“`

“Bang!”

Not wanting to waste anything, Xu Taiping opened the green gourd’s lid and absorbed all the Wind Feather Wolves’ corpses around him.

One Wind Feather Wolf could be exchanged for a hundred merit points!

“Are you coming or not?”

Xu Taiping glanced at the girl behind him while popping a Recovery Pill into his mouth.

The girl shook her head, then turned to look at Murong Song inside the hall, her gaze resolute:

“I want to avenge my brother.”

“I can’t help you with that.”

Xu Taiping shook his head.

If the girl wanted to court death, he couldn’t stop her.

“No need, I’ll do it myself.”

The girl shook her head again.

Murong Song, sensing the attention from Xu Taiping and the girl, immediately became alert. With a “clang,” the flying sword at his waist was unsheathed.

“Big brother, I don’t even know your name yet.”

The girl asked Xu Taiping.

“Xu Taiping.”

Without turning his head, Xu Taiping answered while still looking in the direction of the dilapidated hall.

He wanted to wait and see if there really was a wild beast suppressed under the hall. If there was, it would attack Murong Song and his people first.

More importantly, according to Fairy Lingyue, the body of the wild beast was a treasure.

Even if he could only pick up some scraps, they could be used as nutrients for Earth Fruits in the future.

So he wanted to see if he could get lucky.

“The son of Dustless Island’s master must have a lot of life-saving items. If he and the wild beast end up in a draw, wouldn’t I be the one to benefit?”

Xu Taiping thought happily to himself.

“Big brother Taiping, my name is Duan Xiaoyu. I’m a disciple of the Sky Blade Sect on White Horse Mountain. If I don’t make it out this time, please, if you encounter any disciples of the Sky Blade Sect in the future, tell them everything that happened today.”

Duan Xiaoyu wrapped her hand and sword together with a white silk cloth, clearly intending to fight Murong Song to the death.

“I think you shouldn’t be so impulsive. Live well, and you can seek revenge later.”

Xu Taiping casually advised.

As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the dilapidated hall ahead.

“I can’t wait that long.”

Duan Xiaoyu shook her head.

“Oh, alright then.”

Xu Taiping nodded absentmindedly.

“Big brother Taiping, that’s not how you persuade someone.”

Seeing Xu Taiping’s distracted look, Duan Xiaoyu, who had been determined to die, suddenly felt a bit conflicted.

“We’re not close. If you really want to die, I can’t stop you.”

Xu Taiping continued without turning his head.

Five or six years ago, he might have tried to persuade her earnestly, but after witnessing many things over the years, his heart had hardened considerably.

If the girl wasn’t from the Sky Blade Sect, he might not have even bothered to say a word.

“True.”

Duan Xiaoyu smiled bitterly.

She thought to herself how strange it was to expect a stranger to persuade her.

With that thought, her resolve strengthened again. The long sword in her hand began to hum, and a surge of sword energy started swirling around her.

Despite her frail appearance, her sword energy was incredibly powerful, making even Xu Taiping take notice.

“Whoosh…”

At that moment, Duan Xiaoyu exhaled deeply, then lifted her sword and leaned forward, ready to charge.

“Slap!”

Just as she was about to step forward, a hand suddenly pressed down on her shoulder, holding her in place.

Naturally, it was Xu Taiping’s hand.

“Big brother Taiping?”

Duan Xiaoyu looked at Xu Taiping in confusion.

“Do you feel any movement under our feet?”

Xu Taiping asked, still staring ahead at the hall.

“Movement?”

Duan Xiaoyu frowned, but after sensing carefully, her expression changed slightly.

“It seems like there is movement, and it seems to be coming from the direction of the hall…”

She whispered in surprise.

“Step back, step back.”

Xu Taiping urged.

“Okay.”

Duan Xiaoyu instinctively nodded, completely forgetting her intention to fight Murong Song to the death.

“Boom!—”

Before they could take a few steps back, a violent tremor suddenly came from beneath their feet.

Immediately, a massive black tentacle covered in suckers burst out from the ruins of the hall, and an ancient, malevolent aura surged from the ground.

“Whoosh!…”

The disciples hiding in the dilapidated hall didn’t even have time to scream before they were sucked up by the tentacle’s suckers, turning into masses of flesh and blood.

“Clang!”

Murong Song, who reacted quickly, summoned his flying sword and thrust it at the tentacle with all his might.

“Bang!”

But the tentacle merely flicked, shattering the flying sword with a “boom.”

This scene made Xu Taiping’s heart tremble.

The strength of the wild beast beneath Phoenix Perch Hall far exceeded his expectations.

“Golden-armored deity, assist me!”

At that moment, Murong Song suddenly shouted and threw out a talisman scroll.

With a loud “boom,” a golden-armored deity as tall as the hall descended from the sky, slashing at the wild beast’s tentacle with a large blade.

More crucially, the tentacle was actually cut open.

“What grade of Divine General Talisman is this, to be able to injure a wild beast!”

Xu Taiping was shocked.

The foundation of the top sects in the Nine Mansions once again refreshed his understanding.

However, the golden-armored deity clearly lacked follow-up strength. After one slash, its body dimmed and was quickly entangled by the tentacle, starting to dissipate visibly.

“Swift as the wind!”

At this moment, Murong Song shouted again, throwing out another talisman scroll. A fierce gale enveloped him, and with a “boom,” he disappeared in an instant.

“Heaven-grade Wind Escape Talisman!”

Duan Xiaoyu exclaimed in shock.

“He still managed to escape!”

She stomped her foot in frustration.

“Yeah, I thought they’d both be injured.”

Xu Taiping said regretfully.

“Boom!”

At that moment, the golden-armored deity’s shadow was crushed by the wild beast’s tentacle.

Then another tentacle burst out from the ground with a “bang.”

Sensing Xu Taiping and Duan Xiaoyu’s presence, the long tentacle lashed out at them, creating a deep trench in the ground with a “bang.”

“Whoosh!”

Seeing this, Xu Taiping immediately flashed away, covering dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.

If not now, when?

To his surprise, Duan Xiaoyu was keeping pace with him, escaping just as quickly.

“Weren’t you ready to die? Why are you running so fast?”

Xu Taiping asked in amazement.

“`