"Hmph, whether you say it or not makes no difference; you are going to die here today anyway." Shen Yuqing waved her hand, then extended a finger. Energy swirled around it, and a single glance confirmed this finger strike gathered immense internal power; being hit by it meant certain death or severe injury.

Ye Wen's expression shifted upon seeing this. He knew his current condition: although he had recovered a significant amount of his power, he was still far from his peak. The best course now was to stall for time, to hold out until his strength fully returned before engaging the old demoness in a decisive battle.

He retreated next to Huayi and gently squeezed her hand: "Well done!"

If Huayi hadn't bought him time just moments ago, he wouldn't have had the chance to recover enough power to break the encirclement restricting him. Otherwise, he would likely have been drained of his Yang essence and dead long ago by that wicked woman.

As the maid who served him daily, she understood the nature of his cultivation techniques profoundly. It was just that Ye Wen hadn't expected Huayi to maintain such composure upon encountering his greatest enemy.

"It is good that Master is unharmed!" Huayi replied with a smile, then took in his appearance from head to toe before finally saying, "Master, be careful. Her Hanyin Finger was already formidable, and now that her Xuanyin True Art has reached perfection, few techniques in the world can truly counter that finger strike!"

Shen Yuqing laughed: "My finger technique fears no body-protecting inner strength, nor any defensive art; it specializes in breaking internal true energy. If this Palm Master is struck by me, his entire cultivation will likely be ruined!" With those words, her figure flickered, instantly appearing before Ye Wen, and she thrust a finger toward his Dantian. The momentum was swift as thunder, leaving little time to react.

Fortunately, Ye Wen had crossed paths with Shen Yuqing several times and had some understanding of the Lady Shen’s methods. Thus, even before she moved, he was highly alert. Seeing Shen Yuqing rush close, he immediately projected two fingers: one utilized the Qi Sword Finger, while the other employed the Shaoze Sword technique from the Six Meridian Divine Swords.

As these two moves manifested, Shen Yuqing’s brow furrowed. She had assumed that even if Ye Wen broke the restraint and stood up, his residual power would be minimal. She hadn't expected such might upon his first counterattack. Sword energy surged from both fingers, and the little finger of his left hand, aiming for her side waist, emitted a flickering, elusive stream of sword qi.

Simultaneously, the finger strike aimed at her wrist felt like a razor-sharp dagger; even before contact, she felt the sting of a blade against her wrist.

Flicking her wrist, Shen Yuqing smoothly redirected her finger. Instead of withdrawing or retreating, she used a slight sideways shift to evade Ye Wen's Shaoze Sword Qi, allowing the Hanyin Finger to maintain its trajectory, turning instead towards Ye Wen’s shoulder.

She fully expected to subdue Ye Wen this time. If her Hanyin Finger struck the vital point on his shoulder, she could seal his entire surrounding true energy, at least momentarily.

"Then I'll hack off his limbs and see how he leaps about!" However, as her finger was about to strike his shoulder, it advanced no further than three inches away, abruptly stopping mid-air.

A cluster of purple mist clung to the tip of Shen Yuqing’s finger—a mist she hadn't even noticed appearing. It was incredibly condensed. When she pressed her finger against it, she first felt as though she had struck an infinitely hard iron block, but as her finger energy erupted, it felt like striking a wad of cotton; the gentle, yin energy of the Hanyin Finger vanished as if sinking into the mud.

Her strike foiled, Shen Yuqing immediately realized the situation was grim and tried to pull back. Just as she drew her finger back slightly, the purple mist violently transformed into countless churning sword qi. Had she been a moment slower, let alone her finger, her entire arm would have been ground to powder.

"Palm Master Ye is quite savage; even his techniques are so bloody and terrifying. How can he be called the Gentleman Sword?"

Having retreated far behind, Shen Yuqing stopped only once she confirmed Ye Wen wasn't pursuing her with sword energy, then she started to taunt him.

Unexpectedly, Ye Wen paid her no mind, focusing intently on her, not even blinking—as if afraid she might suddenly vanish.

"Palm Master Ye staring at this Lady like that, do you harbor some secret desire?" Shen Yuqing suddenly brought her hands together in front of her chest and slightly angled her body: "If Palm Master Ye truly has some thoughts, this Lady isn't entirely unwilling to agree..."

"Hmph!" Ye Wen suddenly scoffed: "Wicked woman, suffer death!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the purple mist that had turned into a mass of sword qi condensed once more, wavered, and revealed the shape of a long sword. While Ye Wen spoke, this purple sword had already taken form and shot towards Shen Yuqing with a swoosh.

Seeing the purple sword move as swiftly as lightning, Shen Yuqing’s expression was greatly alarmed. Given the sword’s speed, even her superior Qinggong would struggle to escape. Her only hope was that Ye Wen's reaction time wouldn't match his sword’s speed; otherwise, no matter how fast his purple sword was, it would be useless.

"Palm Master Ye is so ruthless!"

As she spoke, she dodged to a safe distance, letting the purple sword pass harmlessly by. But Shen Yuqing didn't slow down; she sensed the purple sword whip around in mid-air at high speed and slice toward her again.

She continued dodging and leaping, even being forced to change direction three times while airborne, barely avoiding a graze from the sword energy erupted by the purple sword. This ordeal left the usually composed Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect looking somewhat disheveled.

Feeling her image tarnished, Shen Yuqing’s expression changed drastically. Filled with rage, she charged directly at Ye Wen, ignoring the multiple slashes the purple sword inflicted on her body as it swept past. Shen Yuqing was determined to reach Ye Wen, even if it cost her several cuts.

With Shen Yuqing's level of Qinggong, if she charged without regard, no one would have time to react. Although Huayi wanted to intervene, she only managed to turn her head slightly before Shen Yuqing’s palm slammed onto Ye Wen’s Tanzhong acupoint on his chest.

At the same time, Ye Wen’s purple sword was caught by Shen Yuqing’s delicate hand, vibrating incessantly within her grasp. Although it cut her hand until blood streamed down, she could not shake it loose.

Ye Wen’s eyes narrowed, preparing to unleash a sword energy burst technique. But just as he formed the thought, he suddenly felt the connection to his purple sword violently severed—it felt as if...

"This Lady has enveloped your little toy with Yin energy; let's see what other tricks you can pull!"

As she spoke, she sharply raised her right leg and kicked Huayi, who had lunged forward, sending her flying back. This kick was not only sudden and incredibly fast but also infused with her Xuanyin True Force. It not only sent Huayi flying far away but also used energy to seal all her acupoints, leaving her unable to move upon landing.

"I'll deal with you later!" She said with a smile toward Huayi, then the palm pressed against Ye Wen's Tanzhong acupoint began emitting a powerful suction—she intended to draw Ye Wen’s formidable Yang energy from this point into her own body.

Ye Wen, struck by Shen Yuqing, first felt his body grow heavy, then immobile. The suction at his chest not only made his internal true energy uncontrollable but also made him feel his own source Yang essence being drawn out, wanting to leave him.

"Damn it, you old hag, you can absorb, can't I?"

Thinking this, he immediately urged every remaining shred of his innate Purple Qi, first dividing the internal Purple Qi into Yin and Yang, and then making it spin continuously within his Dantian, like a massive whirlpool.

Ye Wen's initial intent was to draw all his internal true energy into his Dantian, but he discovered that after his true energy was gathered, the whirlpool seemed to grow larger and spin faster. Simultaneously, a vacuum region vaguely appeared at the center of the whirlpool, which dramatically increased the vortex's suction power. It not only pulled back all of Ye Wen’s own true energy into his Dantian but also sucked in the Xuanyin True Force residing on Shen Yuqing’s palm.

"What’s happening?" Shen Yuqing had been delightedly anticipating absorbing Ye Wen’s Yang energy after sensing she had mobilized it, intending to nourish her own Yin energy and ultimately increase her cultivation. She never expected a formidable suction force to suddenly appear within Ye Wen's body, not only pulling back the Yang energy she had just mobilized but also draining a significant amount of the energy from her palm.

In a panic, Shen Yuqing hastened to push her true energy to reinforce the power on her palm, but she didn't realize this action was akin to tossing a lit match into an oil barrel.

If the true energy vortex within Ye Wen’s body had received no external force, it might have stopped shortly. However, Shen Yuqing’s reinforcement stimulated the vortex, causing it to spin even faster and the suction to grow stronger. Shen Yuqing found her true energy draining away at an accelerating rate; if this continued, even her own source true energy would be completely depleted.

"Damn it, little beast, die!" She had hesitated to kill Ye Wen because she coveted his pure Yang essence. Now that she couldn't obtain it and was watching her own cultivation draining away, she made a swift decision: she struck out with her palm, intending to crush Ye Wen to death, ignoring his purple sword entirely and tossing it aside.

But unfortunately for her, she struck directly upon Ye Wen’s Dantian. She believed the Dantian was the most critical location for a martial artist; severely damaging it would either cripple his cultivation or cause him to suffer a backlash and collapse severely injured. Naturally, he wouldn't be able to fight back.

However, the anomaly within Ye Wen’s body was centered in the Dantian. Her palm strike not only failed to halt the outward flow of energy but actually amplified the suction force slightly.

What shocked Shen Yuqing most was that her left palm was also stuck; she couldn't pull it free. Now, her pure Yin energy was continuously draining away from both palms, leaving Shen Yuqing utterly helpless, staring at Ye Wen with sheer terror.

"Although you look at me with great sincerity, there's nothing I can do in this situation!"

Ye Wen was also unable to move, watching Shen Yuqing's horrified expression. However, this look brought him immense satisfaction, so his previous words were intentionally meant to anger the old hag.

He had a rough idea of the current situation: his true energy vortex had created a suction force within his Dantian akin to the Star Absorbing Great Technique (Xixing Dafa), and as more true energy joined the vortex, its power intensified.

Ye Wen’s headache was that Shen Yuqing’s Yin energy was pure and potent. His meridians and Dantian were suddenly flooded with so much energy—would he explode?

At the very least, he could already feel a slight bloating and pain in his Dantian. Helplessly, he had to settle his mind and focus entirely on controlling the true energy within his Dantian.

It was only then that he realized that while the energy within his Dantian still obeyed his commands, if he tried to send any true energy into his meridians, it was impossible. To be accurate, any thread of true energy he managed to send out would be immediately sucked back into the Dantian vortex.

But this did offer some relief to the painful bloating in his Dantian, so Ye Wen could only keep playing tug-of-war with the vortex. The vortex constantly sucked in every bit of accessible true energy, while Ye Wen desperately tried to draw the energy out of his Dantian. Over time, a cycle formed. Most baffling to Ye Wen was that in this back-and-forth process, Shen Yuqing's Xuanyin True Force was actually being converted.

Shen Yuqing’s energy was extremely pure Yin energy, and ever since Ye Wen mastered the method of Yin-Yang transformation, he could shift his true energy between Yin and Yang freely. Shen Yuqing's true energy initially didn't obey Ye Wen’s commands, but after rotating once in the Dantian vortex, being spun passively by the original true energy, it underwent Yin-Yang transformation. After several shifts, the imprint belonging to Shen Yuqing vanished entirely, becoming indistinguishable from the true energy already within Ye Wen.

When Ye Wen engaged in the tug-of-war with the vortex, this batch of energy, after several adjustments, was effectively stamped with Ye Wen's mark (by then, he couldn't distinguish whether the pulled energy was originally Shen Yuqing’s or his own). When he regained his senses, he felt an agonizing fullness throughout his entire meridian network, and his Dantian felt as squeezed as a crowded bus in a certain country.

Only then did he notice that the vortex in his Dantian had disappeared, and he had regained his mobility. The restriction that had bound him had vanished long ago.

Opening his eyes, Shen Yuqing lay motionless before him, her life or death unknown. Ye Wen reached out and touched her; only then did he realize Shen Yuqing had no breath left—she had been literally sucked to death by him.

"You wanted to suck me dry, but instead, you were sucked dry by me. Talk about immediate karma!" Flipping Shen Yuqing's corpse over: "You died too quickly; you didn't even have time for final words!" Ye Wen saw that Shen Yuqing’s eyes were wide open, her expression filled with unwillingness. He knew she must have been furious and frustrated right before her death, but by then, struggling was impossible. She had no choice but to wait for death—unless someone came to help, but Shen Yuqing had been too arrogant, bringing him to such a secluded place.

"Too arrogant, weren't you? You made a fool of yourself and profited me!"

Muttering triumphantly in his mind, Ye Wen walked over and lifted the restraint on Huayi. However, the moment he channeled his energy, he felt intensely uncomfortable throughout his body, especially since his power had surged so dramatically. He struggled to control the force when making a move.

"I need to sit and digest this. Huayi, watch over me for a while!"

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Ye Wen began to examine his condition closely. Only then did he understand what had truly happened inside him.

It turned out that Ye Wen was able to absorb Shen Yuqing’s entire cultivation into his body and refine it into his own innate Purple Qi through the method of Yin-Yang transformation because Shen Yuqing's internal energy was absolutely pure Yin energy, making it usable by Ye Wen. Simply put, such a pure substance could sometimes be a great tonic for certain individuals.

To think that all of Shen Yuqing’s power, which she had cultivated by absorbing the pure Yin energy from Huayi, now benefited Ye Wen—it made one marvel at the unpredictable nature of worldly affairs.

Furthermore, Ye Wen’s survival without exploding after absorbing the cultivation of that old monster was thanks to his prior energy depletion. Although his innate Purple Qi had recovered somewhat, it was nowhere near its peak, which is why he survived unscathed. Even so, he was terribly bloated.

Considering that the true energy vortex he created could absorb others' cultivation like the Star Absorbing Great Technique but couldn't be controlled freely, this move was best avoided unless life was on the line.

"I better not use this trick again in the future; I could easily kill myself, which would be too depressing!" However, this misfortune turned into good fortune: not only did he kill the old hag, but his cultivation also increased significantly (though it would take time to refine and adapt). In addition, he noticed that his current level of power gave him a strange sensation—a peculiar feeling he couldn't quite articulate yet.

But one thing he could confirm was that only after obtaining Shen Yuqing’s cultivation could he finally begin to grasp how truly powerful Li Xuan was.

Before, looking at Li Xuan always gave him a sense of impenetrability, but now he could vaguely sense the level Li Xuan had reached. He was certain that even with his current strength, he wouldn't necessarily win against the current Palm Master of Heavenly Mountain.

After meditating for a long while, the discomfort gradually subsided, and his meridians began to adapt to the current intensity of his true energy. Although it still felt awkward, it no longer hindered his movements.

He spoke to Huayi, and the two began to search for a way out. Shen Yuqing had rushed them around so much that neither of them knew their current location.

Meanwhile, Ning Ruxue stood in a dimly lit passage, warily eyeing the woman in white before her. The long sword in the woman's hand was still dripping blood, all of it coming from the seven Shushan disciples lying on the ground.

"Oh my, oh my... so the famous Heroine Ning isn't all that impressive, is she? You made me look forward to this, but alas, you’re nothing special. Seeing you in person is truly less impressive than hearing the rumors!"

Although Ning Ruxue was furious, the woman’s skill was genuinely high. Just a momentary lapse in concentration from Ning Ruxue resulted in the deaths of all seven outer disciples at the woman's hands: "Who are you?"

The woman flicked her sword, shaking off the bloodstains, and giggled sweetly: "Did I never introduce myself? Oh, how rude! My name is Bai Jingjing, the next Holy Maiden of our Sect. Furthermore, Lady Shen is my master—she is likely enjoying herself with your martial brother right now, aren't they?"

……………………,