Chapter 1388: Already a Hundred Zhang of Ice on the Cliff (Part Four)

As she was walking towards the first level, she had been pondering one thing. She was now being completely controlled by the woman surnamed Yuan. She was also representing a sect.

If this continued, and the woman surnamed Yuan held all the key items in her hands, then the merit the Spirit Subduing Manor would receive in this operation would only be secondary.

However, although the old woman surnamed He was dissatisfied, she was not stupid. She certainly would not try to find a way to kill the female cultivator surnamed Yuan before they had obtained the “Great Nothingness Tree,” or without a good plan.

That would turn this operation into a joke. Even the Heart-Refining Valley would not let her off. She had been thinking about how to get her hands on the “Great Nothingness Tree”…

As her mind was heavy with thoughts, she had already reached out and pushed aside the last layer of the white light screen. And at that instant, it seemed as if a Divine Sense had passed through, but it immediately disappeared.

The old woman surnamed He immediately came to her senses, but after carefully sensing for a moment, she felt that she might have been mistaken just now, and there was nothing unusual.

Soon after, she returned to normal.

Because, the moment she pushed aside the white light screen in front of her, the deck of the first level below was also revealed, and at the same time, more than a dozen Divine Senses appeared at the same time.

Those were the cultivators who were waiting anxiously and had quietly released their Divine Senses to check.

The old woman surnamed He immediately thought that her previous feeling was just a slightly stronger Divine Sense approaching the moment she removed the last restriction.

She was not too familiar with the restrictions of the flying skiff, so she did not know that those Divine Senses should have been completely unable to enter the white light screen. Otherwise, she would not have thought so.

As the old woman surnamed He’s thoughts raced, her footsteps had already descended the stairs, and her figure had also turned the corner.

And at this time, she also did not notice that the moment she turned the corner, someone had suddenly disappeared from the deck…

“Don’t make a sound. Just watch and see!”

Inside the room, as soon as Li Yan landed, he pulled Donglin Tingyue to the side of the door wall and then immediately let go of her hand.

Afterward, he quickly confirmed the situation in the room again. Several formation flags in his hand had quickly flown out, and with a flash, they landed on the ground and disappeared.

Because she was wearing a mask, although her entire expression could not be seen, the half of her pretty face that was exposed, as well as her crystal-clear earlobes and snow-white jade neck, had all turned red at this moment.

The expression in her eyes changed from shock to anger, but Li Yan’s subsequent words made the roaring sound in her mind, which was originally due to anger, quickly disappear, and she began to become clear-headed.

“You, what are you letting me see?”

She looked at Li Yan, who had cast out the formation flags and trapped her in the room, her heart beating fast. Li Yan’s behavior was too strange, and in her opinion, there was even a hint of ambiguity.

But looking at Li Yan’s solemn gaze, and thinking about the current environment, Donglin Tingyue also calmed down. Even if the other party was in a rush, he wouldn’t be able to pull her in and force himself on her at this time…

At the thought of this, the red tide that had just receded rushed up again. She gritted her teeth and said in a somewhat icy voice.

If Li Yan didn’t give her a perfect explanation this time, she would really turn hostile.

“Perhaps I guessed wrong. If that’s the case, I will explain it to you in detail.”

“The formation I have on hand is not very good. It’s fine for temporary concealment, but it won’t work if someone investigates it carefully. But… maybe I guessed wrong!”

As Li Yan spoke, he pointed outside. Then, with a solemn expression, a wisp of his Divine Sense swept towards the deck again. His heart also became nervous, hoping that his inexplicable heart palpitation was due to his own overcautiousness.

The moment he had swept his gaze over the old woman just now, he had sensed a killing intent from her. Li Yan, who had walked through the brink of life and death countless times, immediately had a bad feeling.

Moreover, Chen Xingshan and the others were not with them. The goal of the four teams coming here was a competitive battle. It could be said that they were mortal enemies to each other.

If not for Chongyangzi, they would have probably started hunting each other long ago.

And the voice transmission was from the Spirit Transformation cultivator of the “Heavenly Mountain Garden.” Now it was the old woman surnamed He from the “Spirit Subduing Manor” coming down alone. Chongyangzi seemed to no longer be managing anything, having temporarily disappeared.

And the strangest thing here was that the leader of their team, Chen Xingshan, had not given any advance notice. So if the old woman surnamed He gave any orders that made them suspicious, what would they do?

Logically speaking, only Chen Xingshan and Chongyangzi could command their team here.

But neither of them had appeared, which was too inconsistent with logic.

Of course, Li Yan himself felt that some of these thoughts might still be a bit far-fetched. After all, he was not completely familiar with the competition for the “Great Nothingness Fruit.”

But since he had a premonition, he was unwilling to take the risk. At worst, if nothing happened later, he would just go out. At most, he would be reprimanded a few times.

It was just that Donglin Tingyue was right beside him just now, and he certainly couldn’t disappear alone. If Donglin Tingyue made any unusual movements, it would immediately expose him. He could only helplessly take her with him.

After hearing Li Yan’s explanation, Donglin Tingyue focused her attention outside and actually ignored him, looking extremely cautious.

In this way, she was of course certain that Li Yan had not suddenly had a bestial impulse. So questions arose in her heart. She didn’t know what Li Yan had seen that had made him lose his composure like this.

She also released her Divine Sense outside, and it was only at this moment that Donglin Tingyue suddenly remembered something, and she couldn’t help but be shocked in her heart.

Just now, Li Yan had completely “subdued” her in an instant and brought her here without any resistance. She was a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Although that was not much in the Immortal Spirit Realm, the other party was also only a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Even if she was caught off guard, when faced with a dangerous situation like a sneak attack, she would still subconsciously react in the most timely manner.

But why did she have no strength to resist at all just now?

Just as this thought arose in her, the scene outside suddenly changed dramatically. This made Donglin Tingyue’s blood rush through her body in an instant, and she felt as if she had fallen into the nine serenities of ice.

An endless wave of coldness froze her body and heart, making her unable to move…

The cultivators on the deck looked at the approaching old woman. The place had instantly become silent, but most of them had a puzzled look in their eyes.

Because only the old woman surnamed He from the “Spirit Subduing Manor,” a Spirit Transformation cultivator, had come down from the corner of the stairs. The other four Spirit Transformation cultivators were nowhere to be seen.

This made many cultivators feel a sense of tension, and this included the Nascent Soul cultivators from the “Heavenly Mountain Garden.”

Before, they had clearly heard the voice transmission from their own elder, but why was it that only the old woman surnamed He from the “Spirit Subduing Manor” had come down?

With the other Spirit Transformation cultivators absent, the appearance of only this one person brought immense pressure to the other three teams.

“Hmm? Three people are missing!”

As the old woman surnamed He turned the corner, she looked at the group of Nascent Soul cultivators gathered in the center of the deck.

After these Nascent Soul cultivators came over, they had naturally divided into four small areas, so she just swept her Divine Sense over casually and counted the number of people.

And the three people missing were all cultivators from the “Blood Lantern Sect.” She thought for a moment and felt that they might be cultivating in their rooms and couldn’t come out in time.

Just now, she and the female cultivator surnamed Yuan didn’t want to go and break down doors one by one. That would be too much trouble. So they had everyone gather on the deck for an easy slaughter.

Since more than ninety percent of the people were here now, the old woman surnamed He didn’t want any more delays.

“They should still be cultivating in their rooms. Let’s kill these people first, and then go in and kill those three later.”

Thus, as the old woman surnamed He walked towards the crowd, while the group of Nascent Soul cultivators were still staring at her inexplicably.

The old woman surnamed He suddenly raised a hand, and two gray rays of light shot out from her sleeve like lightning.

They were two gray banners. The moment the banners unfurled, a ghastly green ghost face appeared on each of them. The ghost faces were pale and bloodless. As the banners fluttered in the wind, they seemed to come alive, looking exceptionally sinister and terrifying.

The moment the banners appeared, the entire world immediately became cold and icy. A distance of several dozen zhang, the banners, in the instant they unfurled, had already covered two of the teams of cultivators.

The cultivators from the “Spirit Subduing Manor” on the side were fine. Although they were also frightened by the old woman surnamed He’s sudden attack and retreated one after another, fortunately, it was their own elder who had attacked, and the attack did not fall on them.

But each of them had an ugly expression, their faces shifting uncertainly, not knowing what had happened.

And the Nascent Soul cultivators from the “Heavenly Mountain Garden” had a drastic change in expression. As they dodged, they also began to defend themselves at the same time.

Almost at the same time, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly came from the sky above the giant skiff.

“The ‘Blood Lantern Sect’ and the ‘Seven Tigers Alliance’ have rebelled and launched a sneak attack on Fellow Daoist Chongyangzi. Now Fellow Daoist Chongyangzi is seriously injured. The two traitors, Chen Xingshan and Men Dou, have also been killed in a joint effort between us and Chongyangzi.”

“All ‘Heavenly Mountain Garden’ disciples, do not act rashly. For the time being, listen to the command of Elder He from the ‘Spirit Subduing Manor.’ First, kill all the cultivators from the ‘Blood Lantern Sect’ and the ‘Seven Tigers Alliance’.”

This voice echoed on the first-floor deck, immediately causing different reactions among everyone here.

First, the Nascent Soul cultivators from the “Spirit Subduing Manor” and the “Heavenly Mountain Garden” were doubtful, but their expressions had obviously relaxed. And on the other side, screams and unwilling roars had already been heard.

On the second floor of the flying skiff, in Chongyangzi’s room, the female cultivator surnamed Yuan withdrew a wisp of her Divine Sense from the ring, a smile on her face.

From now on, she would no longer concern herself with the matters below. She would focus all her energy on pushing the flying skiff to its maximum speed, with the plan of reaching the “Great Nothingness Tree” area by morning.

“Guard me!”

As she closed her beautiful eyes, she let out another low voice, as if speaking to the empty air. There was no response, only a few vines swayed slightly…

On the first level, as the two ghost-faced banners descended, the two ghost faces on them suddenly let out a cackling laugh. Then they each opened their mouths wide, and two streams of ghastly green flames instantly covered the two teams.

“Ahhh…”

A series of screams instantly pierced through the entire space.

The beautiful young woman from the same team as Li Yan, who was as graceful as if she were made of water, was directly engulfed by the ghastly green flames.

Her beautiful face, the moment it was touched by the ghastly green flames, melted like a candle.

As her delicate skin melted, sections of white bone were revealed. She ran wildly on the deck, letting out extremely shrill and painful screams.

But no matter how she urged her cultivation, as she ran, her body became shorter and shorter. In just a breath and a half, she had turned into a pile of ghastly green flames on the ground.

When her Nascent Soul rushed out in desperation, it was also covered in the ghastly green flames.

It was unknown what this green flame was made of. The more one slapped at it or used magical power to defend against it, the more fiercely it burned. Even the Nascent Soul could not escape.

The curvaceous young woman’s Nascent Soul only managed to escape for ten zhang before turning into a pile of ashes, which scattered from the air onto the ground, utterly perishing…

And the burly man in his fifties from the same team as Li Yan reacted a little faster than the curvaceous and beautiful young woman.

The moment he sensed death approaching, he summoned a walnut-shaped defensive magical treasure, which immediately enclosed him inside.

When the ghastly green flames landed on the walnut, they indeed did not immediately burn him to death. The male cultivator inside let out a roar.

“You’re talking nonsense, and we don’t even know…”

As the man controlled the walnut to fly away, he let out an unwilling roar, but his voice was drowned out by the rising and falling screams.

But the huge walnut had only flown about five zhang when, with a “bang,” several cracks appeared on it, and the male cultivator’s voice also came to an abrupt end.

After the walnut lost its magical power, it fell to the deck with a “thud.” From the cracks on its surface, wisps of red smoke immediately escaped.

The male cultivator inside had actually been steamed cooked in just a few breaths. His entire body had been exploded by the high temperature, and even his Nascent Soul had become a piece of cooked meat…