Somewhere not far away, Li Celong was almost driven to insanity. His intricate plan of hero saving damsel in distress was now utterly destroyed.
He glared at Chu Kuangren, looking as though he wanted to eat the latter up.
"No, this is not necessarily a failure yet."
"Princess Chi Lian is an outlawed sky-pride. As long as she can beat Chu Kuangren, I can still emerge and play the hero. The cinematic effect would still be the same. In fact, it would be even better!!"
As Li Celong thought of something, a glimmer of hope reappeared on his face.
Precisely. If Princess Chi Lian could defeat Chu Kuangren, it would set an opportunity for him to be the savior. In that case, would it not show that he was stronger than Chu Kuangren?!
At this thought, Li Celong somewhat calmed his nerves, and he waited patiently for his intended outcome to unfold.
However, in contrast to Li Celong's positivity, Princess Chi Lian looked at Chu Kuangren with fear written all over her face.
Her wild beast instincts told her that this white-robed young man in front of her was extremely dangerous!
It felt like she was facing a much more ferocious and savage predator than herself!
What was more, she was an archaic wild beast, a Crimson Lotus Serpent!
In this world, perhaps only those immemorial beings could be a more brutal or higher-classed predator than herself.
"Who are you?"
Princess Chi Lian watched Chu Kuangren with consternation. The spiritual power inside her body had already begun circulating instinctively. She looked like a poisonous snake that was lying low and waiting to pounce at the enemy at any moment.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that Sister Leng is considered a friend of mine. You don't get to kill her."
Chu Kuangren uttered calmly.
He had exchanged Emperor Techniques with Seven Emotions Sect, and the sect had provided him with a sanctuary for closed-door meditation. He had also saved Lady Leng Yue's life himself…
Compared to the Sword Tribe, Wang clan, and the rest, the Seven Emotions Sect could be considered half his ally.
When an ally needed help, he would never stand at the sidelines and do nothing.
"If you want to save her, you must first get through me."
Princess Chi Lian could tell that Chu Kuangren was very powerful. However, as an outlawed sky-pride, she did not intend to back off so easily.
The next moment, she was seen lifting her arm to summon her divine power. The Red Serpent Poison Flame turned into a sea of blazing fire that poured out in all directions!
Meanwhile, Chu Kuangren remained still at his spot. Even his longsword did not unsheath itself. All he did was strike with a finger attack, wherein a streak of sword qi shot out from his fingertips!
The sword qi was magnificent, and it contained an incredibly ruthless, almost world-destroying Sword-based Daoist Rhyme!
In an instant, that tremendous sea of fire was shattered by the sword qi and broken into half!
"What?!"
Princess Chi Lian was astonished.
After the sword qi ripped her sea of fire apart, it continued in her direction.
The long saber in her hand that formed from flame poison was immediately drawn out. After she struck it at that massive energy wave, she was blasted several hundred meters away. She could not help but spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Who the hell is this guy? How can he be this powerful?"
Princess Chi Lian looked extremely terrified and confused.
Nevertheless, Chu Kuangren did not give her any chance to react. With a thrust of his finger, another surge of sword qi produced at his fingertip.
"No, I won't be able to endure this next sword attack. I'll die!"
A feeling of extreme fear crept up in Princess Chi Lian's heart.
It was at this moment that Li Celong could not sit still any longer. He had a deal with Princess Chi Lian, so he would never allow her to die so easily.
He flicked his sleeves, and a billow of greyish-white powder sprinkled out.
He activated his spiritual power, infusing these powder into the wind, instantly forming what seemed like a mist that enveloped Chu Kuangren, Princess Chi Lian, and the others within.
"You monster! Don't you dare hurt Ningyu!"
Li Celong rushed out and struck Princess Chi Lian with a palm.
Meanwhile, Chu Kuangren stood aside and watched him amusingly. He retracted the sword qi on his fingertip.
Li Celong's palm landed on Princess Chi Lian's body. Utilizing the momentum from this palm, the latter swiftly flew backward into the mist, disappearing from sight.
Not only could this mist block sight, but it could barricade spiritual thoughts as well. It was quite useful when it came to fleeing.
"Brother Chu, Ningyu and Chi Yue have been heavily injured. Let's all leave this place at once. Otherwise, we'll be in grave danger when Princess Chi Lian returns."
Li Celong explained and glanced at Leng Ningyu with concern.
Chu Kuangren chuckled. "If it weren't for your sudden appearance, I would've slain that damned snake and made it into snake broth by now."
He swung his sleeve, and sword qi immediately turned into a gust of wind, dissipating the mist all around them.
However, there was no longer any sign of Princess Chi Lian at the scene.
"Brother Chu, do not fret. That was an archaic wild beast. They have many sly tricks up their sleeves. Besides, Ningyu and Chi Yue sustained heavy injuries. What would've happened if I didn't do what I did earlier and use the poisonous mist to scare her off?" Li Celong said with a worried look on his face.
At that, a grin broke out at the edge of Chu Kuangren's lips. "Does that mean we should be thanking you for saving our lives?"
"No need for all that. First things first, let's tend to Ningyu's wounds."
Li Celong walked up and checked on Ningyu's injuries.
He seemed pretty upset as his expressions changed abruptly, "Ningyu has gotten the Crimson Lotus Serpent's flame poison. This flame poison is different from Lady Leng Yue's. This flame poison could trigger lust in a person, so we need a Yinyang exchange technique to expel this flame poison. Otherwise, Ningyu's life would be in danger."
"Utter gibberish!"
At this moment, Chi Yue walked up to them.
She had never had a good feeling about Li Celong. "Scramble, you piece of trash."
However, her current condition did not look good either. She was flushed, and even her chiding at her enemy seemed rather tame. Her gaze was gradually blurring out too.
"Chi Yue, saving her is our utmost priority. Please forgive me for now."
Li Celong was just about to wrap his hands around Leng Ningyu and carry her into the cave when she pushed him aside.
Leng Ningyu looked at Chu Kuangren as she recalled what her Honorable Teacher said to her the other day. She looked at Chu Kuangren and said, "Brother Chu, would you mind saving me one more time?"
"I can do that. No worries." Chu Kuangren smiled back at her.
"Ningyu, do you really want to surrender yourself to this person? I've known you for so long. Am I not as good as him?"
Li Celong decided to give it one last attempt.
However, Leng Ningyu replied coldly, "As my Honorable Teacher has said, we from Seven Emotions Sect no longer have any ties with you and your teacher."
"Ningyu, that was my Honorable Teacher's mistake. It had nothing to do with me."
"Brother Li, you don't need to explain any further."
Upon hearing this, Li Celong's hopes and dreams were well and truly crushed.
He looked at Chi Yue, who was similarly affected by the flame poison. He took a deep breath and asked, "Why don't I help Sister Chi Yue relieve her poison then?"
Chi Yue was a gorgeous woman as well.
Since he no longer had any chance with Leng Ningyu, getting Chi Yue would still be more than a consolation.
However, Chi Yue threw him a spiteful look before she glanced toward Chu Kuangren and gritted her teeth. "Brother Chu, can you handle it if you take me as well?"
Her words this time were bold and straightforward.
Even Swordsman Mei beside them blushed a little.
Chu Kuangren immediately expressed his dissatisfaction. Was this girl questioning his abilities?!
If he did not know other methods of curing the poison, he would have shown her a piece of his mind.
"Of course, I can!"
"Great, we shall leave ourselves in your hands then, Brother Chu."
Beside them, Li Celong was in utter disbelief.
Chu Kuangren had taken them both. Was he not even going to leave Li Celong any chance?
Swordsman Mei glanced at Leng Ningyu and Chi Yue rather enviously. Then, she stared at Li Celong disgustedly.
What kind of joke was this?
With Master here, any woman would surely pick Master over anyone.
"Swordsman Mei, keep a close eye on him for me."
Chu Kuangren threw a glance at Li Celong before saying to Swordsman Mei calmly.
After that, he used his mind power to help Leng Ningyu and Chi Yue back up on their feet and walked them to the cave. Behind them, Li Celong's eyes were bloodshot.
He had so meticulously planned out everything, yet he ended up building the path for someone else to steal his glory instead!