Screech—!

A piercing eagle’s cry, sharp enough to rend metal and shatter stone, suddenly ripped through the battlefield.

Above the purple-gold monument, a pair of steel wings spanning a full ten zhang unfurled. The Black Iron Giant Eagle from the second trial had appeared once more, every one of its feathers gleaming with a cold, metallic luster.

This was the beast soul Ye Qingxian had ultimately obtained. Its origins in life were extraordinary; even in death, its essence possessed terrifying power.

She remained standing where she was, unmoving, her back to the crowd. Only the five fingers of her right hand curled slightly inward.

The slender, jade-like fingers formed a bizarre contrast with the giant eagle in the sky, as if she were an artist elegantly and effortlessly manipulating a marionette.

“Go.”

A single, simple syllable parted her red lips, yet it sent the giant eagle into a sudden, blinding acceleration.

“Get lost!” Shen Yunhe roared furiously. The spiritual power of his perfected Foundation Establishment realm surged wildly as seven blood-red sword beams wove themselves into an inescapable net.

This was the Blood Fiend Sword Formation he had painstakingly cultivated for thirty years. With it, he had once slain three cultivators of the same rank.

Clang! Clang! Clang—!

The sound of metal striking metal erupted like a torrential downpour.

What sent a chill down everyone’s spines was that the blood-colored sword energies, each capable of slicing through gold and severing jade, merely erupted in brilliant sparks against the eagle’s feathers.

The giant eagle’s dive didn’t slow in the slightest. With a single sweep of its iron wings, it shredded the sword formation to pieces!

Shen Yunhe’s pupils contracted violently. In his haste, he crushed a jade pendant at his waist.

A blood-colored light shield instantly enveloped him. This was a life-preserving treasure bestowed upon him by a higher authority, said to be capable of withstanding a full-force strike from a Golden Core Realm cultivator.

Crack!

The moment the eagle’s talons made contact with the shield, an ear-piercing shatter echoed across the battlefield.

Under Shen Yunhe’s disbelieving gaze, the shield that was reputed to block Golden Core attacks shattered as easily as an eggshell!

Thud—!

The sound of tearing flesh was grating to the ear.

Five bloody holes instantly appeared on Shen Yunhe’s left shoulder. Had he not twisted his body aside at the last possible moment, that claw would have crushed his skull.

“Arghhh!”

Shen Yunhe let out a bestial roar. He suddenly pulled a crimson pill from his robes and swallowed it. “You forced me to do this!”

The moment the pill entered his stomach, every blood vessel on his body bulged violently, and eerie, blood-red patterns surfaced on his skin.

His aura surged, layer by layer, breaking through the constraints of the Foundation Establishment realm in an instant and reaching the terrifying level of the early Golden Core!

“A Blood Burning Pill?” Shen Tianhao exclaimed in shock. “You actually cultivated such a demonic technique!”

Shen Yunhe offered no response. Blood now seeped from all seven of his orifices, his face twisted and ferocious like a demon’s.

As his hands formed a series of seals, his seven natal blood swords merged into one, transforming into a giant sword three zhang long. The blade was wreathed in a nauseating, fiendish blood energy.

“Die!”

The colossal blood-red sword descended with the oppressive might of the Golden Core Realm. Wherever it passed, the very ground split open into deep ravines.

The power of this single strike was far beyond anything a Foundation Establishment cultivator could withstand!

With her back still to him, Ye Qingxian remained unmoved.

The giant eagle suddenly folded its wings. Ancient runes surfaced on its steel-like feathers—the innate divine ability it possessed in life!

The moment these runes lit up, the air within a hundred-zhang radius seemed to solidify. The colossal blood sword was bizarrely frozen mid-air for the span of a single breath.

That one breath was the difference between life and death.

The Black Iron Giant Eagle suddenly opened its sharp beak and spewed forth a stream of silvery-white light.

“No—” Shen Yunhe only managed half a scream before it was cut short.

The silvery light pierced through his chest, leaving a transparent, bowl-sized hole where his heart had been.

Even more terrifyingly, the edges of the wound began to rapidly crystallize, the effect spreading across his entire body in the blink of an eye.

This pseudo-Golden Core cultivator, who just moments ago wielded an aura that could blot out the sky, was transformed into a crystalline, human-shaped ice sculpture.

Bang!

With a light sweep of the giant eagle’s iron wing, the ice sculpture exploded, scattering into countless ice crystals that drifted through the air.

Frozen within the rainbow hues refracted by those crystals, Shen Yunhe’s final expression of utter terror remained for all to see.

A dead silence fell over the entire area.

Even the remaining evil cultivators forgot to breathe. They stared, dumbfounded, at the giant eagle circling in the sky and at Ye Qingxian, whose expression remained as cold and aloof as ever.

This seemingly delicate woman could summon such a terrifying monstrosity!

“Is this… the opportunity this immortal’s manor offers?” one of the guards muttered in disbelief.

To grant an ordinary person the power to so easily kill an expert on the verge of the Golden Core Realm was simply unimaginable.

Because from beginning to end, Ye Qingxian had not revealed the slightest trace of a spiritual power aura.

Everything she relied upon was the power of that beast soul.

The giant eagle did not pause. It continued its assault on the evil cultivators. Faced with such a ferocious beast, their remaining enemies had no ability to resist and were swiftly swept away.

Even the red-robed evil cultivator did not escape, meeting his end as Shen Tianhao’s sword pierced through his chest.

Witnessing this scene, a strange flicker crossed Shen Xian’s calm face. He turned his gaze toward the purple-gold monument.

Ye Qingxian had already turned around. Her expression was indifferent as her red lips parted slightly. “I have saved you.”

The words were not a demand for repayment. She had merely promised to save him once, and now that debt was settled.

A faint smile touched Shen Xian’s lips, but in the end, he said nothing.

He hadn’t actually needed her intervention. But since things had already come to this, there was no point in saying so.

Next, all the guards who had followed Shen Yunhe were subdued.

However, they truly seemed to be unaware of the plot.

Assassins from organizations like the Shadow Tower were often buried extremely deep. Unless they actively revealed themselves, it was nearly impossible to know their true identities.

But for the sake of safety, Shen Xian still had them disarmed and allowed them to leave on their own.

Naturally overjoyed at this chance, the group hastily departed.

After this battle, the number of guards arranged by his mother was reduced to only five. Shen Tianhao initially considered suggesting they withdraw.

But upon seeing Ye Qingxian, who had obtained a secret technique inheritance, continue forward, he ultimately held his tongue.

If she truly obtained the ultimate inheritance of this immortal’s manor, it would be an immense boon for the Shen Family.

Next, they would all face the manor’s most difficult trial—the Ten Thousand Beasts Maze.

The Shen Family had sent people to explore this maze multiple times, but they had always returned empty-handed after suffering heavy losses. Not a single cultivator who entered had ever returned alive.

To this day, no one knew what dangers lay within that maze.

Shen Tianhao and the others felt a deep uncertainty, but after seeing their young mistress’s previous performance—especially possessing a beast soul capable of effortlessly annihilating a pseudo-Golden Core cultivator—their hearts couldn’t help but hold a sliver of anticipation.

What if they succeeded?

…

Meanwhile, back in White City.

Shen Li received the news delivered by his subordinate.

Whether it was the Shadow Tower assassins or the evil cultivators he had arranged, all of their life tablets had shattered.

This meant every single one of them had died within the immortal’s manor.

“Useless! A bunch of useless trash!”

Shen Li clenched his right fist, suppressing his fury. His icy gaze fell upon the trembling subordinate before him. “What about the last assassin?”

“My lord, there is no news yet. But this person possesses exceptional abilities and has even assassinated a Golden Core Adept before. Perhaps… perhaps he will succeed,” the man replied, his voice panicked as he knelt on the ground.

Shen Li’s expression darkened.

At that moment, he suddenly sensed something and took out his clan’s communication jade slip.

The message within indicated that evil cultivators had appeared inside the manor…

It seemed the matter had already been exposed.

Shen Li fell silent for a moment, then abruptly stood up and walked toward the secret chamber’s exit.

He would go personally!

The subordinate sighed in relief, thinking he had escaped a calamity. But in the next instant, a silver needle shot through the air, piercing the back of his skull and exiting between his eyebrows. He died on the spot.