The appearance of Ding Nan turned the Huangshan cable car line beneath the night sky into a scene thick with killing intent. Zhou Qin stared at Ding Nan with sharp eyes, her voice deep and serious: "Ding Nan, what grudge do we have that it must be settled at a time like this?"

Ding Nan let out a cold sneer. She glanced around and said, "Is this place not suitable? The moon is dark and the wind is high—perfect timing for murder and arson!"

Zhou Qin watched Ding Nan approach step by step. She quickly shot a meaningful glance at Olba, who was slumped on the suspension bridge, and whispered urgently, "Go, quickly!"

But Olba was already limp with terror; forget walking, she couldn't even stand. Having just narrowly escaped death, she clung tightly to the iron chain, refusing to let go, unwilling to move even an inch.

Zhou Qin frowned and roared at Chris and John, "You two, take her and go!"

Chris and John looked blankly between Ding Nan and Zhou Qin, seemingly unable to comprehend why these two sisters, once inseparable, had suddenly turned into bitter enemies.

Seeing that the pair was staring blankly at her, Zhou Qin let out a fierce shout, roaring, "Are you deaf? Move! Do you want to die?"

Chris and John were startled by Zhou Qin's outburst and instinctively moved to help Olba up, but Ding Nan just burst into booming laughter. "Want to leave? Did you ask me first?"

With that, a flash of golden light erupted from her hand, and a bolt of golden lightning shot toward Chris.

Zhou Qin’s pupils contracted violently. Her hand shot to her waist, and with a shwa, the Fire God Whip sprang out like a venomous snake, lashing toward the golden light.

With a sharp crack, the Fire God Whip precisely struck the golden light mid-air, producing a crisp sound like a firecracker. Struck violently, the golden light flickered, spun a few times, and flew toward Ding Nan's side before settling steadily near her—it was a golden hairpin, none other than Mo Aishi’s Luo Mu Li Hun Chai.

Zhou Qin’s gaze remained fixed on the Luo Mu Li Hun Chai beside Ding Nan. She expressed a degree of surprise: "You've reached Foundation Establishment? Is that your magic treasure?"

Ding Nan threw her head back and laughed loudly, stating with undisguised pride, "Zhou Qin, did you think I would spend my entire life like a shadow, always trailing behind you, concealed by your brilliance? Hmph, I'm telling you, Ding Nan will surpass you someday, defeat you, and step on you underfoot, making you taste the humiliation I once endured!"

Zhou Qin looked at her former classmate and friend with complex emotions. She was suddenly struck by a sense of vicissitude, the swift passing of time that turns white clouds to heaps of yellow dust. It felt as if those days spent inseparable in school were flashing before her eyes, vivid and almost tangible.

Yet, the Ding Nan before her, so familiar in appearance, felt utterly alien!

Zhou Qin had always known they were destined to be enemies, fated to turn against each other and become eternal rivals, but she never imagined this day would arrive so quickly, so suddenly!

Zhou Qin quietly shook her head and sighed softly, "Ding Nan, why must it be this way?" With that, she took a deep breath, a chilling coldness blooming in her eyes, and said, "Let them go. Our grievances should not involve them."

Ding Nan merely sneered, "Did you ever consider not involving me when you had your quarrel with Zhao Yujian?" As she spoke, her eyes snapped wide open, and she pointed at Chris and the others. The Luo Mu Li Hun Chai beside her instantly dissolved into countless streams of golden light, pouring down like a torrential rain toward the trio of Chris, John, and Olba.

Chris and the others watched in horror as countless golden hairpins suddenly materialized in the air, aiming for them—any one striking them would surely leave a bloody hole.

These three foreigners who had traveled across oceans for a seemingly smooth cultivation journey never anticipated such terror. Just as they resigned themselves to certain death, they heard a rushing wind, followed by a fiery red serpent dancing rapidly before them, forming an impenetrable barrier that solidly blocked the barrage from the Luo Mu Li Hun Chai.

However, after being scattered by the defense, the Luo Mu Li Hun Chai quickly reformed and swept back, rapidly climbing along the line of Zhou Qin's Fire God Whip, moving like a small snake ascending a vine, swiftly targeting Zhou Qin’s wrist.

Zhou Qin frowned instantly, flicking her wrist. With a shwa, her long whip straightened out, becoming like a spear. A thick, profound Yin energy instantly permeated the whip, shaking the Luo Mu Li Hun Chai, which was trailing close, into scattered pieces.

The exchange between Zhou Qin and Ding Nan took only the time it takes to snap one's fingers. Chris, John, and Olba saw only a flash where golden and red light clashed, a scene more thrilling than any Hollywood blockbuster. But when they blinked, the surroundings were calm again, as if the confrontation had been an illusion.

John stammered, mouth agape, "My God, are all Chinese people superhuman?"

Chris’s eyes were wide, fixed on Zhou Qin, a look of fanatical excitement shining within them.

Only Olba was filled with regret. She hated herself for meddling, for coming to this terrifying country and encountering such horror. She broke into loud sobs, her cries echoing endlessly in the silent Huangshan cable car line.

Zhou Qin, however, seemed not to hear her weeping. Her entire focus was locked onto Ding Nan. She spoke calmly, "Ding Nan, give up. Cultivate a bit more and then come back; you are no match for me. With my Fire God Whip in hand, you are already outmatched. When I bring out the Scorching Moon, your death will be certain!"

Ding Nan was completely unimpressed and scoffed, "Who said I was going to fight you head-on? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Saying this, she gave a cold smile. The Luo Mu Li Hun Chai beside her flashed violently, instantly reappearing a dozen meters behind Zhou Qin. The golden light flickered several times, and then a distant sound of metal grinding against metal echoed.

Zhou Qin gasped in alarm and roared, "Ding Nan, you are too vicious!"

Ding Nan just laughed heartily, "Me, vicious? When you pushed me down the stairs, did you ever think about how vicious you were being?"

Zhou Qin had no time to defend herself now. The cable line connection point over a dozen meters behind her had already been completely severed by the Luo Mu Li Hun Chai. Even with the Fire God Whip, it was too late to intervene; the whip couldn't reach!

The moment the Luo Mu Li Hun Chai severed the last iron nail holding Zhou Qin’s section of the cable line, she felt her body suddenly lurch downward!

Zhou Qin’s thoughts raced; her reaction was astonishingly fast. Since her flight technique was still shaky, and with Ding Nan threatening her, she instantly flicked her wrist, rapidly wrapping the tip of her whip around the cliff face behind her, while shouting to Chris and the others, "Hold tight!"

Just as her voice faded, the cable line beneath their feet roared and plummeted. Chris, John, and Olba simultaneously let out piercing screams, dropping like meteorites into the bottomless abyss.

Zhou Qin’s eyes and hands were quick. With a heave, she caught Chris with a snap. Chris, in turn, grabbed John. John, seeing someone fall beside him, instinctively reached out and clutched Olba’s clothing. The four of them hung suspended in mid-air, strung together like gourds on a chain, swinging back and forth close to the cliff face like a giant pendulum.

Although Zhou Qin possessed incredible strength from her Golden Core body tempering, supporting the weight of three adults with one arm was becoming taxing. Furthermore, with the enemy right there, being constrained like this left her effectively defenseless.

Zhou Qin gritted her teeth, instantly using the momentum of their four-person swing, and forcefully threw her arm out, shouting, "Up!"

With that swing, Chris, John, and Olba were flung into the air like sandbags, separating from each other. Olba landed squarely on the section of the cable line behind Ding Nan, howling in pain as if her limbs were shattering.

Chris, still airborne from the throw, spotted a towering pine tree jutting from a crack in the rock face. Quick as lightning, she used both hands and clamped onto the trunk, arresting her fall mid-air.

The moment she secured her grip, she saw John flying past her. Chris immediately reached out and grabbed him.

However, John was tall and heavy. The pine tree on the cliff face suddenly bore the weight of two people, emitting a horrifying, creaking sound of imminent fracture. The terrifying noise made the still-shaken Chris and John’s hairs stand on end!

At this moment of life and death, both watched as the pine tree slowly began to break, their eyes fixed on the roots inching out of the rock crevice under the strain. In that instant, they could smell the sinister breath of death!

John suddenly twisted his head, his voice becoming eerily calm. He said to Chris, "Chris... promise me one thing."

A sense of foreboding flashed through Chris’s mind, and she immediately cried out in alarm, "No, John, what are you planning?"

John looked at Chris with intense seriousness and said, "Chris, you are the smartest, and your conditions are the best. Master will definitely take you as a disciple... If you ever reach heaven later, you must tell me... what is cultivation truly like..."

With that, John gave Chris a faint smile and released his hands!

Chris let out a heart-wrenching scream: "No!!" She lunged out, trying to grab John, but only managed to tear off a piece of his sleeve. John’s body continued to fall, swallowed instantly by the fathomless abyss.

For a moment, the night wind howled through the valley, accompanied by Chris's recurring cries. Olba, shocked beyond measure, had stopped crying; she stared blankly at the infinitely dark abyss, seemingly frozen into a sculpture.

Zhou Qin could not possibly reach John in time; she could only watch him plunge into the chasm.

A furious roar tore from Zhou Qin’s throat: "Ding Nan, you deserve to die!!!"

Zhou Qin flicked her wrist, her body surging forward. An astonishing power erupted between her legs, allowing her to press almost vertically against the rock face. Her feet pounded rhythmically against the sheer cliff, and she lunged toward Ding Nan in a frenzy!