Among the three, one was a composed man dressed in black, another was a frivolous-looking scholar in embroidered robes, and the last was a woman in her thirties who still retained her charm.
“So it’s Brother Xun from Senior Suihun’s sect. What a coincidence,” the woman surnamed Liu said with a charming smile upon seeing the three disciples of the Soul-Shattering Venerable.
However, the black-clad cultivator and his companions merely gave them a cold, scrutinizing glance, their expressions darkening. The woman among them, in particular, wore a hostile expression as she questioned, “A coincidence? Why have you two Spirit Beast Sect junior sisters sneaked into Yue Country instead of staying in Yuanwu Country? Do you hold our Ghost Spirit Sect in such contempt?”
“Senior Sister Lin has misunderstood. My senior sister Han and I came to Yue Country under our master’s orders. The matter was urgent and couldn’t be delayed, so we didn’t have time to notify your sect. Besides, we’ll only stay in Yue Country for a few days before leaving. We certainly don’t mean to slight your sect,” the woman surnamed Liu explained with a light laugh.
“Regardless of why you’re here, I won’t pry further. But I must ask—did you two visit the Taiyue Mountains a few days ago and take something?” The black-clad cultivator stared at the woman surnamed Liu, his tone devoid of emotion.
“Taiyue Mountains? Brother Xun, are you referring to the former territory of the Yellow Maple Valley, one of Yue Country’s seven sects?” Han Yunzhi frowned, her expression turning peculiar.
“So, you two really did go there?” Though Xun’s face remained impassive, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Hearing this, the scholar and the woman beside him tensed, their expressions turning hostile.
Han Yunzhi and the woman surnamed Liu exchanged glances.
Neither was foolish—they could sense the hostility in the other party’s words. However, their group had never been to Taiyue Mountain. They only knew that the cultivator who had sealed the Spirit Infant had lingered there for half a day, as they had been remotely tracking its location using a technique.
After a brief moment of thought, the woman surnamed Liu smiled and probed, “We haven’t been to Taiyue Mountain ourselves, but there’s a cultivator about a hundred miles behind us who stayed there for a time matching what you described. Brother Xun, are you looking for this person?”
“A hundred miles behind? Junior Sister Liu, you’re not lying, are you? How do you know they stayed at Taiyue Mountain? Is this person also from your sect?” The scholar in embroidered robes shamelessly let his gaze roam over the two women’s figures before suddenly grinning.
“Brother Que, you jest. How could we dare deceive you so blatantly while in Yue Country? If you don’t believe me, I can swear to the heavens. You can verify the truth by going there yourself! We don’t know that person, and explaining how we know this is a bit complicated. Right now, I have urgent matters to attend to. Perhaps I can explain in detail another time?” The woman surnamed Liu blushed slightly, her eyes shimmering like autumn waves, exuding an enchanting charm that left the scholar momentarily entranced.
Seeing her demeanor, the black-clad cultivator frowned, half-convinced and half-skeptical. After a moment of contemplation, his expression softened slightly. “Under normal circumstances, I would trust Junior Sister Liu’s words without question. But this time, our sixth junior brother and his disciples were killed in the Taiyue Mountains—without even a trace of their remains left. Our master is furious. After investigating high-level cultivators who recently entered Yue Country, your group’s movements seemed the most suspicious. Since Junior Sister Liu claims someone behind you stayed at Taiyue Mountain, why not accompany us to confront them? I’d like to see who this person is. If they truly murdered our sixth junior brother, I’ll reward you both handsomely afterward.” His tone remained calm, but his gaze bore into the Spirit Beast Sect members.
“Confront them?” The woman surnamed Liu hesitated, looking troubled.
“What, you won’t even help with this small favor?” The black-clad cultivator’s question seemed casual, but the group of Ghost Spirit Sect disciples behind him subtly encircled them, ready to act if refused.
Seeing this, the woman surnamed Liu’s expression darkened. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly stiffened and turned her head sharply.
Not just her—every cultivator present felt an overwhelming, icy divine sense descending upon them, enveloping them all in an unmistakably hostile aura.
Though the person remained unseen, the bone-chilling malice was impossible to ignore.
“An Nascent Soul cultivator! The person you mentioned is actually an old Nascent Soul monster? Were you trying to trick us into walking to our deaths?” The still-charming woman, sensing the terrifying divine sense, shouted in shock and anger.
“Enough talk! Flee separately—everyone for themselves!” Though equally furious, Xun knew this wasn’t the time for blame. With a low command, he transformed into a streak of black light and fled.
“That person might not be the murderer. Maybe we don’t need to panic like this,” the scholar muttered nervously.
“Hmph! If you want to hand your life to someone else, don’t expect me to join you!” The woman snapped coldly before turning into a red streak and shooting off in another direction.
The scholar’s face twisted in frustration. After glaring hatefully at the Ghost Spirit Sect members, he stomped his foot and fled as well.
The remaining low-level Spirit Beast Sect disciples scattered in panic, none daring to resist the terror of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
“Useless! Not only did they fail to help, they wasted our escape time,” the woman surnamed Liu muttered angrily.
“Not necessarily. With them as decoys, our chances of escape have improved. Let’s each take our chances,” Han Yunzhi said calmly, patting the spirit beast pouch at her waist. A large white bird materialized in the air.
The woman surnamed Liu and the others acted swiftly—some changed direction and fled on their artifacts, while others summoned flying spirit beasts like Han Yunzhi.
The only commonality was that they all fled alone, avoiding the same paths to prevent drawing the attention of the pursuer.
In an instant, the area was deserted.
By their reasoning, even if the Nascent Soul cultivator was fast, they couldn’t chase everyone down, ensuring most would escape.
Meanwhile, Han Li was already within a hundred miles. Scanning with his divine sense, he was surprised to find another group of demonic cultivators.
When both groups suddenly scattered, he frowned, realizing the complication.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, thunder rumbled behind him as silver arcs crackled, and a pair of silver-white wings materialized. Infusing the Wind Lightning Wings with Divine Devilbane Lightning, he vanished in a flash of electricity, reappearing miles away.
Using this thunderous teleportation repeatedly, Han Li flickered across the distance. Soon, he arrived where the cultivators had dispersed.
Expressionless, he extended his divine sense and instantly located all fleeing demonic cultivators. The farthest had already escaped forty to fifty miles, while the closest was barely ten miles away.
With a cold smirk, Han Li locked onto the farthest—a Core Formation cultivator—before vanishing in another flash of lightning.
The one who had fled the farthest wasn’t Xun but the still-attractive woman in her thirties.
She practiced an unusual technique. Though only at the early Core Formation stage, her body was enveloped in flickering crimson flames, resembling a fire spirit as she streaked through the sky like a blazing meteor.
Around the fireball, several glowing ribbons extended from her body, shimmering green. With each flick, she teleported dozens of feet forward, her speed astonishing.
The woman was secretly pleased. While her technique might be inferior in combat, her wind-fire escape art was exceptionally rare. Coupled with her wind-attribute treasure, the “Floating Spirit Ribbons,” her speed rivaled even early Nascent Soul cultivators.
Among the fleeing cultivators, she believed she stood the best chance of survival.
Just as she was reveling in this thought, a faint but unmistakable rumble reached her ears. Startled, she turned her head within the crimson glow to look back.
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