Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 77 The Qian Yuan Sword Emerges

Liu Xixi stared blankly at the face she had longed for day and night. Even though it was now deeply lined with wrinkles, she could still recognize it at a glance.

The once gentle and refined Gu Heng and the now demon-like Bai Gu Sanren kept flashing before her eyes, making her choke with emotion.

"Brother, what he just said... is it true?"

Princess Liu Zhaohan gripped the sword hilt tightly, her knuckles turning white, and a glimmer of hope lingered in her eyes, wishing that this was merely a false accusation by Bai Gu Sanren.

"Those children who mysteriously disappeared, those Xuanming Pills with mixed medicinal properties—did you really... commit these heinous acts?"

Liu Zhaoyuan's face was so dark it could be wrung out. He shouted angrily, "Absurd! Utter nonsense! Gu Heng, how dare you spread such heresy and tarnish my reputation?"

Gu Heng let out a low, eerie laugh, filled with sarcasm: "Liu Zhaoyuan, who are you trying to fool with this pretentious act!"

Liu Zhaoyuan ignored Gu Heng and turned to Zhou Li, saying, "Your Excellency, Gu Heng has fallen into the Gu's nest and is suffering from the poison of countless Gu. His mind has already been corrupted by the Gu poison. We must not let him live!"

As he spoke, he slowly walked towards the crowd, now less than ten feet away from Zhou Li.

At that moment, unexpectedly, Liu Xixi, who was slumped on the ground in a daze, flicked her wrist and a poisoned dart hidden in her sleeve slid into her palm.

This was originally intended to deal with Bai Gu Sanren, but now, filled with grief and indignation, she threw it recklessly toward Liu Zhaoyuan's back!

A resolute hatred flashed in her eyes, and the meager amount of Qi Refining Realm spiritual power within her body poured out.

"...You've deceived Xixi so badly!"

Liu Zhaoyuan was completely focused on Zhou Li and Gu Heng, and did not expect Liu Xixi to suddenly launch an attack. He was hit solidly by the dart.

The poisoned dart couldn't penetrate Liu Zhaoyuan's protective aura, but it successfully angered him.

"You lowly servant! How dare you use the magical weapon I bestowed upon you to injure me!"

Enraged, Liu Zhaoyuan suddenly turned around and slapped Liu Xixi on the top of her head!

This palm strike was unleashed with rage, without any attempt at concealment. Blood-red light swirled around the palm, and a murderous aura soared to the sky, a far cry from the righteous and majestic image it had projected earlier!

"No!" Gu Heng's eyes widened in horror.

He was already critically injured and on the verge of death. Seeing his beloved in imminent danger, he suddenly mustered up a burst of strength and leaped up from the ground to pounce on Liu Xixi, using his broken body to shield her without hesitation.

"Bang!"

Liu Zhaoyuan's fierce palm strike landed squarely on Gu Heng's back.

With a piercing crack of bone, Gu Heng spat out a mouthful of blood, but his gaze remained fixed on Liu Xixi's face. He managed a weak smile on his contorted features before his body slowly slumped to the ground.

"Gu Lang—!" Liu Xixi let out a heart-wrenching cry, collapsed onto Gu Heng's still-warm body, and tears streamed down her face.

Liu Zhaoyuan no longer concealed himself, and a pressure belonging to the same Pseudo-Core Realm swept out without reservation. His body was surrounded by blood light, making him even more powerful than Gu Heng when he was at his peak!

His face was no longer the refined gentleman he usually was; his eyes swept over everyone present with a chilling gaze.

"Fine, fine, fine! Since you all know, then today, you will all leave your lives behind!" Liu Zhaoyuan's killing intent was overwhelming. "I'll kill you all, and then pin all of this on this dead Gu cultivator. With no one to testify, what can the Changtian Sect do to me!"

Liu Zhaohan's expression changed drastically; it was clear that Liu Zhaoyuan intended to kill both him and Liu Xixi.

"Brother, have you gone mad? You've disregarded even the bond of blood?!"

"Ha, blood ties?" Liu Zhaoyuan sneered. "Back then, this throne was seized from your father by killing him. As the head of the Liu family, he was willing to be a dog for the Changtian Sect. He was a complete idiot."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhaohan was horrified, as if he had only just come to know his hypocritical elder brother. He said in a trembling voice, "Gu Heng's heart was devoured by ten thousand poisons, yet the human heart still remained. You, who hold a high position, have lost all morality."

She turned to Zhou Li beside her and said with shame, "The disaster of the Liu family has now implicated the envoy. I, Zhao Han, have wronged you."

With a hint of barely perceptible apprehension, Liu Zhaoyuan tentatively asked, "Your Excellency, that azure light just now must have been a life-saving technique of the Upper Sect, right?"

Zhou Li ignored him completely, walked slowly to Gu Heng, and looked down at Gu Heng.

Gu Heng's pupils were already dilated, but her eyes remained open until her death.

Zhou Li stared into his unwilling eyes and said in a low voice, "If you hadn't acted on your own and had informed me sooner, there might still have been a chance... My original intention was to persuade King Liu to surrender. Considering his years of hard work, the sect might have granted him a chance to be reincarnated and start anew. But thinking of what he has done, such sins are intolerable to Heaven and Earth."

Zhou Li's voice became exceptionally firm: "I will ensure his death and the annihilation of his soul, thus comforting the spirits of those innocent children in heaven. Gu Heng, you... can rest in peace now."

Upon hearing Zhou Li's words, Liu Zhaoyuan's eyes showed even greater apprehension: "Bluster! I know that disciples who have entered the realm possess protective measures from their sects, but the treasure at your waist clearly only has the power for one strike. Now that you've used your methods, what else do you have to rely on!"

He swayed and transformed into a blurry blood shadow, rushing towards Zhou Li with his five fingers bent into claws, aiming straight for Zhou Li's throat!

Despite the deadly blow, Zhou Li remained completely calm. He had already sent a telepathic message to Yang Yang earlier, intending to lure Liu Zhaoyuan into attacking.

Just as Liu Zhaoyuan's bloody claws were about to touch Zhou Li, a three-inch-long sword slowly approached.

A sharp shout rang out:

"Anyone who attacks the envoy of the Shang Sect shall be executed without mercy!"

Under the pull of the mechanism, Liu Zhaoyuan's blood claws stopped an inch away from Zhou Li's throat, unable to advance any further.

Before the sword light even arrived, he was already firmly rooted to the spot, his face drained of color, and his eyes filled with terror.

The next instant, the entire dark red sky of the Netherworld was suddenly illuminated by a mighty sword light.

A streak of azure light appeared on the horizon, and in the blink of an eye, it tore through the sky and surged forward, gradually transforming into a sword aura that stretched across the sky as it approached, slashing fiercely towards Liu Zhaoyuan.

This was the true power of the Qian Yuan Mother-Child Sword Formation, which the Changtian Sect used to intimidate the lower realms, far surpassing the power of a single strike from the bronze ruler. As a manifestation of the sect's will, not even a wisp of a soul could escape its grasp.

Before Liu Zhaoyuan could even utter a word, he was pierced by this overwhelming sword intent, which cleaved down from the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head!

As a thin line of blood appeared on his body, his body turned into a cloud of blood mist, and his three souls and seven spirits were all destroyed by this sword!

The ruler of Qixia Kingdom, Liu Zhaoyuan, was thus completely destroyed, both in body and spirit.

The sword energy slowly dissipated, and the sky returned to its dark red state. The entire process was devoid of the expected sword cries, leaving only a deathly silence.

Zhou Li murmured, "To die under the Qian Yuan Sword, you have every reason to be proud."

A graceful figure arrived, and Situ Yangyang proudly brandished the seemingly unadorned Qian Yuanzi sword in her hand, asking, "Haven't I arrived just in time?"

Zhou Li glanced at her sideways and nodded slightly: "Just right."