Caught in the Act

Pan Yun's face was deathly pale, but her movements were decisive. All her remaining spiritual energy transformed into sealing talismans, which she hurled at it one after another.

The Spirit Realm dodged and weaved, its white jade lotus petals bulging, threatening to burst and break free. But Pan Yun wouldn't yield...

This was happening inside her Mud Pill Palace. One wrong move and she'd be an idiot, or worse, dead. Yet, she acted as if she had nothing to lose.

The Spirit Being had been dormant for years and had only just woken up. It was unwilling to fall back into slumber and absolutely terrified of dying. A magical artifact achieving sentience was a one-in-a-million chance; it had used up all its luck just to become sentient and dared not risk it.

It had no choice but to abandon a direct confrontation with Pan Yun, abandon its physical form, and exhaust its energy to break through the encirclement of talismans, bursting out of Pan Yun's body.

A beam of spiritual light shot out from Pan Yun's forehead and, with a whoosh, merged into the plum tree beside her. Pan Yun's eyes snapped open. With a flick of her right palm, a talisman made of spiritual energy appeared in her hand, and she quickly slapped it towards the plum tree...

The Spirit Being wailed, escaping the plum tree as the talisman descended. Without a second glance, it quickly plunged into a nearby cat.

As soon as it entered, it wanted to flee, only to discover it was a dead cat with a broken leg. It collapsed as soon as it tried to stand.

Seeing the approaching figure, the Spirit Being cried out, "You're dishonorable! We agreed to cooperate, but you're going back on your word!"

Pan Yun's spiritual energy was depleted. She walked while refining the essence within her body, waiting for spiritual energy to regenerate before drawing more talismans. However, she showed no outward signs of fatigue. She stopped before it and engaged in idle chatter, "When did we ever agree to cooperate?"

It meowed, but Pan Yun could understand, "You just acknowledged me!"

Pan Yun: "I acknowledged you to mean I understood, not that I agreed to cooperate."

The entire cat froze. Recalling the events, it was true. She had only said "Oh," without explicitly agreeing to cooperate.

The cat, no, the Spirit Being, was furious.

The refined essence turned into spiritual energy and flowed into her Dantian. She immediately mobilized it, and a talisman appeared in her hand. As she raised her palm to strike, the entire cat shrieked, "If you seal me, you won't get my help—"

"In my past life, you didn't awaken in the research institute, and we could still use you. Your abilities were just sealed, but we could still access unsealed information. You waking up is too troublesome, so go back to sleep."

The Spirit Being let out a sharp scream, trying to persuade her, but the talisman was already pressed against it, silencing it instantly. Suddenly, a furious roar echoed, "Stop!"

Then, a force struck, sending Pan Yun flying backward, crashing to the ground with a bang.

The cat was scooped up by a hand, and it instantly froze.

Pan Yun felt like her internal organs had shifted, but she didn't dare cry out in pain. As soon as she hit the ground, she quickly scrambled up, her eyes bloodshot as she glared at the person who had suddenly appeared.

A young man in a cyan-grey daoist robe held a black cat in his arms, frowning as he looked at her. Seeing her small stature, appearing only six or seven years old, he froze, "You're this young?"

Then he became enraged, "So young and already so vicious, a true born evil! Let me teach you a lesson."

He raised his hand to strike, but it was caught by another hand. "Wait!"

Pan Yun subtly retreated two steps. Seeing the second person appear, her hair stood on end. She sensed danger.

This second person was also in a cyan-grey daoist robe, but it was a young woman. She was cold, her eyes chilling. After sweeping her gaze over Pan Yun, she looked directly at the empty space behind her, "You killed someone."

A definitive statement that made Pan Yun's heart pound.

The young man sized Pan Yun up, frowning. "Junior Sister, are you mistaken? This child looks only six or seven. Killing a cat would be a struggle, let alone a person?"

The young woman said coldly, "Eight years old. Are you blind to that large patch of blood on her?"

The young man's gaze sharpened. "That's not cat blood..."

He paused. Where would a cat have so much blood?

He re-examined Pan Yun, his expression growing increasingly grim. "What a cruel little brat. Could this be a fake child? A dwarf? Or some technique that allows shrinking?"

The young man became much more cautious. He stepped forward with the cat in his arms, sniffing gently. The smell of blood grew stronger, and his expression darkened further.

Such a strong scent of blood. Was this a brutal murder?

Pan Yun retreated step by step with his movements, frantically refining the essence within her body. But she hadn't eaten much today, and her stomach was empty, pushing her to her limit.

Although there was spiritual energy in the air, it was scarce. She could only desperately grasp at it to absorb a little.

She moved closer and closer to the plum tree. A little closer, and she could...

Just as she was about to hide under the plum tree, a figure flashed forward like lightning. Pan Yun's heart leaped in alarm. She waved her hand, her remaining spiritual energy splitting into two. One formed a silver-white blade that shot towards the young woman's neck with a whoosh, while the other allowed her to retreat rapidly, whooshing into the plum tree.

Just a little longer, just a little longer, until she refined more essence and spiritual energy...

[Take me away...] a weak voice echoed in her mind. It was the Three Jade Spirit Realm, its main body still within her Mud Pill Palace.

Pan Yun snorted coldly, [Take me away and absorb my spiritual energy again?]

If not for it, why would she have cultivated for eight years and still be so stingy with her spiritual energy?

Spirit Being: [All things have spirits, including plants. The plum tree you're in contains essence, which is faster to absorb than drawing spiritual energy from outside. You need to experience it, imagine yourself as one with the plum tree...]

Pan Yun's heart stirred. She calmed her mind and felt the tree. For eight years, Pan Yun's cultivation had not progressed an inch, but she never gave up. Through setbacks, she had developed the good habit of entering meditation quickly.

It was the same now. As she approached the plum tree, she felt it drawing energy from the earth ceaselessly. Her feet seemed to have transformed into roots, drawing energy along with it. At the same time, she felt its pulse, and she "saw" green energy flowing within the tree...

Pan Yun unhesitatingly reached out to grasp it. As soon as she grabbed some, the tree body violently shook, throwing half of her body off.

The young man attacking the plum tree exclaimed in shock, "Junior Sister, you were right! She really is hiding in the tree and didn't escape!"

Pan Yun flashed to run. The energy she had absorbed was minimal, so she formed a hand seal and chanted, gathering spiritual energy from the air, intending to burrow into the ground and escape. But as soon as her feet touched the ground, she was yanked up.

The young woman quickly tapped Pan Yun's body. The spiritual energy she had gathered immediately dissipated, her meridians were blocked, and her energy dispersed instantly.

Pan Yun: ...

The large and small figures silently stared at each other.

Pan Yun: This isn't martial arts, it's like her, she knows spells and can also disrupt her spells.

The young woman was also certain now. Pan Yun knew sorcery. The spiritual energy she had just condensed instantly dissipated into the air, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to spread and dilute the smell of blood, making her breathing a little easier.

The young man rushed over carrying a cat and took Pan Yun from the woman's hands. He shook her in the air.

Pan Yun's head was spinning from his shaking. The young man exclaimed in surprise, "Junior Sister, look, she hasn't changed. She really is human, not a spirit or monster."

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