"Kill her! Avenge the Ancestor!"
"Kill her! Kill her!"
"Kill her!!!"
The disciples roared in unison, their hatred boiling over as they wished to charge onto the battlefield themselves to tear Song Wanníng apart. But beneath that fury was fear. The death of their Ancestor could shake the Huo Clan's standing.
They had always been used to the privilege of being disciples of a great family. If their clan fell from power overnight, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Enough! Everyone, calm down!" The First Ancestor retained his rationality, not yet blinded by rage. "This matter must not be leaked. Everyone present today will swear an oath upon their heart demons. If any of you dare to let word slip, may lightning strike you dead!
And you all, focus on cultivating after taking pills. Our Huo Clan must produce another Mahayana cultivator as soon as possible. At the very least, before others learn of this, we must be ready." He issued orders calmly, though his heart was burning with urgency. If other families learned this news, the Huo Clan's standing would crumble.
That could not be allowed to happen.
Once everything was arranged, he said solemnly, "We cannot just let Third Brother's death go unanswered. No matter what happened, we must see it for ourselves."
He still believed Third Brother's death was due to an accident. No matter what, he couldn't bring himself to think Song Wanníng's strength had anything to do with it.
"Agreed. We'll go together. If something is amiss, we'll at least have backup," the Second Ancestor quickly replied. He dared not let his elder brother go alone.
"Good."
After giving more instructions, the two used Huo Mian's soul lamp as a guide to track the location of his death. Their figures vanished swiftly. The Patriarch watched them leave, a deep unease gnawing at his heart.
"Perhaps… perhaps we should tell them to let it go," the Patriarch said nervously to the gathered elders. "That woman Song Wanníng is too strange. Every time we cross her, disaster follows."
"I fear our Ancestors will meet trouble this time." His eyelids kept twitching, an ominous sign.
"Patriarch, what nonsense is this? With two Ancestors acting together, how could they suffer a loss?"
"Exactly. That Song Wanníng has been lucky at best. This time she'll die for sure."
"She's slaughtered so many of our clan. If we let her live, even the dead would not forgive us."
The elders cursed loudly, even mocking the Patriarch for cowardice, for fearing a mere Out-of-Body cultivator.
Infuriated, the Patriarch stormed off with a flick of his sleeve.
…
Inside a tunnel, Song Wanníng waited while studying formation texts. Breaking the restriction of the Central Region was no simple matter. Just locating the formation nodes would take immense effort. Then one day, she sensed movement outside. Through the tunnel, she spotted two figures approaching. The Huo Clan's two Ancestors had arrived.
"Third Brother died right here." The soul lamp shattered completely upon reaching the spot. Huo Mian's last trace of life disappeared. He would never again exist in this world.
The Ancestors' grief and hatred deepened as they stared at the scene.
"Who? Who killed him?!"
Like madmen, they ripped apart their surroundings, their rage evident in every move.
That was when Song Wanníng struck. She tried to repeat her earlier strategy, sending out the Red Lotus Karma Fire. But this time, before the flames even got close, the two Ancestors countered instantly.
They attacked Song Wanníng's position with ruthless force. The Red Lotus Karma Fire missed completely, not even grazing them.
"Hmph. Are you not coming out?" The First Ancestor snorted coldly, having already pinpointed her location.
"Enough talk! Drag her out! Avenge Third Brother!" The Second Ancestor charged toward the tunnel.
The First Ancestor grabbed his arm. "Don't be reckless. Who knows what lies within?"
Even with Third Brother's strength, he'd died here. This meant danger lurked inside, and they couldn't act carelessly.
So instead, the two attacked from a distance, striking toward the tunnel while dodging the Red Lotus Karma Fire. They refused to step closer.
Their caution was obvious.
Song Wanníng's face turned grim, her gaze sharp as she watched them. She hadn't expected their anger to be an act, baiting her into revealing herself. What a pity. The Red Lotus Karma Fire had lost its element of surprise, and now she was at a disadvantage.
Yet her eyes gleamed with excitement rather than fear. Two opponents. She and her clone made two as well. A fierce battle sounded rather appealing. Her lips curled into a faint smile. Her physical body was strong enough to face Mahayana cultivators.
As long as they hadn't refined their bodies…
She stepped forward calmly, drawing a spatial rune. It shifted the incoming attacks instantly, sending them hundreds of meters away.
Boom!
A deafening blast shook the earth, sand and stone flying, vegetation shredded.
The two Ancestors' expressions darkened with surprise.
This woman could teleport attacks elsewhere?
What a formidable technique!
They narrowed their eyes at her coldly.
"Who killed Third Brother? Tell us the truth, and we'll consider leaving your corpse intact."
Even now, they believed someone else had killed Huo Mian.
Song Wanníng's face remained indifferent. "I killed him. What will you do about it?"
"You killed him?" The Second Ancestor sneered, laughing angrily.
The First Ancestor's face turned black. "You still defend him? Speak now, or I won't hold back!"
"You don't believe me?"
Song Wanníng arched an eyebrow and clicked her tongue.
She took out a recording stone and played a scene.
"Please… spare the Huo Clan." It showed Huo Mian begging for mercy. The sight made both Ancestors' eyes go blood-red, murderous intent rolling off them in waves.
"Bitch! How dare you humiliate our clan?!" The Second Ancestor exploded in fury, attacking her.
This time, the First Ancestor did not stop him but joined in.
Huo Mian's anguished, humiliated plea had driven them beyond reason. They hated Song Wanníng to the bone.
She had to die today.
In a flash, Song Wanníng's clone burst from the tunnel, swinging a powerful punch at the Second Ancestor.
Song Wanníng's eyes sharpened. She sketched another spatial rune and instantly appeared before the First Ancestor, fist slamming straight toward his dantian.