"Alright," Yun Jin said softly. "When the time comes, it may hurt a little. Do not be afraid. All you need to do is trust me completely."
The young Tongtian Hou cub nodded heavily.
What pain could possibly be worse than living as another's slave?
No matter how unbearable, he could endure it.
Yun Jin turned to Sang Qing. "Senior, hold Xiao Bao tightly. No matter what happens in between, do not let go. I ask you to trust me, just this once."
Sang Qing clenched her teeth. "He is my child. Of course I will never let go."
Bai Dongchuan gave a sharp, mocking laugh. "You make it sound so real. I'd like to see what method you have that can possibly defy the Heavenly Dao's contract."
"All you have are empty words."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… the so-called human prodigy, the mighty Sect Master of Wushuang Sect—yet in the end, nothing but a fraud who only knows how to boast."
Several others quickly chimed in with jeers.
Yun Jin turned, smiling faintly at those who spoke.
"What? Why is Sect Master Yun looking at us like that? Do you actually dare to kill us?"
"As if she would dare! If she even touches us, Senior Brother Bai will immediately make that Tongtian Hou cub die with us!"
"Exactly. I want to see what she can really—"
The speaker never finished. His expression turned blank with sudden confusion.
Why… why couldn't he speak?
When he looked down, he saw his body was still standing on the ground.
No—that was wrong.
His body was below, but his head… was up in the air.
The next moment, a vine burst cleanly through his dantian.
That severed head twisted with a mask of horror, staring at Yun Jin in disbelief.
It was Yun Jin.
This madwoman truly dared to strike!
Yun Jin's face remained cold and merciless.
Three of them had spoken in Bai Dongchuan's defense.
Almost simultaneously, vines pierced through the dantian of all three.
Their Primordial Souls tried to flee, but Yun Jin was swift. With deft precision, she trapped each one and sealed them neatly inside jade bottles.
"Good! Well done!" Cheng Feng Zhēnzūn couldn't help but shout in praise from the side.
Those men had stirred up such disaster—if not for being restrained, Cheng Feng Zhēnzūn would have personally executed them himself.
After finishing her clean execution, Yun Jin calmly stepped forward and stood before Bai Dongchuan.
His face had turned pale, eyes fixed on her. "You won't dare kill me! You can't! If I die, the Tongtian Hou cub dies with me! If he dies, you won't survive either! Yun Jin, if you're smart, release us. With you and your master, both at Mahayana strength, we might break free together. That's better than throwing your life away!"
As he spoke, Sang Qing and the others grew tense.
What if Yun Jin's earlier actions were all just to lower their guard?
What if her true goal was simply to rescue Cheng Feng Zhēnzūn and escape with him?
Yet Di Xiao only smiled faintly, never giving any orders.
Even so, the mighty divine beasts instinctively closed ranks, encircling the execution platform on all sides.
Yun Jin looked at Bai Dongchuan with calm indifference. "Throw my life away? No. The only one who will die… is you."
In her hand, spiritual power gathered, condensing into the form of a gleaming sword.
She had not yet swung, but Bai Dongchuan already felt the pressure of its terrifying sword aura. His pupils widened, cold sweat breaking over his entire body.
This woman—had she truly lost her mind?
He glared at Yun Jin, desperate to find any trace of jest.
But there was none.
Without hesitation, Yun Jin waved her hand. The blade of spiritual energy thrust straight for his dantian.
Bai Dongchuan almost went mad with panic. This woman—she really meant to kill him!
His gaze turned savage.
He had come into this mission prepared to die.
If this was his end, then before he perished, that Tongtian Hou cub would die with him!
A cruel smile twisted his lips. "We'll all die together!"
With a single thought, he activated the master-servant contract.
Sang Qing's arms shook as the young cub wailed in agony, a pitiful, heart-wrenching cry.
The pain—so unbearable!
The master-servant contract was the strictest bond under the heavens.
The torment was not only of the flesh but carved deep into the soul.
"Die!" Bai Dongchuan roared in madness.
The cub howled in anguish, its life force bleeding away with every passing breath.
"Xiao Bao!" Sang Qing's eyes turned crimson, tears streaming down her face.
She clutched him tighter, even as the cub thrashed in mindless pain, raking bloody scars across her face and body. She refused to let go.
She had brought him into this world.
If this truly was to be his last journey…
Then she would carry him through it herself.
In that moment, she no longer thought of hatred or revenge.
She only thought of holding her child close, even if her body was torn apart.
The sword of spiritual power pierced Bai Dongchuan's dantian.
His Primordial Soul attempted to flee, but Yun Jin's fingers flicked, releasing a flame that consumed it whole.
Bai Dongchuan—body and soul—was annihilated.
With the master dead, the contract unraveled.
But by the cruel nature of such bonds, when the master perished, so too would the servant.
The Tongtian Hou cub was already at death's edge. At the moment Bai Dongchuan died, his own life should have ended as well.
Yet the life force Yun Jin had imbued into him still lingered, holding him to one fragile breath.
But that was all.
At most, he had a few final moments before death would take him.
Xiao Bao felt death's shadow descending.
For the first time, he realized with piercing clarity that he was about to die.
"Mother… don't blame her…" Xiao Bao forced the words out with extreme effort.
Sang Qing sobbed, shaking her head, unable to speak a single word.
Di Xiao's eyes narrowed faintly.
So he had been wrong to trust Yun Jin after all?
Was this her method? To simply kill Bai Dongchuan?
If so, then Xiao Bao was truly beyond saving.
"Wandao, do not blame me. It was your successor who meddled in this. Since she cannot save him, she must leave her own life here."
"Phantom Leopard, didn't you say this human was remarkable? And this is her way of saving Xiao Bao?"
"It's over, it's all over! This time there really is no hope left!"
The divine beasts wailed in grief.
Even the young Phantom Leopard and Starlight Antlered Deer were panicked.
The Phantom Leopard gritted its teeth. "It's not the end yet! There may still be a chance!"
"A chance? What chance? You've been duped by this human!"
"Humans should all be damned!"
The Phantom Leopard stopped speaking, only staring unwaveringly at Yun Jin.
There must be a way. There had to be.
All throughout the Spirit Beast Forest, countless beasts raised their heads toward the floating temple.
As Xiao Bao's life force waned, their cries filled the air with sorrow.
"Declare war on the humans!"
"War against the humans!"
Beastly roars swept across the entire forest like thunder.
Beyond the forest, five figures watched the projection in the sky, their expressions grim.
Liu Li's face turned ashen. "Too late!"
She had arrived a step too late. And that single step might doom Yun Jin's life.
"Hurry, take me to see Di Xiao!" Liu Li surged into the Spirit Beast Forest without hesitation.
The others exchanged glances and followed after her.
Back in the temple plaza, Yun Jin's calm voice rang out.
"Yun Mu, Life Guardian!"