Chapter 60: Breakthrough

“Outrageous!” Yan Chixia erupted in fury. “You fiendish sorcerer, must you slaughter the innocent just to refine your elixirs?”

Xuanxuan, the Supreme Master, burst into wild laughter. “The weak are meat for the strong—hasn’t it always been so? As the saying goes, ‘A general’s fame is built on a thousand corpses.’ Since you refuse sacrifice, since you won’t offer up your love and compassion, then I have no choice but to take by force!”

As he spoke, a cold gleam flashed—the treasured sword was drawn.

“Young whelp, prepare to die!” he roared, leaping from his cloud, sword in hand, straight at Yan Chixia.

“Yan Chixia, be careful!” She Meier cried out in warning.

Nodding once, Yan Chixia immediately unsheathed the Scarlet Hero Sword, darting forward to meet Xuanxuan in battle.

At once, the clash of metal rang out, sparks flying in all directions as Yan Chixia and Xuanxuan Supreme Master fought with ferocity.

Xuanxuan was ruthless and cunning, never fighting a battle without certainty of victory. The moment he discovered Yan Chixia and She Meier, he had already used his spiritual sense to secretly scrutinize them from afar. To his surprise, both were cultivators—each at the Heart-Movement stage, just one rank below his own Golden Core level. Delighted, he thought, “With my power at the Golden Core stage, killing two Heart-Movement juniors should be effortless.” Thus, he arrived, utterly unrestrained.

Xuanxuan imagined that with a single strike, he would secure an easy victory. Yet, to his astonishment, this obscure youth before him proved to be a most troublesome adversary! Sword flashing, Yan Chixia met him atop the mountain, exchanging blows round after round—dozens of bouts rang out, yet Xuanxuan could not gain the upper hand. Yan Chixia’s Scarlet Hero Sword whirled around him in a dazzling dance, cold light streaking through the air as he fought with the fearlessness of youth, growing ever fiercer with each clash. More than once, his blade nearly struck at Xuanxuan’s vital points, sending cold sweat trickling down the master’s back.

Suddenly, Xuanxuan realized that although his cultivation surpassed Yan Chixia’s by a realm, in swordsmanship he was outmatched—if things continued, not only would he fail to kill Yan Chixia, his own life might be at risk.

Unwilling to suffer defeat, Xuanxuan resolved to change tactics, to exploit his advantages and avoid his weaknesses, in order to achieve his goal swiftly.

He waited for his moment. As Yan Chixia thrust and missed, turning to recover, Xuanxuan feinted, leaped out of range—and at the same instant, slipped a Binding Pill, the size of a soybean, from his storage pouch. He gripped it in his fist, thumb poised, gathering his true force in preparation.

Yan Chixia, suspecting nothing, followed in pursuit after his missed strike, only to see Xuanxuan fly backward. He shouted, “Villain, you won’t escape!” and sprang after him.

At that instant, Xuanxuan spun around and flicked the Binding Pill forward. It shot out with a shrill whistle, faster than lightning, aimed straight at Yan Chixia’s chest. Yan Chixia cried out, “No!” but could not dodge in time. The pill struck his chest with a resounding crack, and at once, he stood rooted to the spot, utterly unable to move.

She Meier, who had been watching anxiously from the sidelines, saw Yan Chixia fall victim to Xuanxuan’s trick. With a cry of horror, she saw Xuanxuan descend before Yan Chixia, his face twisted in a vicious sneer.

“Your time has come, boy. Now, let me send you to the Lord of Hell!”

With that, he raised his sword and aimed it at Yan Chixia’s chest.

“No!” She Meier shrieked, terror gripping her soul. “Don’t! Please don’t—”

Before she could finish, Xuanxuan plunged his sword deep into Yan Chixia’s chest.

Yan Chixia let out a terrible cry, his Scarlet Hero Sword slipping from his grasp as he fell backward, lifeless.

She Meier’s heart shattered at the sight, her eyes blazing with fury. “You demon!” she screamed, teeth clenched, “If you dare kill him, I’ll fight you to the death!” Driven mad, she charged straight at Xuanxuan.

Sword in hand, Xuanxuan turned to see She Meier rushing at him, unarmed and desperate. He strode a few steps forward, then stood waiting, sneering, “Excellent! Come, I’ll stand right here and watch you throw your life away.”

She Meier seemed not to hear. Consumed by blazing grief and rage, she hurled herself at Xuanxuan, utterly fearless.

Her strength was depleted—after using the Zephyr Escape technique, her true energy had not yet recovered, leaving her powerless to summon the sword kept in her storage ring. Unarmed, she could not fight—otherwise, she would already have stood beside Yan Chixia in battle, never one to remain idle.

At this moment, only one thought filled her heart: to rush forward and tear Xuanxuan’s throat out with her teeth, avenging Yan Chixia, no matter what. Whether she could do it, or what might happen to her, she did not care—for she had resolved to fight Xuanxuan to the bitter end, no matter the cost.

Though she was utterly drained, as she rushed forward, a sudden heat surged within her, and an immense tide of true energy rose from her core, flooding through her like a mighty river, sweeping through her veins in an instant. Her body brimmed with power, and her mind cleared as if struck by lightning.

She let out a piercing cry, halting instinctively, and used her spiritual sense to look within. There, at the heart of her core, she saw a golden seed suddenly forming within the lotus of her dantian—the Golden Core itself.

“Golden Core?!” She Meier’s heart leapt with a storm of emotion. “I’ve broken through! I never imagined I’d finally cross the bottleneck I could not overcome, and in the midst of such grief and rage! From this day on, I am at the Golden Core stage! Heaven itself has aided me!”

With fighting spirit blazing, She Meier raised her head and shouted fiercely at Xuanxuan, “Demon, your life is forfeit!”

She uttered the spell, summoning the sword stored in her ring to her hand, and, like a bolt of lightning, charged at Xuanxuan. All her fury focused into a single strike, she drove the sword through his heart before he could react.

Xuanxuan let out a final, inhuman scream and collapsed, dead.

She Meier withdrew her sword and sprang aside. At once, Xuanxuan’s blood gushed forth.

He fell in a pool of his own blood. The instant life fled his body, the Primordial Spirit that resided in his core shot out of the corpse, soaring upward.

She Meier reacted instantly, seeing the spirit flee. “Monster, where do you think you’re going?” she cried, flashing forward and striking at it with her sword.

With a thunderous crack, Xuanxuan’s spirit was shattered, scattering into dust on the wind.

After eradicating both Xuanxuan and his spirit, She Meier sheathed her sword and turned back to throw herself toward Yan Chixia.