He struck without hesitation, aiming directly for the kill. Even as he expended his Demon Essence, Shi Chun's sidelong glance held no intention to blink, not even once.

Underneath the ruthlessness, who could fathom the resolute determination he had mustered to take this risk alone?

Yet another scene unfolds, a man killed outright after being forcibly struck. The deceased seemed as though incapable of advancing due to the opponent's overwhelming cultivation. But observing Li Hongjiu's eyes—momentarily narrowing before locking onto the details of Shi Chun's blade and Wu Shanshan's stalemate—one might discern that he saw something more.

With a casual flick of his hand, yet another person met their end—so effortlessly. Even combined, so many magical treasures couldn't prevail against the masked figure, leaving spectators with cold dread in their hearts.

The escorts from the Four Great Sects, sent to accompany Wu Shanshan, felt alarmed, their hearts racing. A glance at their leader revealed no signal to take action. Whether that was fortune or misfortune, they couldn't tell.

Among the crowd, perched atop the shoulders of her companions to get a clearer view, Gong Shixi's gaze flickered with suspicion. Forget Love Valley possessing so many magical treasures of distinct attributes was no trivial matter.

To claim possession of magical treasures with varying attributes was no mere statement, especially in the eyes of an Artifact Refining Sect.

It's extremely difficult for most Artifact Refining sects to master the ability to craft all-encompassing, omnidirectional treasures. Small factions typically specialize in one specific field to secure their footing.

But omnidirectional capability aside, to craft treasures of this technical caliber? Was it truly possible for a small Artifact Refining Sect like Forget Love Valley?

Add to that Forget Love Valley's conspicuous behavior mingling among these larger sects, and Gong Shixi began to harbor certain suspicions about them.

"Ugh…" Wu Shanshan's anguished cry echoed as yet another junior sister was slain before her eyes.

But that cry was drowned out by a thunderous roar.

In the sky above, the massive figure of the Black Lotus magical treasure had drawn its sword. In an instant, it descended, plunging the sword into the earth below—a sword strike with the momentum of rolling thunder.

The sheer might of this strike rivaled that of an Earth Immortal Realm expert, its overwhelming presence and power inducing terror. It was, nonetheless, expected.

Though the surrounding onlookers' hearts trembled, they couldn't understand the significance of this strike, as they all saw the blade pierce the empty void of the ground.

Little did they know, what they perceived as emptiness was, in truth, concealing three figures within Shi Chun's right eye's superpower. Two of these shadowy figures were beginning to dissipate, while the Black Lotus figure's sword precisely targeted the remaining, fully intact figure still in hiding.

The woman manipulating a magical treasure looked up in shock. Could he see her?

Lin Yuefang found herself powerless to act, forced to let go. She could no longer care about Jin Hao's corpse, pushing it aside as she attempted to escape.

But it was already too late.

The Earth Immortal Realm expert's sudden move had aimed specifically at her. At such a close range, how could her reaction speed possibly evade it?

Before she could fully shove Jin Hao's corpse aside, her body erupted into a shower of blood.

The enormous sword skewered the invisible blanket she was using to hide, revealing its silvery-white form as it was impaled, along with the human figure concealed beneath it.

Those outside couldn't see how the woman within the blanket, wielding the magical treasure, was split into two halves by the sword. Four bodies were sent flying from within the blanket.

The motionless corpse of Lin Yuefang, too, was shaken by the sword's power.

Four figures drifted away in the wind, while the tattered, silvery-white blanket flapped against the giant sword.

The forceful might of that single sword didn't just stir the howling winds; it drove away the dispatched members of the Four Sects and forced distant onlookers to fend off its effects with their magical abilities.

Many had no choice but to unleash their own magical treasures to counter such a force.

This sudden commotion made Shi Chun realize he may have gone too far. The crux of it was that this was his first time using this treasure to slay an opponent, and he wasn't entirely proficient. Eager to deal with the hidden figures swiftly, he had overstepped, failing to control his strength properly.

Fortunately, he had a shield—a woman pinned into submission by his dagger, which absorbed the brunt of the first wave of impact. Even so, she was slowly dislodged, and the rigid sword in her grasp repositioned, aiming once more at Shi Chun.

Shi Chun sidestepped, swatting the blade away with one hand, then casually swept his sleeve, capturing the woman entirely into it—or rather, into his bracelet.

It wasn't her appearance he coveted, nor did he have any peculiar habits nurtured in the Land of Exile. It was the black-glowing mirror she carried on her person.

Shi Chun had witnessed its power firsthand—it could render him deaf and blind. Without his right-eye superpower as a safeguard, he might not have escaped unscathed. A treasure of such caliber naturally wasn't something he would overlook.

There was no time to search her body; taking everything in one go was simply more convenient.

The Immortal Strangling Silk remained firm and unmoving. With Shi Chun and another keeping the frontlines steady, Wu Shanshan managed to suppress her inner panic. Otherwise, had she been dislodged while immobilized, and if she collided with the razor-sharp threads of the Immortal Strangling Silk, she would have been instantly dissected.

And all of this transpired under the watchful, unblinking eyes of Li Hongjiu, who carefully observed despite the fierce gusts that danced around him. The winds curved around his two-point finger strikes, his robes drifting gently amidst the gale.

Others, instinctively dodging the fierce winds, failed to notice the woman behind Shi Chun vanishing. When they refocused their gaze, they assumed she had been blown away by the gust.

Li Hongjiu, meanwhile, was visibly surprised by what he observed. After all, the woman had clearly been wearing a Qiankun Bag around her waist.

The Qiankun Bag, a spatial magical treasure, typically couldn't accommodate another spatial dimension within it. The number of individuals in the Artifact Refining World capable of crafting space-stacking treasures nowadays could be counted on one hand, due largely to the scarcity of necessary materials.

As material resources dwindled over centuries of exploitation, related components became exceedingly rare.

With materials scarce, those pursuing advancement often ended up placing higher demands on crafting techniques to achieve their goals indirectly. This naturally made those skilled in such techniques even rarer, lengthening crafting time and making results elusive.

A human figure vanishing into thin air like that couldn't possibly have been whisked into the masked man's sleeve. This meant the masked man possessed a treasure capable of space-stacking.

Such an item wasn't something just anyone could own. None of the sects would've bothered having ordinary disciples carry such treasures—too valuable, and largely unnecessary—often reserved for high-ranking figures for occasional convenience.

Thus, Li Hongjiu increasingly suspected that this masked man might be one of the sitting elders from the Ten Great Sects.

The sitting elders of the Ten Great Sects monitored and balanced one another—how could someone have left their position at the exit unchecked? Unless something drastic had occurred at the exit?

Upon confirming the figure didn't belong to his own sect's elder stationed here, Li Hongjiu's curiosity to unmask this person only deepened.

After the gusts settled, Shi Chun cast a direct glance at Wu Shanshan, only to be taken aback. Has this woman lost her mind? Even at the brink of death, she refuses to use Demon Skill to break the immobilization spell?

What he couldn't know was that Wu Shanshan's family was under the Demon Path's control.

If Wu Shanshan dared to reveal her affiliation with the Demon Path and caused losses that implicated them widely, the Demon Path wouldn't merely spare her—they'd also execute her family.

Faced with inevitable death on one hand, and the prospect of dooming her kin on the other, how was she supposed to choose?

Shi Chun naturally assumed the threat to her life simply wasn't pressing enough. The Black Lotus magical treasure—already in motion—couldn't remain idle. Driven by his intent, the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect raised its sword again, aiming the massive blade at Wu Shanshan immobilized within the Immortal Strangling Silk, forcing her into a final life-and-death decision.

If she chose to die rather than expose herself, it would only confirm the Demon Path's stringent control—or perhaps her unwavering loyalty to them. In that case, Shi Chun wouldn't risk revealing his awareness of her identity; he'd simply go along with the act and end her life with a single strike.

But before the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect could strike again—after the fierce gusts subsided—a disciple of Forget Love Valley, standing among the crowd and imbued with Divine Fire, saw her fellow disciples nearly wiped out, Wu Shanshan on the brink of death. Realizing she had no means to counter the fifth-grade Spirit Venerate magical treasure, she let out a mournful cry of fury: "Yin Tianlu! You from the Extreme Fire Sect are untrustworthy, faithless!"

This furious outburst was a roar directed at everyone present.

At the same time, another Forget Love Valley disciple, devoid of Demon Essence, saw the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect's assault shifting toward the trapped Wu Shanshan and cried out, "Senior Sister!"

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