She remembered seeing a technique like that but didn’t remember it well due to its low practicality.
After all, Linglong used lightning Spirit Power. She just zapped enemies directly and didn’t bother with such complications.
“Talking about it is useless. Eh? That Ling King—what is he doing? Suicide attack?!”
While chatting, the battle suddenly escalated. The caravan’s Ling King guard seemed to have made a decision, launching a desperate attack on the two ambushing Ling Kings.
This reckless move suppressed the two weaker Ling Kings immediately. One was slashed in the chest and staggered into a nearby forest.
Judging by the blood spraying from his chest, even if he survived, it would be a serious injury.
“The Spirit Master guards have been routed. Without a desperate move, the caravan will fail.” Linglong understood the situation immediately.
The caravan’s Ling King must have a reason to risk his life protecting the caravan; otherwise, he would have left when the situation worsened.
Those two Ling Kings couldn’t stop him.
But he stayed to fight for his life, meaning the caravan held something worth dying for.
“This isn’t good. Though the sudden burst caught the two Ling Kings off guard, once they recover, it’ll be difficult.” Hua Jian foresaw a grim future for this guard Ling King.
Everyone knew initiating the second phase meant a likely loss.
This Ling King was already counting down to defeat. As the enemy also entered a desperate state, his advantage slowly faded.
Worse, the wounded Ling King had returned from the forest with a deep, bone-exposed chest wound, joining the attack against him.
“Their fighting spirit is strong; these three Ling Kings aren’t simple.” Linglong frowned at the bloody battlefield.
Normally, Ling Kings wouldn’t fight this fiercely. Caravan guards wouldn’t fight to the death, and bandits wouldn’t be this ruthless.
Money can be earned again, but life is irreplaceable. Everyone valued their lives and wouldn’t gamble them so easily.
But these three Ling Kings were all reckless. This battle would definitely end in mutual destruction.
“Let’s get a bit closer. Can your concealment Spirit Robe hide my aura from the Ling Kings’ Divine Sense?”
Hua Jian asked Linglong.
“Yes. The battle has caused chaotic auras nearby. Ordinary Ling Kings can’t detect your presence.”
“That’s good. Let’s go down. Once they finish, we’ll intervene immediately, no matter who wins.” Hua Jian nodded and pulled out the Spirit Robe Linglong had given her.
Immediately, her aura was completely concealed. Even Ling Kings couldn’t detect her Divine Sense.
Heh heh, now it’s my turn to cause some panic!
……
Swish!
Shhh!
A sharp blade pierced an opponent’s neck. Watching him clutch his throat and die with eyes wide open, the caravan’s Ling King spat out a mouthful of black blood.
His right chest was deeply pierced by a dagger coated with Ling King-level venom.
Achieving a 1v2 counterattack that killed one and severely wounded another was enough to make him proud.
But it was meaningless, because as long as an opponent lived, what he was protecting would fall into their hands.
“Cough, cough…”
“Boss Qian, don’t blame the brothers. We had no choice. You took the treasure the Master wanted; that treasure is our lives now.”
“Allying with evil cultivators, do you really think you’ll survive? Foolish!”
“Heh, Boss Qian’s good at accusing others. We just wanted the Young Lady to show her worth. How did that make us evil cultivators?” One surviving ambusher Ling King coughed twice, eyes flashing cold light.
He spoke to buy time to gather Spirit Power to kill the opponent. Now was the moment to end it!
“Goodbye!” He raised his hand; the dagger emitted a colorful dazzling glow.
Colorful?
“Bye-bye~”
The solid Spirit Power beam struck the wounded Ling King on the back of the head, blacking his vision and staggering his steps.
“Die!”
That stagger gave the venom-poisoned other Ling King a chance for a counterattack.
The Ling King who just looked near death roared and pounced like a beast, landing a heavy blow on the sneaky Ling King’s head.
This desperate blow smashed the Ling King’s skull to pieces. The headless corpse collapsed limply.
The Ling King would never have imagined being counter-killed like this.
After killing the opponent, the caravan’s Ling King lost his strength, swayed, and collapsed on his back.
“Ling Kings really aren’t easy to kill. Should’ve used a more powerful Spirit Tool.”
A clear female voice floated from nearby. The fallen Ling King tried to lift his head to see who spoke.
Seeing two beautiful young girls, his tense expression finally relaxed.
These two girls didn’t look like villains, and the last attack was probably from them…
“Big guy, you’re dying soon.” The black-haired girl squatted beside the Ling King, poking his arm with the long bar-shaped Spirit Tool.
“Cough… I’m poisoned beyond hope. I have an unworthy request…” The Ling King coughed black blood again, his aura weakening.
Linglong stood beside, knowing this was likely his last moment of consciousness.
“Speak. What is your request?” Hua Jian was straightforward and asked the Ling King.
Listening wouldn’t hurt. At worst, they wouldn’t help.
This was end-of-life care for the Ling King.
“The caravan’s goods… you two may take whatever you want… as long as you deliver the Young Lady back to Huiyue City…” the Ling King said haltingly.
Return the Young Lady to Huiyue City? Hua Jian looked at Linglong, wondering if that was on their way.
But…
“We’re only Spirit Masters, and among your pursuers are Ling Kings willing to die. I can’t agree to this request.”
“These are the traitors’ leaders, and they’re dead. Those guys must be leaderless now!”
“As long as you return the Young Lady to her family… as long as…”
The Ling King coughed up more black blood, his last breath exhausted, eyes wide open, and he died.
Within minutes, three Ling Kings died in this small place. Hua Jian found it a bit terrifying.
Three Ling Kings gone just like that!
According to the caravan Ling King, the three had been on the same side, with a main family backing them.
“My suggestion is to strip their belongings, take the valuable goods from the caravan, and forget about the Young Lady and her family.” Hua Jian suggested to Linglong.
But she knew her idea was shameless; Linglong probably wouldn’t agree.
After all, the Saintess wasn’t like other freelance cultivators. She traveled for experience, and how could she avoid trouble forever?
Helping those in need was part of training, and now was a perfect chance.
Sure enough, Linglong shook her head decisively. “Let’s meet this Young Lady first.”
A Young Lady capable of causing three Ling Kings to perish here wouldn’t be simple. There might be secrets behind this.
Peeling back layers to reveal hidden truth was part of Linglong’s training path.
Both logically and emotionally, Linglong wouldn’t follow Hua Jian’s plan. After all, her elders watched her back home; causing trouble would be noted and dealt with later.
“Also… let them rest in peace.” Linglong held Hua Jian’s shoulder, saying now wasn’t the time to loot.
“I don’t want to loot either, but since you’re asking for trouble, I have to find clues from these dead bodies.” Hua Jian sighed.
This was the first time she’d witnessed such a brutal scene. Despite her calm appearance, she was actually quite scared.
She had seen fights in taverns, but this was different—one was hacked to death, another blown apart, and the last died with eyes wide open. It rattled her nerves.
When she pressed the trigger on the Ling King’s head earlier, she hadn’t thought much. But now seeing the dead made it hard to accept such a heavy scene.
This world was truly unsafe.
“You go find the Young Lady. I’ll collect the items.” Hua Jian raised her hands, and green vines sprouted from the ground.
Luckily, she was a Wood-type cultivator and didn’t have to touch the corpses directly; otherwise, she might have vomited while handling them.
“Alright, if you feel bad, just call me.” Linglong saw Hua Jian’s grim expression and understood.
Hua Jian had always stayed in secret realms where death was rare. This was probably her first direct encounter with death.
Linglong remembered being scared the first time too, but gradually adapted with her mother’s guidance.
Compared to her childhood, Hua Jian was much better now.
“I’m not that fragile,” Hua Jian muttered softly and waved Linglong away.
After Linglong left, Hua Jian used vines to strip the three Ling Kings of all belongings, leaving no clothing seam untouched.
She cleaned the Spirit Tools, alchemy pills, and storage bags with Ling Water Pearls to remove blood qi.
The storage bags still had Divine Sense Seals. Though the owners were dead, the seals remained, and Hua Jian couldn’t break them for now.
The Spirit Tools and alchemy pills were common goods, not worth many Spirit Stones—nowhere near the value of the precious items brought by the genius sect disciples in the secret realm.
Sigh, high-level battles and low-level ones really differ.
“What’s this tattoo? Looks weird…” Hua Jian couldn’t see anything unusual among the loot, so she focused on the three Ling Kings themselves.
Except for the heavily mutilated Ling King hacked to death, the other headshot Ling King’s body was intact, with a black dragon tattoo fiercely crawling over him.
Just looking at it, Hua Jian felt a violent aura.
This tattoo was definitely suspicious, Hua Jian thought.
……
“Is this the Young Lady? What did you do to her?”
After collecting the other information and returning to Linglong’s side, Hua Jian saw Linglong standing by a young girl sobbing uncontrollably and unsure what to do.
The girl cried so heart-wrenchingly, one might think she had lost her parents.
“I only told her that her guards died protecting her. That’s why she’s like this.” Linglong said she only told the truth.
The Young Lady had to know. She couldn’t hide it from her.
“Couldn’t you be gentler? Or tell a little white lie? Like say your guards ran away, and now you’re our loot, so you have to obey us.”
“Boss Qian is not that kind of person!” The Young Lady looked up, tears still in her voice as she shouted at Hua Jian.
“Oh, so you’re not that heartbroken? Then take us to where you hide the valuables.”
“Ah?” Perhaps Hua Jian’s words were too out of place. The Young Lady stopped crying and looked confused.
“Shouldn’t you comfort me now? Why say that?”
“Ah what? Don’t think I’m a nice person. You’re just a lowly Spirit Master. Your guards are dead. Don’t you get the situation?” Hua Jian crossed her arms and snorted coldly. She hated escort missions the most.
If the person she’s escorting didn’t obey and ran around, she really wanted to kill them on the spot.
To prevent that, she had to make a point now. Let this Young Lady know she wasn’t a guard.
I, Hua Jian, am a bandit!
“If you can’t pay for your life, then I’ll treat you as payment.” Hua Jian glanced at the Young Lady and snorted disdainfully. “You’re decent-looking; you’ll sell well.”
The Young Lady turned pale but, looking around, realized Hua Jian wasn’t joking.
She was no longer the pampered daughter of a wealthy family. Her guards all died protecting her. To survive, she had to cooperate with these two girls.
“The caravan was just a cover. If you want valuables… this is it.”
The Young Lady pulled out a storage bag and took out a light blue vial, handing it to Hua Jian.
Hua Jian opened it and smelled the fragrant scent of alchemy pills.
“Ling King-grade alchemy pill. The crafting method is rough, but the materials are excellent.” Linglong could tell more. The pill’s maker wasn’t skilled, but the good materials pushed it to Ling King level.
If she refined it, the pill could reach peak Ling King grade.
“So how much is it worth?”
“A few hundred Spirit Stones.”
Hua Jian clicked her tongue. A few hundred Spirit Stones was not bad, so she accepted it as a deposit.
“Is there anything else valuable in the caravan? No? Then we’ll take you to Huiyue City and leave the rest.”
“Nothing else. The other goods are mundane. Just leave them here.”
“Wasteful… Tell me why you were forced to kill. What about those black dragon tattoos on those people?”
Since Linglong decided to help the Young Lady, Hua Jian had to help with the rest.
Interrogation, playing the bad cop—these dirty jobs were hers.
After asking, during the Young Lady’s pause, Hua Jian told Linglong everything she discovered, emphasizing the black dragon tattoo’s ominous feeling.
Linglong was very sensitive to dragon matters. Hearing about the black dragon tattoo on the ambushers, she immediately went to check their corpses.
Meanwhile, the Young Lady had finally collected herself and began telling her story.
“My name is Yao Mei. My mother was the eldest daughter of the Su Family in Huiyue City…”
Yao Mei was half a Young Lady. Her father was poor but capable and was recruited by the Su Family as a son-in-law.
Yao Mei should have lived peacefully as a Young Lady of the Su Family. But three years ago, her mother died of a strange illness, leaving her and her father in a precarious position within the family.
To change their situation, her father volunteered to open new trade routes in other cities, taking Yao Mei along.
But the business in the new city never improved and often faced trouble.
That wasn’t the worst. A month ago, her father suddenly sent her with a caravan back to Huiyue City, speaking fearfully and sending their most loyal Ling King guard along.
The caravan disguised itself as a normal merchant convoy, hoping to avoid enemies’ pursuit. But they were still intercepted here.
“This black dragon tattoo is based on a real prototype. Such violent dragon aura can’t be imagined out of thin air.” Linglong concluded that the tattoo came from a real dragon.
The ambushers’ black dragon tattoos were likely a show of loyalty.
“Hiss… this sounds tricky. Miss Yao, are you sure Huiyue City is safe?”
Hua Jian noticed a key point.
“That man just said those two are traitors, meaning they belonged to the same faction. And he is a Su Family guard. So those two are also Su Family guards.”
She pointed to Boss Qian and then to the two ambushers, stating an obvious conclusion.
“Your Su Family has serious issues. Returning means walking into a trap.”
Huiyue City wasn’t a huge city. According to Linglong, top fighters here were Ling Emperors, with Ling Kings as the main force.
Su Family wasn’t dominant in Huiyue; they had fewer than ten Ling Kings.
Boss Qian was loyal to Yao Mei’s mother, then to Yao Mei and her father. The two Ling Kings were traitors.
Wow, a family with fewer than ten Ling Kings had two traitors?
The Su Family was definitely in trouble. Yao Mei returning was a death trap.
“But… I have nowhere else to go.” Yao Mei’s eyes reddened, tears threatening to fall.
Her mother was dead, her father’s fate unknown, and her guards had just died protecting her. Where else could she turn?
The world was vast, but where could she find a home?