Gao Yuzhu had entered the Chayi Sect and exhausted every scheme and stratagem to reach where she was today.
Even she herself had never imagined she would die so simply.
With Gao Yuzhu dead, Situ Yuelan had fulfilled the karma she had vowed to repay. The Bronze Mirror took far less effort to drive with her magic power, and the condensed Yin Cold Qi had grown several times more powerful.
The Green-clothed Female Cultivator whom she had stopped earlier saw Situ Yuelan distracted and thought her chance had come. She was about to cast a spell and attack.
But Gao Yuzhu had died in the blink of an eye. Horrified, she turned and fled.
Situ Yuelan chanted an incantation. A stream of Yin Cold Qi shot out of the Bronze Mirror and turned into a sword, piercing straight through the Green-clothed Female Cultivator.
In an instant, the Yin Cold Qi engulfed the Green-clothed Female Cultivator's body, swept up her Divine Soul as well, and dragged it into the Bronze Mirror.
"She's at least in the Contemplation Realm. She'll make a fine puppet!"
Clutching the Bronze Mirror, Situ Yuelan fixed her gaze on the other Chayi Sect female cultivators.
"Fellow Daoist Xuan Mingzi, finish this quickly. Two have already died, and their soul lamps have gone out. Fairy Caiyi will soon sense what happened here. We can't afford to be careless!"
As she spoke, the Bronze Mirror floated into the air. With her magic power driving it, a massive hand of profound yin took shape and seized the Blue-clothed Female Cultivator. A Secret Method refined her.
The Blue-clothed Female Cultivator's soul was sealed. Her body stiffened, and she was dragged into the Bronze Mirror.
With that, Situ Yuelan had killed three of them.
The pressure on Chen Ming eased at once. Three of the seven Flying Shuttles, interwoven with radiance, fell away.
"Qing Ling, don't let that one escape!"
Chen Ming called out, having caught sight of the Orange-clothed Female Cultivator sneaking away.
After Qing Ling transformed into a demon, she seemed weak compared to Chen Ming and Situ Yuelan, but she could still match a Contemplation Realm cultivator like those of the Seven-Colored Clothes Sect.
Qing Ling didn't dare let her guard down. Her head flew ahead from her neck, while her twisting body transformed into a tree behind it.
Attacking from both sides, they sealed off the Orange-clothed Female Cultivator's escape route.
"My life is over!"
The Orange-clothed Female Cultivator cried out, then was whipped to death by the branches spreading from Qing Ling's tree-demon body. Her Divine Soul leaped out, only to be swallowed by Qing Ling's head.
Another of the seven Flying Shuttles fell.
Only the purple, red, and green ones remained. They were no match for Chen Ming.
Chen Ming inhaled sharply, and the three female cultivators' Divine Souls shuddered, nearly falling apart.
In that brief opening, Chen Ming's azure radiance and golden flames struck the cultivators in purple and red.
His magic sword also landed on the one in green, disrupting the flow of their magic power and Divine Sense.
The three remaining Flying Shuttles dimmed at once. Chen Ming turned his magic power with a wave of his hand, suppressing all seven Flying Shuttles.
Countless bugs swarmed through the Poisonous Smoke and rushed forward. In an instant, they devoured the three female cultivators.
Situ Yuelan withdrew into the Bronze Mirror, which floated in the air.
Qing Ling set her head back in place, descended onto her body, and stood behind Chen Ming.
"Fellow Daoist, we must leave at once!"
"The Seven-Colored Clothes are all dead. Fairy Caiyi will soon notice. She won't be able to sit still!"
Situ Yuelan's voice came from within the Bronze Mirror.
Chen Ming didn't dare be careless. They had made a fine show of slaughtering the seven, but if a Great Cultivator of the Spirit Condensation Realm came after them, they would be no match at all. They'd be doomed.
Chen Ming reached out and tucked the Bronze Mirror into his sleeve. "You'll have to put up with this for now, Fellow Daoist."
With that, he chanted an incantation, swept Qing Ling along with him, and vanished amid swirling clouds of smoke.
On the immortal mountain, Fairy Caiyi sat in quiet repose, admiring the shifting clouds and easing her mind.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open. Seven-colored radiance flickered across her plain white dress, and she appeared at the place where her disciples' soul lamps were kept.
All seven soul lamps of her Contemplation Realm disciples had gone out.
Fairy Caiyi's expression darkened. With a clatter, she swept the extinguished soul lamps to the floor.
"A bunch of good-for-nothings!"
She was no longer her usual serene self. She let out an angry shout.
Then a strange, piercing shriek rang from her lips.
The seven-colored clouds shrouding the mountain gate writhed. A gigantic Luan Bird flew out from within them.
The feathers on the Luan Bird's body were made of cloud qi, shimmering in seven colors.
Seven-colored cloud patterns appeared on Fairy Caiyi's plain white dress. She flew onto the Luan Bird's back.
The Luan Bird carried Fairy Caiyi into the sky, trailing a long, shimmering streak of color behind it. It was a beautiful sight.
In less than half an incense stick's time, Fairy Caiyi rode the Luan Bird to Cuiping Mountain.
Seeing the desolate mountain, its spiritual energy in disarray, Fairy Caiyi still couldn't quell her fury at the destruction of the Seven-Colored Clothes beneath her command. With a wave of her hand, the Luan Bird swept its long tail across the mountain, and Cuiping Mountain collapsed with a roar.
"Let's see how far you can run!"
Fairy Caiyi pinched her fingers to calculate their whereabouts, but her brow furrowed.
She could only determine the general direction, not their exact location.
Still, she followed the clues she had calculated and gave chase.
Elsewhere, Chen Ming kept using Secret Methods to put distance between them, changing their route as Situ Yuelan had advised.
After traveling for a full half-month, they finally reached a vast, unbroken mountain range and stopped.
"I used a Secret Method to conceal our spiritual energy. Fairy Caiyi won't find us easily. By the time she tracks us down, we'll have entered the Vast Mountain Range. She may not dare go in."
"My body fell somewhere in this mountain range and split into three hundred Spiritual Items. They won't be easy to find."
Situ Yuelan took shape and spoke, clutching the Bronze Mirror.
"What's so special about the Vast Mountain Range that a Great Cultivator of the Spirit Condensation Realm like Fairy Caiyi wouldn't dare enter?"
Chen Ming was puzzled. If, as Situ Yuelan said, those in the Spirit Condensation Realm feared going in, wouldn't they be in even greater danger, with only their Contemplation Realm strength?
Situ Yuelan smiled. "The Vast Mountain Range is home to hidden cultivators from all kinds of Heretical Paths. It's also enormous, making it easy to conceal your tracks."
"Fairy Caiyi may be in the Spirit Condensation Realm, but she comes from the Biyun Heavenly Palace. The ones guarding the Vast Mountain Range are disciples of the Myriad Laws Sect, also in the Spirit Condensation Realm."
"The grudges between the Myriad Laws Sect and the Biyun Heavenly Palace can't be explained in a few words. Once Fairy Caiyi enters the Vast Mountain Range, the cloud qi around her will shine like a beacon. She'll be beset by ambushes and plots. Whether she makes it out alive is anyone's guess!"
"My path of cultivation has some ties to the Myriad Laws Sect. My body is scattered throughout the mountain and will be hard to find, but there's still some hope."
Hearing this, Chen Ming said, "I never knew you had such a background, Fellow Daoist Situ. No wonder you dared scheme against the Chayi Sect. Turns out you have powerful connections backing you."
"We only have some ties to them. If Fairy Caiyi had close connections to the Biyun Heavenly Palace, I wouldn't have dared scheme like this," Situ Yuelan said.
She wasn't just being modest. Whether it was the Biyun Heavenly Palace or the Myriad Laws Sect, both were among the greatest sects of the age, with countless mighty figures.
Even having some ties to them was already remarkable.
"By the way, Fellow Daoist Situ, have you remembered those two Magic Arts?" Chen Ming suddenly asked.
Situ Yuelan's expression changed. It seemed she had made up her mind. "Since you've asked, I won't keep it from you any longer. I'll need to rely on your help to make this work."
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