The cat’s meow cut through the silence of the night. Mo Lan and Mo Zhu froze, their heads snapping up to find a snow-white spiritual cat peering down at them from above. In the moonlight, its amber, vertical pupils gleamed with a cold, mocking light.

“Not good!” Mo Zhu’s expression soured. A short sword, shimmering with a chilling aura, materialized in his hand. “There’s something wrong with this cat!”

They fell back at once, hoping to remain hidden. But before the last word had left his lips, the spiritual cat flickered and vanished like a ghost.

Thud!

An immense force slammed into Mo Lan’s chest, launching her backward into the courtyard wall. Blood sprayed from her lips.

She stared in disbelief at the three claw marks gouged into her chest, so deep they exposed the bone beneath. Such speed, such power… How could this be a mere spiritual pet? It was a ferocious beast!

“Damn it!” Mo Zhu’s pupils constricted. The short sword in his hand pulsed with a faint, icy-blue light. “Xuanbing Sword Qi!”

Dozens of crystalline blades of energy shot forth, sealing off every possible escape route.

But the spiritual cat only gave him a dismissive glance. Its body twisted unnaturally in mid-air, effortlessly slipping through the gaps in the web of sword qi. It landed softly, its tail flicking gracefully as a cold light glinted in its eyes.

“Impossible!” Wiping the blood from her lips, Mo Lan retrieved a crimson jade talisman from her storage pouch. “A mere beast dares to be so brazen!”

She crushed the talisman, and a roaring fire dragon erupted from her hand, its scorching flames instantly illuminating the entire courtyard.

Their cover was blown; there was no turning back now. All they could do was fight to the death.

Yet the spiritual cat neither dodged nor evaded. It simply opened its mouth and exhaled a plume of silvery-white frost. The moment the frost met the fire dragon, a loud hissing filled the air. Before their very eyes, the roaring serpent of flame froze solid, becoming a statue of ice.

“What?!” Mo Lan’s face went pale. That was a Red Flame Talisman, powerful enough to incinerate a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Seeing this, a savage glint flashed in Mo Zhu’s eyes.

He bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto his short sword. The blade immediately began to glow with an eerie, crimson light.

“Blood Slaughter Slash!”

A streak of blood-red sword energy ripped through the night, aimed straight at the spiritual cat.

The spiritual cat’s eyes flashed with disdain as its form vanished once more.

The blood-red sword energy struck empty air, carving a trench several zhang long into the earth.

“Above you!” Mo Lan screamed.

Mo Zhu looked up to see the spiritual cat hovering in mid-air, its body radiating a faint silver glow. It casually raised a paw and swiped. Three silver beams shot down like lightning.

Shnk! Shnk! Shnk!

Though Mo Zhu raised his sword to defend himself, one of the silver beams still pierced his shoulder, sending blood gushing out. He staggered back, his face a grim mask.

A look of grim determination flashed in Mo Lan’s eyes. From her robes, she produced a pill as black as ink.

“If ordinary methods won’t work…”

She swallowed it without hesitation. Her spiritual energy instantly surged, skyrocketing to the very peak of the Foundation Establishment realm!

“The Blood Burning Pill? Are you insane?!” Mo Zhu cried out. “That will cripple your foundation!”

“There’s no time for that!” Mo Lan’s face twisted as she rapidly formed a series of hand seals. “Xuan Yin Soul-Binding Formation!”

Countless black chains erupted from her sleeves, weaving together in mid-air to form a massive net that completely ensnared the spiritual cat.

For the first time, a serious expression appeared on the spiritual cat’s face. It thrashed about, but could not break free from the chains. As the net tightened, the cat suddenly threw its head back and let out a piercing howl.

“Damn it! It’s calling for its master!” Mo Zhu’s face turned ashen.

And just as he feared, a cool voice echoed through the night. “You are courting death.”

Mo Lan and Mo Zhu trembled, whipping around to see Ye Qingxian standing in the courtyard. Clad in a snow-white robe, her eyes were as cold as frost. She stood perfectly still, yet her presence radiated a suffocating pressure.

“Ye Qingxian!” Mo Zhu gritted his teeth, a savage glint in his eyes. “Since we have been discovered, we will hold nothing back!”

He bit his tongue again, spitting another mouthful of essence blood onto his short sword. The blade flared with a blinding, crimson light.

“Ninefold Blood Slaughter Slash!”

Nine streaks of blood-red sword energy intertwined, forming a net of murderous intent that descended upon Ye Qingxian.

Ye Qingxian’s expression did not change. She simply raised a hand, and a tiny speck of golden light flickered at her fingertip.

“Break,” she said softly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The nine blades of energy exploded one after another, dissolving into motes of bloody light that vanished into the air.

“How is that possible?!” Mo Zhu’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. That was his ultimate killing technique!

Seeing this, a resolute glint flashed in Mo Lan’s eyes. She rapidly formed another set of hand seals as her spiritual energy surged wildly. “Xuan Yin Burst!”

She was going to detonate her own dantian!

Conventional methods were useless. Their only hope was to self-destruct, hoping to grievously injure their opponent and complete the mission their master had given them.

Mo Zhu let out a savage laugh, his own spiritual energy beginning to rage. “Then let us die together!”

The self-detonation of two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators would be enough to level the entire courtyard!

And yet—

Ye Qingxian merely watched them coldly, the faintest of smiles gracing her lips. “Is that all you have?”

Before the last word left her mouth, the golden-red necklace she wore—the Phoenix Tears—erupted in brilliant light.

Bzzzt!

A shield of fiery gold instantly expanded, enveloping both Ye Qingxian and the spiritual cat.

BOOM!

The deafening explosion ripped through the night. A raging storm of spiritual energy swept out in all directions, collapsing courtyard walls and obliterating every plant in its path. Through the billowing smoke, two figures could be seen being thrown violently backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

When the smoke finally cleared, Mo Lan and Mo Zhu were nothing more than two charred corpses, their eyes staring blankly into the void.

Inside the shield, however, Ye Qingxian was completely unscathed. Not even the hem of her robe had been disturbed. The Phoenix Tears necklace alone pulsed with a soft, golden radiance in the moonlight.

His own room, protected by a formation, was untouched.

The tremendous blast had alerted Shen Xian long ago. He stepped outside and took in the scene of utter chaos, his brow furrowing. When his gaze fell upon the two charred corpses, a flicker of cold anger appeared in his eyes.

Has Shen Li become so brazen that he would send killers to my very doorstep?

He glanced over at Ye Qingxian, still enveloped in the shield of light. The golden-red necklace he had given her gleamed brightly. At her feet sat the snow mountain spiritual cat he had brought back from the Ye Family. The little creature was a fourth-rank spiritual beast, its strength comparable to a Golden Core cultivator. If it had not been weakened from its previous ordeal, Ye Qingxian likely would not have needed to intervene at all.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The commotion had alerted the clan’s experts. Several terrifying spiritual presences shot through the sky, converging on the courtyard.

The first to arrive was Nangong Wan. She was dressed in simple robes, clearly having been in the middle of her cultivation. Her usually dignified and composed face was etched with anxiety, which only vanished when she saw her youngest son was safe and sound.

Behind her was the Clan Head, Shen Xiong. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the two charred corpses, his brow furrowed in clear displeasure. The other elders arrived one by one after him.

The Shen Clan had not seen a battle of this scale within its walls for a century, and its sudden outbreak had clearly shaken them.

“Xian’er, what happened here?” Nangong Wan asked as she approached.

“They are Second Brother’s guards,” Shen Xian stated coldly.

Hearing this, Nangong Wan’s expression faltered, and for a moment, she was speechless. She knew exactly what his words implied.

But… could her second son truly raise a hand against his own brother? She found it impossible to believe. A hint of shame flashed in her eyes. “Xian’er, perhaps… perhaps this is all a misunderstanding?”