Qin gasped, no wonder Zhao Qiankun and the others dared to be so arrogant. They intercepted them within the patrol range of the Qingdan Mountain range guardians—Zhao Qiankun’s confidence rested entirely on that magical artifact.

Normally, eight outer disciples in green robes would have a fighting chance against seven inner disciples in blue robes of the same cultivation level. However, these seven blue-robed disciples were carrying mostly high-grade spirit artifacts, immediately putting the green-robed disciples at a disadvantage. Once Zhao Qiankun unleashed his magical artifact, its sheer power left the green-robed disciples with no chance of victory.

Ye Qin swiftly glanced towards the three fellow disciples in green and the senior and junior sisters. Their faces had long since turned pale, their fighting spirit shattered, and their eyes betrayed a desire to retreat. In this situation, forget defeating Zhao Qiankun’s group; even self-preservation seemed dubious.

Given these circumstances, Ye Qin naturally wouldn't be foolhardy enough to step forward. He rapidly scanned his surroundings, searching for an escape route to avoid being cornered. He soon noticed that the three male disciples in green and the four junior sisters were subtly probing the area, likely harboring the same intention to flee when the opportunity arose—they shared a surprising, unspoken understanding in this regard.

“Hah! Have you decided? My dear junior sisters, hand over the Snow Silkworm Silk Armor yourselves to save me the trouble of taking it by force. This treasure is no joke; its power is immense. Once released, I can’t fully control it. If I accidentally injure someone—break an arm or a leg—don't blame me for not warning you.”

Zhao Qiankun controlled the small flying sword with one hand, gloating, “As for the rest of you useless junior brothers, just leave behind one of your best spirit artifacts. My surname is Zhao, and I’m always generous; I don't engage in slaughter.”

The blue-robed disciples exchanging excited glances as their senior brother rambled on, some looking slightly helpless.

“Go!”

Suddenly, someone shouted, and the eight figures instantly transformed into eight streaks of light, scattering towards the Qingdan Mountain range. If they could encounter the Qingdan Sect's mountain defense patrol team, perhaps they might survive.

“Damn it, a bunch of cowards, running away!”

Zhao Qiankun, who had been showing off his magical artifact, paused momentarily before cursing loudly. He immediately leaped off the giant rock and split up with the other blue-robed disciples to give chase. “That Xue Xia, I’ll take her. The rest of you, go after the other women and men. Whoever snatches a good spirit artifact gets to keep it. Don’t worry about sect punishment; once we reach the Foundation Establishment stage, who will dare to accuse us?”

“Yes, Senior Brother Zhao!”

The blue-robed disciples were extremely excited. If each of them could snatch a decent spirit artifact, their confidence in the Cave Trial would undoubtedly increase significantly.

Ye Qin tapped his feet and darted towards the southwest. However, he soon realized something was wrong—no one was chasing him. He glanced back and immediately understood. Zhao Qiankun’s group wanted the Snow Silkworm Silk Armor; the four junior sisters were their primary targets for interception.

The three green-robed male disciples, who had been standing at the front, were the most exposed targets. Those blue-robed disciples had fixed their sights on them. There were eight green-robed disciples in total, facing only seven blue-robed disciples. Fleeing in eight different directions, Ye Qin happened to be the one left behind. Of the remaining seven, Zhao Qiankun could at most catch one, and that caught disciple was almost certain to be defeated. Whether the other six could escape depended on luck.

Ye Qin looked back and caught sight of Xue Xia and Zhao Qiankun speeding hundreds of feet away.

A short while later, everyone had dispersed and fled.

In a forest of craggy rocks amidst the mountains,

Xue Xia moved in panicked haste through the terrain, dodging the pursuit of a several-inch-long azure sword gleam behind her. For disciples at the Qi Refining stage, the most tyrannical and detestable aspect of magical artifacts was their capacity for long-range offense and close-range defense.

The spirit sword in her hand could not reach Zhao Qiankun at all, yet Zhao Qiankun could effortlessly launch attacks at her using his flying sword.

Zhao Qiankun followed several yards behind, pursuing desperately, using his Sword Control Technique to keep the azure sword gleam tightly locked onto Xue Xia. Although his speed couldn't instantly overtake her, the flying sword was incredibly swift, clinging tenaciously to Xue Xia.

However, what neither of them noticed was.

Behind them, skimming low above the ground, flew a faint, snowy-winged shadow, silent, with extremely weak spiritual energy radiating outward.

Ye Qin, cultivating the Zuo Wang Jing (Scripture of Sitting in Oblivion), automatically suppressed his external aura, achieving an effect even stronger than the standard Aura Concealment Technique. If the two didn't look back, they would almost certainly fail to detect him. Only a Foundation Establishment cultivator might acutely sense that something was amiss.

Ye Qin followed them unhurriedly, naturally having his trump card. The pair of massive snow wings on his back were his greatest asset. A top-tier spirit artifact like this, bordering on being called a quasi-magical artifact, naturally possessed unique qualities.

While he couldn't kill Zhao Qiankun with this flying spirit artifact, if he flew high into the sky, escaping the attack range, Zhao Qiankun could only glare helplessly. That is, unless Zhao Qiankun also possessed a flying spirit artifact—which was unlikely. If Zhao Qiankun had one, he probably would have used it to hunt them down already.

It was precisely because of this consideration that Ye Qin dared to follow them. Zhao Qiankun’s group sought defensive spirit artifacts to gain an edge in the Cave Trial, aiming for the Foundation Establishment Pill; Ye Qin harbored the same ambition.

To seize spirit stones, the inside of this cave would surely be bloody, with clashes between various sects being inevitable.

If he could seize this offensive magical artifact from Zhao Qiankun before entering the cave, then in the trial, even if he accidentally encountered high-ranking disciples from major sects who possessed magical artifacts, he would at least have the means to protect himself, rather than becoming a stepping stone instantly crushed.

Dealing with a half-baked high-ranking disciple like Zhao Qiankun was far easier than facing those truly powerful high-ranking disciples.

Ye Qin was uncertain about the full destructive power of the flying sword artifact and remained cautious, keeping a safe distance of several dozen feet behind to observe. Whether to make a move depended entirely on the situation—he needed to see if the flying sword had any weaknesses first.

How long Xue Xia could last against Zhao Qiankun was not a factor in his consideration. This wasn't due to callousness; after all, the Qingdan Sect had eight thousand Qi Refining disciples, and no one would risk their own life for a fellow disciple they had only met a few times. He certainly wouldn't. If the roles were reversed and he was being chased by a high-level cultivator, any other fellow disciple lacking confidence would equally refuse to rashly intervene to save him.

“Junior Sister Xue, I know the best Snow Silkworm Silk Armor is on you. It’s probably being worn right now. Hand it over, or I don’t want to have to pierce both you and the armor with my flying sword.”

Zhao Qiankun shouted excitedly while controlling the sword, his eyes glinting with unconcealed lust.

Ye Qin was slightly puzzled. From the beginning until now, Zhao Qiankun had only been shouting threats using his magical artifact, yet he hadn't actually attacked.

Ye Qin didn't believe Zhao Qiankun was incapable of using the artifact; he assumed it was mere posturing. After all, Zhao Qiankun was going into the Cave Trial; he wouldn’t dare risk death without some capability. But the fact that Zhao Qiankun preferred repeated threats over actually deploying the flying sword suggested the weapon had limitations.

“Dream on! This Snow Silkworm Silk Armor took me ten years of painstaking effort, collecting the finest silk to weave. You won't get it even if you kill me!” Xue Xia gripped her three-foot-long crystal sword, her pace never faltering. She glared hatefully back at Zhao Qiankun, forming a hand seal with her right hand and sending a blue water arrow shooting backward.

Zhao Qiankun had a protective barrier and didn't fear the weak water arrow, taking the attack head-on. While the water arrow couldn't break the barrier, it momentarily slowed Zhao Qiankun down.

“Then don’t blame me for getting serious! Grow—!”

With a fierce roar, Zhao Qiankun’s face darkened. He poured his full magical power output into the blue sword gleam, and the faintly visible Xuan Yin Sword instantly elongated against the wind, transforming into a short sword nearly a foot long. It slashed down towards Xue Xia. Under the control of the Sword Control Technique, the flying sword could lengthen or shorten depending on the infusion of magical power, ranging from a few inches to several dozen feet at its maximum.

Zhao Qiankun, being at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, couldn't unleash the sword’s full potential; it could only extend to about a foot, utilizing perhaps only a tenth of its true power, and even that was clearly straining him.

However, a flying sword of this length possessed more than enough might.

Ye Qin, dozens of feet away, could feel the imposing aura of that single strike.

Xue Xia immediately sensed a bone-chilling sword menace bearing down on her from behind. Her face contorted in terror. Giving up on conserving her methods, she crushed a Earth Evasion Talisman in her hand. Whoosh, she burrowed into the ground from where she stood, vanishing and evading the fatal blow.

“Boom!” The flying sword passed through Xue Xia’s phantom image and slammed into a massive rock pillar several yards high in the stone forest, instantly shattering the pillar into dust.

Zhao Qiankun beckoned, recalling the sword, which shrank back to its original few inches. Annoyance immediately crossed his face as he scanned the surroundings, trying to locate where Xue Xia had fled.

Every attack using the magical artifact consumed a significant amount of magical power. Even at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, he was reluctant to deploy it frequently, lest he rapidly deplete his own reserves before eliminating the opponent, effectively defeating himself first.

Within moments, Xue Xia emerged from the stone forest dozens of feet away and bolted towards the distance.

“Hmph, refusing a toast only to beg for a penalty. I’d like to see how many Earth Evasion Talismans Junior Sister Xue actually possesses!” Zhao Qiankun sneered, stamping his foot and flying in hot pursuit, no longer holding back. The flying sword in his hand transformed once more into a streak of azure light, striking towards Xue Xia.

“Go!”

The flying sword was too fast, too agile.

Xue Xia could not evade it with several subsequent evasive maneuvers; the sword energy grazed her back. Her delicate face changed drastically, and she hastily raised her crystal sword to shield her chest. Simultaneously, she formed a hand seal with her right hand, shouting, “Water Wall Technique, rise!” A massive azure water curtain materialized between her and the incoming sword.

Pfft! With a sound, the flying sword plunged into the water curtain. The curtain looked formidable, but it offered no resistance to the sword’s trajectory; it was pierced instantly.

Clang, clang!

In the blink of an eye, the low-grade water-attribute spirit sword, the crystal sword Xue Xia used to guard her front, was struck repeatedly on its body by the flying sword. The spirit sword and the magical sword clashed violently, light flashing. The spirit sword shattered instantly, breaking into dozens of crystal fragments.

The flying sword, having broken the crystal sword, still carried momentum and struck Xue Xia. Bang! Her plain green robe instantly turned to ash, revealing her snow-white, delicate skin—beneath the robe was the Snow Silkworm Silk Armor.

Struck by the flying sword, Xue Xia was thrown several yards, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed onto the ground. The Snow Silkworm Silk Armor bore distinct signs of fracturing, stained with bright crimson blood. Had it not protected her, the flying sword would have pierced her chest, leading to immediate demise.

Xue Xia felt despair, but in the face of life and death, she dared not easily surrender her last chance. Forcing herself up despite the severe injuries, she leaped up and sprinted towards the Qingdan Mountain range, though her speed was reduced by at least half, significantly slower than before.

“Overestimating yourself, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Junior Sister Xue, my flying sword isn't something you can easily block.” Zhao Qiankun landed gracefully, waved his hand to recall the flying sword, and laughed triumphantly.

Ye Qin flew silently dozens of yards away, watching the preceding exchange, secretly astonished. (To be continued. For future developments, please log in to www***, for more chapters, support the author, support legitimate reading!) First published.