If this man below was truly the key to her breakthrough as the constellation indicated, then she had no choice in the matter.
She would do what was necessary. Accept what the heavens demanded.
Nothing more than that.
'I hope this person is extraordinary. Well he has to be if he can help decipher the secrets of that technique.'
Yue Lianxing's cold expression hardened even further. Her eyes became like chips of ice as she made her decision.
She followed the constellation's guidance and changed her trajectory. Her body moved through space at incredible speed. Her divine sense spread out below her, scanning the area the constellation pointed toward.
A caravan appeared in her perception. Multiple wagons being pulled by horses along a dirt road.
Armed men surrounding the caravan. The smell of blood and fear hung in the air around them.
Slavers. Human traffickers who captured and sold other beings.
They were transporting... elves?
Yue Lianxing's eyebrows rose slightly. That was genuinely surprising. She had thought the Elf Clan was extinct or nearly so.
The last verified sighting had been centuries ago in some remote corner of the cultivation worlds.
Yet here were elves being trafficked as slaves in a mortal plane.
How had they ended up in such a pathetic state?
Then she sensed him more clearly. The one her constellation pointed directly toward.
A young elf male. Currently chained inside one of the slave wagons. His body was weak from malnutrition and abuse. His cultivation was nonexistent, sealed by some kind of curse that wrapped around his entire being.
This was her destined partner? This powerless boy who couldn't even break free from mortal slavers?
Yue Lianxing's frustration grew inside her chest. The heavens had a cruel sense of humor sometimes.
But she didn't hesitate despite her feelings. Hesitation was a luxury she couldn't afford at this stage.
She descended like a falling star. Her speed increased until she became a white blur that cut through the sky.
The slavers below had no idea death was coming. They continued traveling along the road while joking and laughing about their captured goods.
Yue Lianxing appeared above them without warning. She didn't announce herself or give any indication of her presence.
One moment the caravan was traveling normally. The next moment, the temperature dropped fifty degrees in an instant.
Ice spread across the ground from a central point. It moved faster than the eye could follow. Frost covered everything it touched. The grass. The trees. The road itself.
Every human in the caravan froze solid instantly. Their bodies turned into ice sculptures in the exact positions they had been standing or sitting. Expressions of shock remained frozen on their faces. They never even had time to scream.
Then those ice sculptures shattered. They broke apart into countless fragments that turned to powder and scattered in the wind.
Complete silence fell over the area. Not even the sound of breathing remained. Just the gentle whistle of wind through the trees.
Yue Lianxing descended slowly until her feet touched the frozen ground. She walked forward with measured steps.
Each footfall was precise and deliberate. She didn't look at the remains of the slavers scattered around her. They were beneath her notice. Insects that had been dealt with and forgotten in the same breath.
Her attention focused entirely on the cart in the center of the caravan. The one containing the elves her divine sense had detected.
She reached the cart and stopped in front of it. Her hand rose gracefully.
"Consider yourselves fortunate," she said quietly. Her voice was cold but clear. "Your suffering ends now."
She opened the door with a gentle push of spiritual energy.
Three young elves stared back at her with wide, terrified eyes. Two girls and one boy. All of them were dirty and injured.
Chains bound their wrists and ankles. Fear radiated from them in waves she could almost taste.
Yue Lianxing's gaze swept over the two girls briefly. Then she waved her hand in a casual gesture.
Both girls' eyes rolled back in their heads. They slumped sideways, unconscious before they even knew what was happening.
A merciful sleep that would spare them from witnessing what came next.
The silver-haired boy remained awake. He was still watching her with an expression that seemed strangely calm despite the situation.
Despite seeing a powerful immortal appear and kill dozens of men in seconds. Despite having his companions knocked unconscious with a gesture.
His eyes held something unusual. Not fear exactly. More like intense calculation. As if his mind was processing everything at incredible speed and forming conclusions.
Interesting.
Most mortals would be paralyzed with terror right now.
Especially considering the invisible pressure of her mere presence. But even though this young elf body was trembling it was out of the pressure on his weak body that he is too weak to withstand and not fear.
Without speaking another word, Yue Lianxing waved her hand again. Space twisted and distorted around them in visible ripples.
The silver-haired elf vanished from inside the cart. He reappeared floating in the air beside her, still bound in chains.
An expression finally appeared on his face as he found himself suddenly transported outside.
She ignored his reaction completely. Her hands moved in complex patterns. Seals formed in the air around them, glowing with soft blue light.
Formations appeared one after another. Spatial formations. Isolation formations. Concealment formations. Each one more complex than most cultivators could create in a month of effort. She drew them all in seconds with casual gestures.
A hidden space opened in the air itself. Reality tore apart to reveal darkness beyond. She had created a small pocket dimension separate from normal space. A world within a world that existed outside the normal flow of time.
Power that would make entire nations bow in worship was displayed as casually as someone opening a door.
Then she took Shen Tianxu inside the pocket world she had created. She stepped through the opening and he floated along behind her, pulled by invisible force.
The entrance sealed itself behind them with a flash of light. The formations remained outside, guarding the hidden space from any detection.
Back in the normal world, the two elf girls would wake up eventually. They would find themselves alone with no idea what happened.
Surrounded by the frozen remains of their captors. Confused and terrified but alive.
That was more mercy than Yue Lianxing usually showed to anyone.
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