Chapter 23: Conflict

"Hehe, I didn't expect that Fellow Daoist Gu Yunyue would know our humble names. What an honor." The hunchbacked old man's voice was extremely hoarse, like the scraping of iron sheets, making it very unpleasant to hear.

The horse-faced young man remained silent, his slightly reddened eyes slowly scanning Han Li and the others. When he saw Yu Menghan and Liu Le'er, a glint flashed in his eyes, and he licked his thick upper lip.

Liu Le'er quickly dodged behind Han Li.

Yu Menghan also felt a chill in her heart seeing his demeanor.

Gu Yunyue's heart was slightly flustered. Although she had guessed that the Heavenly Ghost Sect would not let the matter of the Yu Mansion rest, she hadn't expected the pursuers to arrive so quickly, and that they would be these two notorious and troublesome individuals.

But after all, she was a cultivator who had experienced many conflicts. She quickly regained her composure and said coldly, "The two of you suddenly attacked me in this border region. You owe me an explanation, both in reason and in propriety. Or do you intend to provoke a war between our two sects?"

"Heh, there's no need to speak in riddles before an enlightened person. You know well why we are here, Fellow Daoist. We have been ordered by Elder Qi to take away the murderer of our Junior Qi and this girl surnamed Yu." The hunchbacked old man let out a grating laugh, his gaze deliberately sweeping toward Han Li and Yu Menghan.

Han Li stood still, his expression calm, while Yu Menghan's pretty face turned pale.

Gu Yunyue snorted but did not immediately reply, her mind racing with various thoughts.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, we brothers have no enmity with you. If you hand over these two, we guarantee you can leave safely. How about it?" The hunchbacked old man shook his head, speaking like an old pedant from the mortal world.

Gu Yunyue held a considerable position in the Cold Flame Sect, and if possible, they did not wish to fight her.

"Fellow Daoist Han is now an external guest elder of our sect, and Yu Menghan is also an inner disciple. If you want me to hand them over, what do you take the Cold Flame Sect for?" Gu Yunyue's face suddenly turned cold as she said decisively.

"Hmph, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Since you seek death, we brothers will see you off!" The hunchbacked old man's brows suddenly shot up as he said coldly.

The horse-faced young man, already impatient, acted first as soon as negotiations broke down. With a flick of his sleeve, a large mass of gray-white flames surged out from his sleeve.

He pointed a finger, and the gray-white flames immediately converged into a single point, forming a vortex of gray-white flames.

A fiery ghost claw the size of a house suddenly extended from the vortex, grabbing down at Gu Yunyue and the others.

Prepared, Gu Yunyue stomped her foot, and the Lunar Flying Boat's light blazed again as it shot backward.

At the same time, she raised her hand, and the black longsword beside her flew out, transforming into a seventy-to-eighty-foot-long rainbow sword beam that struck the palm of the fiery ghost claw, producing a sound of metal clashing.

Gu Yunyue's eyes flickered as her fingers changed hand seals.

The black sword beam suddenly contracted, shrinking by more than half, but becoming even brighter and more dazzling.

With a "pfft" sound!

The black sword beam pierced through the fiery ghost claw, emerging from the other side.

The ghost claw exploded with a bang, scattering into residual flames, and the fiery vortex in the sky also dissipated.

Blood rushed to the horse-faced young man's face, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He roared, his eyes suddenly turning bloodshot. He flipped his hand and produced a black scroll, which seemed to be a painting.

A large amount of gray-white light surged from his body, enveloping his figure, making it impossible to see what he was doing inside.

The hunchbacked old man also stomped his foot, and a pitch-black light appeared on his body, the immense pressure of a late Nascent Soul cultivator spreading out.

Gu Yunyue's expression changed slightly. She waved her hand to recall the black sword beam, which circled above her head, while her divine sense locked onto the horse-faced young man and the hunchbacked old man.

The Lunar Flying Boat took this opportunity to retreat over a hundred zhang before stopping.

"Fellow Daoist Han, these two have long been famous and are extremely powerful. If things go wrong, take my disciples and leave first. I'll hold them off." The young woman quickly transmitted her voice to Han Li.

Although she had gained a slight advantage by catching the horse-faced young man off guard, she knew she could not match the hunchbacked old man. With Han Li's unknown strength, even the two of them together might not gain the upper hand, so she had already decided to flee.

Han Li stood there quietly, saying nothing, with an air of noncommittal indifference.

Just then, a gloomy voice rang out in the woman's ears:

"Trying to flee? Do you think you can escape?"

Gu Yunyue's heart tightened instantly.

With a "puff" sound, the black light around the hunchbacked old man suddenly burst apart, and his figure blurred within the black light, transforming into a gray skeleton.

Seeing this, Gu Yunyue was momentarily stunned, while Han Li beside her also flickered his gaze slightly.

At that moment, the void above the Lingyue Flying Boat suddenly churned violently, and a beam of pitch-black light surged out from within without warning, the hunchbacked old man's figure appearing out of thin air in the black light.

He waved his hands, and with a flash of golden light before him, a golden pagoda over ten zhang tall materialized, crashing down fiercely toward the Lingyue Flying Boat.

A terrifying pressure descended with a roar, and the spiritual light on the flying boat's surface fluctuated violently, on the verge of shattering instantly.

Gu Yunyue let out a muffled groan, her hands forming hand seals like lightning, and streaks of sword energy shot into the black longsword above her head.

The black longsword trembled violently, and countless dense sword shadows emerged, slashing toward the golden pagoda.

Rumble!

Countless explosions sounded!

The dense sword shadows struck the golden pagoda, but shattered and vanished instantly, leaving not a single mark on the tower's body.

However, the pagoda's descent was momentarily halted.

Taking advantage of this, Gu Yunyue let out a low shout, and a silver-white light flew from her hand—it was a silver silk handkerchief, which fluttered and swelled in the wind, radiating dazzling silver light.

On the surface of the brocade handkerchief, faint shadows of mountains and rivers emerged, breathing out astonishing spiritual energy, blocking beneath the golden giant tower, causing its descent to stall.

Gu Yunyue's tense expression relaxed slightly, a cold glint flickering in her eyes as she pointed with a sword gesture.

The black flying sword immediately spun around, radiating a great black light, and suddenly swelled up. In the blink of an eye, it became a giant black sword five or six zhang long, swiftly slashing toward the hunchbacked old man.

The old man sneered coldly, waving his hand to send out a spell seal.

The bottom of the golden giant tower split open with a rumble, revealing a black hole. Dazzling golden light sprayed out from it, forming a huge golden halo.

A terrifying suction force suddenly emanated from within, causing the air within dozens of zhang to flow backward.

The giant black sword immediately stopped as if burdened with a thousand jin, spinning around and flying toward the circular hole at the bottom of the golden giant tower.

Gu Yunyue desperately formed hand seals trying to stabilize the giant sword, but it was to no avail. In just two or three breaths, the giant sword was still sucked into the giant tower with a whoosh.

Gu Yunyue's face turned pale; her mental connection with the black flying sword was completely severed.

The golden light emitted by the golden giant tower became even more dazzling, emitting a rumbling sound as it pressed downward.

The silver brocade handkerchief sank inward faintly, pulled by the suction force from the golden giant tower. The mountain and river shadows on its surface twisted and deformed, as if about to be sucked into the tower.

Gu Yunyue hurriedly formed hand seals, pressing both hands against the brocade handkerchief, madly pouring her internal mana into it.

The mountain and river pattern on the surface of the brocade handkerchief shone with silver light, emitting whistling sounds, and finally stabilized again.

The hunchbacked old man chuckled coldly, raising his hand as if to do something.

Boom!

A dull sound came from afar. The gray-white light around the horse-faced youth burst apart, revealing his figure. Floating in front of him was a black scroll, the same one he had taken out earlier, but now unfurled. Its surface was densely painted with a hundred ghost patterns, emitting a strong black light.

"Bitch! How dare you hurt me! Big brother, don't interfere. I want to make her wish she were dead!" The horse-faced youth glared at Gu Yunyue with venomous eyes and growled.