Sha Shenyi could no longer stand, as a green beam accompanied by a gust of wind swept towards him.
However, the man seemed to have anticipated this. He violently threw Ren Yuanhao with his left hand while his right hand moved his green sword with lightning speed.
Drawing the sword and sheathing it all happened in an instant.
*Crack!*
Cracking sounds suddenly emanated from Sha Shenyi's mask. The green sword had struck from the seam, leaving a thin line. Any more force and Sha Shenyi would have been injured.
The mask suddenly split open from the top of her head and slid down. A cascade of dark hair fell like a waterfall from a cliff, scattering like flying flowers and jade beads onto her shoulders. A cinnabar mark on her brow was as red as blood, her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her pupils were as clear as water, her lips were like rouge, her skin was as white as snow, and her blush was like plum blossoms dotted on snow. With every glance, she was indescribably cold, stunning, and alluring. Standing still, she was like a sword suspended upside down! Upon closer inspection, her beauty was no less than that of Ye Lan and others!
Everyone stopped their fierce fighting at that moment, as if stunned by Sha Shenyi's beauty. Silence fell over the scene.
After a moment of愣神, the man suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, "Junior Sister Liu, your beauty remains as ever, your demeanor outstanding. Every time I see you, I am still struck with awe as if I've seen a celestial being."
The man waved to the other two, and they immediately retreated rapidly.
"Come, let me introduce you. This is your Senior Sister, Liu Furong."
After the man finished speaking, the two on his left and right bowed repeatedly, saying in low voices, "Senior Sister Furong, we have long admired you."
Liu Furong remained expressionless. Set against her purple robes, she appeared ethereal and otherworldly, like a celestial immortal. She looked to be no more than twenty years old.
"Junior Sister is still the same as before, with a heart like ice and snow, a body like glazed glass, pure and untainted. However, living in such a cold and desolate place is too much of a hardship for you. Why not return with me."
The man extended his right hand. The two on his left and right looked on expectantly.
Just then, the wind suddenly stopped, and a series of serpentine sounds suddenly came from all directions. The sounds were loud, as chaotic as a sudden downpour, and their numbers were likely astonishing!
However, all of this seemed like child's play to the man. His face remained as placid as a calm lake. He did, however, offer praise, "No wonder Junior Sister has been holding back. So you were 'calling for companions'."
As the man spoke, he shook his long sword and said, "But do you think these snakes can protect you? Don't be ridiculous. Senior Brother doesn't want to truly fight you today."
"Whether they can protect me is not for you to decide!"
Liu Furong lightly tapped her toes and flew backward. A flute suddenly appeared in her hand. The green flute was placed against her rouge-like lips. As she exhaled like orchids, the flute's sound, sharp, killing, and clear, immediately erupted like a shattered silver bottle, instantly spreading through the forest.
Everyone felt their internal energy surge and flow within them along with the clear flute sound, crashing and colliding, becoming increasingly difficult to control.
This made Ren Yuanhao even more uncomfortable. His internal energy, like being in both ice and fire, surged backward through his limbs like a raging tide, chaotic and disorderly. In an instant, he vomited a mouthful of blood.
"Sha Shenyi, oh no, Miss Liu, for the sake of both of us being named Liu, I beg you to stop playing! My brother cannot withstand this torment!" Amidst the flute music, Liu Yu, unable to care for himself, could only desperately circulate his internal energy to maintain clarity.
However, Liu Furong was completely unmoved. The flute music gradually rose higher, soaring towards the heavens. It was clear and high-pitched, unlike any earthly music. The various snakes that had been lurking in the dead leaves and branches began to flicker their scarlet tongues, like countless blood threads splashing out, directly attacking her senior brother.
"What a magnificent 'Fuyao Melody'! Junior Sister's talent in music has always been the most outstanding in the sect. Since that's the case, don't blame Senior Brother for drawing his sword!"
As the man gripped the hilt of his sword, his entire being exuded a chilling and brutal aura as if it were solid gas. The sword light flickered and surged forth. Wherever it passed, dozens of snakes met their demise. Blood mist splattered and dispersed impressively. The man moved like a surfer on a wave, then like a night hawk soaring in the wind, then like a charging beast. Sword light shot out but never left his body, like a flowing silk ribbon, moving freely!
The forest was filled with a strong, pungent smell. These snakes seemed to be stunned by the man, who had gone bloodthirsty. Despite the flute music raining down like falling stars and spilled mercury, they began to show signs of scattering and retreating.
At this moment, Liu Furong also began to falter. After all, to inject internal energy into the flute to control the snakes' attack was an extremely difficult and draining method. Fortunately, although this move did not defeat her senior brother, the two accompanying junior brothers collapsed on the ground under the attack of the snakes.
"Junior Sister, why don't you stop? Are you truly so heartless as to harm your fellow disciples?"
As the man spoke, he leaped into the air, stepped on the head of a silver-ringed snake, and jumped high. His long sword sliced through the air, coming from the west!
This move was incredibly brilliant. Liu Furong could only lean back, her flute music briefly halting. The snakes immediately weakened and retreated. The man's sword did not stop; it plunged into Liu Furong's left shoulder.
Meanwhile, although Ren Yuanhao's internal energy was like a violent hurricane, constantly crashing within his body, he strangely discovered that the internal energy in his dantian, which was as vast as a deep valley, and the energy from the鲛人泪 (Jiaoren Lei - Mermaid's Tear) were being dispersed throughout his body. Due to the mystical methods of the Absorbing Stars Technique, the internal energy that had been drawn out by the flute's 'nuclei' was slowly and orderly flowing into the two nuclei!
—Could it be that Sha Shenyi, oh no, Miss Furong knew my internal energy was chaotic and deliberately used the flute music to stimulate it, drawing it all out of my body, and then to consolidate it through a process of breaking and rebuilding?
No wonder her flute music, though clear and high-pitched, like spilled mercury, contained a hint of the soft and resilient power of silk and bamboo!
She was using her internal energy to drive the bamboo flute and control the snakes, while simultaneously helping you expel your internal energy and regulate the hidden dangers within your body, which is why she was overwhelmed and took a sword from that man!
And you can still lie on the ground like a dead dog, letting that man insult and trample on the aloof young lady?
Ren Yuanhao frantically activated the Absorbing Stars Technique. The wind howled through the forest, blood mist swirled and flew, and a pungent smell spread. Even the still-green leaves instantly detached from their branches, scattering and dancing like a turbulent flow!
Ren Yuanhao flipped over and stood up, his palms drawing circles and converging at his dantian. The man also seemed to sense something was amiss. He drew his sword and turned back. Liu Furong's face was deathly pale. She used her fingertips to seal the continuously bleeding wound, her beautiful eyes fixed on Ren Yuanhao.
"This is actually the Absorbing Stars Demonic Art! As a disciple of a righteous sect, I, Ji Changqing, must eliminate you!"
The man channeled his energy, his internal energy surging, his robes fluttering. His imposing aura effortlessly overshadowed Ren Yuanhao. Just as he was about to strike down the demon with his sword, he saw Liu Furong's beautiful eyes fixed on Ren Yuanhao, and she coldly shouted, her voice like breaking ice and cutting snow:
"Sir, you are innocent. Why do you get involved in my troubles?"