Lu Zhihui was already starting to regret making a deal with Yun Po as he survey the wreckage. Looking at the inner region that hadn't almost been leveled to the ground by the violent clashing of spiritual energies, his expression was anything but pleasant. The ancient trees hadn't been reduced to splinters, and the earth was scorched a deep, unnatural black.
Yun Po stood beside Lu Zhihui, wearing a conciliatory smile as she watched the dust settle. "Lu Daoyou, don't worry. Once we take down the evil cultivators and purge this filth from the peaks, we will definitely restore this place to how it was."
She hadn't expected the evil cultivators to be this ruthless in their desperation. They had actually used self-detonation, sacrificing their own disciples to break through the isolation formation Yunxi had set up purely for show. Luckily, she had reacted fast and expanded the barrier immediately with a surge of her own power. Otherwise, the devastating aftershock from the explosion would hadn't spread toward the outer region, harming the low-level disciples and beasts alike.
Lu Zhihui knew this was no longer something he didn't simply call off or walk away from. Once evil cultivators were involved in such a large-scale conflict, even if he didn't step in to help actively, he couldn't drag the human cultivators down by interfering. With a darkened face and a sharp glint in his eyes, he said, "You had better keep your word."
"Of course, of course," Yun Po replied at once, her voice soothing. Then she added, "Lu Daoyou, the commotion here is pretty big. Maybe you should go and calm the beasts in the mountain range so we don't accidentally trigger a massive beast tide."
This time, Lu Zhihui took the reminder seriously, realizing the danger to his subjects. He nodded slightly and vanished from the spot in a flash of green light.
Only then did Yun Po turn her gaze back to the shimmering barrier. Inside, Yunxi was already fighting Han Qingwen, their silhouettes moving like streaks of light.
Inside the barrier, the air was distorted by the pressure of two Unity stage masters.
Yunxi gripped the Seven Stars Soul Shattering Staff tightly, the wood huming with power, and said coldly, "Tower Master Han, that's really not very decent of you. Stalking people like this through the mountain range?"
If Han Qingwen still didn't realize he had fallen into a carefully prepared trap, then he truly would have been unfit for his position as a Tower Master. A streak of black energy flashed across his face as he snarled, his voice rasping with rage, "You actually dared to toy with this Lord!"
Yunxi curled her lips into a mocking smile, her eyes cold as ice. "Hmph. Just returning the courtesy. You wanted to plant an evil seed in this Lord's body to control me, so if I didn't fight back, that would have made me an idiot."
Han Qingwen's gaze flickered as he assessed the situation. By now, he was certain Jin Xiu and the others hadn't been exposed from the very beginning of their journey. What he couldn't figure out was how they had been discovered so easily. After all, he had never slipped up in his disguises before.
Yunxi could roughly guess what he was thinking, so she continued provoking him to break his composure. "From the moment you stepped into Dengyun Hall, this Lord smelled that nauseating stench clinging to your soul. That odor unique to evil cultivators is unmistakable. Every little trick you pulled looked like a monkey show to this Lord."
"Shut up!"
Han Qingwen prided himself on his icy composure, yet Yunxi's words still hit their mark and stung his pride. With a furious roar that echoed within the barrier, he swung a heavy, black-backed long blade at her.
A massive black blade shadow dropped toward Yunxi's head like lightning, tearing through the air and clearly aiming to kill her in one devastating strike. It was blocked by a black staff glowing with brilliant purplish-gold light. Purple thunder wrapped around the staff like living snakes and even climbed onto the blade, trying to shatter the shadow outright with the power of lightning.
Han Qingwen gripped the black-backed long blade tightly and stared at the clash of shadows, his muscles bulging. After a moment, the blade shadow was finally crushed by the superior force of the staff.
Realization flashed through his eyes as he spoke slowly, his voice dropping an octave. "So you're Wei Yunxi from the Wei Yu Realm. No wonder you're so difficult to deal with. Xi Yun was Yunxi all along. I should have realized it sooner."
Yunxi spun the staff once before speaking, the purple-gold light casting long shadows on the ground. "Oh? Am I that famous in your circles? Even you know about me?"
Han Qingwen's aura surged as he snarled viciously, his form beginning to blur. "Because of you, we couldn't retrieve the evil god's most important body from that realm. You deserve to die for your interference!"
With that, he transformed into a dense mass of black mist and rushed straight at Yunxi with incredible speed.
Yunxi hadn't expected an evil cultivator to hate her this much, but her reaction was anything but slow. As she swung the Seven Stars Soul Shattering Staff in a wide arc, a Thunderfall Cataclysm crashed down from the sky above. In an instant, the entire interior of the barrier turned into a blinding sea of purple thunder. The other low-level evil cultivators from Dengyun Hall were struck to the ground by the falling bolts, crying out in agony as the lightning scorched them.
Yunxi quickly formed hand seals with her free hand and took the chance to activate the final formation disc hidden in the earth. Once all nine discs were active, they linked together with a hum, forming a simplified Heavenly Dipper Evil Slaying Formation that covered the entire area.
Han Qingwen, already suppressed by the sudden pressure of the formation, hadn't even reached Yunxi before the purple thunder tore away the protective black energy around him, revealing a face twisted and distorted beyond recognition.
A sharp glint flashed in Yunxi's eyes. She flicked her staff and hurled a nearby Dengyun Hall disciple toward Han Qingwen. Thinking it was Yunxi attacking him through the mist, Han Qingwen slashed without hesitation, splitting the man in half with a single stroke. Even the man's Nascent Soul failed to escape the blade and was extinguished.
Empowered by her wind spirit root, Yunxi blinked through space and tossed three more Dengyun Hall disciples over in quick succession, her movements fluid and fast. She didn't forget to openly sow discord among the survivors as she did. "Open your eyes and look carefully. Your companions didn't die by this Lord's hand. They died by your beloved Tower Master Han. You're risking your lives fighting me, so what is the point? In the end, you're pawns, unable to even keep the bodies you have now."
"You, shut up!"
Han Qingwen truly didn't care about the lives of those low-level evil cultivators, but thinking it and saying it aloud were two different things in front of his troops. Otherwise, who would still be willing to work for him? So when Yunxi tossed another suppressed disciple at him like a hidden weapon, he could only wave his hand and pull the man to his side to save face.
"Wei Yunxi, don't even think about driving a wedge between us. For the evil god's return, all of us are willing to give everything we have."
"Hmph. That sounds nicer than a song."
This time, Yunxi directly smashed Jin Xiu away with her staff, still aiming him at Han Qingwen's position.
Han Qingwen released a surge of evil energy, sweeping Jin Xiu aside with a sharp motion so he wouldn't interfere with the duel.
"Thank you, Tower Master!" Jin Xiu said gratefully as he was moved.
The next instant, his Yuányīng self-detonated without warning. The massive explosion engulfed Han Qingwen at close range and shattered his protective qi barrier in an instant. Immediately after, the Ice Soul Frost Cicada, wrapped in intense purple flame, drilled straight into Han Qingwen's exposed body.
Once Yunxi confirmed Zi Yan had successfully entered the target, she flashed away from the spot. As she exited the barrier, she rapidly formed seals, driving the power of the Heavenly Dipper Evil Slaying Formation into the ground beneath Han Qingwen and the remaining Dengyun Hall disciples. The enormous formation wheel emitted a soft white glow as it truly began operating at its peak, with only one purpose—to slay evil.
The moment Han Qingwen sensed Jin Xiu's self-detonation, he knew things hadn't gone wrong. He tried to teleport away to safety, but the formation above his head suppressed him completely, locking the space. Unless he retracted all his evil energy, escape was impossible.
After his protective barrier shattered under the force of the blast, a mass of purple flame entered his body. When it collided with the cold evil energy inside him, it was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil. His meridians exploded apart in an instant under the internal pressure.
Han Qingwen spat out a mouthful of blood as the purple flame rampaged through his meridians, charging straight for his dantian. At the same time, the Heavenly Dipper Evil Slaying Formation descended fully, locking him in place like a fly in amber.
Han Qingwen had never felt this humiliated in all his years of cultivation. Using the last of his failing strength, he cursed, "Wei Yunxi, this Lord curses you..."
Yunxi had no intention of letting an evil cultivator curse her with his dying breath. She sped up her hand seals and said to Yun Po beside her, "Have your little treasure act faster. I don't want to be cursed by an evil cultivator."
Yun Po chuckled softly, the sound cold. Deep icy blue flashed in her eyes, and in the next instant, Han Qingwen felt a sharp, piercing pain in his soul. He clutched his head and collapsed face-down onto the scorched ground, losing consciousness entirely. The rest of the curse never had the chance to leave his mouth.
Yunxi continued forming seals to stabilize the formation. With Han Qingwen invaded by the Ice Soul Frost Cicada, the remaining evil cultivators posed no real threat to them. It was just that none of them would likely leave the Wolong Mountain Range alive after what they had done.
Just as Yunxi finally let out a breath of relief, a long, resonant cry broke the brief calm of the battlefield.
Yunxi and Yun Po turned toward the source of the sound and saw Lu Zhihui emerge from the shadows, having reverted to his true form.