This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

Huangfu Lingxue turned around abruptly, and a fiery dragon soared into the sky behind her. The intense heat and the smell of burning could be felt even from a distance.

The screams of agony from the Shen family's camp rose and fell. This sudden turn of events stunned many people. However, the powerful aftershocks of the explosion also dispersed much of the black mist, gradually making the scene within the mist clearer.

Led by Shen Qiushuang, the Shen family was followed by other major families from Yun Shen. Although the explosion was sudden and many people perished, such losses were insignificant to the vast forces involved.

"This was done intentionally. Everyone was on guard, and if anything seemed amiss, they immediately dispersed."

As orders were issued layer by layer, the crowd began to disperse in all directions as the black mist was blown away.

Those who noticed this frowned, wondering who had secretly made the move.

“Third Ancestor, those are Xiao Xingxue’s people. Hao-ge and I saw it with our own eyes.”

Shen Li and Shen Hao were also thrown out of the inverted world by the explosion. They were still spinning in place, and the aftershocks of the explosion temporarily pulled them out of the illusionary world.

The moment they appeared, they spotted the fire dragon in the distance and quickly approached the Shen family's headquarters. Shen Li immediately recognized the Xiao family's attire hidden in the black mist, and combined with the image of Xiao Xingxue and her group reflected in the illusion, she quickly determined that...

"Hao'er, Li'er, it's so good that you're alright. Where's that scholar?"

Shen Qiushuang was overjoyed and hurriedly asked,

"He's probably dead. We saw him being dragged to the ground by a dog. We don't know if he's alive or dead."

"What exactly happened? And who is Xiao Xingxue?"

"Xiao Xingxue was the one who got there first; they should have already gone deep inside. All this is a trick they're using to stop us. We need to be careful," Shen Li replied solemnly.

"Hmph, how dare a mere ant attack my Shen family? They're tired of living!"

"Patriarch Shen, we must not be careless. This Xiao family is quite interesting. The thing that exploded in our crowd just now seems to be an invention of the Xiao Sword Immortal from a hundred years ago," the people from the Water Domain, led by Shangguan Yun, had been hanging at the very back, only catching up after the crowd was blown up.

"They're just worldly people. Their power is no match for yours or mine. It's just a sneak attack. Once they dare to make another move, I'll make them pay the price."

As for the water, Shen Qiushuang didn't care at all. His words were not unfounded. For a cultivator like him, gunpowder could cause negligible damage.

"Keep moving forward! Those at the sixth realm and above will be the first to advance. We'll push through them all! I refuse to believe that a mere demon tower can stop us!"

With a roar, Shen Qiushuang was the first to leap into the air, a cold light flashing in her hand, cleaving a path through the black mist ahead.

"Charge with me!" He took the lead, charging into the depths of the black mist. The others, though puzzled, saw the Shen family patriarch charging and knew they couldn't wait any longer. One after another, figures quickly followed. Instantly, the clash of swords filled the air, sword energy surging and crashing through the black mist.

Ling Xue was right at the edge of their line of sight. Shen Qiushuang saw her there, which is why he rushed in. After all, someone who could walk ahead of the Shen family must know this place well, so he went straight for Ling Xue.

"Hmph," Ling Xue snorted coldly, transforming into a ghost sword and merging with the black mist, disappearing without a trace.

The group of people standing at the entrance of the Demon Tower, watching all this, showed surprise and disbelief, somewhat shocked that Ling Xue could transform into black mist.

"This Princess of the Great Qian Dynasty is indeed extraordinary. She moves with such ease in this black mist. The name 'Ghost Sword' is truly well-deserved!" Xiao Xingxue made no attempt to hide her praise for Ghost Sword. Such movement technique was simply tailor-made for this place, a chosen one.

"How did she get in?" Mu Wushuang asked, quite surprised to see Ling Xue here. Only Xiao Xingchen looked around, and before the two of them noticed, a landmark was sent directly into the black mist.

This was the location tracking item that Xizhu had given them. Although Ling Xue could find this place on her own, having this tracking item would save her a lot of trouble, since the Shen family had already noticed her.

In the blink of an eye, as Xiao Xingchen activated his location-tracking device, while Xiao Xingxue and Mu Wushuang were still deep in thought, a ghostly figure appeared beside them.

The two were startled at the same time, and by the time they came to their senses, Ling Xue had already regained her footing.

"So it's here. Is this the true face of the Demon Tower?" Her cold voice rang out. Xiao Xingchen smiled, feigning surprise, her finger trembling as she pointed at him.

"A ghost, a ghost!"

"The Princess is truly remarkable, she has broadened my horizons. One second you were lost in the black mist, and the next you are here. It seems that the Great Qian Dynasty is indeed very mysterious." Xiao Xingxue had lost count of how many times she had been shocked. This was completely beyond her expectations. How could she have found this place so quickly? It was unbelievable.

"The Xiao family?" Ling Xue was also somewhat surprised. Seeing Xiao Xingxue here was something she hadn't expected. As for Mu Wushuang, she simply ignored her, glaring at her and silencing any questions she was about to ask.

Ling Xue clearly didn't want to talk about Xiao Xingchen in front of Xiao Xingxue.

"Let me formally introduce myself. I am Xiao Xingxue, the current leader of the Xiao family!"

"As expected, I've always been curious where Xiao Xingchen got a fiancée like you. You two played this diversionary tactic very well."

"You flatter me. Our tricks are nothing compared to the Princess's strength. If someone had said before that Ghost Sword could achieve this, I wouldn't have believed it. But looking at Your Highness, Ghost Sword is truly the number one swordsman in the world."

"Hmph," Ling Xue scoffed disdainfully, glancing at Xiao Xingchen out of the corner of her eye before looking back into the black mist and asking directly.

"Tell me, how can we open the gate to the Demon Tower?"

"The black mist is stained with blood, and the gate opens by itself," Xiao Xingxue replied decisively.

"It's a dead person, right?"

"nature!"

"Over there, and over there, throw that thing you just threw out again."

Ling Xue pointed in two other directions and gave orders in a commanding tone. Her aura as a seasoned leader was palpable, brooking no dissent. She even knew without asking that Xiao Xingxue had caused the explosion.

Xiao Xingxue shook her head helplessly and waved her hand behind her, "Listen to Your Highness, go over there and throw lightning."

Xiao Xingchen looked curiously in the two directions Ling Xue was pointing to. The black fog was too thick to see what was there. The Shen family members and Tian Ling people were clearly visible, so why was she throwing lightning in those two directions?

He wasn't the only one puzzled; everyone else was too, because from this angle, those places were completely deserted!