C93 Crying Qingqian Snorting Honglian

Upon hearing Qingqian's faint voice, Qin Buyi was hardly taken aback. He mused, "So he's alive after all."

Qingqian, brandishing a crimson sword, launched an attack from behind him. Her face was a canvas of emotions—anger, fear, shock, and more...

She had just witnessed something unbelievable. The entire Falling Star Mountain Range had vanished from her sight, not destroyed but simply erased from existence as if forcefully expunged from the world by an unseen hand. Had she not resorted to a costly secret technique of her Nine-tailed clan, she too would have been obliterated along with the mountain range.

Realizing that Qin Buyi had not held back in his attack, Qingqian suddenly questioned whether seeking revenge on him had been a grave mistake.

Qin Buyi spun around to face her and, feigning the use of the Obliteration Saber Technique, he bellowed, "Killing Swordsmanship: Obliteration!"

With a swift "Whoosh!" Qingqian, like a frightened bird, abandoned her assault and fled into the distance.

After a few moments, sensing no pursuit, she halted and glanced back. Qin Buyi was watching her with a sardonic grin.

Fuming with indignation, Qingqian accused, "Qin Buyi, you are despicable!"

Unfazed, Qin Buyi declared, "Killing Swordsmanship: Soul Dispersing!"

Qingqian, standing her ground, retorted, "To quote you, the same trick won't work on me twice!"

The massive Killing Saber, once several dozen feet in length, shrank to the size of a hand. Qin Buyi's Divine Consciousness and the deathly aura of the Umbral Realm flooded into the weapon. Now half golden, half shadowy, the Killing Saber lunged at Qingqian.

In an instant, it was upon her, and her reaction came too late. The Killing Saber plunged into Qingqian's sea of consciousness, leaving her momentarily dumbfounded. She swore, "Damn it! You're actually serious?"

Pointing to the now-nonexistent ruins of the Falling Star Mountain Range, Qin Buyi spoke coldly, "I was never playing games with you. I've always intended to kill you."

Struck silent, Qingqian eventually conceded, feeling a sudden clarity in Qin Buyi's words.

Without a moment's hesitation, Qingqian swiftly maneuvered her crimson sword into a defensive stance.

"Heavenly Wilderness Sword Art: Divine Obstruction!"

A tremendous force surged within Qingqian's sea of consciousness, seizing control of the Killing Saber and holding it firmly in place.

This time, however, the Killing Saber was imbued with the deathly aura of the Umbral realm, making its thrust laborious and heavy.

As the Killing Saber neared breaching her defenses, Qingqian's heart raced with panic.

Divine Obstruction was her only means to fend off the Divine Consciousness assault of the Killing Saber; all other techniques were virtually ineffective.

With a resonant "Zheng!" the Killing Saber emitted a mournful cry as it pierced Qingqian's sea of consciousness with great effort.

"Chi!"

Once freed, the Killing Saber rampaged like an untamed stallion, relentlessly assailing Qingqian's sea of consciousness.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" The sounds of detonations echoed incessantly in Qingqian's ears.

Her sea of consciousness was soon tattered like a spider's web, full of gaping holes.

Biting back her fear, Qingqian knew she had to act—her sea of consciousness was a cultivator's lifeline, and its destruction would be catastrophic.

"Nine-Tailed Secret Art: Tail Severing!"

Behind Qingqian, the spectral image of a Nine-Tailed White Fox arose, but with one notable difference—it bore only eight tails.

With a soft "Crack!" another tail vanished from the Eight-Tailed White Fox.

Like a cicada shedding its shell, Qingqian reappeared at a considerable distance from Qin Buyi, leaving behind a fluffy white tail and the palm-sized Killing Saber at her original location.

Qin Buyi reached out to summon the Killing Saber back to his hand, where it resumed its full length.

Eyeing the fluffy tail, Qin Buyi remarked, "So that was your escape trick, huh?"

Qingqian paid him no mind, her gaze fixed on Qin Buyi with seething anger.

Noticing Qingqian's disregard, Qin Buyi held his tongue, gripping the Killing Saber, ready to launch another assault.

Suddenly, Qingqian crouched down, wrapped her arms around her knees, and buried her head, her voice breaking with sobs, "Qin Buyi, you scoundrel, you nearly killed me just now. Do you even realize that?"

Qin Buyi halted his assault and eyed Qingqian with bewilderment. "What exactly are you acting out?" he ventured.

Qingqian retorted, "Qin Buyi, is bullying women all you're good for? Can't you raise your emotional intelligence a bit? Or has all your training turned your brain to mush?"

In a daze, Qin Buyi replied, "You were the one who said you wanted to kill me first, so naturally, I had to defend myself. I couldn't just let you actually do it."

"I was only kidding around, trying to frighten you into giving back what you took. How was I to know you'd be so formidable in battle? And so frightening?"

As Qingqian continued, her sense of injustice grew. Her eyes reddened, and tears began to stream down her face.

Gesticulating towards the vanished expanse of the Falling Star Mountain Range, she lamented, "You obliterated that vast mountain range with a single strike."

"In my Nine-tail Fox clan, it takes a thousand years to grow a single tail. Because of your two deadly strikes, I've had to sacrifice two of my tails."

"Without my clan's innate gifts, I would've been killed by you twice over by now. Do you even count as human?!"

Qin Buyi watched as Qingqian wept, her tears like rain on peach blossoms, and found himself at a loss for words. Silence enveloped them both.

He considered the grandeur of the Falling Star Mountain Range and the Fox Demon Emperor before him, whose powers had reached the Tribulation Crossing Stage.

Qin Buyi thought that if anyone else witnessed this scene, they'd never believe it.

Desperate to find a way to soothe Qingqian's tears but coming up empty, he awkwardly blurted out, "Hey! Qingqian, are we still fighting or what?"

Qingqian's crying intensified at his words. "Fight? Fight you for what? Is your head so full of violence that you can't think of anything else?"

Upon hearing Qingqian's decision to cease the fight, Qin Buyi stopped invoking his Heavenly Dharma and swiftly reverted to his normal form, as did the Killing Saber.

"What do you want to do now?" Qin Buyi inquired.

Without a word, Qingqian stood off in the distance, crying like a damsel wronged, her sobs carrying on the wind.

Qin Buyi tentatively offered, "What if I give your belongings back to you? Please, stop crying."

No sooner had he spoken than Qingqian rose to her feet, her face streaked with tears.

Qin Buyi assumed Qingqian was in agreement, but as he opened his mouth to speak, she took off at breakneck speed into the distance.

Her voice lingered in Qin Buyi's ears: "I'll retrieve my things on my own. You just make sure to keep them safe for now. Next time we meet, I truly will kill you. Be ready for that."

"And one more thing, Qin Buyi, don't forget—you've killed me twice. You owe me two lives!"

Qin Buyi, baffled by her words, stood rooted to the spot, watching Qingqian vanish from his view. He expressed his bewilderment aloud:

"It's all so bizarre. You sought me out, threatened to kill me, and then claimed you didn't actually mean it."

"Just like that, you're gone, warning of a 'next time.'"

Hefting the Killing Saber in his hand, Qin Buyi addressed it, "Honglian, isn't this woman's behavior odd?"

The Killing Saber responded with a faint tremor, and Honglian's disdainful snort echoed in Qin Buyi's ears.

Sensing Honglian's sour mood, Qin Buyi murmured to himself, "What on earth is going on today?"