"Wicked Tenderness Lock!"

Engulfed by golden light, Luo Xiu had yet to react when he was suddenly restricted by an eerie, space-controlling power.

The next moment, the golden light dissipated. Xia Chan appeared before Luo Xiu like a ghost, raising her hand to strike.

"Wicked Tenderness Palm!"

Luo Xiu remained composed. A cold light flashed in his eyes as he prepared to counter with Luo Tian's Control over Xuanzhong, but Su Shenyun suddenly appeared before him, blocking Xia Chan's palm with one of her fox tails.

The fox tail was instantly shredded by the palm's force, but it didn't affect Su Shenyun at all. The tail was not flesh and blood, but an extension of her bloodline—a weapon unique to the Nine-Tailed Fox clan.

Su Shenyun stood before Luo Xiu, facing Xia Chan directly. She smiled faintly. "The wind has stopped, the rain has died down, and suddenly you think you're all that again, huh?"

A flicker of disdain crossed Xia Chan's eyes. She spoke without emotion, "You were defeated."

Su Shenyun's smile widened. "Our last battle never had a victor, did it? If you had any shame, you wouldn't pretend you won."

Xia Chan snorted coldly. "A mere brazen fox dares to oppose me. Are you even worthy?"

Su Shenyun's aura surged as her nine fox tails whipped about furiously. She shot toward Xia Chan. "Worthy? Are you some kind of locksmith? Why else would you ask if I'm a 'match'?"

Facing the nine terrifyingly powerful, slashing fox tails, Xia Chan dared not be careless. She immediately activated her Wicked Tenderness Technique to seal off the surrounding Void, preventing them from getting close.

Su Shenyun glanced at the immobilized Luo Xiu. "Focus on breaking free! I'll hold her off!"

Xia Chan said indifferently, "It's useless. My Wicked Tenderness Technique is a Divine Skill. How could a mere mortal possibly break free?"

Su Shenyun's figure vanished, reappearing as an afterimage as she lunged at Xia Chan again. "A Divine Skill? Is that a courier service? I've got 'express delivery' right here!"

"Scheming vixen, you overestimate yourself!"

「At that time.」

Yue Ya was trapped by a Formation Qi Wall created by the army's command token. Though Su Shenyun and Luo Xiu were not far away, she couldn't get past it and could only watch anxiously.

Lin Tong's voice echoed in Luo Xiu's mind. "Big Brother, to be honest, I can't think of anything either. This Wicked Tenderness Technique can control the power of space; it really is a Divine Skill. If Xia Chan fully masters it, she'll be invincible among her peers and might even be able to kill cultivators at higher realms!"

Luo Xiu's expression didn't change. "If that's the case, then I'll show her a Divine Skill of my own!"

As he spoke, the Reaper's Charm Script on his right arm emitted a thick black mist.

WHOOSH—!

Suddenly, black lightning flared across the sky! A strange bolt descended, condensing into a Great Halberd that instantly shattered the Wicked Tenderness Lock restricting Luo Xiu.

I can't believe that actually worked.

Overjoyed at his newfound freedom, Luo Xiu seized the black Thunder Halberd and charged toward Xia Chan, who was still fighting Su Shenyun.

"Die!"

Seeing Luo Xiu break free from the Wicked Tenderness Lock, Xia Chan felt as if she'd been struck. A fire of rage ignited within her. A faint blue light flashed from the clan insignia on her forehead, instantly amplifying the power of her palm strike and shattering all nine of Su Shenyun's fox tails.

With all nine tails destroyed at once, Su Shenyun suffered a massive backlash. She coughed up blood as she was sent flying backward, completely baffled as to what power Xia Chan had just used to become so formidable in a split second.

"Su Fox!" Luo Xiu cried out. He plunged the Thunder Halberd into the ground and rushed to Su Shenyun, catching her limp body in his arms.

Blood gushed from Su Shenyun's mouth and nose as she gazed at Luo Xiu with gentle eyes. "You... have to... be careful... of her..."

Her weak voice came in broken gasps before her eyes fluttered shut and she fell unconscious.

Luo Xiu quickly scanned her with his Divine Sense, and his entire body began to tremble. He discovered that Su Shenyun's injuries were severe. Her internal organs were ruptured, and a terrifying power was actively draining her life force.

"You're courting death!"

Luo Xiu carefully laid Su Shenyun down and rose to his feet. Reaching into the Void, he summoned the Thunder Halberd back to his hand. He turned to face Xia Chan, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "If she dies, I'll make your entire Holy Boi Religion pay with their lives!"

Xia Chan's expression was impassive. "No need for that. I'll send you down to reunite with her myself."

As she spoke, the clan insignia on her forehead once again glowed with a faint blue light, and a spherical shield materialized around her.

Luo Xiu roared, black lightning erupting from his body. He leaped into the air, halberd in hand, and furiously struck at the shield! "I'll take your life!"

BOOM!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK...

"What?!"

Xia Chan's eyes widened in shock as she saw that Luo Xiu had shattered her shield with a single blow.

What terrifying power... Could this also be a Divine Skill? No, the aura of this Divine Skill isn't complete... What is this power?

"Wicked Tenderness Spear!"

Without hesitation, Xia Chan leaped back into the air the moment her shield shattered, creating distance from Luo Xiu. She raised a hand, and an invisible power condensed into a faintly visible spear. At the same time, she infused a strand of blue aura into it.

Lin Tong cried out in alarm, "Big Brother, watch out! That blue aura feels like Ancient God's Breath! No wonder she's so arrogant. She was hiding a trump card like this! Big Brother, stop! Don't meet her head-on!"

But Luo Xiu was seething with rage. His mind was consumed with worry for Su Shenyun's safety, and he couldn't hear a word of Lin Tong's warning.

He charged skyward, halberd raised for a fierce strike. An imperceptible flicker of green light flashed in his pupils, unnoticed even by him. In that instant, black lightning raged across the heavens! Countless bolts converged on the Thunder Halberd in his hand!

"Wild Thunder... God Annihilating Halberd! I don't care if you're a god or not—I'm here to annihilate you!"

Xia Chan's gaze sharpened, and she thrust out the Wicked Tenderness Spear, which was infused with Ancient God's Breath. "You overestimate yourself!"

Unexpectedly, at that exact moment, a wave of nausea washed over her. Her body trembled, and she started to gag. But with Luo Xiu's attack bearing down on her, there was no time to worry about this sudden affliction. She resolutely thrust her spear forward!

BOOM—!

An earth-shattering explosion ripped through the air. The Thunder Halberd and the Wicked Tenderness Spear shattered simultaneously, shaking the very Void. The terrifying aftershock was so powerful that not even the Formation Qi Wall created by the army's command token could withstand it. It shattered in an instant, utterly disintegrating.

「On the other side.」

Yue Ya and Zhu Hui stared worriedly at the roiling cloud of Spiritual Energy in the sky, which had yet to dissipate. They had no idea what was happening within.

「A moment later.」

When the dust settled, Luo Xiu was left standing quietly on the ravaged earth. Xia Chan was kneeling before him, her face as pale as snow, clearly having suffered a grievous blow.

Luo Xiu reached toward the Void, and the Thunder Halberd materialized in his hand once more.

Impossible... This is impossible.

Xia Chan looked up at Luo Xiu, her heart filled with bitter resentment.

We are both in the Gathering Spirit Realm, and my Wicked Tenderness Technique is a Divine Skill infused with Ancient God's Breath. There's no way he could have defeated me! Why... Why would I lose to someone like him?!

Luo Xiu was oblivious to her thoughts. Facing the "sister" he had once cherished, the woman he had once been intimate with, he still chose to bring the Thunder Halberd down. "It's over. Our grudge ends here."

But just then, Xia Chan suddenly covered her mouth and retched again.

Seeing this, Luo Xiu's gaze darkened, and the hand holding the halberd paused.

At the same time, Lin Tong also extended his Divine Sense to investigate. After a moment, his voice trembled as he said, "Big Brother... she... she seems to be... pregnant."

Hearing this, Luo Xiu froze. He couldn't help but recall all the moments he had shared with Xia Chan. The descending Thunder Halberd stopped mid-air. After a brief hesitation, he withdrew it.

"Miss Chu, you may leave."

Xia Chan looked up at him, puzzled. "You're not going to kill me?"

Luo Xiu said indifferently, "Outside Zhangwei Mountain, you spared me once. Today, I'll spare you. Now, we're even."

With that, he turned and walked toward Su Shenyun.

But at that moment, Zhu Hui descended from the sky, snatching the unconscious Su Shenyun before Luo Xiu could reach her.

"Hahaha! The Nine-Tailed Fox is mine, boy!" he crowed. "Take one more step, and I'll snap her neck!"

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