I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Zhou Yuan moved with lightning speed.

With his divine sense, he locked onto the traces of spiritual energy left behind by the tall, thin mage as he fled, and gave chase.

After chasing for only about three hundred miles, a streak of azure light came straight at them from the front; it was the Gale Beast.

Upon seeing Zhou Yuan, it immediately stopped, a hint of shame appearing on its face:

"Master, I am utterly incompetent. Seeing no hope of escape, that person even went so far as to separate his nascent soul from his body and use a teleportation technique. I... could not catch up!"

"Please punish me, Master."

After a cultivator's nascent soul leaves the body, they can indeed use teleportation if they disregard the loss of their essence. This is the last resort for a nascent soul cultivator to save their life.

However, the cost was enormous.

Although the Gale Beast excels in speed.

However, it is normal to make a mistake when faced with such a costless Nascent Soul teleportation.

"It's alright, he's already within my spiritual detection. You come back first."

Zhou Yuan remained expressionless and raised his hand to put the Gale Beast into his spirit beast pouch.

His powerful divine sense had already firmly locked onto the nascent soul a hundred miles away, whose aura had weakened and whose speed had been greatly reduced due to the forced teleportation.

Although they were separated by a distance of 100 miles.

However, it is not insurmountable for Zhou Yuan, who can continuously use Lightning Release.

He activated his Wind and Thunder Wings once more, and lightning flashed continuously as he made short, extreme leaps through the sky.

Frequent use of lightning strikes places a great burden on both mana and physical body, but Zhou Yuan has an equipment slot that provides support, and his mana is almost limitless, so he can fully withstand it.

They chased for another two hundred miles, narrowing the distance to less than fifty miles.

The tall, thin mage's nascent soul desperately squeezed out its essence, flying away in a specific direction.

Behind them, Zhou Yuan pursued at high speed.

Suddenly, his powerful divine sense detected that about ten miles in front of the Nascent Soul, a strong spiritual aura was rapidly approaching in that direction.

Its spiritual energy fluctuations had reached the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm!

Moreover, its aura carried distinct characteristics of a Mulan mage, completely different from the sinister aura of the black-robed cultivator.

"Master Le?" Zhou Yuan's heart stirred as he recalled the reinforcements that the fiery red master had mentioned earlier.

It seems this is the one.

Sure enough, a moment later, the tall, thin mage's nascent soul merged with the arriving cyan escape light.

The light faded, revealing a beautiful young woman in her early twenties, dressed in a light blue palace gown, with a delicate face, a cool and aloof demeanor, and an air of serene elegance.

She stepped on a wisp of azure cloud and saw the tall, thin mage's disheveled appearance—his nascent soul was now only intact, his spiritual light dim, and his aura weak. Her delicate brows furrowed immediately, and a hint of surprise flashed in her beautiful eyes.

"Master Gao? You... what happened to you? How did you end up in such a state? Was there an ambush in Tiantai Valley?" The woman surnamed Le's voice was clear and crisp, yet tinged with a hint of solemnity and concern. She clearly knew this tall, thin master.

"Master Yue! Run! The Tiannan cultivators stationed at Tiantai Valley are terrifyingly powerful! They're the same ruthless individuals who hunted down three of our clan's masters, including two Great Jin demonic cultivators, within the territory of Fengyuan Kingdom a few days ago!"

Upon seeing the woman surnamed Yue, the tall, thin Nascent Soul cultivator grasped at her like a lifeline, urgently transmitting his thoughts with a voice filled with fear:

"Ku Yao and that Mr. Tianku from the Great Jin Dynasty have already been killed by him! My physical body was also destroyed; if I hadn't teleported, I wouldn't have escaped his clutches either!"

"That person's magical weapon is incredibly powerful; we cannot defeat him by force!"

"What?! It's him?"

Upon hearing this, the woman surnamed Le's pretty face immediately changed color.

The news of the consecutive deaths of three high masters in Fengyuan Kingdom had already caused a stir among the high-ranking officials of Mulan.

She had heard about it too.

The fact that he could so cleanly and efficiently deal with three cultivators of the same level, as well as the two Great Jin demon cultivators who were skilled in strange supernatural abilities before the New Year, shows that his strength is definitely far beyond that of an ordinary mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Unexpectedly, we bumped into each other here?

"You go first, return to the main camp, and report the situation here to the Divine Master! I'll hold him off here for now!"

The woman surnamed Le reacted very quickly and made a decision in an instant.

Although she was confident in her strength, ranking among the top mid-stage Nascent Soul mages in Mulan, she dared not be careless in the slightest when facing a fierce person who could kill three people of the same level in succession.

Letting the tall, thin Nascent Soul go first would both preserve their strength and allow her to focus on dealing with the powerful enemy without distraction. Even if they were outmatched, with her Wind Escape Technique, escaping shouldn't be difficult.

"Master Le, be careful!"

The tall, thin Nascent Soul knew that staying behind would only be a burden. He glanced gratefully at the woman surnamed Le, then transformed into a dim gray light and continued his desperate flight towards the direction where the main force of the Mulan army might be stationed.

The woman surnamed Yue turned around and faced the direction from which Zhou Yuan had come, her expression solemn.

A faint blue aura flowed around him.

We are already prepared to meet the enemy.

Just a few breaths after the tall, thin Nascent Soul left, a blinding golden-blue lightning bolt flashed continuously in the distant sky, as if teleporting.

Each flash closed the distance by hundreds of feet, and in just a few breaths, it transformed from a small golden dot into a clear human figure, steadily stopping in the air two hundred feet in front of the woman surnamed Yue.

Wearing a black robe, with bluish-purple wings, a youthful face, and calm, unwavering eyes, it was Zhou Yuan.

His gaze swept over the woman surnamed Yue, then glanced in the direction where the tall, thin Nascent Soul had disappeared, a hint of regret on his face. But then he looked at the woman surnamed Yue and said in a calm tone:

His gaze swept over the woman surnamed Yue, then glanced in the direction where the tall, thin Nascent Soul had disappeared, a hint of regret on his face. But then he looked at the woman surnamed Yue and said in a calm tone:

"Let that person leave..."

"I was originally short one person. Now that you're here, you can fill the last spot."

His tone was so calm, as if he were stating a given fact, without any murderous intent or threat, only a sense of indifference as if it were perfectly natural.

It was as if killing a mid-stage Nascent Soul Master like Mulan was nothing more than completing a predetermined, insignificant task for him.

"Arrogant!"

Upon hearing this, the woman surnamed Le was first taken aback, then a surge of anger rose from the bottom of her heart, and a layer of frost covered her beautiful face.

As one of the strongest individuals in the Mulan Grassland, with a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, she had never been afraid of anyone of the same level, except for the Holy Maiden of the "Tuwu People," her sworn enemy on the other side of the grassland. She had never been so looked down upon, like a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.

"I'd like to see what makes you so arrogant!"

The woman surnamed Yue shouted sharply, and without further ado, she struck first!

She knew her opponent was no pushover and that she had to seize the initiative.

With a flick of her jade-like hand, a beam of white light shot out from her sleeve—a seemingly delicate yet incredibly strong white silk magic weapon.

The silk swelled in the wind, its white light dazzling. After circling in the air, it suddenly let out a clear bird cry and transformed into a ferocious snow eagle with a wingspan of several feet, a pure white body, blood-red eyes, and black claws!

With a flap of its wings, the snow eagle stirred up a biting wind, and its figure flashed with white light, instantly disappearing from the spot!

The next moment, the void above Zhou Yuan's head blurred, and the snow eagle appeared as if it had pierced through space. Its claws gleamed with a metallic cold light and carried a terrifying power that could tear through the gale. It fiercely grabbed down at Zhou Yuan's crown!

This attack was swift, unpredictable, and ruthless. Clearly, the white silk was an ancient treasure of extremely high quality, possessing both illusionary and spatial teleportation properties!

However, Zhou Yuan didn't even lift his eyelids in the face of this sudden and bizarre attack.

"Zheng—!"

Thirty-six Azure Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords, imbued with Geng essence and gleaming with golden light, were already poised to strike. At this moment, they simultaneously emitted a resounding sword cry and filed out in single file!

Without needing to differentiate, its main body transformed into thirty-six golden lightning bolts, instantly weaving into a dense golden sword net to meet the descending snow eagle claws!

"Hiss hiss hiss—!!"

The instant the claws made contact with the sword net, there was no loud clang of metal clashing, only a series of teeth-grinding, soft sounds, like cloth being torn apart in an instant.

The snow eagle's claws, seemingly invincible and capable of crushing mountains, were as fragile as real cloth in front of the flying sword, which was infused with Geng essence and was extremely sharp!

Golden sword lights flashed past, and the snow eagle let out a mournful cry. Its massive body was instantly cut, pierced, and shredded, transforming back into the original form of the white silk ribbon.

But now, the silk was covered with crisscrossing sword marks.

Having lost all its luster, it drifted downwards, clearly completely destroyed.

"What?!"

The woman surnamed Yue's pupils suddenly contracted, and for the first time, an expression of disbelief and horror appeared on her beautiful face.

Her "Snow Shadow Silk" is an ancient treasure passed down through generations, incredibly tough, and also possesses the ability to transform and teleport. It has helped her kill several powerful enemies, and even the magic weapons of mid-Nascent Soul cultivators are difficult to damage easily.

Yet, under this person's golden flying sword, it crumbled like paper at the slightest touch!

The sharpness of that flying sword was beyond her comprehension!

She instantly understood that what the tall, thin Nascent Soul cultivator said was true; this person's magic weapon was strange and terrifying!

In a flash, the contempt and anger on the woman's face transformed into extreme solemnity. She quickly crossed her hands in front of her, her ten fingers spreading out like blooming lotus flowers, palms facing upwards, supporting them lightly in front of her chest.

A "flower bud," no bigger than a fist, radiating a hazy white light as if formed from the purest power of light, was slowly taking shape and blooming between her palms, exuding a righteous and peaceful yet incredibly sturdy protective aura.

Clearly, this is a light-attribute guardian spirit technique that requires a short preparation time but has extremely strong defensive capabilities.

"You dare to cast such a slow spell in front of me?"

Upon seeing this, a cold sneer flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

With a thought, the thirty-six flying swords twirled in mid-air, ignoring the ruined silk, and transformed into thirty-six golden streaks of light, shooting towards the woman surnamed Yue who was casting a spell at an even faster speed!

Before the sword light even arrived, the sharp sword energy that could tear everything apart already made the woman surnamed Yue's skin feel cold, and the white lotus of light that was not yet fully formed swayed violently.

How fast is the Gengjin Flying Sword?

The woman surnamed Yue's expression changed, realizing that she wouldn't have time to fully unleash the protective spirit technique.

She decisively stopped casting the spell, and the blue clouds beneath her feet suddenly intensified, her figure abruptly becoming blurred, transforming into an almost invisible breeze, and darting to the side and back!

Wind Release Technique!

"Trying to run away?"

Zhou Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light; he was not about to let her have her way.

This woman's escape techniques are not weak. If we let her create distance and use wind escape to maneuver around her, although she will eventually die, it will probably take a lot more effort.

Moreover, he knew that this woman possessed a powerful treasure, and the defensive spell he had just cast was a preparation for using that treasure.

The Twelve Stabs of the Divine Court!

Within Zhou Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness, a vast power of divine consciousness erupted, instantly condensing into twelve invisible and intangible yet extremely sharp and refined divine consciousness spikes, specifically designed to attack the soul. Ignoring spatial distance, they instantly traversed a hundred feet and fiercely pierced into the sea of ​​consciousness of the woman surnamed Le, whose mind was slightly distracted due to her use of wind escape!

"Well--!"

The woman surnamed Yue was completely focused on using Wind Escape to escape when, caught off guard, her sea of ​​consciousness was struck as if by a heavy hammer. A sharp pain shot through her, her vision went black, and her mind became chaotic. Her Wind Escape technique abruptly stopped, and she staggered out of mid-air, her face showing pain and blankness. Her internal magic power was also violently disordered, and her protective spiritual light flickered erratically.

It's now!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!"

Thirty-six golden sword lights, like sharks smelling blood, arrived in an instant.

From all directions, the dazed and stiff woman surnamed Le was completely overwhelmed!

The sword flashed, leaving behind a spray of tragically beautiful blood.

The woman surnamed Le didn't even have time to utter a scream before her graceful body was sliced ​​and pierced by countless sharp and incomparable Gengjin sword energies, killing her instantly!

A blue nascent soul, identical in appearance to hers but filled with terror and despair, had just escaped from her broken body when it was firmly locked and imprisoned by several sword lights that followed closely behind, unable to move an inch.

Zhou Yuan raised his hand and grabbed the imprisoned nascent soul, affixing several sealing talismans to it. He then took the storage bag and another storage bag from the corpse of the woman surnamed Le.

Thus, the sixth Nascent Soul cultivator was successfully hunted down.

The promise of "six heads" made with Wei Wuyai has been successfully fulfilled.

Zhou Yuan didn't linger. He put away his spoils, determined the direction, and sped back towards Tiantai Valley.

When he returned to Tiantai Valley, the battlefield outside the valley had already been partially cleared.

Bu Yunhe was directing the cultivators in the valley to collect spoils of war and repair the damaged restrictions.

Upon seeing Zhou Yuan return, Bu Yunhe hurriedly went to greet him. The Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators in the valley looked at Zhou Yuan with fervent and reverent eyes, as if they were looking up at a god.

This battle almost completely annihilated a vanguard force of Mulan, killed two Nascent Soul Masters, and suffered only minor losses on our side. It can be called a brilliant victory!

And all this.

It was almost entirely thanks to Zhou Yuan's efforts!

How can we prevent them from feeling boundless admiration for us?

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're back! Did everything go smoothly?"

Bu Yunhe asked with concern, vaguely guessing that Zhou Yuan had gone to chase after the escaped Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Hmm." Zhou Yuan nodded, without saying much or mentioning that he had exceeded his mission expectations by killing the reinforcements led by Master Le.

Some things don't need to be publicized; those who need to know will naturally know.

He briefly inquired about the valley's defenses and casualties before returning to his temporary secret chamber in the valley.

That night, the secret room was brightly lit.

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged and began to tally up the gains from the battle.

The storage bags of the fiery red master and the black-robed cultivator contained a considerable amount of items, including pills, materials, spirit stones, and jade slips, but most of them were of ordinary quality, and none of them were top-tier treasures that caught Zhou Yuan's eye.

The Mulan Grassland is relatively barren. Although the black-robed cultivator came from the Great Jin Dynasty, he did not seem to be a core figure of the Yinluo Sect, and his wealth was also limited.

However, when Zhou Yuan opened the woman surnamed Le's storage bag, a strange light finally flashed in his eyes.

This woman is far wealthier than the previous two, possessing a considerable amount of rare materials, high-quality pills, jade slips recording the Mulan spiritual techniques, and even several antique treasures of good quality.

Clearly, this woman holds a high status in Mulan, essentially equivalent to a saintess!

What Zhou Yuan cared about most was a bronze oil lamp that looked inconspicuous and even a bit broken, mixed in with a pile of miscellaneous items.

This lamp is only the size of a palm and is made entirely of a dark blue-green metal.

The lamp has a simple and ancient shape, resembling a lotus flower or a crouching mythical beast.

The lamp body is covered with traces of time and erosion, and some parts are even faintly blackened.

It looked like a piece of junk dug out of some ordinary ancient tomb, about to completely decay.

However, when Zhou Yuan's divine sense swept over the lamp, he could faintly sense that inside the lamp body, there seemed to be a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy that was extremely ancient, pure, and yet carried a strange burning sensation.

The fluctuation was extremely subtle; if he hadn't possessed a powerful divine sense and deliberately probed, he would have been almost unable to detect it.

"This is..." Zhou Yuan carefully took the bronze oil lamp into his hand, examined it closely, and had a vague guess in his mind.

"Yuanming Lantern?"

He muttered to himself, recalling the record in the original work about an ancient treasure passed down through generations on the Mulan Grassland.

The Yuanming Lantern is said to be a sacred object passed down through generations of the Mulan people. It is not merely a magical artifact used for offense and defense, but holds a special significance for the Mulan people.

Even so, its power as a magical artifact should not be underestimated.

Throughout history, those who possessed this lamp have used it to slay powerful enemies and refine countless treasures.

It is said that once this lamp is lit, it can produce a strange "blue flame". No matter whether it is an ancient treasure or a magic treasure, as long as it is covered by this blue flame, it will lose its spirituality and will be unable to withstand it. In particular, wood-attribute treasures will be destroyed almost immediately upon contact!

It is truly a powerful treasure that combines offense and defense, and also possesses the miraculous effects of a filthy magical artifact.

"A good harvest."

Zhou Yuan put the Yuanming Lantern away separately from other important items with satisfaction.

After taking inventory, Zhou Yuan did not immediately enter meditation, but instead went to the window of the secret room.

Gazing at the night outside the window, which was somewhat hazy under the light of the forbidden aura, he looked thoughtful.

"Tiantai Valley... is probably doomed."

He muttered to himself, his tone calm yet resolute.

Today's battle was a great victory, almost annihilating the enemy's vanguard and killing three Nascent Soul Masters, including a woman surnamed Yue.

But for the people of Mulan, this victory was an absolute disgrace.

It is foreseeable that the news will cause a huge uproar when it reaches the Mulan camp.

Next, the Mulan people will likely postpone their probing attacks in other directions.

Concentrate our superior forces and launch a frenzied retaliatory counterattack against Tiantai Valley!

In fact, to save face and intimidate the cultivators of Tiannan, they might even send a "divine master" at the late Nascent Soul stage to personally lead the team!

At that time, the existing defensive forces of Tiantai Valley and Zhou Yuan alone will find it extremely difficult to withstand them.

It's only a matter of time before the valley collapses.

The agreement between Zhou Yuan and Wei Wuyai has been fulfilled. Six Nascent Soul Masters have been eliminated, and the land for establishing a sect and a kingdom has been secured.

He had neither the obligation nor the need to defend Tiantai Valley to the death and fight against the possibly arriving Master Mulan; that would not be in his interest.