Chapter 217 Cultivation Path A (Part 11) Path A's combat power is maxed out...

In an instant, the enormous spirit-devouring wolf collapsed to the ground. Song Ce shook the dust off his hands before turning to look at the still-shaken girl behind him.

A Yao's pale face showed obvious panic. She composed herself and stared intently at the suddenly appearing young man in blue. "Thank you so much for saving me, senior."

"It was nothing, no need to be so polite." As soon as Song Ce finished speaking, Wen Wendan and the others came to their senses.

The seemingly casual grasp of the newcomer just now shattered the Soul-Devouring Wolf's core. Such terrifying strength is far beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators! If they could recruit this person into their team, he would surely be able to protect them throughout their journey to the secret realm…

Thinking of this, Wen Wendan immediately put on a gentle smile, bowed gracefully to Song Ce, and said, "I am Wen Wendan, a disciple of the Xuantian Sect. I am very grateful to you for saving my junior sister's life. May I ask how you should address me, senior?" She deliberately slowed down her speech, and her voice was so soft it could drip water.

Song Ce glanced at her indifferently but did not reply.

Not far away, the restless pack of beasts, seeing that the Spirit-Devouring Wolf King had failed in its first attempt, pounced on the group in a frenzy. Song Ce's fingertips twitched slightly, and several strands of azure light silently merged into the void of the secret realm.

The next second, the ferocious spirit-devouring wolves that had been charging forward seemed to have hit an invisible barrier, stopping three zhang away from the group and futilely spinning in place.

"What... what's going on?" The tall female cultivator opened her mouth in astonishment, looking at the demon wolves that were so close yet impossible to approach them, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Yan Mujian was also shocked upon seeing this. He slowly sheathed his spirit sword and respectfully bowed to Song Ce, saying, "Senior, you are incredibly powerful. We admire you greatly. These strange beasts came suddenly, and we hope that you can lend a helping hand. Our Xuantian Sect will surely repay you handsomely in the future."

Song Ce still didn't respond, but turned to A Yao and asked, "Are you alright?"

Ayao paused for a moment, then subconsciously took two steps forward, "It's...it's alright."

"Okay." Song Ce nodded. "Follow me, I'll take you out."

"Yes, I..."

Before A Yao could finish speaking, a shadow of gloom flashed across Wen Wendan's eyes, which quickly replaced with a worried expression as he interrupted, "Senior, my junior sister has only just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and her cultivation is weak. I'm afraid she will be a burden to you..."

"Did I speak to you?" Song Ce glanced at her indifferently and asked calmly.

Upon hearing this, Wen Wendan's remaining words caught in her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.

"..."

Yan Mujian's face flushed red. He had just taken a step when the tall female cultivator beside him quietly pulled him back and subtly shook her head. This man could easily deal with so many strange beasts; his strength must be unfathomable. To confront him head-on now would be unwise!

"roar--"

Seeing that the pack of spirit-devouring wolves was trapped in place, more strange beasts broke through the dense forest and rushed towards the group.

"These beasts have gone mad!" The tall female cultivator's voice trembled as she instinctively looked at Wen Wendan not far away. "Senior Sister Wen, what should we do?"

Wen Wendan watched Song Ce protecting A Yao, a sinister glint flashing in her eyes. "Survival is the priority! Let's get out of here first!" After saying that, she secretly made a hand seal and cast it in A Yao's direction.

The next second, a powerful spiritual force enveloped the spell and directly reflected it back at Wen Wendan.

Wen Wendan felt a chilling spiritual force slam into her chest. She groaned, staggered back a few steps, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth. She clutched her chest in disbelief, her eyes filled with fear as she looked at Song Ce.

Clearly, this person had already noticed her subtle actions.

"Senior!" Yan Mujian exclaimed in surprise, rushing forward to support Wen Wendan. "Why did you attack someone without provocation?"

"Without cause?" Song Ce smiled indifferently. "She knows perfectly well what she did."

"I...I don't know what I did to offend you, senior. I just made a mistake..."

Song Ce ignored her feigned concern and simply smiled at A Yao, saying, "Let's go, let's go out first."

Ayao glanced at Wen Wendan's pale face, then at Song Ce's tall and straight back, gently bit her lower lip, and quickly followed without looking back.

The charging beasts, like the pack of spirit-devouring wolves, were all trapped outside the barrier.

"Senior Sister Wen, how are you?" The tall female cultivator hurriedly stepped forward to check Wen Wendan's injuries. Seeing that her breathing was disordered, she quickly took out healing pills from her storage bag and handed them to her.

"I've been hit by a spirit-locking spell; ordinary pills are useless against me. Don't worry about my injuries for now, follow them!"

Yan Mujian was taken aback, then frowned and said, "But that person clearly didn't want to take us..."

"So what?" Wen Wendan rebuked in a low voice, his eyes filled with even more resentment: "This secret realm is full of dangers. We were already struggling on the second level. If it weren't for this person protecting us, we would probably have really perished here!"

As she spoke, she gently wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said coldly, "Once we leave here, we'll have plenty of opportunities to make this person pay the price!"

Although Yan Mujian hesitated, he knew Wen Wendan was right. They had already witnessed the power of those strange beasts; traveling alone would be extremely dangerous. He gritted his teeth and finally stepped forward to support Wen Wendan, following in Song Ce's footsteps.

"Senior, where are we going?" Ayao couldn't help but ask.

Song Ce didn't stop walking. "I'll avenge you."

"Enmity?" A Yao paused. Although Wen Wendan had pushed her earlier, she was trapped in the horde of strange beasts as a result. Even if she didn't die, she would be badly injured. So, let's consider the matter settled for now.

"Senior, you really don't need to..."

Before A Yao could finish speaking, Song Ce stopped abruptly and said calmly, "But they want you dead."

Ayao's face paled. Recalling the force with which Wen Wendan had pushed her earlier, she whispered, "She has already been punished. You can't just kill her, can you?"

Thinking of the scene in A Yao's previous life where she was thrown into a horde of strange beasts by Qu Qingfeng, the young sect leader of the Burning Star Sect, she said coldly, "Why not?"

The two, who were completely on different topics, fell silent instantly.

After a moment, A Yao looked at Song Ce's calm profile and couldn't help but whisper, "Senior, they are, after all, my fellow disciples. If I were to deal with them on my own..."

"Fellow disciples?" Song Ce frowned, his tone unreadable: "When you were pushed out just now, did they even consider the bond between fellow disciples?"

"..."

Ayao was taken aback by his question, and her fingers unconsciously tightened around her sleeve. Song Ce seemed oblivious to her complicated feelings, and simply smiled at her, saying, "Come with me."

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Song Ce easily found the trail of the Burning Star Sect group.

Not far away, a large clearing covered with bones was exposed at the edge of the ravine. The bones were piled up in layers, some still in the posture of struggling before death, which made people's hearts tighten.

Mid-air above the mountain stream, Qu Qingfeng, dressed in a dark red robe, stood with his hands behind his back. Behind him were more than a dozen young people, all of whom were elite disciples of the Burning Star Sect.

"Young Sect Master, how come there are so many corpses here?" Behind Qu Qingfeng, an elite disciple couldn't help but gasp and asked in a trembling voice.

Qu Qingfeng narrowed his eyes and said arrogantly, "Before we left, my father mentioned to me that there were ancient treasures hidden in the fifth level of the secret realm, the Soul-Severing Ravine. I didn't expect that we would find them so easily..."

Before he could finish speaking, the disciple who had just spoken suddenly noticed a faint golden light shimmering within the pile of bones.

"Young Sect Master, look! There seems to be treasure over there!"

Qu Qingfeng was overjoyed upon hearing this, his eyes greedily fixed on the faint light. "Excellent! Absolutely wonderful!"

Just as he was about to gather his strength and rush towards the pile of bones, a young man with a full head of silver hair suddenly spoke up and stopped him: "Junior Brother Qingfeng, you mustn't! This place is strange, there might be a trap!"

"Senior Brother, what are you afraid of?" Qu Qingfeng snorted coldly and rebuked, "Success is found in the details, and wealth is sought in danger!" After saying this, he drew his spirit sword without hesitation and flew forward.

What Qu Qingfeng didn't notice was that the skeleton beneath his feet sensed his presence and suddenly moved.

"Watch out!" the silver-haired young man instinctively warned, but it was too late.

Suddenly, the white bones beneath Qu Qingfeng's feet came to life, and countless bone claws shot out from the ground, instantly binding his body! He cried out in alarm and swung his sword to slash, only to find that the bone claws tightened more and more, and the dark death aura spread rapidly upwards from his calves.

"Help me! Senior Brother, help me!"

Qu Qingfeng turned pale with fright, his previous smugness completely gone.

Upon seeing this, the silver-haired young man's expression changed drastically. He had just signaled the elite disciples of the Burning Star Sect to rush over and save the people when he discovered that he himself had been frozen in place at some point.

"What happened?"

The silver-haired young man tried to mobilize his spiritual power, but found that his dantian and golden core seemed to have been forcibly sealed, and he could not even cast the most ordinary fireball spell.

He turned his head sharply, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings, and his eyes met those of two figures, one in green and one in white, not far away.

"Who are you? Why are you stopping me from saving people?" the silver-haired young man asked, both surprised and angry.

Song Ce ignored the impotent and furious Burning Star Sect disciple, and instead looked down at A Yao beside him and said, "Watch carefully."

Ayao was taken aback and asked in surprise, "What are you looking at?"

"Look closely at how this person brought about his own downfall."

Upon hearing Song Ce's words, the silver-haired young man's expression immediately changed.

Following his gaze, A Yao saw that in an instant, half of Qu Qingfeng's body was devoured by the skeleton, and the death aura emanating from his body surged.

Hearing Qu Qingfeng's desperate screams, A Yao couldn't help but tug at Song Ce's sleeve, "Senior, if this continues, he will die."

Song Ce turned his head and looked down at her: "You want me to save him?"

Ayao bit her lower lip. "That's not the case. In the secret realm, life and death are one's own responsibility. It's just..."

But this secret realm is fraught with danger; why stand by and watch him die in such agony? Ayao didn't say the last part of her sentence. She turned her head slightly away, unable to bear looking any longer.

Song Ce smiled faintly and said gently, "If that's the case, then so be it."

He flicked his fingertip, and a wisp of green light silently landed on the pile of bones. The frantically writhing bone claws suddenly stopped and slid off Qu Qingfeng's body. A moment later, the pile of bones returned to its previous lifeless state, as if nothing had happened.

Not far away, Qu Qingfeng's body was half-corroded by death energy, and he could only lie on the ground, breathing weakly.

The silver-haired young man was both surprised and suspicious. He tried to mobilize his spiritual energy and found that the restraints within his body had been broken at some point.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and save them!"

After managing to stop Qu Qingfeng's injuries, the silver-haired young man did not act rashly. He could sense that the man in blue could easily take their lives, and remaining silent was perhaps the wisest choice at this moment.

A gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years; why rush it now?

-----------------------

Author's note: It's raining so hard! [shrug]