He'd rather run than be turned into a cannon fodder for the broken engagement.

As the spiritual energy dissipated, the lake returned to calm.

After Leng Huan calmed down, she began to meditate and regulate her breathing. Fu Xun seemed to be in much better shape than her. He rested for a moment with one knee on the ground, leaning on his sword. He then absorbed a few spirit stones before standing up and looking into the distance. At the spot where the old thief Yin Yi had fallen into the lake, there were only shimmering ripples, and no other shadows could be seen.

"Huan-ge, how are you feeling?"

"It's alright, I'll just wait for my spiritual energy to recover," Leng Huan said, feeling the speed at which she absorbed spiritual energy. She wondered if she had just exhausted it all, but now, as soon as she absorbed spiritual energy, she felt the surrounding spiritual energy rushing towards her.

The spiritual energy in this place is very rich. After circulating the Great Heavenly Cycle, the spiritual energy was finally restored to most of its original level. Leng Huan glanced at Fu Xun, who was acting as if nothing had happened.

Don't you feel tired?

"...Your spiritual power is about 20-30% remaining, which is still acceptable." Fu Xun looked at her and said, "Using this kind of water-based technique consumes a lot of spiritual power. Before you do this in the future, you need to prepare enough spirit stones and spirit-restoring pills to prevent any unforeseen circumstances."

"Yes, I understand. By the way, is that person dead?"

Leng Huan stood up and looked at the lake. The moon was high in the sky, and mist was gradually rising. The lake was calm.

"He's dead. I'll go check on him." With that, he flew away on his sword. Leng Huan watched as his departing figure turned into a tiny dot and stopped a dozen feet away. The lake was vast and boundless, and he had no idea how deep it was. Only then did Leng Huan realize his fear of deep water.

Unpleasant memories suddenly flooded back, and a shiver ran through her as she quickly took a step back.

—When she was a child, her family went to the beach and Leng Huan nearly drowned. She was almost swept away by the rip current and sunk into the deep sea. The fear and panic of that death has always haunted her.

In my eagerness for revenge, my adrenaline surged and I didn't think about this at all. Now, I'm only now realizing that I'm a little scared.

After swallowing a few Rejuvenation Pills to replenish his spiritual power, Leng Huan watched as Fu, who had been searching for a while, returned carrying something in the dim night.

With a thud, a heavy object crashed to the ground; it was none other than Yin Yi, the gray-robed man who had long since perished, utterly dead.

The entire corpse was ripped open from head to toe, almost torn in two, a gruesome sight. Leng Huan didn't bother to look at it again, took out a Fiery Talisman, crushed it, and burned the corpse to ashes. He then used his spiritual power to scatter the ashes into the lake.

"Having this lotus lake in Dongting Lake as your burial site is already a bargain for you, ptooey!"

Seeing her destroy the evidence, Fu Xun didn't feel anything was wrong at all; in fact, he even wanted to do the same.

“Huan-ge,” Fu Xun took a step closer to her, looked up at the lake shore, and whispered, “Someone’s coming…”

The next moment, sure enough, someone came from the other side and asked, "Who is fighting here?!"

-

In Dongting Prefecture, there's an unwritten rule: local forces won't interfere in battles between outside cultivators; at most—

Like this, a butler will come to inquire, and if a visit is needed, compensation will be paid!

That's right, this lake has an owner. The entire area within a radius of twenty or thirty miles belongs to Lingjian Manor!

Lingjian Manor is a renowned family in Dongchen and even the entire continent for forging top-grade swords.

Not only is it the most prestigious sect among the thirty-six sects of Dongting, but it is also a well-known force throughout the entire Divine Dynasty. It has connections with people from all walks of life and has a wide network of influence.

Leng Huan and Fu Xun bowed in unison to the steward in his ochre (brownish-red) robes. Her voice was loud and clear: "We were in pursuit of our enemy today, but we didn't expect to disturb your esteemed place. We are disciples of the Misty Immortal Sect, here for training. Please forgive us!"

Ah, who told them to stir up the lake so badly and even damage a pavilion?

"In that case, please come with me into the manor."

That was to be expected; Leng Huan and his companion would compensate according to the rules. Seeing that they understood, the steward nodded in satisfaction. Suddenly, Leng Huan exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! What happened?!"

Looking in her direction, one could see that under the night sky, the lakeside villa in the distance was lit up with twinkling lights, and then suddenly a large fire broke out. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the Spirit Sword Villa was on fire!

It was especially noticeable in the darkness. It hadn't been there before; it appeared suddenly!

The steward was startled and immediately cried out, "Oh no! The manor is on fire!" He then jumped onto his spirit sword and hurriedly flew away.

-

Along the lake are beautiful mountains and rivers. Lingjian Villa is built against the mountains and by the water, adapting to the local conditions. It is built against the mountain, with winding paths, covered walkways, pavilions and waterside terraces, making it a very beautiful place.

The manor is wealthy and powerful, and has set up spirit-gathering and sun-warming arrays everywhere. At this time of year, the courtyards are full of fragrance, just like spring and summer!

The place felt warm and inviting as soon as you stepped inside. Leng Huan turned his gaze away from the moonlit lotus pond. The air was filled not only with the fragrance of lotus blossoms, but also... the smell of blood and burnt objects!

Thinking that since they had encountered the fire, every additional person could contribute to its strength, they rushed to help put it out with the steward. However, they soon discovered that things were not so simple once they entered.

“Brother Huan, they’re from the Demonic Sect.” Fu Xun’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the demonic cultivators fighting amongst themselves with the disciples of the manor in the courtyard. He raised his hand and swung his iron sword, killing a low-level demonic cultivator who was about to launch a sneak attack on the manor disciples.

Leng Huan indicated that he understood, and with a flick of his wrist, the sword was drawn, its snow-white blade reflecting the firelight and her face.

The rescued disciple hurriedly thanked them, saying, "Thank you so much. We're sorry to have disturbed you. A group of demonic sect members suddenly appeared and said they wanted the manor lord to hand over the Heavenly Grade Immortal Sword, or they would massacre the manor. It's very dangerous now. Please take care!"

He finished speaking very quickly and then turned around to go kill the enemy.

So that's how it is. Leng Huan and the others only heard the news in the city today. It is said that half a month ago, a top-grade sword appeared in the manor and was named "All Gone".

Before it, all the famous swords produced by the manor over the past thousand years became nothing but fleeting clouds when it appeared. The manor lord was overjoyed and exclaimed with a smile, "They are all gone!"

They also announced that a sword-tasting competition would be held after the Immortal Alliance Conference.

-

puff!

Leng Huan drew her sword, drawing blood, and the demonic cultivator who had tried to kill her collapsed to the ground with a thud.

This demonic cultivator was also at the Foundation Establishment stage. Perhaps due to his cultivation technique, he looked very strange, with dark skin and a deformed appearance. In short, his appearance was unsightly.

The demonic path is very selective in terms of cultivation techniques. If the technique is too weak, in addition to going into qi deviation, it will also affect one's appearance. In short, one will become demonic.

Aside from normal cultivators who fall into demonic possession due to inner demons, most of the evil and heretical practitioners in this world are true demonic cultivators who have cultivated demonic techniques and secret manuals.

"Be careful." Fu Xun wouldn't stray too far from her. The two leaned on each other as they made their way in from the courtyard, leaving behind a trail of corpses.

"Shh!" Leng Huan held up a finger and pulled him to hide behind a corner of the wall, listening carefully.

There were faint sounds of a baby crying, and also a woman's soothing voice.

Don't cry... Shh, baby, don't cry...

The voice was low, cautious, and wary.

We're nearing the center of the manor. High-level demonic cultivators and senior disciples of the manor are engaged in a fierce battle in the main courtyard and main hall, while the surrounding area is filled with low-level minions.

Although they didn't know what the situation was like in the main hall square, it didn't stop Leng Huan and his group from taking advantage of the chaos here.

"Waaah..." the baby made a sound.

Just then, several Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators sneaked over from the other side of the corridor!

!!!

Leng Huan was momentarily worried for the people in the room.

-