231: There is also a demon

The Senior Brother beside her remained silent for a moment before analyzing,

"Elder Xue is at the Nascent Soul Fourth Layer cultivation base. For this demoness to be able to fight him to such a standstill, she must have at least the strength of the Nascent Soul third layer. We cannot interfere in a clash between those of their Realm."

"However, given Elder Xue's usual reputation and strength, subduing this demoness will certainly not be difficult."

His gaze swept over the terrified commoners below, and his tone softened slightly. "Let's first lead the Tianque Sect Disciples and these two hundred-plus households away from here. If Elder Xue truly needs assistance later, we'll have saved our strength to support him."

"If the situation changes, we can also return to the Sect in time to deliver the news."

The Heroic Woman nodded in agreement upon hearing this, sharing the same sentiment.

"Senior Brother is right, let's do as you say!"

Once they decided, they tapped their toes and swept downward. Just as they were about to approach the commoners below, a bone-chilling cold suddenly struck their backs. The chill was like ice needles piercing through bone, carrying heart-palpitating spiritual energy fluctuations that aimed straight for their hearts.

"Junior Sister, watch out!"

The Senior Brother's reaction was lightning-fast. Before his voice even faded, he jerked sideways, simultaneously pressing his right hand against his Storage Pouch to instantly summon an Ancient Bronze Mirror. The mirror's surface burst with brilliance, and a circular light shield shimmering with pale gold patterns hastily formed, barely managing to block behind them.

"Bang!"

An invisible ribbon of spiritual energy slammed violently into the light shield, and an ear-piercing hum instantly exploded. Dense cracks spread across the surface of the Ancient Bronze Mirror like a spiderweb. The Senior Brother was shaken back three steps by the immense force, a metallic sweetness filling his throat as a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Although the Heroic Woman was pulled away in time by her Senior Brother, she was still swept by the spiritual energy's aftershock. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her back. After stabilizing herself with lingering fear, anger immediately surged in her heart, and she looked up sharply toward the western sky.

There, a figure was seen floating on the wind!

Her upper body was that of a human woman with skin as white as snow, dressed in a moon-white dress with wide sleeves that fluttered in the wind. Her lower body, however, was a snake's tail covered in silver-white scales, swaying gently in mid-air, each movement creating subtle ripples of spiritual energy.

The woman's features were very heroic, with slightly arched eyebrows, a high bridge of the nose, and pale lips. Only the small black mole on the left side of her mouth gave her cold temperament a bit more distinctiveness.

Fang Ningyan did not emit a strong Demonic Qi, nor did she deliberately suppress her Aura. She just floated quietly in the air, her gaze falling on the two of them like a cold pool.

In the crowd below, Ye Hao's pupils constricted sharply as he stared intently at the figure with a human head and snake body in the air. Especially that face, that heroic air, and that iconic black mole at the corner of her mouth—

The description Su Yue had once given him of her Revered Master instantly surged in his mind.

"It shouldn't be..." Ye Hao's Adam's apple bobbed as he murmured to himself.

Li Pingan, beside him, noticed his abnormality and hurriedly leaned in, asking in a low voice, "What's wrong, Junior Brother?"

Ye Hao took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart. "This dem— this woman is likely the Revered Master that Miss Su Yue has been looking for. Senior Brother, we... might have been mistaken before."

"What?" Li Pingan's pupils shrank, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

If that were true, wouldn't it mean this woman with a human head and snake body... was not a demon? Realizing this, he suddenly looked up at the two figures fighting in mid-air.

The wings behind Yun Xuanxuan flapped nimbly, avoiding the Demon-Binding Rope summoned by Elder Xue, while she also found openings to counterattack. Their figures interlaced in the clouds, the light from their spiritual energy collisions rising and falling one after another.

The two were in a stalemate for the moment!

Could it be... she isn't a demon either?

Both of their hearts skipped a beat in unison, feeling that the twists and turns involved were far more complex than they had initially imagined.

On the other side, the Heroic Woman glared at Fang Ningyan, her anger intensifying as she shouted sharply, "I didn't expect this demoness to have another beast hidden as an accomplice! No wonder she dared to rush in even though she knew it was a trap we set. It turns out she was relying on an associate for support. Today, I'll send both of you beasts to your next life together!"

The Chusheng Sect had actually spread some rumors about their planned attack on Pingquan Village.

The purpose was to lure out Yun Xuanxuan so they could suppress and kill her.

This was also how Daoist Yunche found out, and through various coincidences, he informed Li Pingan and Ye Hao.

Fang Ningyan did not speak; she had nothing to say to these people from the Chusheng Sect. All she needed to do was make these people be buried along with those commoners.

With a light wave of her wide sleeves, three pale blue spiritual energy blades condensed out of thin air, heading straight for the Heroic Woman's face.

Although the Heroic Woman had been aggressive when she shouted just now, she didn't dare to be the least bit arrogant at this moment. Fang Ningyan's previous sneak attack had forced her Senior Brother to retreat while spitting blood in just one move; this snake woman's cultivation base was clearly far above hers.

Her heart skipped a beat, and her right hand swept over the scabbard at her waist like lightning. With a crisp "clink," the longsword unsheathed, its blade instantly glowing with a pale green spiritual light.

"Clang!"

The longsword collided with the spiritual energy blades, the crisp metallic ring making one's ears tingle.

The Heroic Woman exerted force with her wrist, forcefully shattering the three spiritual energy blades into fragments. However, the shattered spiritual energy did not dissipate; instead, it transformed into countless ice needles as thin as cow hair, shooting toward the openings in her defense using the rebounding force. Some aimed for her throat, others for her wrists—dense and unavoidable.

She could only clumsily twist and dodge, her toes tapping in mid-air as she tried to avoid the sky full of ice needles. But she was ultimately half a beat too slow. An ice needle grazed her left arm, instantly slicing a small wound into her fair skin. Tiny beads of blood oozed out, sliding down her arm and dripping away.

"Junior Sister!" Seeing this, the Senior Brother immediately held the Ancient Bronze Mirror in front of him. Although the mirror's surface was already covered in spiderweb-like cracks and the spiritual energy flow was sluggish, he gritted his teeth and forcefully injected his remaining spiritual energy. The pale gold light shield lit up again, barely managing to block in front of them.

"Junior Sister, don't fight her head-on! This beast's cultivation base is not below ours. Even if we join forces, we might not be her match."

"Then what should we do?" The Heroic Woman bit her lip, her peripheral vision quickly sweeping toward the direction where Elder Xue and Yun Xuanxuan were fighting.

Her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

But this Senior Brother could already read what she meant; she was asking him, 'Should we flee?'

He immediately shook his head and whispered, "We can't flee! We just need to stall her. Once Elder Xue finishes the battle over there, we'll settle the score for her sneak attack then!"

He knew in his heart that their previous flight from the battle near Bishui Village was because they were in a death trap; they would have died if they hadn't fled.

Who could have expected that kid Zhao Xu would actually be saved? Now, the two of them met like enemies.

But this time was different. Elder Xue was still here, and the outcome of the Nascent Soul Cultivators' battle was undecided. If they deserted now, the consequences would be unimaginable.

If Elder Xue were unfortunately defeated by those two women, they might save their lives by fleeing, and no one in the Sect would hold them accountable.

But if Elder Xue won, according to the Chusheng Sect's rules, the charge of desertion would be enough to leave them with no place in the Sect. At best, their cultivation bases would be crippled; at worst, they would be expelled. But given Elder Xue's methods, there was no "at best" or "at worst."

There was only the word "death"!

"I understand, Senior Brother."