Not long after, Nie Fengxing walked into the main hall of She Yan’s courtyard, calling out and shaking his head with a sigh: “Oh dear, Brother She Yan, how could you be so reckless? Nie Kong is a scoundrel, yes, but he is one of my Nie family kin. Not only did you seize his sister-in-law, but you actually killed him! Doing this is clearly provoking my Nie family head-on. This is major trouble, truly, you’re in big trouble…”

As he spoke, Nie Fengxing, as if intimately familiar with the layout, led Er Lin and San Mu toward the side bedroom, his face etched with profound distress.

But upon entering the room and seeing She Yan lying on the floor like a dead snake, Nie Fengxing’s voice cut off abruptly. His mind spun, unable to process what he saw: how could it be the Soul Fusion Master, She Yan, lying there? That meant the scream just now had come from him, so… where was Nie Kong?

The instant that face he despised so utterly flashed into his mind, Nie Fengxing’s peripheral vision caught a flash of green light, immediately followed by a fierce gust of wind hurtling toward his head.

Nie Kong!

The two words snapped into his brain, and a cold sneer played on Nie Fengxing’s lips. How dare he try to ambush me? Is he treating me like that waste She Yan? Ha! A Soul Fusion Master, beaten until he spat blood by a mere Third Stage Spirit Conduit? And he still dares to come to the Nie family to propose marriage for my fourth sister?

In that thought, Nie Fengxing threw up his arm to block, but his left fist surged out from under his right arm, unleashing a sputtering ball of pale violet lightning.

Crack!

A pain that burrowed straight into the bone shot through him, and Nie Fengxing clearly heard the sound of his forearm snapping. Instantly, the fist wreathed in green light showed no pause, continuing its savage assault. Before the initial shock had even faded, an even more intense agony erupted from his shoulder.

Nie Fengxing seemed to hear his scapula fracturing, and his body was violently hurled backward by an immense force. The indescribable pain caused him to lose consciousness mid-air before crashing down like a broken kite near the base of the wall not far away.

The moment Nie Fengxing was sent flying, Nie Kong’s silhouette appeared by the doorway.

“Nie Kong, you, you…”

Er Lin and San Mu never expected Nie Kong to be this formidable. First, he took down the Soul Fusion Master She Yan, and then he instantly slammed the newly ascended Ninth Stage Spirit Conduit, Nie Fengxing, into unconsciousness. They were instantly terrified, their faces turning the color of ash, their lips trembling.

“Nie Kong, you, you have some nerve, daring to strike the Third Young Master so ruthlessly?” Finally, Er Lin managed to utter the full sentence through his fear.

“Not only did I strike Nie Fengxing ruthlessly, but neither of you two will be leaving today!” Nie Kong’s eyes were grim as he stepped forward with a cold laugh.

“You, you…”

Seeing Nie Kong advance, the two brothers Er Lin and San Mu were struck with absolute terror. This Nie Kong could take down both the Soul Fusion Master She Yan and the Ninth Stage Spirit Conduit Third Young Master; what chance did they stand, mere Spirit Gatherers? With barely a moment’s hesitation, they turned in horror and bolted toward the exit.

The instant they cleared the doorway, Nie Kong could no longer hold himself up. His body slumped against the door frame, gasping for air in great gulps.

She Yan’s words earlier had convinced Nie Kong that Nie Fengxing was connected to today’s events, but he hadn't expected Nie Fengxing to arrive so quickly. The little fellow had desperately channeled his life force, only managing to restore about half of his spiritual energy. When Nie Fengxing entered, Nie Kong had no choice but to risk an attack.

This second use of the “Mountain Shattering Strike” as a surprise attack had successfully knocked Nie Fengxing out, but Nie Kong felt as if he had just endured a prolonged, brutal battle. His “Spirit Soul Triple Apertures” were completely dry, his inner strength utterly depleted, and his limbs ached horribly. In the end, he only managed to scare Er Lin and San Mu away through sheer willpower; had they been slightly bolder, perhaps a single finger could have toppled him.

“Hee hee, where are the two of you rushing off to?” A burst of clear laughter suddenly rang out from outside.

“…”

Nie Kong managed a wry smile. Truly, it was always one disaster after another. Given his current physical state, he couldn't even handle a small child, yet someone else was barging in.

Nie Kong gritted his teeth inwardly, thinking of Hua Mei still lying on the bed. He was unwilling to give up just yet. While continuing to cooperate with the little one using “Spring Breeze Transforming Rain” to slowly recover his spiritual energy, his mind raced, trying to devise a countermeasure.

Wait, that sound seemed a little familiar? A flicker of thought crossed Nie Kong’s mind.

Bang! Bang!

Two figures suddenly flew in from outside the door, smashing onto the ground. They were precisely Er Lin and San Mu, who had just fled. There were no visible injuries on their bodies, only faint traces of red light dissipating around their chests. It was impossible to tell if they were dead or alive.

Following them in was a graceful, slender figure cloaked in red. Her face was young, beautiful, and enchantingly captivating. As she moved, her soft chest trembled slightly, her willow waist swayed gently, and her hips swung rhythmically… naturally pleasing to the eye, she exuded an indescribable, alluring charm.

“It’s you?”

Seeing this red silhouette, Nie Kong paused in surprise. She was the very same woman in red he had seen buying the Hua Mei wood carving near the Four Seas Tower that day.

The woman in red blinked her large, watery peach-blossom eyes at Nie Kong and cooed sweetly, “Hee hee, little brother, isn't it big sister? So fast; we meet again?”

“Be careful!”

Nie Kong’s expression shifted slightly, and he suddenly called out.

“Ah!”

She Yan staggered to his feet, screaming with a ferocious look, “Chi Serpent Heart Aspect!” A phantom image of a dark, massive snake suddenly burst forth from She Yan’s body. Its eyes, the size of rice bowls, glittered with menacing ferocity. It roared and lunged forward, opening its cavernous jaws to bite.

Seeing the serpent phantom, Nie Kong’s spirit shuddered. He felt an intensely cold aura pressing down on him, plunging him into an ice cellar, chilling him to the core.

“Hee hee!”

The woman in red stood directly between She Yan and Nie Kong. If the serpent phantom intended to attack Nie Kong, it had to pass her first. Yet, at such a moment, the woman in red remained unhurried. Only when the serpent’s maw was almost upon her head did she leisurely raise a slender, pale jade hand to grab the giant snake.

“A mere little Chi Serpent dares to show its face?”

The woman in red chuckled softly, and five crimson threads shot out, wrapping around the serpent phantom’s neck. Then, her five delicate fingers flicked through the air. The threads vibrated tighter and tighter, and the great snake thrashed violently, shrinking smaller and smaller. Correspondingly, She Yan writhed in agony on the ground, clutching his throat, unable to even utter a moan, as if the threads were tightening not on the serpent's neck, but his own.

With the serpent phantom restrained by the woman in red, the suffocating sense of oppression gradually dissipated. Nie Kong let out a breath of relief, feeling both fortunate and astonished. If She Yan had summoned this serpent phantom as soon as he made a move, the one lying on the ground now would likely have been himself.

“Little brother, seen something new, haven’t you?”

The woman in red still had the leisure to wink playfully at Nie Kong. With a slight shake of her right arm, the serpent phantom completely detached from She Yan’s body and was drawn by the five red threads into her palm, writhing like a small earthworm, desperately trying to break free.

The woman in red closed her jade hand, and with a soft pop, the small snake dissolved into specks of black mist, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

“Pfft!”

She Yan stopped rolling and spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes seemed ready to pop from their sockets. He pointed a trembling finger at the woman in red and choked out, “Hua, Hua…”

He couldn't finish the sentence before She Yan let his head fall sideways, completely still. Nie Kong felt deep suspicion. The exchange between the woman in red and She Yan had not been violent, yet everything they displayed was far beyond his current comprehension, especially that serpent phantom She Yan summoned; it didn't seem like a spiritual technique…