Chapter 92: To Save or Not to Save?

Fortunately, Ge Nie and Si Kong Xu had not gone far. After hurrying on for a while, Si Kong Xu could already hear faint sounds of fighting. It seemed they were close.

When he reached this point, however, Si Kong Xu slowed his pace instead of rushing out recklessly.

Clang, clang, clang!

The clash of metal was now distinctly audible. It seemed Ge Nie had already engaged Chi Lian and Bai Feng.

Si Kong Xu eased his steps, lowered his body, and gently parted a thicket in front of him. The first thing that met his eyes was a ground swarming with snakes. Countless poisonous serpents writhed to and fro in the clearing ahead, and the ones they had surrounded, of course, were Tianming and the others.

"Good heavens, that is revolting..." Si Kong Xu cried out. Even someone like him, who had no particular fear of dense crowds, felt his scalp prickle at the sight of so many snakes.

Within the snake pack, Tianming was continuously brandishing a wooden staff, beating down every serpent that lunged at him. It seemed the days he had spent learning swordsmanship from Ge Nie had brought him great improvement.

As for Duanmu Rong beside him, she stood there like a wooden figure, motionless. The reason for her state was that Gao Yue had already been seized by Chi Lian and taken hostage.

Elsewhere, two figures flashed back and forth in rapid succession. Their movements crossed and intertwined as they exchanged blow after blow, and every impact produced a sharp clang of metal and a burst of sparks. The battle was ferocious beyond measure.

Crash-clang—

After one especially violent collision, the two figures finally came to a halt, and Si Kong Xu, hiding nearby, could at last make out their faces.

One of them was naturally Ge Nie. The other...

He was an exceptionally handsome young man, with cold, swordlike brows and a pair of large eyes shining with heroic brightness, like stars in the night sky.

In addition, the youth had long flowing hair that fell to his back, and he wore a dashing white brocade robe draped over one shoulder.

In his hand he held two bird-feather talismans, hard as iron. By this point, his identity was beyond question: he was the leader of the Sand’s Four Heavenly Kings, the famed White Phoenix, known as the King of Birds!

"As expected of White Phoenix, chief of the Sand’s Four Heavenly Kings and the finest lightness-skilled fighter under heaven," Ge Nie said politely, holding Yuanhong in one hand with the tip angled naturally downward.

"I have long heard that Sword Sage Ge Nie’s swordsmanship surpasses all beneath the heavens. Seeing it today, it truly lives up to the legend," White Phoenix replied, instinctively tightening his grip on the bird-feather talismans, his eyes filled with wariness.

He had always loved challenging the strong. Now that he had met Ge Nie, the man reputed to have the greatest swordsmanship in the world, he could not suppress his excitement. Without another word, he had immediately charged in and traded several moves with him.

White Phoenix had a habit: at the beginning of a fight, he never revealed his true strength. The few attacks he had made earlier were merely probes to test Ge Nie.

Although the other man had likewise concealed his full power, Ge Nie’s swordsmanship still sent a cold sweat down White Phoenix’s back. A few casual thrusts from Ge Nie were enough to make him feel the threat of death!

No wonder he was Wei Zhuang’s lifelong rival.

After only a few probing exchanges, White Phoenix had already given Ge Nie an extremely high evaluation in his heart.

"I know your target is me, so could you refrain from involving the innocent?" Ge Nie said, glancing at Gao Yue, who stood beside Chi Lian under the control of the Fire Charm. His meaning was perfectly clear.

However, White Phoenix was not a bad-hearted man, though neither was he a particularly upright one. Faced with Gao Yue, who had fallen under Chi Lian’s control, he could only shake his head with a smile.

"In that case, I have no choice but to offend you!" As his words fell, Ge Nie’s gaze instantly turned cold. Yuanhong in his hand rose at once, sweeping upward in a single stroke, and a crescent-shaped sword aura was unleashed.

The crescent sword qi moved with astonishing speed, reaching White Phoenix in the blink of an eye. Yet someone else was faster than it.

Whoosh!

Without the slightest mercy, the crescent sword qi passed cleanly through White Phoenix’s body and slammed into the tree trunk behind him. The next instant, the great tree, thick enough for five men to encircle, was cut cleanly in two at the waist!

And yet White Phoenix, pierced by the sword qi, seemed utterly unaffected. If anything, his figure had only grown fainter.

An afterimage!

Seeing this, Ge Nie let out a low cry. The White Phoenix standing in place then dissolved into the air.

It had only been an afterimage left behind because White Phoenix had moved too quickly!

Ge Nie was not surprised that his sword qi had been evaded. What did surprise him was that White Phoenix’s speed had already reached the level where he could leave an afterimage behind him.

Still, Ge Nie did not waste time thinking further. The purpose of that strike had already been achieved: drive White Phoenix back, then turn his attention to Chi Lian!

Swish!

After forcing White Phoenix away, Ge Nie turned directly and charged toward Chi Lian’s position, the poisonous snakes along the way dropping one after another beneath his sword.

"Hmph!" Seeing that her snake formation could not stop Ge Nie at all, Chi Lian gave a cold snort. Then, with a flick of her jade-like hand, the Coiling Serpent Soft Sword in her grasp shot out like lightning, straight for Ge Nie’s face!

The Coiling Serpent Soft Sword was a very peculiar weapon. Its length and rigidity could be altered at will, and its movements were also extraordinarily bizarre.

Facing the coiling soft sword, Ge Nie’s expression did not change as he swept out with Yuanhong.

Clang!

After a light, crisp ring, the Coiling Serpent Soft Sword was sent flying by Yuanhong. The tremendous force immediately drove Chi Lian back several steps. In a single exchange, the outcome had already been decided!

"Stop! If you come any closer, I will kill her!" Seeing Ge Nie rushing toward her, Chi Lian’s face turned cold. She seized Gao Yue at once and pressed the Coiling Serpent Soft Sword against the girl’s delicate throat.

This move proved effective. Ge Nie halted immediately, standing amid the snake heap as he stared coldly at Chi Lian.

At that moment, White Phoenix also returned on the wind with his lightness skill and stood beside Chi Lian.

"As expected of Sword Sage Ge Nie. Just a single ordinary sword qi nearly injured me," White Phoenix said with a somewhat wicked smile. A small tear had appeared at the sleeve of his white robe, clearly left behind by Ge Nie’s earlier sword qi.

"Use whatever methods you wish against me. Why make things difficult for an innocent little girl?" Ge Nie said. With Gao Yue in their hands as a hostage, he was indeed in a very passive position.

"Heh heh heh." Chi Lian gave an eerie smile. "We are assassins. To achieve our goals, we naturally stop at nothing."

White Phoenix said nothing further. Although he very much wanted to face Ge Nie head-on, he knew he was no match for him, and this time they had come on a mission.

"Why is that other child who was with you nowhere to be seen?" White Phoenix asked. In addition to killing Ge Nie and capturing Tianming alive, their mission also included dealing with Si Kong Xu. Because Si Kong Xu had not appeared at all, White Phoenix instinctively grew wary.

Though the Black Wolf King had said the little fellow was not very strong, Ge Nie alone was already taxing the two of them. If another variable were to appear, that would become troublesome indeed.

White Phoenix’s question instantly made Si Kong Xu, hiding in the bushes to one side, feel his heart tighten.

As expected. He really had become a target of the Sand. As expected, the second main mission was not nearly so simple!

For a moment, Si Kong Xu felt a little rattled. His position was diagonally behind Chi Lian and White Phoenix. If he were to rush out now, there was a very good chance he could rescue Gao Yue.

But if he exposed himself now, he would certainly become the top priority target of those two!

What should he do? Should he go out and save her, or not?