Overall, only a few unexpected incidents occurred.
On the side of the loose cultivators, things were relatively stable. Each of them was battle-hardened. Though their individual cultivation was lacking, they had developed tacit cooperation over years of life-and-death struggles, and they knew how to protect themselves.
The problem arose with one of the sect disciples. Inexperienced, he fell for the schemes of the evil cultivators. First he was ambushed and struck with drugged powder, leaving him unable to muster his strength. The next moment, a flying needle weapon shot straight toward his dantian.
Despair flooded his heart.
It was over.
This was his very first mission.
Could it be that he was going to die here, like this? What a pathetic way to end!
Just as despair consumed him, a longsword cut across his vision, intercepting every last poisoned needle.
The disciple froze. His spiritual power finally circulated again, and he immediately counterattacked. For the first time in his life, he killed an evil cultivator with his own hands.
Then, instinctively, he turned his head.
Many recognized that sword.
It was Yun Jin's Tai'a Sword.
But… wasn't she supposed to hate them? In battle, casualties were normal. She could have easily let him die in disgrace.
Why?
Why would she save him?
The disciple's expression grew complicated. Yun Jin's gaze, however, was already far away, fixed on the wider battlefield. She was weighing the situation. These people needed tempering. But their overall fighting strength was limited. Those she could save, she would.
Decisive killing was one thing. But at this moment, they were all fighting against the evil path. That meant they should be protected. If later they betrayed her or made trouble, then killing them would not be too late.
In Yun Jin's heart, there was always a scale of her own. She did not know if her principles were right or wrong. She only knew that she had her own bottom line, one that no one could change.
Her Tai'a Sword streaked across the battlefield, rescuing more than a few lives—most of them sect disciples.
Even Kong Huai was saved by her once. For a brief moment, he thought Yun Jin must be showing him special attention. But he quickly realized she was impartial, shielding everyone equally.
Kong Huai fell silent. He asked himself: if it were him, could he treat enemies with such mercy?
The answer was no.
Yun Jin had killed a man so casually before. Yet now, she was protecting them.
Why?
What kind of person was she really?
What was she thinking?
To Kong Huai, Yun Jin seemed shrouded in a fog. The more he looked, the less he could see through her.
The battle soon drew to a close. Only the final sweep-up remained.
Then a furious voice rang out.
"Damn it!"
Ghostly shadows surged, and a massive banner unfurled, blotting out the sky. Darkness swallowed the battlefield.
Yun Jin's expression hardened.
"Hall Master, that is a Soul Banner," a loose cultivator whispered. "Such a cursed artifact draws out living souls, subjects them to the worst torments of existence, and twists them into ferocious ghosts, thereby enhancing its power. Judging from the strength of this one… who knows how many have been slaughtered to refine it."
Sadness flickered in his eyes.
For every cultivator's soul, hundreds or thousands of mortals were required to match its worth. And most of the wailing spirits within this Soul Banner were clearly loose cultivators—quite possibly their fallen comrades.
How could they not be moved, watching this?
Yun Jin nodded, calm. "Is the recording stone ready?"
The loose cultivator blinked in surprise.
"It's ready."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Yun Jin soared upward, entering the Soul Banner's range head-on.
Almost by reflex, the loose cultivator activated the recording stone.
Above, countless souls howled in torment, surging toward Yun Jin.
Flames erupted around her body.
She wielded the Primordial Flame with absolute precision. Every spirit that drew close was gently touched by her flames, and one by one, she sent them into reincarnation.
The people below went still.
This…
To control her flames like that, sparing the essence of each soul while sending it into rebirth—it was extraordinarily difficult. These spirits had long since lost their true nature, twisted into instinctive attackers. Yet Yun Jin, with each flick of fire, rescued them.
"Hall Master Yun…"
The eyes of many loose cultivators reddened. The spirits no longer bore the faces of who they once were. But they might have been brothers, sisters, friends. They had already been turned into vicious ghosts, stripped of reason.
Even if Yun Jin had destroyed them outright, that would have been normal—indeed, it was the choice most would make. But she chose instead to expend far greater effort and spiritual power to grant them peace.
Kong Huai pressed his lips tightly, finally unable to hold back. "…Foolish."
He had never seen anyone so foolish as Yun Jin. With such a formidable enemy before them, she still wasted her strength on meaningless acts. What else could it be but stupidity?
"A saint, it seems," a voice hissed from the shadows, echoing faintly.
More spirits surged forth, rushing at Yun Jin.
She wanted to redeem souls, did she not? Then let her redeem them all, until her strength was exhausted! But Yun Jin showed no hesitation. Flame after flame flickered, and every twisted ghost was guided to reincarnation.
Her expression remained serene.
The law of endless renewal thrummed within her. Her consumption was far less than her enemy believed. Anyone who measured her by common logic was courting death. As the weaker spirits were all purified, stronger and stronger ghosts emerged.
Still, Yun Jin remained unhurried, casting each one into rebirth.
The man hidden behind the Soul Banner let out a startled sound.
So long, yet her spiritual power was not depleted?
He knew this woman. Yun Jin—the one who had pursued Xue Daoren cultivator for three thousand li and slain him despite his Unity stage cultivation. Her image from that day had been studied over and over by the evil path. Back then, her spiritual power had not been so enduring.
Even if she had improved, surely she must be close to her limit by now?
Finally, he could wait no longer. Turning into a streak of black smoke, he silently drifted behind Yun Jin, preparing to strike.
Yun Jin did not even turn her head. Her hand suddenly formed a claw, seizing backward.
The black smoke shattered. A bald man emerged, his throat clamped in Yun Jin's grip.
Her eyes were ice. "Gui Jun. Caught you."
The so-called Gui Jun's face twisted with terror as he struggled.
Panic seized him.
How?
His strength was no less than Xue Daoren's, and with the Soul Banner aiding him, why had Yun Jin captured him in an instant, when she had struggled so much with Xue Daoren?
"Hall Master Yun, I—" Gui Jun began.
Yun Jin didn't care to hear him.
Her flames roared.
His body was reduced to ash in an instant. His Yuányīng tried to flee, but Yun Jin flicked a spark of fire.
Filthy souls had no right to reincarnation.
Descending slowly, Yun Jin landed before the stunned crowd.
Their eyes lingered on the young hall master, filled with emotions even they could not name.
"Keep that recording stone safe. When we return, spread it far and wide," Yun Jin ordered the loose cultivator.
The man's face lit with fervor. "Of course! Hall Master, you mean to deter the rest of the evil path, to strike fear in their hearts!"
Yun Jin tilted her head, looking confused. "Deterrence? Why waste effort on that? We'll just kill them all."
The loose cultivator froze. "Then… why?"
Yun Jin's tone was matter-of-fact. "Obviously to let everyone witness my brilliance! Such a perfect chance to show off, how could it be wasted on only you few? Of course the whole world has to see it."
Everyone: "???"