Wei Yuan’s hair stood on end in an instant; he immediately realized he was being targeted and went on high alert.

It felt as though a gentle breeze had passed him by, though Wei Yuan did not sense anything. Suddenly, a cat’s yowl came behind him. When he turned to look, he saw a massive white tiger materializing out of thin air and swiping its paw at the empty air. Something darted beneath the tiger’s claw and caused the lightning-fast strike to miss its mark.

The white tiger was Trueman Chu He’s spirit pet. It had shifted into combat mode in the heat of the moment. However, there was a gash on its shoulder—only it knew when it had taken the wound.

At the same time, Trueman Chu He crawled out from underneath the white tiger, his body covered in dust and dirt, and his face deathly pale. The sneak attack had appeared without warning; had the white tiger not reacted so swiftly, the old Daoist would likely be missing an arm or a leg already.

Without needing a warning, the cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning immediately spread out, covering each other’s flanks and keeping watch in all directions.

Just then, Wei Yuan’s instincts flared up again. Without pausing to think, he summoned three curved cauldrons and linked them together, forming a perfect circle that covered him completely.

More than a dozen streams of black qi tore through the air, striking the circular barrier. To everyone’s surprise, they produced a clanging, metallic sound!...