By now, the ordinary people on the front street had all fled in fear, leaving the area desolate.
Su Hao looked at Gu Xi'er lying unconscious in his arms. Nearby, Su Ping, his eyes injured, was struggling as the poison spread through his system. He roared, trying to locate his target, but the poison had affected his senses, making it impossible to detect Lan Yue's position.
Su Hao's eyes turned cold. He never imagined he'd face such a situation. If Gu Xi'er hadn't taken that palm strike for him, he'd likely be dead already. After all, with only Human Realm Level 4 strength, he couldn't have withstood an Earth Realm cultivator's attack.
He didn't pay much attention to the system's newly issued task. Instead, he focused on the information flooding in from the Li Xunhuan Possession Card. The information was vast, encompassing Li Xunhuan's entire being, his martial arts, and his story of joy and sorrow.
Su Hao had no time to process it all. He needed to kill, to slay the blue-robed woman before him.
Gently, he laid Gu Xi'er on the ground, his movements tender. Combined with Li Xunhuan's inherent melancholy, Su Hao's entire demeanor became hazy.
As he set Gu Xi'er down, he removed a silver hairpin from her head and held it in his hand.
"Hmm?" Across from him, Lan Yue sensed something was amiss. She felt a chilling sense of danger emanating from Su Hao.
"How is this possible?" Lan Yue couldn't believe it. She unleashed a burst of blue energy, her strength at Earth Realm Level 2. How could a mere Human Realm Level 4 cultivator give her such a feeling?
Yet when she looked at Su Hao, she couldn't sense any energy from him at all.
"Die," Su Hao said coldly.
The hairpin in his hand suddenly flew out.
"You think you can kill me with a hairpin? What trickery is this? Die!" Lan Yue laughed maniacally at Su Hao's apparent foolishness. Such a tiny hairpin couldn't even penetrate her energy barrier, let alone kill her.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, her laughter stopped abruptly.
The hairpin was now lodged in her throat, blood dripping along its length.
Her accumulated energy dissipated instantly, as if it had leaked away.
"How... how is this possible? When did the hairpin pierce my energy?" Lan Yue couldn't comprehend it, but she had no time left to ponder.
As she finished speaking, she collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Su Hao, meanwhile, was utterly exhausted. Though he had Li Xunhuan's possession, his own strength was too low. That single hairpin throw had drained all his energy.
Thud!
He fell to the ground.
Whoosh!
At that moment, people from the distant Gu residence, having noticed the commotion, rushed over. A white figure led the group, quickly arriving at the scene of the battle.
Su Ping lay on the ground, his face blackened, still muttering "Blood Demon Cult" through clenched teeth.
The white-robed man glanced at Su Ping but didn't linger. His gaze swept the area until he saw Gu Xi'er lying injured on the ground. His expression changed dramatically.
"Junior Sister!"
This white-robed man was Liu Chuan, Gu Xi'er's senior disciple brother. He had come to escort her back to the sword sect.
Liu Chuan quickly examined Gu Xi'er's injuries. His expression softened slightly as he took out a white pill bottle from his robes. He extracted a pill and swiftly fed it to Gu Xi'er.
Then, he scooped her up and rushed back to the Gu residence, completely ignoring Su Hao lying on the ground.
The other Gu family members who had arrived noticed Su Hao and exclaimed in shock.
"This is bad! It's Young Master Su! Quick, inform the Su family!"
The leader of the Gu family group picked up Su Hao and ordered someone to notify the Su family.
Meanwhile, Su Ping had also collapsed.
At the Su residence, the young marquis had taken the antidote and was no longer in critical condition. He was using his own energy to heal his injuries.
"Thank you, Commander Su," the young marquis said gratefully to Su Wu and Su Ming after finishing his healing session.
"It was my duty," Su Wu replied politely, though he was inwardly grateful to Su Hao. Without him, the situation would have been much more difficult.
"Terrible news, Master!" At that moment, Butler Han rushed into the room, looking extremely anxious.
"What happened?" Su Ming asked, knowing it must be serious to see Han so agitated.
"Master, the Third Young Master was attacked near the Gu residence. His condition is unknown. We must go there immediately!" Han urged.
"What?" Upon hearing that Su Hao had been attacked, Su Ming's previously calm demeanor erupted into an overwhelming aura that pressed down on everyone in the room.
The young marquis, who had just recovered somewhat, immediately coughed up blood under the pressure, his face turning pale.
His guard, Yang Xiong, was also immobilized by the intense aura.
"Let's go!" Su Ming, his face dark with anger, grabbed Han and flew out of the room, speeding towards the Gu residence.
"This... This is Heaven Realm!" The young marquis stared at Su Wu in shock after Su Ming left.
"Young Marquis, my nephew is in trouble. I must go check on him. Yang Xiong, please take care of the Young Marquis," Su Wu said urgently.
Su Hao was his brother's precious son. If something had truly happened to him, the entire Northwest Prefecture might be thrown into chaos.
"Who would dare attack Hao'er?" Su Wu quickly followed after Su Ming.
After they left, the young marquis, still coughing blood, turned to Yang Xiong and said, "So the Su family's best-kept secret was Su Ming, the family head! Quickly relay this information about Su Ming being a Heaven Realm cultivator to my father. We must adjust our approach towards the Su family!"
"I'll do it right away," Yang Xiong replied solemnly, having recovered from his shock.
At the Gu residence, chaos reigned. Both Gu Xi'er and Su Hao were unconscious and injured.
Gu Xi'er was being tended to by her fellow disciple, while Gu Huai was looking after Su Hao.
"How is Young Master Su?" Gu Huai asked the physician who was checking Su Hao's pulse.
"Young Master Gu, the Third Young Master should be fine. He's suffering from severe energy depletion and will need a long period of rest. I'll prescribe some pills to replenish his blood and energy," the physician explained softly.
"Good, that's a relief," Gu Huai wiped the nervous sweat from his brow, muttering to himself.
"Do we know who ambushed the Third Young Master?" Gu Huai asked a nearby steward-like figure who had brought Su Hao back.
"Young Master, when we arrived, Su Ping was shouting 'Blood Demon Cult.' It seems they were behind the attack," the steward recalled.
"What about Su Ping? Where is he now?" Gu Huai inquired.
"Young Master, Su Ping died from poison," the servant replied. When they brought Su Hao back, they had also checked on Su Ping, but he had stopped breathing after a few shouts.