Translator: CinderTL
With the Sect Protection Array shattered, the interior of the Profound Yin Cave was laid bare.
The cave descended vertically, with stone platforms scattered along the rock walls.
Disciples of the Profound Yin Sect guarded these platforms to prevent outsiders from sneaking in.
Ten li down, the cave floor was reached.
However, the bottom of the cave was a labyrinth of interconnected tunnels leading to various underground locations.
This vast vertical shaft, a hundred li wide and ten li deep, appeared magnificent, yet it was merely the entrance to the Profound Yin Sect's mountain gate.
The true heart of the Profound Yin Sect lay deep within the underground tunnels.
This didn't diminish the shaft's importance.
It was the gateway to the Profound Yin Sect, the place where the Sect Protection Array had been inscribed.
A torrent of blood surged into the Profound Yin Cave, crashing against the cave floor and sending blood arrows flying in all directions.
These blood arrows pierced through everything in their path, whether it was a disciple of the Profound Yin Sect or the solid rock walls.
Three Corpse Puppets also charged into the Profound Yin Cave, killing anyone they encountered and destroying anything they found.
In moments, countless disciples of the Profound Yin Sect perished.
The cave walls were severely damaged, scarred and riddled with holes. The Formation Patterns and Formation Flags carved into the walls were destroyed or displaced, leaving no chance to reactivate the Sect Protection Array.
Hundreds of miles away, Gui Ni, locked in a fierce battle with Lan Chen and Mo Yexue, saw the destruction of the Profound Yin Cave and was instantly consumed by rage. His eyes widened, bloodshot with fury.
"Ji Yin, how dare you destroy my Profound Yin Sect's mountain gate! I, Gui Ni, will never forgive you!" Gui Ni roared in fury.
Song Wen ignored Gui Ni's outburst, instead letting Mo Yexue mock him.
"Gui Ni, we're not just destroying a mountain gate. We're here to annihilate your entire Profound Yin Sect and take your life."
Gui Ni was enraged, but he couldn't break free from Mo Yexue and Lan Chen's relentless attacks. He could only watch helplessly.
Meanwhile, Song Wen's actions had been swift and decisive.
It was a long story, but from the moment he appeared to block Xue Mei's escape route to the moment the Profound Yin Sect's Sect Protection Array shattered, only a breath or two had passed.
He had been multitasking, attacking the array while simultaneously targeting Xue Mei.
The Dao Canon Blade transformed into a streak of icy light, slashing towards Xue Mei.
The blade struck its mark, and Xue Mei's form vanished, leaving only a blue flame behind.
In the next instant, ten Xue Mei clones materialized simultaneously, scattering in different directions.
Xue Mei's Illusion Technique clones were nearly indistinguishable from the real one, leaving Song Wen unable to discern the true Xue Mei.
Song Wen wasn't in a hurry. He pursued Xue Mei one by one with his sword.
When he slew the seventh Xue Mei, she suddenly vanished into thin air and reappeared three hundred miles away.
Her luck remained good. She had shifted three hundred miles diagonally backward, not the optimal escape route, but at least it put distance between her and Song Wen.
Xue Mei repeated her tactic. Before Song Wen's attack could reach her, she activated the Blood Escape Technique again, aiming to escape Song Wen's Spirit Sense range.
Soon, Xue Mei vanished into the dense Blood Mist.
She reappeared two hundred and seventy miles away, behind a towering mountain.
At this point, she was over five hundred miles from Song Wen and more than four hundred miles from Lan Chen and the others. Both distances exceeded the Spirit Sense range of a Peak Nascent Soul cultivator.
Xue Mei dared not relax for a moment. She flew low to the ground, following the ravines between the mountains, moving as quickly as possible.
Within ten thousand miles of the Profound Yin Cave, there was no vegetation. If Ji Yin happened to come searching, he would easily spot Xue Mei's trail. Only by fleeing as far as possible could she truly be safe.
Unlike Song Wen, Xue Mei didn't have an endless supply of blood essence to fuel her Blood Escape Technique.
Having used the Blood Escape Technique twice in quick succession, her blood essence was severely depleted, leaving her unable to use it again.
Yet, Xue Mei had only fled a few dozen miles when she heard a voice call out from behind:
"Xue Mei, where do you think you're running?"
Song Wen's voice was laced with amusement, as if he were a cat toying with a mouse, completely in control.
Thunderlight crackled around Song Wen, forming a spherical lightning bolt that hurtled through the air. His cultivation was already higher than Xue Mei's, and with the aid of the Thunder Escape Technique, his speed was clearly superior.
Xue Mei was both terrified and bewildered. She couldn't fathom how Song Wen had found her so quickly.
Seemingly panicked, she activated another Minor Teleportation Talisman.
But her luck had run out. This time, she teleported to the southwest of Song Wen, only a hundred miles away.
Without hesitation, she activated another Minor Teleportation Talisman.
When she reappeared, she was three hundred miles northwest of Song Wen.
Seeing this, Song Wen's eyes lit up.
Xue Mei had consecutively used four Minor Teleportation Talismans. It was impossible that all of these talismans had been crafted by Tai He while he was still alive.
The only possibility was that Xue Mei herself had comprehended the method for drawing Minor Teleportation Talismans and crafted these talismans herself.
Before Song Wen could react, Xue Mei produced another Minor Teleportation Talisman.
This time, luck finally favored Xue Mei. She teleported north three hundred miles, once again exceeding the maximum detection range of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
However, despair struck Xue Mei as Song Wen quickly caught up.
She finally confirmed that her pursuer possessed some method to extend their detection range.
Unless she had incredible luck and teleported repeatedly in the same direction, she had no chance of escaping his detection.
A sense of helplessness washed over Xue Mei.
The tiny Foundation Establishment cultivator from years ago had now grown into one of the world's top cultivators.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have been so short-sighted back then, selling him out for the Soul Breaking Demon Pill and the teleportation array disk," Xue Mei regretted.
Suddenly, a vast Blood Sea surged across the sky.
The Blood Sea spread in all directions, covering the heavens and earth.
It didn't attack Xue Mei directly but instead aimed to trap her.
Xue Mei understood Song Wen's intentions. She activated another Minor Teleportation Talisman.
Xue Mei had failed to escape the Blood Sea's coverage. Instead, the Blood Sea seized the opportunity to envelop her, forming a hemispherical barrier that trapped her within.
Her face turned grim, and her eyes betrayed unmistakable panic.
She summoned the Black Water of Destruction, transforming it into a long spear, and prepared to strike the nearest point of the barrier.
A short spear crackling with Thunderlight shot forward, intercepting the black spear.
Though the Black Water of Destruction could corrode Mystic Treasures, it was ineffective against lightning. It couldn't harm the short spear, which was entirely covered in Thunderlight.
The short spear arced through the air and then hurtled back toward Xue Mei.
She immediately conjured ten illusion clones, scattering them in different directions.
"Ji Yin..."
One of the Xue Mei clones had barely uttered Song Wen's name when it was obliterated by a bolt of Thunderlight.
The short spear then shot toward another Xue Mei clone.
"Ji Yin, you can't kill me! Back then, I didn't tell you the whole truth. Even though you've cultivated the Corpse King Rebirth Art, you still need Fallen Immortal Blood to achieve Divine Transformation!" another clone cried out.
"Heh..." Song Wen hovered in the air, gazing down at the fleeing Xue Mei clones. "Since you deceived me, you deserve to die even more!"
"Only I know the location of the Fallen Immortal Blood! If you kill me, no one else in the world will ever find it!" Xue Mei shouted desperately.
Before her words could fully fade, the Xue Mei clone that had spoken was slain. However, it was still just an Illusion Clone.
(End of the Chapter)
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