The three cultivators, however, did not sense Lin Yan was stalling. Her offensive was still relentless; a moment's carelessness could leave a gash on their bodies from her sword energy.
Lin Yan possessed numerous protective artifacts, given to her by Zi Che Shao Hao to shield her from heavenly tribulations. In essence, all of Zi Che Shao Hao's defensive artifacts had been bestowed upon Lin Yan.
These artifacts bolstered her confidence. She believed she could hold out until Zi Che Shao Hao finished his battle.
"You are from the Zhang family of Yuyang, aren't you? I never expected you to come knocking on my door before I could even seek you out!" Lin Yan declared loudly during a lull in the fighting.
Her voice reached the ears of the remaining six individuals present. Their expressions froze for a fleeting moment upon having their identities revealed.
In that instant, Zi Che Shao Hao plunged his weapon into a cultivator's dantian.
The cultivator dissolved into nothingness between heaven and earth, having no time to even escape with his nascent soul.
"You!" another cultivator exclaimed in shock.
They all knew there was no turning back today. They had not originally intended to kill Zi Che Shao Hao, but now that Lin Yan had exposed their identities, Zi Che Shao Hao could not be allowed to leave alive.
However, they harbored doubts about whether they could truly take his life with their current strength.
At this moment, the leading elder made a gesture. The instant he did so, their hearts jolted. This meant...
They understood there was no retreat and no other choice. With gritted teeth, they took a step back, preparing to self-destruct!
Lin Yan and Zi Che Shao Hao also sensed something was amiss and desperately wished to escape, but the speed at which those individuals gathered spiritual energy was too rapid; they could not flee far.
Unexpectedly, at this critical juncture, the individuals before them froze, ceasing their movements. Subsequently, a small seal ascended from Lin Yan's body and flew above the heads of those cultivators.
Then, Lin Yan felt another small seal flying towards them.
"What is the situation now?" Zi Che Shao Hao frowned slightly.
"This is the 'Zhou' character seal," Lin Yan said, drawing her flying sword and thrusting it towards the immobilized figures.
But the next moment, she felt her remaining spiritual energy within her body rapidly flowing towards the direction of the 'Zhou' character seal.
Lin Yan's legs buckled, and Zi Che Shao Hao quickly supported her.
"Don't worry about me, kill those people first!" Lin Yan had managed to steady herself. It seemed her current cultivation was insufficient to control these two seals.
"I'll be back shortly." Seeing Lin Yan was stable, Zi Che Shao Hao directly manipulated his weapon to kill the remaining individuals.
After their demise, they all dissipated into spiritual energy, vanishing into the surroundings. Their storage bags then fell to the ground.
With the deaths of these individuals, the 'Zhou' character seal retracted its glow and wobbled back into Lin Yan's body.
The 'Yu' character seal also flew to Lin Yan's side, hovering around her as if confirming her safety.
Upon the 'Zhou' character seal's return, Lin Yan immediately sat cross-legged, beginning to recover her cultivation.
Watching Lin Yan cultivate, Zi Che Shao Hao stood beside her, holding his weapon, acting as her guardian.
A long while later, Lin Yan opened her eyes. "Let's return to the cave dwelling; the spiritual energy there is more abundant," Zi Che Shao Hao said, extending his hand to Lin Yan.
Lin Yan hadn't anticipated that after finally recovering enough to not be bedridden, she would soon have to be confined to bed again.
"The Yuyang Zhang family you mentioned?" Zi Che Shao Hao finally voiced his question.
"They are my enemies. They came for me," Lin Yan did not conceal the truth. "Innocent people are often persecuted for their treasures. Back then, they attacked my family solely for our clan's hidden treasures. Now, they likely believe I possess these treasures, or perhaps they fear I would seek revenge with the influence of your family."
"Now they are my enemies too," Zi Che Shao Hao stated. He did not hold such a power in high regard, but he needed a pretext to act against them.
"Indeed. They were far too arrogant, thinking they could conceal their faces and weapons and we wouldn't recognize them," Lin Yan found these people to be truly naive.
Did they genuinely believe such concealment could fool everyone, or did they think Zi Che Shao Hao wouldn't uncover their identities?
Now, they had suffered a double loss. However, Lin Yan was also grateful to them. Without their interference, she wouldn't have known that the 'Zhou' character seal would emerge to protect its master in a life-threatening situation!