Xie Zhaolin looked down from above at Wei Qingwu, who was slumped weakly on the ground. A cold smile curved across her lips.
"What's wrong? Surprised?"
Wei Qingwu trembled violently, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You… shouldn't you already be…"
Her voice cut off when the terrifying Teng She slithered slowly onto Xie Zhaolin's wrist, rubbing its head affectionately against her fingers.
In that instant, everything clicked in Wei Qingwu's mind—the sudden appearance of that black serpent, the inescapable valley, and the horrifying experience of being dragged by a snake's tail.
"It was you! It's all your doing!" Wei Qingwu snapped back to her senses, her eyes filling with rage and hatred. "You bitch! You were just pretending to be some ghost to scare me! I'll tell my uncle, he'll—"
Pa!
Xie Zhaolin kicked her hard in the face, slamming her into the ground. "Shut the hell up."
Wei Qingwu's mind went blank. Her cheek burned from the impact, her whole body shaking. She glared at Xie Zhaolin in disbelief. "You… you dare kick me? My uncle's the Peak Lord of the Alchemy Peak! Treat me like this and he'll punish you mercilessly when we're back at the sect!"
Xie Zhaolin let out a laugh like she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world, her smile full of mockery. "Wei Qingwu, did cultivating fry your brain too?"
She crouched down, her cold gaze locking on Wei Qingwu's terrified eyes. "Right now you're in my hands. Killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant. And you still think dropping Elder Wei's name can save you? Do you need me to remind you how it felt when Teng She dragged you around just now?"
Only then did Wei Qingwu finally realize the depth of her danger. Her face went as pale as paper. That's right. She was completely at Xie Zhaolin's mercy. Her life or death depended on the other woman's whim. But she still couldn't accept it.
"You… you wouldn't dare kill me…" Her voice trembled, though she clung to that last shred of hope. "If you kill me, my uncle will hunt you down to the ends of the earth. You're just a Foundation Establishment disciple, you can't escape…"
Xie Zhaolin rubbed her brow impatiently. There was only one way to deal with idiots who didn't understand their situation. She lifted her hand slightly. Teng She immediately understood, darting right in front of Wei Qingwu. Its icy serpent eyes stared her down, venomous fangs glinting.
"Senior Sister Wei, you still don't seem to get it," Xie Zhaolin said softly, her tone cold as frost. "This is a secret realm. People dying here is the most normal thing in the world."
As her words fell, Teng She flicked its tongue, hissing menacingly.
Wei Qingwu went rigid with terror. She finally realized the truth—Xie Zhaolin really would kill her.
"No… don't! Please!" She completely broke down, tears and snot running down her face as she begged. "Junior Sister, please spare me! I was wrong, I know I was wrong! Please give me one more chance!"
But Xie Zhaolin's expression didn't soften in the slightest. Wei Qingwu's panic only grew. Her mind raced desperately, trying to find something, anything, that might interest Xie Zhaolin. Suddenly her eyes lit up, like she'd grabbed hold of a lifeline. "Wait! Don't kill me! I… I know a secret about the Hehuan Sect!"
Xie Zhaolin raised an eyebrow, though her face stayed cold. "A Hehuan Sect secret? From you?"
The scorn in her tone made Wei Qingwu frantic. "It's true! I saw it myself! Yu Xiaotang… she often mutters to herself, like she's talking to someone unseen!"
Seeing Xie Zhaolin unmoved, Wei Qingwu spoke even faster. "And in that battle just now, I saw her use some strange method that made all the leaders suddenly lose control and attack each other! That's not a Hehuan Sect technique, I swear it!
I think… she's hiding some unspeakable secret. If we catch her weakness, maybe we can force her to let you into the Hehuan Sect!"
For the first time, a flicker of surprise passed through Xie Zhaolin's eyes. She hadn't expected Wei Qingwu to notice so much. Even in the chaos of battle and the terror of being dragged around by Teng She, this woman had still been observing Yu Xiaotang closely.
And what she described matched her own suspicions. That mysterious Xi Tong seemed even stranger than she'd imagined. But even knowing that, it didn't change anything for Wei Qingwu.
Seeing no response, Wei Qingwu gritted her teeth. "I can help you keep watching her! Just let me live, I'll find you more evidence!"
Xie Zhaolin chuckled, her voice carrying a trace of amusement. "Since Senior Sister Wei's so eager to prove her worth…"
Before her words even finished, a blur of white streaked through the air.
Xue Xiao swooped down from nowhere, its claws sinking deep into Wei Qingwu's shoulders. With one powerful beat of its wings, it dragged her straight toward the wolf beasts in the valley.
"No—!" Wei Qingwu screamed in terror as she was hauled into the sky. She thrashed wildly, but Xue Xiao's talons were like iron.
As the wind roared past her ears, she caught one last glimpse of Xie Zhaolin standing in the distance. Her lips curved in a cold smile as she mouthed something.
The words carried on the wind, chilling her to the bone.
"Then help me test how long the wolf beasts' berserk state will last."
Before she could even react, Xue Xiao released its grip high above the valley.
"Ahhh—!!" Wei Qingwu shrieked as she plummeted, landing right in front of a raging wolf beast.
Its crimson eyes locked on her instantly. With a single swipe of its massive claws—
Rip!
Blood sprayed everywhere. Wei Qingwu's body was cleaved clean in half, her organs spilling onto the ground. Her upper half still clawed forward in a desperate crawl, her eyes filled with horror and despair, before the pain finally took her life.
From afar, Xie Zhaolin lightly covered her nose and mouth, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "Ah, my apologies, Senior Sister Wei. Looks like the wolf beasts' berserk state isn't over yet."
Wei Qingwu had finished her final role—testing the beasts with her life. As for Yu Xiaotang… she'd unexpectedly provided some useful information. That might come in handy later. Casting one last glance at the shredded corpse, Xie Zhaolin turned toward the valley's edge.
Several disciples still lingered nearby, watching the beasts. Clearly they were the spies left behind by the major sects, keeping a close eye on the wolves' condition.
"How troublesome…" A sharp gleam flickered in her eyes.
The last thing she wanted was unnecessary problems when she moved against the wolf beasts.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, in a hidden cave, Yu Xiaotang sat cross-legged in meditation. Her face was pale, the earlier escape clearly having drained her.
Just then, a piercing system alarm suddenly echoed in her mind.