Ever since Nalan Jing left the Heavenly Nether Sect, he had been hunting for Lin Ye's whereabouts.
Through the Stormwind Pavilion's intelligence network, he learned Lin Ye had entered the Thousand Slaughter Riverlands—so he rushed over without delay.
The Blood Stele Corps had already failed.
That meant Nalan Jing had to do it himself.
In his eyes, Lin Ye was just a nobody from the Lower Riverlands. What threat could someone like that possibly be?
So he came alone.
The moment he reached shore, he ran straight into the Plum Blossom Sword Sect's blockade.
And in the Heavenly Nether Sect's style…
If you block the road, you die.
He had expected it to take effort to find Lin Ye.
Instead, Lin Ye walked right into his hands.
"Something you want?" Lin Ye asked, looking at him calmly.
Nalan Jing sneered. "Stop pretending."
"Hand it over."
"Otherwise… you don't want to know what the Heavenly Nether Sect does to people."
Wiping out the Blood Stele Corps meant nothing. That group wasn't built to fight true experts anyway—it specialized in extermination missions.
If Nalan Jing had been the one they met, their fate would've been the same.
Now that he had come personally, it meant he was already giving Lin Ye "face."
He was simply making sure nothing went wrong.
Traveling this far… just to end it cleanly.
Luo Gui's heart sank.
Heavenly Nether Sect?
Of all the places to run into them… here?
Lin Ye had clearly made enemies with that sect before. If he hadn't hidden the Blood Stele banner with the Heavenly Nether insignia, he'd probably still be waving their name around to scare people.
Wu Yao, on the other hand, felt a spark of relief.
She had seen Lin Ye and Luo Gui's strength with her own eyes.
Even if they couldn't kill Nalan Jing, they could at least buy time until the elders arrived from Thousand Luo Mountain.
One more second meant one more chance.
Then Lin Ye spoke again—calm, almost casual.
"Heavenly Nether Sect?"
"You should've kept quiet. You might've lived."
"Now that you've said it…"
"Go die."
A pitch-black blade appeared in his hand.
The Calamity Ghost Sword.
He stepped forward once.
A Moon Wheel Third Layer aura surged like a raging flood.
Boom!
Nalan Jing's confident expression shattered instantly.
His face twisted in disbelief.
"How is that possible?!"
It wasn't just Moon Wheel Third Layer.
The pressure Lin Ye unleashed…
Someone could claim it was Moon Wheel Tenth Layer, and people would believe it.
Lin Ye's aura crushed Nalan Jing completely—shattering his presence, and then shattering his confidence right after.
Nalan Jing had always believed he was among the top talents in the Central Riverlands.
Even if someone was stronger, it would never look like absolute suppression.
But Lin Ye stood far above him.
In front of Lin Ye's presence, Nalan Jing felt like an ant.
He didn't get time to process it.
Lin Ye's Calamity Ghost Sword came down in a clean, brutal arc.
Bang!
Nalan Jing was cut in half.
Two pieces of a body hit the ground.
Simple.
Direct.
Just like when Wu Yao's arrow had pierced his clone earlier.
Except this time—
The one who died…
Was Nalan Jing himself.
A mad dog of the Heavenly Nether Sect.
To others, his name might have been terrifying.
To Lin Ye?
It was one sword swing.
Wu Yao and the remaining disciples stood there, stunned.
The man who had beaten them into desperate retreat… the man who had overwhelmed an entire group of elites…
Had just been erased without even getting a chance to speak a final line.
Lin Ye lifted his hand and drew the storage ring from the corpse.
Few people still understood true blood-refinement sealing methods, and ordinary storage rings weren't that complex anyway.
Once it was in his hand, the contents were his.
And the loot was rich.
Nearly twenty Sixth-Grade herbs.
Along with cultivation arts, martial skills, spirit stones, beast hides, and more.
This man had clearly robbed his way across the riverlands.
Then Wu Yao stepped forward with a quick smile, eyes bright.
"Thank you, Senior, for saving us."
She was acting.
Nalan Jing was dead, and the crisis had passed—but she had to pretend she didn't know Lin Ye.
If the Young Sect Master's case ever got reopened, she didn't want to be dragged down as an accomplice.
Lin Ye glanced once at the Ancient-Method Divine Weapon in her hands.
Strong weapon.
But he wasn't the type to snatch someone's treasure for no reason.
He waved dismissively and turned to leave with Luo Gui.
They had already calculated the route.
Most of the Plum Blossom Sword Sect's heavy hitters should still be at Thousand Luo Mountain.
That meant this side was "easy."
Ordinary disciples couldn't stop them.
They couldn't even threaten them.
He hadn't expected to run into a Heavenly Nether Sect pursuer on the way—but it confirmed the truth:
They were after his mystic meridians.
Mystic meridians could be stripped.
The process was like ripping a tendon out of a living person.
But the Heavenly Nether Sect had chosen the wrong target.
They chose Lin Ye.
Just as Lin Ye and Luo Gui were about to leave—
The situation changed.
Boom!
A domineering surge of earth-vein energy rose from all directions at once.
It formed a cage—locking down the entire Wave-Cleaving Harbor zone.
Lin Ye and Luo Gui lifted their heads.
Luo Gui's face darkened.
"Damn it… how are they here so fast?"
Two days ago, they had killed six Moon Wheel experts at Thousand Luo Mountain.
They had planned to use the gap to disappear.
Instead, the sect's return force arrived immediately.
A furious roar echoed.
"Heavenly Nether Sect brat—come out and die!"
Zhu Xiao shouted, voice trembling with false bravery.
He had escaped earlier, then used his private messenger talisman to contact his father—Zhu Jianxu.
Now Zhu Jianxu arrived with over ten experts, landing together.
They didn't dare split up.
Six Four Symbols Hall elites had just been wiped out—this meant a true powerhouse was hiding here, possibly an ambush.
Then they saw the corpse—
Split in half.
Zhu Jianxu's gaze locked on it.
"Nalan Jing?"
"The disciple of the Shadowless Old Demon?"
Shock flashed across his face.
And fear, buried deep.
That old demon was a terrifying figure.
Years ago, he had been heavily injured in a clash—rumor said the one who hurt him was a man from the Lower Riverlands.
The news had shaken the entire Central Riverlands at the time.
The demon had never fully recovered.
He had been on the verge of the Solar Radiance Realm—only to fall in realm due to that wound.
Wu Yao stepped forward quickly, bowing.
"Reporting, Elder. These two seniors saved us and killed him."
Zhu Jianxu's eyes narrowed.
He was already suspicious—because the sword qi that killed Nalan Jing…
Matched the sword qi that killed those six Four Symbols Hall elders.
He smiled politely, but the coldness behind it was unmistakable.
"Many thanks to you two for saving our disciples."
"I am Zhu Jianxu."
"May I know your names?"
As he spoke, the Four Symbols Hall elders moved in—forming a ring around Lin Ye and Luo Gui.
Wu Yao's heart tightened.
What was this?
These two were their saviors!
Lin Ye's eyes turned indifferent.
"Do you want to die?"
He had seen the cage go up.
He had seen the encirclement.
Luo Gui's heart sank again.
Trouble really was unavoidable.
Zhu Jianxu smiled, still gentle.
"Little friend, don't misunderstand."
"Six of our Moon Wheel experts were killed recently."
"One of them died in the same manner as Nalan Jing."
"We only need to inspect your weapon. If you're unrelated, we'll let you pass."
His eyes glinted faintly with cold light.
Unrelated and you walk away.
Related—
And you die here.
Wu Yao rushed in, trying to explain.
"Elder Zhu, if not for these two seniors, we would already be dead. How could they be the killers?"
Lin Ye raised a hand slightly, signaling Wu Yao to step aside.
His gaze stayed calm as he looked at Zhu Jianxu.
"I killed your people."
"Oh, and a few days ago… I killed some younger ones too."
"One of them called himself the Young Sect Master."
"All of them were killed by me."
He took a slow step forward.
"So?"
"Do you also want to die?"
Luo Gui almost groaned out loud.
Brother, do you have to say it like that?!
Wu Yao's face turned pale.
And in the next instant—
Boom!
Zhu Jianxu and his men erupted.
Thirteen Moon Wheel Realm auras rose together—like tens of thousands of swords hanging in the sky.
All of them pointed at Lin Ye and Luo Gui.