Chapter 95: Phoenix Dance of Six Illusions!

The cold gleam moved with incredible speed, instantly sweeping past Sikong Xu as he charged toward Bai Feng.

“What!” Bai Feng’s pupils contracted sharply at the sudden appearance of the cold glint. In that moment of panic, he had no time to dodge and could only brace himself to withstand the attack.

A metallic clang echoed—the sparks flew as Bai Feng’s Bird Feather Talisman snapped neatly in two, and the webbing between his thumb and forefinger was split open, blood gushing forth from the wound.

Such was the sheer force behind the cold gleam!

“A sword strike from a hundred paces?” At last, Bai Feng glimpsed the true nature of the attack. It was a long sword, marked by an ancient and dignified aura. Its blade bore no extraneous decoration, yet it carried a subtle air of returning to its origins—a sword whose sharpness could be felt by merely glancing at it.

Yuanhong! The cold gleam’s true form was the Yuanhong Sword!

“No, this isn’t the Hundred Paces Flying Sword…” Bai Feng murmured with a hint of relief; had this actually been Ge Nie’s famed move, he feared he would have already perished beneath the Yuanhong Sword.

With Sikong Xu sprinting at full speed, he finally reached Ge Nie’s side, his anxious heart settling at last.

“Uncle Nie, destroy him! He broke my arm, damn it…” After setting Gao Yue down, Sikong Xu collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

A tingling sensation radiated from his arm—apparently, the “Giant’s Recovery (Pseudo)” skill could indeed help with a comminuted fracture, though the healing was slow.

Ge Nie picked up the Yuanhong Sword, which was still embedded in the earth, and cast a cold gaze at Bai Feng.

“Was that the Hundred Paces Flying Sword?” Bai Feng asked uncertainly, blood trickling from the wound on his palm. Clearly, forcibly intercepting Ge Nie’s strike had taken its toll.

Ge Nie shook his head—he had not used the Hundred Paces Flying Sword, for Sikong Xu was running in front of Bai Feng at the time, and Ge Nie feared accidentally harming him.

“So it really wasn’t…” Bai Feng shook his head with a wry smile, his handsome face tinged with resignation. “It seems only that man Wei Zhuang could match you now…”

At that moment, Chi Lian strode forward, her face still radiating anger. She had calculated every possibility but never expected Sikong Xu to leap from the undergrowth and rescue Gao Yue, whom she had meant to use as leverage against Ge Nie.

Moreover, Ge Nie showed no sign of having been poisoned. Did Gao Yue fail to administer the poison, or had Ge Nie detected it in advance?

Chi Lian could scarcely imagine that Ge Nie would have someone like Sikong Xu at his side—a veritable bug who knew astronomy and geography inside out. Of course, Sikong Xu merely had foreknowledge of the plot.

“Why don’t you two withdraw?” Ge Nie said, holding the Yuanhong Sword at a slant, its tip pointing downward, the blade shimmering with a cold light. “With things at a stalemate, neither side stands to gain.”

Chi Lian and Bai Feng exchanged glances. Both knew that even together, they would be hard-pressed to defeat the white-robed swordsman before them, the greatest swordsman in the realm.

Yet giving up the mission outright left them reluctant.

Witnessing this, Sikong Xu screamed inwardly—please don’t leave! If you go, my side quest will be ruined!

“Uncle Nie, don’t let these two villains escape! Hmph, that snake array was terrifying!” Just then, Tianming and Duanmu Rong emerged from Chi Lian’s snake array.

“Tianming, are you alright?” Ge Nie asked.

“Haha, how could anything happen to me? I’m the great Tianming! A few snakes are nothing to me!” Tianming laughed boisterously.

Duanmu Rong, standing nearby, looked resigned. In the snake array, this boy had nearly been scared to death; if she hadn’t protected him, he would have become snake food.

“How’s Yue’er?” Duanmu Rong immediately noticed Gao Yue, standing beside Sikong Xu with vacant eyes, and hurriedly asked Sikong Xu.

Can’t you see I’m injured? Why not show some concern for me first? Why ask about Gao Yue?

Sikong Xu replied irritably, “She’s just under the spell of Fire Charm… It’ll pass soon…”

Speaking tugged at his arm, making him grit his teeth in pain.

“Your arm is badly injured; don’t move it!” After temporarily rendering Gao Yue unconscious with acupoint manipulation, Duanmu Rong finally inquired about Sikong Xu’s injury.

“I’ll apply this ointment for you first.” Duanmu Rong took a small box of ointment from her pouch and smeared it on Sikong Xu’s right forearm.

An immediate sensation of coolness washed over his arm, and the pain seemed to ease.

“Is this ointment really effective? My injury…” Sikong Xu frowned; he doubted a small box of ointment could heal a comminuted fracture.

“Your hand…” Seeing Sikong Xu’s twisted, deformed right hand, Duanmu Rong’s brows furrowed, as if she wished to say something but hesitated.

“What is it—is it impossible to cure?” Sikong Xu grinned.

“I… I will definitely…”

“No need to say it. I know my own injury best; the bones are surely shattered.” Sikong Xu shook his head. Bai Feng had struck hard—a single blow had crushed his hand bones.

After a moment’s silence, Duanmu Rong said, “I will definitely heal you.”

Sikong Xu smiled without replying. Such an injury in ancient times would have meant losing the use of his hand, which explained Duanmu Rong’s silence. If not for his “Giant’s Recovery (Pseudo)” skill, he would have been deeply troubled.

“Let’s check on Yue’er first; her Fire Charm still hasn’t been lifted.” Sikong Xu smiled and got up, moving to Ge Nie’s side.

“Your hand?” Ge Nie asked.

“No problem.”

Ge Nie nodded, saying nothing more—whether out of trust in Sikong Xu or indifference, it was hard to tell.

At that moment, a spy-winged bird landed swiftly on Bai Feng’s shoulder. Bai Feng immediately removed the message tube attached to the bird’s foot and took out the note inside.

Bai Feng and Chi Lian glanced at the note, then exchanged looks.

“It seems we must properly test the Ghost Valley’s Hundred Paces Flying Sword today,” Bai Feng said with a hint of resignation.

The message from the spy-winged bird was clear: the two of them were to desperately stall Ge Nie until Wei Zhuang arrived!

“Uncle Nie, something’s off,” Sikong Xu frowned. Chi Lian and Bai Feng had clearly been ready to retreat, but after reading the note, their attitude changed.

“I suspect my junior brother is coming,” Ge Nie replied calmly. He knew Wei Zhuang well—once Wei Zhuang learned of Ge Nie’s exact whereabouts, he would hurry over without delay.

“Should we withdraw first?”

“Mm.” Ge Nie responded softly. He had only just recovered from his injuries and wasn’t fit to face Wei Zhuang.

“Do you think you can leave?” Bai Feng smiled faintly, then tossed several Bird Feather Talismans at the group.

“Hmph.” Duanmu Rong snorted coldly, flicking her arm to throw several specially-made silver needles, which collided with the talismans.

Unfortunately, Duanmu Rong’s internal energy was not as profound as Bai Feng’s, so her needles only slowed the talismans.

“Watch this!” Sikong Xu, wielding the Interpreter Sword in his left hand, channeled his true energy into the blade and swept it forward, knocking down all the talismans.

Since Duanmu Rong had applied some unknown ointment to his right hand, Sikong Xu found the pain much less severe; thus, he continued to fight with his left hand.

“Get in the carriage—you all leave first!” Ge Nie instructed Duanmu Rong and the others, then charged toward Bai Feng.

“Uncle Nie, I’ll help you!” Sikong Xu likewise dashed toward Chi Lian, eager to finish his side quest.

“Your injury?”

“No worries—it won’t affect the fight!”

“Hmph, if that’s the case…” Bai Feng’s eyes flickered. With Wei Zhuang arriving soon, he only needed to stall Ge Nie a little longer.

Suddenly, Bai Feng’s aura shifted. His steps changed swiftly, his figure flickering in and out of sight. In an instant, six images of Bai Feng appeared.

“Phoenix Dance… Six Illusions!”