The night wind was cold and gloomy as it swept over the mountain peak, carrying the scent of pine and decay.

Lin Zhiwei’s delicate frame trembled uncontrollably. She bit her lower lip until it nearly bled, fear and deep-seated hatred intertwining in her eyes, threatening to consume her.

“Han Cheng… Lin Zhiwei… truly, I searched high and low without success, yet here you are, delivered to me without any effort!”

Fu Weilun took a step forward, his robe snapping in the fierce wind he generated.

“Yesterday, one of my subordinates reported seeing Fu Sheng’s magical tool—the Rotting Bone Judge’s Brush—at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion in Wangchuan City. I knew then that you and Han Lan must be in the city!”

His gaze was sharp, dissecting them like prey on a slab.

“I originally intended to turn Wangchuan City upside down. However, this place is not the territory of my Golden Copper Dock, so I couldn’t be too conspicuous. So I waited here on this peak, overlooking the entire city, lying in wait like a hunter. I never expected I would actually run into you!”

He sneered, his voice dripping with malice. “Han Cheng, you really are connected to the Lin family!”

“Zhiwei, don’t be afraid,” Zhou Kai said calmly, pressing the control disc of the Hidden Kill Heaven-Confusing Array into her trembling hand. “Set up the array immediately! Hanyi, protect Zhiwei!”

Lin Zhiwei gripped the Array Disc, her knuckles turning white. She nodded firmly.

Shen Hanyi had already positioned herself in front of Lin Zhiwei. Her sword was drawn, the blade humming with lethal intent. Her cool eyes locked onto Fu Weilun, her body tense as a coiled spring.

“Trying to run?” Fu Weilun laughed, the sound harsh and grating. “Today, none of you will leave here alive! Especially you, Lin Zhiwei!”

He licked his lips, his gaze turning lecherous and greedy as it swept over her body.

“Hand over the Jietian Kou, and this Young Master might consider leaving your corpse intact. Otherwise, I will extract your soul and refine your spirit, condemning you to eternal suffering without reincarnation!”

He waved his hand grandly, shouting to the dozens of cultivators behind him.

“Go! Surround those two women! Don’t let them escape!”

“Run! I’ll hold him off!”

This was not the time to worry about that damned Jietian Kou. Zhou Kai roared in anger, his Vitality erupting like a volcano. A white jade light shimmered across his skin, his muscles swelling, making him seem to grow several inches taller in an instant.

Instead of retreating, he charged.

He gripped the Hundred Beast Banner in his hand like a spear. Although he couldn’t unleash its magical powers, as a body cultivator, he could use it as an indestructible iron rod.

Whoosh! Crack!

He swung the banner with ferocious force. The heavy pole smashed into the oncoming lackeys. Their protective Spirit Qi shattered like glass under the sheer weight of his blow. The sound of cracking bones and agonized screams filled the air.

“Useless trash!”

Seeing his men fall, Fu Weilun’s face darkened. He moved.

His figure blurred into an afterimage, lunging straight at Zhou Kai. A foul-smelling black wind rushed ahead of him, carrying a dizzying stench that made Zhou Kai’s Vitality circulation sluggish.

“Poison technique!”

Zhou Kai’s heart tightened. He held his breath and activated the Cicada Raiment Art, his figure flickering and becoming indistinct.

“Pathetic trick!” Fu Weilun sneered.

With a flip of his palm, a sickly green skull materialized out of thin air. It opened its massive jaws and spewed a dense green poisonous mist, enveloping Zhou Kai instantly.

Sizzle.

Zhou Kai felt sharp stinging pains on his skin, as if countless tiny needles were pricking him. He dared not be negligent. Roaring, he swept the Hundred Beast Banner horizontally, trying to force Fu Weilun back.

But Fu Weilun was a Foundation Establishment Second Layer cultivator. He was far superior in both cultivation base and combat experience.

With an eerie twist of his body, he dodged the sweep effortlessly. Simultaneously, he pointed a finger.

Thwip! Thwip!

Several streaks of dark light shot out—poisonous insects the size of a thumb, their carapaces gleaming with malice.

Zhou Kai’s pupils contracted. He tried to dodge, but the insects were too fast!

Pfft!

The finger wind pierced his protective Spirit Qi. A bloody hole appeared in his chest, oozing black, foul-smelling blood.

“Ugh!”

Zhou Kai grunted in pain. He activated Dragon Roaming the Void, staggering backward as a sinister force rampaged through his veins, corroding his vitality.

“Not dead? Interesting.” Fu Weilun licked his lips again. “But that’s all there is to it!”

He closed in for the kill.

On the other side, under Shen Hanyi’s protection, Lin Zhiwei had driven the final Array Flag into the ground.

She executed the final hand seal.

Hum!

A hazy light screen rose from the earth, enveloping an area of several dozen zhang.

“The array is activated!” Lin Zhiwei shouted.

Mist instantly flooded the battlefield. The lackeys charging forward lost their sense of direction, stumbling like headless flies.

“A mere array wants to trap my men?” Fu Weilun snorted disdainfully, though he noticed his subordinates’ movements becoming sluggish.

Shen Hanyi moved like a ghost in the mist. Her sword flashed—one thrust, one life. She harvested the confused enemies with cold efficiency.

But there were too many of them. Among the crowd were several Qi Condensation Great Perfection experts.

Dozens of them joined forces, their combined attacks threatening to break through Shen Hanyi’s defense line and reach Lin Zhiwei!

“Be careful!” Lin Zhiwei cried out.

Shen Hanyi gritted her teeth, forcing back a sneaker attacker with a precise slash. But the situation was precarious. The enemy leader remained unscathed, watching like a wolf waiting to pounce.

They were outnumbered, outgunned, and trapped.

The battle situation was tilting overwhelmingly against Zhou Kai and the two women.

The fight between Zhou Kai and Fu Weilun was especially perilous.

Despite Zhou Kai’s bravery, Fu Weilun’s poison techniques were bizarre and hard to defend against, and he wielded numerous magical treasures. In just moments, Zhou Kai was covered in blood, his movements growing sluggish.

“Boy, to last this long against me, you can die proud!” Fu Weilun grinned maliciously, slamming a palm into Zhou Kai’s shoulder.

Crack!

The sound of shattering bone rang out clearly. Zhou Kai grunted in pain, his left arm hanging limply. Agony clouded his vision, but he clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to fall.

“Zhou Kai!” Lin Zhiwei’s eyes turned bloodshot at the sight, her heart filled with self-blame. If it weren’t for her, Zhou Kai and Shen Hanyi would never have provoked Fu Weilun!

“Hahaha! You’ll be next soon enough!” Fu Weilun laughed wildly, already picturing their gruesome deaths.

Shen Hanyi glanced at Zhou Kai, fighting bloodily, then at the distraught Lin Zhiwei.

She suddenly sheathed her sword, forming hand seals with both hands.

A terrifying sword intent, far surpassing Sword Control Seventh Layer, erupted from her body without warning!

“Hmm?” Fu Weilun’s laughter cut short as he stared in stunned disbelief.

Spirit Qi surged around Shen Hanyi, and the faint hum of a sword echoed above her head. Her aura skyrocketed—Sword Control Seventh Layer, Eighth Layer, Ninth Layer… The realm bottlenecks shattered like thin paper!

Spirit Shaping First Layer!

Spirit Shaping Second Layer!

…

Spirit Shaping Fourth Layer!

Violent sword energy swept in all directions, causing even the Hidden Kill Heaven-Confusing Array to tremble unsteadily.

The lackeys charging forward were thrown back by the pressure, screaming. Those with weaker cultivation spat blood and collapsed unconscious on the spot.

“What’s this? Forcing a secret technique to break through?!” Fu Weilun’s face paled, his eyes filled with horror.

A secret technique that allowed such a massive realm leap would surely inflict severe damage to a cultivator—at best, a permanent drop in cultivation; at worst, the complete destruction of one’s Dao Foundation. Was this woman insane?

Shen Hanyi’s eyes snapped open, shooting golden-white sword light. “I have but one strike!”

Before the words faded, she thrust her sword forward.

In that instant, the world seemed to shrink to nothing but that single, brilliant golden-white sword beam!

The sword light blazed with an unstoppable sharpness, as if it could slice through space itself!

Yet the longsword in Shen Hanyi’s hand was merely a high-grade magical tool, utterly incapable of withstanding the terrifying power of a mid-Spirit Shaping cultivator.

Crack—!

The sword shattered into pieces with a crisp sound!

But the condensed sword beam, forged from Shen Hanyi’s very essence, had already been unleashed!

“No good!” Fu Weilun’s soul nearly left his body as an unprecedented sense of death washed over him.

Without hesitation, he activated several defensive treasures simultaneously, channeling all his Mana into layers of protective Spirit Qi.

BOOM——!!!

An earth-shaking explosion erupted as the golden-white sword beam collided with Fu Weilun’s defenses.

Blinding light and churning airwaves engulfed the peak!

A series of explosions rang out as his defensive treasures shattered one by one. His protective Spirit Qi proved as fragile as an eggshell, easily pierced by the sword beam.

Pfft——!

A gaping hole tore through Fu Weilun’s chest. He spat a fountain of blood, flying backward to crash heavily into the mountain wall.

As for Shen Hanyi, after unleashing that single strike, her aura plummeted back to Sword Control Seventh Layer, even weaker than before.

Her delicate frame swayed, and she teetered on the brink of collapse.

“Hanyi!” Seeing Fu Weilun was all but dead, Zhou Kai rushed forward, catching her trembling form in his arms.

“Repaying… your life debt…” Shen Hanyi whispered weakly, her breath fading.

“I’ll kill him!” Zhou Kai roared.

“Cough… who… exactly are you?” In the distance, Fu Weilun struggled to climb out of the rubble, his aura barely clinging to life.

Shen Hanyi’s strike had been terrifyingly powerful. If not for his vast collection of treasures, he would have been reduced to dust.

Fu Weilun glared at his remaining subordinates, who cowered in fear, shaken by the residual sword energy.

“Useless fools! Get over here!” He roared, waving a hand to unleash a strange suction force.

“Young Master… please no!”

“Spare us, Young Master!”

A dozen subordinates screamed as they were dragged helplessly toward him. His face twisted into a fiendish snarl as he plunged his hands into their chests, violently extracting their souls and Essence Blood!

“Aaaaah——!”

Shrill screams echoed through the valley, cutting off abruptly.

Fu Weilun’s injuries began to heal at a visible pace, his depleted aura surging back even stronger than before.

“What kind of demonic technique is this?!” Zhou Kai was horrified. “Zhiwei, run!”

“Run? Not so easy!” Fu Weilun’s eyes glowed blood-red as he blurred into a blood-colored afterimage, hurtling after them.

Zhou Kai carried Shen Hanyi in his arms, with Lin Zhiwei close behind. They had just escaped the array’s range when a terrifying, menacing aura closed in rapidly from behind.

“He’s catching up!” Lin Zhiwei gasped in terror.

Zhou Kai glanced back to see Fu Weilun shrouded in blood fiend Qi, moving at an astonishing speed.

“Damn it!” Zhou Kai cursed inwardly. He was gravely injured, Shen Hanyi was unconscious, and while Lin Zhiwei had reached Qi Condensation Great Perfection, she was no match for a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Fu Weilun.

As Fu Weilun closed in, Zhou Kai’s eyes flashed with resolve. He pulled an object from his Storage Bag, pretending to throw it, and shouted at the top of his lungs: “Fu Weilun! Take one more step forward, and I’ll detonate this treasure! We’ll all die together!”

Fu Weilun skidded to a halt, hesitation flickering in his eyes.

He couldn’t make out what Zhou Kai held, but the man’s desperate demeanor made him wary. After all, a team capable of unleashing such a devastating strike might well have other hidden cards.

In that split second of hesitation.

Weng——!

The Hidden Kill Heaven-Confusing Array suddenly contracted, trapping Fu Weilun, who had just reached its edge, tightly within its bounds!

“You tricked me!” Fu Weilun realized too late, his face turning purple with rage as he furiously attacked the array’s light barrier, sending thunderous booms echoing through the peak.

Zhou Kai looked back at Fu Weilun, raging futilely inside the array, and shouted: “Fu Weilun! I, Han Cheng, will never forget today’s humiliation! This array is a temporary gift to you! When we meet again, I’ll claim your life in return!”

With that, he wasted no time. Carrying Shen Hanyi and pulling Lin Zhiwei along, he summoned his Spirit Boat and fled toward Wangchuan City at top speed.

“Zhiwei, take control of the boat. I need to heal,” Zhou Kai said, his face pale and his breath weak.

Lin Zhiwei did not respond.

“Zhiwei, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Kai turned to find her swaying, her cheeks flushing and paling alternately, her eyes growing unfocused.

Lin Zhiwei’s consciousness began to blur. “I… I feel so dizzy…”

Before she could finish, she slumped forward, unconscious.

“Is she poisoned? When did she get poisoned?”

At that moment, Zhou Kai also felt his eyelids growing heavy as lead, impossible to lift.

“It’s not poison…”

He shook his head dazedly, glancing down at the night-shrouded land below. Faint flickers of light dotted the darkness, resembling the outline of a town.

“Was there a town here… when we came?” Zhou Kai mumbled, then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

With no one at the helm, the Spirit Boat veered off course, plunging unsteadily toward the distant lights…