Yu Ping slammed the scabbard in his hand against the ground and shouted at Changling, “Demon woman! Stop with those boring conspiracies and schemes! If you know what’s good for you, hand over the antidote and tell us where our masters are imprisoned. Otherwise, don’t blame us for being impolite!”

Changling saw the flying eagle iron insignia engraved on his blade handle and asked, “Who is your master?”

“It was your subordinate Tianpo who gravely injured my master, and you still dare ask about my master… wait, could it be that he’s already…” Yu Ping wildly imagined the worst and nearly drew his blade in rage. Ye Qi pressed the blade back into its sheath. “Master Chi has profound cultivation. He won’t have an accident so easily.”

“Master Chi?” Changling said, “The one you’re talking about—it’s not Chi Zishan, is it?”

Yu Ping’s hand movements stalled. “You… what did you do to my master!”

Changling was stunned.

It really was him.

Over ten years ago, Changling had assisted Feiying Sect in eliminating their enemies. At that time, Sect Leader Kong Buwu had a disciple who was Changling’s number one admirer, constantly buzzing around her noisily to the point she wanted to leave. That person was precisely Chi Zishan.

Changling shook her head, at a loss for words. “Feiying Sect truly has no one left if even he could become sect leader.”

These words carried the sigh of times having changed, but in Yu Ping’s eyes, it was an insult to his sect. How could he endure it? Just as he was about to draw his blade, Ye Qi beside him was quick to snatch away the entire handle and scabbard. Yu Ping couldn’t be bothered to snatch it back and directly swung his fist toward Changling’s face.

Changling turned her head to dodge and stepped back. “I won’t fight you.”

What a joke.

Kong Buwu was barely her peer. Chi Zishan was Kong Buwu’s disciple. Calculating it, there were two generations between her and this young hothead.

Moreover, back then Kong Buwu had died for the Yue Family Army. Even if she didn’t consider the monk, she should consider the Buddha. How could she seriously contend with a disciple’s grand-disciple?

Seeing her retreat and yield, everyone thought she showed timidity. Ye Qi pulled Yu Ping aside and whispered quietly, “Hey you, no matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t lay hands on a young lady who’s been drugged.”

Yu Ping was so blocked by his words his face turned red. Changling found it amusing but also felt his honest straightforwardness resembled Kong Buwu somewhat. “I’ll say it again—I’m not the person you’re looking for. My appearing in the carriage was pure coincidence. Since you have the ability to hijack the carriage, why not first send someone to investigate the truth before making a decision?”

After she finished speaking, some among the young disciples showed hesitation. But that Daoist elder darkened his face and snorted. “You want to buy time. We don’t have the leisure to continue wasting it with you…”

Changling frowned.

She saw this Daoist seemed to be the leader and had wanted to speak reason, but who knew he would be so stubborn? Even if she told the truth about the Mu Wangbao affair, he would probably suspiciously say she was making up stories.

But after all, she had tasted the consequences of recklessly using her internal force. Right now, she really shouldn’t engage in combat again… In the past, when she encountered problems that couldn’t be resolved with words, she would simply beat the other party until they begged for mercy. But now that she couldn’t use force, it was much more difficult.

“Since you’ve all determined my identity, I have nothing more to say, but I won’t take responsibility for the consequences.”

If they missed the opportunity to rescue people because of this, when they met in the Central Plains in the future, they shouldn’t put this account on her head.

Seeing her expression of giving up and breaking the jar, everyone looked at each other. At this time, Ye Qi beside them suddenly spoke. He paced with his hands folded in his sleeves. “Cough cough, we don’t necessarily have to tear each other apart… You only need to write two letters according to our requirements—one to your elder brother Mingyue Zhou, one to your father the King of Yan. As for how to send the letters out, that’s our business.”

Write letters?

She didn’t even know Yan Kingdom’s script. How could she write?

“I won’t write the letters.”

Ye Qi blinked, seemingly deeply surprised by Changling’s simple and crude refusal method.

The Daoist was furious and was about to step forward when he saw Ye Qi raise his hand. “Daoist Xu.”

He only said three words, and the Daoist surnamed Xu stopped in his tracks. Changling swept a glance at those disciples’ faces full of indignation, then glanced at Ye Qi’s composed attitude. Her heart immediately made some calculations. She saw Ye Qi smile and ask, “Then what can you do?”

Changling said, “If you want to save people, I can point you to a clear path. But I don’t want to continue arguing with these blockheads.” She paused here, her gaze lingering on Daoist Xu for a moment before turning to Ye Qi. “I’ll speak with you alone.”

Everyone was stunned—for a stunningly beautiful woman to suddenly make such a request under these circumstances, could it be that seeing Ye Qi had shown protective intentions toward her, she intended to seduce him?

Even Ye Qi was caught off guard. Before he could speak, Daoist Xu said angrily, “Young Master Ye, no need to say more. She’s clearly just toying with us! Won’t write letters? Fine! Then we’ll chop off two of her fingers and send them to Mingyue Zhou. If he doesn’t release them before sunset tomorrow, he can wait to collect his sister’s corpse!”

As soon as Daoist Xu said this, everyone voiced their agreement. Changling had long been annoyed by his repeated interference. Her gaze rested coldly on him for a moment. “You dare!”

Seeing her so arrogant and domineering, Daoist Xu couldn’t endure it anymore. The sword scabbard in his hand extended horizontally. Light flashed, and he immediately thrust the sword point forward.

This strike seemed extremely fast, yet the swordsman’s wrist seemed to turn extremely slowly, as if once the sword was thrust out, the blade would deflect its angle on its own, making it difficult to distinguish reality from illusion and impossible to respond.

Changling’s expression changed slightly. She tapped her toes and floated backward, landing steadily three steps away from Daoist Xu. “Taixu Sword… what is Yangxu Zi to you?”

Ye Qi, who had intended to help, paused mid-step. Yu Ping beside him said in puzzlement, “Didn’t she get hit with Drowsy Essence Powder? How can she still have such skill?”

Daoist Xu was even more shocked. Just now when he thrust his sword, he had originally wanted to frighten this young girl who didn’t know her place. He hadn’t expected her to easily evade. His heart immediately became guarded. “You dare directly call out my sect leader’s name!”

Changling’s mind wavered.

Eleven years ago, outside Taixing City, those so-called martial world “venerables” who followed at Shen Yao’s side—every one of their ugly, evil faces remained vivid in her mind to this day.

One of them was precisely Yangxu Zi.

Changling’s expression alternated between dark and light. “So you’re also from Taixu Sect. No wonder—when the sect leader is a hypocrite with a righteous facade, how good can his subordinates be?”

“You—” Hearing this, Daoist Xu was so angry he didn’t bother with extra words. His entire body rose into the air, and the long sword in his hand that rode the wind suddenly flashed with white light, stabbing straight toward her throat.

Changling turned sideways with her hands behind her back, gracefully dodging this fierce momentum. Her wide sleeves brushed the ground and grasped something. In an instant, a green shadow appeared—it was actually Daoist Xu’s sword scabbard.

Seeing her produce the sword scabbard, everyone looked at each other—did this young girl intend to use a sword scabbard to compete against a sword?!

But Daoist Xu gave a cold laugh. His first sword was imbued with full internal energy. This sword light split into three forces in the air, and after three forces it transformed into three more moves. In an instant, the sword bloomed like flowers, bringing with it glittering flashes that attacked her face.

Everyone’s vision blurred. They heard several swishing sounds as that green scabbard flipped up to press down. Changling drew a circle with her horizontal arm. Every single move and technique was caught without the slightest error. When finishing the moves, she was even a step faster, forcibly pressing down his sword body firmly.

Everyone present’s expressions changed drastically. Yu Ping stepped forward in disbelief. “She’s also using Taixu Sword?”

Ye Qi’s expression became solemn. “It seems like it yet doesn’t. It’s as if these sword moves were born specifically to break Taixu Sword…”

What Changling used was indeed swordplay born to break Taixu.

Back then, to help Shen Yao win the championship, she had challenged Yangxu Zi beforehand and secretly memorized his Taixu Sword. The first move of the eighty-one Taixu forms could transform into nine forms, the second move into eighteen forms, and so on. The further one went, the harder they were to attack.

She had imitated the Taixu Sword moves to create an extremely similar swordplay, not only to counter the enemy but also to intimidate the opponent, taking advantage of their confusion to make them panic—panic easily led to openings.

At this moment, facing Daoist Xu, Changling was unwilling to trigger her internal force, so she used this sword technique. Sure enough, Daoist Xu had already begun to lose his composure.

If his earlier sword strikes still had some restraint, after Changling’s provocation, the last bit of rationality had vanished completely.

His every move was imbued with killing intent, extremely vicious. When cutting through the air, it faintly made strange whistling sounds. Yet Changling had no intention of retreating. Facing Daoist Xu’s swift sword wind, she responded naturally. Her scabbard was like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves—fast but not fierce, skillful but not sinister. Several times she even passed the long sword to touch Daoist Xu’s chest, but stopped at the body without any intention to harm.

Everyone present had practiced martial arts since childhood. After sword fighting to this extent, superiority was already clear. Changling had moved for two rounds and her displeasure had mostly dissipated. She was a world-class expert and naturally wouldn’t press aggressively against someone of vastly different ability. So she withdrew the scabbard and said, “I won’t fight you anymore.”

Yu Ping in the corner heard these words again and instantly understood what she meant earlier—how could she fear him? She simply disdained fighting him!

But Daoist Xu didn’t have such awareness.

He, a grand Taixu Sect elder, had been toyed with by a young Yan Kingdom demon woman in front of so many juniors. If word of this got out, what face would he have left to stand in the martial world?!

Thinking of this, Daoist Xu gathered all his life’s strength and thrust his sword toward Changling. Changling’s eyes didn’t even blink. Her right hand was behind her back while her left hand, as if finding the right angle, suddenly sent the scabbard backward. With a “swish” sound, Daoist Xu’s sword body was actually caught perfectly within the scabbard in Changling’s hand!

Before Daoist Xu could react, Changling flicked her wrist. In a flash, the long sword left Daoist Xu’s hand. The sword body connected to the scabbard flipped through the air, then clattered to the ground in the distance under everyone’s dumbfounded gaze.

Yu Ping was flabbergasted. “She she she… am I am I seeing things…”

Ye Qi looked at Changling’s back thoughtfully and pondered aloud, “She’s extremely fast.”

“Wha—what’s fast?”

The earlier sword competition still had a trace of opportunistic meaning to her victory, but this move was an undeniable declaration—no matter how fast the opponent’s sword was or how many directions it changed, she could see through it in advance.

Changling calmly dusted off the dirt on her sleeves, turned to Ye Qi, and said, “Now, can we speak alone?”