Each With Hidden Motives

Suddenly, Ying Ni's narrowed eyes snapped open. A flash of viciousness crossed her features as the flush on her face vanished, replaced by a contorted, murderous expression.

A short sword materialized in her hand, and she thrust it straight toward the back of Wu Sui's head.

Just as the tip of the blade was about to pierce his skull, a cyan shield of light erupted from Wu Sui's body, deflecting the blow.

Panic and confusion filled Ying Ni's face. Wu Sui was completely naked; logically, he should not have had any Magical Artifacts on his person. Unlike Spirit Weapons, Magical Artifacts could not be drawn into the body.

Where had this cyan shield come from?

Since her intentions were exposed, Ying Ni threw caution to the wind. Driven by desperation, she unleashed a rapid succession of stabs, but every single one was deflected by the protective light.

Wu Sui slowly raised his head, a mocking sneer curling his lips.

"Junior Sister Ying, did you truly believe I would leave myself completely defenseless against you?"

Before his voice faded, a dark, ominous light surged from his palm. His smooth, slender fingers withered and darkened into the grotesque, desiccated claws of a zombie. Without hesitation, he lunged, plunging his talons directly into Ying Ni's lower abdomen, right over her Dantian while she was still straddling his lap.

The razor-sharp claws ripped through her snow-white skin and tore out a chunk of fresh crimson flesh, leaving a gaping, bloody hole where her Dantian once was.

A ruptured Dantian meant a shattered cultivation base. Ying Ni's aura plummeted instantly, leaving her barely stronger than an ordinary mortal.

She coughed up a thick mouthful of blood and collapsed to the floor, her eyes swimming with despair and terror.

"You... you clearly aren't carrying a Storage Bag. Where did that cyan light shield come from?"

Wu Sui stood up unhurriedly, looking down at the broken woman with absolute disdain.

"That is a strand of Magic Power sealed within my body by my grandfather, paid for at the cost of his own cultivation base. It is the Magic Power of a Golden Core cultivator-my ultimate lifesaving trump card. Lowborn wretches like you could never comprehend such a thing."

"With a single thought, that Magic Power manifests as a spiritual shield to keep me safe."

At the height of his arrogance, Wu Sui threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Did you honestly believe a lowly harlot from the brothels could bewitch me with a few paltry seduction techniques?"

"Did you think I failed to notice the Storage Ring on your finger?"

"How could I ever let my guard down around you?"

Wu Sui crouched, bringing his face dangerously close to Ying Ni's delicate features, and lowered his voice.

"Though I must admit, this body of yours is truly alluring. It's almost a pity to destroy it."

Hearing this, a glimmer of hope for survival sparked within Ying Ni's despairing eyes.

She struggled to raise herself, pressing her voluptuous chest against Wu Sui's shin as she begged, "Senior Brother Wu Sui, I was possessed by a moment of madness! I beg you to spare my life! I will serve you faithfully from now on!"

Wu Sui kicked her aside ruthlessly.

"There is no need to go to such trouble. Who knows when you might harbor malicious intent again? I shall seal your soul inside your flesh and refine you into a Living Corpse. That way, you will serve me for eternity."

Ying Ni's face turned ash-gray with horror, already envisioning her grim fate.

Suddenly, the cyan shield around Wu Sui flared with brilliant light.

A streak of cold gleam shot forward like a rainbow piercing the sun, slamming violently against the protective barrier.

Though the shield left Wu Sui completely unharmed by the sneak attack, the sheer, staggering force behind the Cold Moon Blade blasted him several meters backward.

Reeling from the sudden assault, Wu Sui snapped his head up, his eyes darkening with rage as he glared at the figure standing at the mouth of the cavern.

"Ji Yin! It's you!"

Before he could steady himself, the cold gleam struck again, sending him hurtling through the air once more.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A relentless barrage ensued. Wu Sui was reduced to a turtle hiding within its shell, knocked tumbling repeatedly by the massive impact of the Cold Moon Blade. Though he remained uninjured, the continuous, jarring shocks left him in agonizing discomfort, his internal organs feeling as if they were being twisted into knots.

"Stop! Junior Brother Ji Yin, halt your attack!" Wu Sui roared, forcing himself to endure the excruciating vibrations.

"If you swear to cease your assault, I can make a Heavenly Dao oath! I will never seek retribution for today's events, nor will I utter a single word to anyone else!"

"What say you, Junior Brother Ji Yin?"

Having unleashed the Cold Moon Blade dozens of times in rapid succession, Song Wen had expended a significant amount of his own spiritual energy.

The strength of that cyan shield surpassed his expectations.

He had assumed that a half-damaged Spirit Weapon like the Cold Moon Blade would easily shatter the barrier, but he now realized he had underestimated it. A strand of Magic Power bestowed by a Golden Core ancestor at the cost of his own cultivation was indeed formidable.

Even though this Magic Power was finite-like water cut off from its source-it was still not something a mere peak Qi Refining cultivator could easily breach.

Song Wen halted his assault and pulled out two Qi-supplementing Pills, consuming and refining them right before Wu Sui's eyes. He could not break the cyan shield immediately, but he could trap Wu Sui within this cave.

He would whittle him down slowly. He refused to believe this turtle shell could last forever.

Since he held all the cards, Song Wen was in no rush.

As he circulated his energy to absorb the medicinal effects, Song Wen replied smoothly, "Senior Brother Wu Sui's proposal is excellent. However, those two Heavenly Spirit Fruits in your possession must belong to me."

Seeing that Song Wen was receptive and had actually stopped attacking, a look of joy surfaced on Wu Sui's face.

"So it is the Heavenly Spirit Fruits you desire, Junior Brother! You should have said so earlier. I would have gladly offered them with both hands. Why must we resort to violence and ruin our sect harmony?"

"To prove my sincerity, I can give them to you first," Wu Sui declared with feigned magnanimity.

He then pointed toward a discarded pile of garments not far from Ying Ni.

"However, the Heavenly Spirit Fruits are kept inside my Storage Bag. Would Junior Brother mind letting me step over there to open it and retrieve them?"

Having been repeatedly blasted back by the Cold Moon Blade, Wu Sui was currently dozens of meters away from where Ying Ni lay.

Song Wen stared at Wu Sui, his gaze deep and inscrutable, remaining silent.

Collapsed on the ground with her breath fading, Ying Ni suddenly croaked, "Junior Brother Ji Yin... do not listen to his lies... He only wants to reach his Storage Bag to pull out his Magical Artifacts and kill you... Cough, cough..."

She spoke with such frantic urgency that she aggravated her internal injuries, coughing up two more sprays of fresh blood.

Wu Sui glared murderously at the half-dead woman, wishing he could slaughter her with his gaze alone.

Before Ji Yin had arrived, she wouldn't stop talking.

Now, with her life hanging by a thread, she still refused to shut her mouth.

"I must disagree with Senior Sister Ying Ni. Given Senior Brother Wu Sui's esteemed status as the direct grandson of a Golden Core Patriarch, I am certain he is not a man who breaks his word," Song Wen suddenly countered, speaking up in Wu Sui's defense.

"Since Senior Brother Wu Sui is willing to hand over the Heavenly Spirit Fruits first to show his good faith, I cannot be lacking in courtesy either."

With those words, Song Wen opened his own Storage Bag, stowed the Cold Moon Blade inside, and tossed the bag onto the ground ten meters ahead of him.

As every cultivator knew, those in the Qi Refining stage had to make physical contact with a Storage Bag to open it. Only Foundation Establishment experts who possessed Divine Sense could open one from a distance.

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