After descending the mountain, my aloof fiancée became completely devoted to me.

The night was deep and still, and a chilly wind blew through the deep valleys of southern Xinjiang, making the moss-covered stone walls feel cold and slippery.

Ake's fingertips were filled with spiritual energy as she traced the patterns on the stone wall inch by inch, her expression growing increasingly excited. She believed she had the whole situation under control; all she needed to do was break through the secret passage to gain exclusive access to the secrets of the Shen family's earth veins, thereby surpassing the forces of Xiaoyuer and Moqi, and even completely controlling Lin Ping.

She exerted force with her fingertips, and a pale blue spiritual energy shot into the dark patterns on the stone wall.

click!

A dull creak of machinery suddenly filled the air as the moss-covered stone walls slowly slid aside, revealing a dark, secluded underground passage. A rich fragrance of peach blossoms mingled with the pure essence of the earth's veins, wafting through the air. Within the passage, shimmering light flickered, concealing endless mysteries.

"The secret paradise of Peach Blossom Spring is indeed here!"

Ake's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Without further hesitation, she leaped into the secret passage.

High in the forest, Zhu Xiaohan stood quietly on a branch, her white clothes fluttering in the night breeze, her eyes cold and clear as frost. She kept track of Ake's whereabouts the whole time, her fingertips holding a communication jade talisman, and spoke softly, her voice reaching the Lin family manor thousands of miles away.

"Sir, Ake has entered the secret realm. Outside the secret realm, there is a shallow ley line maze, concealing unknown killing intent."

A gentle evening breeze wafts through the manor courtyard.

Lin Ping stood with his hands behind his back on the veranda, moonlight falling on his shoulders, his expression calm and unchanging. Beside him, Aru clenched her fists, her face filled with urgency: "Sir, Ake has already entered the secret realm, and Mo Qi and Xiaoyuer are still fighting fiercely in the secret chamber. All three sides are in chaos; it's the perfect time for us to make our move!"

Adele stood to the side and softly echoed, "All three forces have suffered losses, making it the perfect time to reap the rewards."

Lin Ping slightly raised his eyes, looking towards the deep mountains, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

"What's the rush?"

His voice was calm and steady, each word exuding an air of absolute control.

"Mo Qi and Xiao Yu'er are both severely injured, which will only solidify their belief that the source of the earth's veins is hidden in the fake Shen Aoxue. The fiercer they fight, the more of their trump cards will be exposed. A Ke ventures into the secret realm alone, blinded by ambition, and will surely risk her life to explore the core of the secret realm, uncovering all the killing intents and restrictions for us."

"The three of them are all my scouts."

Zhu Xiaohan's figure instantly returned from the mountains and forests, landing in the courtyard. She bowed and said, "Sir, the secret realm's maze has been activated. Ake is trapped in the maze and cannot escape for a while. In addition, news came from the secret chamber in the back mountain that Mo Qi used the sect's secret technique, and Xiaoyuer's mechanical body was more than half destroyed, and is on the verge of collapse."

A cold glint flashed in Lin Ping's eyes: "Mo Qi is so eager to win that he will inevitably force out the final anomaly of the earth's veins. Instruct your men to keep a close watch on the veins to record the entire trajectory of the earth's vein energy fluctuations, leaving no stone unturned."

"Yes," Zhu Xiaohan replied, accepting the order.

Alu asked curiously, "Sir, is the earth vein aura on that fake Shen Aoxue real?"

"Half true, half false." Lin Ping said calmly, "She was originally a puppet body inhabited by the evil spirit. I set up a spirit-imitating formation in the earth veins beforehand, and used the violent energy from their battle to trigger its leakage. My purpose was to drive Mo Qi mad and force Xiao Yu'er to her death."

The group suddenly realized.

From the very beginning, this multi-party battle was entirely within Lin Ping's calculations.

……

In the secret chamber of the Illuminati on the back mountain, the battle had already reached a fever pitch.

The deafening roar continued, the stone walls of the entire secret chamber were covered with cracks, and layers of rubble were piled up. Dense malevolent energy and martial arts spiritual energy intertwined and clashed, raging in all directions.

Xiaoyuer knelt on the ground, his mechanical right arm completely shattered, metal fragments scattered all over the ground, the exposed mechanical skeleton crackling with sparks, his clothes stained with dark red blood, and his breathing extremely disordered.

She withstood several deadly spiritual energies from Mo Qi, resulting in severe injuries to her physical body and her mechanical core nearing failure. She had long lost her previous composure and nonchalance.

Mo Qi's clothes were disheveled, and his aura was slightly fluctuating, but the greed and killing intent in his eyes grew even more intense.

He shattered the pebbles on the ground, approaching Xiaoyuer step by step. Dark spiritual energy surged in his palm, overwhelming the entire area with his oppressive aura.

"Little fish, how long can you hold me off with your broken body?"

"Get out of my way, and I'll spare your life. Hold on tight, and today I will utterly crush all of your Illuminati's foundations in the Southern Frontier!"

Little Fish suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes filled with malice and resentment. He gritted his teeth and slowly got up, supporting his broken body.

"I've been planning this for years, how can I just hand it over to someone else?"

"I'm determined to seize this opportunity presented by the earth's ley lines!"

With a fierce shout, the remaining mechanical evil power within her went berserk, and her body exploded with red light. Even if her core was overloaded and her body was crumbling inch by inch, she was determined to fight to the death.

The violent energy surged straight towards Mo Qi's gate.

Mo Qi scoffed, his face full of disdain: "A death throes!"

He raised his hand and gathered his strength, condensing dark spiritual energy into a sharp palm print, which was unleashed with overwhelming power!

Boom!

The palm strike tore through all of Xiaoyuer's defenses, and the violent force slammed into her chest.

puff--

Little Fish spat out a mouthful of black blood and crashed hard into the crystal shield, causing it to tremble violently and ripple.

Just then, the fake Shen Aoxue inside the crystal dome trembled violently, and the blood-red aura around her surged wildly. The faint earth vein aura from before exploded exponentially, filling the entire secret chamber!

The rich, pure, and authentic power of the southern Xinjiang land vein spread out unrestrainedly!

Mo Qi shuddered, his pupils dilated suddenly, and he stared intently at the figure inside the crystal dome, his breathing rapid and his eyes burning with extreme fervor.

"The ultimate energy impact has completely activated the very essence of my bloodline and the earth's veins!"

"That's right! This is the core aura of the earth's veins that the Shen family has guarded for generations!"

He could no longer care about the seriously injured and dying Xiaoyuer. In a flash, he rushed towards the crystal shield, raising his hand to forcefully shatter the shield and seize the puppet's body.

Seeing this, Little Fish was alarmed and desperately raised his hand to gather his remaining energy in an attempt to stop them.

"Don't even think about it!"

"Get out of the way!" Mo Qi turned to the side and kicked out, the sharp wind of his leg sending Xiao Yu'er flying.

Little Fish crashed heavily to the ground, the sound of its bones shattering clearly audible. It had completely lost its ability to resist and could only stare at Mo Qi's back, filled with boundless hatred, yet powerless to change the situation.

Mo Qi raised his hand, gathering all his spiritual energy. Dark light gathered in his palm, and he slammed it down on the crystal shield!

click-

The seemingly indestructible crystal shield was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and shattered in the next second!

Just as the protective shield shattered and Mo Qi's fingertips were about to touch the fake Shen Aoxue, a clear and indifferent voice suddenly resounded throughout the secret chamber.

"After fighting for so long, even to the point of bloodshed, all you got in the end was a discarded piece of mine."

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a penetrating power, instantly overwhelming all the roars in the secret chamber and causing the restless malevolent energy and chaotic spiritual energy to freeze.

Mo Qi froze, turned his head sharply, his eyes filled with shock, anger, and vigilance.

"Who?!"

At the entrance to the secret room, a tall, slender figure slowly walked in.

Lin Ping wore a plain-colored long robe, walked with ease, and had a calm expression. He had no imposing aura and seemed ordinary, just like a common mortal.

But this seemingly ordinary figure caused the entire scene to fall silent, and made the seriously injured Xiaoyuer's pupils shrink instantly, his heart filled with shock.

It's Lin Ping!

He actually came in person!

Mo Qi stared intently at Lin Ping, scrutinizing him from head to toe, his eyes filled with contempt and coldness. In his eyes, Lin Ping was nothing more than a mediocre person blinded by love, someone who could be easily manipulated by others, at best relying on a bit of luck to navigate various situations, and was not worthy of his attention at all.

"Lin Ping? You dare trespass on my stronghold?"

"It seems you've been completely blinded by the fake person and are utterly ignorant of your own limitations."

He raised his hand to signal, and more than ten surviving black-clad experts rushed out from the shadows of the secret room. Their auras were refined and their killing intent was chilling, and they instantly surrounded Lin Ping and killed him.

"I didn't seek you out, but you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep." Mo Qi sneered. "Perfect, today I'll kill you as well, clearing away all obstacles to my acquisition of the ley lines!"

Upon receiving the order, the black-clad expert instantly charged out, his fierce palm strikes aimed directly at Lin Ping's vital points, his attacks ruthless and deadly, each move potentially fatal.

The little fish, sprawled on the ground, watched this scene with a complex expression in its eyes.

She was certain that Lin Ping would die today.

Mo Qi's top experts, combined with the deadly killing formation, would be a formidable opponent even for her at her peak, let alone Lin Ping, who seemed to have no cultivation at all.

But the next second, something completely unexpected happened.

Faced with a barrage of deadly attacks, Lin Ping stood still, his body motionless, not even lifting an eyelid.

Just as all the palm strikes were about to land, he casually raised his hand.

There was no earth-shattering burst of spiritual energy, no dazzling and powerful moves, only a barely perceptible wisp of air quietly dissipating.

Puff puff!

The black-clad experts at the forefront froze in mid-air, their martial arts spiritual energy shattering inch by inch, and their meridians breaking completely.

One muffled thud after another rang out, and more than ten experts who had just been fearless and top-notch in combat instantly fell heavily to the ground like puppets with broken strings, all of them unconscious and no longer capable of fighting.

The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye!

Clean and efficient, understated!

Dead!

The entire sealed room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Mo Qi's contemptuous sneer froze instantly, his pupils contracted wildly, his face was full of disbelief, and his body tensed up involuntarily.

He stared intently at Lin Ping, his heart sinking, a chill running down his spine and straight to the top of his head.

"you……"

Little Fish was completely stunned, supporting his broken body with a face full of shock.

At that moment, she finally realized that she had misjudged everything from beginning to end!

This seemingly indecisive and blinded Lin Ping actually possesses such terrifying and overwhelming combat power!

He's playing dumb to take advantage of others! A complete and utter charade of playing dumb to take advantage of others!

Lin Ping slowly raised his eyes, his gaze falling on Mo Qi, whose expression had changed drastically. His tone was calm and even, yet it carried an absolute air of dominance.

"Your people are very weak."

Those three simple words were like a slap in the face to Mo Qi.

Mo Qi's face turned ashen, filled with shock and rage. His spiritual energy surged to its peak, and his overwhelming killing intent erupted.

"Hiding your talents and feigning weakness! Lin Ping, you're incredibly cunning!"

"So everything before was a deliberate act on your part!"