15: Crisis resolved

Lin Chuan turned around and ran, shouting for help as he went.

"Cunning brat!" Yin Wu gritted his teeth and roared, immediately transforming into a ghostly shadow to give chase.

Lin Chuan thought despairingly, "Damn it, looks like I'm really going to die here today. Is this the end?"

Yin Wu caught up to Lin Chuan in the blink of an eye. Without a word, he raised his longsword and thrust it directly toward the center of Lin Chuan's back.

Clang!

Yin Wu looked on in surprise as his longsword was suddenly knocked aside by another sword flying in from the side. He immediately looked toward the source.

Two figures, a man and a woman, emerged from the nearby dense forest.

"Holy crap, Jian Wuxie, Xiao Hongyuan!" Lin Chuan cried out excitedly.

"Who are you? How dare you attempt an assassination within the Spirit Realm Sect?" Xiao Hongyuan said coldly.

"Too much nonsense! Since you're here, none of you shall leave today!" Yin Wu shouted coldly and attacked immediately.

"The Golden Core Realm?!" Xiao Hongyuan immediately sensed Yin Wu's Realm and shouted to Jian Wuxie, "Be careful!"

Jian Wuxie looked solemn. His longsword first parried Yin Wu's attack, and he let out a muffled groan, quickly retreating several steps.

Seeing Jian Wuxie injured, Xiao Hongyuan drew the longsword from her waist. Her movements seemed gentle, yet she launched wave after wave of attacks at the man in black at a speed the naked eye could not follow.

Yin Wu circulated the Spiritual Qi within his body, condensing it into a suit of transparent armor. He appeared to handle Xiao Hongyuan's attacks with ease.

"Heh, just two at the Peak of Core Formation!" Yin Wu sneered.

Jian Wuxie suppressed his injuries and shouted to Lin Chuan, "Go, quickly! Go notify your Sect's Elders!"

Yin Wu laughed, "Hmph, you want to leave? No one is leaving today!"

With that, he unleashed a wave of Sword Qi to push Xiao Hongyuan back and charged straight for Lin Chuan.

Without time to think, Jian Wuxie channeled all his Spiritual Qi. He instinctively gripped the hilt with both hands, twisted his body, and slashed forward.

A massive wave of Sword Qi instantly erupted from the longsword, striking Yin Wu directly.

The Spiritual Qi armor on Yin Wu's body shattered instantly, and he was sent flying backward by the massive force of the impact.

Crashing to the ground, Yin Wu shouted in disbelief, "What kind of sword technique is this? How could it break my Spirit Armor?"

Xiao Hongyuan also watched the scene in shock, looking at Jian Wuxie with disbelief.

Jian Wuxie looked at his longsword in a daze, then turned to Lin Chuan and asked, "Did you see that?"

Lin Chuan nodded, equally dazed. "I saw it. It looked like Ghost Slash!"

Hearing Lin Chuan's words, Xiao Hongyuan was stunned. She blurted out, "Could it be that the Martial Skills from the Secret Realm can actually be used?!"

Yin Wu clutched the massive wound on his chest and roared, "Impossible! How could a mere Core Formation Peak practitioner wound me, a Third-level Golden Core?!"

That strike had exhausted all of Jian Wuxie's spiritual power. No longer able to support his already injured body, he collapsed straight onto the ground, panting heavily.

Yin Wu stood up while clutching his wound, sneering, "Heh, let's see how you resist now!"

Xiao Hongyuan stood before the two with her sword, sneering, "Don't forget, you still have me to deal with!"

Yin Wu didn't bother with more nonsense. He poured spiritual power into his longsword, causing the entire blade to hum. It was clear he was about to use a killing move.

Xiao Hongyuan didn't dare to be careless. She immediately used a flickering movement technique to close in on Yin Wu rapidly.

Yin Wu's pupils constricted. He clearly hadn't expected Xiao Hongyuan to be so fast, reaching his side in the blink of an eye.

"That's Senior Sister's Floral Shadow Steps. It's a Profound Grade High Rank Cultivation Technique, extremely difficult to learn," Jian Wuxie explained to Lin Chuan while lying on the ground.

Yin Wu gritted his teeth and temporarily gave up on infusing his sword with spiritual power, raising his blade to attack Xiao Hongyuan.

Xiao Hongyuan swung her sword upward with force, executing the 'Uppercut' skill in a perfectly standard motion.

Yin Wu felt a massive force transmit through his parrying sword. He lost his balance uncontrollably and was sent flying into the air.

Xiao Hongyuan seemed to enter a mysterious state, unleashing a continuous barrage of sword strikes at the helpless Yin Wu in mid-air, her spiritual power surging toward him in wave after wave.

"That's Senior Sister's Vast River Sword Art, also Profound Grade High Grade!" Jian Wuxie explained before Lin Chuan could even ask.

Lin Chuan glanced at Jian Wuxie, who couldn't even stand up, and thought to himself, "I never realized this kid was such a chatterbox before."

Unable to resist in mid-air, Yin Wu was filled with terror. He couldn't understand where these strange moves from a mere Core Formation Peak practitioner came from, leaving him completely unable to fight back.

As Yin Wu was about to hit the ground, Xiao Hongyuan gripped her sword hilt with both hands, twisted her waist, and spiritual power converged frantically into her longsword.

Yin Wu's eyes narrowed. This starting stance was all too familiar—wasn't it the same move that kid used just now?

Before Yin Wu could think further, Xiao Hongyuan slashed her longsword directly at him just as he touched the ground.

A massive wave of Sword Qi shot out instantly, striking Yin Wu directly on his already wounded chest.

Gah... Yin Wu spat out a large mouthful of blood, his aura instantly withering.

Xiao Hongyuan stepped forward with her sword. She first flicked off his mask, then pointed the tip of her blade at Yin Wu's throat and demanded, "Speak! Who are you? A dignified Golden Core practitioner, yet you come here to assassinate a Spirit Realm Sect Disciple?"

Lin Chuan also saw Yin Wu's face. He was ordinary-looking, the type who wouldn't stand out in a crowd; someone Lin Chuan had never seen before.

Lying on the ground, Yin Wu spat out another mouthful of blood before speaking resentfully, "Which Sect are you from? How can mere Core Formation Peak practitioners have such powerful Martial Skills?"

"I am the Saintess of the Divine Sword Sect, Xiao Hongyuan!"

"Heh, so you're from the Divine Sword Sect. The number one Sect in the Southern Territory... it truly lives up to its reputation!" Yin Wu smiled dejectedly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Stop the nonsense. Speak, who are you?" Xiao Hongyuan impatiently pressed her sword tip forward a bit more.

"Heh, talking is useless. I won't say a word!" After speaking, Yin Wu suddenly lunged forward against Xiao Hongyuan's sword tip, and the blade instantly pierced through his neck.

Yin Wu's mangled throat made a few wheezing sounds like a broken bellows before he completely stopped breathing.

Xiao Hongyuan withdrew her sword in surprise and looked at Lin Chuan. "This guy was likely a Death Warrior sent by someone; he had no fear of death at all."

Lin Chuan nodded. "I saw. I have to thank you both this time."

"You should report this to your Sect's management as soon as possible. This person was clearly after you," Xiao Hongyuan suggested.

Lin Chuan first helped Jian Wuxie up and said to them, "I understand. You two saved me today. Words cannot express my gratitude; I will remember this."

Jian Wuxie smiled wryly. "No need for thanks. We just happened to be coming back for some business and couldn't stand by and watch an injustice."

"Oh? What business brings you back?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

"This..." A hint of red flushed Jian Wuxie's originally pale face, and he didn't know how to respond.

"Alright, we need to go back and rest. You go report it first," Xiao Hongyuan spoke up to bail out her Junior Brother, then pulled Jian Wuxie away.

Lin Chuan glanced at Yin Wu's corpse on the ground. Still shaken, he didn't care about anything else and immediately ran down toward the base of Tianquan Peak.