The narrow grocery shop. Several sinister cultivation techniques were unleashed toward Lin Shuang!
Lin Shuang closed her eyes.
Two earphone talismans automatically entered her ear canals.
A high-pitched fourth-stage sound cultivation melody rang out—like pearls, large and small, falling onto a jade plate, the melody climbing higher and higher, like surging waves rolling endlessly, sweeping through her dantian and instantly propelling her to her peak!
She lifted her gaze. With eyes ablaze, she activated the Fire Eyes’ Insight to the 1,291st layer, fixing an intense stare upon the sinister pair before her—two one-armed cultivators at the ninth stage of the Ningyuan realm.
Dressed in black and white, their movements appeared extremely slow to her, as if frozen in place.
Qingbo (Thin Affection) and Guayi (Sparse Loyalty)—long ago, they had cultivated together as Dao companions and mastered combined moves.
One wielded a short hook, the other a long chain, attacking from afar and defending up close, leaving no blind spots.
Yet as they charged toward Lin Shuang, they saw her raise her eyes—her gaze a deep red, nearly bleeding, fiercer than the King of Hell himself.
Startled, Qingbo and Guayi realized her movements had become faster.
Two broadswords flew into Lin Shuang’s hands.
The sword tips dragged behind as she instantly summoned a thunderous momentum, thrusting toward them.
So fast that even the starting motion was invisible.
How was this possible?
They had long reached the ninth stage of the Condensing Yuan realm, and their combined strength was comparable to that of a half-step Divine Spirit cultivator.
How could she be faster than them?
At the moment Qingbo and Guayi were slashed and blood spurted, they still wore bewildered expressions.
How did she do it?
Even if she had somehow reached the peak of the Condensation Realm, she shouldn’t have been able to counter their combined attack.
Only when they fell to the ground, pale from blood loss, did they slowly regain their senses.
Realization dawned.
Ah, how did Qingbo get so far from me?
Ah, how did Guayi get so far from me?
Had she already split them apart with a single sword strike earlier?
Had their combined attack been broken just now?
It wasn’t that she was faster—it was that they had been separated by her sword qi from the start, slowing them down?
“What… what sword is this?”
Lin Shuang sheathed the blood-dripping broadsword, frowning at the blood on the blade.
The Dragon Siphoning Water Sword Technique automatically absorbed dropped items during combat.
The combined attack of Qingbo and Guayi had also been disrupted by the siphoning force, causing them to separate and rendering their joint move ineffective.
[These ninth-stage Profound Yuan sinister couples had relied on their combined technique to ambush many opponents. Their individual attacks were feeble—once separated, they stood no chance against her single peak Profound Yuan strike!]
[She used a combined move against them? Haha, she herself was the creator of a three-person combined move? Who could compete with her in understanding the flaws and weaknesses of combined techniques?]
[Exactly. While combined moves are powerful, they have clear drawbacks. As long as one remains calm and seizes the right moment to sever the joint attack, the opponent becomes nothing.]
[Seizing the right moment… easier said than done.]
[Don’t forget, she has 108 threads of divine consciousness!]
[…]
Lin Shuang looked down at the wounded, bewildered sinister couple, noting their desperate expressions seeking answers.
She raised her eyebrows.
“Why would I waste time explaining to you?”
The sinister couple: “…”
Blood dripped from the sword in her hand.
The floor was already covered in a large, winding bloodstain, and her robe hem was soaked in blood.
It turned out the Dragon Siphoning Water technique had a side effect—it pulled their bodies toward her, but also brought all the blood along.
Lin Shuang frowned deeply.
Instantly, 120 second-tier binding talismans flew from her sleeve, tightly binding the two sinister cultivators.
She also tossed her two broadswords aside.
She removed her Daoist robe from Qing Shui Sect and threw it over the two sinister cultivators.
Then, with a clang, a large wooden basin and a rag fell before them.
Sinister couple: “?”
[?]
“You two, before you atone, first clean my swords for me.”
“And the floor.”
“And wash my robe, dry it, perfume it, and iron it.”
“Then fold it neatly.”
[!]
[Too easy to just die—first, clean up your own blood.]
[…]
Lin Shuang changed into a fresh pink hibiscus-patterned robe from Bai Hua Sect, calming her mood slightly.
She then tossed the ink brush, inkstone, vermilion dish, and used talismans that hadn’t been destroyed yet to the two captives.
“Finish all that, then I’ll hand you over to the sect.”
“Hurry up.”
[…]
[…]
Lin Shuang removed the ear talismans, silencing the high-intensity BGM, and swallowed a fifth-tier pill to recover.
At last, she exhaled deeply.
She had finally made up for the time lost during the Daoist apprentice theft incident.
Ah, much better.
She tucked her two arms—still trembling and aching from unleashing advanced sword techniques—into her sleeves.
With bloodshot, tear-filled eyes, she looked toward Meng Zi, who was still struggling in battle beside her.
Meng Zi, who had participated in the three-person combined maneuver, was now barely at the third stage of Ning Yuan while taking pills.
He was desperately circling the counter of the Yannie Pavilion, locked in a fierce battle against the eighth-stage Condensing Yuan bandit cultivator, Huo Sha.
In truth, calling it a battle was generous—it was more like he was barely dodging the enemy’s killing moves.
In no time, Meng Zi’s Qing Shui Sect robe was torn, and even small wounds had appeared on his body from being grazed.
“Lin Shuang!”
“You’re just standing there watching—”
Meng Zi gasped.
“Doesn’t your Dao heart ache?”
No.
Lin Shuang coughed lightly.
“Senior Brother, the aftereffects of the combined move have left my arms too weak to even lift a talisman.”
[You could lift that dirty robe to toss at the evil cultivators, though.]
But just as that thought floated by,
While accusing Lin Shuang, Meng Zi fled desperately out of the Yannie Pavilion.
The bandit cultivator, Huo Sha, immediately gave chase, rushing out of the shop, shouting, “Where do you think you’re running—”
Before he could finish, his body suddenly froze.
Puchi puchi—five streams of blood spurted from his body in succession!
[???]
“Haha! Today is my day! Bare-handed, I take down the eighth-level Condensing Yuan!”
Meng Zi laughed, hands on hips.
[?]
Lin Shuang stepped back to avoid the blood splatter from Huo Sha.
Huo Sha, still stunned, took another step forward.
Five more streams of blood burst from his body!
He staggered, his face turning pale as he looked down in shock.
[An ancient formation, Five Steps, Five Kills?]
[The signature move of Disciple Dao Dong?]
[A substitute disciple of Qing Shui Sect? But he wasn’t here during this fight.]
[??? When did Meng Zi throw out the formation disk? I didn’t even see it.]
[No, look closely at the ground.]
[?]
Looking down, the blood flowing from Huo Sha’s body had already reached the floor.
On the ground, faint glowing formation patterns were visible.
And this was exactly where Lin Shuang had been squatting, drawing circles while the shopkeeper was unwinding a silkworm cocoon earlier.
[!]
[So that’s what he was doing back then?]
[We thought they were just watching the show when the three of them left the Yannie Pavilion.]
They planned meticulously—first sketching the formation trap on the ground, then executing the three-person coordinated maneuver. Huangpu Yuan and Lin Shuang would take on the ninth pairs of Ningyuan, while Meng Zi would lure Huo Sha into the lethal formation!
[So that’s how Meng Zi dealt with Huo Sha.]
“Damn you!” Huo Sha roared in anger, glaring at Meng Zi.
Meng Zi stood with hands on hips. “Come chase me if you can!”
After the five wounds, Huo Sha instantly broke free from the formation. This time, he dared not step on the ground—he flew instead, wielding a skull emitting ghostly winds straight at Meng Zi.
But in an instant, as he flew toward the window of the inn across from the Yannie Pavilion,
Another formation light flared up.
Five more streams of blood burst from Huo Sha’s body!
Meng Zi laughed in midair. “You thought we were all sleeping while you struggled in that cocoon?”
“To be honest, there are over a hundred such killing formations spread across this street!”
[?]
Huo Sha’s face changed drastically. He turned to Huangpu Yuan, who was already severely injured.
At last, fear appeared in his eyes. He instantly crushed the teleportation talisman in his hand.
His body immediately blurred.
Meng Zi’s expression changed. “Don’t run! That’s ten thousand spirit stones you owe me!”
“Shopkeeper, are you waiting for anything else?”
Lin Shuang, her arms still trembling, walked into the Yannie Pavilion.
She looked toward the shopkeeper, who had been hiding in the corner, secretly observing everything.
Enough.
In front of the projection, she didn’t intend to reveal more of her strength.
More importantly, today was a weekend.
It was time to wrap things up.
Lin Shuang sat down by the tea table in the grocery shop.
She lifted the teacup.
“So, even prey that enters the Yannie Pavilion can still walk out on their own?”
“Can the target of an Yannie Pavilion assassin’s mission escape after the delivery is complete?”
Meng Zi was taken aback, looking at the shopkeeper.
Huo Sha’s expression also changed dramatically as he stared at the seemingly ordinary shopkeeper at the second stage of Ning Yuan.
[!]
[A hidden powerhouse?]
“Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. I’m just an ordinary debt collector.”
The shopkeeper smiled bitterly.
But just as Huo Sha relaxed into laughter,
A golden net fell from the sky, directly over his head.
Huo Sha: “!”
Meng Zi: “!”
[!]
“Of course.”
The shopkeeper’s smile didn’t fade, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
“We naturally have to… keep a good watch over the prey that comes in.”
As he spoke, Huo Sha was already dragged away by the golden net.
In an instant, he was pulled into the Yannie Pavilion.
“Otherwise, how could we explain it to the client, or to the assassin who came to complete the mission.”
The shopkeeper sighed, checking Huo Sha’s face and divine consciousness.
“Well, the inventory is complete.”
Lin Shuang nodded, sipping her spirit tea.
The shopkeeper quickly handed Lin Shuang three thousand spirit stones. “There was a small mishap. Thank you three for finishing things up. This is a bit of compensation.”
[!]
Then, panting, he rushed out, looking at the unconscious Du Ying being held by Huangpu Yuan.
He double-checked the face and divine consciousness.
“You three, your requested evil cultivator Du Ying has been confirmed. Will you be taking him away together or separately?”
Du Ying, who had just regained consciousness, groaned weakly: “!”
The shopkeeper skillfully tapped the abacus, quickly calculating the final payment for the mission.
He returned the three assassin badges—Wuliuqi, Jiezi, and Dabao—along with the accumulated reward of spirit stones and the number of completed missions.
Evil couple Qingbo √
Evil couple Guayi √
…
Evil cultivator Du Ying √
…
Recovered disciples from various sects, seven cases √
Recovered missing children, two cases √
Total of thirteen missions completed.
The shopkeeper: “….”
This was the first time he had seen new assassins completing so many missions in one go.
[Assassin Wuliuqi: Human Tier → Earth Tier]
[Assassin Jiezi: Human Tier → Earth Tier]
[Assassin Dabao: Human Tier → Earth Tier]
Meng Zi opened his mouth, barely holding back a sound.
He had been a Human Tier assassin in the Yannie Pavilion for a long time.
Now, with Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan joining, he became Earth Tier in just one day?
Completing ten missions in a year, with a total reward value over 100,000 spirit stones.
Fifty missions next, and reaching Heaven Tier would be within reach…
Meng Zi was lost in thought.
“Senior Brother Meng, let’s go.”
Lin Shuang yawned, hands tucked into her sleeves, calling him.
Behind her, the Xiao Ai talisman dragged the bound sinister couple.
“Shopkeeper, they’ve finished their work. You can send someone to collect them later, right?”
The Yannie Pavilion shopkeeper: “….”
The wanted sinister couple: “….”
Huangpu Yuan dragged his broadsword, piercing Du Ying’s left arm, and boarded Meng Zi’s flying sword.
Du Ying’s blood dripped all the way.
[How… so effortlessly.]
[A battle of both courage and strategy.]
[They must have made over a hundred Five Steps, Five Kills formations—it’s probably fake. They didn’t even retrieve them when they left.]
[Yes, most likely a bluff to make the enemy use the teleportation talisman. Once the enemy tries to escape, the Yannie Pavilion has no choice but to intervene to prevent the target from fleeing.]
[Was this all part of the plan? Was this something Lin Shuang calculated in advance?]
In the projection, Lin Shuang and the others, in blue and red robes, soared eastward on their swords.
Their postures were upright, facing the wind.
[Even their departing backs seem majestic and eye-catching. Is it just my imagination?]
[Qing Shui Sect… will soon rise.]
[With Lin Shuang’s 108 divine consciousness threads, calculating every move, are Bai Hua Sect, Wan Seng Gate, and Shan Hai Sect ready to face her?]
[So, where is Du Ying? Surrounded by evil cultivators? And the missing disciples?]
[Is the auction house related to this Du Ying?]
“Ah, almost forgot.”
Meng Zi suddenly flew back.
He dragged the unconscious disciples from various sects who had been left behind in the Yannie Pavilion grocery shop onto his flying sword, finally leaving for real this time.
In the projection, Lin Shuang was already lying on a soft couch, dozing off.
Huangpu Yuan was poking at Du Ying’s wound with his sword.
Two missing children sat on either side, looking at the picture book Lin Shuang had given them.
[…]
[…]
*
At the auction house, two Void-Entering elders—Yun Zhuangzi and the old man Sima—turned pale and chased after the three assassins.
But halfway through the pursuit, they both vanished into thin air.
A booming voice, indistinct in direction or gender, echoed:
“Who dares to ruin My plan.”
The voice carried no anger, yet it was icy cold, devoid of any human emotion.
Yun Zhuangzi and Sima instantly trembled.
The two Void-Entering cultivators dropped to their knees in an instant, foreheads pressed to the ground in panic.
“Forgive us, Great One.”
“We deserve death. The culprit is likely someone who delivered a thunder formation—”
As Sima spoke, both of their Void-Entering dantians turned to ash in an instant!
He didn’t even finish his last word before their bodies instantly lost all life.
Their faces still bore expressions of terror and despair.
Two gray mist-like divine consciousnesses flew out from their kneeling heads.
They flew into a towering stone finger.
The figure in the void lightly touched the air.
The two divine consciousnesses, along with all their memories, unfolded like ink paintings flowing across the figure’s fingertips.
“Only the dead… do not lie.”
“Esteemed elder, your wisdom is profound.”
Behind the mist, a figure stood respectfully with his head bowed.
If Lin Shuang and others were present, they would surely recognize this person as Elder Wang Heng, the supervisor of the sixth thousand layers of Yuan River, with a pale face and long beard.
But in an instant, Elder Wang’s voice ceased as he sensed the cold, murderous intent radiating from the master of the Soul-Searching Stone.
Elder Wang immediately shut his mouth.
The offering on March 16th had been canceled beforehand.
Yet even so, they had still failed to prevent disciples from chasing after the Poison Shadow.
Now… all the offerings were destroyed!
It was a loss of the accumulated resources of the Heaven Opportunity sect over the past three years!
These two Void-Entering cultivators died without injustice.
As Elder Wang was thinking, he saw the spiritual consciousnesses of Yun Zhuangzi and the old Sima man being stripped away, twisting and agitated.
While their souls were being searched, their consciousnesses slowly collapsed.
Only a few of the most vivid memories remained.
“Damn it, seven hundred thousand, one thousand, two hundred and fifty-three—it can’t be more than that. These are just flawed items!”
“Haha, then I won’t sell them…”
The old Sima’s lengthy memories were filled with haggling—useless and tedious.
The person appearing in his soul memory wore the black robe and mask of the Annihilation Pavilion, with absurdly broad shoulders and a five-tier treasure sword strapped to his back.
Sima’s consciousness stopped at this most furious memory.
And finally, the horror of discovering the Annihilation Pavilion’s hidden treasure trove was completely empty.
Because of his extreme rage, he didn’t even leave behind the spiritual trace of the suspicious assassin.
“Worthless. But Esteemed Elder, this person is from the Annihilation Pavilion. A five-tier treasure sword is relatively easy to find,” Elder Wang mused.
Then, the other Void-Entering cultivator, the most vivid memory of Yun Zhuangzi’s life surfaced.
“Hunting and being hunted, living always in darkness…”
A sexy, hoarse, smoky voice solemnly spoke.
Elder Wang widened his eyes, trying to see the speaker clearly.
But soon, Yun Zhuangzi’s spiritual memory appeared—his peak moment, unfortunately stepping onto the path of corruption and regretting too late.
The remaining memories were all about Yun Zhuangzi abandoning his original identity, changing his appearance every few years, and never being able to return to his family under the sunlight.
He had not even left an image of the speaker before him.
Elder Wang: “…”
The master of the Soul-Searching Stone: “…”
Who wants to watch this memoir!?
They both turned their gazes toward the five-tier formation disk left behind by the three from the Annihilation Pavilion.
The Auction Pavilion had paid a hefty price of eight hundred thousand spirit stones to obtain it.
Immediately, Elder Wang activated the Ji Zi Illusory Formation.
Puff—
It sounded like a dud, with no follow-up.
Pop, pop, pop—countless colorful fireworks bloomed in the sky.
Elder Wang Heng: “??”
Worthless!
These two Void-Entering cultivators!
“…Let’s go back.”
“You should go and oversee the outcome of this trial.”
*
In the projection.
Lin Shuang and the other three had already returned to the mountain cave dwelling of the Shanhai Sect, each resting and recuperating.
Each time they inflated their strength, along with the rapid increase in power came a subsequent feeling of weakness and exhaustion.
Their current projection images were truly resting.
Disciples from various sects and spectators on the viewing mountain were directing their attention toward the other five sects’ pursuit of the evil cultivators.
[Which two sects will secure the top three rankings and face the Qingshui Sect in the final match?]
[Without a doubt, the Hundred Flowers Sect.]
[The Qi Dan Sect is also doing well. Their prey, Huo Sha, is listed at the Annihilation Pavilion… for three thousand spirit stones.]
[Lucky Qi Dan Sect.]
Lin Shuang and the others were adjusting their breathing and resting quietly.
[Xiao Ai No. 2 (Meng): So you’re saying the theft incident by the Daoist novice was merely a front. Their true purpose wasn’t the disciples’ magical artifacts, but rather to identify potential demon and human cultivators as sacrificial offerings?]
Lin Shuang nodded.
In that theft incident, the three of them had originally been on the list of targets.
But later, the novice thief was caught, and a purple-robed venerable was thrown into Huangpu Yuan’s cremation furnace.
She had thought the matter was over.
That day in the Liuxian Town cultivation market, she encountered a new purple robe, and she had assumed it was their generous spending that had drawn his attention.
But she hadn’t expected that he was most likely coming after the three of them.
[Xiao Ai No. 1 (Lin): The disciples who were stolen from are safe, but the disciples who prevented the theft, such as ourselves and Gangyi, have instead become the real targets. The novice thief’s theft was just a capability screening to identify truly outstanding disciples.]
This way, the evil cultivators’ desire for talented disciples was hidden beneath the theft behavior.
Even after the novice was caught, the sect would not have realized their ultimate goal was people.
Therefore, from the very beginning, the so-called “fat sheep” who stole magical treasures inherently excluded wealthy cultivators like Huangpu Yuan.
Their target, from start to finish, was only the talented disciples who could break through faster than ordinary disciples and complete super-tier tasks.
“What about Dao Xi, how do you explain that?”
Meng Zi frowned. What talent did he have? He didn’t seem to notice.
“Wasn’t it because he was drunk?”
Lin Shuang shook her head. At that time, she hadn’t taken the time to check the entire theft list from beginning to end.
After catching the novice thief, she handed over the stolen goods and the list to Senior Xu Xiang of the inner sect.
Therefore, she couldn’t confirm whether Dao Xi was on the list.
“It’s possible that their target wasn’t Dao Xi at all, but Dao Dong, who had just comprehended an ancient formation method. Dao Dong was the one being targeted.”
Lin Shuang now understood the strange circumstances at that time.
“That day, the two of them were drunk together, on a dark and windy night, both wearing hairpins with the character ‘Dao’.”
Meng Zi slapped his thigh. “The thief novice must have mistaken his target!”
Originally intending to attack Dao Dong, but mistaking him for Dao Xi.
The two were drunk, probably twisting and turning in the air, changing positions from when they first left the banquet cave dwelling.
Lin Shuang nodded. “The novice thief who received orders probably didn’t know the true intentions behind the theft.”
“He was just given a list of targets.”
That’s why he stole the Dingyuan Needle, which had already used two-thirds of its formation method, from Dao Xi’s belongings.
Mistaking the target was possible.
“What do they want these talented disciples for?” Meng Zi felt a cold wind and vigorously rubbed the back of his neck.
But in an instant, he was splattered in the face by blood flying from the side, stopping his words.
Meng Zi: “…”
Lin Shuang: “…”
They turned around and saw Poison Shadow being dragged by Huangpu Yuan’s sword into a man-high alchemy furnace.
“Talk.”
“Who told you to target the children?”
“What happened to the children before… Originally, on March 16, what were you planning to do…”
“Who is the righteous cultivator you were in contact with?”
Huangpu Yuan stood in the shadows, his voice low and hoarse.
With each question, some blood splattered from Poison Shadow’s body.
It sprayed onto Meng Zi.
Meng Zi sucked in a breath sharply.
Lin Shuang pressed her palm to her forehead.
Poison Shadow’s pupils were already unfocused, his dantian was damaged, and his spiritual consciousness was suffering from the torment of the Nine-Tailed Fox Gu.
“No… don’t know…”
“The offering… the transmission… only… Void-Entering cultivators know…”
Repeatedly, Poison Shadow could only say these things. When pressed further, his face showed pain.
Clearly, a high-level cultivator had planted a silence seal in his consciousness.
Lin Shuang felt that they probably wouldn’t get anything out of him, but as she was about to speak to stop it, she saw the hatred in Huangpu Yuan’s bloodshot eyes and held back her words.
Everyone had their own red line they cared about.
Just like how she had just discovered that her previous time-consuming investigation hadn’t ended…
She was also angry enough to make the evil cultivators wash clothes to compensate for the time wasted.
Forget it.
Meng Zi suddenly jumped up. “Enough, Senior Huangpu! He doesn’t know anything, how much longer will you torment him!”
Huangpu Yuan remained silent, pulled out the blood-spraying sword, and looked at him expressionlessly.
Demons were different from human cultivators by nature.
They acted on impulse.
Letting evildoers pay for their crimes with blood—what was wrong with that?
“What’s wrong? You soaked my three-hundred spirit-stone black boots in blood!”
Meng Zi glared.
Ah.
Huangpu Yuan’s phoenix eyes momentarily lost focus as he looked down at Meng Zi’s angrily waving black boot.
The black boot had holes and patches.
Now it was speckled with red, and the sole seemed about to fall off.
Meng Zi was furious. “I’ve worn these boots for ten years! Washing them again will make them unravel, even the dust-removing spell won’t work! I’ll have to buy new ones!”
Huangpu Yuan: “…”
Human cultivators… were so stingy.
The bloodshot in his eyes gradually faded.
He turned his head away, gazing at the unconscious Poison Shadow inside the alchemy furnace.
Quietly, he overturned the alchemy furnace and poured him out.
Without a word, he walked back to his room.
Lin Shuang immediately gave Meng Zi a thumbs-up.
[Xiao Ai No. 2 (Huangpu): The offering transmission array of the Auction Pavilion has been destroyed, but it contains built-in thunder talismans. Tomorrow, that person will definitely have traces of thunderfire…]
Lin Shuang touched her nose.
Indeed, his sense of smell was sharp.
Lin Shuang lay down on the couch again.
“Senior Meng, I also need to rest. When the elders come later, you can hand them over to the elders for investigation.”
“Eh?”
Meng Zi wanted to say that the Annihilation Pavilion should pay to get them back, but there was a commotion outside.
“Lin Shuang, Meng Zi, Huangpu Yuan, this time you have achieved great merit. The reward from the sect will be settled uniformly after returning to the sect.”
Li Min and Duan Wufang immediately appeared outside the cave dwelling.
The disciples from various sects, the two children, Poison Shadow, and the evil couple that Lin Shuang and the others brought back were all significant achievements for each sect.
The elders from various sects who were watching the competition had already set out for the cave dwelling to check on their sect’s unconscious disciples as soon as Lin Shuang returned.
At this moment, most of those remaining in the projection were just the elders’ manifestations.
[How did these disciples disappear, and why were they at the Auction Pavilion, inevitably linked to the evil cultivators?]
[Inconceivable, but this is beyond what we disciples can manage.]
[The elders from each sect will get involved in the investigation.]
[For the mid and low-level competitions, this has uncovered a major evil plot. What were they planning to do with the kidnapped disciples!]
Just as the text floated by, the Yuan River Nine Thousand stirred.
Whether or not Lin Shuang’s contribution this time was too great,
At the same time, three Yuan Rivers rose high.
In an instant, they landed at the inner sect’s resting cave dwelling.
They kept circling above.
Until Lin Shuang, the couch, Meng Zi with spirit stones, and Huangpu Yuan with the twelve zodiac treasures were all lifted into the air by spiritual energy…
These three Yuan Rivers seemed to find their masters, immediately descending and rushing into the three people’s robes!
Transforming into three beast heads!
[Layer 4862, Queen Lin Shuang, who green-headed duck will you favor tonight?]
[This year’s layer master has been obtained by Lin Shuang, Meng Zi, and Huangpu Yuan of the Qingshui Sect.]
The other five sects had not yet completed their pursuit of the evil cultivators.
But the layer master was already decided!
All the disciples watching the competition had nothing to say.
Because this time, they were convinced.
Lin Shuang and the three not only defeated four high-level evil cultivators but also thwarted their sinister plot, rescuing more than ten disciples from various sects!
If the Persuasion Layer implied that the Shanhai Sect, Qingshui Sect, and Hundred Flowers Sect all owed Lin Shuang and the other three a debt of gratitude,
Then this time, seven or eight sects owed them!
No one dared to say Lin Shuang had used tricks anymore.
No one dared to voice any dissent.
This was a real achievement that belonged to Lin Shuang!
[Among the three, Lin Shuang laid the spiritual foundation, Meng Zi willingly sacrificed his spiritual power, and Huangpu Yuan… contributed greatly.]
And the text hadn’t fully appeared yet.
Suddenly, another Yuan River message appeared, along with faint beast heads settling on their robes.
[Fifth Thousand Layer: Evil Couple, don’t run!]
[The three disciples of the Qingshui Sect have successfully captured the evil couple. If they reach the 5,000th layer of the Yuan River within half an incense stick’s time, accepting this layer’s task will be considered as passing the 5,000th layer trial!]
[The evil couple’s trail is hard to trace, their combined attack hard to break. Qingshui Sect’s Lin Shuang and three others found and captured them within a day, rated as top-tier.]
[Recovered the spiritual treasures and jade pouches stolen by them, rescued the disciples they abducted from the sects, rated as top-tier.]
[Within the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, entering the five-thousandth layer of the Yuan River will grant them the title of the five-thousandth layer master.]
[!]
[…]
[……….]
They hadn’t even entered yet, and they were already the masters of the fifth thousand layer?
They not only passed the ninth thousand trials of two layers at once but also obtained two layer master positions!
Then, several terrifying presences of senior elders from various sects surrounded Lin Shuang and the three.
“Disciples of Qingshui Sect, what reward do you desire?”
“Recovering my Mingzhong Sect disciple… I can reward you once.”
“The same goes for the Wanseng Sect.”
“The same for Qingmu Sect.”
“The same for Shanhai Sect.”
Several presences enveloped the sleeping Lin Shuang, waking her.
“It’s my nap time now,” she murmured.
She supported her forehead.
Soon, she struggled again, closed her eyes, and lay down.
“We can… discuss later.”
As she spoke, the Xiao Ai talisman slid from her sleeve onto the couch.
Spitting!
Spit spit spit—rotating and spraying, it threw out queue numbers to the several Transcendence Elders!
Qingmu Sect No. 1, number of people ahead: 0.
Qidan Sect No. 2, number of people ahead: 1.
…
Shanhai Sect No. 5…
The several Transcendence Elders were in the air, their figures stiff.
[…]
[!]
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