He Lan Tianxia

As the white-haired woman received the attack, she didn't forget to unleash a devastating, chilling palm strike at Jiang He with all her might. Jiang He's position was the crucial point that would determine success or failure. If he could just move that little wick, all their efforts over the past month would be in vain, and their plans would be doomed. Therefore, that palm strike was aimed directly at Jiang He's fatal spot: his forehead.

Seeing that the white-haired woman was disregarding her own safety and still wanted to kill Jiang He, Murong Junlan turned his rope around and pushed it forward sharply to catch up with the palm wind. He then used his internal energy to deflect the force of the half-destructive cold yin palm, and made a sharp turn to kill the white-haired woman who was rushing forward.

A roundabout move? After fighting for so long, when did Murong Junlan learn such a technique? Little did she know that this move was Murong Junlan's debut today, a new creation he made last month using the secret manual of the Dark Woodcutter Temple; its effectiveness still needed to be tested. At this moment, the white-haired woman actually crashed head-on into that profound energy. The white-haired woman felt a pain in her chest, and a spurt of blood gushed out. She pulled out a hand, rubbed her chest, and coughed a few times.

It was clear that the white-haired woman was indeed stubborn. Her body even swayed a few times, and before she could catch her breath, she unleashed a devastating cold palm strike at Murong Junlan behind her.

Fortunately, Murong Junlan reacted quickly enough, his palm strike grazing past her. A chilling aura followed the blow. The white-haired woman had no choice but to abandon Jiang He and resume fighting with Murong Junlan.

Jiang He was on the other side, wanting to rescue them but unsure how to proceed. All those hanging or bound were connected by a thin thread, the end of which was a small lamp with a flickering flame. The lamp oil beneath was about to burn out, and hanging from the lamp were Ling Yi and the Azure Eagle. Another thread, slightly thicker, connected four skeletons, its end dangling above Ling Yi. Below Ling Yi was a tortoise shell containing several pearls. Upon closer inspection, it seemed liquid was dripping from Ling Yi's tail, landing precisely on those pearls. Strangely, while the regular pearls were round, these were square, as if compressed and distorted by something. Upon closer inspection, each pearl had its own unique characteristics and color. The largest one was slightly different; after a long examination, Jiang He finally noticed that it resembled a tortoise's head.

"Refine pearls into tortoise pearls?" Ling Yi had never seen such a thing before, and couldn't imagine what tortoise pearls were used for. Only a woman with such a bizarre mind could come up with such a strange idea.

Jiang He didn't have time to think too much; he needed to save the people as soon as possible. He reached out to pull the thin thread, and as soon as he did, the four skeletons beside him started chattering. Jiang He was genuinely startled and stopped. "White-haired woman, what were you doing with these skeletons? Who did she kill? She turned them into skeletons in just one month—these things are already creepy enough—and she's been sitting at the bottom of the cliff for so long? She's a psychopath!"

Jiang He reached out and tugged at the thick thread again, and the skulls chuckled, startling Jiang He so much that he immediately jumped away.

The chattering noises on this side attracted the attention of the white-haired woman. She was completely focused on what was happening here, and if Murong Junlan hadn't pulled her back with all her might, she would have killed Jiang He with a single blow.

Just as Jiang He was at a loss, Young Master Bai stared straight at him. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. Jiang He didn't know if he was too weak or if the white-haired woman had poisoned him and made him mute.

Jiang He reached out and patted Ling Yi, but there was no reaction. He then patted Cangying, but still no reaction. Ignoring them, Jiang He decided to rescue Ling Yi and Cangying first; he would save his own people first. Just as Jiang He swung his sword to cut the thin thread in Ling Yi's hair, the white-haired woman launched a hidden weapon from behind, nearly knocking Jiang He's sword out of his hand.

"Quick, save them!" Murong Junlan swung his thin rope, forcing the white-haired woman away a little. "Save Lingyi and Cangying first."

Murong Junlan and Jiang He were thinking the same thing. He didn't understand why Jiang He had been standing there for so long without saving anyone, and was instead studying some interesting souls. They were just a few skeletons. He had fought on the battlefield for so long and had seen dead people before. Why wasn't he quick to finish the job at such a critical moment? Was he trying to figure out how to wake them up?

"Jiang He," Murong Junlan reminded Jiang He again.

"Yes," Jiang He readily agreed, but he still hesitated, picking up the knife but unable to bring himself to strike. Hmm, was he possessed?

"Jiang He, hurry up." Murong Junlan reminded Jiang He again.

“Your Highness, these two wires are too tangled,” Jiang He replied clearly.

"Just break it off." Murong Junlan had never seen Jiang He so hesitant and indecisive.

"Understood, Your Highness." Since pulling this thread didn't work, let's cut another one. Jiang He drew his short sword, placed the thread on the broadsword, and swung it down. Jiang He figured cutting the thread with the sword would have been overkill, and might have even damaged other things, so he chose to block with his sword instead.

Clang! Jiang He's broken sword struck a large block of ice, sending ice crystals flying and a blast of cold air rushing out. Before Jiang He could recover, the white-haired woman rushed to his side and, catching him completely off guard, smashed two blocks of ice into his head, sealing it shut.

The white-haired woman knocked the knife out of Jiang He's hand, nearly hitting the bound, pale-faced scholar's foot. Luckily, the scholar was awake and dodged quickly, otherwise he would have become Murong One-Legged. This scare jolted the white-haired scholar out of his listless state, instantly brightening his eyes. That reckless knife, it could scare even the dead back to their senses, right?

"Save Lingyi." The pale-faced scholar finally spoke.

All three agreed that saving Ling Yi should be the priority, as Ling Yi was in the most danger there. However, Jiang He's head was frozen and he couldn't move for a while. Just as he tried to move his hands, the white-haired woman quickly sealed both of Jiang He's hands as well. Her speed impressed even Murong Junlan. The most likely explanation was that the white-haired woman had trained here for a long time and knew the hardness of the tortoise shell. So, she had used this knowledge to deceive Murong Junlan, causing his feet to suddenly sink and lose their optimal attack power, giving her an opportunity to strike.

Even now, Murong Junlan still doesn't know what the white-haired woman is doing with so many turtles. Besides eating them, is she also making preserved turtle meat? What kind of magic tricks can she possibly create from so many turtle shells? This woman's thinking is abnormal. He doesn't have time to speculate, but he knows that hanging Lingyi up to refine her is not a good thing.

Jiang He was trapped. The white-haired woman now only had Murong Junlan to deal with. She extinguished the torch Jiang He had stuck in the wall with one hand, plunging the cave into darkness for a few seconds, including for herself. However, the white-haired woman quickly adjusted and secretly shoved a deadly frost palm at Murong Junlan. Murong Junlan, being the person he was, dodged it in a flash, but he didn't dare to use the thin rope too recklessly, for fear of hurting Jiang He and Ling Yi.

By the time Murong Junlan's vision adjusted to the darkness, the white-haired woman had attacked several times in succession. At this point, Murong Junlan could only fight back. The cave was too small, and the uneven ground made it difficult for Murong Junlan to fight back.

"Turtle Pearl?" At this moment, the woman with the Twin Snow Swords woke up and shouted, her voice filled with barely suppressed fear, "Don't let her refine the Turtle Pearl."

"Slap." The white-haired woman knocked the woman with the Twin Snow Swords unconscious. The cave became quiet again, eerily so, with only a tiny, barely extinguished glimmer of light desperately clinging to life.

Young Master Bai was the only one awake among them. Perhaps due to his long-term practice of poison crafting, he possessed an antidote against the white-haired woman's poison, but he sometimes feigned sleep; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived this long. He knew that once the tortoise pearl was successfully refined, the white-haired woman would be even more terrifying. His long silence was a wait for someone to come and rescue them. Even if no one came, he dared not easily reveal himself, as his martial arts were no match for the white-haired woman. What he didn't know was that the white-haired woman knew he was awake, and she also knew his martial arts were mediocre, so she turned a blind eye, figuring he wouldn't cause any major trouble. Besides, he had the skill of making poison, and she found Young Master Bai useful.

Just as the last drop of essence on Lingyi's tail was about to drip onto the tortoise pearl, Lingyi possessed spiritual liquid. As long as the spiritual liquid awakened so many tortoise pearls made from tortoise shells, her martial arts would be able to command the world and be unparalleled.

As expected, tonight's awakening would be of the largest mother tortoise pearl, whose spiritual power was astonishing. The white-haired woman couldn't help but smile, for she saw the last drop of essence fall from Lingyi's tail.