Everything seemed to come to a standstill.
The demon cultivator who had harmed countless innocents, the Seven Vile Cultivator, had finally perished.
Song Wanníng raised her hand, and his storage pouch flew into her grasp. She casually took out the usable spirit stones and tossed the rest aside.
Her gaze shifted to the soul-summoning banner. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she drew it into her hand. Now that its master was dead, the banner surged with restless resentment. The vengeful spirits trapped inside howled in fury, struggling to break free and tear into Song Wanníng.
All that remained inside were malicious spirits and vengeful souls. There was no option but to destroy them. Still, it would be a waste to simply burn the thing.
Song Wanníng's lips curved faintly as she stored it away in her spatial ring.
Lying on the stone slab, Liu Yao watched her every move, unease growing in his chest. The Seven Vile Cultivator had been dealt with that easily?
Was Song Wanníng really this terrifyingly strong?
Liu Yao was filled with regret. He never should have let Liu Yiyi goad him into this. Now, with his spiritual energy not yet fully recovered, how was he supposed to escape?
His eyes, though tightly shut, darted around beneath his lids. A plan began to form.
He slowly opened his eyes.
But the moment he met Song Wanníng's gaze, his heart dropped.
Thank the heavens he hadn't kept faking unconsciousness. Clearly, she had known he was awake all along.
Putting on a serious face, he said, "Song Daoyou, there's been a huge misunderstanding!
My relationship with the Seven Vile Cultivator was purely superficial. In truth, he once poisoned me and threatened my life to force me to cooperate!
If I didn't comply, he wouldn't just have killed me—he would've hurt innocent people too! I had no choice but to go along!" Liu Yao lied with a straight face and steady breath. With his somewhat mature appearance, he almost sounded convincing.
Song Wanníng lowered her gaze and said coolly, "Is that so? Then I suppose he forced you to take off your clothes too?"
She knew very well he was just stalling for time to recover his qi. But she chose to play along.
"I… I was poisoned. If I got too close to him, the poison would flare up…"
Even Liu Yao felt how flimsy the excuse sounded. But he had no choice. Every moment of recovery might bring him closer to escaping.
"Song Daoyou, you've surely known for years that I've admired you. Under the effects of the drug, I lost control… I didn't mean to do something so disgraceful. Please don't take it to heart.
These past years, my feelings for you have been genuine. The duel we had—my sect forced me into it. I didn't want to fight you. I'm not worthy of you anymore. I know that. I swear I'll never bother you again…"
He clenched his fists in secret. His body was covered in signs of torment, every inch a mess. And in this pitiful state, Song Wanníng had seen it all. That only made the humiliation worse.
But none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was survival.
As long as he lived, there was still a chance. One day, Song Wanníng would fall into his hands. When that day came, he would return today's humiliation a hundredfold. His words sounded earnest, but his eyes held not a shred of sincerity.
Song Wanníng curled her lip in disdain. That performance… was far inferior to the Seven Vile Cultivator's.
Just then, Liu Yao sprang up and bolted for the cave entrance.
His spiritual power was only half restored, but he could no longer afford to wait.
He'd rather risk serious injury than die here.
Summoning all his speed, he shot toward the exit.
At the critical moment, Song Wanníng's light voice drifted over.
"You're not taking the memory stone with you?"
The memory stone?
Liu Yao's heart skipped a beat. He'd nearly forgotten about that!
But now wasn't the time to care about it. Without looking back, he kept charging ahead.
Yet that single moment of hesitation was enough.
A flash of sword light appeared before him.
A burst of immense force severed one of his arms, sending it flying.
Sharp light cut into his shoulder and face, leaving wounds so deep the bone was visible.
At the same time, the impact sent him soaring even farther forward.
Liu Yao's eyes lit up. He gritted his teeth and sprinted with all his strength.
Song Wanníng swung her sword again.
Boom—
The sword light swallowed him whole. The shock shattered his organs.
Liu Yao endured the pain, squeezing out the last drop of strength from his core as he desperately flew forward.
Song Wanníng didn't actually intend to kill him. But she had no intention of letting him go so easily either. She struck him down again and again, watching as he struggled to rise.
Even with just a sliver of life left in him, he never gave up. He bit down and pushed on. If one ignored the fact that he was completely naked, it was almost… inspiring.
Song Wanníng recorded the entire thing with the memory stone.
Killing the body was easy—but crushing the heart, that was true punishment.
She wondered how Liu Yao would react once he saw it.
She chuckled, then feigned nonchalance and deliberately left an opening for him to escape.
Taking a deep breath, Liu Yao made one final dash and vanished into the dense forest.
He ran and ran, never daring to look back.
At this point, he was relying on pure willpower. If not for the intense desire to survive, he would've been cut down already.
Finally, when he realized Song Wanníng wasn't chasing him, Liu Yao collapsed. He fell headlong into a patch of thorns. Every part of his body throbbed with pain. Anyone who saw him in this state would've been horrified by the sight of all the blood.
Song Wanníng hadn't held back at all. Even… even his lower body was wounded.
He hadn't had time to notice while fleeing, but now the pain hit him like a wave.
"Hsss—ah—!"
He looked down.
All he could see was a bloody mess. A chunk of flesh dangled loosely, barely attached.
Liu Yao's eyes bulged. Pain and fury surged to his head. He nearly passed out.
"Song—Wan—níng—"
"That rotten bitch!!!!"
His hatred for her burned hotter than ever. He wanted nothing more than to cut her into a thousand pieces. But there was still hope. As long as his little sister brought back a high-grade flesh-regrowth pill, he might still save his manhood.
"Yes… my sister…"
He grit his teeth and reached for a communication talisman.
Then, his face darkened.
His storage ring was on the arm that had been cut off!
"Damn it!!!!!!"
He slammed his remaining fist into the ground, again and again. But no matter how hard he hit, he couldn't vent the fury in his chest.
Only helpless screams spilled from his mouth.
Then he realized how dangerous that was.
He quickly shut up, holding it all in until his face turned red, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. His storage ring was surely in Song Wanníng's hands now. Without it, how could he get pills to heal? He didn't even have a change of clothes…
Liu Yao's last thread of composure snapped completely.
But it wasn't over yet.
Suddenly, a searing pain tore through his soul.
His eyes flew open. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips. His body couldn't take it anymore.
He fainted on the spot.