Chapter 719: 702

“You… how can you be here?” Zhao Changhe was both shocked and overjoyed. If it weren’t for the still familiar scent, he might have thought it was an illusion.

Uh… not only the scent, but she was also wounded and had only received simple treatment. It was clear that she had been on the line between life and death for a long time, without many opportunities to even treat her wounds, let alone take a bath.

Indeed, the pleasures of the Worldly Society are all deceiving… but Zhao Changhe still felt that this was the most beautiful scene in the Worldly Society.

And a swordsman who had long lived on the edge of life and death, her cultivation breakthroughs were not a bit slower than others. The standard of her sudden sword attack just now had made Zhao Changhe, who was already planning his Breakthrough, feel tingling in his scalp from afar. What level was that?

Zhao Changhe dared not imagine what kind of days she had gone through in the half year since they had been apart. Everyone said that Yue Hongling was the most outstanding genius of the younger generation, but few could see how she had come all the way through life and death.

His so-called rapid training owed much to the serendipity of the Heavenly Book and a good deal of fortuitous Creation, but Yue Hongling had almost none of that; she relied on herself alone. She was truly the world’s most top-notch genius.

“I’ve been wandering through the Western Regions all along.” Yue Hongling snuggled in his embrace, her eyes shining bright. “How come you are here too?”

“The Western Regions?”

“Ah, isn’t this the Kunlun Secret Realm?”

“…” Zhao Changhe’s thoughts stirred slightly. “Then your attempt to assassinate me, was it a mistake for someone else?”

“In the past few months, I have been dealing with some strange forms of life; humanoid, beastly, and even indescribable forms of strange Spiritual Body life forms. Among them, there were many Illusionists. Occasionally, occasionally I have had moments where you appeared before me…”

Yue Hongling, as she spoke, actually stuttered a little, her face blushing slightly.

It was obvious why she had seen an illusion of Zhao Changhe; it could only have been because she was thinking of him at the time, perhaps even thinking of embarrassing things. Or it was the enemy knowing her “weakness” and deliberately using Zhao Changhe’s appearance to deceive her.

She quickly coughed and continued, “Those illusions, they even mimicked your Blood Evil Qi very closely, making it very easy to fall for them. When I saw you lurking here just now, I couldn’t believe it was really you, thinking it was another illusion.”

Zhao Changhe said, “Then how did you recognize that it was me?”

Yue Hongling blinked and did not answer.

She didn’t know how to answer… just like the time she was under the effect of an illusion, she hadn’t been deceived. Her sword heart had spontaneously activated, quickly determining that it was false; no matter how much like Zhao Changhe the other party was, it could not give her the feeling of Zhao Changhe—it always seemed illusory. But this time, her sword heart only felt tenderness, and she could sense the ecstasy in the other’s heart as well as the sudden leap in her own, like a wanderer hesitating at the end of the world, seeing home.

She couldn’t describe this feeling. So much so that she still felt lazy, as if having him by her side made the wind, frost, snow, rain, and hesitation between life and death of the past half year suddenly feel distant, bringing a roof to shield and protect her from the elements.

How infuriating, I’m actually the older sister here.

Zhao Changhe turned to look at the entanglement between the Buddha and Destruction, whispering, “Let’s discuss the details later, we need to deal with the situation at hand first. They haven’t noticed our moves here yet… Since you’ve been here for quite a while, what do you think we should do?”

Yue Hongling said, “We must rescue this Buddha. From what I know and have seen in the Western Regions, if this Buddha is drained and possessed, soon there will be a Demon donning his robes, taking on his form, and plunging the Buddhist world into a state of irreparable calamity, which will also bring a huge disaster to the people of the world.”

“Then let’s do it.” Zhao Changhe nodded and was about to proceed.

Yue Hongling firmly pressed his wrist, whispering, “Let me do it. If I had not seen you, I might have hesitated, this could have been bait to capture me. Injured as I am, I might have had to give up… But with you here, on the contrary, we can set up a plan…”

As she said this, Yue Hongling smiled slightly, softly saying, “You’re here… that’s really great.”

Zhao Changhe also smiled, and the two of them couldn’t help but share a quick kiss.

The Blindfolded man shook so hard in the Void that he dropped goosebumps all over the floor. What kind of situation is this, what kind of environment; you two can still find it in yourselves to kiss, the rotten smell of love is truly disgusting.

But to the two who had kissed, it didn’t feel special at all. Zhao Changhe went straight to the point, “But if we cause a commotion now, I’m afraid we won’t be able to lay a trap.”

“Not necessarily.” Yue Hongling, unfazed, shook her head. “You came here without anyone knowing in advance. Their focus has mainly been on searching for me, and the sword attack I launched on you was covert, very restrained, and caused little disturbance… I think there’s still a good chance it hasn’t been discovered. You are still hidden in the shadows; try not to expose yourself for the moment, it may prove effective.”

Before her words had ended, she had already transformed into a streak of light and darted out, her Sword Light stabbing directly at the entangling battle far away, reaching Destruction’s back in an instant.

Such speed, such power.

Had it not been for the persistent essence of the Sunset Afterglow, Zhao Changhe would have almost suspected that the swordsmanship was the doing of the Snow Eagle; the once formidable Wuding had been left far behind.

Third Layer Secret Treasure! A power from the Heavenly List!

How on earth is this cultivated… No wonder she survives on her own in such a peculiar place, facing countless indescribable ambushes and still living well. After months, they still have no way to deal with her…

“Clang!” Destruction abruptly withdrew his hand, smacking it on the side of Yue Hongling’s sword.

“So, the heroine Yue is indeed here. I have been waiting for you for a long time.” Destruction laughed wickedly as shadows from the ground swept up and surrounded Yue Hongling.

Yue Hongling was not Vermilion Bird; her cultivation was not as high as Vermilion Bird’s, and she had no effect on restraining Destruction. If it were Vermilion Bird, a blast of blazing flames would have burnt all the shadowy ghosts to nothing, but Yue Hongling couldn’t do that.

She could only rely on her swift movements to dodge, landing just beside Destruction and Buddha, while her sword light slashed between the two, cutting off Destruction’s control and absorption from Buddha.

Clearly, her goal was to rescue Buddha, but the opponent’s target was only her.

Shadows of fluttering tree leaves, rock outlines, and even human figures swept up all around her, forming a terrifying Heavenly Net. The eerie sounds of ghostly wails filled the air. The overwhelming shadows descended like a trap, with Yue Hongling caught in the middle, nowhere to escape!

Yue Hongling, however, did not show any panic. Her eyes remained calm and sharp as she suddenly merged with her sword, charging straight towards Buddha’s position—that was where Buddha’s last glimmer of golden light was, the weakest point of the shadows. If she could break through, she could also grab Buddha and run. This would have been the regular outcome had Zhao Changhe not intervened unexpectedly.

But, as expected, the unexpected happened.

In theory, even a crazed Buddha would have a fundamental Spiritual Light, such as knowing who was stealing his power and, of course, who was trying to save him.

But at the moment Yue Hongling broke towards him, his eyes flashed with extreme malice, and he threw a fierce punch straight at Yue Hongling’s face.

“Clang!”

Yue Hongling swiftly parried with her sword, her forward momentum halting. The pervasive shadows instantly enveloped her.

At the same time, outside the shadows, Destruction threw a punch at her ribs. But within the encircling darkness, she couldn’t even see the incoming fist.

Zhao Changhe’s hand gripping the sword was covered with cold sweat, barely restraining himself from rushing out to save her.

In the next moment, within the shadow prison, light exploded in all directions, and even the densest darkness couldn’t stop the light from seeping through the gaps. It was like a sun rising in the endless night, driving away the gloom and illuminating everything.

The crazed Buddha was stunned, his eyes showing confusion.

Was this the Tathagata?

“Boom!” Sword light pierced the sky, responding to the blazing sun above, and the boundless shadows couldn’t confine Yue Hongling in the slightest. Like a lone goose breaking free, she soared towards the horizon.

Destruction’s sneak attack, as if anticipated, whiffed past, having no effect at all.

“Swoosh!”

Suddenly, another sword light arose in the sky.

It was like snowfall from the Nine Heavens, chilling even the space around it.

Yue Hongling swiftly parried, a terrifying force striking her and sending her tumbling back into the shadows below.

Laughter came from above: “Heroine Yue is indeed troublesome, but this time you were ultimately careless…”

Before the word “careless” could be uttered, a dazzling golden arrow was suddenly at his face.

The newcomer was shocked, hastily dodging, while Yue Hongling stepped on Buddha’s bald head and once again evaded the entanglement of countless shadows, her sword piercing directly into the sky.

Blood-red Sword Light cut through the Void, reaching its target in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, it became a husband and wife teaming up with sword and knife at the ready, hunting down the enemy!

The attacker was in disbelief: “Zhao Changhe! How could you be here!”