Han Yunzhi

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Just as Xiao San felt a fleeting sense of relief, his heart suddenly clenched.

"Oh no, there's a hidden trick—"

A streak of white light shot out from nowhere, dragging a long tail as it wrapped toward Xiao San.

The soul-binding rope. A top-tier magical weapon.

In that moment of crisis, Xiao San hastily recalled his sword light magical weapon to shield himself. Though he successfully blocked the soul-binding rope, he found himself trapped in a desperate struggle.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the green dragon lunged forward, its enormous body coiling around the encircling sword lights. The collision produced a deafening boom.

Qi Yuan sighed. If the soul-binding rope had worked as a sneak attack, finishing off his opponent would have been effortless. But now, he needed to exert more effort.

The green dragon flag in his hands radiated a dazzling light, resonating with the dragon in the distance. The beast let out a ferocious roar, its emerald scales glowing with a sharp fluorescence. As its body twisted, the sword lights surrounding it dimmed ever so slightly.

Xiao San's heart sank.

"This is bad… My sword magic weapon can't hold on much longer. Damn it, the quality of his top-tier magic weapons is far superior to mine."

Clenching his teeth, he made a quick decision.

"Fellow Daoist! I am a disciple of the Giant Sword Sect! Our sect has always maintained good relations with yours. I'll hand over all my treasures—can we let bygones be bygones?"

Qi Yuan stroked his chin, pretending to consider the offer.

"Oh? That's an interesting proposal…"

Seeing the hesitation on Qi Yuan's face, hope flickered in Xiao San's eyes. He quickly retrieved several elixirs from his storage bag and presented them as further temptation.

"As long as you desire wealth, this can be resolved easily."

However, hidden within his sleeve was a high-tier talisman, ready to strike. He hadn't used it yet because he feared Qi Yuan's wind wall talismans would neutralize the attack. The earlier display of those powerful talismans had made him second-guess his timing.

Xiao San forced a smile.

"Fellow Daoist, just let me live, and all these spiritual medicines will be yours!"

Qi Yuan's gaze flickered toward the elixirs, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected his opponent to have such valuable treasures. He loosened his grip on the green dragon flag ever so slightly while a mid-level golden sword talisman silently slipped from his sleeve, held between his fingers.

He would never believe that Xiao San would give up all his treasures so easily. It was better to prepare for the worst than to be caught off guard.

Xiao San noticed the change in Qing Jiao's aura and immediately put on a friendly expression.

"My senior brother, I didn't recognize your greatness before. How about I treat you to a drink as an apology after we get out?"

Despite having reached the thirteenth level of Qi training, he adopted a humble demeanor, his bottom line incredibly flexible.

Qi Yuan clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk, forget about drinking. I can see you're still dissatisfied, so I'd better send you off properly."

His expression suddenly turned cold. The giant golden sword in his hand gleamed with sharp metallic energy as he swung it down toward the encircling sword lights.

"No—" Xiao San's desperate scream filled the air.

The sword light barrier had already been worn down by the green dragon's constant assault. It was on the verge of collapse.

Knowing he was doomed, Xiao San activated his high-tier talisman, determined to drag Qi Yuan down with him.

A gust of earth and debris erupted dozens of meters into the air. When the dust settled, only a storage bag and scattered elixirs remained floating mid-air. The corpse had likely been swallowed by the swamp.

"Damn it… Luckily, I had enough wind wall talismans. Otherwise, blocking that sneak attack would have been troublesome."

Qi Yuan raised another wind wall in front of himself as a small blood-red sword shot toward him. With a flick of his finger, he sent out a burst of magic power, shattering the sword before collecting his spoils.

The battle had left obvious traces. Staying to lure more victims would be unwise. He swiftly gathered all the spiritual herbs in the swamp and disappeared from sight.

******

South of the central area of the Bloody Forbidden Land, yellow sand filled the sky. A young girl in green robes sped through the air, fresh blood dripping from her wounds.

"Bitch, stop right there!"

A woman's voice rang out in the distance, followed by a pair of golden wheel magical weapons cutting through the air.

Han Yunzhi's expression darkened. She flicked her wrist, and the yellow silk handkerchief in her grasp expanded in the wind, forming a defensive barrier against the attack. But after running for so long, she was reaching her limit.

Reaching into her robes, she pulled out an earth-attribute talisman. If she could just burrow underground, she could mask her aura and escape.

She had to act fast. Even a second's delay could cost her life.

Before long, a man and a woman arrived at the scene. Their attire clearly marked them as disciples of the Yanyue Sect.

"Where did that bitch go? I could still sense her aura just now. When I find her, I'll dig out her eyes," the female disciple spat viciously.

Her appearance was charming, but her words dripped with cruelty. Even her male companion shivered at her malice.

"Junior sister, forget it. If we don't regroup at the designated location, Grandmaster Nangong will punish us," he said weakly, clearly the submissive one in their dynamic.

The woman scoffed. "Hmph, useless. You're pathetic in bed, and just as worthless outside of it. You can't even keep an eye on a little girl at the tenth level of Qi training. If this gets out, it'll be an embarrassment to Yanyue Shuangjiao…"

Despite her scorn, she took another careful look at the surroundings. Suddenly, her eyes caught something.

She nudged her companion. "Hey, look over there. Isn't that a rare spiritual herb? It looks pretty old."

The male disciple squinted at the plant. Based on his knowledge of medicinal herbs, he immediately recognized it.

"It's flame grass. Wait… the flames on its leaves are so red—it must be at least four hundred years old!"

The woman's eyes lit up with greed.

A four-hundred-year-old elixir. If she presented this to the sect's ancestor, not only would her cultivation improve, but her status would soar.

She had to seize it before anyone else arrived.

Just as she reached for it, her companion grabbed her wrist. "Wait! There's no record of a four-hundred-year-old spiritual medicine in this area. It could be a trap. Let's test it first."

The woman frowned in annoyance. "Maybe the records were incomplete."

Though irritated, she hesitated.

"Just in case, use an Ice Cone Talisman to probe ahead. If there's an ambush, something will reveal itself."

Reluctantly, she activated the talisman. The air turned frigid as enormous icicles rained down, piercing deep into the ground.

They waited. Nothing happened.

Seeing no danger, the woman rushed toward the elixir, the man following reluctantly.

But just as she reached out—

A green dragon's head reflected in her widened eyes.

"There's an ambush, run!"

A green mist engulfed them, followed by a massive golden sword striking at lightning speed.

Qi Yuan emerged from the yellow sand, stepping over the ashes of his latest victims. With practiced ease, he looted their storage bags.

Using a five-hundred-year-old elixir as bait never failed. Few could resist their own greed.

He carefully collected the real elixir and prepared to find another hunting ground. But first, there was one more matter to address.

"Come out. They're dead."

After a few breaths, a mound of earth trembled, and a girl in green robes emerged. She was covered in wounds, her expression a mix of wariness and exhaustion.

Qi Yuan studied her and recalled the conversation between the Yanyue Sect disciples. Given her attire, she was likely Han Yunzhi.

(End of Chapter)