The woman looked slightly aggrieved, her delicate fingers cautiously pointing at the spiritual treasure sword in Wang Lin's hand:
"It's not like I came here to fight… Why are you holding such a terrifying weapon?"
Wang Lin's expression turned surprised, as if he had only just snapped back to reality, and he hastily withdrew his spiritual sword, stammering slightly:
"I… I'm here to find my teammates."
Li Xingtian glanced sideways at Wang Lin's performance… It was a bit exaggerated, clearly not something he had real experience with.
But fortunately, the woman didn’t seem to have much experience either, her movements also appearing somewhat forced.
The woman gently covered her mouth, her expression softening as she cautiously asked:
"Your teammates… Did they disappear here?"
Li Xingtian instantly revised his evaluation—this woman was even worse at acting than Wang Lin.
A cringe-worthy showdown between two amateurs.
If it had been his master here… Well…
But never mind. Even amateurs could play their part, as long as the plan kept moving forward.
"Oh… Yes, my two poor junior brothers seem to have gotten lost here. May I ask if this radiant fairy has seen them?"
"Just now, there were indeed three people fighting here, and two of them seemed to be wearing clothes similar to yours…"
"Yes, yes! Our uniforms are the same! May I ask where you saw them, Fairy?"
Li Xingtian suppressed the physical discomfort induced by Wang Lin and the woman’s conversation, his eyes swiftly scanning the surroundings while his blood energy—unaffected by illusions—spread out stealthily.
The blood energy expanded slightly, feeding back the truest state of their surroundings.
After all, pure blood energy couldn’t be seduced by this alluring spiritual energy.
Just like how Li Xingtian would never be fooled by a woman again!
With just a brief probe, Li Xingtian understood why Wang Lin’s acting was so poor yet the woman was still willing to play along.
The flowering tree continuously emitted a strange energy that quickly blended into the surrounding spiritual energy.
Its effect was likely enchantment.
The woman probably thought this charm could penetrate the multiple protective barriers around them, or at least that the longer they stayed, the higher the chance of it breaking through.
From this perspective, she likely believed time was on her side.
Unfortunately, this woman had no idea what the prestige of the "Eighteen Immortal Sects of Zhongzhou" truly meant.
The blood energy swept out and soon detected two concealed spiritual fluctuations near the tree.
Undoubtedly, they belonged to the two Tianyan Sect disciples. However, the blood energy could only vaguely sense that their spiritual energy was behaving strangely.
Aside from the Tianyan Sect disciples, no third spiritual fluctuation was detected.
Given the circumstances, it was safe to assume the third person had already fallen victim.
"You’re such a kind person, but the fighting over there is dangerous. I worry it might be too risky for you to go."
"No matter how dangerous, I must go! It’s my duty as their senior brother, just like protecting…"
Halfway through his sentence, Wang Lin’s expression faltered. Even just thinking such nauseating words made his skin crawl.
He abruptly changed his tone, unable to force out the disgusting line, and simply said:
"Anyway… You get it."
The woman nodded gently, her face filled with admiration as if he were the epitome of a good man. Then, with a hint of fear, she pointed toward the flowering tree, her voice sickly sweet:
"Over there… The Flower Deity Tree is mediating. Someone as noble as you… I leave everything in your hands."
Hearing this, Li Xingtian clenched his fists, his gaze sharpening as he glared at Wang Lin.
Wang Lin noticed the look and met his eyes, instantly understanding the message. A smirk crept onto his face.
His gaze turned bold and unrestrained as he stared at the woman, making her blush and shyly avert her eyes.
"Leave it all to me." Wang Lin leaned slightly forward, raising his hand, his eyes narrowing as his smile took on a different tone, his voice laced with ambiguity:
"But Fairy… There’s something on the left side of your face."
The woman grew even more bashful, yet she deliberately tilted her flawless left cheek forward, still feigning innocence:
"Where…?"
Wang Lin’s expression instantly twisted into a snarl as his fist erupted with spiritual light, a terrifying aura bursting forth.
"Right on my fist! Let me fix that for you!"
Without hesitation, his punch slammed straight into the woman’s beautiful face.
With a single strike, her graceful figure was sent flying into the tree.
The force of the blow sent petals scattering in all directions.
Wang Lin didn’t hesitate. Summoning his spiritual sword, he unleashed the "Divine Severing Sword of Clarity" directly at her.
Li Xingtian’s expression instantly brightened. This was far more satisfying than finding an unclaimed spatial ring earlier.
The tree’s branches swiftly extended, blocking the incoming sword strike.
Countless blossoms were shredded by the clean slash.
Yet the blade still reached the woman, now embedded in the tree trunk.
A pulse of energy rippled out.
Wang Lin grinned in satisfaction and asked Li Xingtian:
"Brother Li, what did you find?"
Li Xingtian glanced at the tree. "Good news—they’re still alive."
Wang Lin’s expression fell. "I’m guessing there’s bad news too…?"
"You guessed right."
"What’s the bad news?" Wang Lin tightened his grip on his sword as two figures shot out from behind the tree. His tone turned resigned:
"Never mind… I see it now."
The two Tianyan Sect disciples hovered midair, their expressions icy, their eyes clouded with purple mist, spiritual treasures in hand.
"You’re really something…" The woman’s seductive voice echoed from behind the tree. "Hitting my face… That’s worse than killing me."
"I won’t ask for much—just your lives in return! Or… your junior brothers’ lives, your teammates’ lives!"
Her voice suddenly turned shrill:
"Kill them!"
The moment the command was given, the two Tianyan Sect disciples erupted with spiritual energy, lunging at Wang Lin and Li Xingtian.
Li Xingtian immediately gripped the teleportation talisman his master had given him, ready to evacuate with Wang Lin if things turned dire.
Wang Lin’s expression grew serious as he raised his spiritual sword, channeling a surge of Dao essence through it, aimed directly at the two disciples.
"How heartless… Even willing to strike your own junior brothers. No wonder you hit me—you truly have no heart…"
The woman’s mocking voice rang out, but the next moment, her eyes widened in shock.
The two Tianyan Sect disciples, who had been charging forward, abruptly froze the moment the Dao essence touched them.
Without hesitation, as if by reflex, they activated their defensive treasures and disposable talismans.
In moments, the number of shields around them matched Wang Lin’s.
Then, they formed hand seals, their spiritual energy surging skyward.
In perfect unison, they shouted:
"Mind Purge, Illusion Break!"
The purple mist in their eyes instantly shattered.
Wang Lin burst into laughter. "I thought it was some profound mind-control technique, wondering how you bypassed the Tianyan Sect’s Heart Protection Art. Turns out it was just an illusion."
"Only after leaving the mountain gate did I realize... the outside world is full of nothing but self-righteous trash."
Li Xingtian pursed his lips, feeling thoroughly offended.
However, Wang Lin quickly caught on and hastily added,
"Except for the sect my brother Li Xingtian belongs to, of course."
These words were spoken from the heart—any sect favored by Elder Bai was undoubtedly formidable beyond question.