A Family of Hopeless Romantics, Except for the Evil Little Junior Brother

Xue Yun gripped his life-bound flying sword, golden sword aura swirling as it clashed fiercely with the Mount Shushan sword formation.

The shockwave of sword energy shredded the clouds within a hundred-mile radius into wisps, two completely different sword auras tearing at each other in the sky.

Shencao Mountain.

The Sword Spirit struck the twelve acupoints in Li Xuanxiao’s body, injecting sword aura into him.

The external body technique rebounded onto the main body.

“...........”

Bang bang—!!

It sounded like porcelain shattering.

Xue Yun was fighting alone against the Mount Shushan sword formation controlled by Li Xuanxiao, while also deploying the Sword Stele to intercept a Tribulation Stage powerhouse.

Li Xuanxiao had invited the god to possess him, channeling the Sword Spirit's aura into his body to activate his Nascent Soul.

Even at the cost of suffering backlash from the sword aura of the formation, he was determined to swiftly defeat Xue Yun.

Xue Yun retreated again and again, a trace of comfort flashing in his eyes as he looked at Li Xuanxiao.

He couldn’t help recalling what he had once said to Li Xuanxiao.

Don’t become me. You must surpass me.

And now, it seemed that wish had come true.

But right then, spiderweb-like blood patterns suddenly appeared across the Mount Shushan sword formation.

The Sword Tomb let out a mournful cry, and sizzling corrosion sounds came from the flying swords beneath the Sword Pavilion.

Li Xuanxiao’s expression shifted.

“.............”

Outside Central State.

Under the command of the Happy Elder.

More than four hundred black-robed cultivators had already infiltrated Central State.

Now they stood on rotting soil forming a formation, holding lamps made from the skulls of nine generations of evildoers, using souls as oil, ghostly green flames flickering atop.

Three thousand boys and girls born on yin years, yin months, yin days, and yin hours were laid around the altar.

The altar was positioned at a site known as the Yin Dragon Holding a Pearl.

The so-called Yin Dragon Holding a Pearl referred to two mountain peaks shaped like dragon horns flanking a ring-shaped dead water pool, with a mass grave buried beneath the pond.

The pupils of those children glowed an unnatural blood-red.

Nails made of Nine Nether Black Iron pierced their shoulder blades, carved with the Earth Gate Soul-Summoning Curse.

The Happy Elder had used a “Blood Exchange Technique” to raise these three thousand children for ten years.

At the third quarter of the Hour of Dog, the Broken Army Star suddenly burst with crimson light in the western sky.

Greedy Wolf and Seven Kill stars aligned with it to form a deadly triangle, converging in three intersecting beams of blood-red starlight.

The throats of the three thousand children were slit almost simultaneously, and blood gushed forth from them.

But this blood didn’t fall to the ground as it normally would.

Instead, it surged upward into the air!

The three thousand streams of blood intertwined mid-air, gradually condensing into three thousand wriggling, tail-to-head linked blood serpents.

Following the path of the Shushan ley lines, they burrowed underground like a well-trained army—swift and orderly.

Ordinarily, the ley lines at Mount Shushan’s borders should’ve blocked these blood serpents.

But unexpectedly, because they had previously fused with Xue Yun’s blood essence…

They pierced through the layers of Mount Shushan’s defenses without resistance.

The Happy Elder seemed to know the direction of Shushan’s sword meridians inside out.

This was a secret known only to a very select few within Shushan.

Under his command, the three thousand blood serpents infiltrated like a hot knife through butter, eventually reaching the ley line location of the Mount Shushan sword formation.

To corrupt the sword meridians with blood.

The peaceful Sword Tomb suddenly gave a low, mournful cry, as if sensing a great threat.

Then the Sword Souls in the Sword Pool began to stir, emitting piercing, sorrowful shrieks.

The once jade-green sword aura turned black and red. When the corrupted Sword Pool fed back into the sword formation—

The entire formation began violently trembling, as though poisoned.

The Happy Elder curled his lips into a cold smile.

“...........”

Li Xuanxiao coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The Mount Shushan sword formation was collapsing.

It was like someone had dumped endless ink into a river.

Li Xuanxiao clenched his jaw, using his sword as support to prop himself up with great effort.

Blood gushed from his wounds, but he had no time to care about the severity of his injuries.

Even a single breath's delay now could mean complete destruction of the Mount Shushan sword formation!

Li Xuanxiao's fingers quickly formed hand seals as he muttered an incantation, his voice low but powerful.

In an instant, brilliant spiritual light burst from his fingertips like a volcanic eruption.

These lights, like agile dragons, surged nonstop into the core of Mount Shushan’s underground sword formation.

As Li Xuanxiao continued pouring out his magic power—

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, his face growing paler.

Under his control, the sword formation began rapidly responding.

When the last flying sword sealed the core of the sword meridians, the entire Shushan domain was shrouded in a mysterious, overwhelming force. Time itself seemed to freeze!

Even the leaves that had been drifting leisurely from the trees hung frozen in mid-air, as if under a petrification spell.

Not a single breeze stirred the air. Everything was eerily still.

Only those 108,000 streaks of sharp sword aura surged like silver dragons freed from their chains.

They roared upstream through the corrupted sword meridians, cleansing them of defilement.

Under the impact of this powerful sword energy, the polluted Shushan sword formation gradually returned to calm.

Afterward, Li Xuanxiao had no choice but to completely shut the Mount Shushan sword formation down—

To prevent further destruction.

Having done all this, Li Xuanxiao was nearly spent.

In the next moment, Xue Yun appeared before him.

“You’ve already done enough.”

Xue Yun said softly.

“Rest now.”

He struck Li Xuanxiao on the back with his palm.

Li Xuanxiao collapsed stiffly to the ground.

Xue Yun took a step forward.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his ankle.

“Senior Brother, I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Senior Brother, let me ask you just one thing. The Demon Suppression Tower seals countless evil spirits.

If it's opened, and all those sealed beings escape—what will become of Mount Shushan? What of the people of the world?”

Xue Yun fell silent for a moment, closed his eyes, his face conflicted. Then he suddenly cried out in a hoarse voice:

“I don’t care anymore! Bai Li has a curse seed from the Death Immortal planted inside her.

If the Demon Suppression Tower isn’t destroyed, she’ll be completely annihilated in three days… I have no other choice!”

“Who is Bai Li?”

“You don’t need to know!”

Xue Yun yanked his leg free and walked off.

“Senior Brother.....”

Li Xuanxiao suddenly dropped to one knee before Xue Yun, his voice solemn.

“Junior Brother, I may not know who Bai Li is, but for you to go this far, she must be someone dear to your heart.

You could tell the sect about this. The Sect Leader is powerful, and we still have so many uncles and elders at Mount Shushan—surely there's a way to save her.

Don’t be misled. If you insist on destroying the Demon Suppression Tower today, then step over my dead body!!”

Xue Yun lowered his voice, “I don’t want to hurt you. Don’t force me....”

“What you’re doing today, Senior Brother, won’t just hurt me—it will bring catastrophe to all of Mount Shushan, and to the whole world. Please reconsider.”

“Move!!”

With a sudden palm strike, he sent Li Xuanxiao flying, coughing up blood.