Di Qian waited in despair for death to claim him.
But...
Zhi Yue's long nails suddenly stopped right between his brows. They didn't move any further.
He froze, eyes filled with confusion and disbelief. A heartbeat later, he felt control of his spiritual power return. Without hesitation, he bolted back dozens of meters, barely catching his breath before daring to look again.
Zhi Yue's arm had somehow been bound by layers of vines. No matter how she twisted, she couldn't break free. The vines were sturdy, almost alive, refusing to budge an inch.
Those vines... what were they?
Di Qian was stunned. Could there really be another expert hidden among them?
Zhi Yue bit her lip, glaring coldly at Yun Jin. "It's you! Damn it, your cultivation's at the Tribulation stage?"
She couldn't hold back from swearing.
The others might not have noticed, but as the one trapped, Zhi Yue could feel the source of that power.
Yun Jin? Those vines came from her?
Everyone turned to look at Yun Jin in disbelief.
She rolled her eyes. "When did I ever say I was still at Tribulation stage?"
Zhi Yue suddenly realized something and snapped her gaze toward Yu Shiyi. "It's you! You purposely hid her strength to make me let my guard down!"
Yu Shiyi: "???"
He wasn't, he didn't!!
"Shiyi! Why would you even hide that from me?" Yu Wushisan said, frowning.
The rest of the group turned their eyes to Yu Shiyi.
Yu Shiyi: "…"
How the hell was he supposed to explain this?!
"Wushisan, Shiyi must've done it to trick that demon Zhi Yue. Don't blame him," Di Qian said, a bit of relief flashing in his eyes now that he'd survived.
Sure, Yu Shiyi had scared them half to death... but the outcome was good, wasn't it? Who could've guessed this human woman was actually a peerless master?
As the realization sank in, Di Qian's back went cold. Wait, he'd spoken to this Senior so rudely before, hadn't he?
That wouldn't do. He needed to fix this.
He quickly straightened his back and said obsequiously, "Senior Yun, thank you for saving me. Earlier, we were all misled by Yu Shiyi and spoke rudely. Please forgive our offense."
He really could bend and stretch when it came to survival.
Yun Jin sighed. "Yu Shiyi doesn't even have the brains to mislead anyone."
Yu Shiyi instinctively nodded. "Exactly, I'd never—"
Then he blinked.
Wait.
What did she just say?
Did she just call him brainless?!
He glared at her, too angry to speak.
Everyone looked between them, dazed again.
What the hell did that mean? So Yu Shiyi wasn't lying?
Zhi Yue kept struggling, but the vines wouldn't budge. Her fury only grew. "What nonsense are you spouting?! You're trying to tell me that a year ago, you really were just at the Tribulation stage?"
Yun Jin nodded calmly. "That's right. But you know, everything in the world moves forward. Motion is absolute, stillness is relative. Movement is the fundamental attribute and existence of matter. Motion—"
She started rambling like a lecturer.
Zhi Yue nearly lost her mind. "Speak human language!"
Yun Jin looked a bit offended. She was seriously giving them a lesson here, yet no one had any patience these days. Honestly, this batch of people was the worst she'd ever taught.
Yun Jin sighed. "In human terms, I improved over the year."
"Improved?!" Zhi Yue's voice trembled with rage. "It's only been a year! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
When she ascended the throne, she'd already been at late Mahayana. It had taken her fifty years of bitter cultivation and forbidden arts to reach her current level.
And Yun Jin?
How could she stay so clean, so untouched by blood and pain, and still become so strong?
Yun Jin raised a brow. "There'll always be geniuses you can't understand. Like me... and like Zhi Yin."
Zhi Yue's pupils constricted sharply.
Zhi Yin.
She hadn't expected to hear that name again, not after so many years.
Zhi Yue glared at Yun Jin. "You know that idiot?"
Yun Jin's eyes narrowed. A vine appeared in her hand. With a flick, it lashed across Zhi Yue's body, drawing a pained scream.
Zhi Yue trembled but laughed bitterly through the pain. "So you're venting for that fool? No wonder I couldn't find her all these years. That idiot went to the Central Continent!"
Yun Jin frowned and cracked the vine again.
After two lashes, Zhi Yue's screams filled the air, and her illusion shattered. She reverted to her true form—a pale woman in white, hair like ink spilling down her back.
Grinding her teeth, Zhi Yue glared up. "You can't kill me! The Blood Moon is complete! As long as it exists, so do I!"
Even in death, she could use the Blood Moon's power to return.
Yun Jin smirked. "Really?"
Tai'a Sword appeared in her hand. Without hesitation, she tossed it upward.
The sword became a streak of lightning and pierced straight through the Blood Moon.
A wave of blood mist spread through the sky. Yun Jin waved her hand, and pure life energy surged out, crushing the bloody miasma in seconds. The air cleared, and sunlight spilled over the square again. The metallic scent of blood vanished, replaced by the breath of life.
Zhi Yue stared blankly at the restored heavens. Her knees buckled, despair twisting her face.
Why?
Why did it end like this?
She'd paid such a terrible price to forge that Blood Moon. And now, it was shattered so easily.
Fifty years.
She'd imprisoned her own mother and drained her bloodline. Didn't that hurt?
When nobles turned against her, when her people rejected her—wasn't that agony?
When she writhed in pain during cultivation, did she not despair?
Through it all, she'd endured.
All for the sake of ultimate power, to become the strongest of all.
But now...
Fifty years of sacrifice vanished in an instant.
"Yun Jin!!!" Zhi Yue screamed, veins bulging across her forehead as she fought wildly against the vines.
No matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free.
She looked utterly crazed. "Where's Zhi Yin?! She's the one who sent you, isn't she?! Why doesn't she come herself?! And you, with all your power, why would you help her?! Are you really that willing to be used?!"
Yun Jin's voice stayed calm. "The world isn't just about using or being used. There's justice, friendship, and truth."
Zhi Yue's eyes were bloodshot. "I don't wanna hear that crap! If she's got the guts, let Zhi Yin come face me herself!"
Her voice cracked as she screamed the words.
Then, from behind her, an old, hoarse voice echoed softly—
"You're sure you want to see Zhi Yin?"