The sudden turn of events left Lin Xuan stunned. Zhang Yu’s voice came through in fragments: “Good… so I was… was wrong about you. You want to hoard the treasure all for yourself?”

“That’s right.” Zhou Yan’s voice remained seductive, though now it carried a thread of sinister venom. “Master, you’ve treated me well, but you should understand the principle that possessing a jade ring invites disaster. For the sake of our past relationship, I’ll leave you with an intact corpse.”

Listening to their exchange, Lin Xuan felt nothing but curiosity. This Zhou Yan dared to commit the ultimate taboo of master-killing to devour the treasure for herself. What kind of treasure could hold such allure? Though his heart burned to know, he didn’t dare act rashly.

This senior sister was ruthless and cruel, her cultivation far surpassing his own. Lin Xuan had no intention of endangering himself over mere curiosity.

“Ah!”

A anguished scream rang out. Blood sprayed forth. Through the gaps in the brush, Lin Xuan saw Zhou Yan had already pierced through her master’s chest. A yellow orb of light emerged from Zhang Yu’s body, frantically trying to escape in its panic.

“Your Nascent Soul trying to flee? Don’t even think about it!” Zhou Yan had prepared for this. She extended her right hand, slender jade fingers grasping the light orb in one motion.

Struggling desperately, the orb crashed left and right, but to no effect. With no other choice, it began to plead: “Yan’er, considering how well your master treated you in the past…”

Zhou Yan remained utterly unmoved. With a slight exertion of force, she crushed the orb, and it dissipated into the air. Lin Xuan watched with a chill running through him. This Surname Zhou senior sister had such a vicious heart. As everyone knew, all living beings were composed of body and soul. When the body died, the soul could still reincarnate. But if the soul was scattered, one could never enter the cycle of rebirth again. Even when cultivators fought with enmity between them, they generally wouldn’t destroy another’s soul. Yet Zhou Yan had dealt such a poisonous blow to her own teacher.

After committing master-killing, Zhou Yan’s expression remained unchanged as she began searching Zhang Yu’s body. [Read on Jormuntl]After a while, wild joy appeared on her face: “Found it!”

Though he knew the danger, Lin Xuan finally couldn’t resist the temptation of curiosity. He quietly poked his head out, and saw Zhou Yan holding a fist-sized box in her hand. The box was carved from fine sandalwood with exquisite craftsmanship. Zhou Yan gently caressed it with her hand, her face full of unrestrained delight.

“Who’s there?” Suddenly, Zhou Yan’s expression changed. Her face full of sinister intent, she looked over. Lin Xuan cursed inwardly. It wasn’t that he had carelessly made a sound, but rather a wild rabbit happened to pass by nearby, drawing Zhou Yan’s attention over.

Man’s plans were no match for heaven’s calculations. He could only say his luck was truly terrible!

Lin Xuan’s thoughts raced, and his expression grew somber. Having just witnessed Zhou Yan’s master-killing, begging her for mercy or trying to talk his way out would be useless. Making an instant decision, Lin Xuan leaped up from his hiding place. His right hand flicked out, and several points of cold light shot toward Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan snorted. Her hands formed hand seals, and a layer of red protective barrier appeared around her body. After several clanging sounds, a few ice pellets fell to the ground.

Having blocked the attack with her spiritual energy barrier, Zhou Yan’s face showed a trace of cold smile. She breathed a sigh of relief. From that attack just now, she had already deduced that her opponent’s spiritual power was very weak—only at the early stage of Spirit Stirring Realm at most.

After attacking with the water-attribute ice bullet technique, Lin Xuan didn’t pause for a moment. He turned and ran. With such a disparity in their strength, fighting head-on gave him no chance of victory whatsoever.

He cast a wind-attribute “Lightness Technique” on himself. In mere seconds, he had already run nearly a hundred meters. Moreover, Lin Xuan didn’t run in a straight line—that way he’d be easily caught. He turned several corners, using his familiarity with the terrain to delay as much time as possible. This way, even if his opponent could use divine sense to track him, being unfamiliar with the area meant finding him would still require great effort.

After running some distance, Lin Xuan suddenly stopped. He didn’t continue fleeing, but instead surveyed his surroundings, then crouched down to feel around on the ground.

Without question, this action was extremely [stolen content]strange and puzzling. Zhou Yan was about to catch up, yet Lin Xuan was wasting time here.

But he clearly had a purpose for doing this. After carefully feeling around: “Still here.” Lin Xuan muttered quietly to himself. Then his furrowed brow relaxed, replaced by a look of composure.

Footsteps entered his ears. Zhou Yan had already pursued nearby. Lin Xuan stood up, his face showing panic and alarm… though this time it was an act.

“Think you can run?” A seductive voice came over, carrying venom and mockery. She glanced at Lin Xuan’s attire—indeed a disciple of this sect. However, this junior brother’s power was far too weak. Second layer of Spirit Stirring Realm. Seeing Lin Xuan’s cultivation level clearly, Zhou Yan’s expression immediately became quite relaxed. Silencing someone like this to eliminate a witness wouldn’t require any effort at all.

Seeing the contemptuous look in her eyes, Lin Xuan felt joy rather than anger. If his opponent looked down on him, she would let down her guard, and his plan would have a better chance of success. Of course, on the surface he wouldn’t reveal his feelings at all, still maintaining an appearance of deep worry: “Senior sister, don’t… don’t kill me!”

Stammering pleas for mercy, combined with a panicked expression—Lin Xuan’s acting was absolutely flawless. Yet his feet quietly shifted two steps to the left.

“Hmph, you’ve seen my secret, and you still think you can live?”

Zhou Yan could absolutely be described as having a heart like a serpent or scorpion. Someone who could commit master-killing to seize treasure—how could she show mercy to a fellow disciple she’d never met before? Her left hand rose, and a small sword about an inch long was released. Meeting the wind it expanded, in an instant already several zhang in length, wrapped in brilliant sword light as it flew toward Lin Xuan.

A spirit artifact. Lin Xuan’s expression immediately became grave beyond measure.

So-called spirit artifacts were simplified versions of magical treasures, designed specifically for low-rank cultivators to use. But one must never underestimate their power. Though they couldn’t overturn rivers or seas, they still possessed great supernatural abilities—flying through the heavens, burrowing through earth, wondrous beyond measure.

Once one practiced Spirit Stirring Realm techniques to the fourth layer, they could manipulate spirit artifacts. However, [Read on Jormuntl]this was merely theoretical. The reason was simple: though spirit artifacts fell far short of true magical treasures, they were still extremely precious. Generally speaking, only Foundation Establishment cultivators might possess them. Spirit Stirring Realm novices, unless they were among the few who inherited them from predecessors or were exceptionally talented and received them as gifts from elders, couldn’t possibly own spirit artifacts.

Zhou Yan’s strike was vicious. Though she could see Lin Xuan’s power was weak, she still employed her killing move right from the start, releasing her spirit artifact!