“Let’s go.”

Dim moonlight scattered across the vast expanse of Wanchun Valley’s Guardian Formation.

Suspended high above the array, the Wanchun Valley Sect Leader, wearing a golden crown and a robe embroidered with official seals, stroked his three long strands of beard as he spoke.

Beneath his feet, a green jade gourd over ten feet in length pulsed with spiritual light. The Supreme Elder stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, while Li Tonghai stood respectfully behind them.

With the eight Elders of Wanchun Valley having safely returned to the sect, it was time for the leadership to depart.

“I fear this journey will be far from peaceful,” the Supreme Elder intoned slowly.

“Peaceful or not, we must go. The Spirit Sword Sect and Sir Ye are the only potential allies we have left,” the Sect Leader replied.

As he spoke, a wave of magical power silently enveloped Li Tonghai, shielding him from the violent airstreams of their travel. The flight speed of a Golden Core cultivator was terrifying; the resulting wind shear could inflict severe injury upon a mere Qi Refining cultivator. Without this protective barrier, Li Tonghai would not even be able to stand—he would be swept off the Magical Artifact in an instant.

The Sect Leader urged the green jade gourd forward. It tore through the night sky with incredible velocity, heading straight for the horizon.

Within two breaths, they were already a hundred miles away from Wanchun Valley’s Guardian Formation.

The anticipated interception did not occur immediately, yet the expressions of the Sect Leader and Supreme Elder did not soften. Since the crisis had begun, there had to be a mastermind behind it. The Sword Talisman Li Tonghai sent could not have failed without cause; someone had deliberately interfered.

Would the enemy simply sit back and watch them leave Wanchun Valley? Especially after intercepting the Sword Talisman? Impossible.

Another dozen breaths passed. The green jade gourd had traversed a thousand miles.

Suddenly, a streak of sword light approached from ahead.

A middle-aged man with sparse eyebrows stood atop a flying sword. Upon spotting the green jade gourd, his face lit up with joy, and he projected his voice via mental transmission: “Is that Sect Leader Qi of Wanchun Valley in person?”

“I am Ke Yuan of the Spirit Sword Sect! I was dispatched by Senior Brother Ye to inquire about the whereabouts of his disciple, Li Tonghai!”

“Today, I suddenly received a fragmented Sword Talisman from Li Tonghai. The message was garbled, but it suggested my senior brother’s apprentice was in grave danger…”

Sect Leader Qi of Wanchun Valley did not slow the green jade gourd. Instead, he responded directly through mental transmission: “This is not the place to talk. Let us return to the Spirit Sword Sect together and speak before Sir Ye!”

Without pausing, he pushed the green jade gourd to fly even faster, showing no intention of stopping to wait for this Ke Yuan.

With a flash of sword light, Ke Yuan accelerated his flying sword to match the green jade gourd’s pace, flying alongside them toward the Spirit Sword Sect. He laughed loudly as he spoke.

“Li Tonghai, you brat! Since you’re right here, why not greet your Martial Uncle? Have your wings hardened so much you ignore your elders?”

Protected by Sect Leader Qi’s magical power, Li Tonghai was able to speak and move freely. “Martial Uncle Ke, what are you doing here?”

“If I didn’t come, wouldn’t your master skin me alive?” Ke Yuan laughed heartily. “Your Sword Talisman was incomplete, so your master fired off another one to the Zhou Dynasty capital, Haojing, which is closer to Wanchun Valley.”

“Pity me, your poor Martial Uncle. I was in the middle of drinking and making merry with the top courtesan! I had to tear myself away from a fair beauty to come find you, my disappointing martial nephew. Tsk, tsk, tsk… such fine wine and such a woman, all wasted tonight!”

Hearing him speak so reasonably—and staying true to his well-known dissolute temperament—the doubts in Li Tonghai’s heart gradually faded. He smiled. “Martial Uncle, you are as carefree and unrestrained as ever! If my master knew, he’d surely punish you again.”

“Bah, your master is cold and boring. He doesn’t understand that the true joy of life lies in the worldly pleasures of rouge and powder. He’s always lecturing about how wine and lust corrode the will and obscure the Sword Heart,” Ke Yuan scoffed. “If you ask me, longevity and pleasure are the only things worth pursuing!”

Sect Leader Qi focused entirely on piloting the green jade gourd, remaining silent.

The Supreme Elder, however, interjected politely. “If you have such refined interests, sir, upon our return from the Spirit Sword Sect, I shall gift you a jar of my treasured spirit wine and treat you to a month of leisure in the capital of the Nanli Kingdom. What say you?”

“Do you mean it?” Ke Yuan asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Naturally!” the Supreme Elder smiled.

“It’s a deal!” Ke Yuan exclaimed excitedly.

At that exact moment, the space ahead erupted in blinding light.

The green jade gourd and Ke Yuan’s flying sword slammed into an invisible barrier, the impact causing the artifacts to shudder violently.

Almost simultaneously, a massive twin-winged black bear materialized from behind the barrier. It pounced through the air, its enormous paw—spanning nearly ten feet—swatting directly at the green jade gourd like a collapsing mountain.

They’ve come after all!

Sect Leader Qi frantically reversed the green jade gourd, narrowly dodging the black bear’s strike. He roared, “Spirit Beast Sect! It really is you!”

No one answered.

Thousands of silvery filaments suddenly manifested from the void, entangling Ke Yuan’s flying sword before slithering toward the green jade gourd like a nest of silver vipers.

Seeing this, Sect Leader Qi gritted his teeth. “The Heavenly Mechanism Net!”

“Why has the Little Sky Net Sect left their mountain gate to play assassin? Have we of Wanchun Valley ever offended you?”

A light, mocking laugh echoed through the air.

A figure wearing a veil—gender and age indistinguishable—stepped out of the void, holding a silvery-white spindle.

“Sect Leader Qi, you are mistaken. Not everything that is destroyed requires a reason. The fall of Wanchun Valley is simply the will of Heaven.”

A burly man clad in armor flew out from behind the barrier, landing on the forehead of the twin-winged black bear. A ferocious beast-head tattoo ran from his chest to his chin. He chuckled coldly. “Well said!”

“However, if you of Wanchun Valley want an explanation, I can give you one. Colluding with Demonic Cultivators is a sin intolerable to Heaven and Earth. We are merely enforcing justice by exterminating you!”

“That is nothing but slander!” Sect Leader Qi shouted in fury. “You know better than anyone that Wanchun Valley has never colluded with Demonic Cultivators!”

“So what if we do know?”

A sword silently extended from the shadows, piercing through Ke Yuan’s body.

Only after the blow landed did the voice speak. A green-eyed Daoist withdrew his magical sword, his expression indifferent.

Ke Yuan collapsed onto his flying sword, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He looked up in disbelief. “The Mystic One Sect? The three of your sects are actually working together?”

“Correct. Wanchun Valley deserves annihilation,” the green-eyed Daoist said coldly.

The veiled figure from the Little Sky Net Sect added with a pleasant chime, “After we kill the two of you from the Spirit Sword Sect, we will inform Ye Guxing that this was the work of Wanchun Valley silencing witnesses. I imagine Ye Guxing, in a fit of rage, will tear down the entire Wanchun Valley single-handedly, don’t you think?”

Three hostile Golden Core cultivators stood before them. Then, another Golden Core cultivator from the Spirit Beast Sect emerged, riding a single-horned giant serpent.

Sect Leader Qi felt a surge of grief and indignation. “Why are your three sects targeting us like this? To resort to such despicable means!”

“You wouldn’t understand even if we told you. Better to die confused and let your soul be extinguished!”

The burly man from the Spirit Beast Sect sneered and urged the twin-winged black bear forward. The bear’s paw whipped up a howling gale, smashing toward the green jade gourd.

Outnumbered and outmatched, Sect Leader Qi dared not engage. He drove the green jade gourd backward, attempting to flee.

But at that moment, a vast web of silvery-white filaments materialized behind them, sealing their escape.

The figure from the Little Sky Net Sect chuckled. “At this stage, do you really think we’d let you run?”

The green jade gourd accelerated instantly, dodging the silver threads and evading the bear’s strike, banking hard to charge straight ahead.

Suddenly, Ke Yuan spat out a mouthful of blood. Struggling to his feet, his flying sword tore free from the silvery threads.

“Go quickly! I’ll hold them off!” Ke Yuan roared.

He swept his long sword horizontally, unleashing several blindingly fierce sword beams.

The ferocity of the attack forced the twin-winged black bear, the giant serpent, the silver threads, and the Mystic One Daoist to recoil momentarily, creating a brief window of safety around the green jade gourd.

Sect Leader Qi seized the opportunity, pushing the artifact to its limits in a desperate bid to bypass the invisible barrier.

The Supreme Elder looked back at the wounded man and shouted, “Come with us!”

He threw out a green vine from his sleeve. It shot toward Ke Yuan, wrapped around his waist, and yanked him onto the safety of the green jade gourd.

“Many thanks!” Ke Yuan gasped, blood staining his lips.

“No need for courtesy. Wanchun Valley does not abandon its benefactors!” the Supreme Elder responded gravely.

“Then I must still thank you—”

Ke Yuan suddenly raised his head.

A cold streak of sword light punched directly through the Supreme Elder’s dantian.

“I never said I was here to save your lives.”

Ke Yuan’s lips curled into a sinister smile.

“Thank you for making it convenient for me!”