Amazing

The woman eyed Chu Xingchen with suspicion, her aura steady and unreadable.

At a glance, she was clearly a troublesome thorn in the side.

Fighting her was eight-tenths certain to end in defeat, but it wasn’t necessarily a dead end.

After all, wasn’t this Golden Core brat right in front of her a usable pawn?

The woman pointed her wooden sword at Li Xingtian, her face frosty as she declared:

"If you don’t want him to die—"

Before she could finish, a transparent, pristine square object was already flying toward her face.

Behind it were Chu Xingchen’s cold, indifferent eyes.

Boom!

The woman’s face took off first, accompanied by a flurry of petals, before promptly meeting the ground.

Chu Xingchen casually held [Myriad Forms] in his hand. Honestly, even in its original brick form, the satisfying smack against someone’s face was hard to beat.

His gaze shifted to Li Xingtian beside him, whose expression was twisted in anguish.

"Master…" Li Xingtian looked up at his teacher.

Chu Xingchen chuckled, raising an eyebrow teasingly:

"Oh? Little Xingtian, need your master to bail you out?"

At those words, Li Xingtian’s face flushed crimson—whether from the effects of the pill or sheer embarrassment, it was hard to tell.

The phrasing was new, but even an idiot could grasp the gist from his tone.

Chu Xingchen reached out and ruffled Li Xingtian’s hair, the latter still radiating unchecked bloodlust.

The swirling petals abruptly retracted, rushing back toward the woman, even reclaiming those that had ensnared the other Tianyan Sect disciples.

Wang Lin’s gaze instantly locked onto Li Xingtian. Among those present, Li Xingtian had the lowest cultivation, yet he was the sect’s designated commander—and worse, he held Elder Bai’s Tianyan Token.

If anything happened to him, Wang Lin didn’t even dare imagine the consequences upon returning.

But when he looked over, words failed him.

Li Xingtian looked like a demonic fiend, his body seething with blood energy, his dark robes stained with fresh blood.

Yet a man in pristine blue robes—looking every bit the righteous cultivator—was patting his head like he was a child.

And Li Xingtian was even bowing his head slightly in compliance.

The sight of a world-ending demon lowering his head for a head pat…

Hiss… It was indescribably bizarre.

But another question lingered—was Li Xingtian allowing this willingly, or was he being forced?

Friend or foe?

Just because someone dressed like a hero didn’t mean they were one.

However, Wang Lin quickly confirmed this was an ally when his spiritual sense caught Li Yingling pulling out a memory stone from who-knows-where to record the scene.

Li Yingling’s concern for her junior brother was undeniable. If she was leisurely filming, this had to be reinforcements.

The scene seemed heartwarming, but the smirk on Li Yingling’s lips made Wang Lin feel…

Hiss…

He couldn’t quite put it into words, but he had a gut feeling that Brother Li would spend the rest of his life trying to destroy that memory stone.

Noticing the stare, Chu Xingchen glanced at Wang Lin—dressed in Tianyan Sect robes—and gave him a slight nod.

Wang Lin hastily cupped his hands in response.

The woman rose to her feet, petals lifting her high into the air. The left side of her face was smashed in, blood dripping steadily.

Troublesome… Extremely troublesome.

Her wary eyes fixed on the unassuming-looking [Myriad Forms] in Chu Xingchen’s hand. She had never seen such a plain-looking magical artifact.

But its power… was downright terrifying.

She was certain—Chu Xingchen hadn’t used any special techniques in that last attack. It was pure, unadulterated brute force.

Gripping her wooden sword, she layered petals over her body like armor.

Seeing Li Xingtian’s flushed face, Chu Xingchen didn’t tease him further. Tightening his grip on [Myriad Forms], he turned his attention back to the woman.

Under that gaze, her heart skipped a beat. Petals surged to shield her, forming a thick floral barrier.

But the tip of a translucent spear pierced through the wall of petals, forcing its way into her vision.

Her expression turned grave. Pressing her wooden sword forward, she summoned a storm of blossoms and shouted:

"Ten Thousand Blossoms—Hundred Springs!"

"Blossom this, bitch!"

The spear morphed mid-thrust, reshaping into a longsword.

Chu Xingchen swung the blade, sword intent coiling around him like a dragon. The sheer pressure of his spiritual energy repelled any petals daring to approach.

The strike descended upon the woman.

Her wooden sword absorbed countless flowers in an instant, even sprouting new branches and blooms to meet Chu Xingchen’s overwhelming slash.

Good news—this time, she blocked it. No repeat of the brick-to-the-face ambush.

Bad news—blocking made no difference.

Spiritual energy erupted, dissolving every petal in its path.

The crushing pressure condensed into a single point.

The moment their weapons clashed, her spirit treasure was suppressed. Then came the visceral sensation of her body being cleaved apart.

The terror of death pierced her consciousness. Screaming, she begged:

"I surrender! Spare me!"

She felt her flesh eroding under pure Dao essence and spiritual power—helpless, unresisting. Instinctively, she forced a fawning smile, eyes brimming with desperate pleading.

Chu Xingchen let out a soft laugh, pausing his sword mid-motion.

Hope flared in her heart. Countless bargaining chips raced through her mind—she’d give anything to live.

But the next moment, her smile froze.

"Spare this, bitch."

With that, the sword descended without hesitation.

Only then did she realize—the pause wasn’t mercy. It was just to deliver that line.

Wang Lin landed beside Li Xingtian, his gaze shifting toward Chu Xingchen.

An overwhelming Dao essence radiated outward, the sheer density of spiritual energy pressing down on Wang Lin like a mountain.

This feeling… He had only ever sensed it from one person.

The Tianyan Sect’s core disciple, personally instructed by the sect master and multiple peak lords—a woman whose true name Wang Lin didn’t know.

Only the title bestowed by the sect master: Yanyun.

She rarely appeared, serving as a ceremonial figure at major events before vanishing just as quietly.

Her cultivation? Unknown. Talent? Unknown. Strength? Unknown.

The Tianyan Sect revealed nothing about her.

Yet no one doubted her power. For her, the sect master had personally pleaded with Elder Bai for months, just to secure some guidance.

During that period, Elder Bai’s mountain peak had been as terrifying as today—inexplicable Dao essence and violent spiritual energy fluctuations radiating unchecked.

Only after Yanyun completed her training did the relentless Dao essence finally fade.

Now, Wang Lin stared at Li Xingtian in dawning realization and whispered:

"Is that senior your master?"

The blush on Li Xingtian’s face hadn’t fully faded. He gave a small nod.

"Incredible…"

Wang Lin’s eyes locked onto Chu Xingchen. With someone like this around, it wasn’t hard to see why everyone had a Tianyan Token.