Swish!

A flash of blood-red light burst out from the ground with a piercing whistle, blood-red Genesis Qi frantically swirling around it. With extremely terrifying destructive power, it shot straight towards Zhou Yuan’s throat amidst the numerous horrified gazes.

The blood-red attack had come far too unexpectedly. Hence, even Jin Zhang and the other Cangxuan Sect disciples could only watch as it whizzed passed, completely powerless to stop it.

Fan Yao was still turning around, however, an extremely sinister angle rose from the corners of his lips.

He had originally planned on destroying the Cangxuan Sect group here, but he had no choice but to change his plans upon seeing the arrival of the Hundred Flowers Fairy Palace group.

He clearly understood that the Cangxuan Sect side was not an easy target, and though he was confident in defeating them, his Sacred Palace side would undoubtedly have to pay a substantial price to do so.

When that happened, the Hundred Flowers Fairy Palace would become the ultimate victors.

Fan Yao knew full well that these seemingly delicate looking young ladies were not weak at all...

Hence, he changed his plans at the last moment, and instead began to prepare an attack in secret with the intention of catching Zhou Yuan off guard to kill or at the very least seriously injure him.

It may seem as if he had been wasting time talking to Zhou Yuan earlier, but it was all carefully calculated to further Fan Yao’s true motive.

“Blood Shadow Art…”

A soft murmur sounded from Fan Yao’s mouth. If one were to look at this feet, one would discover that a flash of blood-red was stealthily pouring into the earth under his feet. At the other end of it, was the sinister flash of blood-red that had broken out from the ground...

It was a Genesis technique Fan Yao was extremely adept in, and was well-known for its bizarre and unsuspecting nature. No one knew how many had unknowingly died to its fangs in the past.

Bzz!

The reflection of the sharp blood-red light rapidly grew in Zhou Yuan’s pupils, it’s speed slightly alarming to even someone like himself. However, in contrast to the shock and horror experienced by the others, though there was some surprise on Zhou Yuan’s face, not a single trace of panic could be seen.

Because an ancient Saint Rune was swirling in the depths of his pupils.

The Decoder Saint Rune!

Though Fan Yao’s attack was extremely unconventional, nothing could hide from the Decoder Saint Rune.

As the sharp blood-red light arrived, Zhou Yaun’s five fingers reached out, jade light flowing on his skin, while silver light flashed within.

Thump!

Amidst the numerous horrified gazes, the nearly undetectably quick flash of blood-red was caught by Zhou Yuan’s hand.

Golden Genesis Qi erupted from his palm as he squeezed tightly.

Ch!

With a faint noise, the blood-red light was crushed. A speck of blood-red rose into the sky, making Zhou Yuan’s calm face appear rather mysterious under its blood-red glow.

*Gasp*!

A series of gasps rang out around him.

The sinister smile that hung from the corners of Fan Yao’s mouth turned rigid at this moment, clearly sensing that his Blood Shadow Art had been broken.

“How can this be?!”

His eyelids jumped as he abruptly turned around, and darkly stared at Zhou Yuan’s figure.

Zhou Yuan was currently opening his hand, as the blood-light within it gradually dissipated. His gaze met Fan Yao’s, as he smiled faintly and said, “I did not expect the great third ranked chief disciple of the Sacred Palace to be so unimpressive.”

The corners of Fan Yao’s mouth twitched, as rage surged in his eyes. Even so, he was mainly alarmed by this turn of events. His technique had caught many unawares in the past. In fact, foes of similar strength to himself had been caught off guard by it. Today was the first time the technique had been so easily neutralized.

The one who managed to nearly crippled Ning Mo was indeed rather capable.

The Hundred Flowers Fairy Palace disciples gazed at this scene in amazement, especially Luluo, who had been so frightened that her face had turned white as sheet earlier. Fan Yao’s attack had after all been way too sneaky and deadly.

“Luluo, I’m beginning to believe that he is the most outstanding person in your generation.” Tang Xiaoyan looked towards Luluo and softly chuckled.

There was a sliver of graveness in the depths of her eyes. If Fan Yao had used that technique against her, she would have most likely been unable to react. However, Zhou Yuan had dealt with it as if he had already seen through Fan Yao’s intentions.

Such keen senses and perceptive ability was very terrifying indeed.

Luluo slapped her chest, relieving her earlier anxiety as she nodded with a wide grin. “Of course! I wasn’t joking when I said it!”

By the side, Zhao Ru indifferently said, “There’s no need to exaggerate so much, he merely managed to deal with a single probing attack from Fan Yao. If you believe this proves that Zhou Yuan had the qualifications to fight Fan Yao, I can only say that you’re underestimating the third ranked chief disciple of the Sacred Palace.”

This time, Tang Xiaoyan gave a small nod of agreement. “Junior sister Zhao Ru is right. Fan Yao is no ordinary individual, and he will only view Zhou Yuan more seriously after this failure.”

Luluo mumbled to herself, “I believe in Zhou Yuan!”

Although she said so, there was some worry in her large, limpid eyes. She looked towards Tang Xiaoyan and softly said, “Senior sister Xiaoyan, Fan Yao is so powerful and unscrupulous, I feel that allowing the Cangxuan Sect to stay and maintain a balance of power between our three groups will be beneficial to us.”

Tang Xiaoyan shot Luluo a surprised look as she smiled, “Lass, I’m surprised that you’re able to see the situation so clearly.”

“However, your ultimate goal is for us to help the Cangxuan Sect, right?”

Luluo mumbled, “Compared to Fao Yao, I definitely feel that Zhou Yuan is more trustworthy!”

By the side, Zhao Ru crossed her arms before her chest and said, “I object. We should remain neutral. It’s Sacred Palace business if they want to deal with the Cangxuan Sect, while it would be more beneficial for us to sit back and watch them fight.”

She swept a glance at Luluo. “Luluo, there’s no way to know a person’s heart. Zhou Yuan may have been your good friend in the past, but who knows whether he has changed since then? Do not let your personal feelings implicate all of us.”

If they had to choose, she would rather side with Fan Yao . Fan Yao was stronger after all, and they would be able to easily crush the Cangxuan Sect side together.

When that happened, there would be one less party to share the spoils with.

However, she could tell that Tang Xiaoyan was rather on guard against Fan Yao, and knew that the latter would not agree even if she suggested it. As such, she settled for the next best thing, requesting their Hundred Flowers Fairy Palace to remain neutral.

Luluo’s face turned a little red after being scolded by Zhao Ru.

While they were conversing, Fan Yao’s stormy expression gradually returned to normal. Iciness filled his eyes as he said, “That was merely a probe of your abilities. If you can’t even manage against that, you don’t deserve to stand here and speak to me.”

Zhou Yuan smiled faintly. “So are you happy with the results of your probing?”

Fan Yao’s scarlet pupils stared at Zhou Yuan. Moments later, he slowly nodded and said, “Zhou Yuan, you are quite talented, but unfortunately, your Cangxuan Sect will soon lose a talented disciple.”

Zhou Yuan chuckled. “They may not be certain, what if another Sacred Palace chief disciple dies instead?”

The duo’s gazes clashed, killing intent spilling onto the surroundings.

From the looks of it, if not because this was not an appropriate place and time, both of them would have begun fighting for real.

While the two were bristling with killing intent, Tang Xiaoyan suddenly stepped forward, and looked towards them as she said in a gentle voice, “This is neither the time or place to fight. If possible, why not we discuss things first? After all, the six color treasure location does not appear to be a kindly place.”

The moment she said this, the killing intent from Fan Yao and Zhou Yuan’s body immediately dissipated at the same time.

“Agreed.”

The two individuals simultaneously nodded in agreement.

Their well-coordinated response caused Tang Xiaoyan to chuckle. Although both Zhou Yuan and Fan Yao could not wait to kill the other, it was obvious that neither of them wanted to do it here.

At the end of the day, they were both worried that the Hundred Fairy Flowers Palace would ultimately become the fisherman that catches them both.