In another valley.
Xie Zhaolin swept her cold gaze across the ground. More than a dozen corpses lay scattered around, all the informants from various sects she'd just dealt with.
Her methods were clean and precise. She used baleful qi to kill the human disciples and spiritual power to silence the demon disciples. The traces she left behind would be just enough to make both sides suspect each other and keep tearing at one another like rabid dogs.
She raised her hand, layering several soundproof barriers once again. The last thing she wanted was the noise from her fight with the wolf beast drawing others over. Once everything was in place, she waited patiently for another half an hour. The wolf beast's aura inside the valley had already weakened considerably, but she didn't rush in recklessly.
With a thought, a Shisha Spider puppet crept silently toward the beast.
The moment the puppet crossed within ten zhang,
"Roar!"
The wolf beast, which had seemed so weak, suddenly sprang up. Its claws lashed out, shredding the puppet to pieces in an instant.
Xie Zhaolin arched a brow. Just as she'd expected, the beast was pretending to be weak. Clever creature. It knew how to fake exhaustion to bait enemies. Fortunately, she hadn't fallen for it. But patience was something she had plenty of.
Another hour passed.
This time the beast's aura truly weakened, its strength collapsing to the early Golden Core stage.
"Too bad it didn't drop to Foundation Establishment…" She let out a small sigh of regret, though she knew that was probably the lowest it could fall after going berserk.
Still, for her current self, dealing with a heavily wounded early Golden Core wasn't beyond her ability. She stopped hesitating and leapt straight toward the valley center.
The wolf beast sensed someone's approach and struggled to rise, but its injuries slowed it down. Its three bloody eyes locked onto her, glowing with menace as it let out a low, threatening growl.
She gave it no chance to breathe, hurling three scarlet Explosive Flame Orbs in a single motion.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening blasts tore through the air. Fire swallowed the beast's body in an instant. Almost simultaneously, her fingers blurred through incantations, summoning five beast souls that shot straight at the wolf beast.
"Roarrr!"
The beast's furious bellow shook the valley. Golden Core pressure exploded outward, trying to crush the Foundation cultivator before it. But she was ready. Her divine sense shielded her from the oppressive force, though her five beast souls faltered, momentarily frozen by the shockwave.
In that instant, the wolf beast's jaws opened wide, releasing razor-sharp wind blades.
Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!
The blades sliced through the air, striking the beast souls. Despite their desperate dodges, several were cut, their forms turning faint and blurry.
Her brows furrowed.
As expected, even wounded, a Golden Core beast wasn't easy prey. The beast souls could shift between real and illusory, but overwhelming strength still injured them. She didn't panic. Their recovery ability was powerful, and these wounds would heal quickly.
While the beast souls kept it occupied, she seized the opening. Her hands formed another set of seals, weaving baleful qi and spiritual power together into a devastating blast that struck the wolf beast head-on.
The creature howled in pain, its bloodied eyes widening in shock. In its understanding, cultivators either cultivated spiritual power or baleful qi. No one could possibly control both forces at once!
That moment of disbelief was all she needed.
A dagger appeared in her hand. Borrowing the Dian Diao's teleportation ability, she blinked right before the beast.
Slash!
The dagger pierced straight into the central bloody eye.
"Arrghhh!"
The beast let out an earth-shattering scream, thrashing wildly. The fusion of baleful qi and spiritual power on the blade erupted, blasting the eye apart in a spray of golden blood. Driven mad by the agony, it lashed out in a frenzy, claws tearing everything around.
But she had already withdrawn, darting back and dodging with ease. She knew this berserk state wouldn't last. The beast would regain its clarity soon. That was exactly what she wanted, a moment of chaos. Her divine sense slammed into the beast's sea of consciousness.
She hadn't dared to attempt a soul attack before, fearing a Golden Core beast's retaliation. But now, with its mind in chaos, it was the perfect chance.
"Arrghhh!"
The creature shrieked even louder, its sea of consciousness collapsing into complete disorder. Its attacks lost coherence, defenses crumbling apart.
Her eyes gleamed. This was the opportunity. She unleashed over a dozen Shisha Spider puppets, their sharp claws latching tightly onto the beast's body, refusing to let go no matter how it struggled.
"Detonate!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!
The string of explosions rocked the valley, the massive shockwave engulfing the beast entirely.
Golden blood splattered everywhere. Its colossal frame was torn into a mangled ruin. With a final despairing howl, the wolf beast collapsed to the ground.
From a safe distance, she watched the body fall, eyes cold and vigilant. Golden Core beasts had terrifying vitality, and she wouldn't believe it was dead without proof. Her divine sense stabbed into its sea of consciousness again, shredding what was left until not a single trace remained.
At the same time, three Shisha Spider puppets crawled silently into its body, burrowing into the head to finish off any lingering brain tissue. Only after she was absolutely certain the beast was dead did she approach. With a flick of her hand, she stored the corpse away in her ring.
The five beast souls scattered, zipping toward the fallen sect disciples. Within moments, they'd stripped over seventy storage pouches and piled them neatly before her.
"Not a bad haul." Her lips curved with satisfaction. These disciples had been loaded. There'd surely be treasures hidden in their bags.
She swept them all into her storage ring. Then she meticulously cleaned the scene, retrieving every puppet fragment, leaving not a single trace.
When she was done, a sly glint flashed in her eyes. She circulated the Xuantian Yuqing Jing, deliberately leaving a faint wisp of its aura in the air. Let the Hehuan Sect take the blame for this one too. After confirming the scene was flawless, she turned and left. Her figure melted into the dense forest. The secret realm wouldn't close for more than ten days. She couldn't afford to waste time.
Meanwhile, Yun Xiaotang still had no idea yet another false accusation was about to land on her shoulders. She was too busy frantically searching for a place to hide, struggling to figure out how she'd even survive.