Bang, bang, bang, bang…
A barrage of savage blows hammered Yin Wuque to the ground.
Yin Wuque curled into a ball, arms wrapped around his head, desperately activating his defensive killer move!
Yet under the relentless onslaught of fists and kicks, his defenses crumbled in short order.
"I forfeit! I forfeit!" Yin Wuque shouted in desperation.
"Fairy Black Moon, please show mercy where mercy is due," Wu Guang hurried over to mediate from the side.
Hei Loulan was merely sparring and harbored little killing intent, so she ceased her attack upon hearing his words.
She turned to Chen Cheng. "Yin Wuque has lost. Who is the next opponent?"
Just as she asked, two Gu Immortals flew in from the horizon.
A man and a woman.
The man was tall and lean, with a long shovel-shaped face and small beany eyes that radiated the aura of a Seventh Transformation Light Dao Gu Immortal.
The female immortal looked like a young girl, her eyes round and lively, her frame petite and adorable with a rosy complexion — a Seventh Transformation Wood Dao Gu Immortal.
They were none other than Liu Chang and Liu Luo, siblings of the Liu Family.
Chen Cheng, Wu Guang, and the others exchanged glances but said nothing.
Liu Luo spoke first, asking, "What's going on here?"
No one answered her, so she looked toward Yin Wuque.
Yin Wuque was still lying on the ground, receiving treatment from Wu Guang. He smiled bitterly. "This Fairy Black Moon came to challenge me. Her methods are formidable — I was no match."
Upon hearing this, Liu Chang's eyes lit up. "Fairy Black Moon? May I ask your honored name? I didn't expect the Northern Plains' Gu Immortal world to produce yet another remarkable heroine."
Liu Luo, on the other hand, taunted Yin Wuque. "Yin Wuque, now you know the bitterness of being a rogue cultivator, don't you? Our Liu Family has been recruiting you as a Supreme Guest Elder — that would be of great benefit to you. At the very least, once you join the Liu Family, any Gu Immortal who wants to challenge you will think twice about the consequences of angering us!"
Yin Wuque smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I appreciate you two coming to persuade me time and again, but I've grown accustomed to wandering freely. I have no intention of joining any great power."
Liu Luo's brow furrowed immediately. "You still won't know what's good for you?"
Ever since the Battle of Fate had ended, Eternal Life had issued orders to all the Golden Tribes to fully consolidate the Northern Plains' Gu Immortal world in preparation for the coming Five Region Great War. Many Gu Immortals had been recruited by these Golden Tribes, and numerous demonic cultivators had been hunted down and killed.
Meanwhile, Hei Loulan showed no intention of answering Liu Chang's earlier question.
She said to Chen Cheng, "Let's go."
"Wait!" Liu Luo's shrill voice cut in to stop them. She fixed her gaze on Hei Loulan. "You — this female immortal — are awfully brazen. Don't you know Yin Wuque is someone our Liu Family is recruiting? You've injured him, and you think you can just walk away?"
"Sister." Liu Chang tried to restrain her, feeling somewhat helpless inside.
Liu Luo had only recently advanced from the Sixth Transformation to the Seventh Transformation, and her rise in strength had made her temperament rather volatile.
Had she been alone, her attitude might not have been so extreme, but with her elder brother Liu Chang at her side as a source of support, she had grown rather reckless.
Liu Chang, however, had always doted on his younger sister and didn't scold her too harshly. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Hei Loulan. "Why the rush, Fairy? Might you be interested in joining our Liu Family? If you became our Liu Family's Supreme Guest Elder…"
"Shut your dog mouth," Hei Loulan said flatly.
"What?" Liu Chang froze.
Liu Luo's eyes went wide, fury and shock mingling on her face. "How dare you! You brazen hag—"
Before she could finish, Hei Loulan cut her off once more. "Two dogs blocking the road. Bark again and I'll kill you."
Sensing that the situation was spiraling out of control, Chen Cheng hastily stepped in to play peacemaker.
Liu Luo shrieked, "This matter is far from over today! I'll see to it that—"
BOOM!
Hei Loulan struck without warning. A Strength Dao Phantom materialized in front of Liu Luo and delivered a punch squarely to her face, sending her flying.
"Sister!" Liu Chang roared in fury, about to launch his own attack.
BOOM — he was sent flying as well.
Liu Chang was a famous Seventh Transformation powerhouse of the Northern Plains, far more capable than Liu Luo. He quickly steadied himself. "You dare attack our Liu Family's Gu Immortals? You—"
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
Eight Strength Dao Phantoms orbited around Hei Loulan as she simultaneously activated her Nether Strength Tiger Totem, beating the Liu siblings until they scurried away with their heads in their hands.
"This… this… this…" Chen Cheng watched with his jaw agape.
"Well, there's no making peace now," Wu Guang clicked his tongue, glancing at Yin Wuque with a rueful smile. "So this is Fairy Black Moon's true temperament. Brother Yin, you were lucky to come out of her hands with your life intact."
Yin Wuque let out a cold snort. "If Fairy Black Moon really kills the Liu siblings, do you think the Liu Family — do you think Eternal Life — will let the rest of us go?"
Wu Guang started, and his expression quickly turned grim.
"Are we supposed to intervene and help the Liu siblings?" Wu Guang said dazedly.
Yin Wuque gritted his teeth. "You want to kiss up to Eternal Life? Ever since Immortal Venerable Giant Sun orchestrated the King's Court Battle, the entire Northern Plains has become his personal domain. In over three hundred thousand years, how much suffering have the rogue cultivators of the North endured?"
The truth behind the King's Court Battle was something most Gu Immortals knew to varying degrees.