Lin Xinyi walked calmly toward her opponent.
The figure could barely be described as human anymore, with its body covered in wounds that looked as if they would tear the person apart with every step.
Even so, the sword intent in the figure’s hand remained sharp enough to slice a massive tree in two.
“Do you need help…?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Luo Qingyao stood with her arms crossed over her chest, looking entirely like a spectator.
Even her offer to help was just a casual remark.
After all, she was currently a remnant soul, and her opponent was a crippled disciple who hadn’t even reached the Core Formation Stage.
Luo Qingyao did not believe for a moment that Lin Xinyi would lose.
“When you intend to kill someone, no matter how easy it seems, you must pay close attention. Watch whether the soul tries to slip away, and consider whether the corpse needs to be preserved…”
Lin Xinyi strolled toward her opponent with leisurely steps.
She could now clearly see the charred flesh and the shriveled, candle-like skin.
It was impossible to tell that the woman had once been beautiful.
Lin Xinyi had no resistance to beautiful things and would usually cherish them, but looking at the person before her, her eyes showed only deep loathing.
“Truly filthy…”
Lin Xinyi did not even bother to unsheathe her longsword.
She simply walked past her opponent, and in an instant, the woman’s four limbs were neatly severed.
The person, who had already been driven to madness, finally recognized the reality of the situation through this display of power.
A trace of terror replaced the resentment on her charred face.
“Are you here to steal the Supreme Bone too?! I’ll give it to you! Just don’t kill me! Do you know who I am? I am…”
“So your tongue wasn’t burned, after all.”
Lin Xinyi remained indifferent, focusing only on reinforcing the surrounding formations.
When she turned around, flowers began to bloom around the woman’s body.
Suddenly, the flowers sprouted stems that pierced deep into the carbonized flesh.
“Perfect. There is no need to watch the rest…”
Luo Qingyao watched as the thing that could still be called a young woman in the center of the formation was slowly drained by the flower roots.
The victim could no longer even beg for mercy because a flower had bloomed on her tongue as well.
“You really are cruel, avoiding the vitals and draining her bit by bit from the surface…”
“Blame her for coveting what belongs to me.”
Lin Xinyi checked the surrounding formation for any loopholes and confirmed that the woman’s soul was indeed bound there.
Only then did she cautiously turn around and walk toward the Cave Abode.
There was no need to stay for the final scene.
Millions of flowers grew at an extreme speed, and soon, nothing remained but a mound of blossoms.
Luo Qingyao watched the entire process from start to finish.
She had thought her own methods of burning the woman to such a state were ruthless enough, but she hadn’t expected these seemingly beautiful flowers to be so terrifying.
“Such beautiful flowers, yet now they seem so disgusting…”
After saying this, Luo Qingyao realized that Lin Xinyi’s figure had already disappeared.
Startled, she hurried toward the Grotto-heaven.
However, by the time she entered the miniature world, she was already a step too late.
“Your body is recovering quite well. If you can’t bear the pain, you can just tell me.”
“No… Celestial Sister, please… it hurts…”
Bai Qianqian’s youthful body was pinned face-down on the bed.
Her arms were easily restrained and tied to the headboard by spiritual energy chains, leaving her with no strength to resist.
Seeing this, Lin Xinyi reached out her fingertips.
She gently scooped up a dollop of ointment mixed with mint leaves and applied it softly to the wound.
A refreshing yet sharp sting immediately swept through Bai Qianqian’s body.
Bai Qianqian let out sounds that could easily be misunderstood.
Luo Qingyao rushed over the moment she arrived, grabbing Lin Xinyi’s hand as she continued to apply the medicine.
“Wait a minute! For a wound like this, is it really necessary to apply medicine right now?!”
“If I don’t, she will recover much slower.”
The treatment was only complete once Lin Xinyi fed a medicinal pill into the girl’s mouth.
Bai Qianqian lay on the bed with a slight flush on her face; the sensation of those fingertips touching her earlier had indeed been strange.
“Celestial Sister…”
Bai Qianqian slowly sat up on the bed, using the remaining sheets to cover her body.
For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sensation in her heart whenever she faced Lin Xinyi.
Seeing that the girl had regained some energy, Lin Xinyi intended to take out a cultivation manual, offer some casual excuses, and take her as a disciple.
She failed to notice that Bai Qianqian’s secret glances toward her were becoming more frequent.
“I see that you are naturally gifted and have an extraordinary constitution. Would you like to—”
Lin Xinyi was about to mention the apprenticeship, but when she looked up, she found that Bai Qianqian had already wrapped herself in the sheet and stepped off the bed.
She hadn’t even heard the girl’s footsteps, yet Bai Qianqian was already within 1 meter of her.
“!!!”
Lin Xinyi recoiled two steps as a matter of reflex.
Her eyes were filled with a flicker of alarm, clearly rattled by the girl’s silent approach.
“You… when did you get over here?!”
“I just walked over normally from the bed…”
Lin Xinyi could not believe that a mortal with no cultivation had managed to bypass her senses.
This was exactly how Qin Huaiyin had approached her from behind in her previous life.
The confidence Lin Xinyi had felt earlier was suddenly replaced by a trace of fear—an unknown dread arising from a phenomenon she had never encountered before.
‘Is it really my senses becoming dull, or does she have a way to bypass my perception?’
“Why… why didn’t you stay in bed? What are you doing walking over here so suddenly…?”
“The wounds still hurt a bit. Celestial Sister, do you have any medicine that can make me fall asleep immediately…?”
Bai Qianqian didn’t seem to notice anything wrong.
She simply reached out her hand to ask.
Lin Xinyi didn’t overthink the request, still preoccupied with how she had failed to sense the girl’s movements.
“You want to use a pill to ease the pain? Er, that is a good idea. Wait a moment, I’ll find one for you…”
Lin Xinyi pretended nothing was wrong.
She rummaged through her storage space and pulled out a Soul-Bewildering Pill.
After placing it in the girl’s hand, she increased the distance between them.
[Soul-Bewildering Pill]
Description: Anyone who consumes this pill will fall into a deep sleep within 2 breaths.
Even those at high cultivation realms will fall into a state of fatigue.
This pill is ineffective against those at or above the Soul Transformation Stage.
“If the pain is unbearable, take this. It should help you manage.”
Bai Qianqian looked at the crystal-clear pill in her hand.
After giving a quiet nod of agreement, she obediently popped it into her mouth and lay back down on the bed.
Lin Xinyi watched as she pulled up the covers.
Before long, the girl’s breathing became steady and even.
No other abnormalities occurred.
Lin Xinyi began to wonder if she had truly just been overthinking things.
“You could have used your spiritual energy to ease her pain directly, yet you gave her a Soul-Bewildering Pill instead. Don’t tell me you think she’s easier to handle when she’s unconscious…?”
“If I truly wanted to harm her, why would I bother saving her? Immortal Venerable, please stop overthinking. Could you try to trust me a bit more?”
Lin Xinyi replied to the voice in her ear with a gentle smile.
Although Luo Qingyao still found her disagreeable, she didn’t voice it further.
“As you wish…”
Luo Qingyao vanished again after leaving those words, but her eyes remained fixed on Lin Xinyi from a hidden vantage point.
She had been on high alert, but seeing how indifferent Lin Xinyi remained even after hearing the name of the Supreme Bone, she wondered if the girl truly had no ulterior motives.
Lin Xinyi saw that Luo Qingyao had disappeared and looked back at the unresponsive Bai Qianqian.
On the large bed, the girl’s small frame only occupied a tiny portion.
Lin Xinyi sat at the edge of the bed and crossed her legs to regulate her state.
‘I was really startled just now. I need to calm down to avoid a heart demon.’
Because of her previous lives, Lin Xinyi’s body had almost developed a conditioned reflex toward Bai Qianqian.
She sat by the bed and began to adjust the spiritual energy within her body.
Just as she was about to enter a meditative state, there was a slight movement behind her—something she once again failed to sense.
Bai Qianqian slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze was cold as she looked at Lin Xinyi’s back.
She opened her mouth slightly and, with a flick of her tongue, pushed out the completely intact pill.
“Sister Luo…”