Chapter 274: Protection by an Expert
“That fool! Did he really think a cultivator at the peak of the third level of the Qi Refining Stage
would be so easily restrained?”
Watching his comrade consumed by the golden flames of the Solar Wheel Essence emanating
from Yun Yanshuang, the cultivator with the Lake’s Ripple Essence couldn’t help but curse
under his breath.
As the words left his mouth, his vision blurred, and an overwhelming force of suction gripped his
body. Helplessly, he was dragged toward Yun Yanshuang.
He struggled in vain, but the gap in their cultivation levels was too vast—resistance was futile.
When he was finally pulled before her, a cold gleam of sword light flashed.
In an instant, his head was severed from his body, blood spraying across the rain-soaked
ground.
“Killing Yun Yanshuang is no easy task! Unless the boss shows up, no one can stand against
her!”
Seeing his two comrades fall one after another to Yun Yanshuang’s blade, the middle-aged
rogue cultivator with the scarred face wasted no time. Without hesitation, he turned and fled,
desperation fueling his every step.
He knew all too well that alone, he stood no chance against her.
“I’m curious… who is this ‘boss’ you keep mentioning?”
Just as he fled in panic, a cold, detached voice echoed by his ear.
His body stiffened as dread washed over him. Turning his head fearfully, he saw Yun
Yanshuang standing calmly to his side, her sword at the ready. He had no idea when she had
caught up to him.
“Die!”
Knowing he couldn’t escape, the rogue cultivator reacted swiftly. He threw a handful of fireball
talismans at Yun Yanshuang, their flaming power igniting the air around her.
Boom!
The fireball talismans exploded in a blinding blaze, engulfing Yun Yanshuang’s figure in a storm
of fire.
Thinking this would at least buy him a few moments to escape, the rogue cultivator allowed
himself a quick breath of relief.
But before he could exhale fully, a streak of sword aura came from behind, striking him squarely
in the back.
The sharp energy tore through his robe and carved a gruesome gash across his back, exposing
bone beneath the ragged flesh.
The force of the blow sent him hurtling forward like a cannonball, crashing into the mud with a
sickening thud. He lay there, broken and powerless, unable to move.
“Now, talk. Who sent you to follow us? And who is this ‘boss’ of yours?”
Yun Yanshuang stood over him, her Greenshard Sword gleaming coldly in her hand, her
expression indifferent.
“I’d rather die than tell you!”
The rogue cultivator, knowing his death was inevitable, channeled the remaining spiritual energy
in his body, preparing to self-destruct and take Yun Yanshuang with him.
As a death warrior, failure meant only one thing: death.
“Self-detonation, is it?”
Yun Yanshuang’s eyes narrowed. With a swift thrust of her Greenshard Sword, she pierced the
man’s abdomen, shattering his dantian and cutting off his ability to self-destruct.
The rogue cultivator’s suicidal resolve turned to despair, his final plan reduced to nothing.
“Kill me, then! The mission has failed, and I have no reason to live!”
“Don’t waste your effort. You won’t get anything from me.”
Covered in mud and blood, his face ashen with hopelessness, the rogue cultivator slumped
weakly to the ground.
“As long as you’re alive, I have ways to get the information I want.”
Yun Yanshuang’s tone was calm, almost emotionless.
As she spoke, she reached for the black gourd at her waist, preparing to release the white-clad
ghost within to possess the dying man and extract the information from his mind.
Whoosh!
Just as she was about to open the gourd, a chilling wind blew through the rain-soaked
battlefield.
In the distance, an overwhelming wave of deathly aura surged forward like a tidal wave,
swallowing everything in its path.
The aura reeked of decay and destruction, its presence extinguishing all life it touched.
Sensing the danger, Yun Yanshuang quickly retreated, leaping back to a safer distance.
The rogue cultivator, however, was not so lucky.
The deathly tide engulfed him, and his body began to wither at an alarming rate, his flesh
decaying into dust before her eyes. Even the clothes on his body disintegrated into nothingness.
“Lin Zhongqiu?!”
Yun Yanshuang’s gaze sharpened, her expression turning grim as she muttered the name.
Watching the deathly aura surge forward like a tidal wave, Yun Yanshuang immediately
recognized its source. This was no ordinary force—it belonged to a cultivator who had mastered
a unique technique, one capable of harnessing the spiritual energy of Lin Zhongqiu and
transforming it into deadly power.
“The range of that aura and the speed at which everything withers… this person’s cultivation is
formidable. They’re likely stronger than me.”
Though surprise flickered across her beautiful face, it was soon replaced by a grave expression.
She collected her thoughts and extended her spiritual sense toward the center of the deathly
aura. There, she spotted a middle-aged man dressed in black robes, his eyes narrow and
sharp.
Standing beside him was a woman of similar attire, her hair tied back in a sleek ponytail,
exuding an air of precision and competence.
“The Yun family’s spiritual prodigy, Miss Shuang. Your reputation precedes you!”
“To think, in such a short time, you managed to kill every one of my subordinates,” said Li
Nanting, stepping forward with the ponytailed woman. He reabsorbed the deathly aura of Lin
Zhongqiu into his body, the once-suffocating energy retreating like a receding tide.
His narrow eyes, cold and faintly gleaming with a blood-red hue, fixed on Yun Yanshuang.
“This man looks familiar…”
Yun Yanshuang studied Li Nanting’s face. She felt a strange sense of familiarity, though she
was certain this was their first meeting. The feeling unsettled her, though she couldn’t explain
why.
“You’re the ‘boss’ they mentioned?”
“More or less,” Li Nanting replied casually, his tone unhurried.
“We’ve never met before. Why follow us?”
“Simply following orders,” Li Nanting said with a faint, icy smile.
“Who gave the orders? Was it the Ye family?”
“Miss Shuang, there’s no need for you to know such things,” he said, shaking his head slowly.
“Because today, you die.”
Before his words could fully settle, the ponytailed woman beside him stepped forward. She
wielded a long spear that crackled with the energy of Thunderstrike’s Fury. In an instant, she
surged toward Yun Yanshuang, her attack fierce and unstoppable.
The strike was devastating, carrying the might of her peak third-level Qi Refining cultivation—a
level on par with Yun Yanshuang’s own.
The spear thrust forward, aiming directly at Yun Yanshuang’s face. The air around it sizzled,
charged with overwhelming power.
Clang!
Reacting with lightning speed, Yun Yanshuang raised her Greenshard Sword to intercept the
blow. The spearhead collided with the blade, producing a deafening clash of metal.
The impact generated a shockwave that blasted away the surrounding rain, leaving a
momentary void in the downpour.
Both women staggered backward, retreating dozens of steps before regaining their footing.
“You take care of Miss Shuang. I’ll deal with the other two,” Li Nanting said, glancing at the
ponytailed woman before turning his attention to the carriage in the distance.
He had no intention of fighting Yun Yanshuang just yet. His priority was to eliminate Yun Yanshui
and capture Yun Wenzhan, fulfilling the mission entrusted to him by Ye Wusheng.
“Understood. Be careful,” the ponytailed woman replied, her spear poised as she stood tall
amidst the rain.
“Don’t worry. One of them is an ordinary mortal, and the other is only at the Embryo Breath
Stage. They’re hardly worth worrying about. The only challenge here is Miss Shuang. She’s on
par with you in cultivation and has even grasped sword intent. Just hold out until I return. Don’t
die too quickly.”
Li Nanting chuckled confidently as he strode toward the carriage. This mission was
straightforward for him. Aside from Yun Yanshuang, neither of the other two posed any real
threat.
“I won’t go down so easily,” the ponytailed woman said emotionlessly. Without another word,
she lunged at Yun Yanshuang, her spear ready for another fierce assault.
But in the next instant, an overwhelming sense of danger swept over her.
From the distant sky, a spiritual arrow materialized, tearing through the rain with the force of a
storm. It raced toward her with terrifying speed, its presence dominating the battlefield.
That arrow was unstoppable.
That arrow was faster than lightning.
That arrow carried with it an aura of unparalleled fear and deadly intent.
The ponytailed woman’s eyes widened in shock as the arrow pierced through her head in a
flash, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.
She fell without a sound, her body stiff and lifeless, collapsing into the blood-soaked mud. The
spark of life faded from her eyes in an instant.
Li Nanting, who had been walking away, froze in place. His face twisted in disbelief, his
confidence shattered.
“Could it be… someone powerful is protecting Yun Yanshuang from the shadows?!”