The kill

Mu Qing descended from the sky, his face furious and his sword pointed at them.

Dongfang Minghui clapped a hand over her mouth in fright, afraid she might accidentally cry for help.

Little Lecher: "..." You jinx.

Dongfang Wanyu instinctively lashed out with her whip. The supple weapon pointed straight at Mu Qing as she demanded, "Who are you?"

Dongfang Minghui was almost ready to admire the heroine. Even at a time like this, she remembered to keep up the act.

"Seventh Sister, he's that-that man from the Azure Mist Sect who borrowed the spot earlier." She hid fearfully behind the heroine, deliberately explaining for both of them to hear.

Their expressions did not seem feigned. Puzzled, Mu Qing paced back and forth before them, sniffing the air. There was no scent of the Winged Elephant magic beast, only a faint fragrance of fresh grass.

He had followed that rank smell all the way here, yet it had vanished upon his arrival. When things strayed from the norm, something sinister had to be lurking.

"Heh, you were the ones who released that Winged Elephant in the forest, weren't you?" Mu Qing was eighty percent certain they had done it.

He looked at them with disgust and said mockingly of himself, "To think that I, a peerless prodigy of the mighty Azure Mist Sect, was actually schemed against by the likes of you." It was an utter disgrace.

One was a level-one wood spirit master, the other a level-five earth spirit master.

Tsk. These two little ants had actually toyed with him. They clearly held the Azure Mist Sect in no regard whatsoever.

Dongfang Wanyu gave him an icy, aloof glance. "Schemed against you? What a joke. Does everyone in your Azure Mist Sect casually slander innocent people like you do? You want to frame us without distinguishing right from wrong? And you call yourself a peerless prodigy? Even if your sect master came here, they would have to obediently produce evidence before I admitted anything."

"Hah, quite the bold words. Don't you know that Winged Elephants have a distinctive identifying mark? Let me test it, and we'll know whether you plotted against me behind my back."

With that, he actually attacked outright, reaching to seize Dongfang Wanyu's hand.

Dongfang Wanyu wore two spatial rings on her hand.

"He's trying to bluff your Seventh Sister." Little Lecher had deliberately used the fragrance of green grass to conceal the Winged Elephant calf's scent.

Anyone would covet the young of a level-five magic beast, let alone this overbearing Azure Mist Sect disciple.

"So your so-called evidence amounts to robbery by force. I finally see the true face of your Azure Mist Sect." Naturally, Dongfang Wanyu would not let him succeed. In a flash, she retreated far away with Dongfang Minghui.

"Seventh Sister, what do we do?" Dongfang Minghui was almost stamping her feet in panic. He was a great spirit master. Although their ranks were only one tier apart, the gulf between them in battle was immense.

Even a level-nine spirit master could only be crushed before a great spirit master.

Seeing the genuine anxiety on her face, Dongfang Wanyu stroked her head and whispered, "I'll lure him away in a moment. Watch for your chance and leave immediately. Get as far away as you can."

"Seventh Sister."

After speaking, Dongfang Wanyu pressed a ring into her hand and went to meet him in battle.

Little Lecher raised the vine on its head and said in a childish voice, "I take back what I said earlier. Your Seventh Sister really is your flesh and blood."

"He's a level-three metal great spirit master, skilled in the Vajra Fist. Every punch carries the weight of a thousand jin. Be careful, and don't let him get close." Qing Mo guided Dongfang Wanyu within her mind. He had thought they could avoid the Azure Mist Sect, but they had ended up confronting it after all.

Dongfang Wanyu struggled to fend him off. Her earth skill, Earth Thorn, could not contend with his Vajra Fist at all. Every thorn that reached him was pulverized with a single punch.

"Qing Mo, we have no chance of winning if this continues."

Dongfang Minghui did not run. She still needed to cling to the heroine's golden thigh, but in this battle, the heroine was at an overwhelming disadvantage.

"Little Lecher, hurry and find a way to save Seventh Sister." Otherwise, even if she ran away with the ring, she would not get far.

To conserve spiritual power, Little Lecher returned to her mind. Its vines kept circling inside her head, nearly making her dizzy.

"Little Lecher," she pleaded despite herself.

"All right, all right. You win."

Just as the Vajra Fist shattered the last earth thorn and hurtled toward Dongfang Wanyu's chest, a great swath of brilliant green vines swished in from every direction. One after another, they wound around Mu Qing's legs and arms, firmly restricting his movements. He struggled, but failed to break free.

Dongfang Wanyu froze for a moment.

"So you have help." Mu Qing gave a mocking snort.

"Seventh Sister, attack now!" Dongfang Minghui shouted to her.

Although bound, Mu Qing moved two fingers to command his blade, severing the vines around his hands, then those around his feet.

Little Lecher's vines furiously clashed with the blade in midair. The remaining tendrils began binding Mu Qing's hands and feet again, winding deeper and tighter this time.

After this exchange, a trace of murderous intent flashed through Dongfang Wanyu's eyes. Whatever price she had to pay today, she would kill this man. Otherwise, he would surely become a major problem in the future.

Qing Mo understood as well. Whether they had stolen the magic beast or its calf today did not matter. Even without that incident, once the two sides came to blows, peaceful coexistence was impossible.

"Every Azure Mist Sect disciple has a soul tablet made before entering the sect. If he dies, his tablet in the sect will shatter. If you kill him, you must destroy him completely, leaving no trace-not even his soul." This was one reason Qing Mo had stopped Dongfang Wanyu from killing Mu Qing earlier.

As an inner sect disciple, Mu Qing's shattered soul tablet would certainly draw the Azure Mist Sect's attention. Someone would then come to the Magic Beast Forest to investigate. If the trail did not lead to them, all would be well. If it did, endless pursuit would await them.

Meanwhile, Dongfang Minghui clutched her head, which felt as though it would split apart.

Little Lecher was weak and listless, its spiritual power exhausted. All its spiritual power was currently sealed within her. Once she broke the seal, it would no longer be this feeble. "I can't hold on much longer. Hurry and tell your Seventh Sister to kill him with her other skill."

"Ah-it hurts! Seventh Sister, kill him now!"

Dongfang Wanyu poured lightning into her whip. Every lash left an indelible mark on Mu Qing's body. Unable to dodge, he took several vicious blows. Lightning coursed through him, numbing him to the bone.

After the Winged Elephant escaped the pit and he disposed of those seven people, he had gone to inspect the pit. There, he found a mark left by lightning and concluded that whoever had plotted against him must be a lightning spirit wielder.

"It really was you! It really was you!" Mu Qing gritted his teeth, glaring coldly at Dongfang Wanyu. "You actually concealed your skill. You're a dual-element spirit master."

"So what if I am? So what if I'm not? Either way, you won't have another chance to tell anyone."

Mu Qing rapidly circulated all his spiritual power and made a desperate attempt. He actually broke free of Little Lecher's vines. The vines shattered into pieces, twitched a few times, then lay still.

All of Little Lecher's vines withdrew.

Dongfang Minghui's head hurt so badly that she slammed it against a tree. Even after several blows, her agony did not ease. She felt faint, the world spinning around her.

"Little Lecher."

Little Lecher did not respond at all.

Seeing her opponent break free, Dongfang Wanyu unleashed her whip. It wrapped around Mu Qing on its own, binding him like a zongzi. The lightning patterns upon it moved in rippling circles, as though alive.

"Thunderclap Spell."

As Dongfang Wanyu's words fell, a thick bolt of lightning struck straight down.

The Thunderclap Spell was a mystic-grade skill. Its greatest advantage was the ability to store lightning for use against enemies later. It worked best when used amid thunder and lightning.

Under a clear daytime sky, Mu Qing had never expected lightning to strike. Lightning was already coursing through the whip binding him, shocking him until he had no strength to resist.

Dongfang Minghui watched a living person get blasted by lightning until he was charred outside and tender within.

Then the heroine summoned the lightning she had stored earlier again. Bolt after bolt struck him until his soul scattered into oblivion. Not even a speck remained, only her whip.

"I've checked. He left nothing behind. Hurry and go." Qing Mo could sense fluctuations of souls in the outside world.

Dongfang Wanyu had intended to store the heavenly lightning to save her life in the future, but she had never imagined she would use it all on Mu Qing.

"Unleashing so many bolts of heavenly lightning in succession is bound to attract attention. Leave this place quickly," Qing Mo urged.

Only after Mu Qing died did Dongfang Wanyu breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ninth Sister, what's wrong?"

Dongfang Minghui could barely hear her. She felt along the tree behind her for a long time before finding somewhere to brace herself, then struggled to her feet. There were actually two heroines before her eyes. The other woman's lips were moving, but she could not tell what she was saying. Shaking her head hard, she asked, "Seventh Sister, why are there two of you?"

Seeing her pale, bloodless face, Dongfang Wanyu grew worried. "What's wrong? Were you hurt just now?"

Dongfang Minghui had no idea what she was saying. She gripped the heroine's hand tightly, stumbled, and fell against her. "Don't leave me behind."

After those words, her vision went black, and she lost all awareness.

"Ninth Sister."

Qian Wanyu examined her but found no injuries.

"This is the first time I've seen anyone overdraw their spiritual power to this extent. She really spared no effort for you. Take her away quickly. Someone's coming." Qing Mo could not help pressing a hand to his forehead.

Dongfang Wanyu hoisted her onto her back, retrieved her whip, and swiftly left.

At the same time, in the Azure Mist Sect's Soul Cloud Pavilion, Mu Qing's soul tablet suddenly shattered. Upon seeing it, the disciple guarding the pavilion immediately reported the incident.

Mu Qing was a personal disciple of the third elder, Jin Xieyun. He had gone to the Magic Beast Forest to find a mount, only to lose his life there.

"What of Qingyan's and Qing Miao's soul tablets?"

"They remain intact."

Jin Xieyun issued a curt order. "Investigate. If you see those two, bring them back immediately. I want to know this entire affair, from the dragon's head to its tail."