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Night had fallen.
Qi Yuan stepped out of his room and glanced up at the sky, dark as ink. Without wasting time, he moved swiftly toward Ma Chen's quarters, practicing the Shadowless Heart Technique as he went. His footsteps were silent, like a ghost gliding through the night.
Moments later, Qi Yuan arrived outside a quiet courtyard. He withdrew a sound transmission talisman, whispered a few words, and then stepped inside.
The silence stretched on.
Qi Yuan frowned slightly, staring at the dark courtyard with a hint of unease. Could Ma Chen have gone out early?
Knowing their agreed meeting place, Qi Yuan turned and flew south. His black scale robe flickered briefly before settling back into stillness.
The Willow Waist Slope.
The area's shape resembled a woman's slender waist, giving it its name. The hillside was strewn with rocks, and the bare trees stood stark against the night.
Qi Yuan landed quietly and extended his spiritual sense to search for Ma Chen. His face changed abruptly as he hurried forward.
Ma Chen lay on the ground, unconscious.
"Brother Ma..."
Qi Yuan knelt beside the fallen man, quickly setting up a restriction before placing his hand on Ma Chen's wrist. He channeled his magic power to examine him.
Ma Chen was dead.
Who killed him?
Strangely, there were no traces of magical fluctuations. Could this be the work of a Jindan stage cultivator?
With Ma Chen's strength at the middle stage of foundation building, he should have been capable of putting up a fight — even against a late-stage foundation-building cultivator. To be killed so silently suggested something far more dangerous.
Qi Yuan's mind fixated on one possibility: a Jindan stage demon cultivator. Only someone of that caliber could have done this so cleanly.
Suddenly, his spiritual sense twitched. A faint, obscured fluctuation indicated someone was watching him. The presence was well-hidden — a sign that the observer could be a Jindan stage demon cultivator or someone skilled in concealment.
"Qi Yuan, how dare you kill Fellow Daoist Ma!"
Lin Que landed abruptly, his face twisted with grief and rage. His sharp, narrow eyes locked onto Qi Yuan with unwavering suspicion.
Ma Chen had ties with many people, and Lin Que had been one of his closer associates.
Qi Yuan stayed alert. "Friend Lin, please don't jump to conclusions. I just arrived here. There's..."
A streak of blue light shot toward him.
Qi Yuan hadn't expected Lin Que to attack so abruptly. The Thousand Mountains Tower, cloaked in hazy light, materialized around him. Sparks flew as the blue light struck the tower, revealing a sharp blade beneath.
Lin Que scowled. He hadn't expected Qi Yuan's defenses to be so solid. His previous strike, fueled by mana, had barely made a dent.
Lin Que reached into his robes, produced a black pill, and swallowed it. Pressing a key acupoint, his aura surged violently, forcing his cultivation from the middle to the late stage of foundation building. His face contorted with ferocity.
"Secret magic?"
Qi Yuan's eyes narrowed as he summoned his Poison Dragon Sword. The blade hovered beside him, its presence ominous. Qi Yuan stepped back, and the Thousand Mountains Tower flared with a brighter light.
Only someone aligned with demonic arts would dare push their power so aggressively.
Was Lin Que responsible for Ma Chen's death?
"Haha! I see you've figured it out," Lin Que sneered. "Surrender and take this poison, and I may spare your life."
Lin Que's newfound strength had clearly emboldened him. Confident in his late-stage cultivation, he believed Qi Yuan wouldn't stand a chance.
"Given your nature," Qi Yuan said coldly, "I doubt you'd let me live no matter what. Let's finish this."
With a flick of his fingers, Qi Yuan sent the Poison Dragon Sword hurtling forward in a serpentine motion. He vanished from sight, releasing several high-level talismans in quick succession.
"So be it," Lin Que snarled, his eyes dark with malice. He rubbed his hands together, forming ten black spheres that shot outward.
Qi Yuan dodged skillfully, guiding his Poison Dragon Sword to destroy the spheres one by one. But when the blade returned to him, a faint black mist clung to it — a corrosive residue eating away at the sword's power.
"Looks like your magic weapon is useless now," Lin Que taunted smugly.
He conjured ten more black spheres and flung them hard in Qi Yuan's direction. Upon impact, they erupted into a spread of dark liquid, covering a wide area.
Qi Yuan's face darkened. His cloud-stepping boots flared with white light, allowing him to weave through the liquid's reach with uncanny precision.
Lin Que's frustration grew. Watching Qi Yuan's nimble movements, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He slapped himself sharply, struggling to focus as he circulated his mental energy. Anxiety gnawed at him — even Qi Yuan's footwork was alarmingly unpredictable.
"Brother Qi, I'm here to help!"
A woman's voice rang out as a figure in white entered the fray. A crystal bracelet shot from her wrist, glowing brightly as it dispersed the lingering black liquid.
Qi Yuan turned and recognized her. "Fellow Daoist Qiu?"
It was Qiu Yueshui, Lin Que's own Daoist partner. She was tall, with fair skin and delicate features. Her dark eyebrows were carefully drawn, and her eyes held a warmth that lingered on Qi Yuan.
Lin Que's face twisted with rage. "You traitorous wench! You're my wife, yet you side with him?"
"It was my mistake to ever love you," Qiu Yueshui retorted. "Brother Qi, let's deal with this vile man together."
"Gladly," Qi Yuan replied with a faint smile. "And I'll be sure to speak highly of your bravery afterward."
"Thank you, Brother Qi," Qiu Yueshui answered sweetly, her gaze lingering. Her bracelet flashed brightly before darting toward Lin Que.
"Adulterers!" Lin Que roared, summoning his flying shield to block the attack.
Qi Yuan soared upward, summoning a polished, pearl-white short staff — a top-tier magical weapon.
"Junior Sister Qiu, use your magic weapon to pin him down. I'll finish this."
"Understood." Qiu Yueshui's smile carried a flirtatious edge. Her bracelet expanded into a sapphire column of light that enveloped Lin Que, binding him in place.
For a cultivator only in the early stage of foundation building, Qiu Yueshui's bracelet was remarkably powerful. Binding a late-stage foundation-building cultivator should have been impossible...
Could it be that the Devil Sect's power-boosting techniques were merely for show?
The outcome was clear — Lin Que's arrogance had cost him everything.
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