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Qing Xuanling took a sip of the tea Ji Mimi had brought them. She frowned.
It was terrible.
It tasted like wild grass soaked in water, with tiny specks floating in the liquid. A thoroughly unpleasant drink.
The rest of her companions couldn't stomach a second sip. The twins even spat it out immediately after tasting it.
Qing Xuanling shook her head and drank the entire cup. Though unpleasant, she'd feel bad if she didn't appreciate Ji Mimi's hospitality. She gazed through the window at the moon—surrounded by dozens of giant stars high in the sky.
"I think it's time to leave." She stood calmly, looking at the others. "We've caused enough trouble."
She wasn't as angry as before. Though still somewhat remorseful for endangering Ji Mimi, she'd accepted it was the best choice in their situation.
Moreover—it was Ji Mimi who'd agreed. Though a mortal might have no choice but to accept whatever a cultivator demanded, Qing Xuanling could see Ji Mimi had agreed partly out of hatred for the Ink Sword Sect.
Apparently, most mortals in the eastern district had suffered various grievances at the hands of the Ink Sword Sect.
She couldn't keep blaming Qing Muyu for something like this.
Qing Tanwei approached the window and stealthily observed the street. "Certainly, it's dark enough now to—"
Qing Tanwei's voice froze. She suddenly stepped back, face pale. She swallowed hard and gestured for the others to stay silent.
The air instantly grew tense.
Qing Xuanling didn't even dare take a step. She remained in absolute silence for at least five minutes—until finally, someone couldn't bear the suspense any longer.
"Fourth Sister… what did you see…?" Qing Huayan murmured, slightly frightened. "Are the Ink Sword Sect enforcers nearby?"
Qing Tanwei nodded slowly—darkening everyone's expressions.
"We can't stay here." Qing Xuanling brought a hand to her forehead. "If they're already here, it means they've found our trail. They won't take long to find us."
The others agreed and quickly prepared to leave. But before they could—a loud noise came from Ji Mimi's house entrance. Simultaneously, a shrill scream sent chills down Qing Xuanling's spine.
"Arghhhhhh!"
Qing Xuanling's heart lurched. She rushed toward the house entrance under everyone's stunned gazes—but ignored their attempts to stop her and ran toward the source of the scream.
Her body froze when she arrived.
Before her, Ji Mimi's aged body lay on the ground—multiple sword cuts marring her form.
Qing Xuanling's pupils shrank.
Her mind was in chaos. Ji Mimi hadn't meant much to her. She barely remembered how she'd convinced her to let their team into her home. She hadn't even bothered asking her name at first.
Because from the beginning, Ji Mimi held no importance in Qing Xuanling's life. She was merely a side character destined to vanish quickly—a mortal drawn into reckless youths' affairs because they couldn't find an abandoned house or similar place to hide.
And so, her death had been empty. No one besides her killer had witnessed it. And even as her corpse bled onto the floor… Qing Xuanling didn't truly feel sad.
She clenched her fist.
'In the end—I might not be so different from them.'
Qing Xuanling had suspected this from the start. Though she genuinely treated mortals with respect, she'd never truly understood them nor cared to.
Because of that, a woman whose life held no importance to Qing Xuanling—but surely mattered to other mortals—had met such a hollow end.
She took a deep breath and glared at Ji Mimi's killer with murderous intent. "Why did you kill her? I don't believe you not knew we were here from the start. You would've attacked us immediately instead of wasting time on a mortal."
The killer—a black-clad figure hiding his face—scoffed. "Whoa—I never expected you'd actually dare hide in a mortal's home! Though… I suppose it wasn't bad. My battalion hasn't been able to kill freely in ages~"
Qing Xuanling's eyes turned strange. Her body tensed as she sensed the figure's late-stage Qi Refinement cultivation.
"…What do you mean?"
Her instinct told her whatever this figure was about to say wouldn't be pleasant.
Indeed—the black-clad figure spoke in a repulsive voice dripping with greed and sadistic amusement.
"What I meant! Look—even though the clan's diviner already informed us you'd be here, we still had doubts. So we decided to inspect every house in the block~" His voice was low and dark, like snake poison. "Unfortunately, mortals are so foolish that they dared to resist!—so we have no choice but to eliminate them to continue our search!"
"Though… all this searching seems unnecessary now that I've found you~"
At that very instant, dozens of screams erupted from the distance. Qing Xuanling's sharp ears recognized the cries of children and elders.
Her face lost all color.
"…Why?" Her voice was low—apparently calm. But beneath Qing Xuanling's apparent calm, there lurked endless contempt and disgust.
The figure removed his hood, revealing an extremely youthful face—to Qing Xuanling's surprise. He didn't appear older than eighteen.
"Why? Do I need a reason? Killing these worms is simply fun!" The handsome youth with ink-black hair smiled sadistically. "We of the Ink Sword Sect are sword cultivators! The sword dao is the art of slaughter—what's wrong with training our Dao using a few mortals?"
Qing Wentian's voice suddenly cut through.
"…Trash."
The others had also emerged—regarding the youth with emotions ranging from disdain to disgust.
The youth didn't seem bothered by their expressions. Instead, he curiously examined their hair.
"Could you be from the Qing Clan? Red hair isn't common in Ziyu City…" He brought a hand to his chin, thoughtful. "Mmm—well, it doesn't matter. Whichever force you belong to won't change the fact that I'll kill you!"
Qing Muyu stepped forward—golden flames covering his fist. "Wow, guy—I hate to be the one to tell you this, but don't you have some kind of mental problem? In case you haven't noticed—we're ten people, many at late-stage level. How do you expect to kill us alone?"
The youth smirked maliciously. "When did I say I'd do it alone?"
The moment he spoke, five figures entered through the door—surrounding the black-haired youth.
The five were tall, muscular men wielding broadswords fiercely. Their faces—uncovered by any mask—were horrifying. They had no skin, leaving their faces raw red…
A wave of nausea washed over Qing Xuanling as she looked at these five men. It didn't take a genius to guess what tortures the Ink Sword Sect had inflicted on them—especially since their eyes appeared utterly vacant.
Qing Xuanling's expression darkened. The five men's auras were at late-stage Qi Refinement. And she had no doubt their combat power would be high among Qi Refiners.
She took a deep breath and made a quick decision.
"First step of Purple Phantom Steps…"
Qing Xuanling's voice echoed through the room as her figure seemed to vanish before everyone's eyes.
The black-haired youth tensed immediately—but before he could react, Qing Xuanling appeared right before him!
"The Step of the Lifeless!"
She roared while thrusting forcefully toward him—Memory wreathed in Sword Qi suddenly blurring and splitting into two!
The two Memories shot toward completely different locations—one toward his head, the other toward his heart!
Though obviously one sword was an illusion, it was difficult to discern which was real!
The black-haired youth narrowed his eyes, rapidly activating his divine sense—and spotted a flaw in the sword flying toward his head.
He didn't hesitate and blocked the sword aimed at his heart… However, that sword dissipated upon colliding with the youth's blade!
The youth's face darkened as he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder—the one holding his sword. He glared murderously at Qing Xuanling, who smirked mockingly.
He finally realized he'd been tricked! Neither of the swords was the real one! The real one had never been revealed to him from the start!
"Hehe—you didn't think I'd be arrogant triying to kill you instantly, right? What a fool~" Qing Xuanling laughed while clenching her fist. "Who'd do something like that when knowing late-stage cultivators' danger-sense is inhuman?"
She punched toward the black-haired youth's abdomen after mocking him. Her fist advanced with devastating force!
The black-haired youth gritted his teeth and hastily retreated—barely avoiding the punch. He grimaced upon sensing the hidden power in the strike. He smiled darkly while gripping his sword with his left hand.
"…Cheng Yogun." Cheng Yogun's voice was venomous. "Remember that name! It belongs to the person who'll kill you! Hunting hounds—attack! Not a single one of these animals leaves here alive!"
Qing Xuanling snorted mockingly at Cheng Yogun's words and quickly shouted:
"Disperse! We can't fight here or we'll be surrounded! You know where to regroup!" She immediately attacked Cheng Yogun again the moment she finished shouting. Her strikes were decisive.
Memory slashed with tremendous speed and power, forcing Cheng Yogun to hastily block her blows with his sword—wreathed in ominously black Sword Qi.
Though Cheng Yogun was by no means weak—in fact, he displayed remarkable skill blocking Qing Xuanling's attacks despite wielding his sword with his non-dominant hand.
In fact, he equaled Qing Xuanling on several occasions!
Each of Qing Xuanling's sword cuts was met by his black Qi-wreathed blade. Each time, Memory was forced backward. She might have been at a disadvantage if not for Cheng Yogun's slight slowness with his left arm.
But their exchange didn't last long before a hunting hound attempted to interrupt them.
A sword wreathed in black-tinted sharp Qi suddenly appeared above Qing Xuanling's head!
Qing Xuanling's pupils shrank!
The strike was so sudden she had no time to dodge!
"Not on my watch!"
Qing Tanwei suddenly appeared—her body enveloped in a golden aura! Fearlessly, she placed her bare hand before Qing Xuanling, blocking the broadsword with her own body!
Clang!
"...Is this a joke?" Cheng Yogun murmured incredulously.
He couldn't believe what he saw before his eyes.
Qing Tanwei—with only her bare hand—had seized the hunting hound's sword blade and held it firmly in place! Not a single scratch marred her palm!
"Then believe it, you little bastard!" Qing Xuanling grinned and kicked Cheng Yogun in the chest while he was distracted. "This is for Ji Mimi and all the other mortals you killed! Later, I'll hunt down your head to appease their spirits!"
Cheng Yogun shot backward into the street, creating a cloud of dust where he landed.
Qing Xuanling sighed in relief when he didn't immediately rise—and quickly scanned her surroundings. Fortunately, the situation was under control. The others were handling the hunting hounds relatively easily thanks to their numerical advantage.
Though the advantage wasn't overwhelming.
The hunting hounds were extremely ferocious. The one facing Qing Rannuan and Qing Huayan was taking their attacks with their own bodies just to close the distance. What was terrifying was that his expression never changed at all.
The others faced similar situations—but none were in true danger.
But the situation couldn't continue like this.
Qing Xuanling rushed to Qing Huayan and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the door—leaving the bewildered Qing Rannuan facing the hunting hound alone…
"Disperse immediately! I already hear Ink Sword Sect forces approaching!" She gave Qing Rannuan a brief apologetic glance and dragged Qing Huayan out the door. "Two of you take each twin when fleeing—the rest escape separately! Meet up in five hours!"
Qing Xuanling left those words before departing with Qing Huayan and didn't look back. She trusted her companions wouldn't die so easily.
She briefly turned to Qing Huayan. "We'll go across the rooftops. Do you know any movement technique that lets you walk silently?"
Qing Huayan caught her breath from the previous battle and nodded. "I'm not that useless, Ninth Sister! I might be the weakest, but I'm skilled enough to escape!"
"That's good…" Qing Xuanling smiled bitterly while watching dozens of figures beginning to approach under the night's faint glow. "Because if we don't want our heads sent back to the clan without our bodies—we'll have to hide and run like rats tonight…"