When Ming Ji first heard Ming Ran mention this Master Lin, he had been dismissive.
How powerful could a child around their own age possibly be?
But after hearing about her so many times, and because his cousin had always admired the strong, he was eventually won over. He developed quite a bit of curiosity toward this Lin Mu, and whenever he occasionally mentioned her, he would respectfully refer to her as Master Lin.
Even so, he had never truly grasped the reality of her strength, merely thinking that her talent was perhaps slightly higher and her sword techniques a bit more unique.
Until now.
—This Master Lin was right before his eyes, besieged by a sea of enemies, yet her posture remained relaxed, and she moved with effortless grace.
With a simple wave of her sleeve, the Bishui Sword forced over a hundred evil cultivators to retreat in defeat, never once showing any sign of falling into a disadvantage.
Only now did he realize that every word of praise from his cousin was by no means an exaggeration.
This Master Lin... was truly the most talented person besides that Sword Demon!
A third like her could not be found anywhere in the world.
He watched in a daze, his mind completely captivated by this swift and fierce swordsmanship, when a slightly strained voice suddenly echoed in his ears: “Go now. Hurry, and bring the people from the other caves.”
Ming Ji snapped back to reality and stole another glance at Song Yao.
Although she looked calm and held the upper hand everywhere, her figure seemed slightly frailer than before, looking as though she was running out of strength.
His cousin had once said that while this master was strong, her body was far too weak. Not only was she weak, but her constitution was also deficient, and no amount of nourishment could fix it.
From the looks of it, she was reaching her limit.
They couldn't delay any longer.
If they ran faster, she could also escape sooner!
Ming Ji suppressed the shock in his heart, quickly turned back into the cave, and called out to all the children in a low voice. Crouching down, they slipped out of the cave amidst the chaos.
After running a few steps, he realized that the seals on several adjacent caves had also been shattered by her sword qi.
Inside each dim cave, a group of half-grown children huddled together, shivering. Their dark eyes stared outside in terror, clearly frightened out of their wits by the commotion.
He suddenly came to his senses and shouted sharply into the caves, “Follow us if you don't want to die!!”
Those who reacted quickly scrambled out.
Those who were slower were dragged and pulled along by the Ming family children as they all rushed outward together.
A massive crowd of people sprinted wildly toward the edge of Black Cloud Mountain.
Sensing their intentions, several evil cultivators' expressions changed as they tried to stop them. However, the spiritual energy of the youth before them suddenly erupted. Her sword qi surged violently, and the sword shadows split once more, blocking them with overwhelming force.
Caught off guard, the evil cultivators scrambled to defend themselves. They watched helplessly as the children plunged headfirst into the Mist Realm, their hearts filled with absolute terror.
Just what was this girl's background?!
With so many evil cultivators on Black Cloud Mountain, even someone at the mid or late Nascent Soul Stage might not be a match for them all. How... how could she...
Ever since that sword cultivator from the Nine Saints Hall died, it had been a very long time since anyone dared to cause such havoc on Black Cloud Mountain.
At this very moment, they actually felt a startling sense of familiarity and a deep-seated fear lurking within them.
But no.
She was over a hundred times weaker than that sword cultivator.
At best, she was an impostor.
The moment the children's figures vanished, a gust of powerful wind tore through the air from afar. Ye Chang'an thrust his long sword straight toward her.
His sword tip carried heavy spiritual energy, and his gaze locked onto Song Yao's face. His tone carried a mocking realization: “I was wondering who possessed such outstanding skills to hold them off for so long. So it's you, Senior Sister Lin!”
“Lin Mu, you are indeed somewhat stronger than I imagined.”
Song Yao narrowly dodged the sword blade by stepping aside, her eyes narrowing slightly in surprise.
Ye Chang'an's cultivation had surged by several leaps compared to before, and his spiritual energy was more than twice as dense and heavy.
What secret technique did Ye Chongguang teach him?
Ye Chang'an's sword momentum was fierce, his strikes coming wave after wave, each one aimed at her vital spots. Yet, he still found the breath to sneer, “But Senior Sister Lin, shouldn't you be at the Beiyao Sect right now? Why are you here?”
He narrowed his eyes, drawing out his words in a highly interrogative tone. “Chen Qingqiu's escape... it wouldn't happen to have something to do with you, would it?”
Song Yao said nothing. The shadow of the Bishui Sword suddenly swept toward him, forcing Ye Chang'an to spin around to dodge.
Ye Chang'an's gaze instantly turned vicious. “No, you came to find Wen Tang? ...Whatever, it doesn't matter. Since you've shown up here, don't even think about leaving alive! It just so happens that I have quite a few scores to settle with you!”
Over a hundred evil cultivators formed an array behind him, and the spiritual energy on his sword surged violently.
“Hold on.”
But Song Yao suddenly stopped. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she landed on the ground, sat down, and spat out a mouthful of black blood with a splat.
After wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, she lay down and folded her hands over her chest. “I need to faint for a bit first. We'll talk later when I have time.”
With only her Golden Core cultivation, no matter how many or how diverse her sword techniques were, she couldn't withstand a continuous battle against so many frenzied evil cultivators.
To buy some time for the children, she had no choice but to force herself to draw upon her past cultivation.
But the moment she used just a fraction of it, the serpent-patterned seal seemed determined to torment her to death. Her internal organs felt as if they were being squeezed tightly, making it hard to even breathe.
Right now, she was in so much pain that she was suspended between life and death.
Calculating the time, it should be enough for those children to cover half the distance.
Even if only one or two successfully escaped, it wouldn't be a loss.
Having said her piece, her vision went dark, her head tilted to the side, and she actually fainted just like that.
Ye Chang'an: “?”
Evil cultivators: “?”
Was she fainting or just going to sleep?
Regardless of whether she was fainting or sleeping, staying here in their hands—wasn't that just seeking death?
She didn't even put up a struggle?
She hadn't even thought about escaping?
This move was clearly beyond everyone's expectations. The crowd of evil cultivators surrounding her remained on high alert.
Only after pausing for several breaths did they realize she might have truly lost consciousness.
Ye Chang'an gripped his sword tightly and kicked an evil cultivator beside him. “Go check if it's a trap.”
The evil cultivator crept forward timidly, gave her two tentative kicks, and hurriedly backed away. Seeing no response, he approached again and gave her shoulder a couple of nudges.
No reaction.
The evil cultivators let out a collective sigh of relief.
The black-robed elder from earlier disheveledly adjusted his Daoist robe and barked at the people around him, “What are you waiting for? Go catch the runaways! Especially those from the Ming family—not a single one must escape!”
Other children aside, these Ming family kids came from a clan of sword cultivators. Their spiritual roots had been tested, and even the worst among them possessed a mid-rank Spirit-grade root. Given their young age, they were an indispensable part of the plan.
With success so close at hand, absolutely nothing else could go wrong.
Ye Chang'an's gaze darkened. “What about Chen Qingqiu?! Have you still not found Chen Qingqiu?!”
The black-robed elder bowed timidly. “We... we are still searching. With the commotion here just now, all the men were redeployed...”
Ye Chang'an suppressed his anger, veins bulging on his forehead. “A bunch of useless trash! You can't find Chen Qingqiu, and you couldn't even defeat this little pill cultivator! Look at you! Hurry up and go catch them! If you don't catch Chen Qingqiu, I'll have my father put you all to death!”
“Yes.”
After this battle, most of them were wounded. They cut miserable figures as they rushed toward the Mist Realm.
A hunchbacked old woman walked over to Song Yao, examined her, and bowed to Ye Chang'an. “Young Master, how should we deal with her?”
Rate on N.U.
