After crossing the mountain range that separated the regions, the three arrived in the new area within moments.
The instant they got there, Dongfang Yun stopped walking and narrowed his eyes, sensing the lingering spiritual energy fluctuations in the air.
After a moment, he said in a deep voice, “It’s here. There are traces of thunder-attributed spiritual energy left behind, and they’re fresh. Looks like that bitch has been active around this area recently.”
Dongfang Bai’s gaze sharpened, his pupils shrinking slightly.
BOOM—
At that moment, all three of them simultaneously heard and saw a dazzling bolt of lightning flash across the sky several li away.
The three exchanged glances, surprise flickering through their eyes, along with mutual understanding.
“Go!” Dongfang Bai barked.
The three instantly erupted with full speed, rushing toward the direction where the thunderlight had appeared.
Ahead, several li away, above a dense forest, a young man wearing the Xuan Family’s robes stood there in a miserable state.
He clutched his abdomen, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, his chest heaving violently, his body covered in scorched marks.
Opposite him stood a slender girl wearing a wooden mask and a black cloak.
“Hand over all your tokens, and I’ll spare you!”
Yun Lian snorted impatiently.
The Xuan Family disciple wiped the blood from his lips.
His eyes remained stubborn as he gritted his teeth and said, “If you want them, come take them yourself!”
Yun Lian let out a cold snort.
“Hmph, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!”
As she spoke, she flipped her wrist, and a thunder talisman appeared in her palm.
Without hesitation, Yun Lian poured spiritual energy into the talisman, preparing to activate it.
BZZZ—
But at that exact moment, a deep rumbling sound echoed across the heavens, followed by an overwhelming pressure descending from above.
A massive phantom of mountains and rivers appeared out of thin air.
In an instant, it enveloped the surrounding several-li radius, transforming the area into a gigantic prison.
Yun Lian’s delicate body trembled, and her action of injecting spiritual energy came to an abrupt halt.
She suddenly looked up into the sky, her eyes filled with shock.
Under the blazing sun stood three figures proudly in the air—it was Dongfang Bai, Dongfang Yun, and Dongfang Ge.
The three floated above, robes fluttering in the wind, their cold gazes looking down arrogantly at everything below.
“It’s you!”
Yun Lian’s voice instantly became shriller, tinged with panic.
The moment she recognized them, Yun Lian showed no intention of fighting.
She immediately produced a teleportation talisman and poured spiritual energy into it.
The talisman burst with light, and ripples spread through space.
Yet the expected teleportation never occurred.
Yun Lian remained standing exactly where she was, unmoving.
“What? How is this possible?!”
Beneath the mask, the girl’s voice was full of disbelief as she stared at the teleportation talisman in her hand.
“You filthy bitch, did you think you could escape like last time?”
Dongfang Bai sneered mockingly.
“This entire space has already been sealed by us. Did you really think you could run away again?”
Dongfang Yun remained expressionless, both hands forming seals as he maintained the operation of the Mountain River Seal.
At that moment, the mountain-and-river phantom surrounding the area trembled slightly, releasing even greater pressure.
Yun Lian suddenly ripped off the mask on her face, revealing an angry yet stubborn expression.
The girl glared furiously at the three in the sky and demanded angrily, “Fellow Daoists, we have no grudges between us. Why must you insist on exterminating me?”
“Exterminate you? Hah, you think you’re worthy?”
Dongfang Bai scoffed, his eyes full of disdain.
“If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for refusing to submit to us and hand over your tokens from the very beginning!”
“Anyone who dares defy the Dongfang Family will end up like this!”
As he spoke, Dongfang Bai raised his hand, and a white jade spear radiating icy killing intent appeared.
Yun Lian’s face instantly became extremely ugly, and even the hand holding the teleportation talisman trembled slightly.
Dongfang Bai had no intention of giving her another chance to speak.
In the next instant, his body turned into an afterimage as he charged toward Yun Lian at astonishing speed.
Dongfang Yun continued floating in the sky, maintaining the Mountain River Seal with his hand seals, giving Yun Lian absolutely no chance to escape.
Meanwhile, Dongfang Ge crossed his arms and leisurely watched from the side, leaving the battle against Yun Lian temporarily to Dongfang Bai.
In his view, with Dongfang Bai’s cultivation, dealing with someone merely at the eighth level of the Golden Core Realm was effortless.
There was no need for him to interfere.
Dongfang Ge casually glanced downward, his gaze landing on the heavily injured Xuan Family cultivator hiding behind a tree nearby.
The cultivator had already been gravely wounded by Yun Lian.
At this moment, he hid behind the tree, barely daring to breathe, hoping to avoid being noticed.
“Hmph, still trying to hide?”
A cold smile curled on Dongfang Ge’s lips.
“Since I’m free anyway, I’ll use you to pass the time!”
With that thought, Dongfang Ge tapped off the air and rapidly descended toward the Xuan Family cultivator below.
At the same time, the dark red saber in his hand erupted with a savage and domineering aura.
In Dongfang Ge’s eyes, defeating this heavily wounded cultivator would take no more than a single move.
“Die!”
Dongfang Ge shouted.
Before he even arrived, the saber qi from his dark red blade had already burst forth.
Everywhere the saber qi passed, trees and massive rocks were split apart and crashed to the ground.
Seeing this, terror immediately appeared on the Xuan Family cultivator’s face.
Realizing he could no longer dodge, the young man gritted his teeth, endured his injuries, tightly gripped his sword with both hands, and used all his strength to strike back at Dongfang Ge.
Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
Dongfang Ge sneered inwardly.
He could not even be bothered to use his full strength.
Casually swinging his saber, he met the incoming sword, intending to shatter both the cultivator and his weapon in one strike.
But at the instant the two weapons collided….
A cold and razor-sharp sword intent suddenly erupted from the Xuan Family cultivator’s blade!
The cultivator who had looked terrified moments ago suddenly exploded with power, and the seemingly harmless sword in his hand flashed with a chilling sharpness.
This sword was incomparably fierce, as though it could sever everything in existence.
Something’s wrong!
Dongfang Ge’s heart jolted violently, and an overwhelming sense of danger swept through his body.
But it was already too late.
In the next instant, he felt an enormous force crash through his saber, forcibly knocking it aside.
The impact was so violent that the tiger’s mouth of his hand split open.
And the longsword in the Xuan Family cultivator’s hand continued forward with icy killing intent, aiming directly for his heart!
What a fast—what a terrifying sword!
Dongfang Ge’s pupils shrank violently.
He wanted to dodge, but his body simply could not react in time.
He could only watch helplessly as the sword tip rapidly enlarged in his vision.
Then—
The surrounding space suddenly twisted violently.
In the next instant, Dongfang Ge felt his vision blur.
The mountain forest scenery of the secret realm vanished, replaced by the Xuan Family pavilions outside the realm and the stone walls surrounding the entrance.
“No!”
Dongfang Ge immediately let out a furious roar, his face filled with rage and unwillingness.
But there was nothing he could do.
Because according to the rules of the secret realm….
He had already been eliminated!
And if this had been a true life-and-death battle, that sword would have taken his life.
“That damned brat tricked me!”
Dongfang Ge glared at the secret realm, teeth grinding loudly, his face dark as water.
Yet all he could do was rage helplessly.
Meanwhile, inside the secret realm….
The sudden reversal shocked both Dongfang Bai and Dongfang Yun, who was maintaining the Mountain River Seal.
Their movements stalled instantly.
They both looked toward the direction where Dongfang Ge had disappeared, their faces filled with disbelief.
What just happened?
That insignificant Xuan Family cultivator had actually instantly defeated Dongfang Ge?!
What kind of joke was this?!
Dongfang Ge may have been the weakest among the three, and he had indeed underestimated his opponent, but even so, he was not someone a mere Golden Core cultivator could defeat so easily—let alone kill instantly!
At that moment, the Xuan Family cultivator stretched his limbs and slightly raised his head, casually wiping away the scorched marks on his face.
Beneath the blackened disguise….
Was Chen Yuyang.
Letting out a slow breath, Chen Yuyang raised his head and looked toward the sky.
His gaze remained calm, without the slightest joy from defeating an opponent, as though everything that had happened was only natural—exactly as it should be.
At this moment, the rest of Chen Yuyang’s team, who had been hiding in the shadows, also emerged one after another from the dense forest.
One powerful aura after another erupted, surrounding Dongfang Bai and Dongfang Yun.
The expressions of Dongfang Yun and Dongfang Bai immediately became even uglier.
Only now did they finally realize…
From the very beginning, they had fallen into the enemy’s carefully prepared trap.
“You… shameless!”
Dongfang Bai roared furiously after realizing the truth.
“Shameless?”
A cold female voice rang out.
Its owner, Yan Luo, stepped forward through the air holding a longsword blazing with scorching Sun Fire.
A proud and triumphant smile hung at the corner of her lips.
“There’s no such thing as shamelessness here. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being too stupid!”
The moment her words fell, the girl’s figure moved, transforming into an orange-red streak of light as she charged forward.
The longsword in her hand danced wildly, Sun Fire blazing fiercely.
Yan Luo replaced Yun Lian’s position and launched a fierce assault against Dongfang Bai.
The clash of metal rang endlessly through the air as the scorching Sun Fire collided with Dongfang Bai’s ice-attributed spiritual power, sending ripples spreading across the sky.