Western Wilderness, Red Sand Canyon.
Violent winds whipped red sand as sharp as blades through the air, their impact stinging the face.
The air was thick with a mixture of scorching heat and the stench of decay.
The entrance to the Spirit Stone Vein was in shambles.
Several tents that had been pitched around the four mine shafts were already shredded into pieces, scattered across the ground.
As for the disciples who should have been stationed here, there was no sign of them. Only patches of dried, blackened blood remained on the ground.
“Everyone, stay alert.”
Wu Yan (Yan) walked at the very front. Her long sword was slightly unsheathed, and her Divine Sense was spread out, cautiously monitoring the surroundings.
Wu Yan (Inner) floated in mid-air and suddenly took a deep breath. A look of intoxication mixed with wariness appeared on her originally lazy face.
“Mmm~ such a thick scent of blood.”
She stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, pointing forward.
“Little Wu Yan, the third mine shaft on the left. I smell an acquaintance. And… there are quite a few of them. The scent is very pungent; it’s those cockroaches from the Demonic Cultivators.”
Wu Yan (Yan)’s brow furrowed, and she immediately raised her hand to signal the group to stop.
“Form the array!”
The eight inner disciples immediately stood back-to-back in a defensive formation.
Yu Qingyao stood in the center of the array, clutching talismans in her hand. Her face was pale as she looked around. “Eldest Senior Sister, it’s too quiet here. Something is wrong.”
Before she could finish her sentence, a sudden change occurred.
“Jie jie jie… The Piaomiao Sect really did send people here to die!”
A piercing, eerie laugh rang out.
The sandy ground exploded as red sand erupted from below.
A dozen dark figures appeared like ghosts, instantly surrounding the group.
Demonic energy swirled around these people. Their leader was a large, bald man with a terrifying blood scorpion tattooed on his face, the tail extending all the way to the back of his head.
It was a very distinctive feature.
“It’s… it’s the Bloodshat Sect Elder, the Blood Scorpion Old Monster!” Among the disciples, someone stuttered out the bald man’s name.
The Blood Scorpion Old Monster, Third Elder of the demonic Bloodshat Sect, possessed a Late Golden Core Stage cultivation.
It was said that before he even entered the demonic path, he had used a self-made Scorpion Venom to kill a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.
After joining the Bloodshat Sect, he combined the sect’s blood energy with his own Scorpion Venom to concoct a Blood Poison that smelled like a rotting corpse and possessed terrifying toxicity. It was through this mastery of Blood Poison that he had secured his seat as the Third Elder of the Bloodshat Sect.
The Blood Scorpion Old Monster’s greedy gaze swept over everyone before finally landing on Wu Yan (Yan), revealing a sinister smile.
“Miss Wu, we had a deal. I’ve surrounded the people for you. Isn’t it time you handed over that Blood Coagulation Bead?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd fell into an uproar.
All the disciples looked at Wu Yan (Yan) in disbelief.
Yu Qingyao also jerked her head up, a flash of as expected shock crossing her eyes, which then turned into deep confusion.
In her previous life, she had indeed colluded with the demonic gate, but that was much later. Why would it happen so early in this life? And… this line of dialogue was a bit too clumsy.
Yu Qingyao instinctively felt something was wrong, but the current situation didn’t allow for much thought.
Wu Yan (Inner) floated in the air, her originally fair little face flushed with rage as she wailed in Wu Yan (Yan)’s ear. “Bullshit! This ugly bald freak is insulting my aesthetic taste! Little Wu Yan, hack him! Who gave him the guts to try and dump this bucket of filth on my head?!”
Wu Yan (Yan) looked at the suspicious gazes of the disciples around her, her expression remaining cold.
She didn’t explain. On the battlefield, explanations were the most useless things.
“Since you recognize me.”
Wu Yan (Yan) took a step forward, walking out of the protective circle of the array alone to face the dozen Demonic Cultivators directly.
“Then you should know who I am.”
Zheng—!
Before her voice had even faded, a brilliant white sword light had already sliced through the dim canyon.
“Piaomiao Nine Styles: Startled Swan!”
Fast! Ruthless! Accurate!
A crescent-shaped sword beam flew rapidly from the front of the defensive array.
With just one move, several disciples brought by the Blood Scorpion Old Monster—whose strengths were only at the early Foundation Establishment Stage—had half of their bodies sliced away.
Immediately after, Wu Yan (Yan)’s figure moved like a bolt of white lightning, instantly charging into the enemy ranks.
“You’re looking for death!” The Blood Scorpion Old Monster roared in fury, summoning his dharma treasure to meet the attack.
A chaotic battle broke out instantly.
Wu Yan (Yan), with her single sword, forced back the majority of the demonic attacks.
The other eight disciples also used various long-range attacks from within the defensive array, either harassing or providing support.
Zheng—!
A sword light flew past the Blood Scorpion Old Monster’s face, slicing the skin on his forehead. Reddish-purple blood slowly flowed down the bridge of his nose.
In his exchange with Wu Yan (Yan), even with several Foundation Establishment-level helpers assisting him, the Blood Scorpion Old Monster was still wounded by her sword techniques.
Wounds on his arms, back, and chest constantly leaked blood into the red sand on the ground, which was then swallowed by the sand.
Damn it, the mole’s information was wrong.
This Wu Yan not only didn’t look like a demonic leader, but her strength was definitely not at the early Golden Core Stage.
Even though his own Late Golden Core Stage cultivation was a bit inflated, he definitely shouldn’t be losing to a simple early Golden Core.
If that’s the case…
Under the Blood Scorpion Old Monster’s control, the blood on his forehead transformed into finger-thick scorpions. A portion of them lunged at Wu Yan (Yan), while others swarmed toward the disciples in the defensive array.
Mere blood scorpions were naturally no match for Wu Yan (Yan), but since the Blood Scorpion Old Monster could make it to the position of Third Elder, his attacks wouldn’t be that simple.
Just as Wu Yan (Yan) slashed away the scorpions in front of her, the small blood scorpions attacking the disciples suddenly grew in size. A scorpion tail whipped up high, and a thick scent of rotting corpses emanated from the stinger.
Oh no!
As the Third Elder of the Bloodshat Sect, the Blood Scorpion Old Monster’s ability to manipulate blood was naturally extraordinary.
She had been too busy dealing with the Blood Scorpion Old Monster and his subordinates, neglecting the blood that had dripped from him and seeped into the red sand—it could also become his weapon.
The massive stinger shattered the disciples’ defensive array in an instant and lunged straight for Yu Qingyao, who was the eye of the array.
The reddish-purple stinger grew larger and larger in Yu Qingyao’s eyes. If this were the original Yu Qingyao, she would likely be shivering in fear right now, waiting for death.
But she was not the original Yu Qingyao.
Having been a Tribulation Transcendence Stage powerhouse in her previous life, she could block this move even with her current Foundation Establishment cultivation.
However, doing so would undoubtedly expose her trump cards, causing Wu Yan (Inner) to become suspicious of her.
Therefore, Yu Qingyao didn’t even think about dodging.
Before they set out, the Master had given her a Protective Talisman that could withstand a full-strength strike from a Soul Transformation Stage cultivator. Blocking this hit from the Blood Scorpion Old Monster would be no problem at all.
Just as she waited for the attack to land, a white shadow abruptly burst into her field of vision.
Without the slightest hesitation, without a moment of delay.
It was like an instinctive reaction.
It was Wu Yan (Yan).
“Tsi—!”
The sound of a stinger piercing through a body.
Yu Qingyao watched helplessly as that stinger, capable of corroding gold and stone, slammed violently into Wu Yan (Yan)’s back.
Black toxic blood splattered out. A few drops of the warm liquid even splashed onto Yu Qingyao’s face.
Hot.
Terrifyingly hot.
Yu Qingyao froze in place, the Protective Talisman she was holding unconsciously slipping back into her sleeve.
She looked at the swaying figure in front of her, her pupils trembling violently.
Why?
The question echoed frantically in her mind.
She’s saving me?
That Wu Yan who kills without blinking, who would sacrifice anything to stay alive… she’s using her physical body to take a blade for me?
Is this also an act?
No… this is the Blood Poison of the Late Golden Core Stage. It can’t be faked.
If she keeps acting, she really will die.
Wu Yan (Inner) let out a shrill scream within Wu Yan (Yan)’s sea of consciousness.
“Aaahhh! It hurts so much! Are you a moron?! For this little white lotus, you actually dared to let me get hurt?! That’s Late Golden Core Stage Blood Poison! My perfect body! I’m going to kill you! I’m definitely going to kill you!!”
Wu Yan (Yan)’s body swayed. Her originally ink-black eyes turned blood-red in that instant.
Using the momentum from the impact, she suddenly spun around and swung her sword.
A trace of crimson aura was mixed within the moonlight-like sword beam.
The Blood Scorpion Old Monster, who had just been gloating over his clever move, didn’t even have time to react before his head fell to the ground, rolling several times across the red sand.
Until the moment he died, he couldn’t believe that someone who had been heavily poisoned and injured could still swing such a fast sword.
“Ugly freak, you actually dared to wound this lady’s body! Not torturing you a hundred times over is a sign of my mercy!!”
Wu Yan (Inner)’s piercing voice echoed in Wu Yan (Yan)’s mind. The body that had felt heavy grew incredibly light the moment she saw the Blood Scorpion Old Monster’s head hit the ground.
“Senior… Senior Sister?”
Yu Qingyao reached out with a trembling hand, wanting to support her. Her eyes were filled with confusion, shock, and helplessness.
This scene completely shattered her perception. This was entirely different from the Wu Yan in her memories.
Wu Yan (Yan) leaned on her sword and tilted her head slightly. Her deathly pale face was stained with a few drops of bewitching blood, making her look exceptionally tragic yet beautiful.
She gave Yu Qingyao a cold look. There was no seeking of credit in her eyes, no warmth—only a stern, weak sense of frustration at her perceived incompetence.
“What are you dazing off for?”
“Maintain the array… don’t let the remaining ones… escape.”
After saying that, she forced her swaying body to stand up. She pushed away Yu Qingyao’s reaching hand and, carrying her still-dripping long sword, walked step by step toward the remaining Demonic Cultivators who were already scared out of their wits.
“Hey, hey, hey, Little Wu Yan, hurry up and give the body back to me! I need to expel that dead baldy’s Blood Poison! I don’t want my perfect body to be left with a scar because of this.”
“Dramatic.”
After Wu Yan (Yan) finished speaking, she unilaterally ignored Wu Yan (Inner)’s flushed face and the string of vulgarities she was spewing in various dialects.
Yu Qingyao stood where she was, looking at the blood on her hand that belonged to Wu Yan. The fortress of hatred in her heart, which had once been solid and indestructible, suffered its first crack.
Is the person in front of me… really Wu Yan?