What a boastful tone!
The moment the teleportation array connecting Baiji to Cangmin Mountain was successfully activated, the protective array of the mountain, thousands of miles away, experienced a barely perceptible tremor. On the jade platform, Yun Qian, who was meditating with her eyes closed, opened them, and the protective talisman within her body, which was intertwined with her life, also trembled.
In just eight short years, those two children who were once desperately fleeing from enemy forces have now managed to sneak silently into the most heavily guarded imperial palace in the mortal realm using the methods of cultivators.
The atmosphere inside the Golden Palace was eerie.
Several thin children were bound together with heavy iron chains. Their eyes were empty, having long lost the luster that children should have. They stared blankly into the void like puppets, as if they had become numb to even fear.
In the center of the main hall stood a bronze incense burner as tall as a person, with a faint dark red flame flickering inside, wafting a strange fragrance that was sweet with a hint of fishiness.
Master Qingfeng stood expressionlessly beside the incense burner, holding a whisk in his hand.
The monarch of the Li Kingdom had tied up his long hair, which he usually let loose, and was wearing a black dragon robe embroidered with ferocious golden dragons. He sat upright on the dragon throne and did indeed have the appearance of a majestic emperor. However, what surged deep in his eyes was undisguised greed and eagerness.
They are waiting for their prey to walk right into their trap.
Bai Chuan's figure blended into the night like a ghost. With a few leaps, he silently crouched atop the glazed tile roof of the Golden Palace. He held his breath, cautiously probing.
The exotic fragrance wafting from the hall reached Bai Chuan's nose, and his heart sank.
This fragrance is strange! Although he couldn't immediately identify what it was, his years of medical training kicked in his ears. Without hesitation, he pulled out a high-grade antidote pill he had refined himself and placed it under his tongue, just in case.
Inside the main hall, Master Qingfeng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, twitched his ears almost imperceptibly. A strange smile of triumph appeared on his lips as he whispered, "They've arrived."
Before he finished speaking, the whisk in his hand shot upwards like a venomous snake! An invisible force, extremely condensed and carrying the pressure of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, instantly tore apart the magnificent palace roof and, with the force of thunder, rushed straight towards where Bai Chuan was hiding!
"Damn it!" Bai Chuan was shocked. There was someone in the hall whose cultivation level was far higher than his!
He reacted with lightning speed, his toes barely touching the tiles as he darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the core of the fatal attack.
However, the residual energy of the late-stage Golden Core cultivator was still powerful, causing his blood and qi to surge. He lost his balance and fell directly from the broken roof into the main hall!
The moment he landed, Bai Chuan took a deep breath, used his longsword as an axis, and with a swift twist of his waist, managed to steady himself and barely managed to save face for the Cangmin Mountain disciples on their first official descent from the mountain.
The sweet, strange fragrance inside the hall grew even stronger, and the feeling of unease intensified as it was inhaled.
Before he could think it through, the old Taoist priest snorted coldly, his figure flashing like lightning as he attacked again with his whisk!
As the sword light flashed, Bai Chuan gritted his teeth and unleashed the full power of the Cang Min sword technique, creating a series of sword shadows in an attempt to defend himself.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The sound of metal clashing was incessant.
Bai Chuan's sword was undeniably fast and his techniques exquisite, but faced with such an absolute disparity in strength, all of that seemed utterly insignificant. A late-stage Golden Core cultivator was overwhelmingly superior to a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator! He could barely parry, utterly powerless to retaliate!
"puff--"
Another powerful burst of true energy tore through the air, its angle treacherous, aimed directly at Bai Chuan's vital energy center! This time, his old strength was exhausted, and new strength had not yet been generated; there was no way to avoid it!
As the fatal blow was about to hit him, a resolute look flashed in Bai Chuan's eyes. He could only hold his longsword horizontally in front of his chest, trying to withstand the attack and minimize the damage to his heart meridian!
At this critical moment!
A dark figure appeared before Bai Chuan as if tearing through space!
A burst of spiritual light flashed, and a complex and profound array totem instantly unfolded in front of the newcomer, like a gaping maw of an abyss, devouring the potentially fatal true energy!
It's all cleared up!
He actually used himself as the core of the formation, forcibly absorbing the old Taoist's attack! However, how could Bai Ji easily dissipate the power of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator?
The formation was instantly overloaded, and the backlash struck Bai Ji's chest like a heavy hammer!
"Ugh—" Bai Ji's face turned pale, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering backward.
Bai Chuan hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to support him. The two stood back to back, shoulder to shoulder, swords in hand, watching the old Taoist priest beside the incense burner with a watchful eye, as if he were a cat hunting a mouse. Their expressions were extremely serious.
Master Qingfeng, seeing Bai Ji suddenly appear, was not surprised but delighted, the corners of his mouth curving upwards even further. Another Foundation Establishment cultivator had arrived! And he'd even delivered himself to my doorstep! Truly, heaven is helping me!
Among cultivators, those at higher cultivation levels naturally possess a perceptual suppression over those at lower levels. In the old Daoist's eyes, Bai Chuan and Bai Ji's cultivation levels were completely transparent.
"Your Majesty!" The old Taoist's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, "Heaven has blessed us! They are actually two Foundation Establishment cultivators! Their golden cores are worth more than a thousand virgin hearts! Your path to immortality begins today!"
Upon hearing this, the man on the dragon throne almost uncontrollably stood up, his face contorted with extreme ecstasy, his eyes bloodshot as he stared intently at Bai Chuan and Bai Ji, his voice trembling and distorted with excitement: "Good! Good! Good! Today is the day I will live forever!"
"Wishful thinking!" Bai Ji suppressed the rising blood in his throat and shouted sharply.
"Wishful thinking?" Master Qingfeng shook his head contemptuously as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "A mere mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to contend with a late-Golden Core cultivator? Today, this old Daoist will take your inner cores to help my cultivation advance even further!"
Before he finished speaking, the old Taoist priest suddenly sprang up again, this time aiming directly at Bai Ji, who had just been injured and was struggling with his breathing!
"Don't even think about it!" Bai Chuan roared, ignoring his injuries, and swung his sword to meet the attack once more!
However, the gap in strength was insurmountable. After only seven moves, Baichuan was struck in the chest by the old Taoist's whisk, his longsword slipped from his hand, and he flew backward like a broken sack, crashing heavily to the ground, unable to get up for a moment.
Without even glancing at Bai Chuan, the old Taoist priest flashed like a ghost, appearing before Bai Ji. His withered, claw-like left hand shot out with lightning speed, gripping Bai Ji's throat tightly and easily lifting him off the ground!
"Ugh..." Bai Ji's feet left the ground, and he felt suffocated and in excruciating pain at the same time, causing his vision to go black.
The old Taoist priest formed a claw with his right hand, and a terrifying vortex of spiritual energy gathered in his palm. He slowly pressed it towards Bai Ji's dantian! The spiritual energy was like countless tiny blades, frantically drilling into Bai Ji's body and wrapping around his inner core, which he had painstakingly cultivated and condensed!
Pain! Excruciating pain!
It felt as if his entire dantian was about to be torn apart and peeled away!
Bai Ji gripped the old Taoist's wrist tightly with both hands, his nails almost digging into the flesh, but he couldn't budge it an inch. His consciousness blurred amidst the intense pain and lack of oxygen… He thought he heard his senior sister's voice? Master… Senior sister… I'm sorry, we were too reckless… Will I ever see you again…?
On the other side, Bai Chuan, with his indomitable will, bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain jolting him back from the brink of unconsciousness. He swallowed the metallic taste rising in his throat, struggled to grab the longsword that had fallen to the ground, and once again charged at the old Taoist priest, trying to interrupt this cruel taking!
"Overestimating yourself!" The old Taoist didn't even bother to turn around. With a slight movement of his divine sense, the whisk that was floating in the air seemed to come alive, turning into a beam of white light and easily blocking Bai Chuan's all-out attack.
Even if a late-stage Golden Core cultivator were to be attacked by five Foundation Establishment cultivators, he might not necessarily be defeated, let alone two seriously injured young people.
The emperor on the dragon throne trembled with excitement, his greedy gaze almost devouring Bai Chuan Bai Ji alive.
Just as Bai Ji's consciousness was about to completely sink into darkness, and the connection between his inner core and his body was becoming weaker and weaker.
"You? You dare to touch the people of my Cangmin Mountain?"
A chilling voice, carrying a chilling sword intent and boundless pressure, came from outside the hall.
At the same time, the whisk that was fighting against Bai Chuan seemed to be crushed by an irresistible force, instantly turning into dust that scattered in all directions!
As the pressure eased, Bai Chuan collapsed to one knee, only managing to stay upright thanks to the support of his longsword. He struggled to look up.
"Who is it?!" Master Qingfeng's heart pounded wildly. A pressure far more terrifying than any power he had ever seen pressed down like a mountain, making his soul tremble! He could no longer care about extracting Baiji's inner core. He subconsciously wanted to let go and retreat to find a way out!
However, it was too late!
"boom--!!!"
All the doors and windows of the Golden Palace shattered at the same instant! Amidst the flying wood chips, a simple and unadorned wooden sword intent, as if traversing the void, pierced through the old Taoist's arm that was gripping Bai Ji with a speed beyond visual perception!
"Ah—!" A shrill scream rang out, and blood gushed out from the severed arm like a fountain!
The wooden sword, after piercing through flesh, drew a strange arc in the air, suddenly turned around, and landed steadily in a slender hand.
Despite the excruciating pain, Master Qingfeng looked in terror along the path of the wooden sword. There, at the point where the temple door had shattered, stood a woman in a light-colored dress, sword in hand. Her posture was as upright as a pine tree, her eyes as clear and cold as stars. A night breeze stirred, lifting a few strands of her dark hair; her robes fluttered, making her appear like a celestial being descended to earth. At the tip of the wooden sword in her hand, drops of crimson blood fell, one by one, to the ground, striking with a chilling, soft sound.
The woman's figure flashed and she appeared inside the hall, gently catching Bai Ji as he fell helplessly.
His movements were gentle, a stark contrast to the thunderous strike he had delivered just moments before.
Yun Qian placed one hand on Bai Ji's back, and pure, gentle Nascent Soul stage true energy flowed continuously into his body, quickly enveloping the inner core that was almost stripped away and whose light had dimmed, stabilizing his dantian which was on the verge of collapse.
After carefully placing the unconscious Bai Ji aside, Yun Qian slowly raised her eyes, her gaze as cold as ice, and fell upon the pale-faced Daoist Qingfeng, whose severed arm was bleeding profusely. With a mere wave of her hand, the terrifying pressure of the Nascent Soul stage, capable of crushing everything, became like an invisible shackle, pinning the old Daoist to the spot, making even the movement of a finger a luxury.
"You stole my junior brother's inner core?" Yun Qian's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a calm, deep-seated anger and undeniable authority. "You have quite the nerve."
The woman before him, decisive and imposing, was completely different from the easygoing senior sister on Cangmin Mountain who always lazily said, "Let me try drawing a talisman," when faced with a problem. Bai Chuan stared blankly at her, and it took several breaths for his mind, still reeling from the overwhelming surprise, to slowly return to normal.
It's Senior Sister! Senior Sister has come to save them!
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