The Confident Hehuan Sect Elder

The Mount Shu disciples completed their year-long training mission and returned to Mount Shu.

The squad Lin Qingzhi was in was less than three thousand li from Mount Shu.

"Junior Brother, your master once divined the workings of heaven and declared that we would face a calamity on our way back to Mount Shu, but we're not far from Mount Shu now, and nothing has happened along the way. You've lost this time. As promised, I can ask you to do one thing that doesn't offend heaven or violate morality."

While the Mount Shu disciples rested during their journey, Chen Yao recalled the bet she had made with Lin Qingzhi a year ago.

"Master can't be wrong. We should be even more careful from here on."

The closer Lin Qingzhi got to Mount Shu, the more cautious he became.

A year ago, Lu Changsheng had divined that Lin Qingzhi would face a calamity.

Lin Qingzhi circulated the Grand Profound Art, spreading his Divine Sense across a radius of ten li.

"Not good, there's an ambush in this valley!"

Lin Qingzhi's Divine Sense swept over dozens of presences lying in wait.

Clang!

The Mount Shu disciples drew their swords and looked warily around them.

"You juniors dared to kill my disciple? Die!"

A sinister-looking old man appeared with dozens of Hehuan Sect disciples, surrounding the six Mount Shu disciples, Lin Qingzhi among them, on all sides.

Hearing the old man's name, the Mount Shu disciple leading the group turned deathly pale in an instant. "Not good, that's the Hehuan Sect's Huanxi Old Devil, a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator! The band of flower-picking thieves we killed at the Mountain God Temple not long ago were most likely Hehuan Sect disciples!"

The Hehuan Sect?!

The Mount Shu disciples all tensed up.

The Hehuan Sect was one of the Four Great Demonic Sects. Although it ranked last among them, its elders were still beyond the ability of ordinary Mount Shu disciples to contend with.

If a handful of Mount Shu disciples at the Golden Core Realm and Qi Condensation Realm encountered a Nascent Soul Realm elder of the Hehuan Sect, they would most likely be wiped out.

"Junior Brother, it seems your master was right. We're in trouble this time..."

This was Chen Yao's first time facing a powerful Nascent Soul Realm enemy.

Although her master was a grand elder of Mount Shu whose cultivation was unfathomable, the Hehuan Sect elder before her was a genuine enemy.

Elder Huanxi's sinister gaze swept over the Mount Shu disciples before settling on Chen Yao. He licked his lips. "Girl, your looks and figure are both first-rate. Why not cultivate together with this old Daoist and ascend to paradise early?"

"I would rather die than fall into your hands..."

Chen Yao's expression was resolute. She was already prepared to self-destruct.

If a female disciple of the Six Great Orthodox Sects fell into the hands of the Hehuan Sect, she would surely be unable to live or die as she wished.

"Senior Sister, don't give up hope. We can surely turn danger into safety."

Lin Qingzhi drew the Azure Nether Sword and stood protectively before Chen Yao. He firmly believed that since his master had been able to divine that he would face a calamity, his master would surely come to his rescue.

His master was an immortal cultivating in seclusion on Mount Shu.

"Mm, I believe you."

Seeing Lin Qingzhi stand in front of her, Chen Yao felt an inexplicable warmth flow through her heart.

"Hmph, no woman this old Daoist has set his sights on has ever escaped. I'll make you beg for death and be unable to find it."

Elder Huanxi summoned a black iron ring that gave off a soul-stealing black mist.

The moment the iron ring appeared, the souls of several Mount Shu disciples seemed to be sucked into it.

"A low-grade Houtian Spirit Treasure—the Soul-Devouring Ring!"

The Mount Shu disciple leading the group was knowledgeable. Many texts in Mount Shu's library contained records of the Four Great Demonic Sects and the Law Treasures they commonly used.

The Soul-Devouring Ring was a Law Treasure commonly used by Hehuan Sect elders. It could devour a person's soul, turning them into a walking corpse.

"We must not let the Soul-Devouring Ring touch us! With our cultivation, we'll surely be controlled by it!"

The Mount Shu disciple leading the group was so alarmed precisely because he knew how formidable the Soul-Devouring Ring was.

"Go!"

Elder Huanxi sent the Soul-Devouring Ring smashing toward Chen Yao.

His heart stirred at the sight of his prey. He simply regarded her as a fine vessel he had come across this time.

"Jinglan Sword Art!"

The Mount Shu disciple at the Golden Core Realm Ninth Layer knew the situation was dire. Using all his cultivation, he sent Sword Qi surging forth, the azure Sword Qi rushing at the Soul-Devouring Ring like a tornado.

"Hmph, an ant trying to shake a tree. You don't know your own limits!"

Elder Huanxi also used all his cultivation, sending a towering tide of black Qi into the Soul-Devouring Ring.

The Soul-Devouring Ring seeped a black light that shook the mind. It devoured the azure Sword Qi and slammed into the Mount Shu disciple's sword.

Clang.

The sword flew from his hand, and the Soul-Devouring Ring continued into his chest. The Mount Shu disciple was struck as if by lightning, his spirit utterly listless.

The Golden Core Realm Ninth Layer and the Nascent Soul Realm Second Layer seemed close, but a major realm lay between the Golden Core Realm and the Nascent Soul Realm. The difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

"That sword art... Could you be Mount Shu disciples?! Hahaha, if that's the case, I can't let you escape, much less let you die easily."

Elder Huanxi realized who the Mount Shu disciples were, and his gaze grew even more sinister.

Back when he was still a Hehuan Sect disciple, he had nearly died beneath a Mount Shu disciple's sword.

The Four Great Demonic Sects and Mount Shu shared a hatred so deep they could not live under the same sky.

"Junior Brother, let's flee separately. He'll surely come after me. When he does, I'll self-destruct, and you must flee back to Mount Shu and tell my master to avenge me."

Chen Yao secretly transmitted her voice to Lin Qingzhi. She was determined to die, hoping only to find a way for him to escape this calamity.

"I'm not leaving."

Lin Qingzhi's answer was simple.

Lin Qingzhi circulated the Grand Profound Art with all his might. Vast Spiritual Qi coursed rapidly through the meridians of his body, and his presence reached its peak.

"Brat, do you think your cultivation at the Seventh Layer of the Golden Core Realm can accomplish anything against this old Daoist? I've lost count of how many orthodox disciples like you have died at my hands."

Elder Huanxi's tone was contemptuous as he drove the Soul-Devouring Ring fiercely toward Lin Qingzhi.

The Soul-Devouring Ring devoured the Sword Qi once more. Lin Qingzhi's Azure Nether Sword trembled violently, but he gripped it tightly and did not retreat a single step. The Azure Nether Sword struck the Soul-Devouring Ring and knocked it back!

"Pfft!"

Lin Qingzhi spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale. His Divine Sense had been badly damaged by the Soul-Devouring Ring.

"Junior Brother!"

"I'll fight you to the death! Human-Sword Unity!"

Seeing Lin Qingzhi grievously wounded, Chen Yao clenched her teeth. The Heavenly Azure Sword behind her erupted with brilliant azure light that shot straight into the clouds.

Rumble...

Black clouds gathered overhead, and countless bolts of lightning poured into the Heavenly Azure Sword, a Middle-Grade Houtian Spirit Treasure. Its blade resembled a pillar of light.

She did not hesitate to use the "Supreme Thunder-Controlling Instruction," which could only be used at a realm above her own.

"As your senior sister, how could I let you keep protecting me!"

Chen Yao's gaze was resolute. She had prepared herself to die, and to defeat Elder Huanxi and let Lin Qingzhi escape with his life, she was willing to pour all her Spiritual Qi, even her life, into this one strike.

"So it's Mount Shu's mid-tier heaven-rank cultivation method, the Supreme Thunder-Controlling Instruction. What a pity. If your cultivation weren't so low, even this old Daoist might have had to flee in panic. But today, you cannot escape your fate of becoming my vessel."

Elder Huanxi was supremely confident. With Chen Yao only at the Golden Core Realm Third Layer, no matter how formidable her cultivation method was, she could not possibly hurt him.