate.'

"At this speed, it could barely scratch my skin," a leisurely voice suddenly sounded behind Ye Xiu. Yu Li had reappeared within another stone wall, only his hand showing a slight sheen of blood.

"Oh? Then how about this speed?" Ye Xiu was not about to give up. Yu Li's arrogance only stoked all the malevolence within Ye Xiu. He afforded neither himself nor Yu Li a moment to catch their breath, once again tossing Tianyi into the air, then executed a backflip and soared upwards, turning mid-air to charge towards his opponent behind him.

"Useless!" Yu Li shook his head and spoke coldly, again manipulating all the stone walls to shift and reflect the moonlight.

"Hahaha, haha, useless, useless!" Ye Xiu's tone was wild and unrestrained. As he charged, he opened his mouth and roared indiscriminately, "How about this speed? How about this speed!"

With a deafening rumble, another cloud of dust and grit rose from the ground. Another stone wall Yu Li had used for concealment was instantly pulverized by Ye Xiu's strike.

"Hmph, Young Master Ye..." Although a fresh sword wound marred Yu Li's body, he still appeared relaxed and at ease. He had already shifted to another stone wall without anyone noticing.

"And this speed? This speed!" Ye Xiu gave Yu Li no time to speak or recuperate. He slammed back into the ground and charged again towards Yu Li's position. The force of his step was immense, as the ground beneath him had already sunk deeply from previous impacts.

"Clang!" Another violent explosion erupted, and another massive stone wall was utterly annihilated into dust. This time, Yu Li was only injured in one area before instantly teleporting to yet another stone wall to hide.

"Not enough! Hahaha! Ahahaha!" Ye Xiu seemed utterly maddened. Without even knowing Yu Li's exact location, he charged towards a stone wall ahead, smashing it into pieces with another tremendous sound.

"..." In that instant, Yu Li clearly saw Ye Xiu's distorted, grinning face along his intended path of movement. Yu Li was stunned, because the stone wall Ye Xiu had just destroyed was the very one he was about to retreat to for cover. He was supremely confident in his ghost-like speed, but in the instant he saw Ye Xiu's smile, that speed seemed to equate to nothingness!

"Not enough, not enough!" Ye Xiu was truly frenzied, his laughter verging on delirium. At this moment, his entire being was shrouded in purplish-black mist. Within the formation, countless flashing stone walls were effortlessly shattered one after another by Tianyi. At this point, whether the Purple Smoke Chain had been activated no longer mattered, because his speed had surpassed the point where Yu Li could even bother evading.

Above and below, Ye Xiu's figure could no longer be found. Only Yu Li's empty shell, accompanied by the pulverized dust of countless exploding stone walls, floated suspended in the air. Despair, not the prior fierceness or confidence, filled Yu Li's eyes. Streams of turbulent air violently buffeted Yu Li's body, smashing his originally clean and elegant form into shreds. At a glance, his hands, his feet, his torso, his head began to sprout numerous fine red lines for no apparent reason; at a glance, his hands, his feet, his torso, his head began to be inexplicably peeled apart; at a glance, his hands, his feet, his torso, his head began to move erratically, fragmented... until they vanished under the quiet moonlight.

"Ahaha, not enough, not enough!" Ye Xiu's sharp cry once again broke the surrounding silence. The sight of Tianyi slicing Yu Li's corpse into fine powder in mid-air thrilled him immensely. He felt a rare sense of satisfaction. For the first time, he had such a strong desire to kill, and for the first time, he felt how intoxicating it was to kill with Tianyi gripped in his hand.

"Aaarrgh..." With a final, long shout, he finally collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted, and fell unconscious. Meanwhile, Tianyi, having feasted upon the flesh and blood of the Daoist Master of Light, Yu Li, gleamed with a satisfied, cold light.

Brother Ye, save me quickly! Brother Ye, come save me! At this moment, Ji Jiang's voice sounded incredibly close. Ye Xiu reached out as if to search for something, but his vision was blurry. Brother Ye! Brother Ye, you cannot die, you must come back. What is this voice? Ye Xiu suddenly remembered—it was Lü Xu. Xu'er is also calling me. Xu'er! You must find Han Xin and take his place. Who is that? Who wants to find Han Xin?

"Ah..." Ye Xiu cried out and woke up from the dream. He lowered his head and saw that his previous wounds had already been bandaged. Some miraculous medicine must have been used, as the pain was no longer so intense.

"You are finally awake." Xue Nu stood gracefully beside Ye Xiu. Her stern beauty and allure almost made the moon shyly retreat into the dark clouds. Her soft, flowing hair, coupled with her equally ethereal robes and the blue skirt, exuded a unique form of tenderness.

"It's you. You took Ji Jiang. Where is she!" Ye Xiu stood up, gripping his sword and pointing it directly at Xue Nu's delicate, pink neck. "Tell me where Ji Jiang is quickly, or I will kill you."

"Oh?" Xue Nu let out a soft sound, turning her head towards Ye Xiu. "If Young Master Ye believes killing me is useful, then kill me."

"You..." Ye Xiu gritted his teeth, staring at Xue Nu. The gentle curve of her eyebrows and her bright eyes made Ye Xiu hesitant to look directly, and even the sword in his hand trembled.

"Heh, what's wrong, can't do it?" Xue Nu closed her eyes and turned back towards the sea. The sea breeze ruffled her long hair, making it dance lightly.

Ye Xiu sighed, dropped his sword, and sat down heavily on the grass, helpless. "It's your Sect Master who wants to see me, right? You can just take me to him. I will agree to everything you ask."

"Young Master Ye is indeed a smart man. Rest assured, that young lady will not come to any harm." Xue Nu looked back at Ye Xiu. In her proud eyes, Ye Xiu seemed somewhat different from others. "The Sect Master sent me to take good care of you, to help you heal and prepare for the next trial."

"Trial!" Ye Xiu found this amusing. "All this elaborate effort—is the magnificent Ghost Valley Sect Master merely testing me?"

"How could we presume to guess the Sect Master's intentions? However, I am also quite curious how you managed to cross the South Sea on your own power to reach this island, and even eliminate the Envoy of Light, Daoist Yu Li," Xue Nu admitted. Though unaware of the Sect Master's arrangements, she was beginning to find Ye Xiu an interesting fellow.

"Fine. Beautiful lady, although I don't care what the next trial is, I'm hungry now. Is there anything to eat?" Ye Xiu didn't want to dwell on formalities. Since he was under their control, why invite more trouble?

"Beautiful lady, you call me 'Beautiful Lady'?" Xue Nu had never heard anyone address her that way before.

"What, did I say something wrong, Beautiful Lady?" Ye Xiu had spoken casually, unaware of the consequences. To his surprise, a sharp "Crack!" sounded behind him, instantly shattering a piece of sea rock.

"If you speak nonsense again, don't blame me for defying the Sect Master's orders and seeing you off." Xue Nu, naturally proud and holding a high position as a Hall Master on Ghost Trace Island, was unaccustomed to any man daring to comment on her appearance to her face.

"Damn, someone as beautiful as you can be so fierce. Truly..." Ye Xiu was scared half to death. He thought about all the beautiful women he had met since transmigrating here, and the one before him was truly the most formidable.

"The food has naturally been prepared, but if you insult me again, don't expect to eat," Xue Nu said with cold allure, walking ahead of Ye Xiu and leading him toward the dwellings on the island.

Ye Xiu obediently followed behind, catching the alluring scent of her perfume. It turned out that not only was Xue Nu beautiful, but her figure was also exquisitely graceful. As a slight breeze blew, the natural fragrance made Ye Xiu feel somewhat intoxicated. Embarrassingly, Xue Nu's skirt was too long; Ye Xiu stepped right on it, tearing off a section.

"You..." Xue Nu turned back and lashed out with a whip, striking Ye Xiu’s leg and sending him tumbling over.

"No, I just wanted to know your name, Beautiful Lady?" Ye Xiu looked utterly innocent, pleading earnestly.

Seeing his predicament, Xue Nu almost laughed but suppressed it with her habitually cold elegance. She lightly moved her delicate lips: "Xue Nu."

"Xue Nu?" Ye Xiu found the name oddly familiar—wasn't that the snow mountain spirit from Japanese animation? No wonder she was so beautiful. He paused, then said, "Xue Nu, thank you for taking care of me and treating my wounds. Given your age, you must be a little younger than me. May I call you Xue'er?"

"Crack!" Xue Nu didn't turn back, merely flicking her whip lightly, instantly shattering the stones at Ye Xiu's feet again. "Do you still want to eat?"

Ye Xiu believed that food was the absolute necessity of life, so he immediately shut his mouth obediently and trailed behind Xue Nu with his head down. He decided that Xue Nu was most beautiful when she wasn't speaking, because every time she opened her mouth, it seemed to lead to a call for a fight.

Ye Xiu followed Xue Nu through a grove of purple-leafed bamboo, where a simple dwelling house appeared intermittently. The night wind blew gently, and the purple leaves fluttered down with the breeze, dancing exquisitely—a scene of serene contentment.