High above the mountain peak, not far from the thunderclouds, space fractured.
A figure stepped leisurely from the rift.
The newcomer wore moon-white robes, pristine and untouched by dust.
His face appeared to be that of a young man, with sharp brows and eyes like stars, quite handsome.
His white hair was not tied back, drifting freely with the wind.
He was the pavilion master of the Tianji Pavilion, Dao Yi.
His gaze first swept casually over the group below standing ready, his lips curling into a mocking arc.
Then, his eyes fell upon Qin Sheng, who was currently undergoing his tribulation.
He hadn't expected that in all the years he had dominated the Lower Realm, someone would still dare to ascend the Heavenly Ladder so blatantly.
This was a fine material that had delivered itself to his doorstep.
"Dao Yi, you old dog! You finally dare to show your face!"
A hot-tempered peak Transformation Realm cultivator, seeing the target appear and remembering the senior promised to back them up, felt his courage swell and shouted sternly, "Today is the day you—"
"Noisy."
Dao Yi didn't even look at the man, simply raising his hand and slicing the air with his fingers.
A formless, substance-less cold sword light was generated out of thin air, crossing hundreds of feet in an instant.
"Splat!"
The peak Transformation Realm cultivator was sliced neatly into fragments.
Even his divine soul failed to escape, annihilated in an instant.
The entire process was so fast that no one could react.
On the mountain peak, there was a deathly silence.
The people who had been whispering about the distribution of spoils just moments ago now looked as if they were being strangled, their faces pale.
A peak Transformation Realm cultivator... killed instantly by a casual flick of sword qi?!
Was this the true power of a lingering immortal?!
The wizened old Daoist and the beautiful woman exchanged a glance.
Though they were at the Tribulation Crossing realm, they knew they could never kill a peak Transformation Realm cultivator so effortlessly!
"Get... get it together! According to the plan, form the array! Wait for the senior to act!" Liu Yuan's voice trembled, but he forced a shout to steady their ranks.
He was already regretting this to his core, but now he could only hope that Senior Ning would actually intervene.
The crowd snapped out of their shock, hurriedly manifesting their spirit artifacts and surging their spiritual power to take their positions according to the practiced formation.
For a moment, spiritual light soared, and their momentum reconsolidated, though the panic in their eyes could not be hidden.
Dao Yi looked at the people below as if they were a great enemy, the mockery on his face deepening, but he did not act immediately.
Instead, his gaze held a hint of playfulness as he looked toward the void further away, as if waiting for something.
Just then, the space behind him rippled again.
One, two, three.
Three figures emerged silently.
On the left was a hunched old man with skin like withered bark, leaning on a twisted vine staff.
His eyes were cloudy and lightless, yet no one dared to look him in the eye.
On the right was a woman in a red dress, her every glance overflowing with a lethal allure.
In the middle was a young man with six muscular arms, his eyes fierce, each of his six hands gripping a different weapon phantom, emanating a terrifying baleful energy.
The moment these three appeared, the air on the mountain peak seemed to freeze, the heavy pressure making it difficult for the Transformation Realm cultivators to breathe, and even the two Tribulation Crossing old monsters felt their hearts shake.
Three... three more lingering immortals?!
Liu Yuan’s vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.
He felt as if his heart had stopped beating.
"Dao Yi, this harvest looks pretty good."
The six-armed youth grinned, his greedy gaze sweeping over the crowd below, lingering longest on the tribulation-crossing Qin Sheng and the two Tribulation Crossing old monsters.
"Three Tribulation Crossing cultivators... though they are only at the early stages, they have some law seeds in them. Far better than that Transformation Realm waste."
The seductive woman covered her smile. "Transformation Realm corpses are indeed of little use, only fit to feed my little pets. It has to be the Tribulation Crossing realm, especially one who has already begun the ascent..."
She licked her red lips, her gaze toward Qin Sheng filled with a predatory hunger.
When ascending the ladder, the laws of heaven and earth flooded the body; that was when they were most 'well-fed.' Harvesting now provided the best flavor.
The withered old man said nothing, his cloudy eyes merely scanning the area, finally landing on Liu Yuan as if he had seen something interesting.
Dao Yi didn't seem surprised by their appearance; he nodded slightly as a greeting.
Then his gaze turned toward a certain direction down the mountain, and he spoke in a calm voice:
"You've been watching for so long, Your Excellency... won't you show yourself?"
.......
About a hundred feet from Dao Yi and the others, the space rippled like water.
Ning Xian's figure emerged first, dressed in white, cold and ethereal.
There was no other choice; with four lingering immortals... she could only play the part for now.
"My prey," she said, looking at Dao Yi, her voice clear and flat.
"As for you all, what is the meaning of this?"
Dao Yi looked at Ning Xian, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
He could feel the powerful aura of the laws of space emanating from her; although her state didn't seem to be at its peak, her essence was extremely high.
"It seems we are of the same kind."
The smile on Dao Yi's face became more genuine.
"I am Dao Yi. These three are the Ancient Vine Lord, the Scarlet Serpent Immortal, and the Six-Armed Demonic Venerable. We are all here seeking opportunities in this realm to delay law degradation or seek further progress.
I wonder if Your Excellency would be interested in joining us? Sharing what we have is always better than fighting alone."
He issued a direct invitation.
Adding a lingering immortal who mastered powerful laws of space to their small group would undoubtedly be a massive boost.
Ning Xian's expression remained unchanged. "I am used to traveling alone."
Dao Yi did not press her, as if he had expected this, and smiled. "That is a pity. However, since we've met here, it is fate. As for the prey..."
He gestured toward the group below, who felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
"According to the rules, everyone present gets a share. Your Excellency arrived first and is one of us, so how many percent do you wish to take?"
His words were polite, but he was testing Ning Xian's attitude and bottom line.
Ning Xian said indifferently, "Sixty percent."
"Sixty percent?" The Six-Armed Demonic Venerable frowned, seemingly thinking the price was too high.
Dao Yi raised his hand to stop him, looking at Ning Xian with his smile unchanged. "Very well. Consider it a gesture of friendship from me."
A solitary lingering immortal who mastered powerful space laws and seemed to have a deep background was worth yielding some benefits for.
Even if it was only a temporary peace.
"Senior?! What is the meaning of this?!"
Below, Liu Yuan, who had finally recovered from the series of shocks, felt like he'd been struck by lightning upon hearing this conversation.
The backer he thought he had was actually in league with the hunters? They were even discussing how to divide them?!
Ning Xian didn't even look at Liu Yuan. She simply waved her hand toward his direction.
Several bursts of space sword intent strangled him directly.
Liu Yuan's voice cut off abruptly.
His entire body was instantly shredded by the sword intent, leaving no trace of life.
Having done this, Ning Xian's expression remained normal, but she slightly pulled her left hand, which was hidden behind her back, further into her sleeve.
That strike had seemed casual, but the backlash was significant.
Her left hand was already covered in cracks and had begun to bleed incessantly; her entire arm had nearly shattered just now.
But she had to establish her authority and... resolve these noisy decoys as quickly as possible.
Dao Yi saw everything... but said nothing.
As for the remaining people below, they finally understood completely.
This was a setup! It was a cruel trap where they were used as bait to attract more prey, only to be eventually divided and consumed by these lingering immortals!
That Senior Ning they had placed all their hopes on was exactly the same kind of person as Dao Yi!
No, she was even more terrifying!
.......
"Argh! I'll kill you all!"
Qin Sheng, who had just endured the seventh heavenly lightning strike, witnessed his senior brother Liu Yuan being wiped out by Ning Xian. His eyes turned bloodshot.
With a roar, he actually managed to temporarily break free from the heavenly lightning's lock. His body burned with blood-colored lightning fire as he lunged toward the lingering immortals in the sky.
"Hmph, noisy. With that little cultivation, you think you're worthy of risking your life?"
The Six-Armed Demonic Venerable sneered. His lowest arm suddenly extended, surging in size instantly.
Reaching across space, he grabbed Qin Sheng's head, dragging him out of the air like a chick and slamming him violently into the ground!
"Boom!!!"
The mountain rocks shattered, and dust billowed into the sky.
When the dust settled, Qin Sheng was seen smashed into a deep pit. Countless bones in his body were broken, and his aura was withered.
The Six-Armed Demonic Venerable curled his lip. "Third level of Tribulation Crossing? So weak. It seems he won't survive the later lightning strikes anyway. No need to wait."
As he spoke, another arm flashed out like lightning. His fingers, curved like hooks, easily pierced Qin Sheng's chest and tore out his heart.
The corpse slumped to the ground and was casually stowed into a storage ring by the Six-Armed Demonic Venerable.
The remaining Transformation Realm cultivators and the two Tribulation Crossing old monsters saw that even the strongest among them, Qin Sheng, was slaughtered like a chicken.
They were scared out of their wits, losing any will to fight, and scattered to flee for their lives.
"Trying to run?" The Scarlet Serpent Immortal giggled as pink mist spread from her hands, instantly enveloping several Transformation Realm cultivators.
Struck by the mist, the cultivators' eyes grew hazy, and they wore idiotic smiles.
Immediately, their bodies withered rapidly, turning into desiccated bones.
The Ancient Vine Lord tapped his vine staff lightly on the ground, and countless black vines sprouted from the void, coiling around the fleeing crowd like venomous snakes.
Once caught, their blood essence and divine souls were sucked dry instantly.
The two Tribulation Crossing old monsters managed to resist for a moment, but under the onslaught of three lingering immortals, they lasted less than three breaths.
The wizened old Daoist had his protective artifact smashed by three of the Six-Armed Demonic Venerable's punches, coughing blood as he was sent flying, only to be caught by the Ancient Vine Lord's vines and turned into a human husk.
The beautiful woman's primordial spirit was invaded by the Scarlet Serpent Immortal's pink mist, and she perished silently amidst a peak of pleasure.
Her corpse was carefully put away by the Scarlet Serpent Immortal.
In just a short moment, nothing remained on the mountain peak but a mess of ruins, save for the five lingering immortals confronting each other in the sky.
Dao Yi had watched silently from start to finish, not participating in the slaughter.
Only now did he turn his gaze back toward Ning Xian, who had been observing the battle in silence.
Suddenly, Dao Yi moved.
With a seemingly casual motion toward Ning Xian, he flicked his finger.
A mote of starlight streaked across the void, suddenly shooting toward Ning Xian...
Rate on N.U.
