Fallen Soul Masters Cause Trouble, Chance Encounter with Ah Yin

"Are we really just going to walk all the way to the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Bibi Dong's tone carried a hint of mockery.

"You just came into such a massive fortune; surely you can't be too stingy to hire a carriage?"

She glanced at Yan Lingji and added, "Of course, it makes no difference to this Saintess."

"But you can't expect your own fiancée to suffer along with you, can you?"

"Of course not." Zhao Linchuan ignored the little game Bibi Dong was playing.

He raised his right hand, and a golden stream of light erupted from his palm as the Supreme Ease Golden Edge left his grasp.

The slender golden sword traced a graceful arc in the air before expanding rapidly against the wind. In the blink of an eye, it grew to the size of a door, hovering steadily about a meter above the ground in front of the three of them.

Zhao Linchuan reached out, naturally took Yan Lingji's hand, and led her onto the broad surface of the blade.

"Get on." Zhao Linchuan looked back at Bibi Dong and smiled. "We're flying."

"Flying?" Bibi Dong stepped onto the blade with skepticism, standing behind Zhao Linchuan.

"Rise!"

With a thought from Zhao Linchuan, the Supreme Ease Golden Edge trembled slightly before rising steadily, drifting into the high sky like a leaf caught in a breeze.

Wind surged from all directions, causing their robes to snap and flutter.

Bibi Dong looked down to see the silhouette of Spirit City shrinking rapidly beneath her feet. The city walls became a thin line, the houses turned into tiny squares, and the pedestrians became indistinguishable ants.

"My heavens!" she couldn't help but shriek, her voice fragmented by the wind. "How are you doing this?!"

"If you want to learn," Zhao Linchuan's voice came from the front, "I can teach you later."

"Really? That would be wonderful!"

"Stand steady, I'm accelerating!"

No sooner had he spoken than the Supreme Ease Golden Edge surged in speed!

The golden streak of light tore through the sky, racing toward the distance like a shooting star.

The wind whistled in their ears, clouds streaked past their sides, and the mountains and rivers below blurred into streaks of color as they receded rapidly.

"Slow down! Slow down! I'm going to fall off—!"

Bibi Dong's scream was scattered by the wind. She tilted backward involuntarily, instinctively lunging forward.

"Grab his waist! Don't grab mine...!"

Three days later.

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, in a small village about a thousand miles from the forest boundary.

The air was thick with the heavy stench of blood.

The scent was cloying and pungent, mixed with the smell of charred wood and dust, enough to make one want to retch.

Collapsed houses were scattered throughout the village, charred beams still emitting wisps of gray smoke, while broken pottery and tattered clothing littered the ground.

Cries of agony echoed one after another. A group of ragged fallen spirit masters rampaged through the village, the flickering light of their spirit skills illuminating their twisted, hideous faces.

They drove the villagers to the open space at the village entrance like a flock of lambs waiting for the slaughter.

Standing before the villagers, a woman in a silver-blue dress stood her ground, her clothes stained with blood.

Over a dozen evil spirit masters were closing in on her, each exuding a formidable aura. The burly, bald man in the lead was at least a Spirit King-level powerhouse.

She could leave; these fallen spirit masters could not stop her.

But if she left...

"Lady Ah Yin."

An aged voice came from behind her.

Ah Yin tilted her head slightly, seeing a white-haired old man trembling as he stood up in her peripheral vision.

"You should go," the old man said, his voice raspy. "We've lived long enough; it's our time. You shouldn't... you shouldn't be dragged down by us."

"That's right, Lady Ah Yin."

Another blind old woman groped her way to her feet, her withered hands feeling the air until she was steadied by her daughter-in-law.

"You are a noble spirit master; we are just the most ordinary of commoners."

"You mustn't let yourself be implicated because of us."

Her voice grew lower, her lips trembling as if she were desperately trying to suppress something.

"If you fall into the hands of those beasts, what awaits you..."

She didn't finish. She didn't want to imagine those unspeakable scenes, nor did she want to use any words to tarnish this kind girl who had fought to the death to protect them.

"I'm not leaving!" Ah Yin gritted her teeth. "If we are to die, we die here together!"

"What a touching scene." A coarse, raspy voice came from among the fallen spirit masters.

The crowd parted as a burly, middle-aged man strode out with a swaggering gait.

He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his face a mass of coarse flesh. He wore a brocade robe stripped from some unfortunate soul, which hung loosely off his frame and exposed a large patch of dark, matted chest hair.

"You want to save them?"

He tilted his head, looking Ah Yin up and down. His gaze lingered on her slender waist and elegant neck as he spoke in a lewd tone.

"It's not impossible."

He extended a thick, stubby finger, pointing it at Ah Yin before gesturing toward himself. "You stay, keep this master happy for the night, and I'll let them go."

"You are shameless!" Ah Yin's face turned livid.

"Who says I'm shameless?"

The man laughed instead of getting angry, grinning wide to tap his yellowed teeth with a finger.

"Look, don't I have teeth?"

The fallen spirit masters behind him erupted into a chorus of jeers, their laughter crude and grating, echoing through the blood-choked air.

Ah Yin's complexion shifted from livid to deathly pale.

She bit her lower lip so hard it nearly bled, yet she dared not make a single move.

There were dozens of villagers behind her; if she struck, these people...

"You are indeed quite shameless."

A clear, resonant voice suddenly descended from the sky.

"Who's there?" Everyone instinctively looked up.

In the sky, hundreds of three-foot-long golden energy swords hung like a waterfall, tips pointed downward, densely packed overhead like an inverted forest of golden blades.

The swords were as solid as physical objects, faint golden light patterns flowing across their blades. A sharp, piercing aura poured down from hundreds of meters above, pressing down until it was nearly impossible to breathe.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the sword formation, casting mottled shadows on the ground like an invisible net, shrouding the entire clearing.

"Ah? This—?!"

The lewd smile on the burly man's face froze instantly. His triangular eyes widened, his pupils reflecting the golden forest of blades as his Adam's apple bobbed violently.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the sharp sound of air being torn apart had already erupted!

Hundreds of golden swords shot downward like arrows released from a bow, accompanied by a shrill, piercing whistle!

Golden trails of light dragged behind them in the air, creating a sky-filling, inverted meteor shower!

The ringing of the blades was sharp and jarring, mixed with the howling of the air being shredded, making everyone's eardrums ache.

Before the man could even close his eyes, the first sword had already pierced through his shoulder blade!