Chapter 19: Where Did This Stone Fall From?!

Atop the cliff to the left of Stone Long Platform.

Gu Changhuai perched casually on a tree branch, the dense foliage completely concealing his figure. From his elevated position, he could overlook the entire scene on the platform below with a mere glance downward.

The hour of Wei approached, and disciples from various immortal sects arrived one after another. All of them, having embarked on the path of cultivation, were naturally handsome and beautiful, a sight pleasing to the eye even with a casual sweep.

He glanced toward the opposite cliff on the right, where Xue Lao Er had already taken position. After digging sweet potatoes nonstop for five days, his face was somewhat pale and haggard, but that fatigue could not mask the exhilaration bubbling in his eyes—the thrill of “I’m finally free.”

His gaze turned vicious as he locked onto Xuan Yao, who had just taken his seat on the platform. With a twist of his neck to loosen up, his killing intent surged forth.

He perked up instantly.

Gu Changhuai: “…”

It seemed Xue Lao Er had pinned all the grievances and hardships of those five days on Xuan Yao.

Xue Lao Er noticed Gu Changhuai’s gaze and met it from afar.

Though distant, they could still make out each other’s expressions.

Gu Changhuai schooled his features and gave him a faint smile.

Xue Lao Er sent a transmission: “Get ready.”

Before the words faded, he summoned the Heaven-Breaking Bow into his grasp.

Seeing this, Gu Changhuai promptly summoned his own Heaven-Breaking Bow.

The Heaven-Breaking Bow came without arrows. Once in hand, one had to infuse it with their own demonic energy to form a feathered arrow. Once formed, the arrow carried an ominous aura capable of devastating heaven and earth, though it consumed over half of the user’s power.

Hmm… a fine treasure.

The bow spun playfully in his hand as he lowered his long lashes to gaze at Stone Long Platform.

…

By then, the hour of Wei had arrived. Rong Ye streaked over like a beam of silver light and landed on the high platform at the front. His divine sense swept over the entire Stone Long Platform and its surroundings.

His gaze was cold and somber as he casually glanced at the peaks of the cliffs on both sides, then shifted like the wind to Pei Tianyi and Jin Shuang, who arrived belatedly.

Both bore wounds on their faces, their expressions unsightly. Their hair resembled a bird’s nest, their robes tattered and torn—they looked as if they had just rolled out of a mud pit.

Their distinctive disheveled appearances drew frequent sidelong glances and stifled laughter from the others. Pei Tianyi, with his foul temper, snapped, “What are you looking at? Turn away!”

So embarrassing… Jin Shuang hurriedly formed the Cleansing Body Incantation to restore his original appearance and sat back down in silence.

Coincidentally, they ended up seated on either side of Xuan Yao, who rolled his eyes at them. “Childish.”

“Silence.”

The Immortal Venerable’s clear, low voice spread slowly across Stone Long Platform.

The platform fell instantly silent, soon filled once more with the steady, resonant cadence of his lecture, calm and serene.

Yet beneath the tranquility, dark undercurrents seemed to stir.

Xue Lao Er nocked his arrow in secret, his gloomy gaze as it swept toward Gu Changhuai on the opposite cliff. A flicker of suspicion crossed his eyes.

In the next moment, he raised his bow. The Heaven-Breaking Arrow took form, aimed straight at Xuan Yao, who sat unsuspectingly in the center of the platform.

The instant Xue Lao Er’s arrow formed, Gu Changhuai abruptly lifted his eyes.

His fingers pinched the string. Still seated on the branch without rising, he extended his long leg to brace the bow. The arrow formed in an instant.

The formed arrow gleamed black and white, lustrous and eerie. Pinched between his fingers and drawn taut on the bowstring, its baleful energy surged.

Gu Changhuai’s brow arched slightly.

What a lethally powerful arrow.

He liked it!

As Xue Lao Er loosed his arrow, Gu Changhuai narrowed his eyes and released his own.

Two Heaven-Shattering Arrows shot from opposite cliffs simultaneously, carving thin trails of light through the air as they hurtled toward Xuan Yao with razor-sharp killing intent.

Seeing a Heaven-Shattering Arrow launch from Gu Changhuai’s side of the cliff, Xue Lao Er’s expression shifted. He whipped his head toward him.

“Gu Sanbai, what do you mean by this?!” he snarled.

Gu Changhuai tilted his chin lazily and smiled offhandedly, though his eyes held no mirth. “What’s wrong? You think you can hog all the credit?”

In that breath of conversation, Xue Lao Er’s Heaven-Shattering Arrow reached Xuan Yao’s back. In the next second, it would pierce his lowered head!

At the front, Rong Ye’s gaze darkened.

In the following instant, the deadly arrow was intercepted by another Heaven-Shattering Arrow from a different direction. The two collided and canceled each other out, producing a crisp shattering sound.

“Ding—”

The delicate chime, like jade shattering in a clear spring, rang out and vanished.

The shockwave from the clashing forces erupted next, unleashing a vast pressure. Xuan Yao, at the epicenter, looked up in bewilderment, the tail feather ornament at his temple swaying.

Then the shockwave knocked him out cold!

Everything happened in a mere two breaths.

The bizarre sudden turn threw everyone into shock and panic. They rose and scanned their surroundings.

“Quiet.”

Rong Ye waved his hand, effortlessly dispersing the spreading shockwave. Before anyone could see clearly, he whisked away the fragments of the two Heaven-Shattering Arrows.

At the same time, two ice spikes formed silently and shot toward the cliffs on both sides.

Seeing the arrows collide and neutralize each other, Xue Lao Er glared furiously at Gu Changhuai, about to demand an explanation. But Gu Changhuai struck first. “You sneaky Xue Lao Er! If you hadn’t gone off-script and fired early to steal the kill, how could you fail to take down a mere brat? Now see how you explain this to the Demon Venerable!”

Xue Lao Er deflated instantly.

“I…”

As he opened his mouth to argue, he sensed killing intent incoming. His eyes widened in alarm as he dodged, but the ice spike shadowed him relentlessly, piercing straight through his shoulder in a spray of blood!

Xue Lao Er’s face tightened. He clutched his shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers.

Damn it—they’d been discovered!

He immediately looked toward Gu Changhuai on the opposite cliff to check his situation.

Gu Changhuai, lounging lazily against the tree, felt a gust of wind hit him. His vision blurred, and then pain bloomed on his forehead, as if struck by a cold, wet stone.

The force was considerable but carried no killing intent—more like a warning, without any follow-through.

It dazed him, stars bursting before his eyes…

‘The damn ghost who ambushed him!’ The thought flashed as he cried out “Ow!” He clutched his forehead, toppled backward, and tumbled from the tree into the underbrush, his figure instantly hidden by the dense woods.

Xue Lao Er’s sinister gaze shifted in shock. Ignoring his profusely bleeding shoulder, he frantically scanned the opposite side for any sign of Gu Changhuai.

Uncertain if he was dead or alive.

Before he could look closely, he sensed several more ice spikes incoming, far more intense than the first, each lethally aimed!

Gritting his teeth, he melted into black mist and fled decisively!

…

Meanwhile, on the opposite side.

Gu Changhuai sat up groggily, his vision still spinning. The spot on his forehead throbbed painfully. He gingerly touched it.

Hiss—

It felt swollen.

Where did this stone fall from?!

He looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, vigilantly scanning the surroundings. But he found no trace of the culprit that had smashed his head.

Bastard!

He’d better not catch the perpetrator!

Stifling his frustration, Gu Changhuai refocused and glanced at the opposite cliff. Xue Lao Er’s previous position was empty.

…He ran fast.

He hadn’t even finished shoving the blame yet.

Propping himself up on a nearby tree trunk, Gu Changhuai decided to strike first. He’d send a message to the Demon Venerable to tattle and turn the tables.

No way was he taking the fall—this lifetime, never!