Demon Showed Up! . . .
As many other faces flickered through Cha Eun Xiao's vision, he became lost in a chaotic whirlwind of emotions. He murmured softly, "Sorry… I thought I could…"
—Bang!—
He collapsed to the floor.
He could have fled.
Cha Eun Xiao knew he had an opportunity to escape, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Bing-Er was still in danger.
If he were to leave, Bing-Er would remain vulnerable.
"I would rather die," he resolved. "I'm not leaving. I may know nothing if I die, but if I survive, I'll carry the pain. I would rather die!"
That, too, was a man's sense of duty.
"Dead?" Du Qingpeng exclaimed bizarrely, stepping forward. He searched the ground for the tower but found nothing. "Where's the small tower? Did it disappear? Could it be... an ultimate treasure bound to his body?"
While speaking, he drew a sword. "I don't care. Let me dismember this bastard, and we'll find the treasure!"
The sword glinted and descended, poised to cut Cha Eun Xiao into pieces.
At that very moment, a wave of extreme coldness erupted from within the cave.
Suddenly, the entire world plunged into an abyss of bone-chilling cold.
Everyone felt as though they were encased in ice.
Du Qingpeng, sword in hand, found himself unable to move the blade any further. It remained suspended in mid-air, refusing to continue its descent.
Fear welled up in his eyes.
"Who is this?" he thought. "How can someone be so powerful... and this extreme coldness, it surpasses anything I've felt in Qing-Yun Realm..."
A piercing scream rent the sky. A clear voice declared with emotions too complex to decipher, "Cha Eun Xiao! I will rend you asunder!"
The voice resonated through the heavens and shook the mountains.
That shout was so overwhelming that it left everyone stunned. Just how powerful was this person?
—Puff!—
Suddenly, the mountain quaked again, and —Boom!— a circular hole materialized at its peak, opening a connection to the mountain's interior.
The rocks surrounding the hole disintegrated into ash, carried away by the wind.
A figure, cloaked in white, appeared at the mountain's summit. She looked around for a moment and then moved to confront Du Qingpeng.
It was a woman.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, her indescribable beauty akin to a heavenly nymph. Draped in white garments, her long hair framed her perfect figure.
However, she was shrouded in an aura of death.
The immense bloodlust seemed capable of annihilating the entire world. Even though Du Qingpeng and his cohorts were well-trained cultivators, they trembled beneath its weight. They couldn't even meet her gaze.
The woman hesitated before making a movement, with her back turned to Du Qingpeng.
Though her back was to him, he could sense her internal struggle, the indecision that appeared to gnaw at her.
"Is he... dead?" the white-clad woman quivered as she gazed at the comatose Cha Eun Xiao on the ground, her voice cold.
None of them dared to answer.
She leaned in, her fingers like pale, jade-hued petals, to touch Cha Eun Xiao's chest. Her eyes flickered with hope. "Still breathing..." But her expression darkened, teeth gritted in frustration. She spoke fiercely, "You want to die? It won't be that easy!"
"In my hands, you shall meet your end!"
In an instant, a surge of potent energy manifested, radiating throughout the area. To the astonishment of the seven men, she was, in fact, tending to Feng Zhiling's injuries.
Observing her actions, the seven men couldn't help but exchange perplexed glances.
"She doesn't seem as formidable as she pretends..."
"She was disoriented earlier. That was strange..."
"She kept her back to us and wouldn't even turn around..."
"So arrogant!"
"She's now healing Feng Monarch right in our midst?"
"Despite her considerable strength, isn't this excessive arrogance?"
Du Qingpeng's eyes abruptly grew sharp, signaling to the others who nodded in understanding.
"This woman is incredibly powerful. We don't stand a chance..."
"But she appears to be in a daze. She claims to loathe Feng Monarch, yet strangely... she's tending to his wounds!"
"She's even starting to heal him, despite the current situation!"
"Our fortunes might be changing yet again!"
"Now that she's absorbed in healing that man, her state of confusion presents an opportunity."
"We should strike while she's preoccupied. Feng Zhiling will die, and even this formidable stranger will meet her end!"
"Die!" Du Qingpeng's sword emitted a radiant starlight, swaying towards the woman in white.
Simultaneously, the other six delivered their most potent strikes with their swords and knives.
The seven assailants combined their efforts in an attempt to attack the woman who appeared bewildered.
The woman maintained her hand on Cha Eun Xiao's chest, her spiritual energy flowing gently. She seemed utterly untroubled by the simultaneous attack from the seven men, not even attempting to defend herself.
The seven assailants exulted.
—Shoot!—
Seven exceptional weapons connected solidly with the woman's pristine body. However, neither she nor Cha Eun Xiao were dismembered as the attackers had hoped.
"Ah..."
"Puff..."
Simultaneously, the hands of the seven men snapped. They were propelled with incredible force, blood spurting from their mouths, eyes, noses, and ears, as they cried out in agony.
The woman hadn't taken any action to protect herself. Instead, her spiritual energy had encircled her body, repelling their assault while simultaneously launching them into the air.
This extraordinary occurrence didn't interrupt her in the least as she continued to extend her soft, healing spiritual power to tend to Cha Eun Xiao.
The seven men were now consumed by a profound sense of dread.
"What level is she?"
"This surpasses any of the formidable figures we've encountered in Qing-Yun Realm!"