The Xueluo Sect was an assassin organization.

They were very meticulous about cleaning up afterward, rarely leaving any traces. Like cunning rabbits with three burrows, the Xueluo Sect had countless outposts scattered outside, making it impossible for anyone to distinguish which ones were real and which were fake.

Once, the Xueluo Sect assassinated an elder of a cultivation family. That family mobilized their entire sect’s power to attack the Xueluo Sect, but they found the wrong location and fell into a trap. A cultivation family with nearly ten thousand disciples lost a third of their members in the trap. The remaining three thousand were assassinated by Xueluo Sect death warriors during their retreat. By the time they escaped back to their ancestral lands, only three to five hundred remained. The four great sects had all dispatched their outstanding disciples to provide rescue, but shortly after departure, they were interfered with and trapped in formations, causing significant delays. By the time they broke free and rushed over, that nearly ten-thousand-strong second-tier family was finished.

Even the family’s Nascent Soul late-stage ancestor died in battle at the ancestral shrine, falling in a pool of blood. The entire shrine floor was covered in blood—both his and his enemies’.

To kill that ancestor, the Xueluo Sect had also lost at least three hundred death warriors, suffering considerable losses. But after this battle, no one dared to underestimate the Xueluo Sect again.

“The Xueluo Sect likes to kidnap children from the mortal realm and train them from a young age. They don’t care about the children’s aptitude—as long as they’re young, they take them all. Then they make them fight each other to the death. I heard that only one out of a thousand can survive to become an official Xueluo Sect disciple,” Elder Mei said with furrowed brows.

Su Zhuyi held the sect leader’s token. When she said she wanted to lead the sect’s disciples to eliminate the Xueluo Sect, these elders naturally couldn’t object. However, the Xueluo Sect was hidden too deeply—they weren’t clear about where the Xueluo Sect’s main lair was. Moreover, the Gujian Sect disciples had suffered losses in the secret realm recently. Although they had obtained many treasures, everyone was still healing and cultivating. The sect’s sword dao competition had also been scheduled for this period, and it was about to begin. Going out to eliminate the Xueluo Sect now?

Elder Mei felt that Su Zhuyi’s decision was somewhat hasty.

He didn’t usually manage affairs in the Gujian Sect. Of the other two elders, one was healing and another was in closed-door cultivation comprehending the sword dao. Yi Lian had long since entered seclusion and had given the sect leader a token to Su Zhuyi. He had always trusted Su Zhuyi greatly, feeling that having her as acting sect leader was perfect. Who would have thought that the first thing she’d do with the sect leader token would be lead the sect disciples to eliminate the Xueluo Sect? This was too… aggressive…

“How about we discuss this after the sword dao competition is over?” Elder Mei said after hesitating for a moment.

“Who said that sword dao competitions must be fought on martial arts platforms?” Su Zhuyi said, sitting sideways in her chair with a small white snake coiled around her wrist. She gently stroked the snake’s head and smiled. “We don’t need too many people either. Just those who were going to participate in the sword dao competition need to come along. Whoever kills the most Xueluo Sect death warriors will receive the sect’s precious treasures as a reward.”

This boneless sitting posture, these blindingly flashy clothes, and that little white snake hissing and flicking its tongue…

Elder Mei felt that the gap between their acting sect leader and her master, Luo Ying, was enormous. Anyone without good judgment would think she was from the Demonic Path.

“But no one knows the Xueluo Sect’s location.” Elder Mei wanted to struggle a bit more when he saw Su Zhuyi stand up with a whoosh. When she sat, she had no proper posture and seemed boneless, but when she stood, she stood perfectly straight. In that red outfit, she looked like a red-tasseled spear pointing at the sky.

“Don’t worry, Elder Mei. I already know where it is.”

Su Zhuyi knew the location of the Xueluo Sect’s true main lair.

“Very well,” Elder Mei nodded. “I’ll accompany you.”

“No need. Elder Mei can guard the sect,” Su Zhuyi said, then turned to leave. As she walked out of the great hall, sunlight filtered through the large trees in front of the hall and fell on her, coating her red robes with a layer of gold. Though she wore silk and satin, in that moment she seemed to be clad in armor, advancing forward fearlessly.

…

“Weren’t we supposed to go to the Xueluo Sect? Why are we here?” Song Shangzhi asked somewhat nervously.

Gujian Sect disciples who went out for training needed to reach at least the Foundation Establishment stage. Song Shangzhi, as an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, had just started wandering the martial world and hadn’t made a reputation before returning to the sect. Then he had the fortune to participate in such a major battle.

He felt somewhat unconfident.

The acting sect leader said this operation was voluntary—anyone who had planned to participate in the sect’s sword dao competition could join. This resulted in disciples of varying cultivation levels coming out. The two newest disciples were still in the Qi Refining stage, following along with their group. The young man and woman wore sweet smiles, looking like they were on a spring outing. Most other disciples were also in the Foundation Establishment, making Song Shangzhi even more panicked.

The acting sect leader had brought the weakest batch of disciples to her side. Should he cry or laugh about being selected?

“I wonder how the other teams raiding Xueluo Sect branch halls are doing now,” Song Shangzhi looked up at the sky, feeling the blazing sun was so bright it made him dizzy.

Why attack someone’s main base during the day? He really couldn’t understand…

After walking forward for a while longer, Su Zhuyi stopped. There was a river in front of her. She flew to the middle of the river, inserted her flying sword into the riverbed, and only returned to the group after half an hour, saying, “Continue walking.”

Song Shangzhi: “…”

“Acting Sect Leader, where’s your sword?”

Where did the Sword Ancestor go?!

“I left it in the river.”

Is it okay to throw away your weapon before a fight?

“Big sister, you’re fully prepared, huh?”

“Mm.” Su Zhuyi nodded and took out a storage bag to hand to Song Shangzhi. “Take this down and distribute it to everyone. I guarantee no one will die.”

Song Shangzhi’s spirits lifted, then he opened the storage bag and discovered it was filled with straw man substitutes. His heart sank, and he fell speechlessly silent.

“The Changge Sect is a hundred li ahead. You know about the Changge Sect… right?” Song Shangzhi said with an uneasy tone.

As soon as he finished speaking, a thick-headed senior brother came over to show off his knowledge: “The Changge Sect is quite a famous righteous sect. Their sect leader is at Golden Core Great Perfection.”

A female disciple became curious: “Then this sect’s strength should be quite ordinary. Why would they be famous? Have they done something earth-shattering?”

The disciples following Su Zhuyi all had low cultivation. Some had never left the mountain since entering the sect. The Changge Sect wasn’t a major sect in the cultivation world, so many people didn’t know about it. They all stared curiously at the round-faced senior brother, hoping he’d explain.

He chuckled: “The Changge Sect’s cultivators all have beautiful voices and good looks.”

“Tch!”

…

“Go surround the Changge Sect.”

Though everyone was completely confused, no one objected. They all brought out their flying swords and charged into the Changge Sect.

Song Shangzhi finally understood why the big sister had brought these naive youths along.

Because they were obedient! Most of the people she brought were very young and blindly worshipped Luoxue Peak. They’d probably dare to charge at Yunxiao Sect if she told them to, without bothering to ask a single question…

As the only disciple with some rationality left, Song Shangzhi felt great pressure.

Su Zhuyi led three hundred cultivators and directly broke into the Changge Sect’s main hall.

The Changge Sect didn’t have many cultivators—the entire sect had three thousand disciples total. They were now surrounded in the sect’s main hall. The sect leader was a female cultivator at Golden Core Great Perfection, wearing a blue-gray cloak with her hair in a dao bun. Her temperament was rather cold, and when she spoke, her voice was melodious and pleasant, like a golden oriole singing.

Even though she was scolding the Gujian Sect, her tone still sounded like singing, with a melodious and moving voice.

“Has your Gujian Sect truly colluded with the Demonic Path?”

“Do you want to be enemies with all righteous sects under heaven?”

“I’ve already sent word out. What your Gujian Sect has done will be known by everyone under heaven…”

“I’ve already set up formations. Not even a fly can escape. How are you sending word?” Su Zhuyi smiled. “Yu Ge, right? Xueluo Sect’s Secret Hall Master, specializing in training female death warriors. I know all about your background, so stop pretending.”

Having her real name called out directly and her identity revealed, Yu Ge stared at Su Zhuyi for a while, then suddenly smiled: “How did you know?”

She slightly turned the ring on her finger. “Since you’ve come, don’t think about leaving. If Gujian Sect’s Luo Ying and Qinghe were still here, we might not dare make a move. But now your Gujian Sect’s strong ones are dead or in seclusion, and you three hundred low-level cultivators have delivered yourselves to our door seeking death. It’s really…”

Yu Ge threw a flirtatious glance: “Young and impetuous.”

The moment her words fell, the earth shook. Yu Ge suddenly removed her cloak, revealing the purple dress underneath. She also removed the wooden hairpin holding up her hair, letting her blue-black hair cascade down like a waterfall. What had been a cold Daoist nun instantly transformed into an alluring beauty.

These young disciples were hot-blooded with low cultivation. With slight manipulation, she could subdue them. The only ones she needed to be wary of were this red-clothed woman and the little boy beside her, whose depths she couldn’t fathom.

If she could handle them all by herself, this achievement would earn her great rewards. She might even be granted the sect’s most powerful Xueluo secret techniques. Thinking of this, Yu Ge felt her blood boiling, and her gaze at them became much more fervent.

These were all achievements delivered to her door!

“I know you’re skilled in seduction arts,” Su Zhuyi chuckled lightly. “Your voice can especially bewitch souls…”

Saying this, she turned back to look at the disciples behind her: “Be careful, don’t accidentally fall into her illusions. If I have to rescue you, it would be too embarrassing. You’ll all be confined when we return.”

“Don’t worry, big sister. We definitely won’t fall for illusions.”

“After all, she’s so ugly, not even a bit as beautiful as you.”

“Not as beautiful as the Sword Ancestor either,” Song Shangzhi also said.

“Pfft.” Su Zhuyi laughed out loud. “With your looks, why are you cultivating seduction techniques? The Danhe Sect recently refined a beauty pill that would suit you perfectly. Too bad you’ve done too much evil and I must carry out heaven’s justice—you won’t have a chance to change your face.”

Saying this, Su Zhuyi extended her right hand, back facing outward and slightly bent. When approaching Yu Ge, she suddenly straightened it. That taut palm was like a blade flashing with cold light, slashing toward Yu Ge’s chest.

Yu Ge was so angry at Su Zhuyi’s words that she vomited blood. She quickly grabbed the blue cloak she’d removed earlier and shook it out. The cloak became a blue banner. As the banner fluttered, demonic winds arose, and wailing sounds echoed in the great hall like ghostly cries.

Yet within those ghostly cries, there was also a woman’s soft laughter and clear singing. The faint song seemed like a soul-stealing melody, making the Gujian Sect disciples’ minds blur. Their sword-gripping hands lost strength, and they could barely hold their swords steady.

“The people behind you have already fallen into my Sound Confusion Soul-Binding Formation. If you want them to live, surrender!” Yu Ge sneered coldly.

“Don’t want to,” Su Zhuyi answered with a smile. “If they can’t break out of such a formation, I think these disciples don’t need to stay alive anyway.”

“You…” Seeming not to expect Su Zhuyi to answer this way, Yu Ge’s expression froze, then she continued: “Fine, I’ll collect these three hundred disciples first, then send you to join them.”

The blue banner in her hand suddenly enlarged and pounced toward Su Zhuyi. Su Zhuyi reached into her sleeve to grab something. This motion made Yu Ge’s expression change slightly, becoming alert. But seeing her pull out an ancient mirror with no spiritual energy, Yu Ge sped up her hand movements and shouted: “Die!”

“After killing you, I’ll peel off your face to make a mask!”

The blue cloak covered her head completely. Though it seemed to have captured the woman, unexpectedly, it came up empty and fell directly to the ground.

She tried to pull hard again, but discovered that the cloak couldn’t be lifted at all.

“What’s happening!” The blue banner was her natal magical treasure, a high-grade spiritual weapon!

“I knew it. You’ve always been jealous that I’m more beautiful than you.” A cool voice came from behind, making Yu Ge’s back turn cold and her scalp tingle. The shadow of death loomed overhead. Only at this moment did Yu Ge realize just how powerful that woman who seemed unremarkable except for her beautiful face was.

If she had known from the beginning how powerful she was, she would have notified the sect long ago instead of deliberately concealing it to claim all the credit for herself!

However, now it was too late for regret.

That woman radiated killing intent. She was right behind her, her pressure firmly locking onto her.

“Scared? Hehe.” Su Zhuyi stood behind Yu Ge, gently brushing aside the loose hair at her temple and tucking that strand of hair behind her ear.

She stared at the golden earring on her ear, then sliced with her finger, cutting off that section of earlobe entirely.

The ear had originally been fair and tender, but after being cut off, it instantly turned black, clearly containing deadly poison. Su Zhuyi used spiritual energy to force out the golden earring, obtaining the key to enter the Xueluo Sect.

“Who, who exactly are you?” No matter how beautiful a voice, when filled with terror, it becomes sharp and piercing.

Su Zhuyi chuckled softly, speaking in a voice only Yu Ge could hear: “Me? I’m one of your sect’s death warriors.”

Oh, forgot to mention.

From my previous life.

In my previous life, you always wanted to destroy my face, fearing I’d take your position. Too bad in the end, I still defeated you.

Yu Ge’s eyes showed terror. She couldn’t remember ever training such a death warrior. But the next moment, she didn’t have the energy to think about it anymore.

She discovered that the reason she could no longer control her natal magical treasure was that one corner of the banner was pressed down by a mirror.

A palm-sized mirror was pressed against her blue banner.

Her blue banner could no longer move. Even if she exerted all her strength, she couldn’t make the banner budge an inch.

Unable to control her natal magical treasure, unable to move herself, with the sect’s key stolen—could it be that she was doomed to die today?

No, not just her.

Yu Ge suddenly felt that today, the entire Xueluo Sect was doomed.

She… she has come.