“Petty tricks!” Cang Yan scoffed lightly, leaping into the air.
The vines that had emerged from the ground chased after him, stretching toward the sky.
At the same time, the small daisies drifting down from above seemed to trigger some hidden mechanism, suddenly spinning rapidly. The delicate, tender petals, once soft and lovely, now appeared as sharp as blades in their rotation.
The hem of Cang Yan’s robe, lifted by the wind, brushed against one of the spinning daisies—and in the blink of an eye, it was shredded to pieces!
Even the daisies that had already fallen to the ground began spinning just as fiercely as those in the air.
For a moment, Cang Yan seemed trapped—no escape above, no retreat below.
“Well done!” Jin Lin didn’t hold back his praise, while Mo Changxing’s lips curled into a faint smile.
“Ah!” Cang Yan, trapped midair, suddenly roared and instantly reverted to his true form.
A massive silver wolf appeared in the sky. With a powerful shake of his body, countless wolf hairs shot out like steel needles, piercing straight into the centers of the spinning flowers with deadly precision. Some were pinned to trees, others embedded into the ground.
Yun Qingxue reacted just a fraction too late—her fair arm was pierced by a few of those steel-like hairs, leaving tiny holes.
Crimson beads of blood seeped from the wounds.
Seeing her injured, a shadow of something dark and complicated flickered in Cang Yan’s azure eyes. His voice was low and firm. “Come with me now, and spare yourself further pain. Yun Qingxue, you can’t defeat me!”
Yun Qingxue met his gaze with icy defiance. “It’s too soon for the Beast King to declare victory before the final moment!”
Cang Yan narrowed his eyes. “Since you refuse my mercy, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
With that, he launched another fierce assault toward her.
Yun Qingxue defended herself carefully, but the gap in their strength was undeniable. Under Cang Yan’s relentless attacks, small wounds soon littered her body.
Beneath his sleeves, Jin Lin’s hands clenched into fists, his restraint nearly snapping. *Damn Cang Yan! How dare he hurt Xuexue so many times! Just wait—I’ll tear him apart limb by limb!*
Mo Changxing, too, watched the battle with cold intensity.
At this rate, Qingxue’s defeat was inevitable.
Fortunately, though she was no match for Cang Yan and had sustained injuries, he was clearly holding back. Otherwise, her wounds would be far more severe.
But whether he held back or not—hurting Qingxue was unforgivable.
Mo Changxing’s gaze darkened.
He was waiting for an opportunity—a chance to step in and take her place.
The Beast King had declared that if he or Jin Lin interfered, he wouldn’t acknowledge defeat.
But who cared about his acknowledgment? As long as Qingxue didn’t lose to him, they’d have every right to disregard their earlier agreement. No one could argue.
After all, Cang Yan had only said *he* wouldn’t recognize the outcome if they intervened—not that the intervention itself was invalid.
Facing such a formidable opponent, Yun Qingxue couldn’t afford even a moment’s distraction.
She poured all her focus into the fight, but the gap between a late-stage Great Demon and a late-stage Immortal was stark.
And now, the pain that had vanished after taking the medicine her master brought back—it was returning.
*End this quickly!*
With that thought, she summoned a storm of falling petals.
The swirling blossoms formed a massive tornado, each petal no longer soft but sharper than any blade.
The overwhelming floral storm completely concealed Yun Qingxue’s figure.
Seizing the momentary cover, she released the Illusion Spirit from her storage bracelet and swiftly commanded, *”Create a mirage!”*
The spirit wasted no time, its body dissolving into a dense white mist.
Cang Yan unleashed several gusts of wind from his palms, then erected a defensive barrier before himself. After a flurry of effort, he finally dispelled Yun Qingxue’s desperate attack.
When the chaos settled, Luo Yun Mountain remained unchanged—except Yun Qingxue now lay collapsed on the ground.
Cang Yan frowned. He had expected her to lose, but not so easily.
“Master, why can’t we see anything? Where’s Xuexue?” Jin Lin stared at the spot where Yun Qingxue and Cang Yan had been fighting, stepping forward as if to rush over.
Zi Qu Shengjun grabbed his arm and uttered two calm words: *”Illusion realm.”*
“You mean… the Illusion Spirit?” Jin Lin pressed.
“Who else could conjure such a vivid mirage in an instant?” Mo Changxing raised an eyebrow, releasing a wisp of black mist from his palm.
“What are you doing?” Jin Lin frowned. Though he knew Mo Changxing would never harm Yun Qingxue, the situation was delicate—she had used the illusion to isolate herself and Cang Yan. If Mo Changxing acted recklessly, she might get hurt.
“Strengthening Qingxue’s illusion. Why so tense?” Mo Changxing cast a lazy glance at the anxious Jin Lin.
“Then I’ll help too!” Jin Lin’s eyes brightened, though inwardly he scolded himself.
*Why didn’t I think of it? Even with the Illusion Spirit’s mirage, the gap in their cultivation means Cang Yan could break free at any moment. Without the illusion, Xuexue would be at an even greater disadvantage.*
“You’re helping her cheat,” Zi Qu Shengjun remarked with the authority of a master.
With a wave of his hand, a dark light flashed briefly before vanishing.
“Master, didn’t you say cheating was wrong?” Jin Lin arched a brow lazily.
“When did I say that?” Zi Qu Shengjun chuckled.
Jin Lin opened his mouth to argue, then paused. Indeed, his master had never actually condemned it.
“Cang Yan, at the peak of Immortal cultivation, bullying my disciple at the peak of Great Demon realm—that’s sheer tyranny. What we’ve done is merely level the playing field. It’s only fair!”
“Master speaks wisely,” Mo Changxing agreed with a nod.
Jin Lin shook his head with a grin. *Master and senior brother—two cunning foxes. But… I like it.*
Inside the illusion, Cang Yan cautiously approached Yun Qingxue’s motionless form.
Kneeling beside her, he reached out, ready to react at the slightest anomaly.
She lay there, unresponsive.
“Yun Qingxue!” he called.
Still, no answer.
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