In a small forest five miles from that valley.
At this moment, Chen Qianqian walked slowly to this place and said to the man standing under a tree with his hands behind his back, "Senior Brother Shen, as per your instructions, Beidou Tianshu has died under my blade."
"Is that so?"
Upon hearing Chen Qianqian's words, the man turned around abruptly, his eyes filled with an irrepressible delight.
Then, he saw that Chen Qianqian's hand did not hold the head of Xiang Mantang, and his face suddenly changed.
"Senior Brother, can you give me the Xuanyin Crystal Stone now?" Chen Qianqian lowered her eyelids, speaking with an unidentifiable emotion in her voice.
Senior Brother Shen's face darkened as he said, "You still have the nerve to ask for things? I told you to bring back the head of Beidou Tianshu, where did you take it?"
If Mu Jinyu and Xiang Mantang were here, they would recognize that the Senior Brother Shen conversing with Chen Qianqian was none other than Shen Cangsheng!
He was very cautious and dared not personally go to encircle and kill Xiang Mantang.
Lest there be any accidents, in case the assassination of Xiang Mantang was unsuccessful and exposed himself, causing this land to no longer have a place for him.
Chen Qianqian responded somberly, "He took a knife in his chest from me, and with the Xuanming Snake's Poison in him as well, he has stopped breathing; there's simply no way he can reverse life and death. Why bother to mutilate his corpse then?"
"You don't understand!" Shen Cangsheng's voice was cold and filled with boundless hatred, as if a chilly wind was blowing from the Nine Serenities, "He and I share a hatred deeper than the sky. It's impossible to leave his body intact. Moreover, his Senior Brother, Mu Jinyu, is a divine healer, capable of bringing back the dead and mending broken bones. If we leave his body intact, who knows if he could be brought back to life!"
Shen Cangsheng's eyes shone with endless venom as he spoke.
Initially, there wasn't much enmity between him and Xiang Mantang.
However, from the day he got engaged to Su Zijin and Xiang Mantang ruined it by calling out to Mu Jinyu, and later when he released messenger pigeons to call for help from his sect at the Kunlun Ruins to annihilate both of them, his pigeons were intercepted by Xiang Mantang right in the middle of their journey!
All these made him eager to kill Xiang Mantang to satiate his fury!
Of course, the person Shen Cangsheng hated the most was still Mu Jinyu, but as a matter of principle in killing, he would never simply kill Mu Jinyu. Instead, he wanted to slowly kill those close to Mu Jinyu, to make Mu Jinyu live in pain and regret before grinding his bones to dust!
Therefore, acquiring Xiang Mantang's head was a must, not only to ensure Xiang Mantang would never rise again, but also to send it express to Mu Jinyu!
He wanted to watch Mu Jinyu receive Xiang Mantang's head and fall into an agonizing breakdown, so that he could vent the hatred in his heart!
Shen Cangsheng's eyes, carrying the color of frenzied resentment, spoke again, "Go, bring back the head of Beidou Tianshu, and I will give you what you want!"
Chen Qianqian's lips moved slightly, her eyes reflecting hesitation and struggle. In the end, thinking of the Xuanyin Crystal Stone she desired, she let out a resigned sigh, and said, "Yes!"
Having said that, she turned and walked back toward the direction of the Secluded Valley.
As for Shen Cangsheng, he stood with his hands behind his back, watching Chen Qianqian leave.
He was very cautious. Even though he knew that Xiang Mantang was probably hanging by a thread, if not already dead, he was reluctant to take the risk himself. It was safer to have Chen Qian, the sister of Xiang Mantang, take Xiang Mantang's head.
...
Xiang Mantang opened his eyes faintly, looking despairingly and helplessly at Mu Jinyu who was pressing his hands over his own chest, where a greenish glow flickered continuously, making his body feel refreshed, healing his extremely serious injuries.
Even the poison that gnawed at him like maggots in his bones was being completely purged.
"Ah-Xiang, Ah-Xiang you've finally awakened."
Mu Jinyu was exerting all his power on the Ten Thousand Year Wood Core, healing Xiang Mantang's terrifying injuries. He didn't know how long it took, but he finally pulled him back from the brink of the Underworld.
By now, his forehead was covered with large beads of sweat, some of which had even dropped onto his eyelashes, misting his vision. Yet, he couldn't afford to be distracted to wipe them off.
Seeing Xiang Mantang's eyelashes twitch and his eyes crack open as if waking from his coma, Mu Jinyu immediately breathed a long sigh of relief.
However, Mu Jinyu didn't dare to let his guard down, because Xiang Mantang's injuries were just too severe. At the moment, he could only be considered barely rescued but had not yet stabilized.
"Don't move yet, let your senior brother save you!"
As Xiang Mantang's lips quivered, as if he was about to say something, Mu Jinyu quickly spoke up to remind him.
"Sssss!"
Just then, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly rang out from behind.
Mu Jinyu heard the noise and felt a surge of panic, drenched in sweat from the urgency, but it was a critical moment for treating Xiang Mantang. He couldn't afford to stop; otherwise, all his efforts would be wasted, and he would lose the chance to save Xiang Mantang.
Xiang Mantang was weak and his vision was blurry. It took immense effort for him to finally pry his eyelids open and see who the newcomer was!
His whole body shuddered, his eyes filled with despair, agony, sorrow, and madness...
The person was indeed Chen Qianqian, who'd returned!
That was most likely his sister, the person who had hurt him time and again!
Xiang Mantang's heart felt like it was about to explode, his eyes conveying an unspeakable despair and pain.
He shook his body, wanting to tell Mu Jinyu to stop saving him and to leave quickly, and also to not harm Chen Qianqian.
But he was pressed down by Mu Jinyu and couldn't move.
Mu Jinyu continued to treat Xiang Mantang without looking back, knowing well that the situation was still dangerous, but he could not possibly give up the only chance to save Xiang Mantang.
"Sssss!"
Chen Qianqian, with a complex look in her eyes, stepped over the flowers and approached. At this moment, she still couldn't bring herself to decisively behead Xiang Mantang.
To her, it was indeed too cruel.
And at that moment, she saw, in the midst of that field of corpses and sea of blood, Xiang Mantang being propped up by someone, his chest radiating a green ghostly light. From a distance, one could feel an extremely rich essence of life, making the whole body feel comfortable, as if small ailments could be healed without medicine.
That must be Mu Jinyu's doing, right?
She shuddered demurely.
Indeed, Shen Cangsheng was right; Mu Jinyu truly possessed the ability to bring the dead back to life and mend white bones. She had been too careless. Without his warning, wouldn't she have today released the tiger back to its mountain, leaving behind a serious threat?!
"Haah!"
Chen Qianqian's face turned cold instantly. She kicked up a longsword from the ground, grasped it in her hand, and charged toward Mu Jinyu!
Xiang Mantang was frantic at the sight and struggled desperately.
"Clang!"
Mu Jinyu heard the commotion but remained indifferent, letting Chen Qianqian's blade come down on him.
After all, he was a Master of Energy Transformation, having reached the pinnacle of martial arts. He could emit his True Qi outward to form a Protective Gang Qi, and he wasn't someone that a Peak Dark Energy Martial Artist like Chen Qianqian could easily ambush.
However, without making any move, how long could his Protective Gang Qi shield him?
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Chen Qianqian naturally knew this as well. She had relied on disguise and ambush to succeed against Xiang Mantang, but Mu Jinyu wouldn't be as foolish as Xiang Mantang, repeatedly holding back against her.
And once Mu Jinyu was able to free his hands, how could she, a mere Peak Dark Energy Martial Artist, be his match?
So she had to take this opportunity to break Mu Jinyu's Protective Gang Qi, kill him, and then kill Xiang Mantang!
Only by taking the heads of both men could she be absolutely safe!