The woman in red glanced indifferently at Bai Wujue, who was kneeling beside her. Her cold, detached gaze made Bai Wujue tremble, and he dared not look up.
Seeing Bai Wujue’s state, the woman in red quickly lost interest in him and turned to look out the window.
Outside the spire, she felt Ye Ling’s presence. A faint smile curved her lips as she whispered, "We meet again, Ye Ling."
With that, the woman in red vanished and reappeared outside the spire, standing above the castle and looking down at Ye Ling outside.
Seeing the woman in red leave, Bai Wujue didn't dare to think further and quickly scrambled to his feet, chasing out the window.
At this moment, Ye Ling and his two companions had arrived at the castle gate and met the gaze of the woman in red in the sky.
Bai Wujue, who had just emerged, saw Ye Ling outside the castle and quickly pointed at him, reminding the woman in red, "Venerable One, that is Ye Ling. He is the one who has been thwarting the Shadow Hall and the Outer Realms!"
The woman in red chuckled softly, "I know."
"Venerable One?" Bai Wujue was stunned, staring blankly at the woman in red, unable to comprehend.
Did the Venerable One from the Outer Realms know Ye Ling?
Bai Wujue found it hard to believe. Had Ye Ling's reputation already reached the Outer Realms!
How strong was Ye Ling?
The woman in red didn't offer Bai Wujue any further explanation. After locking onto Ye Ling, she leaped towards him, landing before the castle gate and meeting his eyes.
Li Wuxin, standing behind Ye Ling, swallowed involuntarily as the woman in red approached and he saw her exquisite beauty. He even forgot to breathe, sighing, "So beautiful."
Only Tian Ling managed to maintain some composure, her brow furrowed as she warned Ye Ling, "Senior Brother, she is very powerful!"
"Mmm."
Ye Ling acknowledged Tian Ling and then smiled at the woman in red, "I didn't expect our second meeting to be here. What fate... Xuan Yu."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Xuan Yu suddenly burst into laughter, as if an ice mountain had melted, with a sea of flowers blooming around her.
Li Wuxin's heart was instantly captured by Xuan Yu's smile, and he lost all capacity for thought.
However, Xuan Yu's gaze remained fixed on Ye Ling. Looking into his eyes, she said softly, "It seems you still remember me. Thinking about it makes me a little happy!"
Speaking of which, Xuan Yu finally sensed Ye Ling's true cultivation. Her eyes flickered slightly, and she sighed, "I remember when we last met, you were still a mere Dao Venerable, weren't you? I didn't expect you to be a Supreme now. Truly worthy of the man I've taken notice of; your talent and opportunities are both terrifying."
Ye Ling merely smiled at Xuan Yu's flattery, "You're not bad either. To create such a sinister cultivation technique as the 'Great Transformation Heavenly Derivation Heart Art' and to attempt to possess my body. Thinking back now, I should have guessed long ago that you were from the Outer Realms. Now that you've been summoned by the Shadow Hall, what evil deeds are you planning this time?"
Xuan Yu feigned sadness, her voice filled with grievance, "Brother Ye Ling truly has no conscience. I kindly gave you a warning back then that Earth was about to face an apocalyptic crisis. You must understand now that I wasn't lying to you, right?"
Ye Ling replied, "Indeed, the invasion from the Outer Realms is an apocalyptic crisis for Earth."
"However, from what I see now, you were summoned by the Shadow Hall and are allied with them. This makes you a crisis for Earth as well. Should I not act against you?"
Xuan Yu was summoned by the Shadow Hall through great effort from the Outer Realms, and she should be an invader of Earth. Although Ye Ling couldn't sense any hostility from Xuan Yu at the moment, that didn't mean Ye Ling wouldn't consider Xuan Yu an enemy.
Xuan Yu shook her head, "No, no, no... Brother Ye Ling, you misunderstand me. I specifically killed a cultivator from the Nether Palace and took his place to be teleported to Earth."
"In other words, I've already dealt with the person the Shadow Hall was supposed to summon in the Outer Realms for you."
Ye Ling remained skeptical of Xuan Yu's words, "You are still just a wisp of residual soul. Although your strength is greater than last time, you are merely a Dao Venerable. With your current power, can you truly resolve an expert from the Outer Realms and seize his teleportation position?"
Xuan Yu chuckled, "You underestimate me. The one conversing with you now is merely a strand of my divine sense. The summoning ritual prepared by the Shadow Hall on Earth was insufficient to bring my true body. Out of desperation, I had to expend a great price to split off a divine sense and further damage my cultivation to pass through the cosmic barrier and descend to Earth once more."
Ye Ling asked again, "Since you are so powerful and can roam the Outer Realms freely, why go to such great lengths to come to Earth? Can't you enjoy yourself freely in the Outer Realms?"
From what he understood, the Nether Palace was quite a powerful force in the Outer Realms. If Xuan Yu could truly kill a Nether Palace cultivator and seize their opportunity to descend to Earth, her strength must be considerable, at least not fearing the Nether Palace.
In response to Ye Ling's doubts, Xuan Yu rolled her eyes and spread her hands, "Who asked you to obliterate the last wisp of my residual soul in the universe? Although I appeared indifferent to that wisp of soul at the time, it was actually the last one I had left in the universe."
"When you destroyed it, I was in pain for a long time! If I hadn't been unable to break through the cosmic barrier at the time, I probably would have been so enraged that I would have charged in and killed you."
Ye Ling laughed, "Then I can make you feel that pain again. Besides, you're no match for me now!"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Xuan Yu's expression changed slightly. She quickly took two steps back, waving her hands, "No, no, no! This divine sense has cost me more than half of my vital energy. If my true body in the Outer Realms doesn't have the aid of heavenly treasures, it will take tens of thousands of years to recover. If you destroy it, I really won't be able to come here in a short time!"
Boom!
Ye Ling's body was enveloped in demonic energy, and he chuckled, "Isn't that perfect? I don't know what kind of trouble you'll cause on Earth anyway. If I drive you out, I'll have less to worry about."
Seeing that Ye Ling was truly about to make a move, Xuan Yu could no longer hold back and quickly said, "Don't act yet, listen to my explanation. I'm here to help you!"
Her current divine sense was merely at the Dao Venerable level, and before Ye Ling, it would shatter with a touch. If Ye Ling were to attack, all her efforts to descend to Earth would be in vain!
Bai Wujue, standing behind them, saw a perfectly composed ice beauty suddenly transform into a rather flippant young woman before Ye Ling. He was completely bewildered and felt a bad premonition.
Although he couldn't hear what Ye Ling and Xuan Yu were saying, he could see their actions!
At this moment, Xuan Yu was acting like an old acquaintance of Ye Ling, showing no intention of attacking.
The thought of the Venerable One he had painstakingly summoned turning out to be a traitor to the opposing side made Bai Wujue want to spit blood!
"No, there must have been a problem with the summoning ritual. I need to slip away and report what happened here to the Hall Master!" Bai Wujue realized there might have been an error in the ritual and the true Venerable One had not descended, a sense of anxiety surging within him.
Daring not to linger any longer, Bai Wujue slowly concealed his form, preparing to sneak away from this dangerous place.
Ye Ling glanced at Bai Wujue, who was attempting to escape, and then smiled at Xuan Yu, "How about this, show me some sincerity first. Kill Bai Wujue."
"Bai Wujue?" Xuan Yu was initially stunned, then realized, "The Saint of the Shadow Hall behind you that you're talking about?"
Ye Ling nodded, "Yes, him."
"What difficulty is there in that?"
Confirming her target, Xuan Yu hesitated no longer. Without even turning her head, she snapped her fingers. Bai Wujue, who was attempting to flee, suddenly began to swell.
"Wh-what is this?"
Seeing himself inflate like a balloon, Bai Wujue's eyes widened with terror, his expression contorting as he cried out, "Help, help me... I don't want to die!!!"
Bang!
Amidst Bai Wujue's screams, his body exploded with a bang, erupting into a blood-red fireworks display!
Blood splattered everywhere, and Bai Wujue's aura completely vanished.
For Xuan Yu, killing Bai Wujue was as easy as crushing an ant. Her state of mind remained undisturbed as she smiled at Ye Ling, "The person is dead. Can you listen to my explanation now?"
Seeing Xuan Yu's ruthless actions against someone from the Shadow Hall, Ye Ling smiled, retracted his demonic energy, and nodded, "I'll trust you for now. Speak."