Chapter 24: Not a Single One Left Behind

Li Ze waved his hand, and the two women disappeared from where they stood.

“Xing Yao, I’m leaving them to you.”

Shortly after, Cao Wei and five disciples from the Qingjian Sect rushed out in pursuit, only to find a lone man leaning against the wall of the pagoda entrance.

It was indeed Cao Wei.

To think he would actually collude with disciples from the Qingjian Sect to frame his own fellow sect members.

The group looked around, their faces filled with confusion.

Where were the two heavily injured women?

One of them turned to ask, “Daoist, did you happen to see two injured women? We wish to do our best to help them.”

Help?

They wanted to kill them and steal their treasures, yet they spoke with such hypocrisy.

Li Ze played the fool.

“So, you are men of chivalry, then?”

“The two injured women?”

“Yes. They were injured within this secret realm. If no one helps them, what will they do if they encounter demonic beasts outside?”

“Did you see them, Daoist?”

Li Ze pointed toward the path he had come from.

“I saw a girl with wings carrying another one heading that way.”

“Our thanks, Daoist!”

Li Ze replied with a polite expression, “No need for thanks.”

The six men turned around, one after another, eager to begin the chase.

Suddenly, Li Ze’s expression shifted.

His eyes grew sharp, his left hand tightened around a black dagger, and his feet left afterimages on the ground.

A dull thud echoed out.

Thump…

The head of the last man among the three in the rear—a Level 9 Qingjian Sect cultivator—rolled across the ground, his face contorted in a hideous grimace and covered in warm blood!

Immediately after, two more sounds rang out.

Thud… thud… Two Level 7 bodies collapsed to the floor.

“This is much easier. Now there are only three left!”

The remaining three were shocked.

A Level 5 ordinary cultivator had actually managed to kill three people in an instant.

Cao Wei had no intention of making a move yet.

“Daoist! What is the meaning of this?”

“You dare kill disciples of my Qingjian Sect? You’re looking for death!”

The other two Level 8 Qingjian Sect disciples directly activated their spells and magical treasures.

Li Ze muttered under his breath, “Heh, not a single one of you will leave this secret realm alive.”

Before Li Ze’s voice even faded, the pressure of the Dao Realm crashed down like an invisible mountain!

The flying swords the two Level 8 disciples had just sacrificed let out a mournful wail and fell to the ground.

Their protective spiritual light shattered inch by inch.

Li Ze’s silhouette turned into a blur.

The Meteorite Dagger drew two pitch-black arcs through the air—there was no sound of clashing metal, only a soft squelch.

Bloodlines bloomed across their necks.

Without even the time to scream, they slumped over, their pupils frozen in terror.

Li Ze turned and stepped toward Cao Wei.

Cao Wei stumbled backward, his face pale.

This man had hidden his cultivation; he was actually a great cultivator of the Dao Realm.

If all six of them were still alive, they might have stood a chance, but now he was the only one left.

He immediately began to beg for mercy.

“Senior, spare my life! I have no grievances or enmity with you!”

“Humph! You conspired with an outside sect to harm your own fellow disciples!”

“I… I was just cleaning up the trash for the sect!”

“You can’t kill me! My father is an elder of the Yin-Yang Sect! He—”

Before Cao Wei could finish his sentence, Li Ze thrust the small dagger forward.

Cao Wei’s protective talisman lit up, but it was forcibly pierced by the blade.

Cao Wei collapsed to his knees, his face ashen.

“I… I am willing to offer all the resources of my Fallen Bamboo Peak…”

“Keep them for your companions on the road to the Yellow Springs.”

The Soul-Locking Banner in Li Ze’s sleeve moved without any wind, and black qi wrapped around Cao Wei’s neck like a living snake.

His soul was forcibly torn from his body.

Before his shrill shriek could end, he was wrapped in resentment and sucked into the banner, bound beneath the chains of the kneeling figures within.

Li Ze tucked the banner back into his sleeve, and silence returned to the area outside the pagoda.

He sat cross-legged back on the giant boulder and sent his divine sense into the spear’s space.

The two women were covered in wounds and remained unconscious.

Cai Xiaonuo’s heavenly wings had retracted back into her body.

Li Ze closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, the morning light outlining his sharp features.

‘There are only three days left in the secret realm. Once they have healed, it will be time to go to the top of Zangdao Peak to deal with that wisp of sword energy restriction left by Li Quan.’

The mountain wind swept over the golden roof of the Xuanhuang Pagoda.

In the distance, the faint roars of demonic beasts could be heard.

On the stone steps of the pagoda entrance, six corpses were slowly being covered by flying ash, as if no one had ever set foot there.

Li Ze rose into the air on his sword, his robes fluttering loudly in the wind.

After the time it took for half a stick of incense to burn, he returned to the stone cave on the cliff.

Inside the cave, candlelight flickered.

Cai Xiaonuo was curled up on a soft blanket, her small face pale.

Qing Ruanning lay on the other side, her green robes partially undone to reveal a hideous sword wound on her shoulder.

Her breathing was weak but steady.

Xing Yao’s phantom floated beside Qing Ruanning, her fingertips condensing dots of starlight that fell onto the wound like spring rain.

“You certainly are kind-hearted, Master, protecting these two little girls so closely.”

She glanced at Li Ze.

“Especially this Princess Qing. She was even clutching the corner of your robe while she was unconscious.”

Li Ze remained noncommittal as he leaned down to check Cai Xiaonuo’s injuries.

The young girl’s eyelashes fluttered, and she suddenly opened her eyes.

“Senior…”

Her voice was as thin as a mosquito’s buzz.

“Sister Qing, she…”

“She is fine.”

Li Ze took out a jade bottle, the ointment within emitting a faint green glow.

“Endure it for a bit.”

He dipped his fingers into the medicine and spread it over the gashes on her back.

Cai Xiaonuo’s body trembled, but she bit her lip and didn’t make a sound.

The medicinal power seeped into her meridians, and the burning pain turned into a cool sensation.

The fine sweat on her forehead gradually faded.

“Senior’s hands… are so warm…”

Cai Xiaonuo turned her face, the candlelight reflecting in her moist eyes.

“It’s even lighter than when Mama used to mend my clothes.”

Li Ze’s movements paused slightly.

Silently, he applied the last bit of ointment to the burn marks on her legs and wrapped them carefully with white cloth.

Xing Yao suddenly chuckled.

“Master, do you want to check this little girl’s wounds too?”

“No need.”

Li Ze dropped a bottle of medicine and stood up to walk toward the cave entrance.

“When it comes to her injuries, you know the boundaries better than I do, Xing Yao.”

Xing Yao began to unfasten Qing Ruanning’s clothes.

“I never thought that I, who have killed countless people, would one day be applying medicine to save someone else.”

“There, the rest is up to you, Master.”

Qing Ruanning had woken up at some point and was staring at him blankly.

She watched his back, her fingertips unconsciously brushing over her healed shoulder.

The skin there was as delicate as before, with not even a scar left behind, yet it felt as though a faint, cool touch still lingered.

She opened her mouth, but in the end, she only whispered, “Thank you, Senior, for saving my life.”

“It was nothing!”

Outside the cave, the sky grew dark.

Inside, the two women fell into a deep sleep.

Li Ze sat cross-legged at the edge of the cliff, his long sword resting across his knees.

The mountain wind brought the fresh scent of vegetation to his face, and from the distant summit of Zangdao Peak, a sound like a dragon’s roar faintly echoed.

He stroked the Soul-Locking Banner in his sleeve.

The chains on the kneeling figures inside vibrated slightly—Li Quan’s remnant soul was still struggling, but it was futile.

“Are you thinking about that wisp of sword energy, Master?”

Xing Yao appeared beside him at some point, her black hair dancing with the night wind.

“A pawn protected by the Heavenly Dao must have all his paths of retreat cut off.”

A cold glint like frost flickered in Li Ze’s eyes.

‘When we reach the summit tomorrow, it will be time to send him on his final journey.’

Inside the cave, Cai Xiaonuo quietly moved toward Qing Ruanning’s side, placing her small hand over the other’s cool palm.

“Sister Qing…”

Qing Ruanning held her hand back, her voice light as a sigh.

“Xiaonuo… he is in the Dao Realm now.”

“Mhm!”

Cai Xiaonuo’s eyes were bright.

“Sister Qing, those people who tried to steal our treasures today have already been dealt with by Senior!”

A flash of surprise crossed Qing Ruanning’s face, which then turned into a smile.

This senior gave her an incredible sense of security.

The young girl’s crisp voice broke through the night, and Li Ze’s grip on his sword loosened slightly.

Below the cliff, the sea of clouds surged, as if hiding countless secrets.

But his path had always been right beneath his feet.