Chapter 75: Huang Yipeng’s Noble Righteousness

Shi Yan was not a disciple of any major sect, his cultivation only at the sixth tier of Heaven, and his magical implements were merely ordinary low-grade items. Upon first contact, he was already showing signs of defeat.

Chu Xiner had no intention of letting him go. While her flying sword suppressed his magical weapon, her delicate hand lifted, and a blue mist rapidly gathered at her fingertip, swiftly forming into a sharp blue sword light that slashed toward Shi Yan.

The sword energy gleamed brilliantly, its spiritual pressure overwhelming. Terrified, Shi Yan hastily raised a protective shield around himself.

But under the assault of the blue sword energy, his protective aura instantly twisted and deformed. Shi Yan's face turned pale, and he nearly coughed up blood. Gritting his teeth, he conjured a fireball to defend himself.

Swish, swish—

Since cultivating the Drifting Clouds and Falling Rain Technique, Chu Xiner had become even more adept at manipulating water spells. The power of her first water sword had not yet dissipated when two more blue sword energies swiftly formed.

With a crash, the fireball was extinguished by the sword energy, and the two slightly weakened sword energies combined and slashed down fiercely.

The protective shield around Shi Yan could hold no longer. Amidst the sound of shattering, his shoulder was pierced by a water sword, two lines of blood spurting forth—this was already with him doing his utmost to dodge.

His magical weapon thoroughly suppressed and his shoulder wounded, the azure-clad Shi Yan could no longer resist Chu Xiner’s capture.

But just then, a radiant streak soared from the distance, accompanied by a voice brimming with righteous indignation: “Demoness! How dare you commit violence in broad daylight! I will not stand idly by—prepare to die!”

“Senior, help me!”

The world of cultivation was a place of cold indifference, and acts of chivalry were rare. Shi Yan, facing mortal danger, heard that commanding shout as if it were the music of immortals. He rallied his remaining strength, summoned back his long blade, and loudly called for help.

The figure in the escaping light quickly grew clear—it was none other than Huang Yipeng, who had been tracking Chu Xiner for some time.

Chu Xiner wore a mask and a black robe, the very image of a demonic sect’s enchantress. Shi Yan had no idea of her true identity. Even if he captured and seriously wounded her, with this young cultivator as witness, he could claim ignorance of her being a fellow sect member.

Moreover, they were already more than a thousand miles from the Qingye Sect; once this woman was captured, he could do as he pleased. Huang Yipeng believed the time to act had come.

To be fair, he was tall and handsome, his white robes fluttering as he descended from the sky. In Shi Yan’s eyes, he seemed extraordinarily heroic, even inspiring an urge to worship.

But at that moment, his own life was in jeopardy, and there was no time for further thought—the impulse to worship passed in a flash.

Huang Yipeng had chosen to intervene, but Chu Xiner felt no fear. She had long been prepared for a desperate battle; now, she would simply need to silence one more innocent witness.

“Demoness, drop your weapon and repent, lest you regret it for the rest of your life!”

Huang Yipeng landed at Shi Yan’s side, speaking with great righteousness as his flying sword transformed into a streak of light and slashed toward Chu Xiner.

At the same time, his divine sense stayed alert to the surroundings—the diminutive mosquito that had ambushed and killed Zhou Kai and Wang Tao had yet to appear, and he dared not let down his guard.

Clang! Clang!

The ring of refined iron echoed. With Huang Yipeng’s intervention, Chu Xiner no longer held the overwhelming advantage she had before.

Shi Yan seized the chance to pull out a healing pill and swallow it, then roughly bandaged his wound with cloth. Without hesitation, he urged his magic blade back into the fray.

Moments before, he had nearly been fed to Chu Xiner’s spirit pet. Hatred burned in his heart; his magic blade cleaved the air with a howl, aiming directly for the girl’s fragrant shoulder.

Faced with such ferocity, Chu Xiner dared not be careless. After blocking with a blue water sword, she quickly slapped her storage pouch and released a mosquito barely the size of a thumb.

At the sight of Xiao Wenzi spreading his wings toward Shi Yan, Shi Yan himself felt little concern, but Huang Yipeng’s pupils contracted involuntarily.

He had seen Xiao Wenzi before, not much bigger than a soybean; in the short span of a year, the creature had grown several times larger, and its aura now rivaled that of an eighth-tier cultivator. Its growth was astonishingly fast.

Huang Yipeng did not practice insect control or gu techniques, but he knew well that the higher the grade of a spirit insect, the slower its progression should be.

The fact that Xiao Wenzi had ambushed and killed Zhou Kai and Wang Tao meant its intelligence was high—and thus, its grade was exceptional.

Simply by feeding on a few cultivators’ blood, it advanced rapidly. Huang Yipeng could not help but marvel at Chu Xiner’s luck.

As he frowned and pondered, the blue water sword had already blocked Shi Yan’s magical weapon and gained a slight upper hand—after all, their realms were far apart.

At the same time, Xiao Wenzi, having flown before Shi Yan, unleashed two razor-sharp wing blades.

Each crescent-shaped blade was barely three inches long and nearly translucent, seemingly unimpressive, yet Shi Yan’s expression changed drastically. He gritted his teeth, raised his protective barrier once again, and flung a fireball.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Facing a formidable foe, Xiao Wenzi had no intention of dragging out the fight. As fireballs and wing blades clashed and neutralized each other, he unleashed several more razor-sharp attacks.

The Blood Spirit Grand Method was a supreme ancient technique. The demonic power Xiao Wenzi cultivated was far thicker and purer than Shi Yan’s spiritual power, his demonic sense vastly superior, and his actual combat ability slightly above his opponent’s.

Four or five wing blades struck Shi Yan’s protective aura in quick succession. The barrier twisted and deformed, and finally shattered. With two more blades slashing in, leaving no room to dodge, Shi Yan could only cry out to Huang Yipeng for help.

“Senior, save me!”

Before his voice had faded, a cold gleam flashed in Chu Xiner’s eyes beneath her mask. Her aura surged abruptly, rising from the late eleventh to the early thirteenth tier in an instant.

And that was not all—a pale golden long sword and a willow-leaf flying knife thin as a cicada’s wing appeared in her hands. With a delicate snort, both mid-grade magical weapons blazed with spiritual light and struck directly at Huang Yipeng.

With a wet splatter, the righteousness Huang Yipeng had displayed before was nothing more than a pretext to justify capturing Chu Xiner. He who showed no hesitation in killing his fellow disciples cared nothing for Shi Yan’s fate.

Thus, to Shi Yan’s despair, disaster struck—blood sprayed as his shoulder and abdomen were pierced, and his screams rang out.

Meanwhile, in a flash of gray, Xiao Wenzi changed direction, charging at Huang Yipeng at twice his previous speed.

They had staked everything on this one move: Chu Xiner had concealed her true cultivation, and Xiao Wenzi had not used any secret arts beyond his wing blade technique, waiting for this very moment.

From beginning to end, Shi Yan had never been their true target. The one who fancied himself clever, Huang Yipeng, was.

Yet, although Huang Yipeng was startled by the scene before him, his eyes betrayed little panic. On the contrary, he curled his lips in a calm, almost mocking smile.

With a mocking gesture, he slapped his storage pouch, and two talismans appeared in his palm.

Earthen yellow light flared, and a thick layer of defensive aura enveloped him, blocking all attacks from Xiao Wenzi and Chu Xiner.

It was a mid-grade earth-element defensive talisman, and with Huang Yipeng’s full thirteenth-tier cultivation powering it, it could not be broken in an instant.

Having activated the defensive talisman, he now sat cross-legged, face grave, carefully holding another beast-hide talisman in his palm.