Nan Gong Huan quickly formulated a plan in her mind.

  The group quietly infiltrated the courtyard and began setting up their formation.

  Nan Gong Huan pressed her hands to the ground, summoning the deeply buried tree roots to coil beneath the surface, their sharp tips pointing upward. Anyone who stepped on them would be impaled!

  An old, crooked tree outside the courtyard also responded to her call, its branches and leaves rapidly growing, casting a shadow over half the courtyard.

  Though it didn’t cover the entire courtyard, half was enough.

  Unbeknownst to Nan Gong Huan, a pair of blood-red eyes opened in a dark corner, their beast-like gaze slowly shifting toward her. The figure was silent, his breathing almost imperceptible.

  None of them noticed, except for Dong Yan Cuo.

  He could clearly sense the hidden, watchful gaze, but Huan Huan had said to only step in if someone was bullying her. This person wasn’t bullying her... so, he decided to ignore him for now.

  "That’s enough. Go and lure them out," Nan Gong Huan nodded to the two spirits. Yan Ji and Xue Ji immediately controlled the dead soldiers’ bodies and moved forward.

  They boldly opened the door and called out in a low, hoarse voice, "Madam has ordered all of you to gather in the courtyard."

  The dead soldiers awoke and, without suspicion, filed out into the courtyard and stood in formation.

  But as they looked around, they didn’t see Shen Ye Rong.

  At that moment, the ground shook, and countless sharp roots burst from the earth, piercing the soldiers’ hearts, dantians, or heads!

  Leaves detached from the branches and fell like blades, turning the soldiers into human pincushions!

  Thud! Thud! Thud!

  Blood sprayed, but the sounds were muffled, drowned out by the cacophony of cicadas in the night. No one outside the courtyard could hear what was happening.

  Some of the soldiers who weren’t completely dead tried to cry out, but Yan Ji and Xue Ji swiftly emerged, drawing their blades and decapitating them!

  In the blink of an eye, all the soldiers were dead!

  Nan Gong Huan acted swiftly, pulling out the Radiant Gold Blade her grandfather had given her. With precise strikes, she decapitated the soldiers one by one, expressionless, and stored the heads in her storage bag. She was planning to give Shen Ye Rong another big surprise later!

  With each head she severed, a gu worm crawled out of the skull, only to be crushed under her foot.

  Nan Gong Huan didn’t know how many gu worms Shen Ye Rong had cultivated, but she was certain this wasn’t the only location where she kept her dead soldiers. There were likely other courtyards where she raised her gu worms.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  Yan Ji and Xue Ji didn’t fall behind either, devouring the spirits of the forty-plus soldiers. Their spiritual energy grew significantly, equivalent to the strength of a third-level spirit cultivator!

  Dong Yan Cuo stood there dumbly, watching Nan Gong Huan kill without hesitation, blood splattering on her clothes like red plum blossoms. The moonlight cast a faint silver glow on her figure.

  His attention was completely captivated by her radiant eyes and the confident smile on her lips. His heart raced uncontrollably—Huan Huan looked so mesmerizing when she wielded the blade...

  "Master, is the fifth-level soldier not here?" Yan Ji noticed the discrepancy in numbers and couldn’t help but ask.

  As soon as Yan Ji spoke, Nan Gong Huan felt an intense killing intent surge from behind her!

  She barely had time to turn her head when she caught a glimpse of three cold, sharp throwing knives hurtling toward her. They were so fast that by the time she turned, they were already upon her!

  The knives carried immense power, far beyond what she could currently withstand. Nan Gong Huan reacted swiftly, dodging to the side almost instinctively, narrowly avoiding the knives.

  But the wind pressure from the knives still tore through her shoulder, leaving a shallow cut.

  "It’s the fifth-level soldier! Master, be careful!" Yan Ji and Xue Ji stepped in front of Nan Gong Huan, facing the black-clad figure slowly emerging from the shadows.

  He was petite, like a woman, holding a short blade in his right hand. His blood-red eyes were cold and lifeless, his expression devoid of emotion.

  Nan Gong Huan frowned. How had she missed this fifth-level soldier earlier? Had his disguise fooled her spiritual senses?

  "Traitors," the black-clad figure rasped, his voice hoarse. He coldly eyed the two "soldiers" blocking his path and, with a single swipe of his blade, decapitated them both!

  Yan Ji and Xue Ji were forced out of the soldiers’ bodies.

  "Master, his spirit is too strong. We can’t harm him," Yan Ji said worriedly.

  With such a vast difference in strength, attempting to attack his spirit was futile.

  "Your skills are decent, but they’re nothing in front of me," the black-clad figure sneered, his lips curling into a grotesque smile. He charged at Nan Gong Huan, blade raised!

  The overwhelming killing intent suffocated her, rendering her immobile. His speed was so fast that all she could see was his afterimage!

  Nan Gong Huan’s heart raced. Her spiritual energy felt sealed, completely unusable!

  Only now did she realize that, in the face of absolute power, her spiritual energy was still too weak.

  The cold blade was mere inches from her neck!

  But suddenly, the black-clad figure froze in place, his hand trembling slightly, unable to move any closer.

  Nan Gong Huan broke out in a cold sweat. She was so close to him that if he hadn’t stopped, she would have been dead!

  Wait, it wasn’t that he had stopped—it was Dong Yan Cuo who had intervened! He had firmly grasped the black-clad figure’s wrist, a faint frost forming, immobilizing him!

  Nan Gong Huan reacted quickly, raising her blade and severing the black-clad figure’s head, which rolled to the ground with a dull thud.

  Dong Yan Cuo stood beside Nan Gong Huan, his grip leaving a thin layer of frost on the wrist he had held. He released his grip, and the black-clad figure’s body, now stiff, collapsed to the ground.

  To everyone’s shock, the body shattered like fragile porcelain upon impact!

  The ground was littered with frozen chunks of flesh. From the broken pieces, it was clear that his internal organs had been completely frozen and turned gray, his face frozen in a look of utter disbelief.

  Yan Ji and Xue Ji immediately seized the opportunity, devouring his spirit before it could dissipate.

  The spirit of a fifth-level cultivator was a feast for them! They wouldn’t miss any chance to boost their cultivation!

  Nan Gong Huan was stunned. This foodie... was actually this strong?!

  Even Elder Ling in her spatial realm was shocked. "This kid... has an exceptionally pure ice spiritual root. Unfortunately, I can’t determine his exact cultivation level, but judging from the state of this corpse, he’s at least at the eighth spirit level!"

  The foodie seemed completely unaware of his own strength. He simply gazed at Nan Gong Huan with innocent, sparkling eyes, his expression almost... affectionate.

  Yan Ji and Xue Ji didn’t dare speak, silently absorbing the spirit while glancing at Nan Gong Huan. Was their master... in for something?