NOVEL NEXT 135. A Dying Struggle
Yun Qingyu didn’t recognize these cultivators, but their bearing and attire suggested they weren’t rogue cultivators, likely disciples from minor sects. However, intent on robbery, they had clearly changed out of their sect uniforms to conceal their origins.
While Yun Qingyu didn’t know them, they recognized her, given the reputation of disciples from major sects.
The leader, clad in yellow robes, glanced at the little white tiger before addressing Yun Qingyu: “Fairy Qingyu truly lives up to her reputation, defeating such a formidable golem. But I suspect you must be at your limit, otherwise you wouldn’t let a white tiger fight for you. Here’s the deal: we have no intention of making things difficult for you. Just hand over the treasure you obtained from defeating the golem, and we’ll let you leave.”
These men were fellow disciples, with only their leader at the Nascent Soul realm while the rest were at the Golden Core stage. Ambitious, they had bypassed the Golden Core area to join their senior brother in the Nascent Soul region.
Their luck had been poor. After days in this desert, they had encountered the sand golem before Yun Qingyu. Expecting a reward after the trial, they had struggled mightily to defeat it. However, like Yun Qingyu, they saw it revive at full strength immediately after.
Unlike Yun Qingyu, they lacked her tenacity. Faced with fighting again while already injured, they chose to flee. Fortunately, the sand golem didn’t pursue far, returning to its post after a certain point.
The sand golem, back in place, dispersed into sand, soon smoothed by the wind.
It awaited the next challenger, but those who fled couldn’t simply let it go. They had sustained injuries and depleted talismans, pills, and damaged magical tools in defeating the golem. While disciples of major sects might not care about such losses, they couldn’t afford to ignore them. Moreover, having defeated the sand golem once, how could they let latecomers reap the benefits freely?
With this mindset, they nursed their wounds while waiting for the next unfortunate arrival… Heaven rewarded their patience. By the time their injuries healed, they finally saw a newcomer.
What they hadn’t anticipated was that it would be Yun Qingyu, the prodigy who had reportedly triumphed in the Three Sects’ Martial Competition!
The junior disciples initially hesitated, but their senior brother decided to wait and see. They witnessed the sand golem’s repeated revivals, yet Yun Qingyu and her spirit beast defeated it each time.
Too far to clearly see the golem’s heart or the cat’s transformation into a tiger, they were nonetheless awed by Yun Qingyu’s prowess and her formidable spirit beast. Inevitably, envy arose—having reached their current levels before fifty, they considered themselves talented. Discovering a peer far surpassing them, how could they not be jealous?
As envy grew, tempted by treasure and seeing Yun Qingyu clearly exhausted, their baser instincts surfaced, impossible to suppress.
Sending the spirit beast to steal was their first attempt, hoping to snatch the item and flee.
Unfortunately, Yun Qingyu and her companion gave chase, forcing them to reveal themselves. They had a strategy: first attacking the little white tiger to eliminate that threat. They also wore talismans concealing their cultivation levels, with only their senior brother revealing a hint of Nascent Soul pressure, hoping to intimidate their opponent through numbers.
However, the cat’s transformation into a tiger startled them. They feared the divine beast’s power yet coveted the cub’s fur and flesh—obtaining materials from a divine beast would far outweigh any gains from exploring the secret realm!
As the yellow-robed cultivator addressed Yun Qingyu, he covertly eyed the little white tiger, his greed barely concealed.
This glance didn’t escape Yun Qingyu’s notice, her crystal-clear eyes turning cold. With a sharp “shing,” Fuxue sword left its sheath, striking towards them with irresistible force. Her icy voice rang out: “No need for such trouble. If I wish to leave, I shall. If you desire to take this treasure from me, you’re welcome to try.”
As “try” left her lips, her sword reached the yellow-robed cultivator’s face. The cold blade nearly grazed his skin, leaving him no time to dodge or muster spiritual energy to counter.
In that critical moment, the yellow-robed cultivator grabbed the nearest junior disciple, pulling him in front as a shield.
A scream pierced the air as the Golden Core cultivator was cleaved from left shoulder to right abdomen, his body split in two. Blood and entrails spilled onto the ground, yet the cultivator’s tenacious life force prevented immediate death. His agonized cries persisted, creating a horrifying scene.
The little white tiger, already angered by her injured hind leg, was utterly unprepared for this sudden turn of events. The gruesome sight not only made her fur stand on end but also forced her to retreat several steps, nearly retching.
Of course, the little white tiger wasn’t alone in her shock; the opposing cultivators turned deathly pale.
The yellow-robed cultivator felt a moment’s guilt for using his junior as a shield but quickly steeled himself, shouting with false bravado: “And you call yourself a righteous fairy? Your methods are as brutal as those demonic cultivators outside the secret realm. Since you’ve struck first today, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.” As he spoke, he tossed out a small cauldron that expanded in midair, descending towards Yun Qingyu.
Having decided to rob a disciple from a major sect, the yellow-robed cultivator wasn’t entirely unprepared. Though his sect’s resources couldn’t compare to Xuanqing Sect, his luck had granted him this treasure upon entering the secret realm.
The small cauldron was a sixth-grade magical artifact. Once bound, a cultivator could use it for both defense and offense. For defense, one simply needed to cover themselves with the cauldron, creating a barrier impenetrable even to Soul Formation realm elders. For offense, it had two main functions: crushing opponents like a falling mountain or trapping them inside. Unlike when protecting its owner, trapping an enemy inside would ignite alchemical flames, incinerating and refining the victim.
Yun Qingyu immediately recognized the cauldron’s formidable aura and quickly parried with her sword before dodging. However, this respite was brief; under the yellow-robed cultivator’s control, the cauldron soon pursued her again.
Seeing this, the surrounding cultivators momentarily set aside their shock at their companion’s fate and summoned their magical tools to assist.
In the blink of an eye, Yun Qingyu found herself under siege.
The little white tiger, seeing this, cast aside her earlier hesitation. Golden light flashed on her still-youthful tiger claws as she pounced on the nearest cultivator… Whether due to the opponent’s underestimation of the white tiger or the cub’s incredible speed, the cultivator had no time to react. The little white tiger’s strike left three deep claw marks on the cultivator’s body, meeting almost no resistance.
The cultivator cried out in pain, a flash of blood erupting from his body. His magical tool, previously attacking Yun Qingyu, lost control and fell.
Seeing this, the little white tiger didn’t linger or pursue, swiftly moving to the next target—these cultivators proved more fragile than expected, with the tiger incapacitating one with nearly every swipe, save for occasional dodges.
In mere moments, all but the yellow-robed cultivator fell to the little white tiger’s claws. Meanwhile, freed from the interference of other magical tools, Yun Qingyu found herself increasingly at ease in dealing with the small cauldron. After all, even the most powerful artifact is limited by its wielder’s strength, and in the yellow-robed cultivator’s hands, the cauldron’s potential was barely half realized.
Without support, even with his high-grade artifact, the yellow-robed cultivator quickly found himself overwhelmed. Worse still, the little white tiger, having dispatched the others, turned her attention to him.
Soon, the yellow-robed cultivator also fell. The little white tiger, looking at this group of would-be robbers, spat out two words: “Weaklings.”
Hearing this, the yellow-robed cultivator nearly coughed blood in anger, but the little white tiger couldn’t care less. She turned excitedly to Yun Qingyu: “Senior Sister, what should we do with these people? They’re truly brazen, daring to rob us!”
Yun Qingyu picked up the little white tiger, examining her hind leg injured by the explosive talisman—it wasn’t too bad. A divine beast’s defense wasn’t paper-thin; the talisman had mostly singed her fur. Given a divine beast’s strong regenerative abilities, no wound was visible now, only a patch of scorched fur.
The little white tiger, sensing her senior sister’s gaze, shifted her foot uncomfortably: “Senior Sister…”
Yun Qingyu looked away, asking, “Are you hurt?”
Unwilling to lose face before her senior sister, the little white tiger immediately replied, “Of course not.” Then, regretting the missed opportunity to garner sympathy, she quickly added, “It hurts a tiny bit, just a little. It’ll be fine if Senior Sister rubs it.”
Whether Yun Qingyu saw through her ploy or not, she obliged, gently rubbing the scorched hind leg. As tender as she was with the little white tiger, her gaze turned equally cold when she looked at the fallen culprits. Without answering the little white tiger’s earlier question, she answered with action, swiftly beheading them with a wave of her hand.
The ambushers had no time to beg for mercy, nor did the little white tiger have time to react. Held in her senior sister’s arms, she could only see the snow-white collar, yet her nose caught the gradually spreading scent of thick blood.
No one had anticipated Yun Qingyu’s decisiveness.
For Golden Core cultivators, beheading meant instant death. However, Nascent Soul cultivators, having formed their Nascent Souls, essentially had a second life. The yellow-robed cultivator, the only one not quite dead, saw his Nascent Soul swiftly escape his fallen body, attempting to flee and preserve his life.
Yet, having acted, how could Yun Qingyu let him escape? She swung her sword, intercepting the Nascent Soul. Realizing escape was impossible, a glint of vicious resolve flashed in the Nascent Soul’s eyes as it suddenly lunged towards her in a final, desperate attack.