Ecstasy and Surprise

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Xue Mei placed Jiang Chang in the center of the Malevolent Qi Array, then stepped back, removing her long red gown and replacing it with a black tight-fitting outfit. She then draped a large, loose cloak over her shoulders.

The cloak was a concealment treasure, completely masking her presence.

Xue Mei descended down a vertical tunnel and entered the corpse pit, using the cover of the night to move through the remote woods of the Nine Palaces Sect.

She had been planning her escape from the Nine Palaces Sect for years, and had long mapped out her escape route.

The journey was smooth, and within a short time, she arrived at the sect's mountain gate.

Outside the mountain gate, there were four Foundation Establishment cultivators and one Qi Refining cultivator guarding it.

Tai He did not restrict Xue Mei's activities within the sect, but he did not allow her to leave easily. Therefore, she did not have the same access token that even the outer disciples possessed.

But this was not a problem for Xue Mei.

She remained calm, flying steadily toward the mountain gate.

When she was about ten meters from the gate, she stopped and fixed her gaze on the leader of the Foundation Establishment guards.

This guard was the strongest of the group, and it was clear he was their leader.

Her arrival caught the attention of the guards.

The four Foundation Establishment guards looked through the formation barrier and saw Xue Mei standing in the shadows of the night. The other Qi Refining guards, being too weak, did not notice her presence.

Xue Mei waved at the guard leader.

The guard leader activated his identity token, passed through the formation barrier, and walked toward her.

Because her cloak concealed both her aura and appearance, the guard leader only recognized her when he stood in front of her.

"You... are Elder Yan? You called for me. What is your command?" he asked.

Xue Mei's right hand lowered slightly, her fingertip moving just a bit.

A faint crimson mist floated out and, before the guard leader could react, it entered his mouth and nose.

The guard leader's face contorted with struggle as if trying to resist some sort of mental intrusion.

However, in just the span of a breath, his expression became dull, and his eyes glazed over.

"Open the mountain gate," Xue Mei said softly.

"Yes!" the guard leader responded.

He took out a formation disk and, with stiff and slow movements, made a few hand seals.

At the mountain gate, the transparent formation barrier suddenly split open, creating an opening about ten feet high.

Without hesitation, Xue Mei passed through the gap and disappeared into the night.

The guard leader closed the formation gap and, with a vacant expression, returned to his post.

"Brother Huang, who was that just now? Why did they have you open the mountain gate for them?" one of the other Foundation Establishment guards asked, curious.

The guard leader stared ahead with a cold gaze, his voice icy.

"It was... an elder of the sect. It's none of your business. Don't ask... any more questions."

The guard frowned but said no more. He knew the person was a sect elder.

The speed at which they passed by was so fast that even though the guards were right in front of them, they couldn't make out the person's appearance.

Who else could it be but a senior sect elder?

The guard still felt something was off about Brother Huang, but seeing his blank expression, he assumed that the senior sect elder had spoken to him in a certain way, so he did not press further.

...

Xue Mei quickly flew towards Anzhou City.

"Ji Yin, I'm Yan Yiwen. I never expected you to survive and return to the Tianyuan Continent. I thought you would have hidden somewhere, yet you deliberately sent word to me. Are you trying to lure me out and kill me?"

"Perfect, I've been wanting to get rid of you too. How about we meet and settle this once and for all?"

As she sped along, Xue Mei sent a message to Song Wen.

She was worried that Tai He might discover her escape and pursue her at any moment.

So, she dared not linger near the Nine Palaces Sect and, as soon as she was out of the mountain gate, began contacting Song Wen.

At this point, she still hadn't figured out why Song Wen wanted to contact "Yan Yiwen."

But that didn't stop her from using this opportunity to lure Song Wen out and take the bronze key coffin he had.

Soon, Xue Mei received a reply from Song Wen.

"Miss Yan, are you trying to lure Tai He into coming after me again?"

"I have already reached the Golden Core stage. I no longer need anyone's help to kill you. This time, I will kill you myself, avenging countless clan members who have died beneath the Nine Springs."

When Song Wen received Yan Yiwen's message, he was also extremely surprised.

He had wondered if this person claiming to be Yan Yiwen was truly her.

His painstaking efforts were all to draw out Yan Yiwen, so he decided to meet her first.

"Two hours from now, I will be waiting for you in Qinglang Valley, thirty thousand miles south of Anzhou City. If you're late, I will not wait."

Upon reading this message, Xue Mei did not hesitate and immediately flew towards Qinglang Valley.

The bronze key coffin was of utmost importance to her. Even if there was an ambush, she was willing to take the risk.

For the bronze key coffin, she was willing to risk death at Tai He's hands and endure the constraints of the Nine Palaces Sect.

In comparison, Song Wen's threat was much less significant. After all, a hundred years ago, he was still just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if his cultivation had improved rapidly, it was still limited. He could not possibly be stronger than her, who had reached the peak of the Golden Core stage.

...

After sending the message to Xue Mei, Song Wen hurried to Qinglang Valley.

The valley was overgrown with wild grasses, the leaves densely packed, making it difficult to see through.

Hidden within the grass were numerous low-level demon beasts, mostly green wolves, which gave the valley its name.

TL/N: Qinglang = Green Wolf

Song Wen set up the Six Extreme Star Guardian Formation in the valley's heart.

This was a fourth-tier defensive formation that he had obtained from killing six Golden Core cultivators from the Lei family.

Previously, when the six Golden Core cultivators from the Lei family combined their powers, they barely managed to activate this formation to withstand one of Song Wen's attacks.

Since Song Wen did not have a suitable fourth-tier trapping formation, he decided to use this defensive formation as a trapping one. In case Tai He arrived, it might delay him for a moment.

One hour later.

Xue Mei arrived.

Hidden in the grass, Song Wen, seeing 'Yan Yiwen' arrive alone, was slightly surprised.

After upgrading his spiritual sense to the middle stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, he could sense a radius of up to two hundred meters. With the help of the Shadow Gu, he could extend his senses up to three hundred meters, comparable to a Nascent Soul Realm late-stage cultivator.

Song Wen was certain there were no other cultivators within three hundred meters.

Tai He had not followed her.

As 'Yan Yiwen' grew closer, Song Wen did not rush to act. He waited until she entered the Six Extreme Star Guardian Formation, and then the Void-Breaking Blade suddenly shot out.

Faced with Song Wen's full force Void-Breaking Blade, which was a surprise attack, and with her spiritual sense sealed, Xue Mei was helpless.

Before she could activate her powers, the Void-Breaking Blade closed in on her.

However, the blade did not kill her. Instead, it stopped at her forehead.

At the same time, the blade's cutting aura swept away her black cloak.

"I didn't expect you to come alone," Song Wen said as he slowly emerged from the grass below.

As soon as he spoke, his brow furrowed, and he said in a low voice, "Wait, you're not Yan Yiwen."

Although the person in front of him looked exactly like Yan Yiwen, their aura was completely different, causing Song Wen to feel a sense of unease.

Xue Mei, too, was shocked.

Before coming here, she had already anticipated that there would be an ambush waiting for her.

But she never imagined that the ambush would come from a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Wasn't it said that this person was only a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator?

And a hundred years ago, wasn't he just a Foundation Establishment cultivator? How could he have reached the Nascent Soul Realm in such a short time? His cultivation speed was truly terrifying.

"You're Xue Mei! You took control of Yan Yiwen's body!"

Song Wen finally recognized her, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

He had used all his tricks to draw out Yan Yiwen, but his real intention was to use her to threaten Tai He into revealing Xue Mei's whereabouts.

He never expected that the real Xue Mei would show up instead.

Xue Mei, unmoved by the Void-Breaking Blade at her forehead, seemed completely indifferent to death. To her, death had long since become a trivial matter.

She locked her gaze on Song Wen, her voice filled with disbelief.

"How could you have reached the Nascent Soul Realm? This is impossible!"

(End of the Chapter)

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