Jing Wen drew a deep breath and looked at Xin Ruoyin solemnly.
The dying sunlight filtered through the bamboo grove, casting dappled shadows across his sharply defined face. His deep eyes seemed to harbor endless darkness.
"Miss Xin, I know you have many questions."
Xin Ruoyin nodded slightly, her slender fingers tightening around her sleeve.
Ever since this mysterious man had entered her life, everything had become extraordinary.
He knew the secret of her Dragon Cry Physique and had casually produced millennium spirit medicine to prolong her life, yet he also showed an unusual interest in her mastery of formations.
Jing Wen slowly rose to his feet, standing as straight as a pine.
He raised his head slightly, his gaze reaching past the courtyard wall toward the distant horizon, as though he were trying to see more of the sunset's lingering light through the layers of rosy clouds.
The sun was gradually sinking in the west, staining half the sky orange-red. Those warm, brilliant colors spilled over Jing Wen, gilding him with a faint golden outline.
"Let me tell you something, Miss Xin. Perhaps the many questions in your heart will then unravel like bamboo beneath a blade."
He paused, his voice suddenly growing unbearably heavy. "Among my enemies are Deity Transformation Cultivators. More than one of them."
His words exploded like a thunderclap beside Xin Ruoyin's ears. The teacup in her hand fell to the ground with a crack, splashing tea onto the hem of her dress.
Her mind went blank in an instant. She felt as though lightning had struck her, and her body trembled beyond her control.
"Deity Transformation?" she murmured instinctively, her voice filled with disbelief.
To her, Deity Transformation Cultivators were beings out of legend, appearing only in ancient records, mysterious and impossibly distant.
She