After waiting a moment and still sensing no movement, Mei Xueyan let out a cold laugh, waved her hand, and a gust of powerful wind swept out silently. To her side, several towering trees, each thick enough to require several people to encircle, trembled for an instant under this single palm strike before instantly collapsing.

It began at the roots, then the trunks slowly dissolved downward, the lower portions turning into fine powder while the parts above continued to fall, instantly becoming dust, and finally, even the massive crowns shrank slowly, descending with quiet resignation.

In the dense mountain forest, eight great trees vanished as abruptly as they had appeared. On the ground, only eight heaps of fine powder remained, resembling ash-gray piles resting silently. Each mound was a perfect cone, nearly ten feet high, and throughout the entire process, not a single sound had been made. It seemed as if those eight trees had never existed in this wood, and these eight gray piles had been present since time immemorial, unchanging.

Jun Mo Xie truly gasped. What manner of technique was this? To casually command the shifting of mountains and seas? The strength of this Mei Xueyan had reached a terrifying degree!

Mei Xueyan’s snow-white robes stirred gently at the edges. She spoke faintly, “Jun Mo Xie, are you still not coming out? Did you see? With this level of power, which among your Jun family could possibly resist me? If you still insist on hiding after I have made this move, I will immediately head for Tianxiang City and slay Jun Zhantian and Jun Wu Yi! I know you; you once said you despise being threatened, but this time, I will threaten you! Even if your mysterious master can match me, can he guard your entire family for a lifetime? Can he protect everyone under my hand?”

Her eyes remained detached as she gazed at the sky, her red lips parting slightly as she said serenely, “One!”

But Jun Mo Xie, concealed within the trees, was utterly shaken! How did she know the hidden presence here was him? And how could she be so certain? When Mei Xueyan spoke his name, Jun Mo Xie genuinely began to falter.

Just as Mei Xueyan said, with skill like hers, if she was determined to kill someone, even the Eight Great Supremes gathered together could not defend themselves!

While he hesitated, he heard Mei Xueyan faintly say, “Two!”

She tilted her exquisitely beautiful face slightly upward, still watching the sky, like an innocent little girl counting the stars. Yet, the decisiveness embedded in these two numbers was absolute and ironclad!

“It seems you truly do not intend to show yourself.”

Mei Xueyan sighed lightly. “That is fine too! I will go kill Jun Zhantian and Jun Wu Yi now. I hope you arrive in time to stop me! Oh, and where would you find the ability to stop this Sovereign? Hurry and seek help from your master; I hope he can make it in time!” With that, she rose gracefully. A flicker of killing intent crossed her face, and the temperature around them seemed to drop abruptly. Then, her figure flashed, her graceful body arcing into a white streak in the air, covering twenty zhang in an instant!

That direction led straight toward Tianxiang City!

Suddenly!

“Stop!” Jun Mo Xie’s voice finally cut through the air behind her. Mei Xueyan paused and slowly turned back. Where she had just been seated, a tall, white-robed youth stood erect, looking at her with eyes that were cold, ruthless, sharp, and resolute!

“It really is you! It is truly you!” Mei Xueyan let out a cold smile, gently tucking a stray strand of hair back behind her ear, and slowly walked back.

“How exactly did you confirm it was me? I am confident that the secret arts of my sect have no flaws; in this age, no one can possibly break them!” Now that Jun Mo Xie had revealed himself, there was no need to hide. He sat down with casual grace right where Mei Xueyan had been seated, grinned, and chuckled, “It’s still a bit warm here… my backside feels quite comfortable from it, very cozy…”

Mei Xueyan’s frost-like gaze shot him a severe glare, a flash of confusion deep in her eyes, before she said coolly, “You told me yourself.”

“I told myself?” Jun Mo Xie looked puzzled.

“Your secret technique is undoubtedly peerless. As you said, perhaps truly no one in this era can recognize or break it! But it is precisely the uniqueness of this technique that revealed it to me… When you fought Xiao Bu Yu that day, I observed your movement techniques very closely and very carefully. Everyone knows your footwork is subtle and ever-changing, making it impossible to locate you—constantly left, right, forward, backward. But I could see that what you were employing that day had long surpassed the scope of mere footwork. Because every time you vanished, your physical body entered a unique state; it was equivalent to completely disappearing, not hiding, nor was it vanishing due to supersonic speed. I could confirm this point.”

She smiled faintly. “And to track the Snake King, even if I exerted my full strength, I could not manage it! Because her innate talent comes from heaven itself; absolutely no one can track her without leaving even the slightest trace of their presence. Yet, in fact, Qian Xun was tracked all the way here, with someone following her tail without revealing any trace of their own approach. In the present world, aside from this miraculous ability transmitted secretly by your sect, I truly cannot imagine who else in this world could accomplish it!”

“So, the moment the Snake King mentioned being tracked without noticing the tracker, I was already certain it was you! Because if it were your master, he wouldn’t bother with such trivialities…” Mei Xueyan looked at Jun Mo Xie calmly. “And the facts have proven my guess correct.”

“Since you guessed it was me, you still chose to threaten me? Do you know that what you just said crossed my bottom line? Up until now, everyone who has touched my bottom line has paid the dearest price; there are no exceptions!” Jun Mo Xie was quite irritated, so his tone was not polite.

“That wasn’t a threat. What I just said was a very likely future event. Because if you truly did not appear, I would certainly kill those two people I mentioned.”

Mei Xueyan stated lightly, “I would not be joking with you. For me to kill two people is hardly a major affair that requires intimidation.”

“You are forcing my hand?” Jun Mo Xie’s eyes shot out sharp glints, looking at Mei Xueyan coldly, word by word: “Forcing me to become your enemy? Do you think you can afford that game?”

Mei Xueyan scoffed, looking down at Jun Mo Xie with a touch of condescension. She flicked her sleeve, and it drifted like flowing clouds; her expression was cold and dismissive. “Become your enemy? I truly don’t understand where you derive such immense confidence, relying merely on that vague, ethereal master of yours?”

Jun Mo Xie looked at the peerlessly beautiful countenance that would make any man’s heart flutter, yet showed not an ounce of tenderness for the fairer sex. He said slowly, “A true man, born between heaven and earth, relies solely on his own strength; he cannot depend on any external force. But, Mei Xueyan, do you perhaps think that just because you are a woman, possess great skill, high martial arts mastery, and are peerlessly beautiful, I would refrain from striking you down? Or do you believe I won’t kill women?”

“And so?” Mei Xueyan tilted her head slightly. The setting sun illuminated her snow-white cheek, making her seem almost translucent, giving her an unreal, dreamlike quality.

“Men and women, to me, are at most just skins. No matter how beautiful you are, after death, you are just a pile of bones! This young master has no interest in a pile of bones!”

Jun Mo Xie radiated an evil aura, his pupils slowly sharpening like swords, like knives, staring aggressively at Mei Xueyan, word by word: “So, woman, no matter who you are, and no matter what formidable capital you possess, you must remember, you must never—ever—attempt to touch my bottom line! Otherwise, you will regret it deeply! You will pay a price too heavy for you to bear. Believe it or not!”

“Now it’s your turn to threaten me?” Mei Xueyan looked up at the sky, her expression still calm, showing neither surprise nor anger, asking slowly. She even found it a little absurd in her heart—Jun Mo Xie, someone whose strength seemed like an ant to her, was actually threatening her!

“Threaten? I don’t feel I was threatening you just now; I was merely stating a very likely factual possibility! Besides, what if I was threatening you?!” Jun Mo Xie gave a cold laugh. “What? Are you, like me, someone who doesn’t accept threats?”

Without showing any movement, Jun Mo Xie immediately countered with a move.

It was the same action—a threat—but when Mei Xueyan threatened Jun Mo Xie, he felt anger; when Jun Mo Xie threatened Mei Xueyan, she felt only humiliation!

The vast disparity in their status did not allow Jun Mo Xie to issue such a threat!

As soon as Jun Mo Xie finished speaking, he saw a white shadow flash before his eyes. A palm struck out, and only as it neared his cheek did a sharp whoosh! sound echo in the air.

He couldn’t evade it in time! He hadn't expected Mei Xueyan’s speed to be so fast! Jun Mo Xie’s gaze turned icy cold; he decided not to dodge or evade, but instead countered with his own palm strike aimed directly at that peerless, beautiful jade visage—ruthlessly!

Whoosh!

Mei Xueyan arched her body back. Jun Mo Xie’s palm swept past the area above her cheek, but in doing so, Jun Mo Xie also avoided her strike. Their bodies moved in the exact same motion—backward arch—and then—a kick!

Mei Xueyan’s leg shot out like lightning, aimed directly at Jun Mo Xie’s knee.

Jun Mo Xie’s right foot kicked out simultaneously, but his target was Mei Xueyan’s Dantian!

At the same time, Mei Xueyan rotated her right hand, her five fingers forming hooks, viciously clawing toward Jun Mo Xie’s eyes.

Jun Mo Xie formed an Eagle Claw with his palm, also slashing downward, his target the throat of Mei Xueyan!

These two masters, without any prior agreement, chose to vent their extremely accumulated rage through direct physical combat, clashing head-on in an entanglement of needle-point against wheat-ear sharpness.

Jun Mo Xie had no other choice, because he knew that his Xuan Qi or his spiritual power, when facing this unfathomably powerful woman, was at least one full tier beneath hers.

Thus, he could only use this method.

But for Mei Xueyan to also forsake her strengths for this, choosing the same close-quarters engagement, was somewhat thought-provoking. After all, in this kind of close combat, a woman was always at a disadvantage.

Bang!

Their bodies flew backward simultaneously. Jun Mo Xie retreated an extra step, staggering before finding his balance. Mei Xueyan’s phoenix eyes chilled, and her beautiful face turned somewhat pale with anger: “Jun Mo Xie, you are so cruel-hearted!”