"Blame your Hehuan Sect for indulging your disciples' unbridled behavior. Do you not know that heaven sees all deeds? Good and evil will ultimately be rewarded!"
"Blame yourself for indiscriminately covering up and indulging, wishing to toy with others' lives in the palm of your hand. Do you not know that those who bully others will be bullied, and those who humiliate others will be humiliated."
"Blame your Holy Son for not having eyes and not knowing some people cannot be offended. If he hadn't run into me, it would have been his good fortune. But since he ran into me, it was his destiny to face this calamity!"
As Zi Linling spoke, her voice grew colder, and the killing intent in her eyes intensified.
She didn't consider herself a good person, but Nie Rufeng, Xiao Shan, and the Hehuan Sect had undoubtedly crossed her bottom line.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"
Xiao Shan spat out three mouthfuls of blood.
Already severely injured and not yet recovered, his body and soul had been ravaged by "Yi Xiao Fang Hua," and he was now at his wit's end from Zi Linling's every cutting word.
"By the way, while I don't usually interfere in other people's business, now that I've taken action, I must see it through to the end.
With an elder like you and a Holy Son like Nie Rufeng, the Hehuan Sect must surely be a den of iniquity.
In that case, I'll reluctantly play the role of a cleaner, making the entire Hehuan Sect accompany those defiled and persecuted women to their graves!"
Zi Linling's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable will.
"Hahaha… pfft!"
Xiao Shan laughed uproariously at the sky, then spat out another mouthful of blood.
"A mere greenhorn girl who still reeks of milk dares to boast of destroying the Hehuan Sect? You were merely lucky to defeat me, do you truly think you are invincible?"
Zi Linling sneered, "Invincible is impossible, but destroying the Hehuan Sect is more than enough! What a pity, you won't live to see it!"
As she spoke, a blade glow reappeared on the scalpel in her hand.
"I was originally thinking of letting you say a few last words, as one is about to die. But now, it seems unnecessary. Since that's the case, you can go to the Yellow Springs and await news from the Hehuan Sect!"
"Die!"
The words fell, the blade descended, and a head rolled.
Xiao Shan's eyes widened, his gaze filled with disbelief.
It seemed he hadn't expected Zi Linling to be so decisive and ruthless, striking without any warning.
Zi Linling turned and left indifferently, leaving behind only wreckage.
...
Thirty miles outside Qingcheng, a peak named Qingcheng Mountain stood majestically.
The trees on the mountain were verdant, yet it was perpetually shrouded in clouds and mist. Although occasional beast roars could be heard, they only added to Qingcheng Mountain's mysterious veil.
The Hehuan Sect's stronghold was located halfway up Qingcheng Mountain.
Who would have thought that such a mysterious and serene place would be a den of depravity and filth?
Zi Linling had been lingering at the foot of the mountain for three days.
After considerable effort in her inquiries, she had finally located it.
The reason she hadn't ascended directly was that she discovered a natural grand formation here.
At first glance, this formation appeared to be a simple illusion array, but in reality, it contained arrays within arrays, combining illusion, phantasm, confinement, and killing formations into one, making it extremely perilous.
If not for Elder Du, a master of formations, Zi Linling would likely have been trapped and killed within it.
"Elder Du, I've been wandering around here for three days. Where is the eye of this formation!" Zi Linling said impatiently.
Elder Du glared and said, "What's the hurry? Haste makes waste. The path of formations requires careful calculation and precise deduction. Impatience solves nothing. Don't you usually not have time to study formations? Then calm yourself now and feel it slowly."
Zi Linling pouted and replied, "But you're here, the master of formations! With your deductions, what do I need to bother with!"
Elder Du said seriously, "What if one day I leave, and you encounter a formation? What will you do then?"
"Leave?"
Zi Linling dismissed it, "Where can you go? And why would you leave?"
Elder Du said meaningfully, "Girl, who can predict the matter of destiny? We gather when fate wills it, and part when it ends. We met by chance, and we will naturally separate when our affinity ends.
Besides, relying on mountains will make them crumble, and relying on people will make them grow old. Some abilities, when held in your own hands, are far more reliable than relying on others.
We have met, and I have nothing grand to bestow upon you, except my lifelong insights into formations, which will benefit you always.
Therefore, I hope you will treat it seriously and carry forward the path of formations."
For some reason, Zi Linling felt a sense of sorrow in Elder Du's words.
"Elder Du, are you going to leave?"
Elder Du paused, then chuckled, "Leave? Go where?"
He would never tell Zi Linling that he had a premonition that the day of his departure was not far off.
In the past two years, he had come to understand Zi Linling very well.
Zi Linling was deeply emotional. Although she sometimes appeared cold, her blood ran hot.
She could ruthlessly kill, and she could protect those she cared about without reservation.
Therefore, although Elder Du had a premonition of leaving, he was reluctant to do so.
Zi Linling breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good! Otherwise, I'd dig three feet into the ground to find you!"
Elder Du smiled with satisfaction, "Girl, although this grand formation is complex, a tall building rises from the ground, and all changes stem from the same origin. As long as you grasp the fundamentals, deducing it is not difficult."
Zi Linling nodded and said, "Alright! Let's continue! I refuse to believe there's anything in this world that can stump me!"
She stopped wandering and began to study with a focused mind.
Facts proved that persistence pays off.
Zi Linling spent three days firmly mastering the basics of formations and could generalize from examples.
Square formations, circular formations, sparse formations, dense formations…
The Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, Qimen Dunjia, Meihua Yishu…
After mastering these fundamentals, she discovered that the path of formations was indeed vast and profound.
No wonder Elder Du said that with proper application of formations, one person could hold back thousands.
Having mastered and skillfully applied the basics of formations, Zi Linling opened her eyes.
At this moment, the formations at the foot of the mountain finally revealed themselves before her.
"Elder Du, I see it!" Zi Linling cried excitedly.
Elder Du nodded, stroking his beard, "Indeed! Much faster than I expected. What you need to do now is to add some variations to those basic formations. Of course, to help you familiarize yourself quickly, we will focus on practical application. Do you see that large tree? That is the Shengmen (life gate), go in!"
Zi Linling nodded and walked towards the large tree Elder Du pointed to.
Just as she was about to collide with the tree, the scenery before her suddenly changed.