I forge immortality with a pagoda.

That warning sign just now was definitely not an illusion.

Who is spying on us from the shadows?

Shen Yu gazed at the bright full moon outside the window and fell into deep thought.

"Could it be Feng Jinhong?"

"Although this person is narrow-minded, he comes from a prestigious family and is probably busy cultivating his image to win Qiu Yunzhi's favor."

It's unlikely that we'd rashly attack this newly minted winner in the valley over an old grudge involving a few thousand coins; the risk far outweighs the reward.

"Could it be Lu Xiong?" Shen Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but think.

"That's it! With Feng Xunqi missing, Lu Xiong, as an accomplice, will definitely not let this go."

"It was Lin Qing who arranged to meet Feng Xunqi in the valley. After Feng Xunqi disappeared, Lu Xiong's first suspect would definitely be Lin Qing."

"But with a little inquiry, he would find out that Lin Qing has been in Liexing Valley for many days, and there are witnesses to vouch for him."

"Therefore, he would naturally exclude Lin Qing from the list of suspects."

"Then... I, who have had conflicts with them and whose true nature they can't fathom, naturally become a suspect!"

The more Shen Yu thought about it, the more she felt she had grasped the key point, and her thinking became clearer and clearer.

"If Lu Xiong really was spying on us, what would he think if he saw me chatting happily with Lin Qing?"

"Anyone with a brain would guess that the two of them conspired to harm Feng Xunqi!"

Thinking of this, Shen Yu felt a sense of foreboding.

At this time, Lin Qing had already left Liexing Valley and returned to the guesthouses outside the valley where the defenses were relatively weak.

Shen Yu suddenly stood up, paced around the room a couple of times, his eyes shifting uncertainly.

He couldn't be sure if Lu Xiong would actually make a move, nor could he be sure if any cultivators at the Qi Refining stage would come with him to the Dharma Assembly.

But if Lin Qing were truly placed in danger due to his own negligence, that was something he absolutely did not want to see.

"Why!"

"To cut the weeds, you must pull them out by the roots!"

Shen Yu sighed and turned his gaze back to the deep night outside the window.

A moment later, a resolute glint flashed in his eyes.

Next time, he must do things cleanly and efficiently to avoid these complications!

...

Outside Liexing Valley, in a desolate mountain valley, the moonlight was dim, and the shadows of the trees were ghostly.

Lin Qing knelt on one knee, supporting herself with one hand, while her other hand tightly covered her lips.

"Cough...cough."

She suddenly coughed violently, and dark red blood seeped from between her fingers.

Her once beautiful face was now as pale as paper, her delicate brows furrowed, clearly indicating that she had suffered a severe injury.

Her light green long dress was now torn in many places, and the torn parts were covered with gruesome wounds.

The two wounds on her left shoulder and waist were particularly horrifying, deep enough to expose the bone, with the skin and flesh rolled back at the edges, and subtle sword energy darting within, continuously destroying Lin Qing's life force.

Before her, two cultivators dressed in green robes and with talisman swords at their waists stood by, watching coldly.

Wang Lishan's face was sinister, a mocking sneer playing on his lips. He spoke in a chilling tone, "Little girl, you've got some backbone."

However, resisting will only increase your suffering. You might as well honestly confess what you and that kid surnamed Shen have to do with the disappearance of Junior Brother Feng Xunqi.

Lu Xiong's eyes were bloodshot, and he wanted nothing more than to vent all his pent-up frustration and fear on the woman before him. "You slut! Did you kill Senior Brother Feng?!"

Lin Qing took a deep breath, suddenly raised her head, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"Bah! If you're going to kill me, then kill me! Why all this nonsense!"

"Still dare to talk back!" Lu Xiong was already in a bad mood, and now he would be severely punished upon returning to the sect.

Provoked by Lin Qing's words, he could no longer suppress his killing intent.

He roared and charged forward like a tiger unleashed from its cage, simultaneously drawing his talisman sword from his waist with a clang.

A streak of azure sword light shot up in response, carrying a chilling aura, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, aiming straight for Lin Qing's heart!

Lin Qing's pupils contracted, and she endured the excruciating pain. With her slender fingers, she pinched a vermilion brush and quickly drew lines in front of her.

As the pen tip moved across the paper, a burst of inspiration gathered, instantly condensing into several ancient and mysterious golden runes.

The characters shimmered and flowed, connecting end to end, transforming into a solid golden shield of light that narrowly blocked the sword light.

Sword and shield clashed, producing a muffled thud.

Lin Qing's figure also swayed suddenly, her face turned even paler, and her aura visibly weakened, clearly indicating that she was at her limit and her vital energy was on the verge of depletion.

Wang Lishan remained standing in place, his hands behind his back, his eyes coldly observing the battle.

Since he severely injured Lin Qing with a vicious sword move—the Yuan River Heart-Eroding Sword—he has not made another move, but has kept his aura firmly locked on her.

The reason for this was to guard against possible variables, specifically Shen Yu, who made him feel vaguely uneasy.

In the arena, Lu Xiong became even more furious when he saw that his sword strike had failed. He unleashed his sword technique, and the azure sword light poured down like a storm.

Whether slashing, thrusting, or parrying, each move was ruthless, targeting Lin Qing's vital points.

Lin Qing gritted her teeth, her figure struggling to dodge amidst the sword light, as talismans, some offensive and some defensive, flew out continuously.

Her Myriad Mysteries True Talisman was quite powerful, but even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. At this moment, her vital energy was insufficient, so the power of the talisman was greatly reduced, and the speed of its condensation was also much slower.

Often, a talisman is shattered by sword light as soon as it takes shape.

She could only rely on her exquisite movements to barely manage to stay afloat, but the wounds on her body kept bursting open under the intense exercise, and blood gushed out, staining the ground beneath her feet red.

Lu Xiong spotted a flaw, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he poured all his vital energy into the talisman sword.

The sword shone with a brilliant blue light, transforming into a massive, ribbon-like sword beam that cleaved through everything with overwhelming force, slashing down at the already swaying Lin Qing.

This sword strike concentrated all of his cultivation at the second level of the Opening Origin Realm, determined to kill Lin Qing on the spot.

Lin Qing stared at the deadly sword light, a hint of despair and resentment flashing in her eyes.

She struggled to raise her hands, trying to condense the last defensive talisman, but the golden light quickly dimmed as soon as it appeared.

At this critical moment!

"call out--"

A sharp, piercing sword cry suddenly rang out from the darkness.

Before the words had even faded, a streak of light descended like a meteor from the sky, striking directly at Lu Xiong, who was wielding his sword.

Wherever the streak of light passed, the air seemed to ignite, bringing with it a scorching and chaotic surge of spiritual energy, its power terrifying.

Lu Xiong's entire focus was on killing Lin Qing. By the time he realized the danger was imminent, the streak of light was already within reach.

He turned pale with horror. It was too late to dodge, and he could only watch helplessly as the light of death rapidly enlarged in his pupils, his face instantly filled with boundless fear.

"Watch out!" Wang Lishan, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, finally made a move.

He was constantly on guard against possible attacks.

His reaction was incredibly fast. Almost the instant the sound of something cutting through the air rang out, he pointed his fingers like a sword, and a condensed, tangible sword aura, shimmering with a deep blue light, shot out, precisely intercepting the streak of light.

He was confident that with his Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation, this sword strike imbued with true Qi would be enough to block most of the sneak attacks from Opening Yuan cultivators.

The anticipated violent collision did not occur.

That seemingly resilient, dark blue sword energy only managed to block the light for a fleeting moment upon contact.

It emitted a soft, muffled sound, then instantly disintegrated into countless scattered blue specks of light, vanishing into the night sky.

"What?!" Wang Lishan's composure froze instantly, replaced by shock.

He looked closely and realized it was clearly a talismanic sword with flowing light.

This talisman sword is probably of superior grade!

...

...