101: Zhou family

(Because the attendance bonus is being adjusted, the new chapters are in the previous two.)

No! It definitely wasn't an illusion!

Yue Liuli was firmly convinced that someone had definitely just launched a sneak attack on her.

But what baffled her was, when exactly did that person enter the spirit boat?

Why hadn't she sensed anything at all? Even the spirit boat's protective shield showed no signs of abnormality.

"Who exactly are you, Your Excellency? Could you come out and show yourself?"

After searching around and finding no trace, Yue Liuli spoke out to inquire.

But there was only silence within the spirit boat; no one answered her question at all.

"Could Your Excellency spare me? These treasures shall serve as my ransom; please, take them all."

"But if Your Excellency insists on forcing my hand, then I will have no choice but to fight to the death."

Yue Liuli first brought out a pile of treasures, then produced a jade talisman exuding a terrifying aura as a threat.

But just as before, no one answered her. The spirit boat remained silent, and the treasures on the ground were left untouched.

After a period of stalemate, Yue Liuli almost began to doubt whether it really had been her imagination.

Hampered by her injuries, Yue Liuli held out for a while longer before finally deciding to begin healing herself first.

Thus, Yue Liuli activated her protective Spiritual Artifact, condensing a moon-white shield around her body, and sat cross-legged to begin her recovery.

Just as she was about to enter a state of cultivation, Yue Liuli suddenly turned her head to look behind her.

But there was no one behind her, making it a false alarm.

She then circulated her Cultivation Technique again, preparing to heal, but just as she was about to enter the state, she once more whipped her head around to look.

And this time was just like the last; there was still no one behind her.

"Whew!"

Seeing that no one was there after two surprise checks, Yue Liuli finally breathed a secret sigh of relief and began to calm her mind to circulate her Cultivation Technique.

At first, Yue Liuli was still a bit worried about a sneak attack, but after successfully circulating her technique twice, she finally let her guard down completely.

Just as Yue Liuli was focusing on recovering from her injuries, a Ghostly Shadow suddenly appeared behind her again.

Looking at the moon-white shield before it, the Ghostly Shadow smiled disdainfully, then raised its claw and lunged toward Yue Liuli's Dantian.

Then, a bizarre scene unfolded: the Ghostly Shadow's claw vanished into thin air, only to instantly reappear inside the moon-white shield.

It bypassed the moon-white shield entirely and stabbed toward Yue Liuli.

But in the next second, another gold-red light emerged behind Yue Liuli, blocking the Ghostly Shadow's claw.

Ghostly Shadow: "..."

*Pfft!*

The sound of another sneak attack from behind forced Yue Liuli out of her cultivation state once again.

Her injuries, which had just begun to recover, became a bit more severe.

Without even time to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, Yue Liuli hurriedly looked back, wanting to see exactly who was attacking her from behind.

But when she looked back, the Ghostly Shadow had already vanished into the Void Realm, leaving no trace.

"Come out! If you have the guts, fight me head-on! What kind of skill is attacking from behind?!" Yue Liuli roared, exasperated.

But the surrounding silence only made her angrier.

Just then, Yue Liuli suddenly thought of a good idea. She stood up and rushed out of the spirit boat, then waved her hand to put it away.

Without the spirit boat, the person in the shadows would surely be revealed instantly.

But after Yue Liuli put away the spirit boat, she discovered to her horror that no one appeared before her.

"Could it really be my imagination?"

Looking at the empty space before her, Yue Liuli reached out to touch her lower back, muttering to herself in self-doubt.

But she soon became convinced that it was definitely not an illusion. One protective Spiritual Artifact might have an issue, but it was impossible for two to fail at the same time.

Moreover, the spot where she was attacked was aimed at her Dantian; clearly, this was intentional.

Looking at the empty surroundings, Yue Liuli thought for a moment before taking out a white bone pagoda.

This bone pagoda was named the soul devouring bone pagoda. It contained tens of thousands of Grievance Soulss; once released, they would frantically devour the Souls of any nearby enemies.

As long as a Soul's aura existed, they could instantly lock onto the enemy, making even invisibility useless.

This soul devouring bone pagoda was given to her by the Sect Master of the Yinmo Sect when she became the Saintess.

Because this soul devouring bone pagoda was too sinister and evil, she had never used it. But now, she couldn't care less; staying alive was the top priority.

Soon, Yue Liuli activated the soul devouring bone pagoda. One by one, Grievance Soulss emitting ear-piercing wails and screams flew out of the pagoda, quickly scattering in all directions.

But after these Grievance Soulss circled around, they failed to find even a trace of a Soul's aura and could only wander aimlessly.

"How is this possible!?"

Seeing this, Yue Liuli muttered to herself in disbelief.

She clearly felt someone attacking her, yet no matter what method she used, she couldn't find the assailant.

"It clearly wasn't an illusion, but why is there no one?"

Yue Liuli felt like she was going crazy. Someone who could hide so thoroughly must be at least a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

But if it were a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, why not just strike directly against a heavily injured Golden Core Stage Late Stage junior like her? Why bother with these sneaky attacks?

Just as Yue Liuli was completely puzzled, a spirit boat suddenly flew in from the distance.

This spirit boat bore a flag embroidered with the character 'Zhou'; it was clearly the spirit boat of a certain Family.

The people on the spirit boat soon noticed the commotion on Yue Liuli's side. After all, the resentment emanating from tens of thousands of Grievance Soulss could be clearly felt even from ten miles away.

Soon, a group of Cultivators in uniform flew out from the spirit boat and surrounded Yue Liuli.

It was currently the period of the great war between the Demon Slaying Alliance and the evil Cultivators. As long as one brought the corpse of an evil Cultivator to the Demon Slaying Alliance, they could receive a reward.

Neither Loose Cultivators nor the scions of various families and Sects could resist such temptation.

"Where did this evil Cultivator come from, to be so arrogant! Daring to use such vicious Grievance Soulss on our Righteous Path territory!"

A loud shout came from afar as an old man led the charge, rushing toward Yue Liuli to kill her.

Yue Liuli, who was in the midst of self-doubt and looking for a place to vent her anger, immediately turned her gaze toward them upon hearing the old man's rebuke.

"Heh! A mere Golden Core Stage Middle Stage Cultivator dares to speak so arrogantly!"

Recalling her previous experience of being beaten by the Demon Slaying Alliance, a surge of monstrous killing intent rose in Yue Liuli's heart.

In the next moment, Yue Liuli took out a Medicinal Pill and swallowed it, then leaped toward the people of the Zhou Family.

The thousands of Grievance Soulss surrounding Yue Liuli followed her as she flew.

Seeing the overwhelming number of Grievance Soulss attacking them, the faces of the Zhou Family members turned pale.

For they discovered that the aura emitted by these Grievance Soulss seemed much more terrifying than they had imagined.

"Form the Formation!"

The old man leading the charge also noticed something wrong with these Grievance Soulss, as well as Yue Liuli's cultivation and her unstable aura due to her injuries.

Although Yue Liuli was a Golden Core Stage Late Stage evil Cultivator, the old man believed that since she was heavily injured, they should be able to take her down.

Under the old man's command, the panicked crowd quickly regained their composure and began to set up a Formation centered around him.

This Formation was a Battle Formation, executed by thirty-six Cultivators in coordination. It could even contend with a Golden Core Stage Perfection Cultivator.

Soon, the thirty-six people skillfully took their positions at the Formation nodes and simultaneously performed their techniques.

In an instant, a light rain began to fall from the sky. These raindrops, like fine needles, washed down toward the ground.

The group of Grievance Soulss was the first to charge into the Battle Formation, but they were soon riddled with holes by the continuous drizzle.

"evil dispelling talismans!"

The old man in the Battle Formation quickly gave the order, and everyone took out a stack of evil dispelling talismans and threw them at the Grievance Soulss.

Under the attack of the evil dispelling talismans, large amounts of black smoke billowed from the Grievance Soulss as they emitted screams and wails.

"Waning Moon, Slash!"

Just then, Yue Liuli rushed to the front of the Battle Formation, raised her sword to condense the image of a Waning Moon, which quickly solidified, and slashed it toward one of the people in the Formation.

The Waning Moon she condensed was much smaller than the full moon condensed by Empress Yin, but it was not the least bit weaker in power.

Inside the Battle Formation, the person targeted by the Waning Moon suddenly felt a chill all over. He wanted to defend himself but discovered to his horror that his body couldn't move!

His body felt as if it were frozen solid, completely refusing to obey his brain's commands.

Fortunately, the old man in the Battle Formation soon noticed the abnormality and hurriedly mobilized the power of the array to block the Waning Moon.

In an instant, the continuous drizzle in the Battle Formation quickly condensed into a water dragon, which lunged toward the Waning Moon with bared fangs and claws.

But the Waning Moon effortlessly split the water dragon in two, from head to tail.

However, the water dragon soon reformed and quickly enveloped the Waning Moon, continuously washing over it.

In the end, the Waning Moon failed to reach its target and was eventually washed away and annihilated by the water dragon.

Next, the water dragon roared toward Yue Liuli, while the Zhou Family members maintained their Formation and bore down on her.

Seeing this, Yue Liuli immediately activated the two protective Spiritual Artifacts on her person.

Soon, a moon-white shield and a crimson shield overlapped. The two seemed to share some sort of connection, echoing each other.

After activating her protective Spiritual Artifacts, Yue Liuli once again condensed a Waning Moon, but this one did not attack.

The Waning Moon rose into the sky, hanging high above, and shed a vast amount of moonlight.

Immediately after, Yue Liuli's figure flickered, and she instantly teleported inside the Battle Formation, raising her sword to slash at one of the people.

Seeing this, the crowd hurriedly mobilized the power of the Battle Formation to sweep toward Yue Liuli.

And a protective shield condensed from flowing water instantly appeared on the person Yue Liuli was attacking.

Yue Liuli's sword easily sliced through the water shield, but she then felt a continuous, surging resistance.

This resistance was like a rushing river, blocking her progress.

"Moonlight Radiance!"

Yue Liuli's red lips parted slightly as she uttered two words.

Just as her voice fell, a layer of silver-white light appeared on the spiritual sword in her hand.

At the same time, the resistance felt by the spiritual sword instantly vanished—or rather, it wasn't so much gone as it was simply cleaved through.

"Puchi!"

In an instant, a head flew high into the air, and blood erupted from the headless neck like a pillar.

With one person dead, the battle Formation dissipated, and the members of the Zhou Family immediately coughed up blood due to the Formation's backlash.

But they had no time to heal; instead, they all launched an attack on Yue Liuli together.

Next, Yue Liuli's figure flickered continuously under the moonlight, like a solitary Fairy dancing alone, her posture light and her form graceful.

As Yue Liuli continued to flicker, the members of the Zhou Family were dying one after another.

Faced with Yue Liuli's one-sided slaughter, the Zhou Family members gradually lost their Battle Intent and began to flee in all directions.

But how could their speed match teleportation? As long as they hadn't escaped the range of the moonlight, they were easily caught by Yue Liuli and slain with a single sword strike.

"Die!"

Just after Yue Liuli killed another person, the Golden Core Stage Middle Stage old man seized the opportunity, raising his blade and slashing at her with all his might.

The blade glow transformed into thousands of streams, washing toward Yue Liuli.

Unable to dodge in time, Yue Liuli immediately condensed a Waning Moon to meet the old man's attack.

The streams formed by the blade glow continuously washed against Yue Liuli's protective shield, but they failed to cause even a bit of damage.

Right then, a pitch-black claw suddenly appeared inside the protective shield, reaching for Yue Liuli's Dantian.

This time, there was no new protective Spiritual Artifact to block the claw, but the defensive inner armor Yue Liuli wore was not torn through by the strike.

However, despite the failure to land a killing blow, Ghostly Shadow's immense power sent Yue Liuli flying backward, and the condensed Waning Moon veered off course.

Seeing this, although the Golden Core Stage Middle Stage old man didn't know who was acting from the shadows, he didn't want to give up this perfect opportunity.

He hurriedly chased after Yue Liuli and began launching a barrage of attacks.

The heavy blow to her abdomen immediately aggravated Yue Liuli's injuries, causing her to cough up a mouthful of blood.

Following that, the old man's continuous attacks left her with no time to suppress her injuries, forcing her to fight back.

"Damn it!"

Feeling her injuries grow more severe, Yue Liuli immediately took out a jade talisman and infused it with spiritual power.

The next second, a giant crimson sword suddenly appeared before Yue Liuli and slashed toward the old man.

This giant crimson sword emitted a scorching aura, making one feel as if they were facing a blazing sun, terrifying to the point of suffocation.

As the old man watched the giant crimson sword slash toward him, his eyes widened in terror.

Because from that giant crimson sword, he felt a terrifying pressure above the Nascent Soul Stage.

Only now did the old man finally realize that he had provoked an evil Cultivator with a terrifying background.

After the giant crimson sword fell, the old man was instantly turned into a pile of ash.

To prevent her tracks from being exposed, Yue Liuli hurriedly charged toward the Zhou Family spirit boat in the distance.

Seeing this, the Zhou Family survivors on the spirit boat quickly turned it around to flee, but they were eventually caught by Yue Liuli.

Among the remaining Zhou Family survivors, the highest cultivation was only the Purple Mansion Middle Stage, and they could not withstand Yue Liuli's attacks at all.

Soon, the members of the Zhou Family were all slaughtered by Yue Liuli, and she collected their corpses and the spirit boat.

However, although the Zhou Family was gone, Yue Liuli knew in her heart that the truly threatening enemy was still in the shadows.

The previous strike made Yue Liuli realize that the enemy in the dark definitely had a cultivation no higher than Golden Core Stage Perfection, which might be why he didn't dare to face her directly.

Yet, Yue Liuli couldn't understand how that person managed to ignore her protective Spiritual Artifact and attack her body directly.

After clearing the battlefield, Yue Liuli felt a bit lost because she didn't know what to do next.

Continue to use a spirit boat to escape? But the person in the shadows would keep following her.

Find a place to heal? But the person in the shadows would interfere.

Find a way to kill the person in the shadows? But she didn't even know where they were.

The more Yue Liuli thought about it, the more troublesome it felt; she felt that even when facing that Nascent Soul Stage Early Stage Cultivator, she hadn't felt as frustrated as she did now.

Unable to find them, unable to hit them, and unable to avoid them—this feeling made her extremely aggrieved.

"Found you!"

At that moment, Zhang Daobai, piloting a spirit boat, finally found Yue Liuli's location.

Looking at Yue Liuli suspended in mid-air from a distance, Zhang Daobai couldn't help but feel puzzled. What was she hacking at the air for?

Had the previous battle accidentally injured her brain and driven her mad?

Zhang Daobai watched Yue Liuli's actions with a strange gaze, feeling momentarily bewildered.

Beside him, Lin Luoxue couldn't help but have the same question pop into her mind: Has this Yue Liuli gone stupid?

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Daobai decided to ask Ghostly Shadow first to see if it knew anything.

Soon, Ghostly Shadow recounted its actions and what had happened with the Zhou Family.

After listening to Ghostly Shadow's explanation, Zhang Daobai realized that Yue Liuli wasn't mad; she was just in a state of incompetent rage.

Thinking of this, Zhang Daobai couldn't help but laugh and relayed Ghostly Shadow's words to Lin Luoxue.

After hearing this, Lin Luoxue also couldn't help but laugh, and her impression of Ghostly Shadow deepened significantly.

"Ghostly Shadow, are you confident you can take her down?"

After laughing, Zhang Daobai asked Ghostly Shadow in a serious tone.

"No problem," Ghostly Shadow responded with full confidence.

Hearing this, Zhang Daobai felt relieved and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."

At Zhang Daobai's command, Ghostly Shadow began to use its true strength.

Three spatial fissures instantly appeared around Yue Liuli, and then three Spatial Blades flew out from the spatial fissures, shooting toward her.

The moment she saw the spatial fissures, Yue Liuli finally understood why she couldn't find the hidden enemy.

It turned out that person was actually hiding within the Void Realm!

When the three Spatial Blades hit the shield around Yue Liuli, they merely flickered before passing directly through the shield and landing on her body.

The next second, Yue Liuli was struck by the three Spatial Blades simultaneously. Her clothes were shredded into strips, revealing a great deal of skin.

However, these three Spatial Blades were ultimately blocked by the defensive inner armor Yue Liuli wore.

After all, as a Disciple of a Nascent Soul Stage Evil Cultivator, how could her defensive inner armor be anything ordinary?

Although the defensive inner armor blocked the attack, the vibrations caused by the Spatial Blades made Yue Liuli's internal injuries rupture once again.

Yue Liuli could see it now: the enemy in the shadows could use Spatial Power to bypass her protective Spiritual Artifact and attack her body directly.

So, Yue Liuli simply turned off her protective Spiritual Artifact; it was useless anyway, and keeping it on was a waste of spiritual power.

Right then, Yue Liuli suddenly felt herself enveloped by an invisible force that was constantly squeezing inward, as if it wanted to crush her into pulp.

After coughing up a mouthful of blood, Yue Liuli hurriedly took out a jade token and crushed it with force.

The next second, Yue Liuli vanished into the void, fleeing into the distance.

That jade token was also a type of shifting talisman that could instantly transport someone thousands of miles away, but unfortunately, the enemy she faced was a Void Shadow Demon with the Son of Space talent.

Just when Yue Liuli thought she was about to escape, she was instantly squeezed out of the void by an invisible force.

Returning to the outside world, Yue Liuli discovered with horror that she was not far from her previous position.

At this moment, Yue Liuli began to panic. Even her final means of escape was useless; was she destined only to be a passive target?

Given her current injuries, she couldn't withstand these elusive attacks for long.

Just then, that same invisible force enveloped Yue Liuli's entire body again.

This time, it wasn't just squeezing inward; it was even twisting in different directions.

Yue Liuli's upper body twisted to the right while her lower body twisted to the left, and even her hands were being twisted and folded in different directions.

"Ah!"

As her body was squeezed and twisted, Yue Liuli's bones emitted an overburdened wail, and her flesh began to tear and shatter.

Yue Liuli wanted to take out a trump card from her storage ring, but her entire body was unable to move.

Her body was in constant, immense pain, making it completely impossible for her to concentrate.

"Ugh... Ah!"

"I... I think we can talk!"

"I possess the Grand Yin Sacred Body, and my primordial yin is still intact. Don't you think it's a pity to just kill me like this?"

Yue Liuli endured the intense pain, speaking each word with seductive intent.

The primordial yin of the Grand Yin Sacred Body was indeed a rare treasure that could be sought but not easily found.

It could not only directly increase cultivation but also wash away Spiritual Root Impurities, improve Spiritual Root Aptitude, and even have a chance of nurturing a special Physique.

"She's right. The primordial yin of the Grand Yin Sacred Body is indeed very precious and would be of great help to you!"

Hearing Yue Liuli's words, although Lin Luoxue felt very uncomfortable, she still advised him for Zhang Daobai's sake.

Hearing this, Zhang Daobai turned to look at Lin Luoxue with a strange expression, then smiled mischievously. "Once you fuse with the Grand Yin Sacred Body Origin, won't your body also be able to nurture a special primordial yin?"

Lin Luoxue: "!!??"

Hearing this, Lin Luoxue couldn't help but feel both ashamed and angry, her face instantly turning crimson. Yet, for some reason, she didn't speak up to refute Zhang Daobai's words.