"And so what?"

Zixie laughed coldly as he fixed his demonic stare at the man before him. He slowly raised his hand and gathered the particles in the air before shaping it into a sharp sword surrounded by purple flames.

"Tian Sheng, I didn't think that you would have shown yourself so soon! It's too bad that the power you currently wield is only a small fraction of your true extent! This is a far cry from your true self so my current level of strength is enough to beat you."

"Zixie, you're throwing away your life!"

Tian Sheng's expression changed. The reason why he had chosen to appear in the Banished Lands was that he had expected Zixie to not show up! He could never have imagined that this guy would have forcibly stormed his way out of the Ancient Divine Pagoda. All for the sake of a woman?

"Do you even know the consequences of your actions?"

"I know the consequences but I have no other choice."

If Tian Sheng had only wanted to end Gu Ruoyun's life, I have a million other ways to resurrect her. However, this man wants to extract and scatter her soul! If she loses all of her soul, I would never be able to reincarnate her not even if I gave up my life in the process.

"Zixie, you've gone mad!"

The man's expression changed greatly. This phoenix has definitely gone insane!

Zixie clearly had no interest in any form of conversation with him. That shock of deep purple robes flashed and appeared immediately in front of the man.

Clank!

Two swords clashed, causing a spiritual force to erupt and destroy everything in the cave.

A grey mist formed before her eyes.

Gu Ruoyun clenched her fists tightly as her eyes were fixed unmovingly upon the two men who were locked in battle.

They were too fast. So fast that she could not even catch sight of their shadows. All she could see were two lights, one purple and one black, clashing against each other in the thin air.

As time rolled on, Gu Ruoyun grew more anxious. However, the battle between the two continued without stopping. Just as Gu Ruoyun was about to panic, a loud crash sounded and the two lights were sent hurtling down and slammed fiercely into the ground.

Dust scattered upwards and filled the air.

"Zixie!"

Gu Ruoyun hurriedly scrambled towards the man in purple robes and asked with a frown on her face, "Zixie, are you alright?"

"Don't worry, little girl. Simply because he is a doppelganger, he is still no match for me."

Zixie smiled and turned towards the man in the black mist. He curled his lips demonically. "Tian Sheng, one day, we will find you and vengeance will be ours!"

"Haha, I'm afraid that you won't have that chance."

The man laughed. It was a laughter filled with bone-deep hatred, "For the sake of this woman, you had willingly paid such a painful price. Do you think you would have the chance to have your revenge? Once I've broken this seal, I will claim this woman's life!"

As he spoke, his body slowly turned transparent before gradually disappearing into the grey skies.

"Zixie!" Gu Ruoyun held Zixie's wrist in a tight grip, "Tell me, what 'painful price' was he talking about? What price had you paid for the sake of appearing here?"

"Little girl."

Zixie placed his hands firmly on Gu Ruoyun's shoulders. His handsome face no longer held his usual teasing demeanor. Instead, he stared at the girl in all seriousness.

"From now on, in everything that you do, you will truly have to depend on your own strength."

"I'll have to depend on my own strength in everything that I do?" Gu Ruoyun's heart shook violently as a bad feeling began to take over. It almost feels as if the man in front of her was saying his final goodbye, "What do you mean?"