The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The battle between them grew more and more intense, their figures constantly shifting through the air as the wounds on their bodies multiplied.

At first, they both avoided striking vital points, but as the fight dragged on, they resorted to brutal, direct combat, heedless of the cost.

Chen Dong pierced E Xuanfu's shoulder with his spear, but in return, two bloody holes appeared on his own chest. He pulled back, his wounds rapidly healing, but the pillar of light from the Saint Dao in his sea of consciousness began to shrink, no longer as brilliant as it once was.

E Xuanfu was now a bloody figure, completely shocked. 'Who the hell is this Chen Dong?' he thought. 'Even my Earth Veins are struggling to keep up, yet he can still fight.'

Seeing the tribulation clouds in the sky transform once again, E Xuanfu grew anxious. Chen Dong seemed unkillable, stubbornly blocking the path to Tian Sisi. 'What am I supposed to do if this goes on?'

Just as he was desperately racking his brain for a solution, several auras rapidly approached.

At the forefront was a figure clad in green.

A shrill voice pierced the air. "Chen Dong, I never thought I'd run into you here! Ahahaha!"

Along with the laughter, a streak of green light shot straight toward Chen Dong.

Chen Dong's eyes narrowed. 'The aura of Gu.' Without a second's hesitation, he circulated his True Qi and hurled the Thunder Spear in his hand.

BOOM! The Thunder Spear dissipated. The green light halted in mid-air, revealing the woman's form.

"Guo Lingtong? It's you?" Chen Dong exclaimed, his voice cold with surprise.

Guo Lingtong sneered, "Surprising, isn't it? I'm surprised too! I was originally coming to Beijing to get Rui'Er, but then I sensed the anomaly and rushed over, only to find it was you. And from the looks of it, you're pretty badly hurt!"

Chen Dong's white robes were soaked red with blood, making for a miserable sight.

"I'm the one who's surprised. To think the former Lady of the Chen Family has become a slave to that 'Evil Gu'!"

Hearing this, Guo Lingtong's face twisted, a mixture of grief and fury. First, she roared in rage, "How dare you call the great Gu God an 'Evil Gu'! You're courting death!" Then, her voice breaking into a sob, she cried, "It's all your fault! You're the one who reduced me to this!" She wept, as if she were the victim of a terrible injustice.

Chen Dong had some understanding of the 'Gu God's' methods. In just over three months, Guo Lingtong, who had been a Grandmaster, was now at the Late-stage Inner Realm. Chen Dong had a good idea how she had been promoted, and he couldn't help but feel a flicker of pity.

As if sensing his thoughts, the green light in Guo Lingtong's eyes flared. "I'll kill you!" she shrieked.

Three pairs of insect wings suddenly burst from her back, and her aura surged from the Late-stage Inner Realm to the Inner Realm Peak. Her fingers became claws as she swiped at Chen Dong, bringing with them a frenzied, acrid gust of wind.

Chen Dong once again formed a Thunder Spear, teleporting in front of her to block the attack.

Seeing Chen Dong occupied, E Xuanfu knew he couldn't miss such a golden opportunity. He shot directly toward Tian Sisi in mid-air.

Tian Sisi was now enduring the second-rank Thunder Tribulation, and the lightning's power was far from what it had been at the start. She had to devote her full strength to each and every bolt, not daring to let her focus slip for even a moment. She could already feel that the second rank was her limit, but she couldn't afford to be distracted. She couldn't give up. Otherwise, death under the tribulation was certain.

Although she sensed E Xuanfu charging at her, she couldn't even draw her sword. If she did, the lightning would swell beyond her ability to control it, transforming into a purely destructive cataclysm.

As E Xuanfu entered the range of the Thunder Tribulation, despair filled Tian Sisi's heart. 'I should have stopped when the pill formed at the third rank,' she thought. 'But with a once-in-a-lifetime chance like this, who could possibly control the desire to forge an even higher-ranked Profound Pill?'

Just as she prepared to risk everything on a single slash to kill E Xuanfu, Chen Dong's figure once again appeared in front of him. A single, focused spear thrust, a Gathering Power Spear, sent E Xuanfu flying out of the Thunder Tribulation's range.

Chen Dong hovered in the air, his voice cold. "E Xuanfu, shouldn't you be dealing with the one behind you?"

Guo Lingtong's form was no longer human. Her mouth had split wide open, revealing serrated, writhing mouthparts. Her torso had burst open, from which six black forelegs now extended. One of these forelegs slowly pulled the Thunder Spear from her abdomen. The blood that flowed out was not bright red, but a thick, green liquid.

E Xuanfu glanced over, his heart lurching in shock. 'What is that thing?'

Just then, the other auras arrived on the scene, each figure stopping in mid-air. The ancestors of the Zhao, Lin, Guo, and Chen Families had all gathered.

The Sloppy Daoist, the Zhao Family's ancestor, looked on with a grave expression. "I never imagined it would be Tian Sisi undergoing a Thunder Tribulation!" he lamented.

The Lin Family's Grandmatriarch also wore a troubled expression. "She truly is the most talented person in thousands of years."

The Guo and Chen Families, however, were focused on Guo Lingtong.

The Guo Family Ancestor stared in shock. "Lingtong? Is that you?"

The Chen Family Ancestor asked, "E Xuanfu, what is going on here?"

The words had barely left his mouth when Guo Lingtong once again transformed into a streak of green light, charging at Chen Dong.

Tribulation lightning flashed in the sky again. E Xuanfu shouted, "Tian Sisi has been ensnared by a Heart Demon! We cannot let her complete this Thunder Tribulation, or we will all die by her hand!"

With that, he led the charge toward Tian Sisi.

Chen Dong quickly parried Guo Lingtong's attack and once again blocked E Xuanfu's path. He pointed his Thunder Spear and said, "E Xuanfu, I don't know what your problem is with Tian Sisi, but the danger from that Evil God's creature is far worse than you imagine! It feeds on humans and scorns life itself. Shouldn't we destroy her first?"

Elder Guo, Guo Lin, shouted, "You and Lingtong have a long-standing feud! Why should we believe a word you say now?"

The ancestors of the Zhao and Lin families also flew to E Xuanfu's side. The Zhao Family Ancestor said, "I also believe Tian Sisi seems to be under the sway of a Heart Demon. Why else would she be undergoing her tribulation here, in secret?"

The Lin Family's Grandmatriarch frowned. "Brother Zhao makes a good point. We cannot allow this Tian Sisi, who has clearly fallen to a demonic path, to complete her tribulation!"

The Chen Family Ancestor called out helplessly from the side, "Chen Dong, stand down! The grudges between the six great families run deep. The Tian and Liu Families have acted too arrogantly for too long, and now they've incurred public wrath!"