"Charge!"
"Attack!"
"Hold them off, buy time!"
"Don't be afraid, even if Zuo Yehui is here, so what? The Gu formation is still standing—we can hold out until the clan reinforcements arrive!"
The Shadow Sect side attacked with ferocity, while the Righteous Path faction defended with everything they had.
The third layer of the Gu formation was already half-ruined, gaps visible everywhere. It provided almost no assistance to the Righteous Path Gu Immortals, and a chaotic melee erupted in an instant.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The deafening explosions were ceaseless. Wind, fire, water, and lightning collided in a spectacle as dazzling as fireworks.
There was no measured probing to speak of. From the very start, Immortal Gu were deployed, and even Immortal-level killer moves were unleashed, pushing the entire frontline into a white-hot state.
"You can't hold." Fairy Miaoyin's figure was graceful as she drifted through midair, laughing softly.
Standing before her was Qiao Siliu.
The Qiao Clan fairy remained silent. The situation had shifted far too quickly—moments ago the Righteous Path had held the advantage, and now they were on the losing side. Even though the super Gu formation was still there, it could only mount a passive defense. Initiative had been lost entirely. For the Righteous Path Gu Immortals, their only option was to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements.
"Who exactly are you people? How were you able to command the legendary primordial desolate beast Zuo Yehui?" Qiao Siliu asked, her gaze sharp.
Fairy Miaoyin laughed sweetly. "The ones who are here to take your life."
Her killing intent surged abruptly. A pair of crescent-shaped lights bloomed within her eyes.
Immortal Gu killer move—Hooking Moon.
This was an eye-based technique. Its key lay in complete concealment of aura. Once activated, it left no time to react—utterly impossible to guard against.
Qiao Siliu was struck immediately.
But in the next instant, layers of emerald radiance bloomed across the surface of her dress and skin. In the faint glow, slender willow branches condensed into existence like dancing ribbons, swirling around her entire body in an ethereal dance.
Swish, swish, swish!
The emerald willow branches were not merely defensive—they soon lashed outward toward Fairy Miaoyin with extraordinary agility.
Fairy Miaoyin faltered and hastily retreated.
She dodged every willow branch, but failed to account for the shadows beneath them. One shadow suddenly lunged up from the ground like a venomous serpent, striking across Fairy Miaoyin's body.
"An auxiliary move?" Shock was plainly visible on Fairy Miaoyin's beautiful face.
An auxiliary move was similar to a follow-up move, a counter move, or a variant move—it was a special technique that Gu Immortals used to drive their killer moves, one that ordinary practitioners could rarely master.
What was an auxiliary move?
In most cases, it referred to two different Immortal killer moves—one primary and one secondary. For example, the willow branch attack Qiao Siliu had just unleashed was the primary move. The shadows beneath the willow branches were the secondary move, subservient to and dependent on the primary.
When the primary move was activated, the secondary move had a certain probability of activating simultaneously, unleashing devastating power.
Fairy Miaoyin had not expected Qiao Siliu to command such a high-difficulty technique. Caught off guard, she was struck across the face by a willow branch's shadow.
A thin, elongated wound slowly appeared, and a single drop of bright red blood seeped out.
On Fairy Miaoyin's gorgeous, lovely face, it was especially conspicuous.
Qiao Siliu laughed. "Oh my, I wasn't careful, and I've scarred Sister Miaoyin's face. If we keep fighting, you won't be able to share equal renown with me anymore."
Fairy Miaoyin let out a cold snort.
Qiao Siliu pressed the attack of her own accord. Emerald willow branches swirled around her entire body—these rootless willow branches were the manifested form of a killer move, supremely flexible, like dozens of long whips lashing toward Fairy Miaoyin.
The frequency of attack was staggering, practically conjuring an emerald storm.
Fairy Miaoyin was engulfed within it. She not only had to fend off the willow branches, but also had to watch the shadows on the ground.
Any one of them might suddenly lunge upward and launch a sneak attack on Fairy Miaoyin.
Snap, snap, snap!
The crisp cracking sounds rang out without end. Though Fairy Miaoyin had raised her defenses, she could not avoid having her clothes shredded by the willow branches.
She retreated while shielding herself with both hands against the furious onslaught of the willow branches.
Before long, her clothing was in tatters, revealing large patches of snow-white skin. The sight was breathtaking, enough to quicken any man's pulse.
Qiao Siliu pursued relentlessly.
But the advantage did not last. Her opponent suddenly let out a delicate cry, and another pair of slender arms materialized behind her back.
Fairy Miaoyin now possessed four arms.
With four hands defending, she immediately stabilized her footing. Fending off the fierce assault of the willow branches was now more than within her capacity.
Qiao Siliu could not help but sigh inwardly.
This was the Immortal Gu killer move—Nimble Hands—Fairy Miaoyin's signature technique. Qiao Siliu knew all about it.
The reason she had launched such an aggressive assault was precisely to catch Fairy Miaoyin off guard, to keep the pressure on and deny her the rhythm she needed.
But Qiao Siliu's tactic had failed. In the end, Fairy Miaoyin still managed to execute this move.
Despite facing tremendous external pressure, Fairy Miaoyin was not some novice like Zhao Lianyun. She made no mistakes, withstood the pressure, and finally succeeded in activating her killer move.
The moment it was deployed, the battlefield shifted.
Qiao Siliu slowly drifted backward, ceasing her fierce assault entirely, and instead retreated gradually, relying on the half-ruined Gu formation, intending to fight a war of attrition.
Earlier in her pursuit of Fairy Miaoyin, she had moved far from the super Gu formation. Returning to it now was the wisest course of action.
"Now it's my turn, dear Sister Siliu. Do try to endure it," Fairy Miaoyin said with a smile on her lips, though her gaze was utterly cold.
Four hands began forming seals individually.
Slender, pale fingers wove through dazzling patterns of light and shadow.
Ding, ding, clang, clang!
Boom, boom, crash, crash!