The moment the two figures appeared, a transmission talisman shot into the air.
Bad news.
Ye Chuxue and Bai Yang exchanged a look. Just what they feared… had come to pass. They immediately tried to turn and flee, but a sharp gust of wind howled toward them from behind.
Bai Yang spun around and raised his sword to block the blow, but the attacker was a Golden Core cultivator.
The wind carried the cutting force of pure metal qi. It sliced clean through Bai Yang's sword shadow and slammed into him. He stumbled back several steps, clutching his chest as pain surged through his ribs.
The blast of wind skimmed past Ye Chuxue, whipping her robes wildly. She raised her arm to shield her face, barely managing to keep her footing.
Just one clash, and they were already at a disadvantage.
"Tch."
The Golden Core cultivator flickered forward, cutting off their escape. He and his companions formed a loose encirclement around the pair.
Ye Chuxue and Bai Yang stood back to back, surrounded.
"Who are you people? You're from Xiangyun City, aren't you?" Ye Chuxue asked, though the answer was obvious.
Her mind worked quickly, searching for a way out. They were both only at Foundation Establishment stage, while their enemy had a Golden Core expert among them. Breaking through the encirclement would not be easy.
Worse, that talisman had already gone out. Reinforcements were no doubt on the way. If they didn't escape soon, it would be too late.
Ye Chuxue gritted her teeth, frantically scanning her storage ring with her spiritual sense, hoping to find something—anything—that could turn the situation around.
Behind her, Bai Yang's expression was grim. Under normal circumstances, they might be able to fight above their level, but the gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was enormous. And he was only mid-Foundation stage at that…
There was no way they could win.
Their only hope now lay with the sect.
He quickly sent her a voice transmission. "Junior Sister Ye, don't you still have that Yin-Yang Talisman? Can you use it to contact the sect?"
The Yin-Yang Talisman allowed communication across the boundaries of yin and yang. It came in pairs and was often used as a spiritual link.
This particular talisman had been a gift from Gu Qingyuan. He had entrusted it to Ye Chuxue in case she ever faced true danger.
Master Gu might be unconscious now, but An Ze was still tending to him. There was still a chance.
"You're right! I nearly forgot!"
Ye Chuxue had been too focused on spiritual tools and treasures, completely overlooking the Yin-Yang Talisman. She rummaged through the corner of her ring, and sure enough, there it was—plain and unassuming.
Pouring her spiritual sense into it, she quickly described their situation and begged An Ze to send someone to rescue them.
Under normal circumstances, they might have risked a fight and escaped with injuries. But this time, they were carrying the Heavenly Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill. If it was taken, those fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones would be gone in an instant. The loss would be catastrophic.
If the sect could intervene, that would be the best outcome.
The talisman quickly burned away inside her ring, turning to ash. That meant the message had reached the other end.
Ye Chuxue furrowed her brows and silently prayed for the sect to send help soon.
Wentiān Sect.
An Ze was tending to the unconscious Gu Qingyuan when someone outside called his name. Without much thought, he stepped out. Gu Qingyuan was safe in the palace, after all. Nothing should go wrong.
Moments after he left, a Yin-Yang Talisman ignited into flame beside Gu Qingyuan's bed, disintegrating into ash.
Ye Chuxue's anxious voice echoed faintly from the embers.
But Gu Qingyuan, still unconscious, could hear none of it.
By the time the voice faded, the room had remained deathly still. Not even a ripple of reaction.
"Those damn bastards! You just wait. One day, I'll make every last one of you pay!"
An Ze stormed back into the room, cursing furiously. Someone had taken over his residence in the inner sect. His belongings had been thrown out like trash. These bootlicking hypocrites only knew how to kiss up and trample down. He was seething.
Once Master Gu woke up, he'd go settle accounts with every single one of them. Fuming, he returned to the bedside. His gaze landed on a small pile of ash near the bed, and he frowned.
"What's this?" He stared at it for a while but couldn't figure it out. Eventually, he dismissed it from his mind.
"Master, just as you predicted. A-yue followed them in secret." The auction master's face was ashen with fury. A-yue had worked under him for years, yet he hadn't noticed a thing. It was a failure on his part.
Fortunately, his master had not blamed him.
"He always showed interest in pills," the man muttered, "but I thought he was just curious. Who would've guessed he was hiding ill intent?"
For someone working in an auction house to follow clients in secret, possibly intending to rob or kill them—if this got out, it would ruin their reputation.
Song Wanníng listened to the report with a calm smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"If he wants to go, let him. Who knows? He might bring us a little surprise."
Ye Chuxue and Bai Yang were clearly the male and female leads of some cosmic script. Xiangyun City's thugs might not be able to take them down at all.
They had a tendency to survive desperate situations and even gain something greater from them.
So Mo Yuan would play the role of the waiting predator, the third party ready to strike once the others exhausted themselves.
No matter how it ended, it would at least cause trouble for the pair, chip away at their luck, and slow their rise.
"Yes, I'll follow all your instructions!" The auction master was now completely convinced. With Song Wanníng, everything seemed to unfold just as she expected. Every detail was under her control.
All he had to do was obey.
"So it really was you."
Ye Chuxue's heart sank as Yun Jinyue stepped out with her people.
A terrible sense of foreboding clutched her chest.
She tightened her grip on the ring that held the Heavenly Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill.
That pill, which could save her master's life, had now become a curse.
"It seems we all understand what's going on," Yun Jinyue said lazily. She flicked her eyes toward Ye Chuxue and casually tossed a storage pouch at her feet.
"There's thirty thousand mid-grade spirit stones in there. I'll take that pill."
"You wish!"
Ye Chuxue's voice was ice-cold. Her eyes burned with fury.
Her master's life depended on that pill. Selling it wasn't even an option. And even if it were, thirty thousand was daylight robbery for something so rare and precious.
What a joke.
"Tch."
Yun Jin Yue let out a low laugh, her expression darkening.
"If you weren't core disciples of Wentiān Sect, you wouldn't even be getting that much." They were on Wentiān Sect's turf. If she killed them outright, the sect could immediately retaliate. They'd never get out alive with the pill.
But if she didn't kill them, the grudge would be sealed. Sooner or later, a Nascent Soul cultivator from the sect would come to avenge them. So offering a portion of spirit stones and "buying" the pill was the safest way to take it.
"I don't want your spirit stones. And I'm not selling you the pill!"
Ye Chuxue trembled with anger.
She hated people like this. Those who used their power and privilege to walk all over others. Song Wanníng had done it. Yun Jinyue was no different.