The Tianyin Sect Elder was half-kneeling on the ground, clutching his blood-soaked chest, his face twisted in terror and disbelief. He kept his gaze locked on the figure not far away, as if staring at a demon crawling straight out of hell.
He couldn't understand it. No matter how he thought about it, he just couldn't.
A mid-stage Golden Core female cultivator… how could she be this strong? They were four full-fledged Golden Core peak cultivators!
Among them, Xue Xiao and Ying Xiao were the top assassins of the Hehuan Sect's Enforcement Hall, their coordination flawless, their methods cunning. And yet… they'd been cut down one by one like she was slicing melons.
What broke him even more was her endless array of strange tricks. Especially that seemingly ordinary jade-green hairpiece in her hair—everyone had thought it was just decoration.
Until just now, when Ying Xiao, relying on her agile body, desperately launched one final close-range attack, trying to take her down together… that hairpiece suddenly came alive.
It burst with a strange green glow as if it had its own will, shooting out countless hair-thin yet unbreakably tough jade-green vines.
It all happened too fast. Ying Xiao couldn't react in time. She only felt a flash of green, then a tearing, soul-shattering pain in her eyes.
"Ah—!" her scream pierced the valley.
The jade-green vines had pierced and shredded her eyes, burrowing crazily into her skull.
The horrific sight made everyone present, including Xue Xiao and the two Tianyin Sect Elders, shiver to their bones. Their attacks faltered under the shock and fear.
In that instant of hesitation, Xie Zhaolin seized the opportunity. Her long silk ribbon struck Xue Xiao with precision, dealing a fatal blow and securing her victory.
This woman's strength, her treasures, her cunning… it was terrifying. Completely beyond what a Golden Core cultivator should be capable of. If others hadn't shared the pressure, he would've died countless times already.
"P-Please… Senior, spare me!" the Elder stammered, teeth clenched against the pain, voice trembling. He tried to beg, "I'm an inner Sect Elder of the Tianyin Sect. If you spare me, the sect will reward you handsomely! I swear, I won't tell a soul about today! The Soul Nurturing Wood… it's yours…"
But—
Before he could finish, Xie Zhaolin's eyes, icy and unreadable, fixed on him. She didn't even let him finish.
Mercy to an enemy is cruelty to yourself. Giving a dying man a chance to speak is often the start of chaos, and she had no patience for his nonsense.
The silk ribbon extended instantly, gliding past his futilely flailing arms, striking directly into his dantian.
"Pfft—!"
The Elder froze, the last glimmer in his eyes fading fast.
The ribbon didn't stop. It twisted effortlessly, and a crisp snap echoed—the sound of his neck breaking.
The last Tianyin Sect Elder fell, soft and lifeless, his face frozen in endless fear and regret.
Xie Zhaolin slowly retracted her ribbon, eyes sweeping over the wreckage. She sighed softly, a twinge of regret in her gaze.
Too bad… Yu Mingxi had escaped.
As she had finished with Xue Xiao and was momentarily drawn to the two Elders and the dying Ying Xiao, her sharp divine sense caught a faint, distant spiritual fluctuation behind some scattered rocks.
Despite Yu Mingxi's clever use of concealment techniques, trying to watch from nearby, he'd still left a tiny slip under her full-force divine sense scan.
It was him—Yu Mingxi.
But when she looked toward that direction, she only saw a blinding white flash. The space around him twisted violently as he tore apart an extremely precious long-range random teleport talisman and fled without hesitation.
Chasing him? The direction of the random teleport was uncertain, tracking would be difficult, and it might lead into a trap or reinforcements.
Wasting time and energy for a runaway dog wasn't worth it.
"Lucky you," Xie Zhaolin murmured, her tone calm.
She didn't linger. She quickly collected the storage pouches and valuables from the four bodies, checked carefully, and destroyed anything that might carry tracking marks or residual spiritual traces.
Satisfied, she vanished into the depths of the barren valley, her figure dissolving like a faint shadow.
Meanwhile…
In a quiet corner of a back alley in Tianxing City, space rippled and a disheveled figure stumbled out. It was Yu Mingxi.
His face was pale as paper, chest heaving violently, eyes still wide with shock and lingering fear.
Too terrifying! That woman… no, that monster… was too terrifying!
He had originally planned to sit back and reap the rewards from the conflict, hiding in the shadows with a high-level concealment talisman given by his master to spy on the battle.
He had even silently celebrated that the two Hehuan Sect cultivators died first, saving him from any further complications. But he never imagined… that woman, that monster, would be this terrifying!
A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, taking down four Golden Core peaks… his fear reached its peak.
Forget the Soul Nurturing Wood, forget the sect mission… he only had one thought—escape!
No matter the cost, escape!
Without hesitation, he activated his ultimate life-saving card: an extremely rare random teleport talisman. Fortunately… he escaped in time.
Panting, Yu Mingxi took in his surroundings, still in shock. When he noticed the familiar mark of the Tianxing Auction nearby, he froze.
The random teleport had brought him back to Tianxing City? And so close to the auction house?
Coincidence? Or… something else?
Yu Mingxi didn't have time to ponder.
He had to report today's events to his master and the sect immediately. That mysterious woman was a massive threat, and… she had the Soul Nurturing Wood.
Suppressing his fear, he tidied his disheveled robes and hurried toward the auction house.
Perhaps… he could try to get information about the guest in Auction Room Three? The odds were slim, but it was worth a shot, and he also needed a safe place to contact his sect.
As he hurried inside, he unexpectedly ran into a familiar face—Elder Ge, who had just finished hosting the auction.
Seeing Yu Mingxi hesitate, Elder Ge didn't show much surprise, as if he already knew what had happened, and led him straight to the appraisal room.
Yu Mingxi was slightly taken aback but didn't think much of it. Elder Ge was well-respected in Tianxing City and the surrounding areas, fair, smooth in dealings, and a trustworthy Senior.
But as soon as he stepped in, his heart froze.
The room was simple and elegant, with faint calming incense burning.
At the main seat sat a young woman, looking harmless, yet the words she spoke made Yu Mingxi feel like he'd fallen into an ice pit.
"Ah… so, you ran back, huh?"