Chapter 4

Seeing that her flying sword was a little unstable and that she had even crushed the spirit herb in her hand, Ye Yinian hurriedly said, “Senior Sister Han, are you all right? I was shocked when I heard that news too, but things like that are hard to say. Don’t overthink it. Immortal Lord Qingrang cultivates the Heartless Dao, so she definitely won’t have any further entanglements with anyone.”

The implication was that she shouldn’t misunderstand. Yin Xianyu now understood that Ye Yinian had also taken her for one of Xie Qingrang’s admirers.

She could only give an awkward laugh and did not go any further into the topic.

At the same time, Yin Xianyu also doubted this version of the story. Why were there so many different accounts? If she ran into Xie Qingrang, she still wanted to ask clearly. Someone as powerful as her might even be able to help find her master and senior sister.

But she was inside the Xuanxu Realm right now; there was no point thinking so far ahead. She could only focus on the present and take things one step at a time.

Following the few people from Qingxu Sect, Yin Xianyu only felt the ground beneath her feet grow more and more desolate. The ferocious, jagged shrubs that had once stood there were now gone, leaving only charred earth behind.

A faint sense of wrongness rose in Yin Xianyu’s heart. The others, who had been chatting only moments ago, also fell silent, seemingly sensing the abnormality as well.

Ye Yinian, standing beside her, was rather tense. She had come across this immortal sect tournament by chance and had joined in just for the fun of it; unfortunately, she had bad luck and hadn’t stayed with the main group, so she had no protection to speak of.

Alone in a place like this, she could only stay as close as possible to Yin Xianyu.

Yin Xianyu was on full alert. She brought her sword to a stop and had no intention of going any deeper.

Some people also stopped with her, hovering nearby on their flying swords, while a few less perceptive ones simply continued following behind the spirit ship.

Suddenly, the ship in front stopped, as if it had noticed something happening behind it.

What no one expected was that the ship actually turned around and flew back, stopping right in front of Yin Xianyu.

The three people from Qingxu Sect walked out of the flying ship and asked Yin Xianyu, “Young friend, aren’t you coming with us?”

Yin Xianyu froze, becoming even more guarded. The Hanguang Sword in her sleeve slowly slid free. These people knew they had been following behind, but they were only paying attention to her. They were clearly after her.

“Sorry to trouble you, but your immortal sect and I aren’t traveling the same way. I’ll find another route.”

Yin Xianyu said this very politely; it could even be called giving them enough face. If the other side knew what was good for them, they should have turned and left without asking further questions.

But the spirit ship only drew closer and did not leave. Ye Yinian, standing by her side, asked a little nervously and curiously, “Senior Sister, aren’t we going with them?”

Yin Xianyu did not answer, because the person in front had spoken again. A female cultivator stepped forward and once more issued an invitation: “Young friend, your cultivation is quite high. Our sect has always shown courtesy to fellow cultivators of strength; why not come with us? Our sect can provide protection for you.”

That included Ye Yinian as well. The little girl was obviously tempted, her eyes bright as she looked at Yin Xianyu with admiration.

She was only a breath away from pleading with Yin Xianyu to agree, but Yin Xianyu felt more and more that something was wrong. Without hesitation, she drew the Hanguang Sword from her sleeve.

The people from Qingxu Sect had their pride. Even if they had been separated from the main force, they would not have politely invited her like this, and a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage could not possibly see through her cultivation.

Alarm bells rang in Yin Xianyu’s heart. She swung her sword straight at the female cultivator standing in front.

No one expected her to act so abruptly. The female cultivator was caught off guard and took the blow head-on. In an instant, her originally otherworldly and elegant appearance cracked apart bit by bit.

The skin and robe on her body burst away like fragments, revealing the black, rough flesh underneath. It was actually a monster.

The other scattered cultivators, seeing this scene, scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing frantically into the distance.

At the same time, the flying ship that had just moments ago been suspended in midair and overflowing with spiritual energy now looked utterly ruined. Thick demonic energy poured out from within and sealed off the airspace around them. All the scattered cultivators who had not managed to run in time were trapped inside.

The crowd had no choice but to gather around Yin Xianyu again, barely forming a defensive stance.

The monster that had been struck by her sword was badly injured and revealed its ferocious true face. The other two also dropped all pretense, each pulling out a demonic treasure and taking up a battle stance.

The monster let out a nasty cackle and advanced while attacking. The scattered cultivators, with Yin Xianyu at the front, all summoned their own magical treasures to defend themselves.

It could be said that everyone had barely formed a fragile fortress. These monsters were far above them in cultivation. The crowd was doing only part of the work; the rest depended entirely on Yin Xianyu holding the line.

Ye Yinian even took out a treasure that looked a bit like a tortoise shell; it was actually a spirit artifact, and it barely blocked the shockwaves from the monsters’ attacks.

Yin Xianyu’s condition was not good. She had not used much spiritual power in that earlier strike. If she launched a full assault now, once she exhausted herself she might not even be able to protect herself.

The scattered cultivators around her were making the same calculation. After seeing her magical treasures, they understood that Yin Xianyu’s strength was far above theirs.

When the sky falls, the tall one bears it. Naturally, they were unwilling to fight to the death to break out of the encirclement.

The ruinous ship’s barrier was not so easy to break through. Everyone had their own plans in mind; there was no shared resolve to work together and face the enemy as one.

Yin Xianyu could still only rely on herself. She urged the Hanguang Sword onward. Her Hanguang Sword was a top-grade treasure, and even if a Golden Core cultivator at the peak of perfection drove it with full force, they could only unleash it four or five times before running out of spiritual energy.

With her half-baked condition now, she would probably be drained after two strikes and unable to turn things around. The best method was for these scattered cultivators to handle one monster while she cut down two; only then would there be a chance of survival.

Even at full strength as a Golden Core cultivator, she was already struggling against these three Golden Core monsters. If not for her solid foundation from before, she would likely already have been food in their bellies.

And yet someone still sneered at that moment: “Fellow cultivator, these monsters are all coming for you. We’re being dragged down here to die with you. Hurry up and make your move.”

Ye Yinian immediately shot back in displeasure, “What nonsense are you spouting? Didn’t you all follow the spirit ship yourselves because you wanted to get some benefits? The moment you saw Qingxu Sect, you practically threw yourselves at them. How can you blame Senior Sister for that?”

The man, probably around forty, glared furiously at Ye Yinian. “The monsters themselves said they were coming for her. You idiot are trapped here too; what right do you have to speak up for her?”

The male cultivator was very unconvinced, but his words were quickly cut off by Yin Xianyu’s sword.

Everyone only felt the temperature around them plunge. Even the robes on their bodies could not withstand that chill.

It was so cold their teeth chattered; inside the barrier, it was as if a thousand li had frozen over, standing in stark contrast to the outside world. A few with weaker cultivation nearly lost control of their flying swords and trembled as they fell.

Fortunately, someone gave them a hand, so they did not plummet all the way down.

Even the three monsters were frozen into sluggishness for a moment. Yin Xianyu’s sword struck like a thunderbolt, its edge pointing straight ahead, unstoppable and unopposed. The chill seemed to have turned tangible; bursts of tearing air exploded in everyone’s ears.

With a single strike, she shattered that same arrogant monster that had just been so overbearing, certain it was playing them like puppets in the palm of its hand.

It did not even have time to self-detonate its Golden Core; it turned to dust, leaving only a black Golden Core hovering in midair, a sight shocking enough to leave a deep impression.

Everyone was stunned by Yin Xianyu’s strength. Her full-force sword strike shut both sides up; no one dared underestimate this taciturn female cultivator anymore.

Yin Xianyu stood at the center of the formation, sword in hand, coldly sweeping her gaze over the remaining two monsters. She looked calm and composed, but in truth her aura was already extremely unstable.

The medicinal power that had been temporarily suppressed within her body was now rampaging wildly, overbearing and fierce, washing through every inch of her spiritual marrow.

There were already faint signs of a breakthrough, but Yin Xianyu could not be happy in the slightest. If she broke through at this critical moment, she would be at the mercy of others. Not only might the treasures on her person be looted clean, she might also be disemboweled, her Golden Core dug out, and die with her path severed.

She could only force herself to stand firm so the others would not notice anything amiss.

If these people had previously grumbled about being dragged into this, by now they no longer dared be rude.

Seeing that Yin Xianyu was about to strike again, the two horrified monsters quickly dissolved the barrier.

If they stayed inside any longer, that would be suicide; they would simply become chopping boards for Yin Xianyu.

Once the gray, hazy barrier shattered, the demon cultivators were still standing there confronting her face to face, and the two monsters finally seemed to come to their senses.

Yin Xianyu had a treasure on her person. Even if the two of them joined forces, they could not defeat her. But she had not pursued them to the end; it was only because the two of them had panicked first, thrown their own formation into chaos, and opened the barrier to make escape possible at any time.

Yet if she truly had enough strength left to kill them, it would have happened in an instant. Since Yin Xianyu had not done that, there was clearly another reason; and there was only one possibility: Yin Xianyu simply did not have the strength left to deal with them.

Greed immediately welled up in the monsters’ hearts. They looked at the treasure in Yin Xianyu’s hand with determination. Such an opportunity came once in a blue moon.

Yin Xianyu watched the two monsters closing in and clearly knew that her earlier strategy had failed.

She did not even have time to turn and flee when the two monsters instantly launched an attack. The scattered cultivators who had not managed to escape earlier were already gone without a trace, leaving only a few with decent cultivation still in place. Clearly, they were also watching the battle and hoping to take a share of the spoils.

Yin Xianyu swung out her second strike without hesitation and shattered the second monster. Yet the aura inside her body became even more chaotic.

With the barrier gone, all the cultivators were blasted dozens of zhang away by that sword strike. The last remaining monster finally realized how formidable Yin Xianyu was; without the slightest hesitation, it turned and fled underground, disappearing without a trace.

Yin Xianyu panted heavily. It felt as though something inside her was burning. Her eyes were scarlet, and a wild sword intent spilled out in all directions, making the scattered cultivators who coveted her treasure unable to approach for a moment.

Her consciousness gradually blurred and drifted away. The sword intent in her hand only intensified; the violent spiritual energy in her body could no longer be suppressed, and her Golden Core swelled at high speed, transforming into a tiny infant. Her cultivation surged madly; she was actually on the verge of breaking through to Nascent Soul!

The scattered cultivators lurking nearby were no less greedy than those two heavenly demons had been. All of them were watching the situation closely. With spiritual energy so thin here, advancing in cultivation was far harder than outside.

If Yin Xianyu failed her breakthrough, these people would certainly rush in to seize the treasure. This was a once-in-a-thousand-opportunities chance, and no one wanted to miss it.

Ye Yinian was shaken by Yin Xianyu’s sword aura and had been flung the farthest. At this moment she was stumbling back toward this direction, dizzy and disoriented, and would not be able to arrive in time for a while.

Seeing Yin Xianyu’s aura growing chaotic, all the scattered cultivators around them began to stir. They actually wanted to swarm forward and take advantage of her weakness to kill her. Everyone moved at once, terrified that if they were a step too late someone else would get there first.

Yin Xianyu floated in midair, held up by the scattered spiritual energy around her. Her robe was shattered by the shockwaves, revealing the immortal garments of Qingxu Sect beneath. The fabric billowed wildly as she still retained the last thread of reason and clutched the Hanguang Sword tightly in her hand.

Then a streak of white light flashed across the horizon, and a long sword passed through every person’s body like a swimming dragon.

All the scattered cultivators still wore greed on their faces when they fell straight into the black earth beneath their feet.

Yin Xianyu saw a face like that of a deity; from somewhere, a voice sounded: “Immortal Lord Qingrang.”

The moment Yin Xianyu matched that face to the name, she lost consciousness.