219: Chapter 219 Intrigue and Schemes

The moment the Talisman was activated, its spiritual light surged.

The shadows of the surrounding trees distorted, and in an instant, they appeared in a wasteland several miles away.

The spiritual light of the Talisman was quickly exhausted.

The veiled female Cultivator, still shaken, gently broke free from Ye Tianhao's hand and pulled her robes tighter, her tone carrying a hint of timidness.

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for saving me. I was truly scared to death just now. Those Cultivators are so overbearing; if not for you, I would have certainly died today."

As she spoke, she quietly hid the hand condensing a Magical Artifact in her sleeve, the spiritual energy at her fingertips becoming increasingly refined.

It was a silver needle dipped in poison. As long as she got half a step closer, she could silently pierce it into Ye Tianhao's back. Once his spiritual energy was in chaos, taking his life would be as easy as turning over a hand.

In her view, Ye Tianhao's rescue was either because he was intimidated by the reputation of her Shuangyue Sect or because he coveted the treasures on her person; ultimately, he was just a soft target.

But she didn't know that Ye Tianhao had felt her spiritual energy fluctuations the moment he grabbed her wrist. He had only fled with her because he didn't want to get too entangled with those Cultivators.

Ye Tianhao lowered his eyes, masking the coldness within, and said flatly, "It was just a small effort. But what did you do, girl, to make those Cultivators hate you so deeply?"

The veiled female Cultivator's heart stirred, knowing Ye Tianhao had become suspicious, so she immediately made up a story.

Her eyes turned slightly red: "I am an Outer Sect Disciple of the Shuangyue Sect. I merely found some Spirit Medicine in the forest, and they targeted me, attacking me with malicious intent.

In my desperation, I accidentally killed their Senior Brother, and I have been pursued by them ever since."

She spoke with such sincerity that she even lowered her head slightly, revealing a section of her fair neck, looking weak and helpless.

Before her words even finished, she suddenly lunged forward, seemingly seeking protection by Ye Tianhao's side.

In reality, the silver needle in her sleeve shot out abruptly, aimed straight at Ye Tianhao's heart.

The speed was unexpected, both fast and ruthless; an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have no time to react.

"As expected."

Ye Tianhao was already prepared. With a flick of his wrist, his long sword left its scabbard.

With a crisp "clang," he precisely deflected the silver needle.

When the silver needle hit the ground, the vegetation around them instantly withered, showing how potent the poison was.

Seeing that Ye Tianhao had dodged her poison needle, the gentle smile on the female Cultivator's face instantly turned into a hideous expression.

"I didn't expect you to actually block it!"

She immediately tried to hide her figure to escape, but before she could act, Ye Tianhao's sharp Sword Qi attacked her directly, several times faster than her.

"Trying to run?"

Ye Tianhao's voice remained flat, yet it carried a strong killing intent.

"You lured me here just now and hid a murderous intent. Do you really think I'm a pawn for you to manipulate?"

Great horror appeared on the female Cultivator's face, but after several sword moves from Ye Tianhao, no matter how she used her Spiritual Artifact for defense, she couldn't stop him. The Sword Qi even completely surrounded her, leaving her nowhere to hide.

The sword techniques of the Qingyun Sect were mostly as sharp as the wind, emphasizing speed, ruthlessness, and precision.

After honing his skills in the Qingyun Sect for several years, Ye Tianhao had refined the Sect's sword techniques to be extremely decisive. Aside from the Elders, even Lu Shaoyou was no match for him.

"Puchi—" The Sword Qi first tore through the female Cultivator's sleeve and slashed her arm, the wound deep enough to see the bone.

The veiled female Cultivator waved a silk ribbon in her hand to clash with Ye Tianhao, but because of her injuries, it was extremely difficult to face him.

Adding to the fact that her retreat was cut off and there was no hope of escape, she immediately bit her tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood. Her spiritual light surged as she prepared to give it her all.

They were both Foundation Establishment Cultivators, so this full-strength strike gave Ye Tianhao some pressure, but a cold sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He had already seen through this female Cultivator's tricks. Such a secret technique that burned one's cultivation might look fierce, but in reality, her Foundation was already in chaos and full of openings.

With a flick of his long sword, a concentrated beam of Sword Qi pierced directly into the center of the female Cultivator's hand seal, precisely breaking her secret technique.

"No—!" The female Cultivator let out a scream of despair. With her secret technique broken and suffering from the backlash of her essence blood, her Meridians were shattered, her spiritual energy was instantly exhausted, and her body slumped to the ground, her breath faint.

She looked up, staring fixedly at Ye Tianhao, her eyes full of resentment and malice.

"I'm not willing... I just wanted to take your Storage Pouch, why must you be so relentless?"

Ye Tianhao looked down at her, his tone devoid of any emotion: "Unsatisfied greed and a cruel heart. If I hadn't been prepared today, the one dead would be me.

Furthermore, the Cultivators who were chasing you might not be as malicious as you claimed. Most likely, you coveted their things, killed them, and then tried to frame them, using my hand to escape the pursuit before turning around to kill me for my treasures, right?"

The veiled female Cultivator's face turned pale. With the truth exposed by Ye Tianhao, she could no longer maintain her facade, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.

"Damn it! You can't kill me! You can't kill me!" At this point, the veiled female Cultivator continued to bring up her plea for mercy, "My Revered Master is the Sect Master of the Shuangyue Sect, Gui Suer. If you kill me, I..."

Before her warning could finish, Ye Tianhao slit the veiled woman's throat with a single sword strike. She lost all signs of life and collapsed on the ground.

A cursing Primordial Spirit shot out from the woman's head, but it was grabbed by Ye Tianhao. With a squeeze of spiritual energy, her Divine Soul was completely destroyed amidst a shrill cry.

Ye Tianhao neatly sheathed his sword and took the Storage Pouch from her waist.

With a sweep of his Divine Thought, he saw many Magical Artifacts and Dharma robes inside, but most were stained with blood. Judging by her proficiency, she probably deceived many Cultivators who were blinded by beauty. It was clear this female Cultivator had killed many people to steal their treasures.

Besides that, there was a Command Token engraved with the words "Frost Moon," likely her identification as an Outer Sect Disciple of the Shuangyue Sect.

He casually incinerated the token and then used spiritual energy to burn the female Cultivator's Physical Body to ashes. After finishing everything, he quickly left the area.

In the forest, fighting continued. Ye Tianhao had no interest in those Yao Beasts or Spirit Medicines; such things were merely a waste of spiritual energy and time.

The female Cultivator's Storage Pouch already contained quite a few. He still needed to conserve his strength for emergencies.

He looked toward the Jade Palace towering ahead and thought about flying there on his sword.

Many other Cultivators had similar thoughts, all rushing toward the palace ahead together.

After Ye Tianhao landed among the crowd, he hid at the back, quietly listening to the Cultivators' conversations.

"This must be the Demon God Palace, right? I heard there are many good things inside!"

"Since there are good things, why are we still crowded here? Let's go in!"

"Tsk! What do you know? There's a powerful Formation around the outskirts of this Demon God Palace. As long as you use even a little spiritual energy, you'll be strangled and attacked. Several people who didn't believe it have already died!"

"Ah? That terrifying? Then how do we get in?"

Just as the crowd was discussing and feeling anxious, several figures with steady auras suddenly stepped out from the crowd.

They bore the marks of the four major Sects: Qingyun, Lingxiao, Ganglei, and Shuangyue.

Ye Tianhao's eyes narrowed slightly, and he unobtrusively took a few steps back, hiding himself even deeper.

Yun Jian from the Qingyun Sect stepped forward and said, "Everyone, this is the ancient Heart-Burning Spirit-Devouring Array. It uses the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as a guide. Any Cultivator who actively circulates spiritual energy, releases Spells, or even flies on a sword will be instantly strangled by the Formation, and their Divine Soul will be destroyed."

"Doesn't that mean we can only walk in?" someone cried out in shock.

"Correct." An Elder from the Lingxiao Sect beside him added in a heavy voice, "This Formation only suppresses spiritual energy, not the Physical Body. To approach, one must restrain all spiritual energy and walk as a Mortal."