"No one can stop me today."
Wan Yanxue spoke coldly under the disappointed gazes of the four from the Beast Taming Sect.
No matter what, she had to keep Xu Yi here today.
However, to deal with Xu Yi, she first had to face that obnoxious old Taoist.
She had already used the power of reincarnation once, and now that the opponent was on guard, she wouldn't be able to trick them so easily again.
It seemed the only way now was to use the trump card she had left behind.
Wan Yanxue's gaze subtly landed on the crystal orb, a flicker of heartache quickly crossing her face.
This was originally a method she intended to use only at the last moment, but today she was forced to reveal it prematurely.
However, as long as she could kill Xu Yi, everything would be worth it.
"Disciples of the Saintess Sect, obey my command, and together we shall slay the old Taoist."
Wan Yanxue commanded coldly, yet apart from the three Saint Attendants entangled with the puppet, no one else responded.
All the cultivators lowered their heads, pretending not to have heard.
Earlier, when Wan Yanxue had asked who would oppose her, no one had stepped forward. Now that Wan Yanxue demanded everyone take a side, no one dared to answer.
These people were determined to remain neutral and naturally would not join any faction.
Wan Yanxue had anticipated this; she had even guarded against such a situation beforehand.
With a slight movement of her finger, the crystal orb floating in the distance flew towards her, sensing her call.
Seeing this, Xu Yi immediately understood that she intended to use the crystal orb to cause trouble.
She couldn't let her get the crystal orb.
Xu Yi looked at the puppet, hid behind True Person Zhai Ye, quickly formed hand seals, and chanted, "Divide!"
As the words fell, the puppet, which had been pursued and intercepted by the three Saint Attendants, suddenly stopped. It touched its chest, then raised its arms high, aiming at the crystal orb streaking through the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Piercing sounds of air breaking rang out consecutively.
The two arms left afterimages in the air.
The three Saint Attendants' eyes nearly popped out upon witnessing what was happening before them.
After a moment, they finally realized that what had been entangled with them for so long was not a true person, but a puppet devoid of a soul.
Xu Yi, behind True Person Zhai Ye, quickly chanted, "Senior, stop Wan Yanxue. Don't let her get close to that crystal orb."
Upon hearing this, True Person Zhai Ye immediately looked at Wan Yanxue and indeed saw a hint of urgency on her face.
Then their gazes collided. Wan Yanxue glared fiercely at True Person Zhai Ye and transformed into a streak of light, heading straight for the crystal orb.
At this moment, without Xu Yi needing to say anything further, True Person Zhai Ye flicked his sleeve, and countless flowers surged out, covering the sky.
"Scram!"
Wan Yanxue was almost driven mad by the persistently bothersome True Person Zhai Ye.
She looked at the wall of flowers blocking her path and circulated her spiritual energy wildly. Purple lightning transformed into a long whip, which she swung towards the flower wall.
Crack!
A startling thunderclap erupted.
Innumerable flowers turned to ash under the lashing of this whip.
However, more flowers quickly appeared to fill the gaps.
At the same time, the two arms detached from the puppet's body finally caught up to the crystal orb.
Pop—
One arm actually pierced into the crystal orb. It then slowly opened its palm, and countless powders drifted down from his hand, merging with the blood within the crystal orb.
The bright red blood turned gray at a speed visible to the naked eye, until it became as thick as ink, completely losing its spiritual essence.
"No!"
Wan Yanxue's eyes widened in fury, and she let out a piercing wail.
The disciples of Lingyun Mountain had not stopped the cultivators in time when they were dripping their blood. It was only when they noticed something was wrong later that they came forward to dissuade them.
By then, over a hundred cultivators had already stored their blood within the crystal orb.
This blood was enough to help Wan Yanxue keep both True Person Zhai Ye and Xu Yi here.
But now, it was all ruined! All ruined!
"Xu Yi! Xu Yi! It's you again!"
Wan Yanxue's face contorted. In her extreme anger, she had lost all reason. The lightning behind her surged towards Xu Yi madly.
True Person Zhai Ye raised his arm, intending to help Xu Yi block the lightning, but Xu Yi gently tugged on True Person Zhai Ye's sleeve. "Senior, let me handle this one."
"You?"
True Person Zhai Ye hesitated for a moment but ultimately restrained himself and did not intervene.
Xu Yi took out a Pixiu stone from her storage ring.
Wan Yanxue only had time to let out a cold laugh before the sky-filling purple lightning vanished without a trace in an instant, leaving only a faint flicker of electricity, which looked almost pitiful.
Wan Yanxue: !
True Person Zhai Ye: !
Xu Yi beckoned and, with satisfaction, recalled the Pixiu stone, which had turned purple from consuming so much lightning.
Next time she encountered a troublesome opponent, this lightning would be useful.
Xu Yi had been unassuming before, and True Person Zhai Ye had not truly noticed anything different about her.
Now that Xu Yi had revealed a small display of her skill, True Person Zhai Ye couldn't help but look at her with newfound admiration.
This young friend was truly quite interesting.
Even lightning could not harm Xu Yi. This realization made Wan Yanxue incredibly dejected, but it also helped her regain her composure.
She knew that she had been thoroughly defeated this time.
If she continued to entangle them, she would be the one at a disadvantage.
She glared venomously at Xu Yi, "Xu Yi, you're lucky this time. Next time, you absolutely won't have such good fortune.
Just wait, your life will be mine sooner or later!"
Wan Yanxue spat out harsh words, then tore through the void with her hands and vanished into a spatial rift.
True Person Zhai Ye was too late to intervene.
Xu Yi looked in the direction Wan Yanxue had disappeared, her heart heavy.
She knew Wan Yanxue wouldn't speak idly.
This failure would only make Wan Yanxue more cautious and vigilant.
By the time she reappeared, no one knew how much stronger she would have become.
Moreover, she could sense that Wan Yanxue had other secrets.
The establishment of the Saintess Sect was likely just one part of Wan Yanxue's plan, with many more hidden trump cards yet to be revealed.
But with her disappearance, these secrets would once again be buried, only to be displayed before everyone again when she reappeared.
Xu Yi, having inexplicably gained a mortal enemy, felt somewhat depressed.
She felt she hadn't provoked Wan Yanxue much. When the other party defected from Kunlun Academy, she wasn't even present, yet why did the other party harbor such immense hatred towards her?
Xu Yi thought she should visit Kunlun Academy again. The teachers who were present that day would surely know the reason.
She hadn't appeared for many years, and it was time for her to pay her respects to her teachers, especially since she had learned a lot of the Artifact Demon's artifact refining techniques and could discuss them with Teacher Li.
"Little friend, would you be interested in visiting my Lingyun Mountain?" True Person Shenye suddenly asked Xu Yi with a smile.
Xu Yi was taken aback. She was about to refuse, but then she remembered that she had burnt the other party's Taoist robe to shreds. Yet, the other party not only held no grudges but had also protected her without asking any questions when she was in trouble. It became impossible to refuse.
In the end, Xu Yi nodded in agreement.
With the disciples of Lingyun Mountain present, the aftermath would not need to be handled by Xu Yi and the others.
Two hours later, Xu Yi, Xiong Zhuangzhuang, and a few others, along with the people from Lingyun Mountain, set off to visit Lingyun Mountain.