Master, don't tease me, you can't handle three of them.

The same scenario played out in three other places. This night was destined to be anything but peaceful.

A man in black quietly arrived at the busiest commercial district in Huacheng during the day.

At this hour, the shop owners had long since gone home, and the doors of the shops were all tightly closed, giving the place a somewhat eerie feel. Occasionally, a gust of cold wind would blow by, stirring up fallen leaves and dust on the ground, making a rustling sound, which added to the eerie atmosphere.

The man showed no fear whatsoever, strolling leisurely down the street, even humming an off-key tune.

He stopped humming when he reached a tall, stand-alone building.

The man said "Excuse me" but his hand was on the door. He was about to use his spiritual power to blast it open when he heard a creak.

The door is open.

"Tsk, such a big restaurant, why isn't it locked at night?" The man shook his head and strode in.

The moment he stepped through the door, the entire building was suddenly illuminated.

"The reason we don't lock the door is, of course, because there are still people inside."

Xue Niang was still wearing her purple dress, sitting on the second-floor railing. However, this time, there was no smile on her face.

This person is also at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage.

"Oh, so Xue Niang, you're here. Someone just told me you were in the west of Huacheng." The man wasn't too surprised.

"Looks like I guessed right. That seal over there is fake, isn't it?" The man tilted his head and rubbed his chin with one hand.

"This is where the Soul-Devouring Beast is truly sealed," the man stamped his foot.

Seeing that Xue Niang remained silent, the man continued.

"Not bad. They set up two seals in Huacheng, leaking out the seal that was useless even if broken, but actually using it to protect the real one. Not only that, they even opened a restaurant on top of this seal, so that no one will notice you guarding this place."

The man couldn't help but applaud as he finished speaking.

"You're really smart."

"What's so clever about it? You still got caught, didn't you?" Xue Niang scoffed. Being praised by this man made Xue Niang feel as disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly.

"Don't get excited, I have a good idea."

After finding a chair to sit down, the man said, "If you give in and let me open the seal, I'll guarantee you and those three people's safe exit from Huacheng, how about it?"

"Also, forget about sending reinforcements; they've already been intercepted on the way."

"It's getting dark," Xue Niang interrupted the man coldly. "So you've started dreaming."

The man's smiling face instantly turned gloomy.

Xue Niang leaped down from the fence, thrusting her sword at the man with her right hand, while simultaneously pulling hard with her left, revealing dozens of sharp spiritual threads that blocked all of the man's escape routes.

"boom--"

As the two fought, Zuixianlou collapsed with a roar. Surrounded by buildings, the two could not maneuver freely, so they moved the battlefield into the air.

On a rooftop not far away, Jing Shu, unusually dressed in black to conceal his presence, watched the two fiercely battling in the air.

The nascent soul emerged from the ancient jade, transformed into an adult form, and sat beside Jing Shu, its gaze also fixed on that spot.

“Xue Niang can’t beat him,” the Nascent Soul cultivator said confidently. “This evil cultivator looks like the kind who could break through to the Nascent Soul stage at any moment.”

"Hmm," Jing Shu said calmly, "but he doesn't dare to break through."

Evil cultivators cultivate much faster than ordinary cultivators, since their cultivation method involves absorbing the essence and blood of others. However, the tribulations they encounter during each advancement are ten times more terrifying than those faced by ordinary cultivators.

This is because Heaven has seen the karmic burden they bear from consuming the life essence of others. Heaven will absolutely not allow such people to attain enlightenment and ascend to heaven, and will even increase the intensity of the prescribed tribulations.

Therefore, it's not uncommon for evil cultivators to die in lightning tribulations, and the higher their cultivation level, the stronger the lightning tribulation. For a man of this cultivation level, a lightning tribulation at the Nascent Soul stage would be enough to kill him.

"So, you're not going to help?" Although the Nascent Soul asked this question, he showed no intention of offering assistance. Instead, he watched leisurely.

If the Nascent Soul cultivator had a bag of melon seeds right now, he would have been snacking on them while watching. Oh, he's a Nascent Soul cultivator; he can't eat. The Nascent Soul cultivator thought to himself, somewhat bored.

"No rush," Jing Shu said calmly, but before he could finish speaking, he saw Xue Niang's left shoulder be pierced through.

Ke Jingshu remained calm and unhurried, saying, "It's not time yet."

In this situation, the Western branch probably wouldn't be able to hold on...

With her left shoulder injured, Xue Niang was repeatedly defeated and eventually fell into the ruins of Zui Xian Lou.

"Cough, cough..." Xue Niang struggled to stand up, but the man pressed down on her skull and slammed her to the ground again.

After confirming that Xue Niang had stopped struggling, the man took out a sharp dagger from his storage ring and said with a mocking smile.

"See, this is the consequence of refusing a toast only to suffer the consequences. I was going to spare your life because you're pretty, but who told you to be so rude?"

The man gently slapped Xue Niang's face with the back of his dagger, enjoying the process of humiliating the beauty.

Xue Niang secretly gathered her spiritual power, wanting to drag this man down with her, but the man's next words made her stop.

"Actually, I have a perverse hobby when it comes to killing. Before I kill my victim, I like to carve my name on their face, so everyone knows I killed them. Pretty clever, right?"

Xue Niang's body suddenly froze, and the spiritual power she had just gathered dissipated.

"W-what's your name?"

Xue Niang's voice trembled slightly as she recalled her partner leaving the sect to do a mission. Before leaving, he promised to bring her some delicious folk wine, but less than five days later, the sect disciples brought back his corpse.

Two words were carved on the corpse's face; those two words were...

Xiao Luo.

"Xiao Luo".

The two words that left the deepest impression on me appeared at the same time as Xiao Luo's words, as if the name had been said twice.

"pat-"

The thread of reason in Xue Niang's heart snapped.

"Aaaaaaah! It's you! It's you!!!"

Suddenly, Xue Niang's spiritual power surged, breaking free from Xiao Luo's restraints. Gripping the broken sword in her hand, she slashed at Xiao Luo like a madwoman.

"I am going to kill you!!!"

Xiao Luo deftly dodged Xue Niang's chaotic attacks, and continued to provoke her with a grin.

"Why are you so agitated when you hear my name? Did I kill your relatives or friends? Or perhaps your lover?"

As the last words fell, Xiao Luo easily dodged Xue Niang's attack, which struck a steamed bun shop. In an instant, the shop was shattered into pieces by the spiritual energy, becoming a ruin.