No matter how incredulous Qi Hao was, the offensive of the Tianyao Divine Sword did not diminish in the slightest. In a flash, it reached directly before his chest.
Qi Hao's expression changed drastically. At the critical moment when the sword’s edge was about to touch his body, a faint layer of golden light suddenly radiated around him.
This layer of golden light was incredibly resilient. Lu Xueqi's full-powered sword strike landed upon it, yet it only stirred faint ripples on its surface.
Seeing this, Lu Xueqi furrowed her brows.
“What is this golden light?”
Her heart was filled with confusion.
But her killing intent did not wane. With a flick of her right hand, the Tianyao Divine Sword flew backward into her palm.
Immediately after, Lu Xueqi stepped onto the void and chanted aloud,
“『Nine Heavens Black Fiend, transform into Thunder God.』『Mighty heavenly might, guided by the sword!』”
As the incantation fell, the Divine Sword Lightning Summoning True Art was unleashed with a thunderous roar.
In an instant, terrifying dark clouds surged over the rear mountain of Xiaozhu Peak. Bolts of lightning flickered incessantly, transforming into heavenly thunder radiance that converged upon the long sword in her hand.
At that moment, Master Shuiyue at the front mountain of Xiaozhu Peak sensed the disturbance in the rear and her expression turned solemn.
With a flash of her figure, she swiftly flew toward the rear mountain.
As Lu Xueqi’s master, she knew well that her prized disciple was currently in secluded cultivation there. For such a grand and awe-inspiring Divine Sword Lightning Summoning True Art to be unleashed, it was most likely Lu Xueqi’s doing.
Her heart was filled with concern, unable to comprehend what had happened that drove Lu Xueqi to use such a supreme technique without hesitation.
Elsewhere, after the golden protective shield successfully blocked Lu Xueqi’s attack, Qi Hao’s taut nerves finally relaxed a little.
Only then did he recall that the golden light was a beginner’s protective mechanism that came with the Infinite Binding System. It could be triggered automatically three times whenever his life was in danger.
However, before he could fully regain his composure, he saw the sky fill with black clouds. Silver lightning danced like wild dragons, all converging toward the long sword in Lu Xueqi’s hand.
Qi Hao’s face changed drastically. He hurriedly shouted,
“Junior Sister Lu, stop! This is really a misunderstanding! I really am Qi Hao, top disciple of Longshou Peak!”
But his cries were drowned in the thunder. Lu Xueqi remained unmoved.
When the Divine Sword Lightning Summoning True Art was fully charged, she suddenly slashed her sword and shouted,
“Slash!”
In that instant, countless bolts of lightning condensed into a heaven-shaking sword radiance, carrying world-destroying might as it cleaved down toward Qi Hao.
Wherever the sword radiance passed, the void trembled, producing a shrill screech, and the surrounding grass and trees were reduced to dust under the terrifying pressure.
Faced with this fatal blow, Qi Hao’s face turned deathly pale. He cursed inwardly,
“Crazy woman! How did things turn out like this?”
His heart was full of confusion. All he wanted was to make contact with Lu Xueqi in the rear mountain and complete the binding—how had it come to this?
Why had Lu Xueqi attacked him the moment she saw him?
And after he blocked her first strike, she directly unleashed the Divine Sword Lightning Summoning True Art, determined to kill him on the spot!
Qi Hao stared at the heaven-shaking sword radiance carrying world-destroying power, his expression filled with horror.
He knew very well that this strike far exceeded what he could endure.
At the brink of life and death, Qi Hao looked at the noticeably dimmer protective shield around him and quickly called out to the system in his heart.
“System, activate another use of the protective shield!”
As his voice fell, a brand-new layer of protective light shield rose around him.
Seeing this fresh shield, Qi Hao’s taut nerves finally relaxed a little.
The power of Lu Xueqi’s strike was simply too terrifying. He couldn’t believe that the shield, which had just endured a previous attack, could still fully protect him.
However, Qi Hao didn’t know that even a single protective shield was enough to withstand Lu Xueqi’s current attack.
After all, “What comes from the system must be top-tier”—how could it be easily shattered by a cultivator at the Jade Purity Realm?
Unfortunately, being naturally fearful of death, he had foolishly wasted a precious life-saving chance.
The power unleashed by Lu Xueqi’s strike was already enough to rival that of a practitioner at the third or fourth level of the Upper Purity Realm.
Under Qi Hao’s horrified gaze, the sword radiance slammed onto the protective shield with a thunderous crash.
In an instant, the shield emitted a sizzling “Zzzzt zzzzt” sound, filling Qi Hao’s heart with anxiety.
However, even as the energy of Lu Xueqi’s heaven-shaking sword radiance was exhausted, both layers of the shield remained unbroken.
Seeing this, Qi Hao finally breathed a small sigh of relief.
Lu Xueqi’s full-force strike had failed to breach his protective light shield.
She frowned deeply, her stunning face tinged with gravity.
At this moment, she was certain—this Qi Hao must be a transmigrator blessed with a system.
After all, such a protective shield was not something any ordinary treasure could achieve. It must be an ability granted by a system.
This made Lu Xueqi even more wary of Qi Hao.
She knew well that attempting to kill Qi Hao today was likely in vain.
Yet to let him go just like that left her unwilling.
Just as Lu Xueqi was preparing to channel her spiritual energy to launch another attack, a delicate cry came from the rear mountain of Xiaozhu Peak.
“Xueqi, stop!”
As the voice fell, a stunning middle-aged woman suddenly appeared, stepping in front of Lu Xueqi and halting her attack.
Seeing who had arrived, Qi Hao secretly let out a breath of relief.
Relying on the original host’s memories, he recognized her as none other than Master Shuiyue, head of Xiaozhu Peak.
Although withstanding Lu Xueqi’s full-force strike had given him more confidence in his protective shield, he still didn’t know its true limit.
Given the current situation, refraining from fighting was clearly the wiser choice.
Lu Xueqi saw Master Shuiyue and gave a slight bow.
“Master.”
After confirming her disciple was unharmed, Master Shuiyue turned her gaze toward Qi Hao, and her expression instantly turned cold.