Yunxi's escape speed was steady, carefully controlled so the two figures trailing behind could keep up. Yet the farther they traveled from Kunyu City, the darker her eyes became, their depths like a still lake before a storm.
A full day later, Yunxi suddenly accelerated. With wind spiritual power bolstering her movement, her speed now rivaled that of a Divine Transformation cultivator in the early stage. The two pursuers behind her immediately struggled to keep up.
One of the men frowned. "She… did she notice us?"
The female cultivator's eyes sharpened."Perhaps she knew from the very moment we started following her."
"Then why didn't she run away back then?"
"I don't know," she murmured, unease clouding her features. "But I have a bad feeling about this. We should drop this job!"
The man, however, remained unfazed. "She's just a little girl, barely a fraction of our age. How dangerous could she be? She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and got lucky with a good master. For all we know, her cultivation was built entirely on pills and rare treasures. That's exactly why I hate these rich, pampered clan disciples."
"But have you thought about what happens if we succeed? Do you really think her master will let us walk away alive?"
The truth was, the woman had been reluctant to take this mission from the start. Unfortunately, the payout was simply too high to ignore. Her Dao partner had become obsessed with ascending to the Spirit Realm, and his obsession left her with no choice but to accept the deposit and take the job.
The man's voice was calm, assured. "Of course I've considered that. Together, we can definitely take her down. She carries a life-saving treasure from a Divine Transformation Zūnzhě. We don't need to kill her outright, only wound her severely. That way we'll fulfill the mission without painting a target on our backs. By the time her master comes for revenge, we'll already be in the Spirit Realm. Let them try to find us."
It was clear he'd planned this thoroughly. His confidence in this mission was unwavering.
The woman sighed deeply, resigned. "Then let's make it quick."
"Fine by me!"
"She's speeding up again. Hurry, or we'll lose her!"
The two exchanged a look and increased their pace, only to burst into a howling storm of wind and snow the next instant.
"This is bad!"
"Retreat!"
They both shouted at once, but it was too late. The swirling snowstorm transformed into countless razor-sharp ice needles, stabbing at them as they scrambled backward.
A calm, detached voice echoed through the sky. "You've followed me all this way. Why retreat now?"
Yunxi's voice floated on the wind, cold and emotionless, but it made their hearts sink. No matter which direction they fled, they couldn't leave this land of raging wind and snow.
Shock spread across the man's face, impossible to hide. His voice trembled in disbelief. "This… this is impossible! She's only at the mid Nascent Soul stage. How could she have created a domain?"
The woman gritted her teeth, barely holding up her protective shield. "Brother Jun, let's run!"
The man finally grasped the gap between them and Wei Yunxi's strength. He flickered to her side, merging their protective shields into one. Together, they forcefully tore open the fabric of space. He dove into the void first.
The woman followed a heartbeat later, but as she turned, a muffled groan escaped her lips. Blood trickled from her mouth as her body plummeted from the rift. The man, oblivious to her injury, charged ahead through the void without looking back.
A heavy crash sounded as the woman slammed into the ground. In the next moment, Yunxi appeared before her, flicking a purple flame into the woman's dantian. Her voice was icy."Who sent you to follow me? What is your goal?"
The woman dared not move. The strange flame flickered inside her dantian, ready to annihilate her at the slightest provocation. She bit her lip, lifting her gaze to Yunxi. The girl was impossibly young, so young it stirred an envious pang in her chest.
"We were only hired to kill you," the woman whispered. "I don't know who the client is."
Yunxi's brows arched slightly. "Someone spent a fortune hiring Bao Jun and Xun Yue, two Yuányīng Zhēnjūn, to deal with me. How many spirit stones is my life worth?"
Xun Yue glanced at Yunxi before answering. "They promised us that if we gravely injured you, we'd be sent straight to the Spirit Realm."
Yunxi's lips curled into a mocking smile. "And you really believed they'd keep that promise?"
Xun Yue said nothing this time. This mission had been her Dao partner's obsession. But now, with her own life hanging by a thread, thoughts of the employer's promises felt absurd.
For Yunxi, this only confirmed her suspicions. The job reeked of schemes orchestrated by evil cultivators. Unable to move openly, they used spirit stones to hire others to make her life miserable. Killing her would be ideal. If not, injuring her was good enough. Their goal was simple: to make sure she couldn't live in peace.
Promises to send non–Divine Transformation cultivators straight to the Spirit Realm were one of their favorite tricks. Nothing but a blatant lie. Yet cultivators across the realm still fell for it.
As long as she remained unharmed, evil cultivators could simply claim the assassins failed, and thus the deal was void. They wouldn't lose anything but words, and there would always be others willing to chase such a tempting bait.
Yunxi couldn't comprehend the mindset of cultivators from this realm. She was a transmigrator, and even she understood that free pies don't fall from the sky. Why didn't they? Or perhaps they did understand, but still clung to shortcuts out of desperation.
If she thought deeper, she'd see the truth. For cultivators, longevity was the ultimate pursuit. Yet bottlenecks in cultivation were inevitable. A single barrier could trap someone for decades or centuries, their life essence draining away as their hopes dwindled.
That desperation pushed some to gamble everything on alternative paths. Not everyone possessed her unwavering Dao heart or her reckless courage to charge forward head-on.
Yunxi's path was different. She was determined to defy fate itself, the destiny written by the Heavenly Dao. If the so-called protagonists were chosen by Heaven to stand in her way, she would kill them.
She placed herself in danger time and again, clawing her way out of every trap. Each breakthrough was forged in blood and peril. Step by step, she had reached the mid Nascent Soul stage before even turning fifty. In the entire Weiyu Realm, how many could claim the same?
At that moment, however, Yunxi didn't reflect on her achievements. She only thought these two were foolish.
Seeing that Xun Yue couldn't provide useful information, Yunxi hesitated to kill her outright. The woman hadn't actually harmed her yet, but letting her go so easily felt unsatisfying.
Suddenly, Yunxi smiled. "I've heard much about Bao Jun and Xun Yue. You're known as a loving pair of loose cultivators, both in the Nascent Soul stage. People admire you, calling your devotion legendary."
She tilted her head, her smile laced with mockery. "But today, you shielded him from my strike, allowing him to escape. He didn't even look back for you. If I kill you now, will he come after me for revenge?"
Xun Yue's face grew uglier by the second. Having Yunxi drag this truth into the open made it sting far more.
Yunxi's voice was soft, cruel. "You're such a fool. Perhaps he planned to sacrifice you all along. You were his expendable pawn. Let me be honest: I carry a life-saving talisman from my master. Even if you detonated your Yuányīng, you'd only wound me, not kill me. Tell me, was it his plan to injure me and escape rather than risk both your lives?"