Chen Tingyan, who was walking toward Eight Treasures Tower, suddenly froze.

In an instant, a thunderous sword momentum rose up from the deep alley beside him!

This was…

The “Lightning” of the Wuchang Four Swords!

In Wrongful Death City, he was well-informed—how could he not recognize it?

In that moment, he immediately thought of the isolated Jian Chou.

Terrible, something bad was happening!

With a “snap,” he closed his folding fan in his hand. Chen Tingyan unhesitatingly transformed into a streamlined brilliant light, rushing toward that deep alley.

However, before he could get close—

“Boom!”

Like floodwater bursting through a dam, a large mass of thick black mist surged out from the deep alley like a flood.

Cold wind struck his face, carrying fierce momentum!

Even with Chen Tingyan’s current Jade Nirvana cultivation, he felt a bone-piercing pain, as if countless knives were mixed in the wind, wanting to cut away his flesh and blood.

“Swish swish swish!”

Even the walls of nearby buildings were carved with shallow marks by those faint wind blades!

Caught off guard, Chen Tingyan nearly plunged headfirst into that frenzied tide of wind blades!

Fortunately, his momentum wasn’t strong, and he barely managed to stop at the last moment.

The suddenly erupting black ink tide also frantically retreated at this instant!

Vaguely, Chen Tingyan actually sensed an extremely sharp yet extremely subtle sword intent, followed by a roar like that of a wild beast, and what seemed like someone’s scream of extreme terror…

In any case, it didn’t sound human at all.

That terrifying ink tide came quickly and left quickly.

In just the blink of an eye, it had actually retreated back into the deep alley!

When Chen Tingyan rushed over, he only saw a few wisps of ethereal black wind slowly withdrawing into the black sword’s apertures, clinging to Jian Chou’s fingers…

She maintained a posture of standing with sword in hand, as if that long sword had just pierced someone’s body.

However, her complexion was pale, without any color.

The previous terrifying commotion seemed unable to even lift a withered leaf here. All the heart-stopping and mysteriously magnificent scenes seemed to have never appeared, and there was no trace of that black wind ink tide.

Probably hearing footsteps, Jian Chou turned her head and glanced at Chen Tingyan.

At that instant, Chen Tingyan’s advancing steps suddenly stopped.

What kind of dark eyes were those?

The mountain light had already set in the west, the pond moon had not yet risen in the east.

The entire world was in that faint darkness without any light—silent, murderous.

Something vaguely burned beneath those calm eyes, but in the blink of an eye it had turned to dead ashes.

“Clang!”

A sudden sound broke the eerie silence of the moment and the darkness of those eyes.

The black sword gripped tightly in her hand fell heavily to the ground!

Jian Chou’s face suddenly showed extreme endurance. Several knife-cut-like bloodstains appeared on her cheek and neck.

Her pale face was covered with a layer of fine cold sweat. After the black sword fell to the ground, she lost all support and knelt directly on the ground, breathing heavily.

In the deep alley, besides herself, there wasn’t a single person.

The opponent who had just fought with her had also disappeared completely.

The ground was covered with sword marks left from the fierce battle. On the mottled stone wall directly ahead, there was a sword hole an inch deep, its size perfectly matching the length and width of the black sword’s blade.

Around the sword hole, there was a patch of deep black stains with a faint dark blue tinge…

“Jian Chou? Are you alright?!”

Chen Tingyan, who had been lost in thought, finally reacted and hurriedly shouted as he ran over.

Jian Chou’s entire body was still trembling slightly.

Not only because of the weakness from having her soul power drained, but also because of excitement!

After the darkness faded, there was passionate burning.

At this moment, she was looking down, so Chen Tingyan couldn’t see her eyes that hadn’t yet lost all their fighting spirit. Just the remaining heat could potentially burn someone!

So amazing…

Even Jian Chou herself hadn’t expected that strike—that only strike, that final strike—to have such terrifying effects!

Unity of human and sword!

She came riding the wind, and the sword went controlling the wind!

The wonderful taste of that experience far exceeded this battle.

The sword rose and the person followed the sword’s path, as if the entire world was full of wind, and as if the entire world was herself—doing as she pleased, wherever the mind went, the body reached!

Even if Xing Wu had Jade Nirvana cultivation, how could he have expected her to possess the power of one strike?

And it was that only strike, that final strike.

Each “faster by a hair” was never actually coincidence.

Jian Chou’s cultivation realm might not be sufficient, but in understanding “wind,” there were probably few in the entire Extreme Domain who could surpass her.

This way, reaching ultimate speed, even transforming into black wind, ultimately catching people off guard and winning through surprise—none of this was strange.

The moment she picked up the black sword in Pinzi Tower, she had actually already known what her greatest reliance would be in the Extreme Domain.

But at that time, she hadn’t thought she would be able to verify her feeling so quickly.

With some self-mockery, she laughed softly, her voice already hoarse to the extreme: “Cough… I’m not seriously hurt.”

Just minor injuries and exhaustion.

After speaking, two hands reached over and helped Jian Chou up.

Chen Tingyan’s heart was simply convulsing. He didn’t know how to respond to Jian Chou’s words. He stared at Jian Chou for a long time, and finally couldn’t help but slap his forehead with his fan, beating his chest: “Can’t you give others a chance to help in times of need, to be a hero saving a beauty?!”

Women like this were the natural enemies of refined young masters!

Simply toxic!

Chen Tingyan was already roaring inside, his face rigid to the extreme.

Hearing this, Jian Chou was stunned.

Even with her quick thinking, she couldn’t react for a long time. After figuring out the hidden causal relationship between these two sentences, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

But she wasn’t some shy young girl after all, and had long passed the age when she could be moved by romantic feelings.

Jian Chou’s forehead was still covered with cold sweat from the previous battle, and she was even tense all over from enduring pain, but her eyes showed the calm of having seen everything, without turbulent undercurrents, only the tranquil beauty of an autumn moon over a peaceful lake.

“These are all minor injuries…”

This encounter, though extremely dangerous, could hardly compare to what Jian Chou had experienced before in terms of battle intensity.

Moreover…

What was the big deal about walking the line between life and death once?

It wasn’t the first time.

After speaking, Jian Chou endured the pain coming from her limbs and bones, forcing herself to stand straight with Chen Tingyan’s help.

Moving her fingers slightly, barely turning her mind, a pill appeared at her fingertips.

A jade-green pill with a fresh aura.

She glanced at it, and a trace of a smile flashed in her eyes. Now these things she carried with her had become her only remaining connection to the Nineteen Continents, to Yashan.

The pill dissolved instantly upon entering her mouth.

The medicinal power flowed through her entire body, immediately transforming into new, gentle soul power, nourishing Jian Chou’s depleted body.

At this moment, she was like a fragile eggshell. After being drained of soul power by that final strike, anyone could easily poke through her with one finger.

Her amazing battle talent gave her an instinct to never let herself fall into desperate situations.

She forced herself not to collapse and, while gradually recovering, slowly straightened her body.

Chen Tingyan had earlier carelessly blurted out what was on his mind about “heroic rescue,” and while Jian Chou wasn’t embarrassed, he was embarrassed for quite a while.

To cover this embarrassment, he started muttering.

“I just turned around and this happened. I really didn’t expect it. Too despicable, too shameless! I’ll definitely give the Wuchang Clan a big lesson eventually… uh, who was it that fought with you?”

“…”

So he had started cursing without even seeing who it was?

Jian Chou also felt her heart skip a beat, and for a moment didn’t know what to say.

The medicinal power had spread through her entire body.

Jian Chou withdrew her hands and slowly stood steady again. Her face was no longer as pale as before and had some color.

Chen Tingyan felt his hands lighten and looked up to see Jian Chou standing firm. He couldn’t help but wonder: she had only swallowed one pill and was already better?

Was the injury too light, or was the pill too good?

Subconsciously, Chen Tingyan attributed it to the latter.

A Soul Orb ghost cultivator fighting a Jade Nirvana ghost cultivator couldn’t possibly escape unscathed.

So…

What exactly was Jian Chou’s background?

The doubts that had remained from Pinzi Tower resurfaced.

However, Chen Tingyan didn’t ask.

“Feeling better?”

“I’m fine now. It was just accidentally getting into a fight with someone.”

With this understated sentence, Jian Chou didn’t mention the battle’s details.

After all, she wasn’t sure if Chen Tingyan had seen what just happened. Whether he had seen it or not, she didn’t want to actively mention her final strike.

“That turtle grandson ran fast. If he had been slower, this young master would have skinned him alive!”

Chen Tingyan felt a sense of shared enmity with Jian Chou.

Jian Chou bent down to pick up the black sword from the ground, which had gotten somewhat dusty.

The black sword body was quite rugged, like a rockery built from stones. The dense holes appeared smooth, with a unique cold feeling, yet didn’t make people feel sinister.

The black surface looked plain and unremarkable, without even much luster.

But it had a calm, magnificent majesty, like the endless black mountain ranges at the edge of the Extreme Domain…

The long street was still empty.

The distant boiling sounds continued.

Jian Chou turned the long sword over to examine it.

Like a pot of boiling water that had returned to calm, only a tiny bit of residual trembling remained on the sword body.

Chen Tingyan stood beside her, watching all her movements, thinking about the entire incident: “That Xing Wu chose this deep alley, and it happened to be when the Cauldron Contest’s Golden Decree flew over. Ordinary people can’t predict when the Golden Decree will come, so… that bastard Xing Wu must have followed all the way, trailing behind us, so he could ambush you…”

Even without seeing the entire event, just thinking about it slightly, one could deduce the sequence of events.

Wasn’t it all because of this sword?

Jian Chou knew that although Chen Tingyan acted like a frivolous young master, he wasn’t actually simple-minded. If he were truly simple-minded, he wouldn’t have so easily become Xie Buchen’s friend in the past.

She felt no surprise at what he said.

Her gaze only swept across the countless sword marks in this deep alley.

The crowd on the street was gradually returning. The noisy sounds were approaching from far away, probably the people who had gone to watch the excitement were all coming back.

“It’s not suitable to stay here long. We should leave quickly.”

Chen Tingyan, who had also heard the sounds, frowned and immediately suggested.

Jian Chou had only swallowed one pill for recovery, but her actual “internal injuries” required meditation to heal.

She had no intention of staying long either, so she sheathed the black sword and nodded in agreement.

“Thank you for your trouble, Fourth Young Master.”

“What’s there to be polite about.”

Chen Tingyan waved his hand dismissively and directly turned around, gesturing for Jian Chou to walk with him.

However, at the moment he stepped forward, his gaze unintentionally swept across the entire scene.

The traces left by the Wuchang Clan’s “Wuchang Four Swords” were extremely obvious and could be easily distinguished.

But…

On the wall, there was a solitary sword hole.

The blackened stains around that sword hole weren’t particularly conspicuous, but during Chen Tingyan’s casual glance, they suddenly entered his field of vision.

In an instant, his eyelid twitched!

“What’s wrong?”

Jian Chou had just stepped out when she noticed Chen Tingyan hadn’t moved and looked back to ask.

“Nothing.”

Chen Tingyan’s heart jumped along with his eyelid, and his mind was already in complete turmoil!

That wasn’t some simple blackened stain at all!

That was “blood”!

Unlike the Human Realm’s Isolated Island, where everyone had flesh and blood bodies.

The “bodies” of Extreme Domain cultivators were originally soul spirits, so there was no such thing as flesh and blood, and they wouldn’t bleed. Only “soul essence energy” could be damaged, flowing out like fresh blood, appearing as a blackened color.

However…

To injure “soul essence energy,” how severe must the wound be?!

Combined with that sword hole in the wall, Chen Tingyan could almost imagine that a long sword had directly pierced through someone’s body!

Originally, he thought that Xing Wu had sensed someone coming and, knowing he couldn’t match them, had directly fled, thus giving Jian Chou a chance to survive…

But now it seemed the facts might differ somewhat from what he had thought.

How could a weak Soul Orb realm cultivator possibly resist a Jade Nirvana cultivator and even severely defeat them?

His expression carried a hint of strangeness.

Chen Tingyan walked forward somewhat absent-mindedly.

What had she experienced?

What was her identity?

What abilities did she have?

What was she doing in Wrongful Death City?

…

A series of questions almost instantly surged to mind.

Chen Tingyan discovered that this female cultivator beside him, whom he originally shouldn’t have found strange, was actually shrouded in mystery like clouds and mist.

That intense curiosity once again burst forth from his heart.

He remembered the strange scene he had witnessed the moment he reached the alley entrance…

One step, two steps, three steps.

The deep alley wasn’t actually very long, and they walked out in no time.

At that moment, noise and excitement hit them head-on.

The cold, dark alley was instantly behind them.

Even Jian Chou was somewhat startled the moment she stood on the long street.

It was like suddenly returning to the human world, surrounded by liveliness.

On the long street, pedestrians came and went. People just returning from the square had different expressions—some happy, some worried, some excited…

“Haha, when the roster comes out, let’s see who to bet on winning.”

“Last time I bet on the big favorite Cui Jue and only won thirty-some Dark Jade. Such bad luck!”

“The Eighteen Levels of Hell…”

“Brother Zhou, are you still participating?”

…

At this moment, similar voices floated everywhere throughout Sea-Mountain Market, like a boiling pot suspended in the sky.

The crowd surged like the sea, flowing outward from the square as the center.

No one noticed a white figure, somewhat ethereal and disheveled, rushing directly from the misty edges of Sea-Mountain Market, grabbing a jade token, and falling back into Wrongful Death City.

This was the most bustling and dignified street in Wrongful Death City.

Here were the courtyards of the Ten Great Ghost Clans’ members. Members of the same clan lived together, with the ten clans each occupying a corner, forming a massive presence in Wrongful Death City.

Xing Wu belonged to the White Impermanence branch of the Wuchang Clan, but his face had never been as white as it was today.

Teeth clenched, he could barely maintain steady steps.

He didn’t dare let clan members discover his traces. Avoiding several usually familiar friends along the way, Xing Wu finally passed through the courtyard, opened his room door, and flashed inside.

“Bang.”

The door slammed shut.

His originally flowing white robes were now stained gray-black, not to mention the terrifying sword hole on his chest!

No bleeding, only a few blackened marks.

The wound edges were smooth, as if pierced instantly by an extremely sharp blade, leaving no rough traces.

However, around the entire sword hole, there was a thin layer of pale blue ice crystals.

Wisps of black qi vaguely wound around them, carrying a bone-chilling coldness in their depths!

They were like sharp knives, cutting off all connections when his body tried desperately to heal!

Xing Wu’s steps staggered. After just two steps, he could no longer suppress that terrible injury.

“Pfft!”

Thick soul essence energy ran wild in his body, causing him to spit out directly.

For a moment, it was like vomiting blood.

He couldn’t walk another step and collapsed against the door frame, leaning against that door behind him, breathing heavily.

His complexion turned another shade paler, showing a near-death gray-green.

Xing Wu’s entire being was gloomy to the extreme, his eyes already filled with viciousness!

He had actually been defeated!

Defeated by a small Soul Orb realm female cultivator!

Chaos, bewilderment, shock, hatred, disgust…

Countless emotions all gathered in those eyes.

No matter how unwilling he was to admit it, Xing Wu knew that this stumble was truly a major one!

That female cultivator…

That terrifying ink tide…

That final sword…

No flourish, no soul power, only speed—speed that was strange to the extreme.

He couldn’t see that female cultivator’s face, couldn’t see her person. In his memory, there were only those cold, calm eyes that suddenly filled with killing intent, constantly flashing back…

“Did you hear? This year’s Cauldron Contest will be held in the Eighteen Levels of Hell!”

“We people in Wrongful Death City who want to reincarnate might have to take a trip through hell. Is Lord Qin Guang trying to scare us?”

“Once the Golden Decree appears, there are only a hundred days left. Sigh, with my level, I’m probably out of luck again…”

“This year our Wuchang Clan has the Xing Fei and Xing Feng brothers, so we’ll definitely take first place. You? Forget it!”

“Hmph, what’s so great about them? I think Xing Wu isn’t bad either…”

“Just him, Xing Wu? Hahaha…”

…

Outside, scattered voices came and went, soon fading with footsteps.

Hearing the names of the Xing Fei and Xing Feng brothers, Xing Wu’s five fingers pressing against his wound suddenly tightened, the viciousness in his eyes deepened another layer, but soon gradually faded.

He slowly lowered his eyes and saw the ice-blue sword wound on his chest.

For the first time, his face showed a bitter expression.

“Not bad…”

Far from it.