When all the burning trees on the mountain turned to ash, Zhao Si disappeared from the top of the mountain.
The pale white starfire flying upwards disappeared without a trace. But the red flames that had burned on the trees were still rippling through the air and growing larger.
The empress’ starfire came from the eternal and unchanging stars in the void yet they lost to Zhao Si’s fire made from trees in the mortal world.
These trees had burned up their entire lives with their flame.
In the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army camp, before the ice on all the enormous pillars of ice melted, some cultivators finally disregarded the damage the cold energies created and charged into the center.
Then they saw General Lian fallen down as a statue of ice.
Within the blue-black ice, the line of red on Liang Lian’s forehead was startling to see. In their perception, it still rippled with astounding sword essence.
These military cultivators who had fought hundreds of battles were all agitated, and unable to speak in their anger.
On the street around Ding Ning and Palace Attendant Rong’s battlefield, the crowds had dissipated and the surroundings were silent.
Jing Liuli walked out of the gates under Ye Zhengnan and Xu Heshan’s confused gazes. Inexplicably, she felt even more admiration for Ding Ning, but her legs seemed to be heavy like they were made out of lead.
The presences in the sky were in slight disorder. Because many experts had released their presences, even the sky was dimmed. There were no dark clouds, but there seemed to be clouds covering the sun.
Droplets of rain fell on the ground in front of Jing Liuli. The rain still carried some of the nether coldness, like this was the melted ice and snow that had floated out of the Northern Tiger-Wolf Army camp.
At this time, Jing Liuli suddenly raised her head.
The crowds had dissipated, and a youth walked out of a silent alley.
The youth wore bright purple robes. However, his purple robes felt illusory. His entire presence was the same, ethereal and empty like he was just a multi-coloured cloud.
Standing on the stairs, Ye Zhengnan’s pupils suddenly contracted. He could clearly see the face of this youth.
This youth had a clean face which looked young and immature. However, Ye Zhengnan felt the other was especially dangerous and terrifying, and his energies uncontrollably surged.
In his mind, even the first time he saw Jing Liuli, he only felt mountainous pressure and awe, but not this feeling of danger all over his body.
Who is this youth?
His breathing began to stop.
He and Jing Liuli were different. The moment she saw this youth, she knew who this was.
In Changling, other than Ding Ning, only one person would cause her to feel like this.
“An Baoshi?” Her brow furrowed slightly as she spoke when she saw this youth floating over like a cloud.
Behind her, Xu Heshan was stunned.
Just like how Jing Liuli’s appearance could cause Jing Liuli to tremble, when An Baoshi of Spirit Void Sword Sect appeared, this meant that something unusual was happening.
The purple-robed youth smiled.
This smile caused him to look more human like he fell from the cloud to the ground.
But when a person from the heavens fell to the ground, he still did not look like he was in the mortal world. So while he looked tangible, he was even more strange.
“I am An Baoshi.”
He looked at Jing Liuli who did not conceal her hostility. He asked directly without any politeness, “Do you know why all these years when Changling ranked us together, why I never left Spirit Void Sword Sect to find you?”
Jing Liuli looked coldly at him and said, “Why?”
An Baoshi said, “Because I always felt you are inferior to me, and I do not need to prove it to others.”
His tone was ordinary, his expression aloof and not proud at all. But he gave off the feeling of being extremely arrogant, so much that Xu Heshan, half a head taller, felt like he had to look up.
However, Jing Liuli was not angry and looked at him. “And now?”
An Baoshi glanced behind Jing Liuli. “Now, there is someone who can rank together with me so you are no longer my opponent.”
Jing Liuli smiled and said, “So you mean since I do not qualify to be mentioned together with you, you came to notify me specially?”
An Baoshi looked at her smiling but cold face and shook his head seriously.
“I came out of Spirit Void Sword Sect to watch Ding Ning’s fight.” He said in an emotional tone, “Since Ding Ning dared to challenge Palace Attendant Rong, he had a possibility of winning. With his cultivation realm, even if there is just a possibility, then it is worthwhile in my opinion to come watch. But you surprised me. You have no sword in hand, but your sword essence is much stronger than before. It appears that you improved greatly these days in Changling, enough for me to test your sword.”
Hearing these words, Ye Zhengnan and Xu Heshan involuntarily tensed. This was undoubtedly a challenge.
Enough shocking things had happened today. Now, when everyone thought the curtain was down, a legendary person like An Baoshi appeared in front of them … all of this was just as unreal as the dimmed sunlight from before.
They also knew that Jing Liuli could not avoid this challenge.
In a breath, Jing Liuli nodded and said, “All right.”
There was a snapping sound.
A small crack appeared in An Baoshi’s purple robes, yet his expression did not change.
He was like a son of heaven, giving off the feeling of pride without having any proud expression. He nodded and said to Jing Liuli, “Please.”
Jing Liuli narrowed her eyes slightly. Her accumulated sword essence was sent out. The wind remained calm in front of her.
But any of the natural seal scripts from energy flowing in the air appeared like her sword essence. Her sword seemed to be everywhere in the world. Her sword seemed to exist within every seal script in the world, and any of these seal scripts could appear at any moment to fall towards An Baoshi.
This was the true Great Ease sword essence.
There was no sword but An Baoshi was surrounded by swords.
This was undoubtedly Jing Liuli’s strongest attack, so strong Xu Heshan trembled all over. Only now did he know how strong Jing Liuli, known as a monster among the younger general, was.
The world was full of swords.
How could one blow this attack?
But An Baoshi stood there motionlessly.
He stood there but he seemed to be empty.
Everything was empty.
Everything was empty so when the sword landed, it hit empty space.
Jing Liuli took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. The swords in the world disappeared.
“This is the Peerless Spirit Void?”
She seemed to say to An Baoshi but also to herself.
An Baoshi looked at her and nodded naturally.
The two seemed to have never fought, but victory had been determined.
Both of Jing Liuli’s sleeves had been cut at the shoulders to reveal her white arms.
An Baoshi’s expression remained unchanged as he gave off his inhuman presence. He did not look at Jing Liuli as he passed by her and glanced at the courtyard behind her. Then he turned and left.
The light in this area of the sky dimmed slightly more.
Watching his departing back, Ye Zhengnan and Xu Heshan looked at the motionlessly standing Jing Liuli and felt slightly sad.
They thought that Jing Liuli would feel very sad inside at this moment.
Unexpectedly, when Jing Liuli turned around and sat back down on the stairs, nothing seemed to have happened.
She did not have any sad feelings.
