"So it is true, Yao Ranran was the one who killed the black-robed man who poisoned us?"
Seeing the soul of An Mingqi, everyone from Qingshui County became even more convinced that Yao Ranran's words were not lies.
Yue Qingsu furrowed his brows tightly, his tone filled with disdain.
"Even if I do not know where you caught this person from, you claim you killed the black-robed man? What a ridiculous joke!"
"Hahahaha! Yue Elder is right. Ignorant little girl, do you think the black-robed man was some ordinary mortal? Even lies must have a limit!"
The Xing Clan Patriarch was at first surprised when Yao Ranran summoned An Mingqi's soul. But when he recalled the black-robed man's true identity, his eyes turned contemptuous as he looked at Yao Ranran.
A bastard is still a bastard. How could a lowborn girl possibly understand the secrets of the miasma?
"Isn't it just someone descended from the Spirit Realm? What is so unusual about that?"
Under the restriction of this world's Heavenly Dao, even a cultivator from the Spirit Realm could not surpass late Divine Transformation after descending.
To Yao Ranran, cultivators from the Spirit Realm were nothing sacred. Once they descended, were they not bound by the same rules as everyone else? Her two sentences were spoken lightly, yet they shocked the Xing Clan Patriarch and everyone around.
"You know the black-robed man's true identity?"
"They really were powerful figures from the Spirit Realm?"
"How do you know this?"
"…"
Question after question bombarded Yao Ranran. She pressed her forehead with a frown and said calmly:
"My rule is simple. One question, one million spirit stones."
"…Hiss!"
The noise of the crowd cut off instantly. All of them sucked in a cold breath, staring at her in disbelief.
"Is this daylight robbery for spirit stones?!"
Yao Ranran shrugged. "It is a matter of mutual consent. How could that be called robbery?"
Xiao Rong chimed in, "Exactly. If you don't have spirit stones, then don't ask!"
The crowd: "…"
Yue Qingsu began to study Yao Ranran more seriously.
"I do not care whether your words are truth or lies. Today you laid hands on someone from Wuxiang Sect. You must pay the price."
His voice was not loud, yet the pressure in it was sharp and heavy.
Yao Ranran's expression remained unshaken. Her tone was cool. "Meng Daoyou's transmission talisman already reached me. It was your Wuxiang Sect who acted unreasonably. The person I rescued, how did they suddenly become your achievement?
The number one sect in the world, Wuxiang Sect, is this how shameless you are?"
No sooner had her words fallen when the Xing Clan Patriarch's voice rang out, fierce and booming. "There is no need to waste words with her. If Elder Yue refuses to act, then I shall test her abilities myself!"
A flickering afterimage swept across the air. The Xing Clan Patriarch moved with lightning speed, countless overlapping illusions filling the sky. Qin Lüsha and Lu Ziqian instantly grew alert.
"Xiānzhǔ, be careful. This is the Xing family's secret art, Ten-Thousandfold Shadow. Without cultivating a Heavenly Eye technique, it is impossible to see his true body!"
Encircled among the flickering phantoms, Yao Ranran slowly scanned the area, her gaze settling on a figure behind her in the void. Her brows knit slightly.
"Could it be that the reason you cannot see him is simply because his real body is behind us?"
"What?" Qin Lüsha froze in shock.
Bang!
The Xing Clan Patriarch curved his lips into a smirk, his palm striking straight for Yao Ranran's chest.
Yet just as his attack descended, Yao Ranran lifted her eyes and met his gaze directly.
"You… how did you see me?!"
Yao Ranran thought for a moment and replied lightly. "If you don't close your eyes, you can see, can't you?"
The Xing Clan Patriarch: "…" What kind of answer was that!
She must have cultivated some Heavenly Eye divine ability to pierce through his secret art!
As he filled in the explanation in his mind, a woman's airy voice brushed past his ear.
"If Patriarch Xing refuses to act, then I shall."
Yao Ranran smiled faintly. Under his shocked gaze, she drew forth an immortal artifact radiating a soft holy glow, cleaving straight toward his arm.
"If I recall correctly, back in Dongxi Village, you were one of the assassins there, were you not?"
"What… Dongxi Village?"
The Xing Clan Patriarch searched his memories frantically within that fleeting instant. When he saw Yao Ranran's peerlessly beautiful face so close, he finally recalled that years ago he had gone to Dongxi Village alongside Xing Rui.
"You cannot do this!!!"
As memories resurfaced, he watched in horror as the nine blades in Yao Ranran's hand fell. His arm was sliced into nine pieces, each segment hitting the ground with splatters of hot blood that stained the cyan floor tiles.
"…"
Inside Guangxuan Inn, the entire hall turned rigid as if petrified, frozen into stone statues.
The countless illusions dissipated. Qin Lüsha turned stiffly, her eyes wide in shock. "So it really was because I didn't turn my head that I couldn't see him?"
Xiao Rong blinked innocently. "But I kept looking behind just now, and I still didn't see him."
Lu Ziqian: "... This has nothing to do with opening your eyes."
Indeed, no one could pierce Ten-Thousandfold Shadow simply by keeping their eyes open.
Qin Lüsha silently retracted her whip. Only at the side of the Xiānzhǔ did she realize just how useless she was.
"Patriarch Xing!"
The Xing family disciples rushed forward in panic toward their fallen patriarch.
But a glowing circle swept out, throwing them back several zhang.
Yao Ranran leapt down from Da Huang's back and stood calmly at the patriarch's side, her gaze firm as she looked down at him.
"You killed my mother. Between the Xing family and the Yao family lies a hatred as deep as the heavens."
"What? It was the Xing family who killed your mother?"
Yu Weifeng clutched his chest with false anguish, turning a reproachful glance at the Xing Clan Patriarch.
"Liuer… was it truly you who killed her?!"
The Xing Clan Patriarch was too busy trying to heal himself through meditation to refute his words.
Yao Ranran directed the Nine-Lotus Ring straight at Yu Weifeng's chest.
"Stranger who calls himself my father, you know very well this was something Xing Rui did with your tacit approval. Why put on this shameless play now?"
Yu Weifeng's heart skipped. His eyes filled with feigned panic. "Ran Ran, what nonsense are you speaking? How could I ever allow Xing Rui to do such a thing? As your father, I have only ever wished to bring you both back to the Yu family!"
"If you truly wished to bring us back to the Yu family, then my mother would never have died."
Yao Ranran would never forget what the original tale described of Yu Weifeng's cruelty. His heart held only cultivation and the Yu clan. Toward Yao Ranran and her mother, he had never harbored genuine feeling.
The only reason he was with Yao Yanliu at all was for the beauty of her face.
Yu Weifeng opened his mouth to deny again, but suddenly Tang Qianqing lashed out, her crimson silk wrapping tightly around his throat, catching him completely off guard.
"Eastern Wilderness Xiānzhǔ, this man is a habitual liar who clings to power. Allow me to deal with him on your behalf!"
Yao Ranran blinked at the red silk, then at Tang Qianqing's radiant smile, bright and friendly.
Yao Ranran: "…" So this is the sect master of Miaoyun Sect?
Her surrender speed was even faster than Yao Ranran imagined!
While Yao Ranran was thinking this, she did not realize that within Tang Qianqing's heart, waves of alarm surged like a thousand-layered storm.
"No wonder this girl could capture Xiao Fengyi alive, and kill Hao Yinqin, who had already fallen into demonhood. This Yao Ranran must never be provoked. The plans of Miaoyun Sect must be changed at once!"