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Several blades of wind visible to the naked eye streaked towards Kui Lin's neck with great precision.

Given how sharp they were, they could cut through steel nigh instantaneously, never mind a body of flesh and blood.

And they did indeed take the Demon Emperor's head clean off. Or so it seemed. The anticipated scene of blood bursting from the stump of his neck never came.

Kui Lin stood in place, then transformed into a cloud of deep purple smoke. The wind blades went straight through him and crashed into the nearest mountaintop, flattening it.

"Big White!" Gu Luolin landed beside the condor. Its wings were bound in strands of demonic energy, and it was half-lying in the snow.

Blood poured from its enormous frame, and its pitch-black, lustrous eyes were full of grief.

Gu Luolin's eyes were wet with tears. Those strands of demonic energy were clearly corrosive.

Massive as the condor was, the strands had borne several fist-sized holes through its wings. As the holes expanded, the strands thickened.

"You bastard!" Gu Luolin's eyes were filled with hate. She turned to look at the Demon Emperor. He stood only about a dozen meters away, and he was intact and unharmed. Gu Luolin's pale fists clenched, cracking audibly.

Why hadn't her wind blades been just a little faster? If only she'd taken Kui Lin's head clean off!

"Big White, that hurts, doesn't it? Hold on just a little longer. I'll get you out of there."

An overlord among beasts naturally had its dignity. The condor had been enduring the pain in its wings all this time, and when it saw Gu Luolin, it even forced a "smile". It pressed its head against her, gently wiping away her tears.

"You're human, aren't you? Yet here you are, allying yourself with beasts." Kui Lin's eyes flashed with disdain.

Gu Luolin turned and glared at him hatefully. Her hateful expression didn't match her appearance; her deep loathing was clearly written in her eyes.

She grabbed the air, and a dagger of pure wind formed in her palm. It was incomparably sharp, and as she wieldied it, she cut through the strings of demonic power binding the condor in a flash.

Once cut, the strings turned into puffs of smoke, then rejoined the energy whirling around Kui Lin.

Without the demonic energy strands binding it, the condor rose. However, it could no longer proudly unfurl its left wing.

"Kui Lin!" It was then that Ye Zichen stepped through the snowdrifts.

The lucky surviving birds now landed beside the condor. Jiao Hai and Tai Tan, the Kings of the South and West, knew these were reinforcements. They and the one remaining demon expert rejoined Kui Lin.

"Star Master Ye, it seems we're truly connected by fate. To think we'd bump into each other in such an enormous mountain range!" Kui Lin let out a hearty laugh, as if they were merely acquaintances and nothing had happened between them before. "Have you also taken an interest in this place's treasures?"

When Ye Zichen said nothing, Kui Lin's smile gradually faded. "Star Master Ye? Surely not. Don't tell me you too have joined forces with beasts? We're all people of the Upper Three Realms, here in search of fortune. These beasts ought to be our common enemies. Don't tell me you'd stand against me for the sake of these uncivilized beasts?"

"Demon Emperor, I think of you as the type to kill decisively. When did you get so good with words?"

"I'm simply telling it as I see it!" When he saw Ye Zichen, Kui Lin felt a hint of dread.

Naturally, he wasn't afraid of Ye Zichen himself, but rather of all the experts backing him.

Those imperial lords had gathered around Ye Zichen. No matter where he went, a whole back of great emperors followed. Even as Kui Lin spoke, he surveyed their surroundings in an attempt to locate Ye Zichen's allies.

Ye Zichen noticed his wandering gaze and knew what Kui Lin was thinking. Actually, the way he saw it, it would be best if they could avoid a fight.

The Demon Emperor was one of the three Realm Emperors; his cultivation went without saying.

The Kings of the West and South were no ordinary men either. The other demon with them was the head of his clan, and he didn't seem like a pushover either.

Yang Jian wasn't here right now. With just him and Gu Luolin…

It would be difficult to come out ahead!

Actually, Gu Luolin wasn't the problem. After all, whatever else Ye Zichen might say about her, she'd still mastered wind and condensed its dao heart. But Ye Zichen had only just become a ruler. In a conflict at this level of power, he barely even counted as a person.

However, before Ye Zichen could respond, the furious Gu Luolin walked over. "Who hurt Big White?"

"It was I. Is there a problem?" Kui Lin laughed indifferently. "Although I hurt it, I didn't damage its roots. After all, I want to tame it and have it serve as my mount."

"Just die, then."

Coming from Gu Luolin, such cold words seemed deeply and utterly out of place.

In a flash, several whirlwinds appeared around Gu Luolin. Her dark hair danced in their gales. A few dozen meters away, the Demon Emperor and his allies sensed that something was unusual about the surrounding winds.

"Wind Path!"

Whoosh!

The whirlwinds, which could still be considered gentle, instantly transformed into fierce tornadoes capable of swallowing a person whole.

The tornadoes howled, scattering the deep snow in their path and carrying the mountain range's scattered rocks and boulders into the air. They even left a deep ravine in their wake.

The Demon Emperor's group didn't dare take her lightly. They joined forces, creating a barrier in front of them.

"Your Excellency, should we attack?" Jiao Hai frowned.

"Don't you know who that is? Attacking him means attacking the imperial lords he has with him. Have you forgotten the bitter defeat you suffered at Xue Yang's hands?" roared Kui Lin.

Jiao Hai said nothing in response to this rebuke, but Tai Tan looked around. "I don't sense any other imperial lords."

"That doesn't mean they're not here. Ye Zichen is the Emperor Star! Xue Yang and the others are determined to follow him. Do you really think they'd just let him wander off on his own without regard for his safety?"

"Then what should we do? That girl has definitely condensed the Dao Heart of Wind. Those winds are fierce!"

More than ten tornadoes surrounded Kui Lin and his followers. The mighty winds repeatedly formed cracks on their barrier, but the Demon Emperor gave them no other orders. All they could do was repeatedly infuse the barrier with spiritual power to stabilize it.

Off to the side, Ye Zichen watched in a daze. He never would have guessed this this little girl could explode with such force. With his level of attainment in wind, Ye Zichen could guide the winds to form tornadoes too. However, his tornadoes were nothing compared to what he saw now; they were like parlor tricks. He watched as the howling winds cracked the earth in their wake. Even time, they could shatter the entire mountain range.

When he looked up, he saw Gu Luolin, controlling the air like a woman of the winds.

Her tender little face was unprecedentedly solemn as she stared intently on the group behiind the barrier. "Winds, Burst!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom….!

The sound of explosions filled the air as the tornadoes burst. It was as if space itself had exploded.

"Star Master Ye, it seems you're really set on standing against us. Are you sure about this?" Kui Lin wasn't the type to just back down without reason. Besides, he'd already looked around carefully, and he really didn't sense any trace of any other imperial lords in the area.

But before giving up all pretenses of cordiality, he decided to ask Ye Zichen once more.

But of course, this was an ultimatum, Ye Zichen's last chance.

"I naturally have no desire to be your enemy. Your cultivations are so high, while I have no allies with me. If we fight, I can't possibly overcome you," said Ye Zichen.

"Then…"

"She's not under my command, and we're not familiar, either."

"In that case, this is grudge between her and us. Star Master Ye, you'd best not intervene."

Despite what Ye Zichen said, Kui Lin knew that just because he couldn't sense his allies didn't mean they weren't around.

Kui Lin still worried that this was a trap. He didn't want to cause trouble for Ye Zichen just iin case. But against all expectations…

"You dare disregard me? I'm telling your mom!" Gu Luolin furrowed her brow in anger.

When Ye Zichen heard that, he shrugged. "I don't want to get involved, but she's threatened to tell my mother. I fear my mother more than anything else."

"Then don't blame me for my poor manners!" In a second, the skies were stained an inky black.

A formless domain enveloped Ye Zichen and Gu Luolin, and the surrounding space turned reddish purple. The domain stretched as far as the eye could see.

This was the Demon Emperor's domain!

In an instant, the domain dispersed the howling tornadoes. The winds stopped with a final shrill wail.

"Tai Tan, go deal with Ye Zichen. Whatever you do, don't injure him too badly. Before I transcend, I don't want to push Xue Yang's grou tpp far," shouted the Demon Emperor.

Tai Tan seemed deeply unwilling. Fighting Ye Zichen seemed like nothing but drudgery.

He wasn't allowed to hurt him!

They were all imperial lords! Against an ordinary ruler, the slightest careless meant dispersing their opponent's soul.

He couldn't hurt Ye Zichen, but he also couldn't let Ye Zichen hurt him.

Why had such an unpleasant task fallen to him?

Tai Tan, unwilling as he was, nevertheless landed before Ye Zichen. Then, after breaking through Gu Luolin's winds, Kui Lin led Jiao Hai and the other demon expert against her.

The condor seemed to want to help her, but to its surprise…

"Big White, go help my nephew." She turned to Big White, who'd already healed somewhat, then said, "Even if you gave them eight hundred times the gall, they wouldn't dare touch me!"

Big White paused, eyes filled with confusion. When the Demon Emperor heard that, he burst into laughter.

"You think I don't dare harm you? Little girl, do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Kui Lin's eyes flashed with disdain. He was hesitant to touch Ye Zichen for fear of the imperial experts gathered around him, but if he transcended, he wouldn't spare Ye Zichen so much as a second glance.

Yet now this little girl was saying he wouldn't touch her? The way Kui Lin saw it, that was nothing but an enormous joke. "Don't tell me you're scared? What happened to that despotic attitude? But this emperor isn't the soft-hearted sort. I won't show mercy on you just because you're a little girl."

"Afraid? Now you're really talking nonsense. Me, afraid? You're the ones who ought to be scared!" Gu Luolin chuckled, then stuck out her jaw. "Let me tell you: my surname is Gu! I'm Gu Luolin, the youngest daughter of the Gu Family! My dad is Gu Xuande! My Mom is Qing Li! My Grandpa is Gu Shan! Now, tell me, which of you dares touch me?!"