Phantom Shadow Demon Trace

Volume 2: Phantom Shadow Demon Trace, Chapter 26: Where Did You Get That True Essence?

A palm carrying a faint black magnetic force broke through the boundary of the green barrier and struck Pei Yuan's chest. The peerless, tyrannical palm power instantly shattered the bones throughout the body of this Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, also shaking his Qi Sea and Purple Mansion—where his True Essence was stored—into smithereens.

After another moment, a whistling wind sounded in the sky. Several people dressed in attire similar to the previous Baiyue Temple disciples, escorting a Golden Core Stage cultivator, descended from the sky on colorful flying swords.

"Damn it, don't run!"

"Calm down, collect Pei Yuan's corpse."

"Little friend, you are joking." Pei Qing laughed. "After all, we cannot afford to offend the Azure Nether Sword Sect, so please hand over your Magic Treasure and surrender. When the time comes, we will naturally notify the elders of the Azure Nether Sword Sect to come and take you back."

Bai Qiuran also glanced at the disciples who had chased after them. The ones pursuing Zuo Yanfei were a Foundation Establishment Mid Stage and a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, while the one pursuing Tang Ruowei was a Foundation Establishment Peak Stage cultivator—a so-called "Virtual Core" realm cultivator who was only one step away from forming a Golden Core.

"Sigh, let me tell you the truth. Just as you suspected, the Crown Prince of Dingguo was killed by my Senior Brother using a spell to directly destroy his heart, framing those few demons... In this way, our Baiyue Temple can not only help the Prince ascend to the throne and control Dingguo from behind the scenes, but also use the excuse of avenging the Crown Prince to capture those demons for alchemy. It kills two birds with one stone."

The leading Golden Core Stage cultivator, who looked like an old Taoist, gave an order, then looked at Bai Qiuran and asked, "Little friend, can you tell this old Taoist who killed this person?"

Only then did Pei Qing, standing to the side, react.

The remaining Pei Yuan and Pei Qing stood in front of Tang Ruowei, sneering at her.

The old Taoist stroked his beard and said with his hands behind his back, "Let this old Taoist guess. Pei Qing reported earlier that Pei Shan died at the hands of a female Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. According to intelligence, this time, among those who accepted the bounty for the Dingguo Crown Prince case, there was a group of two women and one man—a combination of two Foundation Establishment and one Qi Refining Stage. The one who killed Pei Yuan must be your Senior Sister, right? Pei Qing and the others are not here, so they must have gone to chase them. Little friend, what do you think will happen to your Senior Sister if we capture you?"

"That is... Pei Yuan? Master, he is dead!"

The old Taoist glanced at Pei Yuan's corpse and said indifferently, "Do you think we will believe you? Pei Yuan's bones are shattered inch by inch starting from his chest; it is obvious he was killed by a vicious and overbearing palm technique, and there is still a thick amount of True Essence left in his body. But you are only at the Qi Refining Stage. Where did you get that True Essence?"

"Pei Yuan?!" Tang Ruowei smiled, then suddenly changed her expression and said, "As if!"

Seeing Zuo Yanfei disappear, Pei Dao stomped his foot and hurriedly chased after her. Another quiet disciple also flickered and merged into the ground, using some kind of earth-escape technique to follow the direction where Zuo Yanfei had vanished.

"Sigh, wait a moment."

"Heh, I believe you..." Bai Qiuran shrugged his shoulders.

Even so, Pei Yuan was still knocked back several steps by the impact of that sword. He was secretly shocked, but he laughed and said, "Ha, do you think I will fall for the same trick again? Young lady, I cannot stop your sword, but this Spirit Talisman, which came from the hand of my Golden Core Late Stage Master, is more than enough to block your attack. Give up, you have already—"

She parted her lips slightly, and a streak of black Sword Light shot out, heading straight for Pei Yuan's Purple Mansion. However, a faint green barrier appeared in front of Pei Yuan, blocking the sword.

"Pei Shan, chase!"

It was just like someone who insisted on jumping around in front of others, shouting, "Come and kill me!" If such a person were truly beaten to death, no one would sympathize with him.

His palms flew, bombarding the air with palm imprints, but they were all parried by Zuo Yanfei's spear.

However, they were Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators after all, so Bai Qiuran was not worried about his disciple. As long as the gap wasn't a major realm, with the techniques he had taught her, she couldn't possibly lose if she used her head a little.

Before he could finish his sentence, Tang Ruowei suddenly flashed, appeared in front of him, raised her hand, and struck his chest with a palm.

"Master, the location where Senior Brother Pei Qing launched the Spirit Talisman is right here."

Watching this scene, Bai Qiuran did not stop them, letting Pei Yuan's soul be taken away by the Underworld Emissary. With this, this disciple of Baiyue Temple was truly dead.

Moreover, before the fight started, Tang Ruowei and Zuo Yanfei had reported their sect names and said all the polite things they could. Tang Ruowei had even warned him repeatedly that he might die if he took that strike, but the Baiyue Temple disciple insisted on attacking, so no one could be blamed.

Although Bai Qiuran did not advocate for humans to kill each other, such things were inevitable in the Cultivation World. He had just heard that Tang Ruowei had already killed a Baiyue Temple disciple during a previous ambush; logically, the other side should have known she had that capability.

On the other side, seeing this, Pei Dao also roared, his palms glowing red as he lunged toward Zuo Yanfei.

Thinking of this, Bai Qiuran lazily swept a glance at the stone statue of the former Emperor of Dingguo, then sat on the stone platform at the foot of the statue.

Oh, he was actually quite polite.

One of the disciples looked around and then discovered Pei Yuan's corpse lying on the ground, as well as Bai Qiuran sitting on the stone platform at the foot of the statue.

At this realm, a cultivator's True Essence had condensed to the extreme within the Purple Mansion and Qi Sea, showing a spontaneous tendency to solidify, and at this time, the cultivator also possessed certain characteristics of a Golden Core Stage cultivator.

When he looked over there, the Underworld Emissaries happened to look at him as well. One person and several ghosts stared at each other for a second, but those Underworld Emissaries looked as if they had seen a ghost, dragging Pei Yuan's soul and fleeing into the void.

"Alright, little friend, the bluffing ends here."

"Hard to say." He looked at Pei Yuan's corpse lying to the side. His special vision, gained after crossing the boundary between life and death many times, saw the bewildered soul of Pei Yuan being chained up by several Underworld Emissaries, so he shook his head.

"Heaven knows, perhaps it was killed by me."

Pei Yuan spat blood from his seven orifices simultaneously and collapsed to the ground, while Tang Ruowei stomped her foot, her figure merging into the earth as she escaped into the distance.

He had developed a murderous intent. He took out a Spirit Talisman, activated it to notify his fellow disciples, then raised his hand to summon a golden sword, carrying himself as he flew in the direction Tang Ruowei had left.

Thus, the few disciples of Baiyue Temple were all lured into the interior of Ding Jiangshan by Zuo Yanfei and Tang Ruowei, leaving only the corpse of Pei Yuan, who had been killed by Tang Ruowei's palm, lying alone on the spot.

After another while, there was movement on the ground again. Amidst a flash of Spirit Light, Bai Qiuran emerged from under the stone statue with a composed look and stood beside it.

Bai Qiuran thought to himself, but he still looked up at the sky, appearing as arrogant as could be.

The tip of Zuo Yanfei's spear struck a layer of faint runes, emitting a crisp sound.

After saying this, he gestured, and the group of Foundation Establishment Stage disciples surrounding them closed in.

"Before the truth of the case is cleared up, my Senior Sisters will not stop."

Bai Qiuran reached out to stop them and said, "To avoid any 'ignorance is no excuse' situations, I'll say this clearly: my Senior Sister and I are from the Azure Nether Sword Sect, and the other sister is from the Divine Martial Heavenly Army. You had better think carefully before you make a move. Besides, I am not some ordinary Qi Refining Stage cultivator; who knows, maybe this corpse on the ground was killed by me?"

The old Taoist sighed, "But so what if you know? Even if you could persuade Emperor Qu Peng to open the Crown Prince's chest and determine the true cause of death, there is no way to verify who committed the act if he died from such a common spell... I know you come from prestigious sects, but your sects are not here. Facing a Golden Core Stage cultivator, you still have no way out. Although I cannot get rid of you directly, capturing you and waiting for a while until the dust settles, then letting your sect elders come to collect you, is the same thing. The gap in strength is so large, little friend, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

"Young lady, rest assured, we won't do anything to you."

The silver dragon-like spear spewed a mouthful of True Essence, the energy fierce. Although the silent disciple had been prepared, he still groaned and was forced back a step by Zuo Yanfei.

"Sigh, why won't you listen to advice? Human hearts are too greedy."

"Should I start teaching Ruowei how to subdue others..."

Pei Dao's cultivation was two minor realms higher than Zuo Yanfei's. The latter borrowed his force to retreat, shifted her footsteps, and used a very elusive footwork to dart into the dense forest of Ding Jiangshan.