Yunxi unconsciously clenched her fists the moment she heard the shout. She quietly released her divine sense and swept across the battlefield. A herd of one-horned rhinobeasts was charging toward the city gate. Behind them slithered sharp-snouted crocodiles, crawling low along the ground, all heading their way with ferocious momentum.
The second-rank beasts showed no concern for their first-rank counterparts, trampling any creature that got in their path. Their howls echoed without end, and the cultivators tasked with monitoring the battlefield immediately raised the alarm.
The Qi Refining disciples on the field quickly began retreating behind the protective formation in coordinated waves. Yunxi knew this meant it was time for the Foundation Establishment cultivators to step forward.
Sure enough, Sheng Yuhong turned at once and led the Foundation Establishment disciples of Haoran Sect down from the city wall.
Before Yunxi could fully collect herself, she found her body swept up with the tide of her fellow disciples and pushed straight into the battlefield. As she stabilized her stance, the thick stench of blood filled her nostrils even more intensely.
"Yunxi, don't space out! Get ready to fight!" Mu Ningzhu's sharp voice broke through her daze.
Yunxi snapped back to awareness. While releasing her divine sense to stay alert, she summoned her Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff, pouring spiritual power into it. The black staff lengthened in an instant.
There was a reason she had chosen this weapon. The one-horned rhinobeasts were known for their thick hides and brute strength. Their favorite tactic was to charge head-on. The most valuable part of their bodies was the horn itself, a prized material for forging weapons.
Besides, she had barely scratched the surface of the Wushuang Sword Lightning Art. Using thunder-element techniques risked exposing her secrets. So she chose to wield the staff in place of a sword, masking her abilities.
If that failed, she would fall back on the white jade magnolia hairpin. It could withstand three full-force strikes from a Nascent Soul cultivator. As long as she survived, she'd call it a win.
Mu Ningzhu noticed that Qin Tongshuang and Long Daoyu's group was being pinned down by two rhinobeasts, unable to retreat. Without hesitation, she drew her sword and charged to assist. Yunxi followed close behind.
Mu Ningzhu's blade sliced open one rhinobeast's flank, drawing a bloody gash. The beast let out a furious snort and charged straight at her in retaliation.
Yunxi shifted into the Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind stance, twisting her body to avoid Mu Ningzhu's position. With a powerful leap, she brought the staff crashing down on the beast's skull using sheer momentum.
With a muffled thud, she felt the creature's skull fracture beneath the blow. The rhinobeast collapsed to its knees and passed out before it could even groan. Yunxi landed beside it and quickly stored the body into her designated storage pouch.
Looking up, she saw the stunned expressions on Qin Tongshuang and Long Daoyu's faces.
She rolled her eyes. "Stop standing there. Fall back while you still can. Once the real fighting starts, no one will be able to protect you."
"O–okay!"
"We're going now!"
The two quickly snapped out of it, realizing just how far the gap was between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Mu Ningzhu was still locked in combat with another rhinobeast. Catching Yunxi's maneuver from the corner of her eye, she twitched at the sight, then called out, "Yunxi, over here!"
Yunxi swept aside a sharp-snouted crocodile that had crawled near her feet and darted toward Mu Ningzhu, moving with unpredictable footwork. Crouching low, she swung her staff at the beast's leg.
A crisp crack echoed as its knee shattered.
Mu Ningzhu reacted immediately. With a swift thrust, a green sword-light pierced through the creature's eye. The rhinobeast collapsed, dead. She showed no hesitation in storing it in her pouch.
The two women shared a quick, wordless glance, then turned to assist Zhang Yan, who was being entangled by another beast.
Zhang Yan had already accepted that this might be the end for him, but to his shock, he was rescued by Yunxi and Mu Ningzhu. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and retreated behind the city's formation without a word.
More sharp-snouted crocodiles had now entered the battlefield. Behind them slithered a wave of snakes in all colors and patterns.
Yunxi's vision swam. "Did we poke a snake's nest or something?"
Mu Ningzhu's gaze turned grim. She immediately called out, "Yunxi, hold a detox pill in your mouth. If you're bitten, swallow it immediately."
"Thanks for the heads-up."
Yunxi hadn't thought of that. She quickly fished out two detox pills and wrapped them in ice-element spiritual power before slipping them into her mouth. Then she spun her staff and dove into the fray again.
Quietly, she began channeling thunder-element spiritual power into the staff. If she couldn't knock a beast out by force, she would stun it with lightning instead. If anyone asked, she would claim the staff had been forged from thunder-infused ore.
As she battled against the rhinobeasts and crocodiles, she didn't notice the faint glow that flickered across one of the stars embedded in the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff, then faded again.
Just as the battle reached its peak, Yunxi was caught off guard. A blow from a five-colored python's tail sent her flying straight into the snake horde.
"Yunxi!" Mu Ningzhu shouted.
Yunxi didn't have time to respond. She rolled as she hit the ground and slammed her palm down, casting a wide freezing spell that sealed the area around her in ice. The snakes within five meters were instantly locked in place.
A red glow flared across her body as the ruby earring on her ear cracked. It had taken the brunt of the five-colored python's attack, completing its final protective mission.
She stood up, feeling her qi and blood surge wildly. The python noticed she had survived and fixed its vertical pupils on her, tongue flickering ominously as it slithered forward.
Gritting her teeth, Yunxi swung her staff in a wide arc, smashing through the frozen snakes around her and storing their bodies as she moved. She darted toward the python with ghostlike footwork.
"I'll swallow anything except a loss."
Muttering to herself, she closed in with the beast. Her staff met the python's tail with a jarring clash.
From afar, Mu Ningzhu felt her heart leap into her throat. This little junior sister was too reckless. A newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator daring to clash head-on with a peak second-rank five-colored python? Was she brave or simply insane?
Mu Ningzhu had no time to dwell on it. A rhinobeast and a crocodile had already targeted her.
She quickly formed a seal, vines whipping forth to bind the crocodile and prevent a pincer attack. With a swift lunge, she drove her sword at the rhinobeast's eye. When the blade was blocked, she flipped backward and slashed a wave of sword-light that severed the crocodile trying to break free.
Floating on his sword high above, Sheng Yuhong had his gaze fixed on the few strongest second-rank beasts. He slashed down now and then to support disciples in danger.
Then he spotted Wei Yunxi in a direct clash with the five-colored python.
His face darkened.
"Wei Yunxi, fall back!"
Sheng Yuhong's roar echoed above the battlefield.
But Yunxi was in the thick of it. With every strike of her staff, she felt its power increase. The weapon's weight never changed, but its impact grew stronger. She had already crushed part of the python's tail. Its hisses grew more urgent. It was calling for reinforcements.
Yunxi had long set her sights on the python's skin. It was perfect for refining a battle robe—resistant to both fire and water, nearly impervious to blades. She had chosen to fight with the staff precisely to claim that hide.
So when she heard Sheng Yuhong's shout, she pretended not to. Spinning into the Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind stance, she danced around the python's massive form.
A low roar ripped through the battlefield.