"Right then, where's the treasure?"
Dismissing the colossal sword, and spitting the finished cigar aside, Long Hua enters the main chamber, where the grounds are covered in pale blue flowers.
(*-laoban, that crystal above you, it's worth 20 pulls.)
"Oh?"
Looking up at the giant crystal cluster, which serves to illuminate this chamber, Long Hua draws Shui Yue with the intent to cut the object down; however—
"Who are you people?"
Manifesting above the stone casket's lid, Xu Tian Kun has an expression of wariness on her face, that is also tinged with anxiousness—due to the situation above ground.
"A-A ghost?"
Seeing a genuine ghost, Yao Ying hides behind Tian Cheng.
"Does-"
Just as Long Hua is about to answer, he hears the sound of rushing footsteps coming from behind, and turning his head to the side, he sees Hui Sang charging towards their direction.
"…"
Narrowing his eyes, Long Hua sends out an Immortal Suppression Palm.
Summoning her Relic—
*Boom!!!* Hui Sang cleaves it onto the black and white handprint; however, regardless of how much strength she exerts, she finds it difficult to split the handprint apart.
"A practitioner?"
"Hm?"
Noticing how Xu Tian Kun isn't calling him an Immortal, Long Hua narrows his eyes, and replies—
"Doesn't matter who we are, does it? Hand over the treasures of this place. I know for a fact that they aren't meant for weapon spirits."
"…"
Noticing how Long Hua isn't calling the denizens of this world Sinners, Xu Tian Kun's expression darkens.
"Not possible!"
Spreading her arms apart, Xu Tian Kun causes the pale blue flowers nearby to sway, and wither.
And similarly to a swarm of blue fireflies, the life energy of these flowers come together—to form a giant hand of pale blue energy.
Due to the fingerprints that are on its surface, one could say that the form of this hand is extremely realistic.
"…"
Raising a frown—
"Moons…"
Long Hua swings Shui Yue three times.
"Dwelling within the Lake."
Three crescent moons appear on the surface of the hand, and with his next slash, Long Hua detonates the three moons—unleashing numerous threads of black and white sword Qi that shave off more than a quarter of the entire hand!
Having sustained a great deal of damage, the hand loses all its momentum, as its movements come to a halt.
And simultaneously—
"Tch."
"Tch."
Both Long Hua and Xu Tian Kun clicked their tongues, but in the latter's case—it's more appropriate to say that she was making a sound that was akin to it.
(Dammit, if my strength was at its prime, a filthy practitioner like him wouldn't mean anything…)
Eons ago, Xu Tian Kun had lost the physical body that was given to her by the laws of the Leng Bing Realm.
However, prior to getting taken in by the Leng Bing Realm's laws to be reincarnated, she had cast a divine art on herself, which had allowed her soul to continue to exist in the form of a ghost.
From there, Xu Tian Kun had attempted to remove the brandings that were placed onto her by the Leng Bing Realm's laws, a process that took her well over 190,000 years to figure out. Alas, that wasn't a method that could be used on everyone.
"Old ghost, you shouldn't continue to haunt the living realm. I'll do you a favor by sending you off into reincarnation, so hand over your burial goods in exchange."
Saying this, Long Hua hides his left hand, and gestures for Tian Cheng to come closer.
"…"
Stepping forward—with Yao Ying clinging to her, Tian Cheng stands by Long Hua's side.
"Bullshit! You Everlasting Spirit Realm bastards are utterly despicable; clansmen of the Ling Yuan family like you are even worse!"
Shouting this, while waving her right hand, Xu Tian Kun continues to send the damaged hand of energy towards the three.
"Little girl…"
In the face of the incoming hand of energy—
"You're up."
"…?!"
(Oh? Stealing her fated encounter for yourself, are you? As expected of *-laoban.)
Long Hua grabs Yao Ying, and positions her in front of himself—seemingly intent on using her as a shield.
"…"
As the hand of energy approaches, Yao Ying can seemingly see her entire life flashing before her eyes, and in the same instance—
(On the way to acquiring one's fated encounter, you will use others, and others will use you. If you do not want the people using you—to steal your fated encounter, you'd best off them faster than they can off you.)
"Ah…"
Recalling Long Hua's words, Yao Ying realizes what this is.
(In the end, I was far too naïve…)
Closing her eyes, Yao Ying heaves a sigh of self-mockery; however—
"...…Un…?"
The expected pain that should have caused her to scream never arrived, and reopening her eyes carefully, Yao Ying sees a sword in front of her.
"Xu Zuo…?!"
Looking at the stone casket beneath her, Xu Tian Kun notices how there is a cut on it; the size of this cut, it's more than enough for Xu Zuo to pass through.
"…"
With the lowering of Xu Tian Kun's arms, the hand of energy dissipates, and the mass of life energy that was originally the pale blue flowers' splits itself evenly among the nearby plants.