FIMA Ch168: Fierce Battle

Gu Siyuan glanced at the person beside him, who was momentarily speechless, and raised his hand to press down on his head: “Junior brother, don’t love me too much.”

Xie Xueyi gently rubbed against him and burst into laughter, deliberately saying, “Brother, why do you love to make things difficult for people? Not loving you for a moment is more difficult than practicing the most complicated cultivation techniques in the world.”

Gu Siyuan nodded: “Alright, then I won’t make it difficult for you. Just continue to love me abundantly!”

“…” Xie Xueyi.

He completely couldn’t win against Gu Siyuan.

At this moment, the waiter brought up the spiritual wine and dishes.

Upon hearing their conversation, the waiter, who had been in the chaotic land for several years and seen all kinds of major scenes, almost tripped.

Are even two men this affectionate now?

Xie Xueyi was originally lost in the sadness of being defeated by Gu Siyuan, but seeing the waiter’s inexplicable expression, his demeanor changed instantly. His eyebrows slightly raised, and he habitually started to act arrogantly.

“What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen a loving couple? Are you envious that I have such a considerate little wife?”

The waiter almost couldn’t hold the wine steady.

His wide eyes swept over Gu Siyuan’s tall figure and stern, deep features.

Ah, the world really has gone mad.

Such a top-notch real man is actually the one on the bottom?

The waiter, in a daze, put down the wine and dishes and left, his back full of doubt about life.

Xie Xueyi immediately smirked proudly and lightly patted the table.

When he looked up again, he met Gu Siyuan’s smiling eyes.

His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly blinked his moist big eyes, making a cute expression at Gu Siyuan: “Brother, why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I’m very cute?”

Gu Siyuan raised his hand and pinched his chin: “Hmm, indeed very cute, like a naughty little lion.”

Xie Xueyi quickly took the hint and played along: “As long as brother likes it, I’ll only be brother’s pet.”

Gu Siyuan’s lips curled up, and he slightly lifted his chin, indicating the table: “Hmm, eat.”

“Okay, brother, feed me!”

Xie Xueyi joyfully moved on to the next scene.

Gu Siyuan picked up the chopsticks and fed him a couple of bites, then let him eat on his own while he sat beside him, studying the weapon fragment they had obtained earlier.

Xie Xueyi was the most pretentious person. Just like when he was in Taixuan Pavilion, he barely had a couple of bites with his chopsticks before starting to act spoiled with Gu Siyuan: “Brother, this cooking is far worse than yours. You should cook for me again tomorrow.”

Gu Siyuan lifted his head, his sword-like brows slightly raised: “Hmm, alright, don’t act spoiled.”

Xie Xueyi’s eyes were clear and sincere: “Brother, you are so endless. Your cooking is delicious, you are great at fighting, you have a gentle personality, and you speak so nicely.”

“Hmm, no need to thank me too much. Like I said before, you have yourself to thank. I’m so good because I’ve been by your side for so long.” Gu Siyuan smiled and played with the thing in his hand, his voice low and gentle.

“Cough cough…” Xie Xueyi’s face turned slightly red, remembering their conversation before entering the city, and he started coughing loudly.

Gu Siyuan asked with a half-smile: “Junior brother, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Xie Xueyi glared with wide eyes.

Xie Xueyi had nothing to say for a moment.

He was sure he couldn’t win against this person.

He quickly changed the subject, pointing at the artifact fragment in Gu Siyuan’s hand: “Brother, have you figured out what this thing is?”

Gu Siyuan squinted his eyes and nodded: “Hmm.”

Xie Xueyi sat up straight out of curiosity: “What is it?”

The fragment spun between his long fingers as Gu Siyuan said calmly, “If I’m not mistaken, this should be a fragment of a demonic artifact blown up from the Abyss of Fiery Demons. Quite rare.”

Xie Xueyi’s eyes widened slightly: “The Abyss of Fiery Demons? Isn’t that the place the Sect Leader and you suspected before?”

Gu Siyuan nodded lightly and said leisurely, “The Abyss of Fiery Demons is surrounded by demonic mists year-round, with evil spirits and malicious ghosts roaming about. Even those with Nascent Soul cultivation can’t last a few days down there. But if you have a fragment of a demonic artifact with you, it’s different. Our goal for this trip might be achieved faster than we imagined.”

His gaze swept across the street outside the window, and he asked Xie Xueyi, “Do you want to keep eating, or should we leave now?”

There are still friends waiting outside…

Xie Xueyi saw his expression and felt something interesting might happen, so he immediately stood up excitedly: “I’m done eating. Let’s go out for a walk. I still want to look around this Fengxue City.”

“Okay.”

Gu Siyuan nodded.

The two walked out of the restaurant, one after the other, to find three short transition steps in front of the door.

Standing at the top of the steps, Xie Xueyi looked at the figure in the snow below and couldn’t help but call out: “Brother…”

Gu Siyuan stopped and turned back: “Hmm?”

Xie Xueyi jumped onto his back: “Brother, carry me.”

“Carry you, my foot!”

At this moment, an angry shout rang out.

Xie Xueyi was startled and almost slipped off Gu Siyuan’s back.

However, Gu Siyuan seemed to have anticipated this and had already firmly supported him with his left hand.

Xie Xueyi breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to see a group of people in red gradually surrounding the doorway, led by the skinny young man in blue, Situ Li, whom he had taught a lesson to at the city gate earlier.

He narrowed his beautiful eyes, and his expression instantly became somewhat gloomy: “You dare to bring people back?”

Situ Li carefully avoided his gaze and spoke to the leader of the red-clad group: “Captain Hou, it’s them. They took the treasure I was going to present to Master Zhang.”

The people inside and outside the Four Seasons Restaurant, seeing this group of fierce individuals, clearly knew they were up to no good and quickly either avoided them or stood up to watch the commotion.

“It’s the Fiery Flame Guards on duty! The Fiery Flame Group even dispatched them.”

“And Captain Hou is personally leading them. How did these two boys offend the Fiery Flame Group?”

“Tsk, this also means these two boys are probably experts!”

“Hehe, these two boys are unfamiliar faces. They must have just arrived in Fengxue City. This is going to be interesting.”

“……”

Fengxue City is a chaotic place, located at the boundary between the righteous and the demonic forces, serving as a buffer zone for both sides.

Therefore, no sect forces from the continent are allowed to intervene here, which has been an understanding established by both sides many years ago.

No matter how noble your background, once you enter the city, you are treated the same.

However, after nearly ten thousand years of development, the city has formed some of its own powers, among which the Fiery Flame Group is one of the top three.

In the blink of an eye, about twenty fierce red-clad Fiery Flame Guards quickly approached, tightly surrounding Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi with no escape route.

Gu Siyuan could even clearly feel the cold metallic taste of the weapons close at hand.

“Now, if you both break your own limbs’ meridians and come with me obediently, maybe you’ll keep your lives. Remember, our Fiery Flame Group always treats people kindly under Master’s instructions,” the burly man leading the Fiery Flame Guards, Captain Hou, stared menacingly at Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi, his tone full of threat.

“Heh… Telling jokes or ghost stories in broad daylight, such a talent, why not go perform in the restaurant?” Xie Xueyi sneered arrogantly while lying on Gu Siyuan’s back.

This reaction made the onlookers even more interested.

The more difficult it is to resolve, the more interesting it will be…

“How dare you speak to Captain Hou like that! Courting death!”

Before Captain Hou could get angry, the blue-clad young man, Situ Li, who had brought them over, shouted at Xie Xueyi with a ferocious expression.

“Hmph, everyone who has threatened us is in hell now.” Xie Xueyi raised his head slightly, his eyes locking onto Situ Li with a measured gaze: “Earlier outside the city, I spared your life out of mercy. That was my mistake. I’ll make up for it by flaying you alive in the street!”

Gu Siyuan rarely saw Xie Xueyi so sharp and spirited, and it piqued his interest. He squinted and said softly: “Alright, I’ll leave this one to you.”

When he said this, his tone carried a slight sigh but also obvious anticipation. His eyes, when lifting and lowering the lids, seemed to turn into two sharp swords.

The blue-clad young man, Situ Li, was momentarily stunned, then his face turned ashen, paler than the falling snow, his legs involuntarily trembling with fear.

“Still daring to boast! Attack!” Captain Hou of the Fiery Flame Guards immediately waved his hand.

Although he also looked down on Situ Li, the saying goes, ‘you must look at the owner before hitting a dog’. These two brats being so insolent in front of him was intolerable.

As Captain Hou waved his hand, about twenty Fiery Flame Guards drew their swords, the silver light almost blinding.

An astonishing murderous aura was released from them, forming a dense web of killing intent that surged towards the surrounded pair like a tidal wave.

The surrounding wind and snow grew fiercer, lashing at the onlookers, even bringing a bone-chilling pain.

However, all this had no effect on Gu Siyuan. His expression remained unchanged, but at some point, his right palm had gripped a sword.

“A self-inflicted disaster is not worth living.”

A soft but clear low chant sounded.

Though it was a tense, on-the-verge-of-eruption moment, this low chant precisely pierced through the rising killing intent, cutting through the layers of sword light, and drifted into the minds of everyone present.

Everyone’s faces changed, and an ominous premonition inexplicably arose in their hearts.

The twenty or so Fiery Flame Guards charging forward with their swords felt it the most.

However, before they could locate the source of this ominous feeling, suddenly, all they could see was darkness. There was only a single sparkling star in the midst of it, stunningly beautiful yet extremely dangerous. Instinctively, they wanted to close their eyes.

At that moment, it felt as though something lightly touched their throats, like a snowflake or an icicle, cold and piercing.

More terrifyingly, they suddenly realized that in this brief instant, everything before their eyes had gone completely dark, the flickering starlight had vanished too.

Their bodies were uncontrollably falling; they wanted to resist but couldn’t. In that brief moment, they vaguely saw a small red dot appear on their companions’ necks.

Instinctively, they reached for their own necks.

In the next instant, the red dots abruptly expanded like a catastrophic flood bursting through a dam, exploding violently and sending blood spraying everywhere.

The sky in that area turned crimson, and even the snowflakes falling from the sky became red.

Those red dots were, of course, marks left by the sword.

However, Gu Siyuan’s sword was too fast, and even with someone on his back, his swordsmanship was not affected in the slightest.

Not to mention the Foundation Establishment cultivators watching, even the Golden Core cultivators at the same level couldn’t see when he drew his sword or how he struck.

Everyone just had a vague impression of a bright shooting star streaking past.

Then, the twenty or so Fiery Flame Guards suddenly sprawled out, motionless, frozen in place.

At that moment, with a loud “bang,” as if the ground had been shaken, the twenty or so Fiery Flame Guards, including Captain Hou, simultaneously collapsed into the pure white snow.

Quickly, they were half-covered by the falling snowflakes.

Inside and outside the Four Seasons Restaurant and the nearby street, a sudden silence fell, so quiet one could almost hear the sound of snowflakes falling.

Gu Siyuan shook his right wrist lightly, and the blood droplet that lingered on the tip of his sword slowly dripped down, merging into the thick white snow, disappearing without a trace.

He sheathed his sword and said to Xie Xueyi on his back, “Your turn.”

“Okay.” Xie Xueyi reluctantly jumped down from Gu Siyuan’s back, glaring viciously at the blue-clad young man, Situ Li, who seemed to have wet his pants in fear.

“You deserve a thousand deaths for making me get down from my brother’s warm back!”

Xie Xueyi was not that bloodthirsty and did not flay him alive on the street as he had said earlier. He merely ended it with a casual sword strike.

Under the stunned gazes of the onlookers, the two continued walking along the street side by side.

As they turned a corner, a figure blocked their way.

“You two are quite skilled.”

Xie Xueyi looked at the handsome young man in front of him, raising his beautiful eyebrows: “Oh, so you want to challenge us too?”

The man ignored him, staring at Gu Siyuan: “You killed so many elites of the Fiery Flame Group. They won’t let it go. No matter how strong you are, it’s hard to withstand the power of an entire group in Fengxue City.”

Gu Siyuan stood with his hands behind his back, his expression cold: “Any suggestions?”

The young man clearly had a lot of confidence: “Join our Divine Wind Hall. We will protect you.”

The Divine Wind Hall is one of the top three forces in Fengxue City, alongside the Fiery Flame Group.

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow: “No reward without effort.”

The young man lifted his head: “You are highly skilled. Our Divine Wind Hall needs people like you to participate in the Fierce Battle.”

Xie Xueyi asked curiously: “Fierce Battle? What’s that?”

The young man squinted his eyes: “You newcomers wouldn’t know. It’s a major event recently confirmed in Fengxue City. The demonic mists in the Abyss of Fiery Demons will drop to their lowest level in ten thousand years in a month. Everyone knows that the Abyss of Fiery Demons is full of treasures, so all factions will select some experts to go down into the Abyss to explore and participate in the Fierce Battle for treasures.”

Going down into the Abyss of Fiery Demons to explore?

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow slightly: “…”

Xie Xueyi also opened his mouth: “…”

Hmm, just when you’re thirsty, water is delivered to your door.

Seeing their expressions, the young man hastily added: “Don’t worry. Over the years, our three major factions have developed many spiritual tools and talismans to guard against the demonic mists. A month from now, when the mists are at their lowest, combined with our spiritual tools and talismans, you will be safe from harm.”

After a moment of awkward silence.

Xie Xueyi grinned, showing his neat white teeth: “Well… we’ll reluctantly participate then!”

Gu Siyuan nodded, trusting completely: “Alright, then I feel a bit more at ease.”

“…” The young man blinked.

Why did it feel like he was being tricked?