Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 367 Melee
The jade, and everything in the entire realm, shattered and fell.

Shi Xuandao, who was concentrating on dealing with Gu Jingnian, spat out a mouthful of blood, fell to the ground, and showed a look of dejection on his aged face.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that both Shi Xuandao and Wei Huang had become even more decrepit in that instant.

They had drawn much nourishment from the realm to maintain their youth and strength, but now that the realm was destroyed, the blow they suffered was far greater than that of Gu Jingnian. They slumped down and focused on healing their wounds.

Thus, their attack collided with and dissipated in mid-air with the Firewing.

Gu Jingnian fell to the ground, took a few breaths, and looked up.

It was noon, the sky was clear and the air was crisp. They were on a mountaintop, where they could see the red leaves covering the entire mountain below.

Further away, the Zhuo River flows slowly, like a ribbon tied to the vast land, and on its banks stands a vast and well-ordered city, Zhuojing.

So... where is this place?
Gu Jingnian felt that the scenery around him was familiar, so he turned his gaze to look in another direction.

On a gentle slope halfway up the mountain, a cluster of buildings dotted with trees, their eaves and painted corners complementing the mountain scenery—that is Chongjing Academy.

This is Frosty Maple Mountain outside Zhuojing City.

"father!"

"Son!"

First, Shen Lingshu called out.

Then, shouts came from the mountains and forests; it was Huang Hu's voice.

Huang Hu, Gao Changgan, and others were seen protecting Feng Niang as they fled in this direction, followed by Gu Beiming's pursuing troops.

Gu Jingnian then raised his fiery wings, soared into the sky, and his fiery blades swept across, driving away the pursuers.

In the distance, near Chongjing Academy, a dense crowd of people suddenly appeared.

Those were also people who had fallen from the realm, and Gu Jingnian quickly recognized that they came from the palace in the realm.

Then Gu Caiwei should be among them.

In the past, Gu Jingnian might have rushed over without thinking, but this time he was quite calm.

He has something more important to do, and once he accomplishes it, it will be easier to save his sister.

After the destruction of the realm, since everyone ended up in this vicinity, it must be related to that pool, since the last place they stayed in the realm was a lake of spiritual energy refined from that pool.

In that case, Hongchi should be nearby.

Gu Jingnian looked around from the air but did not see any pool of water.

Just as he was wondering if he had made a mistake, he suddenly saw a well on the mountaintop.

The well wasn't big, surrounded by a circle of stone blocks, and covered with a well cover; at first glance, it was quite inconspicuous.

Gu Jingnian quickly realized something was amiss. First, what kind of well is dug on a mountaintop? Second, he had been a student at Chongjing Academy but had never been here before.

Upon closer inspection of the surroundings, it became clear that the hilltop was actually sealed off, with no roads leading to it, making it a forbidden area.

He immediately flew toward the well.

Before he could get close, a barrier of light blocked his path between him and the well.

"Oh!"

Gu Jingnian was only blocked once, but he had already thrown out several fireballs in succession, which shattered the light barrier with a bang.

He rushed to the well and saw that the well pier and the well cover were made of heavy, thick black neodymium stone. When he threw a fireball at it, the fireball quickly dissipated on the stone surface.

To remove the manhole cover, I probably can't rely on superpowers.

Gu Jingnian reached out to push it, only to find a large lock hanging between the manhole cover and the stone block.

A key is needed...

"Escort!"

Suddenly, a thunderous roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

A flying car rapidly approached, and standing atop it was Min Yuanxiu.

"Gu Jingnian! Stop!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Jingnian felt a splitting headache.

But this time he did not run away. Instead, he grabbed the lock with his hand and tried to burn it off with the flames in his palm.

Just then, something descended, enveloping Gu Jingnian completely.

The one who arrived was Song Jian, the commander of Kaiping Division. He was carrying a cloth bag, and with a casual scoop, he scooped Gu Jingnian into it.

"Your Majesty, I am late in escorting Your Majesty! Please forgive me!"

Song Jian, carrying a cloth bag in one hand, was about to reach Wei Huang's side when Ying Yao's fiery wings slashed down from the sky.

The people from Kaiping immediately went to stop them.

Seeing this, Fengniang and the others rushed forward to rescue Gu Jingnian.

The scene immediately descended into chaos.

Countless birds gathered in the sky, flames swept across the mountaintop, and winged people took flight only to be shaken down by thunderous roars.

Suddenly, thick smoke billowed from the cloth bag in Song Jian's hand, followed by flames, and a fiery blade rose high and slashed down.

Gu Jingnian leaped out and soared into the air, attracting everyone's attention.

Only Gu Beiming did not look at Gu Jingnian.

Gu Beiming had been keeping a close eye on Shen Jichi's movements, when he saw Shen Jichi catch up a few steps and reach out to support Wei Huang. "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Wei Huang was sitting cross-legged, healing his injuries on his own, looking unfathomable. No one knew the extent of his injuries and dared not touch him.

But Shen Jichi was now just a mortal, and his gesture of support revealed Wei Huang's frailty.

"presumptuous!"

Suddenly, Wei Huang shouted angrily, and Shen Jichi was sent flying.

When Shen Jichi was knocked away, she was clearly holding a golden hairpin in her hand, which she had pulled from Wei Huang's head.

Seeing this, Gu Beiming stepped forward.

"Boom."

Wei Huang struck out with another palm, this time hitting Gu Beiming on the back, thus failing to kill Shen Jichi.

As Gu Beiming rescued Shen Jichi, he had already snatched the golden hairpin in his hand. Despite his injuries, he led Shen Jichi away and asked, "What is the use of this?"

He knew that anything that Shen Jichi was willing to risk stealing from Wei Huang must have a crucial purpose.

However, just as she grasped the golden hairpin, another hand grabbed it as well.

It was Gu Jingnian who sent his shadow, and then took another step, his body becoming tangible.

"You unfilial son, how dare you?!"

"Boom."

A fireball struck Gu Beiming in the chest, knocking him away.

Gu Jingnian showed no regard for father-son relations, snatched the gold hairpin, and teleported away again. The next moment, he appeared by the well, attempting to use the gold hairpin to unlock the large lock on the well cover.

"Don't think about it!"

Shi Xuandao, who was healing with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, shouted, and pulled his hands upwards towards the well.

Gu Jingnian felt a strong pushing force from above the well, which pushed him away.

His gaze sharpened, and only then did he notice the four tiny characters carved on the stone pier.

"Keep away from strange people."

He was propelled far away by the powerful force emanating from the well.

Before he could settle down, Song Jian took out a cloth bag and covered him with it.

On the other side, Gu Beiming was curious about what was going on with that well, so he walked over, but before he could get close to it, it was shaken open.

Even with the powerful tassel, attempting to fly towards the well, it was instead shaken even further away.

It's as if the well has been enraged, rejecting any superhuman approach, and the stronger the superhuman's ability, the stronger the rejection.

But this rejection was sustained by Shi Xuandao. He sat there with his eyes closed and a solemn expression on his face.

"Take down Gu Jingnian!"

Shouts and yells from the Kaiping Division rang out one after another.

Gu Jingnian would occasionally teleport behind them, launching sneak attacks with fire blades, his figure appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Song Jian grew impatient, so he turned around and said, "Min Yuanxiu, I'll help you."

"it is good."

Song Jian then grabbed Min Yuanxiu's hand.

It looked quite strange that two elderly high-ranking officials were making such an intimate gesture.

"stop!"

Min Yuanxiu roared again, this time even more powerfully. Everyone's minds went blank for a moment, and many people fell to the ground. The chaotic scene calmed down slightly.

"boom!"

A huge fireball crashed down where Min Yuanxiu was standing. Yingyao stood in mid-air, angrily delivering a powerful blow to Min Yuanxiu, silencing his screams.

Both sides suffered heavy losses and the melee subsided slightly.

A "clucking" sound was heard.

Everyone turned around and were surprised to find that Pei Wugou was pushing open the well cover.

The lock had fallen to the ground, and a gold hairpin was still stuck in the lock cylinder.

It turned out that when Gu Jingnian was passing his shadow among the crowd just now, he had suddenly handed the golden hairpin to Pei Wugou.

At this moment, Gu Jingnian was standing high above the well, suspended in mid-air.

He flew so high that he looked at Pei Wugou as if he were an ant.

But he remembered a day when a blind man led him out of the black mist.

The blind man once said, "If one day, when you are able to do something for the Central Plains, it will be enough if you remember the kindness we, as ants, have shown you."

Gu Jingnian knew that the blind man Liu Bing was a mortal, and he also knew that Pei Wugou was a mortal.

This time, he found that he had to fight alongside these ant-like mortals to defeat his powerful enemy.

So Gu Jingnian spread out his hand, using the fire as a blade, and cut straight through.

A few drops of blood fell into the well.

(End of this chapter)