“Stinking bug, who the hell are you saying is looking for death? Take a few of your palms? I’d like to see how many of my punches you can take!” a slightly hoarse female voice suddenly rang out.
The three black palms that were about to strike were instantly shattered, and then a massive fist blasted toward a certain direction.
In an instant, a swarm of insects and an even larger, blacker palm appeared out of thin air to intercept the fist phantom.
The residual power radiating from the collision of the two moves snapped many surrounding branches, and a large portion of the snakes and insects on the ground were crushed. As for the swarm of flying insects that had appeared out of thin air, very few survived.
At this moment, Lian Li was finally able to move. He hurriedly reached out to support Yun Huizhou and looked up toward the direction of the voice.
It was a woman dressed in dark red martial attire. Her skin was a healthy wheat-colored tan, and she was tall.
Her sleeves were rolled up to her forearms, faintly revealing the definition of her muscles. They weren’t exaggerated, yet they gave off an impression of being exceptionally healthy and powerful.
Lian Li had never seen this woman before, nor did he know who she was.
Noticing Lian Li’s bewilderment, Yun Huizhou paused for a moment before uttering two words: “Martial Aunt.”
As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, blood flowed out. Startled, Lian Li clapped a palm over Yun Huizhou’s mouth. “Don’t talk! You spit blood every time you speak. Quick, swallow it back down! Don’t lose too much blood.”
Yun Huizhou: “…”
He had originally been feeling a bit better, but this slap left him dazed all over again.
He pulled down Lian Li’s hand and said, “Don’t swallow it. It’ll be even more troublesome if you do.”
As he spoke, blood continued to seep from the corners of his mouth. Lian Li frantically tried to wipe it away with his sleeve, but Yun Huizhou dodged him.
Lian Li: “Why are you dodging?”
Yun Huizhou looked at him and said seriously, “You are wearing the clothes of a Spirit Cult disciple.”
Lian Li looked down at his clothes and understood instantly. “Are you afraid there’s something wrong with their clothes? I’ve been wearing them for so long; there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“No,” Yun Huizhou denied. “I find their clothes filthy.”
“Oh,” Lian Li said. “I’ll change out of them the moment we leave this place.”
Lian Li knew that although Yun Huizhou seemed to have the energy to bicker with him now, he was actually just forcing himself to hold on so that Lian Li wouldn’t worry too much; in reality, his condition was very poor.
His voice was weak, the circulation of his internal energy was strained and dry, and his meridians throbbed with a stinging pain.
Lian Li saw that although he maintained a facade of nonchalance, his hands were trembling slightly—especially the one gripping his blade, which he could barely hold steady.
Seeing Lian Li staring at him with deep concern in his eyes, Yun Huizhou stopped looking at him or speaking. Instead, he simply raised his head to face the East Island Lord.
Lian Li stared at him for a while, saying nothing more.
The East Island Lord’s appearance was completely beyond Lian Li’s expectations.
However, it was precisely because of her arrival that the situation began to improve.
The East Island Lord faced off against the Spirit Cult Leader and the Great Elder from across the distance. The Great Elder was a middle-aged man, while the Spirit Cult Leader appeared to be a woman in her thirties.
It was the Great Elder who had previously attacked Yun Huizhou and Lian Li. He now stared at the East Island Lord with a solemn expression, no longer as talkative as he had been before.
The Spirit Cult Leader had blocked that punch just now. The Great Elder could have blocked it as well, though he would have felt the impact to some degree.
The two sides remained at a stalemate for a long time until the East Island Lord grew impatient.
With one hand on her hip, she said, “You’re not leaving? If you won’t leave, then watch us leave.”
As she spoke, she turned and beckoned to Yun Huizhou, Lian Li, Zhao Honglan, and Qu Tingquan, signaling them to come over.
Seeing that she truly intended to take them away just like that, the Spirit Cult Leader could no longer hold back and spoke up, “The people may leave, but the Holy Gu stays.”
Qu Tingquan paused, her hand resting over her Dantian. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “Senior Dong, the… inside my body…”
“Ignore her,” the East Island Lord directly interrupted Qu Tingquan. “That was yours to begin with.”
“Dong Qing!” the Spirit Cult Leader roared. “That is my cult’s Holy Gu!”
The East Island Lord turned around and said coolly, “Have some shame. You’re just taking advantage of the fact that this junior’s mother, who knew the truth, is gone, and the father isn’t a member of the martial arts world, to swindle them out of their belongings. That’s the extent of your ability. Everyone already knows about the sordid affairs of your Spirit Cult.”
The Great Elder pointed a finger at the East Island Lord and roared, “Dong Qing, do not push us too far!”
The Spirit Cult Leader said, “This is an internal matter of my Spirit Cult. Return the item to me, and you may take the person.”
“Is it really yours just because you call it your cult’s Holy Gu?” The East Island Lord looked at the Spirit Cult Leader, her tone mocking. “When you were seizing the position of Cult Leader, you called them a traitor and an apostate with every breath. Now, the Gu they cultivated independently has suddenly become your cult’s Holy Gu again?”
She cracked her knuckles and continued, “I’m taking all the people today, and I’m taking all the items too. If you’re not satisfied, the three of us can trade some blows.”
The moment she finished speaking, she lunged forward, charging straight at the Spirit Cult Leader and the Great Elder.
She was so fast that Lian Li’s naked eye couldn’t even track her.
The Spirit Cult Leader and the Great Elder hurriedly raised their hands to block. Lian Li grabbed Yun Huizhou, intending to pull him back. During his time on Drunken Dream Island, he had witnessed the South Island Lord and the West Island Lord clash countless times. Both were Transcendent Masters; when such figures fought, even the surrounding environment would be severely impacted.
If anyone with lesser martial arts skills stood too close, the residual shockwaves from their battle could easily inflict internal injuries. Yet, while the clash between the South Island Lord and the West Island Lord appeared grand in scale, it was more like a casual sparring session; they weren’t being serious at all. They also deliberately reined in their power to avoid affecting Lian Li, who was watching from the sidelines.
But now, the clash between the East Island Lord and the two from the Spirit Cult was of an entirely different nature than the fight between the South and West Island Lords. If he got too close, he would truly be injured. Yun Huizhou wouldn’t have been afraid before, but unfortunately, he was currently injured and didn’t dare stand too close.
Supporting each other, the two retreated a bit further. Lian Li found a large, protruding rock and they moved onto it. After using his whip to disperse the swarms of snakes and insects nearby, he had Yun Huizhou sit down for a moment to regulate his breathing. He placed his hand on Yun Huizhou’s wrist, sending a trace of gentle internal energy to circulate through Yun Huizhou’s meridians. Lian Li’s martial arts were still somewhat lacking; his mental cultivation method had little effect on treating the internal injuries of others, and for someone like Yun Huizhou, whose level far exceeded his own, the effect was practically negligible.
After his internal energy completed a circuit within Yun Huizhou’s body, Yun Huizhou said, “Forget it. Even if you were to exhaust all your internal energy now, it wouldn’t do much to alleviate my injuries. Instead, it would be more troublesome for you to be without your internal energy to support yourself.”
With that, Yun Huizhou withdrew his hand, preventing Lian Li from continuing.
At that moment, Lian Li suddenly slapped his forehead.
At his strange movements, not only did Yun Huizhou look at him in confusion, but Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan also turned their puzzled gazes toward him.
