The cave was narrow, and the two of them could barely move without bumping into each other. Every swing of a sword risked hitting a companion, so as they fought, they tried their best to push their way out.
Song Wanníng's sword flashed, and with a single strike, several monsters were caught in her net, cut down in an instant. Her movements were swift and precise, leaving no room for mercy. A few of her spirit companions fought beside her, and together, they charged through the monsters like a storm.
Beside Liu Xingzhi stood his spirit beast, its snow-white fur glinting like a blade forged from frost. Each movement sliced cleanly through the air, reaping lives one after another.
After a desperate struggle, they finally burst out of the cave. But what they saw next made their blood run cold.
The world outside was swarming with monsters, claws flailing and teeth bared, rushing toward them in a black tide that stretched as far as the eye could see. The entire land and sky were covered, not a single patch of ground or light remained visible.
The sky itself looked swallowed by darkness.
Song Wanníng and Liu Xingzhi felt their hearts sink.
Coincidence? No chance. The monsters weren't acting on instinct—they'd been found. Their enemy had made a move.
There was no time to think. The only option was to slaughter their way through.
The two exchanged a quick glance, then pressed their backs together, fighting side by side. Their techniques became more ferocious, every strike aimed to kill. Since there was no one left to worry about hurting, they unleashed their full power.
Song Wanníng raised her sword and called down the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder. Bolts of divine lightning crashed from the sky, tearing through monsters by the hundreds.
The attack was devastatingly effective, a natural nemesis of these creatures, but it drained her spiritual power rapidly.
"Save your strength!" Liu Xingzhi shouted, his voice sharp. His strikes turned even more ruthless.
It was good that Song Wanníng had such power, but if she burned through her spirit energy too fast, even escape would become impossible.
"Got it," she replied softly, slightly holding back her attacks.
…
In Lanyuan, the shopkeeper's face turned ashen after reading the message she'd just received. She never imagined that the two guests from a few days ago were actually spies—and that one of them was the infamous Song Wanníng!
Panic flashed across her face. She rushed straight to the isolation chamber and began checking herself for traces of tampering. Sure enough, she found faint remnants of powder on her robes. It was so subtle she'd almost missed it, but the chamber was built with her master's specialized tools, made precisely to expose tricks like this.
"Damn it, they actually played me!" The shopkeeper almost crushed the pill bottle in her hand, fury burning in her eyes. "I almost fell for it!"
If her master hadn't warned her, she'd still be waiting like an idiot, ready to serve herself up as monster feed.
"Song Wanníng, huh? You've got guts to mess with me. I'll make you pay for this!"
She immediately sent a message to her master, demanding permission to hunt Song Wanníng down. "Master, Song Wanníng has gone too far! I have to kill her myself, or I'll never get this hatred off my chest!"
The killing intent in her eyes flared. Her aura surged, revealing her true Mahayana-level cultivation. Normally, the treasure her master gave her hid her true strength—even someone like Song Wanníng couldn't have seen through it.
But before she could act, her master's cold voice came through the talisman.
"Don't touch her. You're not her match."
The shopkeeper's face twisted with disbelief.
"Master, those old fools from the Huo Family only died because they were careless! If I'm cautious, I can definitely take Song Wanníng down!"
Her tone was defiant, but her master's reply was full of quiet disdain.
"They underestimated her. And you think you're not doing the same?"
The shopkeeper fell silent, her confidence faltering—but she still believed she was stronger.
Even so, she would never disobey her master.
"This matter will be handled by me," her master continued. "What you need to do now is erase everything related to Lanyuan. Not a single trace can remain. Until I say otherwise, disappear. Go into seclusion."
The tone brooked no argument. The shopkeeper's chest tightened with frustration.
"I've managed Lanyuan for over a hundred years, and now we're just… shutting it down?"
Wasn't that a bit excessive?
"You don't understand. Song Wanníng isn't the only one watching. Other forces have their eyes on Lanyuan too. My plan is nearly complete, and I won't allow any loose ends. Do you understand?"
Even through the transmission, the pressure from her master's voice was suffocating.
"Yes, Master!" she answered immediately, her defiance gone.
She left the secret chamber and began following her master's instructions.
By dawn, the entire city was in an uproar.
Lanyuan, which had just hosted an auction a few days ago, had vanished overnight. Not just the people—even the buildings were gone, as if they'd been plucked out of existence.
"W-what the hell happened? Where's Lanyuan?!"
"No clue! I just bought something there yesterday, it was fine then!"
"Fuck! I had treasures consigned there! Did they run off with everything?!"
"Maybe they got attacked?"
"Attacked? Without anyone hearing a thing? Nah, they ran off with our stuff, that's what happened!"
Anger rippled through the crowd. Many cultivators had items consigned to Lanyuan, and now that the place had vanished, so had their treasures. For struggling loose cultivators, every treasure was hard-earned. Losing it like this was a gut punch. Soon, people began scouring the city for any trace of Lanyuan—but found nothing. Not even rubble.
…
"Phew—"
The last monster fell. Song Wanníng could barely stay on her feet. She pulled her sword free, blood dripping steadily from its tip.
Liu Xingzhi hovered in midair for a moment, confirming that all the monsters were truly dead before landing beside her.
Both of their faces were pale. They'd been fighting nonstop for an entire day and night. If not for Song Wanníng's stash of recovery pills, they'd have collapsed hours ago.
All around them lay mountains of corpses, the air thick with the stench of blood. Red and black mixed across the ground, enough to make anyone's stomach churn.
Liu Xingzhi stayed silent for a long moment, then began cleaning up the battlefield.
Xiao Jin and the other little ones fluttered back to Song Wanníng's shoulder, utterly exhausted, their usual liveliness gone. "Big Sister, those monsters were terrifying!" one of them whimpered. "What if more of them come out?"
Song Wanníng took a shaky breath, tightening her grip on her sword as her eyes swept over the blood-soaked horizon. Somehow, she knew this wasn't over.