Xie Zhaolin watched the expressions of despair on their faces and let out a soft sigh.
"Almost forgot the main task."
She waved her hand lazily, and two shadows shot out of her sleeves like lightning!
The speed left only afterimages. The demon ape didn't even have time to wail before its massive head rolled to the ground, blood gushing everywhere, staining the grass and trees around it.
Liu Feng knelt lower on the ground, his head buried. A second-rank ink ape, killed in a single strike… how much strength must that take? Cold sweat soaked his back as he finally realized just how merciful Xie Zhaolin had been when she hadn't killed them immediately that day.
She turned with a smile toward the three, their faces ashen, and lightly tapped Zhang Yuanzhi's chin with her fingertips.
"So… how should I deal with you all?"
No one said a word. After a long pause, Sun Yun forced a flattering smile: "Xie… Junior Sister Xie, it was just a joke before. Now that the demon ape's dealt with, we can return to the sect to report, right?"
Zhang Yuanzhi, wincing in pain, nodded in agreement: "Y-yes… thanks to Elder Mo granting us protective treasures…"
He deliberately avoided Xie Zhaolin's gaze, clearly attributing everything to Mo Xun's backup plan.
Lu Xun struggled to lift his head, coughing up blood: "We'll report to the sect… how Junior Sister Xie remained calm in a crisis, and with Elder Mo's treasures, struck down the demon ape…"
Xie Zhaolin let out a sudden laugh that cut through the silent forest: "Return to the sect? Senior brothers and sisters, have you forgotten… why you even came out here?"
She walked calmly over to Zhang Yuanzhi, bent down, and took a Recording Stone from his chest.
With a tap of her finger, the image projected clearly—the exact moment Xu Nanfeng shoved her toward the demon ape.
"So all you wanted was to see me die here?"
The recording continued: Zhang Yuanzhi secretly adjusting the angle to capture evidence, Lu Xun making gestures behind him to cover it up…
"Artifact Peak really plays a fine game," Xie Zhaolin mused, spinning the stone in her fingers. "Using my death to suppress Alchemy Peak, two birds with one stone, right?"
Xu Nanfeng, having suddenly woken, saw the footage and his eyes went red with fury: "Zhang Yuanzhi! You actually—"
"I, I didn't…" Zhang Yuanzhi stammered, too pained to finish a sentence.
As the two argued, Sun Yun crawled desperately to Xie Zhaolin's feet, trembling as she clutched her skirt: "Junior Sister Xie… no, Senior Sister Xie, spare me! They forced me… I didn't do anything!"
Xie Zhaolin lowered her gaze at the blood-stained hand and said softly: "Senior sister, don't think I didn't hear. You were the first to suggest to Lu Xun that I feed myself to the demon beast."
Sun Yun's eyes widened in disbelief.
She was so far away, how could Xie Zhaolin have heard?
Snap!
Her index finger was broken with a sharp crack, and she screamed in agony.
"And this one too," Xie Zhaolin said gently, "you even dirtied my skirt."
Snap!
Another finger twisted and snapped.
Her screams finally snapped the other three fully awake—they knew Xie Zhaolin truly had murderous intent.
Lu Xun gritted his teeth: "Xie Zhaolin! My life lantern is with my master! If I die, he'll immediately know who killed me!"
Zhang Yuanzhi hastily added: "Mine too! I'm a direct disciple, my soul lantern is lit!"
Xu Nanfeng weakly supplemented: "We're all important disciples of our peaks! If you dare—"
Xie Zhaolin laughed lightly and turned to Liu Feng: "Liu Feng, is your soul lantern lit in the Law Enforcement Hall?"
Liu Feng shook his head blankly: "Subordinate… just an ordinary inner disciple…" He truly had no idea about the precious soul lantern, reserved only for the sect's direct disciples.
"I see…" Xie Zhaolin's lips curled into a sly smile.
So the sect's peaks really were willing to risk even their disciples' lives.
In the next moment, a terrifying divine pressure slammed down!
Four dark red slave contracts forcibly entered their bodies. They didn't even have the strength to resist, feeling their Primordial Souls utterly controlled.
"What… what did you do to us?!" Lu Xun panicked, his body no longer his own. The violent tremor in his divine sense forced him to bow instinctively to Xie Zhaolin.
Even the faint thought of possibly finding an opportunity to counterattack was instantly crushed by the slave contract. The burning pain through their divine sense made them dare not think anything else.
Liu Feng saw the familiar scene and immediately understood. He hurriedly bowed: "Master is wise! This way, we can plant—"
Before he could finish, Xie Zhaolin's cold gaze fell on him. Her voice was airy, yet it sent shivers down his spine:
"Who allowed you to guess my thoughts?"
"Master, spare me!" Liu Feng instantly dropped to the ground, forehead pressed into the blood-stained earth.
The others, though disgusted by him, secretly relaxed. If the contracts were planted, it meant Xie Zhaolin didn't intend to kill them… for now. Keeping them as eyes across the peaks was indeed more valuable than killing them.
But that thought barely formed before they saw the playful curl on Xie Zhaolin's lips: "I just thought of a fun little game. Senior brothers and sisters, care to join me?"
They nodded frantically, just wanting to survive and return to the sect.
Yet when they saw the malicious gleam in her eyes, a sense of foreboding instantly rose in their hearts. The next moment, their bodies moved completely against their will.
Xie Zhaolin casually tossed the Recording Stone aside. The four immediately sat cross-legged, forming meditation postures to regulate their breath.
Xu Nanfeng, Sun Yun, and Lu Xun shut their eyes tight, while only Zhang Yuanzhi's eyelids twitched slightly.
"Senior Brother Lu always speaks so piously, filled with sect righteousness," Xie Zhaolin said with a light laugh, "falling into madness, what a perfect way to die."
With a slight movement of her mind, Zhang Yuanzhi's fingers involuntarily shot a thin thread of spiritual power, accurately striking Xu Nanfeng's vital point on the back.
Xu Nanfeng shuddered violently, eyes snapping open to reveal blood-red irises.
"Fallen into madness!" Lu Xun shouted, trying to rise, only to find himself completely paralyzed.
Xu Nanfeng let out a beast-like roar and slammed a palm into the nearest Lu Xun. He couldn't even scream before his chest was pierced, dying instantly.
"Senior Brother Xu, calm down!" Sun Yun screamed, terrified, but could only watch as Xu Nanfeng turned toward her.
At that moment, Liu Feng awoke and recklessly lunged at Xu Nanfeng: "Stop!"
Xu Nanfeng's counter palm sent Liu Feng flying into a tree, leaving him unconscious.
Sun Yun stared in despair as Xu Nanfeng closed in. She tried to fight back, but a shadow shot out from the forest, the dense demonic energy instantly enveloping her.
"Demon cultivator…!" she gasped, only half a scream escaping before the demonic energy consumed her entirely.
Xie Zhaolin leaped toward the unconscious Liu Feng, a Ground Escape Talisman appearing in her hand. With a flash, the talisman tore, and the two vanished underground, leaving only a faint spiritual afterimage.
Almost simultaneously, the demonic energy finished devouring Sun Yun. Her shrieks echoed through the forest, then abruptly stopped, leaving only a shriveled corpse, face unrecognizable.
Several miles away, Xie Zhaolin emerged with Liu Feng, a smile curling on her lips.
"Well done."