At this moment, Qin Huaiyin lay weakly on the ground, completely unaware of what had happened.
She only felt as if she heard her master’s voice in a blur, but it was very faint—so faint that she gradually couldn’t hear it anymore.
….
“Haha, you really have unstable cultivation, unable to withstand even a single punch of mine~”
Accompanied by Du Mei Zhenren’s mocking words, Lin Xinyi, who had originally left, was now being choked by the neck and pressed harshly against a tree.
Even her ink-black long hair was disheveled and scattered over her shoulders—far from her original haughty appearance.
“Heh… is that so? I think you’re nothing special either.”
Lin Xinyi was being choked by Du Mei Zhenren and pinned against the tree, but even so, she couldn’t help throwing out a couple more taunts.
Du Mei Zhenren hadn’t expected that even at this point, Lin Xinyi would still dare to mock her, and a disdainful smile curled at the corner of her lips.
She swung her arm backward, tossing Lin Xinyi to the ground on her side, then followed up with a kick that landed squarely on Lin Xinyi’s abdomen.
The fierce impact made Lin Xinyi feel as if her internal organs had all jolted, and an uncontrollable mouthful of fresh blood spilled from the corner of her lips.
“Elder Lin, I was going to give you a dignified death, but I find this look suits you much more. Why don’t you beg me~”
Du Mei Zhenren slowly crouched down and grabbed a handful of Lin Xinyi’s smooth hair.
Feeling the strands slide through her fingers, she took great pleasure in seeing her enemy’s pained expression—after all, that was something most demonic cultivators enjoyed.
“If I’d known your cultivation was so shaky, I wouldn’t have wasted all that effort setting up a barrier and lying in ambush. Such a waste of time~”
Du Mei Zhenren was like a cat playing with its prey.
Seeing that the other’s resistance had weakened, she decided not to drag it out any longer.
As a sharp energy gathered in her hand, she asked casually.
“Forget it, letting you live will only cause more trouble. Do you have any last words? I can be your final listener.”
“As a matter of fact, I do have one last thing to say…”
Lin Xinyi’s hair was being yanked, and though she was in agony, she still wore a look of contempt.
Seeing this, Du Mei Zhenren became curious about what that last remark would be.
“Elder Lin, rest assured. At least you’ll have someone to listen.”
“Then… then you’d better come closer and listen carefully…”
Seeing her opponent in such a miserable state, Du Mei Zhenren didn’t worry that Lin Xinyi might have any tricks left.
She slowly leaned in, wanting to hear Lin Xinyi’s final words—to hear what she would say.
Ptoo!
Du Mei Zhenren had been prepared for some defiant declaration of “death before surrender,” but instead, a mouthful of spit landed right on her face.
She instantly froze, eyes wide, then turned her head stiffly to look at Lin Xinyi, who was sneering at her.
“You! You bastard!”
The moment she snapped out of it, Du Mei Zhenren flew into a rage, teeth clenched.
She punched Lin Xinyi square in the chest with such force that Lin Xinyi was sent flying backward, crashing through several trees before finally stopping.
“How dare you?!”
Du Mei Zhenren wiped her cheek and stormed toward Lin Xinyi.
At the same time, her previously stored life-bound artifacts appeared—twelve daggers, each coated with a different degree of poison.
None of the poisons were lethal, but each one could inflict excruciating pain.
In the blink of an eye, they began stabbing into Lin Xinyi’s limbs one after another.
“I was going to let you die quickly, but I’ve changed my mind. I want you to suffer a fate worse than death!”
As she spoke, Du Mei Zhenren increased the force of her attacks.
She intended to let the victim die from the pain, but suddenly the daggers that had been piercing into the body stopped.
A flicker of unease crossed Du Mei Zhenren’s mind.
“This woman…”
Du Mei Zhenren narrowed her eyes.
By the fallen tree, there was no sign of Lin Xinyi—only a tattered talisman drifting slowly to the ground in the breeze.
As that talisman appeared, Du Mei Zhenren’s eye twitched more violently.
Veins bulged on her forehead, and her teeth ground together in fury, producing a grating sound.
“She actually toyed with me like this!”
[Incarnation Talisman]
[Spirit-grade Talisman Treasure]
(Can take a strand of soul to create an incarnation, while mimicking the cultivation aura of the original body, but has no combat power. Can be used for passage.)
Du Mei Zhenren grabbed the falling talisman with a forceful grip.
The moment her palm tightened, the already riddled talisman treasure was corroded and disintegrated.
“Fine, fine. A cripple who’s lost all her cultivation is no better than an ant. No need to grant her any dignity after such a shameless act…”
Du Mei Zhenren was now grinding her teeth.
That a useless waste with shaky cultivation would dare to toy with her repeatedly only rekindled her desire for a slow, brutal kill.
Her mind already conjured no fewer than a hundred methods to deal with Lin Xinyi.
Meanwhile, Qin Huaiyin lay in a pit, her entire body’s aura faint.
Yet even so, she was held in someone’s arms.
Lin Xinyi channeled the last trace of her faint spiritual power, probing for a pulse—only to find that Qin Huaiyin was already barely distinguishable from the dead.
“You rebellious disciple, you’re not really going to make me owe you a life, are you?”
Lin Xinyi placed a treasure over the other’s heart.
The toxins that had been spreading through her body came to a halt, but at the same time, Qin Huaiyin’s physical state also froze.
[Red Poison Snake Core]
[Low-grade Spirit Treasure]
(Can delay the spread of poison, and can also be used as a pill refinement material. Condensed from the demon core of a hundred-year-old venomous snake.)
Although the poison’s spread had been successfully stopped, buying her a breath of life, for Qin Huaiyin in her current state, it was merely a drop in the bucket.
Fortunately, the Dragon Transformation Physique was as formidable as legend said, forcing the frozen heart to start beating again.
“Looks like this spirit treasure has some effect. But this constitution is truly tough—it can even cling to life…”
Lin Xinyi extended a finger and gently touched the spot over Qin Huaiyin’s heart.
Feeling a faint pulse, she let out a small sigh of relief.
At the very least, she didn’t want to develop a heart demon when she tried to break through later.
Even if surviving this was uncertain, at least she could feel a little better about herself.
At that moment, after a few light coughs, Qin Huaiyin slowly opened her eyes.
Earlier, she had been completely blind, yet now, after opening her eyes, she could still see some colors dimly.
She reached out and gently touched the figure holding her in its arms.
She wondered, wasn’t she supposed to be dead?
How could she still feel warmth?
“Master…?”
Qin Huaiyin called out hesitantly.
The figure looked increasingly familiar.
When her vision cleared completely, she recognized the face—it was the same one she had seen in her earliest memories.
“You can talk? Don’t tell me it’s a deathbed rally.”
Although Lin Xinyi wasn’t particularly concerned, given that Qin Huaiyin had risked her life to save her, she heaved a helpless sigh and responded.
“The poison has already seeped into your bones. With only temporary suppression, you shouldn’t talk too much…”
“I… I think I saw Master. Did you die too, Master?”
Lin Xinyi had meant to show some concern, but the first words out of Qin Huaiyin’s mouth after opening her eyes were these.
Instantly annoyed, she slapped away Qin Huaiyin’s hand that was trying to touch her.
“You rebellious disciple! I came back out of the goodness of my heart to save you, and yet you say such inauspicious things! Let me be clear—I didn’t come back just for you!”
Hearing the familiar scolding, Qin Huaiyin’s eyes snapped open.
Ignoring the pain all over her body, she shoved Lin Xinyi away with all her might.
Caught off guard, Lin Xinyi rolled to the side.
Regaining her composure, Lin Xinyi sat up, not understanding what the other was doing.
Her temper flared—she had gone to the trouble of saving this rebellious disciple, and the thanks she got was being pushed away.
“You ungrateful disciple—”
“Why did you come back!”
Before Lin Xinyi could finish her reprimand, Qin Huaiyin’s louder voice drowned her out.
Even Lin Xinyi was startled by the fierce aura Qin Huaiyin was giving off.
Wasn’t she on the verge of collapsing just a moment ago?
How could she speak with so much strength now?
“I came back out of kindness to save you, and now you’re the one interrogating me!”
“If you had left, Master, you should have stayed gone! What’s the point of coming back now? Then your disciple’s death would have been for nothing!”
“What rubbish are you talking? You’re still alive, aren’t you!”
Qin Huaiyin forced herself to stand despite her discomfort, but she still wobbled unsteadily.
Seeing her like this, Lin Xinyi tried to help, only to be pushed away again, making Lin Xinyi, already in a foul mood, even angrier.
“Your disciple doesn’t need Master to save me. Master should just do what you need to do…”
Qin Huaiyin’s mind was in turmoil.
She had never expected Lin Xinyi to come back for her.
Glancing in the direction where Du Mei Zhenren had disappeared, she formed hand seals, wanting to send Lin Xinyi away quickly.
But the only technique she knew, the Heavenly Sound Art, wouldn’t even activate.
The moment she tried to channel even a tiny bit of spiritual power, a mouthful of golden blood mixed with toxins spewed from her lips.
Then her whole body fell backward again.
Lin Xinyi seized the moment and caught her from behind, slowly easing her to sit on the ground.
“Master is usually so cold to me. It’s rare to see such kindness now…”
“Cold is cold, but I still know how to repay a favor. Besides, if you die, who will I hold a grudge against?”
Lin Xinyi pretended not to care as she spoke offhandedly, but in truth, she didn’t know why she had done all this.
She only knew that if she owed something, it would feel wrong inside.
“Master charging back so blindly to save your disciple makes everything in vain. Right now, I almost wish Master were that heartless…”
“If you hadn’t wasted those days teasing me, I would have taken my pills and recovered long ago. That woman wouldn’t have gotten so cocky!”
Lin Xinyi crossed her arms and laid all the blame on Qin Huaiyin, as if everything that had happened was entirely her fault.
Qin Huaiyin heard this but didn’t argue.
She just gave a helpless smile.
“If Master thinks so, then so be it. After all, if it happened again, your disciple would still do the same…”
“Huh?! You!”
As Qin Huaiyin finished speaking, a figure wreathed in greenish-red poisonous Qi appeared in the distance.
The moment Lin Xinyi saw that figure, she began charging the spirit treasure in her space, ready to fight to the death.
But Du Mei Zhenren was now walking toward them step by step, her face full of rage.
She had already decided on the most cruel way to torment the two before her.
“Both together, are you? Saves me the trouble of hunting you down~”