The moment her palm touched the Divination Disk, it began spinning rapidly, one illegible character after another lighting up in white.
Xiao Chan’s expression remained calm as she studied the characters on the disk, but before long, a drop of cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
After a moment, the disk’s rotation gradually slowed to a stop.
The small characters at the very top went dark, but several others remained brightly illuminated.
These characters were Xia Xiaochan’s Eight Characters of Birth Time.
Sun Guishou leaned in for a closer look, his cloudy eyes suddenly widening in shock:
“This hexagram? You’re not a Pure Yin Fate!”
“What?!”
The Officer jumped, startled—he’d brought a fake! Wasn’t this a setup?
Xiao Chan frowned silently and quietly placed her hand on the Qingyu Sword.
“No, wait! Let me take another look…”
Sun Guishou examined the hexagram more carefully. Detecting an anomaly, he alternately pinched his thumb between the other four fingers on his palm, seemingly calculating something.
Before long, his expression shifted to wild delight, and he threw his head back, laughing loudly:
“Hahaha… Heaven helps me, heaven helps me!”
“This girl’s Eight Characters of Birth Time actually secretly match the ‘Phoenix in the Clouds’ hexagram!”
“An extraordinary fate! I’m going to make it, I’m going to make it!”
Hearing this, Xia Xiaochan silently released her right hand, which had been gripping the sword behind her back.
“Tie her up and throw her into the prison with the others!” Sun Guishou barked sharply.
Xiao Chan knew her objective had been achieved, and her spirits lifted, but the act had to be played out fully.
She quickly feigned panic:
“Wait, what’s going on? Weren’t you supposed to pay me a reward? Why are you tying me up?”
“If you don’t want to die, shut up!”
The Officer produced some hemp ropes.
Facing a seemingly delicate young girl, he had no need for brute force.
Using his physical advantage, he quickly bound her tightly in just a few moves.
Xiao Chan struggled with her legs, but the Officer dragged her out regardless.
The courtroom was left with only Sun Guishou, who stroked his goatee and let out a sharp, mocking laugh once again.
“Phoenix in the Clouds, Phoenix in the Clouds… this is far stronger than a Pure Yin Fate. I’ve just stumbled upon a gift!”
“If I sacrifice her, I’ll ascend in one step!”
Sun Guishou could hardly contain his madness.
The formation array for sacrificing girls didn’t require the fate to be Pure Yin, but Pure Yin was more common and easier to identify by birth time.
But Phoenix in the Clouds? Out of millions, it was rare to find even one. Sun Guishou never dreamed he’d catch such a rare fate girl.
Yet here she was, delivered to him!
After a lifetime of bad luck, he’d finally been given this tremendous opportunity!
He had to seize it tightly.
He roughly calculated that with eight Pure Yin girls already in his possession, adding this Phoenix in the Clouds would allow him, with his own talent, to reach the Nascent Soul Realm.
One step to the top!
“Heaven helps me, this time I’m truly set! Hahaha…”
He laughed wildly again, throwing his head back.
Xiao Chan struggled endlessly as the Officer dragged her into a concealed prison room within the County Office.
The dungeon’s location was very hidden, and the door was sealed with Talismans that blocked spiritual senses.
Xiao Chan silently felt relieved—if she hadn’t been brought here herself, no one would have found this place anytime soon.
She shouted at the Officer:
“Let me go! You’re lying! You’re bad people!”
“Cut the crap!”
The Officer roughly shoved her inside but dared not hit her—these were Sun Guishou’s precious sacrifices; damaging them meant death ten times over.
He locked the door and his footsteps soon faded away.
Inside the prison, it was pitch dark except for a palm-sized window high above that let in a few strands of fading sunlight.
Xiao Chan looked around and saw many young girls huddled fearfully in corners.
She called out loudly:
“Xiao Juan, are you there?”
“Xiao Chan?”
A voice responded from the shadows, and a girl resembling Xia Xiaochan stepped forward from among the others.
“Xiao Juan!”
Relieved, Xia Xiaochan breathed easier at the sight.
“Xiao Chan, it’s really you! How did you get captured too…”
The girl’s joy at reuniting with her sister soon turned to despair. “It’s over, over… If we both die here, what will Mother do…”
“Don’t worry, Xiao Juan, I’m here to save you!”
With that, she spread her hands, effortlessly snapping the ropes binding her like a spiderweb, which fell to the ground.
“Ah?”
Xia Xiao Juan stared at her in shock.
After explaining the situation briefly, night fell.
Under cover of darkness, Xia Xiaochan untied the ropes from all the girls and then moved to the prison door.
With a gentle push, the heavy Iron Gate swung open.
“Quick, everyone follow the route I tell you—no one will spot you. Once outside the city, find somewhere to hide. We’ll all be home by tomorrow morning!”
The girls cried and thanked her repeatedly:
“Thank you!”
“Thank you, Sister Chan!”
“Don’t call me that—you’re all at least a year older than me…”
After sending them off,
Xiao Juan grasped Xia Xiaochan’s hands with concern:
“Xiao Chan, we should go too.”
But Xia Xiaochan shook her head and replied,
“You go first, Sister Juan. I have to stay and kill that damned officer. Only then can I guarantee your safety.”
“But Sun Guishou’s sorcery is powerful. I don’t want to see you get hurt…”
“Don’t worry, Sister Juan.”
Xia Xiaochan smiled confidently. “I learned a lot following my Senior Brother in the Immortal Sect. He’s very powerful. Sun Guishou is just a lowly Rogue Cultivator—I’m not afraid of him.”
“That’s still too dangerous…”
Xiao Juan wanted to say more but stopped when she saw the resolute look in Xia Xiaochan’s eyes.
“My Senior Brother taught me the Way of Immortal Arts to protect mortals. If I can’t even protect my own family, then what’s the point of cultivating this path?”
Xia Xiaochan’s tone was firm and full of unwavering determination.
“Well… okay, but promise me you’ll be careful. If you can’t win, you have to run, alright?”
Seeing Xia Xiaochan nod seriously, Xiao Juan bit her lip and left decisively.
No matter how worried she was, she knew she couldn’t stay—she’d only be a burden.
Before leaving, she glanced back once more.
She suddenly noticed that Xia Xiaochan was already taller than her, the elder sister.
At midnight,
Sun Guishou calculated the exact moment and headed toward the dungeon.
He forced down the wild excitement and joy in his heart. After tonight, he would be reborn—no longer a mere Rogue Cultivator by the roadside, but a prized immortal seed sought by all the great Sects.
At the door, he eagerly grabbed the iron handle—only to abruptly realize the heavy iron lock was shattered.
“Who did this?!”
Sun Guishou’s heart jolted!
Where are my sacrifices? Are they still inside?
Before he could think further, a clear sword light hidden behind the door responded—
Xiao Chan gripped her sword and slashed toward Sun Guishou!