Two figures, dressed in plain loose cultivator robes but moving with the faint signature of a sect's style, came charging through.
One carried an ancient-looking seven-stringed qin, while the other held a jade flute.
They were both Golden Core-level cultivators. But despite their disguises, it was crude at best.
The flute-wielder accidentally let slip a pale cyan jade pendant at her waist—the mark of an inner sect elder from Tianyin Sect. Though she quickly hid it with a sleeve, the brief flash was enough for a sharp-eyed observer to notice.
The sudden attack interrupted Xie Zhaolin's pursuit of Ying Xiao, but it gave the already wounded Ying Xiao a small window to catch her breath. She struggled, rolling backward, temporarily out of the battle circle.
Clearly, these two had seen Hui Xiao and her partner fail. Fearing that Xie Zhaolin would eliminate them both—since even together, they weren't a match—they decided to join forces, taking out the biggest threat first before going after the Soul Nurturing Wood.
Seeing them appear, Xie Zhaolin's lips curved into a faint, icy smile.
"Finally, everyone's here."
A long cyan ribbon silently slid into her hand.
The moment it touched her palm, her entire aura shifted. The previously restrained, deep energy instantly transformed into something ethereal and razor-sharp.
Xie Zhaolin's cold voice, tinged with subtle mockery, echoed through the valley:
"After all this time, you finally couldn't hold back, huh?"
The moment the ribbon appeared, Hui Xiao and the barely-stabilized Ying Xiao froze, their faces draining of color, eyes wide with disbelief and horror.
That ribbon… that presence…
Too familiar!
Familiar to the bone!
A name long buried in their hearts, thought forever sealed away, struck their minds like a thunderclap—
Yun Qingyue!
The former Young Sect Master of Hehuan Sect, a genius who had fallen under the Heavenly Tribulation. Her signature treasure had always been a long ribbon.
No… impossible!
The thought flared, but they forced it down. Yun Qingyue had been obliterated, body and soul, witnessed by the entire sect. The Heavenly Tribulation had been cataclysmic, leaving no chance of survival.
Yet… this person in front of them… the familiar ribbon… and a combat style that knew the Hehuan Sect's techniques inside out… could all of this just be coincidence? Or was it imitation?
An indescribable chill, laced with overwhelming unease and fear, swept through Hui Xiao and Ying Xiao, sending their killing intent surging to its peak.
No matter who she was! She had to die!
"Attack together! Kill her!" Hui Xiao shouted, her voice betraying a flicker of panic she didn't even notice herself.
The two Tianyin Sect elders, confused but seeing Hui Xiao's sudden surge of murderous intent, unleashed their full power.
In an instant, four Nascent Soul cultivators attacked Xie Zhaolin from all directions like a storm.
At the center, Xie Zhaolin remained calm. The long ribbon in her hands swirled like a coiling dragon, perfectly intercepting all four attacks.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A rapid series of clashes echoed. The seemingly fragile ribbon blocked everything, even rebounding with subtle force, slightly deflecting the four attackers.
The four were shocked.
Xie Zhaolin's form, hidden behind the ribbon, became even more unpredictable. She stopped relying on brute force, instead weaving through their attacks with her agile movements and the ribbon's flexibility.
The fight instantly reached a white-hot intensity.
Meanwhile, in a luxurious inn room inside Tianxing City, Young Sect Master Yu Xiaotang sat cross-legged, seemingly meditating. But the slight tremor of her eyelashes betrayed her inner unrest.
Sending Hui Xiao and Ying Xiao to intercept the black-robed woman was her plan. She had absolute faith in their strength and teamwork, especially with Ying Xiao involved. No matter the battle, only Hui Xiao would appear publicly, but secretly Ying Xiao's lethal strike had taken down countless opponents far stronger than them.
Moreover, she had hinted to Yu Mingxi that the Soul Nurturing Wood was priceless. If he managed to get it, it would be a huge gain for Tianyin Sect. With his personality and loyalty to the sect, he would likely lead people there, trying to claim a share, perhaps even profit secretly.
Four Nascent Soul peak cultivators attacking a mid-level Nascent Soul, even with the best tactics, should leave no chance of survival.
The Soul Nurturing Wood would ultimately be hers.
A cold, triumphant smile curled Yu Xiaotang's lips. She was about to check progress through her communication talisman and remind Hui Xiao to quietly eliminate the Tianyin Sect elders to prevent future trouble—
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound rang out in the quiet room.
Yu Xiaotang's smile froze.
The emergency one-way communication talisman she used with Hui Xiao—the child piece—had shattered into fragments, its spiritual glow extinguished.
Then!
Crack!
Another shattering sound. The jade talisman representing Ying Xiao, even more concealed, also broke at the same time.
Impossible.
Yu Xiaotang's face drained completely. Her mind went blank. The talisman in her hand dropped with a clatter, unnoticed.
She knew exactly what this meant.
The child-mother talisman system: the mother talisman is primary, and the child talisman is linked to the wearer's Primordial Soul. Only when the wearer… is utterly annihilated does the child talisman shatter.
Hui Xiao and Ying Xiao… dead?!
Four Nascent Soul peaks… attacking one mid-level Nascent Soul, coordinated and skilled in assassination…
Dead?!
A freezing chill shot from Yu Xiaotang's feet to the top of her head.
That woman… who the hell is she?
Panic, disbelief, and an overwhelming sense of losing control washed over Yu Xiaotang.
In the barren valley, the battle neared its end.
Three bodies lay on the ground.
Xie Zhaolin's ribbon had coiled precisely around one Tianyin Sect elder's neck, and with a gentle twist—crack!
The elder's eyes went wide, and he slumped lifelessly.
Hui Xiao and Ying Xiao lay elsewhere, their breaths gone, faces frozen with horror and resentment at death's doorstep.
Xie Zhaolin's expression remained calm, though her aura was slightly disrupted.
She slowly approached Ying Xiao's body, lightly pressing her toes against the chest, eyes coldly shifting to the only other survivor—the last Tianyin Sect elder, badly injured, struggling to rise.