Nangong

Let us move forward a little in time.

Just as Lin Yun triggered the spiritual energy vortex.

Roughly a thousand li east of his temporary cave abode, above a vast lake rarely visited by anyone.

Nangong Wan wore a hood and a spotless white veil that concealed her face. She stood in midair atop a flying sword, with the Vermilion Bird Ring circling beside her, radiating crimson flames.

Not far across from her, two strange-looking Core Formation cultivators in green robes-one old, one young-each held a long banner seething with ghostly energy. They stood calmly atop a cloud of dark red blood mist, watching Nangong Wan with ill intent.

These two were the Li brothers, Core Formation cultivators of the Ghost Spirit Sect.

"Hehehe... Fairy Nangong, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Off to meet some lover of yours? Why not have a little fun with us brothers first?" the white-haired old man with a face full of wrinkles asked with a malicious grin.

At his words, Nangong Wan's expression darkened beneath her veil. Shortly after she had broken out of the Covering Moon Sect, these two brothers from the Ghost Spirit Sect had come chasing after her like stubborn medicinal plasters stuck to her skin. Their occasional lewd remarks made them unbearably irritating.

In terms of cultivation, neither of these two Ghost Spirit Sect Core Formation cultivators could match her alone. Unfortunately, they were together, and the brothers had also cultivated a secret joint technique that briefly granted them the combat strength of the late Core Formation Stage. They could pin her down in an instant. If another Core Formation cultivator from the Demonic Path arrived then, her situation would become truly dire.

That was why Nangong Wan had been trying to avoid fighting them head-on, flying toward increasingly remote places instead. She wanted to find somewhere she could gravely wound one of them and create an opportunity to escape.

Nangong Wan swept her spiritual sense over her surroundings. If she remembered correctly, there were no strategic locations nearby important enough to warrant a Core Formation cultivator's protection. The only place worth noting was a spirit stone mine several hundred li away, but at most, only a few Foundation Establishment cultivators would be guarding it.

This is the best place to shake these two off! Nangong Wan made up her mind and immediately formed a hand seal. The Vermilion Bird Ring beside her shot out with a howl.

The Li brothers reacted swiftly. They hurriedly deployed their respective magical treasures, sending two streaks of blood-red light at Nangong Wan, one behind the other. At the same time, they chanted and released blood-colored magical power from their bodies, merging it into a blood-red barrier that blocked the Vermilion Bird Ring's attack.

Nangong Wan was not disappointed when her first strike failed. It had only been a probing attack. As the Li brothers unleashed their magical treasures, she threw two talismans from her hand.

The two talismans transformed into dazzling streaks of red light, blocking the path of the incoming magical treasures. After two explosions, the Li brothers' treasures were blasted off course.

Meanwhile, Nangong Wan recalled the Vermilion Bird Ring to guard her side. At some point, the flying sword beneath her feet had appeared in her palm. She raised it and swept it forward, sending an unbroken torrent of sword energy toward the Li brothers, blanketing the sky.

The Li brothers exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of shock in the other's eyes. "Who would have thought this woman still had so much magical power? We can't hold anything back!"

With no time to think and the sword energy almost upon them, the two immediately unleashed their secret joint technique. They recalled their curved saber treasures and released a mass of blood-red blades of light before them, which collided with Nangong Wan's sword energy.

At the same time, with flawless coordination, they repeatedly waved the Nine-Ghost Yin-Soul Banners in their hands.

An icy, towering tide of ghosts immediately surged out of the soul banners toward Nangong Wan.

Nangong Wan's expression shifted slightly at the sight. The Vermilion Bird Ring beside her instantly blazed with dazzling crimson light as she tried to block the ghost tide filling the sky.

Seeing her response, the Li brothers immediately smiled sinisterly and shook their Nine-Ghost Yin-Soul Banners. A piercing, grating chorus of malicious ghosts' shrieks erupted from the tide.

Upon hearing those shrieks, Nangong Wan immediately felt their assault on her soul. Fortunately, they had no effect on her.

Over the past few years, she had been cultivating the portion of the Purple Mansion Manual Lin Yun had taught her. Her soul had grown increasingly stable, and mere ghostly shrieks could do nothing to it.

Thinking of the cultivation formula she practiced, Nangong Wan briefly grew distracted and unconsciously pressed her lips together. She had come on this journey precisely for the man who had given her that formula.

Seeing the distracted look in Nangong Wan's eyes, the Li brothers immediately assumed their scheme had succeeded and hurriedly unleashed full-power slashes with their curved saber treasures.

But Nangong Wan's distraction lasted only an instant before she understood their intentions. She immediately pretended to be dazed by the ghostly shrieks while secretly pouring a large amount of true essence into the Vermilion Bird Ring.

When the Li brothers struck with all their strength, Nangong Wan's eyes instantly cleared. She pointed at the Vermilion Bird Ring, which suddenly burst with brilliant light and fierce flames, transforming into a flaming vermilion bird several zhang in size. Carrying an unimaginable heat, it struck at the childlike member of the Li brothers. At the same time, she slashed with the flying sword in her palm at full strength, meeting their curved saber treasures head-on.

Both sides attacked almost simultaneously. A white jade pendant at Nangong Wan's waist abruptly shattered, releasing a burst of white light that barely withstood the full-powered strike of the two magical treasures. Even so, she suffered considerable injuries, though they did not show outwardly yet.

The childlike member of the Li brothers took the vermilion bird's strike almost completely unguarded. He was gravely wounded on the spot, instantly losing consciousness and plunging from the sky.

The old man was also injured by the shock waves, but his injuries were lighter, and he merely spat out a mouthful of blood. He darted over and caught his falling brother, then glanced at the seemingly unharmed Nangong Wan and the Vermilion Bird Ring poised menacingly nearby. Realizing he had fallen into a trap, he hurriedly transformed into a streak of light and fled into the distance.

Seeing that she had frightened the Li brothers away, Nangong Wan hurriedly recalled the Vermilion Bird Ring. Without looking back, she changed direction and flew toward the mountains to the west.

The Vermilion Bird Ring's full-powered strike had consumed almost all her magical power. Now, she could barely keep flying on her treasure.

The elder of the Li brothers had only fled several dozen li with his gravely wounded brother when he ran straight into the Ghost Spirit Sect's Young Master Wang Chan, along with Tian Buque and Dong Xuan'er of the Joyful Union Sect, leading a group of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators.

These three had also been pursuing Nangong Wan, but they were only at Foundation Establishment. Their flight speed on magical treasures could not compare to that of Core Formation cultivators, so they had fallen behind with their group.

Seeing one of his sect's elders gravely wounded and the other fleeing, Wang Chan hurriedly demanded to know what had happened.

Faced with questions from three Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Ghost Spirit Sect old man did not dare put on airs. After all, one was his own sect's Young Master, one was the son of the sect master of the Joyful Union Sect, the foremost sect of the Demonic Path, and the third was a descendant of a Nascent Soul patriarch. He could not afford to offend any of them.

He could only honestly recount everything that had just happened, emphasizing Nangong Wan's formidable strength in particular, afraid these three might act foolishly and deliver themselves to her doorstep.

After hearing the old man's account, the strikingly beautiful and bewitching

Tian Buque immediately smiled and said, "Elder Li, you've fallen for Senior Nangong's trick in a big way. She's been fighting throughout her flight, and just now she wounded an elder with a full-powered strike. Even if she is a Core Formation cultivator, how much true essence and magical power could she have left? Since she hasn't pursued you, she must have exhausted her true essence and fled."

With that, Tian Buque immediately drove his treasure at full speed in the direction the Li brothers had come from. A gravely wounded female cultivator at the Core Formation Stage would be of great use to him.

The old man immediately came to his senses upon hearing this, realizing he had been fooled. He turned toward Wang Chan. "Young Master?"

Wang Chan's expression was ugly. "After her!"

He immediately set off in pursuit.

Seeing this, the old man had no choice but to leave his gravely wounded, unconscious brother in the care of the Ghost Spirit Sect group and follow Wang Chan in pursuit.