A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

"Xiao He, are you alright?"

Seeing Sheng He leaning on his sword and swaying precariously in the water, Yun Qianshan quickly stepped forward to support him.

"I'm fine. How is Senior Sister Mu?"

"I just gave Xiaoyao her medicine. She's still unconscious, but her complexion has returned to normal. She should be fine."

As Yun Qianshan spoke, he glanced at the Golden Core assassin entangled in vines and the cultivators on Xiaoxiang Terrace, his eyes sharpening: "What should we do with these people?"

"Not urgent."

Sheng He glanced lightly at the assassins. They had just witnessed how she killed Xuan Xiao, yet their faces remained fearless. Some of them even tried to break free of the vines when they saw Sheng He was seriously injured, but the more they struggled, the tighter the vines became.

So fearless of death, this must be... someone from the Seven Killings Pavilion.

Sheng He withdrew her gaze and looked at Shen Ci, who was huddled in a corner on the stage, saying nothing. She asked, "Did you hire all these people?"

Shen Ci raised his head, narrowed his eyes at Sheng He, and suddenly laughed as if he had made a decision: "So what if I did it, and so what if I didn't? Sheng He, don't think I can't see that you're already at your last gasp!"

Do you think you can still escape?

As soon as Shen Ci finished speaking, the sky suddenly darkened, with countless dark clouds churning and faint purple light flashing within them, as if a great storm was brewing.

Shen Ci grinned maliciously and bit his finger, using his own blood essence as a guide to draw a seventh-grade thunder talisman!

He then drew several fire talismans and casually threw them into the lake. The talismans ignited in the wind, and the entire lake surface instantly burst into flames.

The vines binding the assassins immediately retreated, and Shen Ci, looking up at the churning black clouds, laughed wildly: "Sheng He, let's die together!"

"Come on! Let's die together!"

Just then, a thunderous boom resounded in the sky, and several assassins drew their weapons and charged towards Sheng He!

Yun Qianshan was shocked. She didn't care about anything else. She supported Sheng He with one hand and quickly took out the pipa and plucked the strings with the other.

As the rousing music began, the assassin's movements faltered for a moment before he was lost in the illusion woven by the music.

Sheng He leaned against Yun Qianshan's chest, closed her eyes, raised her hand to wipe away the blood flowing from the corner of her eye, and used two fingers of her right hand to activate her natal sword.

A loud dragon's roar came from the sky, and the lakebed instantly stirred with undercurrents. Streams of water surged from the lakebed and then evaporated in the flames.

"Boom!"

Another loud bang, and a giant bolt of purple lightning struck down, directly hitting Xiaoxiang Terrace amidst the flames.

"Hahahaha! Sheng He, stop struggling, it's useless, let's die together!"

Shen Ci raised his arms to meet the thunder, his face filled with madness.

Before the thunder could even strike, the Dragon Roar Sword suddenly stood atop Xiaoxiang Terrace, and countless silts rose from the lakebed, forming a solid earthen cage around the terrace.

The mud was originally soft, and the earthen cage would soon crumble, but the surrounding fire kept absorbing the moisture from the mud.

With a deafening roar, lightning struck, and the Dragon Roar Sword hummed continuously as it charged towards the direction from which the lightning struck.

Dragon bone is the hardest material in the world; even a seventh-grade purple lightning bolt could not damage the sword in the slightest.

Most of the power of the heavenly lightning was diverted by the Dragon Roar Sword, and the remaining lightning flowed along the blade of the Dragon Roar Sword and fell into the earthen cage.

The cultivators hiding in the earthen cage watched the crackling purple lightning, huddled together tightly, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The purple lightning struck the earthen cage, its brilliance lasting only a moment before it slid down the silt into the lake and eventually disappeared.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Shen Ci immediately drew an explosive talisman to break the earthen cage.

The group, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately put their hearts in their throats again. Seeing that Sheng He and Yun Qianshan were both too busy to spare any attention, one of the cultivators did not hesitate to draw a large knife from his back and slash at Shen Ci.

"You fucking don't want to live anymore, but I still want to live!"

"After listening for so long, it turns out these assassins were hired by you, you bastard!"

The broadsword was getting closer and closer, about to strike him. Shen Ci didn't bother to break the earthen cage and quickly threw the explosive talisman in his hand at the big man charging towards him.

With a loud "bang!", the burly man was charred black from the explosion, and the shockwave from the blast sent him staggering back several steps.

But the next moment, he was so angry that his beard stood on end, and he charged at Shen Ci again with his knife in hand.

"You bastard, you dare to blow me up! I'll chop you up today!"

A hint of fear finally appeared on Shen Ci's arrogant face. He had thought that the person holding the knife was a weapon cultivator, but he did not expect that the other party was actually a body cultivator with thick skin and flesh!

Shen Ci hurriedly took out talisman paper again to draw a talisman, but before he could finish, the other cultivators followed the big man and rushed towards Shen Ci together.

"If you want to steal the gold and stones, then steal them! Why are you trapping us here?"

"The Wuling Valley only opens once every sixty years. Do you know how long I've been waiting?!"

"You bastard, if you want to die, go die by yourself, don't drag us down with you!"

"You dare to provoke the people of our Qingyun Sect? You're courting death!"

Seeing so many cultivators rushing towards him, Shen Ci's hands trembled slightly as he drew the talisman.

After an unknown amount of time, the thunder outside gradually subsided.

Sheng He vomited a mouthful of blood, and could no longer support himself; his hands fell limply to his sides.

The earthen cage slowly crumbled, revealing the azure sky outside. The dark clouds had dispersed, and the assassins guarding the area outside, struck by lightning, were left delirious, foaming at the mouth, and lying sprawled on the ground. They were then burned by the fire and howled in agony in the lake.

Yun Qianshan looked at Sheng He, who was covered in blood, and then at Mu Yao, who was still unconscious. He sighed and struggled to lift them both up, one in each arm.

"Senior sister... Jinshi..."

Sheng He still retained a sliver of reason, but she was utterly exhausted. Her vision was blurred by the bright red blood, and she could only gently rub against Yun Qianshan's shoulder.

"Okay, don't worry, I'll get it for you."

Seeing Sheng He like this, Yun Qianshan felt a lump in her throat and almost burst into tears. Sheng He was the youngest of the three of them, and it should have been Yun Qianshan who stood in front of Sheng He. But now, Sheng He had suffered such serious injuries while protecting her and Mu Yao.

Yun Qianshan sniffed, trying to suppress the tears welling up in his eyes. When he looked up at Shen Ci again, his eyes were filled with anger.

"Bring me the gold and stone!"

Shen Ci was beaten black and blue and on the verge of death. He curled up in a ball, staring blankly at the lake, as if he hadn't heard Yun Qianshan's words at all.

Just as Yun Qianshan was about to step forward, he saw a Qingyun Sect disciple kick the dazed Shen Ci and eagerly present the gold and stone.