Hysteria took hold of Jiang Yingyue.

In that moment, her vision tunneled. There was only one thought consuming her mind: kill the man standing before her. Only his blood could wash away the hatred gnawing at her heart.

Her eyes turned bloodshot, and her hair danced wildly in the wind. Spiritual power surged from her body like a volcanic eruption.

She bit down hard on the tip of her tongue, spitting a mouthful of Essence Blood onto a crimson jade talisman.

The characters for “Tianyao” etched on the surface instantly dissolved, transforming into two blood-colored flood dragons that coiled and rose into the air.

This was the life-saving treasure bestowed upon her by her Master!

Even a Nascent Soul True Lord would struggle to withstand this! she screamed internally, her mind fracturing under the strain.

The jade talisman swelled against the wind. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a massive blood-colored stele, standing three zhang tall.

Dense, ancient runes surfaced on the stone. Every time a rune lit up, the air within a ten-zhang radius trembled violently.

” The Tianyao Demon-Suppressing Stele!” a Wind Thunder Sect Elder exclaimed, his voice cracking with shock. “That is a Talisman Treasure!”

A Talisman Treasure was no ordinary item. It was a consumable artifact created when a high-level cultivator extracted a portion of their life-bound Dharma Treasure’s power and sealed it within a special medium.

Because it contained a trace of a true Dharma Treasure’s essence, its might far outstripped ordinary talismans.

And this particular Demon-Suppressing Stele was derived from a high-level True Spirit Treasure. Even a mere trace of its aura was enough to crush a Golden Core cultivator into dust.

A ferocious, gleeful expression twisted Jiang Yingyue’s face. She could almost see it—the beautiful sight of Shen Xian being ground into mincemeat.

A mere evil cultivator. To die under this treasure is the greatest fortune you will ever know!

In mid-air, the stone stele loomed as majestic as a small mountain, emitting a suffocating Pressure that locked down the area.

“Die for me!”

Jiang Yingyue shrieked. With a thunderous roar, the Demon-Suppressing Stele smashed down.

Blood-colored runes interwove at the base of the stele, forming a net that completely sealed the space around Shen Xian.

She watched with a twisted smile curling her lips, waiting for the inevitable splatter.

But just as the bloody shadow of the stele enveloped the sky, a flash of spiritual light flickered on the blood jade ring adorning Shen Xian’s index finger.

The Burning Heaven Cauldron materialized.

Seven layers of formation arrays instantly lit up along the dragon motifs etched into the cauldron’s bronze body.

Roar!

The mouth of the cauldron spewed a torrent of crimson-gold fire. In the air, the flames coalesced into nine distinct fire dragons, their scales and armor clearly visible. They charged thunderously toward the so-called Demon-Suppressing Stele.

BOOM—!

The collision shook the earth.

Under the stunned gaze of the crowd, the terrifying power of the Talisman Treasure met the supremely rigid, supremely Yang flames. It didn’t just break; it was incinerated.

The blood-red energy melted, evaporated, and dissipated into nothingness.

Silence fell over the battlefield.

The ferocious grin on Jiang Yingyue’s face froze. Her dilated pupils reflected the sparks scattering across the sky like falling stars.

Her meticulously maintained fingernails dug deep into her palms, piercing the skin, yet she felt no pain.

Impossible… That was a Talisman Treasure capable of injuring a Nascent Soul!

“No… this… this is impossible!”

She staggered backward. Her carefully combed hair bun unraveled, and her phoenix hairpin hit the ground with a hollow clatter.

The arrogant, haughty demeanor of the “Proud Daughter of Heaven” vanished. In its place was uncontrollable trembling.

As Shen Xian walked toward her, treading on the dying embers of her attack, her knees gave out. She collapsed to the ground.

“Senior, spare my life! This Junior had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai!”

Tears streamed down her face, washing her expensive makeup into ridiculous, muddy furrows. “I—I am willing to offer all my treasures! Please!”

In the face of death, pride was worthless.

A wisp of crimson-gold flame ignited at Shen Xian’s fingertip. The firelight danced across her distorted features, reflecting in his indifferent eyes.

He understood perfectly. She didn’t realize she was wrong; she only realized she was about to die.

BOOM—!

Suddenly, the entire Spirit Medicine Garden shook violently.

Something extraordinary had occurred deep within, drawing the attention of everyone present. Several streams of light shot out from the garden’s entrance.

Inside those lights were the top geniuses of the major powers.

Among them, a white figure tore through the air, her sleeves fluttering and carrying waves of lotus fragrance.

It was the Holy Maiden of the Tianyao Sect—Qiu Ruoli!

A cinnabar dot, red as blood, marked the center of her brow. Three thousand strands of black hair danced in the wind, and seven phantom white lotuses revolved around her body.

“Holy Maiden! Save me!”

The last glimmer of hope exploded in Jiang Yingyue’s eyes. She screamed hoarsely, scrambling across the ground.

She clawed her way toward that white figure, her nails breaking against the hard blood-crystal ground. She didn’t even notice the pain. She just needed to reach her sect.

However—

Pfft!

A scarlet line of blood pierced through the center of her brow.

Jiang Yingyue’s eyes widened in disbelief. She looked down, staring at the flower of blood blooming on her chest.

She opened her mouth, desperate to speak, to curse, to beg, but only a wet, rasping sound escaped her throat.

Heh… heh…

“Stop!” Qiu Ruoli shouted, her voice clear and commanding. She raised a fair hand, and the seven white lotuses bloomed simultaneously in a defensive formation.

But it was too late.

Jiang Yingyue’s corpse slumped to the ground. Those once domineering phoenix eyes now held only solidified terror and unwillingness.

Qiu Ruoli’s snow-white sleeves rippled despite the lack of wind. The cinnabar mole between her brows turned a shade of red so deep it looked ready to drip blood.

Her slender, jade-like fingers formed a sword seal. The seven white lotuses shifted into a killing array, spinning rapidly. But as the technique reached the third layer of activation, it suddenly stalled.

A trace of crimson blood overflowed from the corner of the Holy Maiden’s lips.

“Holy Maiden!” the Tianyao Sect disciples exclaimed in shock.

Shen Xian stood calmly, the scarlet blood line still hovering at his fingertip. He looked at the Tianyao Sect’s prodigy with a faint, mocking smile.

“Do you want to try, too?”

Qiu Ruoli’s chest heaved violently. Her usually clear, cold eyes churned with towering fury.

She could clearly see that within the wisp of flame at Shen Xian’s fingertip, the last remnant of Jiang Yingyue’s soul was entangled, being refined before her very eyes.

This beast dares to extract and refine a soul right in front of me!

But the chaotic spiritual power roiling within her body served as a harsh reminder: the Nascent Soul-level spirit beast she had encountered deep within the medicine garden had severely injured her vitality.

“Sir, you are too dismissive of my Tianyao Sect.” She forced the words out, suppressing her anger. Her voice sounded like icy spring water striking jade—cold and hard.

Killing a disciple of the Tianyao Sect in public was a slap in the face to the entire organization.

“A mad dog bites. You kill it and be done with it,” Shen Xian said simply. He waved his hand, recalling the Burning Heaven Cauldron and returning to his usual calm demeanor.

However, the corpses littering the ground around him ensured no one mistook his calmness for weakness.

Qiu Ruoli frowned and glanced at Bai Qingyao beside her.

Bai Qingyao quickly whispered the context of the conflict.

After learning the truth, the killing intent in Qiu Ruoli’s heart did not dissipate.

Although this man had saved a Tianyao Sect disciple, demanding three spirit treasures was clearly taking advantage of their predicament. Coupled with his evil cultivator movement techniques… killing him would be entirely justifiable.

If she weren’t injured, she would have struck him down already.

But now…

For the sake of the Heaven-rank spirit medicine they had secured, she had to endure.

“Hmph!” Qiu Ruoli snorted coldly, staring straight at Shen Xian. “The Tianyao Sect will remember today’s events.”

With that, she turned and led the remaining disciples aside to recuperate.

Shen Xian dismissed her threat instantly.

But just then, he felt a gaze fixed upon him.

He turned his head and met the deep, abyssal eyes of Shen Xing.

The man seemed to be sizing him up.

When their eyes locked, Shen Xing did not look away. Instead, he held the stare, his gaze penetrating, as if trying to see through Shen Xian’s very skin.

From the moment Shen Xing had first seen this man, a strange feeling had arisen in his heart.

It was as if… he had seen him before.

But the face was utterly unfamiliar.

Shen Xian held the gaze, his mind racing. Did he discover me?

But seeing that Shen Xing made no move, he eventually relaxed.

“Everyone!”

Suddenly, a voice broke the tension. It was Lei Yingjie, the Senior Brother of the Wind Thunder Sect.

He flicked his wide sleeve, revealing a playful, irreverent smile beneath his loose, flowing hair.

“The beasts in this spirit medicine garden are quite troublesome,” Lei Yingjie drawled, his eyes scanning the crowd. “I wonder if you all are interested in experiencing them firsthand?”