The moment the barrier shattered, the Golden Core evil cultivator immediately sensed it. His eyes narrowed sharply as he stared at the struggling Yun Xi and growled,
"You actually have help!"
Yun Xi continued channeling lightning spiritual power into the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff, her tone cold and steady.
"You had the nerve to come knocking. Did you really think I'd face you alone?"
"Hmph! No matter. I'll kill you first, then drag the rest back in chains."
As he finished speaking, the Golden Core evil cultivator rapidly formed a hand seal. The curved blade hovering in the air split in two and began striking the protective shield around Yun Xi without pause.
Yun Xi silently cursed her low cultivation level, but thankfully she had already received a voice transmission from Dian Dian. The imprisoned cultivators had been rescued. Among them were two familiar faces from Baihua Tower. It wasn't hard for Yun Xi to guess who—they could only be Yu Qingcheng and her senior martial brother.
"Dian Dian, don't come looking for me. Find a place to hide."
"Yes, Master!"
Dian Dian knew its own limitations well. Its combat strength was far too low. Rather than becoming a burden, it should stay out of the way. But that didn't mean it had nothing to do. Yun Xi had long been eyeing the third-rank Flying Mist Butterfly's egg—Dian Dian would retrieve the payment first.
Sniffing the air, Dian Dian followed the lingering scent of the third-rank Flying Mist Butterfly and began searching the cave.
On the other side, Yu Qingcheng and the others, having taken the antidote and regained their spiritual power, raced toward the exit.
However, Yun Xi's fight with the Golden Core evil cultivator blocked the only path out. As Yu Qingcheng and Liu Haotian saw Yun Xi barely holding on, they rushed forward to help—only to be swept away by a flick of the evil cultivator's sleeve.
"You little shrimp better stay out of this."
Yu Qingcheng and the others were forced back to the cave entrance by the backlash. Their blood churned violently. The difference in strength was painfully clear.
Yun Xi was still barely holding on. She knew that unless the evil cultivator was dealt with, none of them would leave this cave alive. But the gap in power was brutal.
She had her protective artifact for now, but once her hairpin broke, she'd have to face Golden Core-level attacks head-on. Her mind raced. The best move now would be to trap him—slowly grind him down.
"Dian Dian, I need the fourth-rank formation disk."
At that moment, Dian Dian had just swallowed a butterfly egg when Yun Xi's voice transmission reached it.
"Yes, Master! I'll deliver it right away."
"Stick on a Breath Concealment Talisman. Don't let the Golden Core evil cultivator detect you. Be careful."
"Yes, Master!"
Dian Dian immediately abandoned the search and backtracked along its original path. As it neared the battle, it stuck two third-rank Breath Concealment Talismans on itself before sneaking forward, using cover to get as close to the evil cultivator as it dared.
Under the evil cultivator's relentless assault, Yun Xi's White Magnolia Hairpin had already cracked. She knew the artifact had used up both layers of its protective power—her heart ached at the loss.
Liu Haotian and Yu Qingcheng could tell the situation was critical. They exchanged a glance and decided to use a secret technique from Baihua Tower to temporarily boost one of their cultivations to the Golden Core stage and give Yun Xi a fighting chance.
Meanwhile, the third-rank Flying Mist Butterfly, which had earlier avoided the battle, had found its egg. But seeing it tainted with evilic qi, its rage boiled over. How dare these bastards do this to its offspring?
The Flying Mist Butterfly's wings flickered. In a blink, it vanished.
Dian Dian crept to within a hundred meters of the Golden Core evil cultivator but didn't dare get any closer for fear of being detected. Yun Xi had told it to wait for the right moment.
Yu Qingcheng activated the secret technique, transferring her mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation to Liu Haotian. Already in the late Foundation Establishment stage, his power surged—briefly pushing him to the Golden Core level.
The moment the surge settled, Liu Haotian formed a hand seal and conjured a fire dragon, which coiled around one of the evil cultivator's blades.
At the same time, a massive Flying Mist Butterfly appeared above the evil cultivator's head. Before he could react, the butterfly's proboscis shot down, aiming straight for his skull.
The evil cultivator dodged just in time, but this was a third-rank beast—and it was out for blood. Its proboscis struck again with incredible speed, and its wings beat furiously, scattering a powdery mist onto the evil cultivator that surprisingly neutralized part of his evilic qi.
This was the moment Yun Xi had been waiting for.
"Dian Dian, activate the formation disk. Full activation—Trap and Kill Illusion!"
"Yes, Master!"
Dian Dian pulled the formation disk from its storage pouch and flung it out after activating it.
At the same time, Yun Xi's Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff had built up enough lightning power to light even the final star—Yaoguang.
She deactivated her protective shield, gripped the staff with both hands, and slammed it down at the second curved blade. Distracted, the evil cultivator couldn't block the blow in time. The weapon flew from his grasp, but Yun Xi was also sent flying from the recoil.
Assailed from three directions, the evil cultivator found himself in chaos. Dodging the Flying Mist Butterfly's strike, he tried to retrieve his weapon, but it was entangled—one blade bound by fire spiritual power, the other by lightning.
He swiftly pulled his curved blade back, but in that instant, the world around him shifted.
"Damn it!"
His voice had barely fallen when bolts of purple lightning rained down from above.
Seeing the evil cultivator vanish into the illusion formation, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Haotian immediately returned the borrowed spiritual power to Yu Qingcheng. Even so, both looked pale from the toll it took.
Dian Dian dashed to Yun Xi's side and gently touched her face with a paw.
"Master, are you alright?"
"Still breathing."
Yun Xi felt completely drained. The emptiness in her dantian was deeply unpleasant. She sat up, swallowed two second-rank premium Spirit Recovery Pills, and began circulating her cultivation technique to absorb the medicine quickly.
With the threat gone, the Flying Mist Butterfly shrank down and settled once again in Yun Xi's hair.
The other cultivators who had been imprisoned finally emerged from the cave, looking toward the slightly battered trio. They clasped hands in gratitude, especially toward Yun Xi, as the Xunzong Mouse stood proudly on her shoulder.
Yu Qingcheng smiled warmly.
"It's been years, Little Sister Yun Xi. You've grown even more stunning, and your cultivation has soared. If not for your help today, my Senior Brother and I would owe you our lives."
Yun Xi offered a small smile.
"You're too kind, Yu Daoyou. I sensed something suspicious involving evil cultivators here, so I came to investigate. I didn't expect to find you here as well."
"Sigh, it's a long story. We were captured by that Golden Core evil cultivator."
Yu Qingcheng narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly. She knew her own shortcomings in strength.
"I hadn't expected a late-stage Golden Core evil cultivator here. If you two hadn't stepped in just now, I wouldn't have had the chance to deploy the formation."
Liu Haotian added,
"Wei Daoyou, how long will your formation trap him?"
Yun Xi clenched her jaw.
"I'm not trying to trap him. I'm going to kill him."
"Do you need our help?"
"No need. Now that everyone's recovered their spiritual power, you'd best leave this place as soon as possible. I can't be sure whether that evil cultivator has laid any traps of his own."
The other cultivators didn't interrupt the conversation, but it was clear they understood the three knew each other. And despite the victory, they were not yet entirely out of danger.