A killing blow!

Lin Xuan’s expression darkened. The viciousness of her attack exceeded all expectations…

He gritted his teeth. Instead of dodging, he took a step backward.

Whoosh—the flying sword missed its mark, striking the mountain wall behind him. Amid the rumbling crash, countless fragments of rock tumbled downward. Zhou Yan’s face filled with bewilderment. In her wildest dreams, she never imagined that a rookie at the early Spirit Stirring stage could evade her attack. What was even more bizarre was that Lin Xuan hadn’t dodged at all—rather, at the instant the flying sword was about to strike him, he suddenly sank into the ground. What was going on?

Zhou Yan felt both furious and astonished. Involuntarily, she walked forward, wanting to investigate what had happened. When she took her third step—snap!—it was as if she’d triggered some mechanism. A large net fell from overhead, enveloping her within it.

The incident occurred so suddenly that even Zhou Yan couldn’t help but be greatly alarmed. She hastily formed hand seals, trying to break free from the fishing net. But just at that moment, an ice bullet shot out from the ground where Lin Xuan had just sunk down, accurately striking a rope tied to a large tree.

The rope snapped. Propelled by elastic force, a bamboo pole as thick as a rice bowl, its ends sharpened to deadly points, came flying toward Zhou Yan.

“No…”

Zhou Yan’s face turned ashen with terror. Her vicious voice transformed into one of fear, followed immediately by a scream. Trapped within the fishing net, there was nowhere to hide. The bamboo pole pierced through her chest. Even in death, Zhou Yan couldn’t understand how she had died so inexplicably in this place.

With eyes full of unwillingness, still clutching tightly in her hand the treasure she’d stolen after murdering her master, Zhou Yan’s soul departed for the underworld. Two minutes later, Lin Xuan climbed out from the pit in the ground. Looking at Zhou Yan’s corpse, he let out a breath of relief. That was close—just one word for it: close.

If not for his meticulous calculations, the one lying on the ground right now should have been himself.

From the moment he was discovered, Lin Xuan had been contemplating how to resolve this crisis. Simply fleeing would definitely not work. This canyon was several li from the sect. Before he could escape back there, he would be caught and killed by Zhou Yan. He only knew the Lightness Technique, while as a Spirit Stirring Great Perfection expert, she knew the more advanced Wind-Riding Art. Their speeds were incomparable.

He couldn’t escape from her grasp, and begging for mercy certainly wouldn’t work. His only way out was to risk everything—to kill her in order to have a chance at survival. At first glance, this seemed like an impossible task. The disparity in their cultivation power was enormous. Honestly speaking, even a hundred Lin Xuans wouldn’t be Zhou Yan’s match.

But now he had no other choice. Besides, if he couldn’t defeat her through force, he could still outwit her!

Of course, outwitting someone was easier said than done. If it weren’t for someone like Lin Xuan with such a calm mind and meticulous thinking, encountering this kind of situation would have left anyone panic-stricken. Who would still have the presence of mind to think of a solution?

To outwit her, he first needed to analyze what circumstances were favorable to himself. With cultivation power far inferior to his opponent’s, Lin Xuan’s only advantage was his familiarity with the terrain. He’d discovered this canyon two years ago. Though he couldn’t claim to know every blade of grass and tree, it was indeed about as familiar as his own backyard.

And from the situation he’d just observed, Zhou Yan had clearly landed in this place by chance. The canyon’s terrain was unfamiliar to her.

So from the very beginning, Lin Xuan had exploited this point, taking a winding, zigzagging path, never walking in a straight line, doing his utmost to gain more time.

Next came the crucial second step. In the canyon, besides occasionally discovering rare flowers and unusual plants, there were also quite a few animals—from wild rabbits to bears and tigers. Lin Xuan treated this place as his personal territory and would occasionally hunt for game to eat.

To make hunting more convenient, he’d once set up some traps in the canyon. His groping around on the ground just now had been to check whether the traps had been damaged. This ​visit our site​time, luck stood on his side—both traps remained untriggered and intact.

There were two traps in total. One was for Lin Xuan’s own use—an ordinary pit trap designed to catch animals that weren’t too large. The ground was covered with wild grass, and when stepped on, it would allow Lin Xuan to drop into the earthen pit.

Lin Xuan had already calculated that given Zhou Yan’s vicious nature, she would definitely attack him the moment they met face to face. She struck quickly, and he couldn’t dodge. But if he stood in front of the trap, he only needed to take one step back to drop into it, thereby evading the attack.

Encountering such a situation, Zhou Yan would certainly be greatly shocked and come forward to investigate. At that moment, the other trap could come into play. Unlike the pit he’d fallen into, this trap was designed to catch large animals—lions and tigers, for instance. It not only had a fishing net but also bamboo poles that had been sharpened to points…

In other words, this trap was lethal!

As long as he could lure Zhou Yan into stepping on it, the trap would activate. If one were prepared, such a trap for catching fierce beasts naturally couldn’t deal with a cultivator. But in a situation that completely defied expectations, it could achieve an effect of surprising victory.

Lin Xuan had calculated every single step, each link interlocking with the next—how he himself should lure the enemy, and what reactions Zhou Yan would have. Although the situation at that time was extremely dangerous, Lin Xuan had calmly contemplated his countermeasures.

In the end, his plan succeeded. Not through strength, but through intellect and composure, he had defeated his opponent.

Though this battle hadn’t consumed much spiritual power and hadn’t taken very long, the mental exhaustion was complete, every bit of his mind’s energy expended. Lin Xuan also felt somewhat tired and sat on the ground to rest.

Casting a cold glance at Zhou Yan’s corpse, Lin Xuan walked over and removed from her hand a crystalline jade-green bracelet. This wasn’t merely a decoration but rather something cultivators used to store items. Inside it was a separate space. Lin Xuan sent his divine sense into it and took out the items within one by one.

Clothing, food, women’s [Read on Jormuntl]cosmetics—Lin Xuan didn’t even glance at these things, tossing them aside.

“Here we go.” Lin Xuan let out a low exclamation, his face full of joy. In his hands, he held two crystalline stones.

Spirit stones! In his three years at Drifting Cloud Valley, Lin Xuan had heard the elders mention them countless times. They were treasures on par with pills and magical artifacts. However, this was the first time he’d had such close contact with them.

So-called spirit stones were rocks that contained abundant heaven and earth spiritual energy within them. Cultivators could circulate their energy to absorb directly from them. Based on the amount and purity of spiritual energy contained, they were divided into four grades: low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade.

Whether for cultivation practice, crafting magical tools, or engaging in combat, the role of spirit stones was irreplaceable. Moreover, they were used by cultivators as currency for transactions.