"May I ask the purpose of stopping our path here?" Chiyi Xiu and the others, having promised Ye Jingyu they would protect Luo Ling'er well, stepped forward politely, wishing to avoid further trouble, and inquired.

"Leave the woman in the carriage, and I shall spare your lives!" The blue-haired man ignored Chiyi Xiu's words and stated coldly.

Upon hearing the man's emotionless voice, everyone stiffened. Both Chiyi Xiu and Hu Yanqi simultaneously tightened their grips on their weapons.

"Are you Xiao Geng?" At that moment, Lin Xiaoyi, standing near the carriage, suddenly exclaimed.

The group paused again, looking closer. He did indeed bear a seven-tenths resemblance to Xiao Geng, who had died by Ye Jingyu's hand. Could Xiao Geng have been resurrected?

Chiyi Xiu, Hu Yanqi, and Lin Xiaoyi simultaneously retreated, circling the carriage protectively. They all knew that Xiao Geng had once loved Luo Ling'er, his love curdling into hatred. Now, this man demanded they leave Luo Ling'er behind. Even if he wasn't Xiao Geng, he must be closely related to him.

"Heh heh, Xiao Geng, he was merely a younger brother of mine, a brother I sent to your mortal realm. Unfortunately, he met an untimely end, killed by your master. I will avenge him, and I will seek out your master sooner or later. For now, I just wish to take her. You best comply and hand her over; that way, you might live a little longer!" The blue-haired man suddenly smiled faintly, though the expression was colder than a thousand years of frost.

"Impossible! To take Princess Yongle, you'll have to walk over our corpses!" Lin Xiaoyi scoffed. Chiyi Xiu stepped forward, blocking the path. Hu Yanqi drew his bowstring taut, aiming; the moment the man made a move, the arrow would be loosed instantly.

"Heh heh, if that is the case, then I shall see you off. Remember my name—it is Ying Kongshi!" The man smiled coldly, his body already beginning to glide forward.

Hu Yanqi gripped his longbow tightly in his right hand, slightly relaxing his left. A black meteor streaked across the sky, shooting straight toward Ying Kongshi. It met no obstruction, piercing directly into Ying Kongshi's form, going right through his body.

But not only did no blood spray forth, there wasn't even a scratch on him. Everyone was astonished. Only Hu Yanqi's pupils contracted sharply; his eyesight was the keenest among them. In that split second, Ying Kongshi had dodged his arrow. In other words, what he had struck was merely an afterimage.

How could his speed be that fast?

While Hu Yanqi was still reeling in shock, Ying Kongshi had already arrived before him. Chiyi Xiu roared, raising his Sky-Rending Battle Axe and swinging it down viciously toward Ying Kongshi.

His strength was immense; the movement of the axe caused waves of tremors in the air, as if heaven and earth were about to be split by this single blow.

Facing this incredibly fast axe swing, Ying Kongshi merely lifted his long spear casually. The tip of the spear lightly flicked the axe head, effortlessly deflecting Chiyi Xiu's powerful strike. Immediately after, he shot out a palm, unleashing a strange force that sent Chiyi Xiu flying backward, slamming heavily into a large tree, which shattered to pieces.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye; Hu Yanqi didn't even have time to nock a second arrow.

Lin Xiaoyi, disregarding his own inferior strength at this moment, drew his weapon—an exquisite battle saber—and lunged toward Ying Kongshi. He circulated his Grandmaster Realm True Essence to the fullest, sending a sharp blade-qi slashing through the air.

However, against Lin Xiaoyi's assault, Ying Kongshi didn't even seem to consider defending. A hint of disdain crossed his lips. Without any visible effort, he lightly twitched his spear, the tip colliding with Lin Xiaoyi's saber. A sharp clang echoed, and the saber, forged from profound iron, instantly shattered. The immense recoil vibrated through Lin Xiaoyi's hands, causing his knuckles to split open.

Before he could recover, Ying Kongshi's spear traced forward along his arm and plunged into his lower abdomen. With just a gentle flick, Lin Xiaoyi's body was tossed away, smashing hard onto the ground. He convulsed a few times, then lay utterly still, his fate unknown.

Hu Yanqi's heart jolted violently, but at such close range, he couldn't loose a second arrow before Ying Kongshi's spear pierced his lower abdomen as well. With another light flick, he too was flung away, crashing into and destroying who knew how many trees.

In the blink of an eye, the three men guarding the carriage had all been thrown aside. Only Chiyi Xiu was struggling to rise; the other two remained motionless.

Ying Kongshi paid no heed to the struggling Chiyi Xiu. His figure slowly approached the carriage, and the few steeds pulling it actually trembled uncontrollably, seemingly sensing an aura on him that was no less imposing than what existed in the human realm.

"Beautiful princess, I implore you to alight from the carriage!" Ying Kongshi reached the vehicle and bowed quite gallantly toward it, speaking aloud.

But the carriage remained silent, yielding no response whatsoever.

"If the princess is unwilling to emerge, then I shall enter myself!" Ying Kongshi paused for a moment, then raised his head to look at the carriage.

Still no movement from the vehicle. Ying Kongshi said no more, reaching out to grasp the carriage curtain. The moment he pulled the curtain aside, he saw a woman lying inside—it was Luo Ling'er, the one he sought. Beside Luo Ling'er sat another peerlessly beautiful woman, her hand tightly gripping a crystalline spiritual bow.

Ying Kongshi didn't even have time to marvel at the woman's beauty before a water-blue spiritual arrow shot toward him.

It arrived before his eyes in an instant.

Ying Kongshi’s heart tightened, and he swiftly shifted his body aside. But a pitch-black iron sword materialized from the void, stabbing directly toward him.

Ying Kongshi’s expression flickered slightly. He managed to evade the spiritual arrow and twisted his body sharply, narrowly avoiding having his heart pierced. However, the black iron sword still left a long, bloody gash along his left ribcage, and a stream of blue blood spurted from the wound.

A look of stunned disbelief crossed Ying Kongshi’s face. He was wounded! He had actually been injured by the other party? After being wounded by Ye Jingyu the last time, he had acquired a treasure from his clan that concealed his aura. In this world, he could unleash more than half of his true strength—power capable of slaying an average Martial God. Yet now, he was wounded by someone clearly below the Martial God realm. How could he not be shocked?

Shock quickly turned into explosive rage. Without looking ahead, he swept his spear horizontally, and a blue radiance illuminated the entire landscape...

(Still writing, two more chapters later!)