“What a coincidence.
I was only planning to catch this half-demon with phoenix blood, but who would’ve thought the Sect Master of Jingdao Sect’s last disciple would tag along too? Two birds with one stone, hahahaha!” A one-eyed demonic cultivator swung a giant axe, laughing as he spoke to his twin brother, who looked exactly like him except his blind eye was on the other side.
“You’re right, big bro.
Sometimes luck just can’t be stopped! The bounty on these two little girls is enough for us brothers to cultivate all the way to Nascent Soul! If the Demon Lord’s in a good mood, maybe he’ll even reward us with a few more treasures!” The other twin called out to the men behind them, waving an axe identical to his brother’s.
The three others they brought along were all Foundation Establishment cultivators or higher.
With a lineup like this, they were top-tier among the demonic cultivators who’d snuck in this time.
These twin demonic cultivators were well-known in the Demon Lands.
They shared the same origin and spiritual roots, a rare coincidence even for twins in the cultivation world.
They’d also unexpectedly inherited a legacy from an ancient demonic cultivator who was also a twin, sacrificing one eye each to master the technique.
The brothers were ruthless and unpredictable, but trusted each other completely.
They didn’t need to guess each other’s plans, and their combo attacks were seamless.
They’d once killed a Nascent Soul cultivator while only at the Golden Core stage, making a name for themselves before being recruited by a Demon Lord.
To enter this secret realm, they’d suppressed their cultivation to the peak of Foundation Establishment, but they were still terrifyingly tough.
If they could kill a Nascent Soul at Golden Core, taking down a Golden Core at Foundation Establishment should be a breeze.
And facing them were just two cultivators at the twelfth level of Qi Refining.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a losing battle.
“Are you stupid? You just came here to die? You knew there might be danger on my end, couldn’t you have gone to get help first?” Zhi Chang’an was exasperated.
She was grateful the other girl rushed over at the first sign of danger, but coming alone to throw her life away didn’t make her happy at all!
“I—I was just worried about you.
Anyway, Wen Jiayin knows too, she’ll go get help.” Li Youxi mumbled in her own defense.
“Jiayin knows too? Did—did she get attacked as well?” Zhi Chang’an’s voice trembled, even more scared than when she herself was attacked.
“She’s fine, tough as nails.
She already took care of those demonic cultivators and is heading this way.
Don’t worry about her.” Li Youxi muttered.
“As long as she’s okay.” Zhi Chang’an let out a sigh of relief.
“You two little brats, still whispering when you’re about to die?! You think you can still get away?” The younger twin pointed his axe at them.
He didn’t take the two kids seriously, but each of them had a Fusion or Tribulation stage cultivator backing them, so they definitely had treasures for self-defense.
Even though the secret realm suppressed treasures so they couldn’t unleash power above Foundation Establishment, they still had to be careful just in case.
Their secret to surviving after making so many enemies in the Demon Lands was always being cautious.
And if these two kids escaped, there weren’t many in the whole secret realm with a higher bounty than them.
They’d lose out big time!
“If possible, we should avoid a head-on fight.
No need to go all out with them.” No matter how stubborn Li Youxi was, with their lives on the line, she was willing to play it safe for once.
“I’d like to, but right now we might not be able to leave.
The ground under our feet is restricted.
As soon as you step on it, teleportation is blocked.” Zhi Chang’an took out a teleportation talisman and poured in spiritual power.
It should have activated instantly, but it just flickered twice and went dark, while a red restriction pattern lit up beneath their feet.
“Hahahaha, see? When the two of us make a move, it’s foolproof.
No need to struggle! Surrender quietly and you’ll avoid some pain!”
“Heh, keep dreaming!” Zhi Chang’an had seen plenty of vicious demonic cultivators in the Demon Subduing Hall.
She wasn’t about to surrender just because of a few threats.
“I’ve killed plenty of demonic cultivators myself.
You’re welcome to try and see who ends up dead!”
“Arrogant brat! Looking for death!” The twins shouted in unison, “Brothers, take down these two girls!”
The Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators behind them grinned wickedly.
“You got it, boss! Don’t forget to treat us to some good wine after we get the bounty!”
“Wouldn’t forget!”
“Be careful.
If it gets bad, fall back!” Zhi Chang’an had more experience fighting demonic cultivators.
Even facing several stronger enemies, she quickly steadied herself.
She was grateful Martial Uncle Zu had thrown them into the Demon Subduing Hall for training.
Otherwise, she’d probably be panicking instead of fighting right now.
Fireballs flew everywhere, water dragons roared, and wooden spikes rained down like a storm.
Zhi Chang’an stepped forward, raising her artifact in front of Li Youxi.
Blazing phoenix fire shot skyward, and a fiery phoenix burst from her umbrella to meet the incoming spells.
She pushed her bloodline power to the limit, her body naturally showing signs of partial demon transformation.
Under the surge of spiritual power, her fiery red hair danced in the wind, a few strands brushing against Li Youxi’s face.
Looking at the graceful figure standing in front of her, Li Youxi opened her mouth, but couldn’t say a word despite a thousand thoughts.
The half-demon who used to tremble in front of her had grown so valiant, with a natural allure.
She often heard young male disciples gossiping about her in the sect.
Even though her half-demon status wasn’t popular, it didn’t stop those guys from fantasizing.
Whenever Li Youxi heard anything unpleasant, she’d make sure they learned their lesson.
The demonic cultivators’ attacks didn’t stop.
Li Youxi activated the protective artifact her Master had given her and joined the fight.
Her combat skills were no weaker than the demonic cultivators, and the phoenix fire had a regenerative property—once it stuck, it wouldn’t go out even if you were burned to ashes.
“Shit!” One demonic cultivator got caught by the flames, which crawled from his hand up his arm, and no amount of spiritual power could put it out.
“Move!” The older twin shouted, chopping off the man’s arm before the phoenix fire could reach a vital spot.
It wasn’t just the demonic cultivators who were shocked by Zhi Chang’an’s ferocity—Li Youxi was too.
If you got hit by her flames, you had to cut off the flesh.
If you got punched, the spot would cave in! Damn, was she really just a Qi Refining cultivator? All the demonic cultivators getting beaten up had the same thought.
Li Youxi couldn’t believe it either.
She’d often sparred with Wen Jiayin over the years, but never fought Zhi Chang’an, and had no idea she’d grown this strong.
But she quickly snapped out of it.
Now wasn’t the time to space out—she had to help Zhi Chang’an! Even though Zhi Chang’an seemed to have the upper hand, the twins hadn’t joined in yet.
Overexerting herself now would only make things harder later.
Li Youxi gathered a tornado-like force around her.
There’s a saying: “fanning the flames,” which shows just how well wind and fire go together.
“Boom!”
From a distance, the small fire suddenly exploded, burning half the forest to the ground.
“What’s going on?” Wen Jiayin, not far away, jumped in shock.
The commotion had suddenly gotten so big, she was worried about the two girls’ safety.
“They’re fine.
Don’t go over yet, something’s off over there.” Bai Hansu stopped her zither in midair, not getting closer.
She could see the runes hidden underground that Wen Jiayin and the others couldn’t.
“There’s a trap over there.
Let me break it first, then you can make your move.” With that, Bai Hansu landed on a branch, set Wen Jiayin down safely, and picked up her zither.
“Zheng…” A deep note sounded, like a whisper in the night.
“What’s that sound?” The twins looked up at the same time.
They heard the music, but couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
The sound seemed to surround them from all directions, and they were like fish in a barrel.
Being targeted by someone in the shadows, losing control of the situation—it was a terrible feeling! The twins’ instincts screamed danger.
“Brother, whoever’s hiding is no joke.
I don’t think we should stay here.
Let’s just grab one if we can and get out.”
The older twin spread his divine sense, searching for enemies in the dark.
Soon, he spotted the two on a distant tree.
One was a girl at Qi Refining, nothing to worry about.
But the other… her cultivation was about peak Foundation Establishment, and she was the one playing the zither.
She was the real threat.
But at least there were only two of them.
The twins figured they could handle the Foundation Establishment woman.
Just as he thought that, the zither player suddenly looked up and met his divine sense…
In an instant, his mind felt like it was being torn apart.
He screamed and fell from the sky.
If his brother hadn’t caught him, he would’ve been badly hurt.
“Brother!” The younger twin panicked, seeing blood streaming from his brother’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
All that was left in his brother’s mind was a pair of icy, bone-chilling eyes.
Just one look had nearly shattered his soul! There was no way that was the soul power of a normal Foundation Establishment cultivator! Someone who could tear apart a Golden Core’s soul in an instant had to be at least Nascent Soul or above!
“B-brother, let’s get out of here with the others.
The righteous side has someone hiding their cultivation just like us, and she’s really strong!”
Seeing his brother like this, the younger twin had no choice but to believe the enemy was truly dangerous.
The zither music continued.
The twins still didn’t know what the music, which hadn’t attacked yet, was trying to do—but the answer came soon enough.
“Bang! Bang bang!” A series of muffled explosions sent dust flying, leaving several holes in the ground as the restriction was broken.
Bai Hansu changed her tune again, and a closed barrier enveloped the demonic cultivators, leaving them nowhere to run.
In an instant, the hunters and the hunted had switched places.
