Trying to cut in?
Song Wanníng's gaze darkened. Her hands moved faster, swiftly plucking the fruit and slipping it into her storage ring.
Without hesitation, she yanked the moonlight flower out by its roots and flung it toward the figure who had just arrived.
Pa!
The thing landed right in front of him, like a silent provocation, igniting his fury completely.
"You dare play tricks on me?"
Hovering in midair, his face flushed red with rage. His eyes brimmed with gloom.
When he got a clear look at Song Wanníng, he let out a cold snort. "So you're from Guhan Sect. No wonder you're so arrogant."
He stepped forward again, his voice dripping with menace.
"Will you hand it over yourself, or do I have to take it from you?"
The air around them seemed to grow heavy. The killing intent was unspoken, but palpable—if she so much as refused, he looked ready to consign her to eternal damnation.
"Heh."
Song Wanníng stood motionless, expression frosted over, lips curling into a cold smile.
"Do all you Piao Miao Sect people talk this much nonsense? You think you can make me hand it over?"
Her sword gave a subtle tremor, her eyes turning razor-sharp in an instant.
The man, still unaware of the danger, only felt insulted. He pulled out his life-bound weapon and struck at her. His weapon was the Meteor Twin Hammers, heavy enough that even with one hand, he could swing them with howling force.
A surge of raw power burst from the hammers, the air around them cracking with explosive pops.
Song Wanníng's expression was cold and deep. If this man didn't understand the principle of first come, first served, she would teach it to him. After all, the secret realm blocked all outside detection. If someone died here, they stayed dead—and no one would ever find the killer.
That thought brought a sudden smile to her lips.
In the next instant, her sword left its sheath and cleaved toward him.
A mighty sword domain exploded forth, shattering the twin hammers' swirling vortex of spiritual energy and surging straight for the man.
He frowned, genuinely surprised, and hastily produced a folding fan to block the incoming strike. A flood of seven-colored radiance spilled out, followed by a swarm of densely packed insects.
They shot forward at incredible speed, their mouths lined with sharp teeth. Even as they flew, faint gnawing sounds could be heard.
A swarm like this could strip a person to the bone in less than two minutes.
This was his trump card. The bugs were nearly impossible to wipe out completely—if even one survived, they would multiply endlessly. Their biting power was so great they could even devour magical barriers.
The swarm rushed at Song Wanníng, instantly devouring the remaining spiritual energy of her sword domain. Her brows lifted slightly.
This was a good find.
Her smile widened, her gaze suddenly warmer as she looked at the man.
But that abrupt shift in her eyes made his heart sink. Instinct told him something was wrong. He let out a low growl and charged again with the Meteor Twin Hammers.
Light flared in the air like a meteor streaking across the night.
Song Wanníng's expression was calm as she swung her sword once more. Her body moved at full speed, and in the space of a single breath, she appeared behind him. Her lips curved into a smile. She lifted her palm and slammed it toward his head.
She was too fast, and the strike was too unexpected. By the time he reacted, the crushing force had already descended.
He didn't even have time to turn his head before his skull burst like a ripe melon—shattering completely along with his Yuányīng.
Boom!
His headless body dropped straight from the sky, with only a scrap of scalp still clinging to his neck. Brain matter and blood splattered across the ground, glistening under the moonlight—grotesque and lurid.
Song Wanníng gave the scene a casual glance, lifted her hand, and stripped his storage ring. A flick of her fingers sent flames curling over his corpse until nothing remained.
She looked at her palm with satisfaction, once again appreciating the power it held.
In one strike, she had crushed his protective barrier, smashed his skull, and obliterated his Nascent Soul. The strength of that palm spoke for itself.
These days, most cultivators focused on spell arts. Few trained their bodies, and she was no exception—at least, not until recently.
Body cultivation took too much time, demanded endless hardship, and required soaking in countless medicinal baths. Once a bottleneck hit, progress was painfully slow, so true body cultivators were rare in the cultivation world.
Spell cultivators relied on defensive shields to protect themselves, so almost no one expected Song Wanníng's fists to be so deadly.
Now, it had become the perfect trump card—an unexpected, lethal strike.
Looking around, she saw the masterless swarm of insects scattering in confusion.
She picked up the man's folding fan and found it to be a spatial treasure.
The insects lived inside it.
Without hesitation, Song Wanníng bound the fan to herself and recalled the swarm. With their sheer numbers and biting power, they would prove very useful in the secret realm. She stored the man's ring in her internal world, ensuring no one could detect it.
After tidying the battlefield, she flew onward.
Half a minute after she left, a figure crept out of a cave, letting out a long breath of relief.
Clutching a shadow stone, his forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
"Thank the heavens she didn't notice me. That woman's combat strength is terrifying—there's no way she's just at mid-stage Void Refinement."
He exhaled shakily. "Now that I've recorded evidence, I can sell it to Piao Miao Sect once we're out of the secret realm and earn some favors…"
He had no intention of confronting her directly—her strength was too great. Better to let others deal with her.
"I'd better get moving before she comes back."
His heart was still pounding from the earlier scene of the Piaomiao Sect disciple's head being blown apart. mHe took only a few steps before a shadow appeared ahead, blocking his path.
Even though it was only a back view, he recognized it instantly.
Not good.
His heart sank, and he turned to flee without hesitation.
A golden sword appeared out of nowhere. In a blink, it elongated into a long blade, its tip glinting with an eerie light as it leveled at him.
One more step, and it would pierce him through.
He froze in place, his gut telling him he was finished.
His expression shifted rapidly before he hastily produced the shadow stone, speaking with forced respect to the figure ahead.
"Senior, this is a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding! I only recorded it because I admire your heroic bearing…"
Inside, he was cursing furiously, even as his mind scrambled for a way out.
They were both at mid-stage Void Refinement, but if Song Wanníng could kill the Piao Miao Sect man in one palm, she could kill him just as easily—and he wasn't willing to gamble on that