Chapter 1: Battle in a Twilight Forest
Ice needles whistled through the evening forest air, narrowly missing the slender, delicate neck of young Lady Jixuan (霁璇) of the Jin (瑾) clan. Fortunately, she dodged in time, her twenty-plus years of martial and alchemical training honing instincts as sharp as a cat's. Even so, one of the needles tore through the fabric of her luxurious green gown—an unmistakable mark of wealth. Women of the Jin clan's main branch traditionally wore this shade of green, and it also perfectly matched the color of her eyes.
Ice needles of a vampire demon! These must be mercenaries of the Meishuang (魅霜) demon cult! flashed through her mind.
"Haha, looks like the lovely lady won't be so easy." The assassin's voice echoed from all directions.
Jixuan stood among the trees, deep in the forest, where the hired killers had been driving her for over an hour.
"Who sent you? My father will pay you three times whatever you were promised! Why risk making enemies with our clan?" She hardly expected diplomacy to work, but she had to try. Her sharpened senses, including her Foundation Establishment–level spiritual perception, swept the shadows between the trees, searching for her attackers.
"Don't bother trying to sniff us out, girl. As for your little bargain—if we accepted such offers, no one would ever hire us again. Sorry, pretty one."
The air split with a volley of icy needles, launched from three directions at once. Dodging was impossible. Yet, just five feet before striking the dark-haired beauty, the needles slammed into a transparent dome that had flared up above her head. The six quivering needles pressed and spun, as if drilling through the shield. After a few tense seconds, they exploded, showering the grass with fine ice dust.
"Haha, didn't I say she'd be trouble? Lucky we chased her into the woods," one assassin sent telepathically to the others.
"Well, well... a Water Shield amulet. Not bad. But don't think the only toys we have are Yin frost needles." The mercenary's voice rang out again.
"You talk too much for a killer," Jixuan snapped, gripping the blue amulet in her raised left hand. In her right, she held a slender sword of steel with a faint bluish gleam.
"Haha, true enough. Unlike my comrades, I like to chat with my prey. You see, it's a little like a well-fed cat playing with a hatchling. It excites me."
"Filth! One day, the Heavens will strike you down!" Jixuan's beautiful face twisted with anger, and her green eyes flashed like lightning.
"The Heavens don't care about us. If they punished every predator, where would you have gotten those fine leather shoes?"
Three boulders crashed into the water dome from different sides. The shield rippled like jelly until one stone tore through the membrane, hurtling toward her. Jixuan spun gracefully aside, dodging the strike, but the barrier shattered. Knives flew at her immediately; she parried them with her sword in a whirling dance. With one giant leap she landed on a tree branch, knives thunking into the trunk below.
"Such tempting hips and long legs. Exquisite beauty! A shame I'll have to kill you before I get to enjoy you properly."
"Die, scum!" Jixuan shouted, hurling a large crimson pearl toward where she guessed one assassin was moving. She had noticed they shifted position after every attack, making it useless to strike the same spot. But during those shifts, a faint thread of Qi sometimes leaked for a split second through their Concealed Steps Mist technique. The moment she sensed that thread, she threw the Dragon Flame Pearl to intercept.
She guessed right. Not that it required precision—the pearl's explosion incinerated everything within ten feet.
The instant it reached its target, dragon-like flames erupted, roaring as they consumed the man and the trees around him. The forest shook from the blast, resin and charred bark thickening the air. Not even ashes of the man remained, scattered by the shockwave. Such a strike could have felled even a Golden Core–level cultivator.
"Argh, whore! You'll pay for this! Die!" The two remaining cultists, shrieking with madness, leapt into close combat, springing from branch to branch.
At last... Jixuan thought, meeting the first saber strike with her blade.
Meanwhile, in the city of Cool Spring, two young Jin clan members searched for their mistress. They scanned streets and houses with their spiritual sense, trying in vain to locate Jixuan.
"She was last seen near the temple. Then her amulet's signal vanished," the younger transmitted to his elder companion.
"She's still alive. Only the beacon is being suppressed."
As the youth walked along the street near the towering Daoist temple-pagoda, passersby with oil lamps drifted past, oblivious to his presence. Despite his embroidered azure hanfu and striking looks—which made him stand out—he seemed no older than eighteen.
"No signs of a struggle," he transmitted.
The older man, standing on a rooftop, stroked his short beard, his yellow hanfu fluttering in the breeze.
Suddenly, from the forest came the distant thunder of an explosion. Both turned instantly.
"The Dragon Flame Pearl!"
"The signal's back." The younger one sprinted toward the forest half a li from the city, his partner racing alongside.
"Use speed talismans."
Within minutes they reached the blast site, their senses immediately locking onto Lady Jixuan and the two assailants battling her.
"Two at Foundation level. Be careful, Lei (雷). You're too weak. Stay aside. We only need to delay them until the clan head arrives. I've already sent for help," Chen (辰) said telepathically.
"Understood, elder brother Chen."
Chen launched himself at one of the men, who looked every bit like hired assassins—dressed in short black robes and wide black trousers, their faces hidden behind matching masks. They were locked in a fierce battle with Jixuan, slashing at her with crooked, blackened sabers and demonic spells.
"Lady Jixuan, it's Jin Bai Chen and Jin Qian Lei! Run, we'll hold them off!" Chen transmitted.
"No freaking way! I'll kill these demonic beasts in human skin myself!" she shouted aloud, her eyes blazing with fury.
"What now? One more at mid-Foundation and a brat. They've got spirit stones, talismans, amulets for sure. This is all wrong. Do we run?" one assassin sent to the other.
"Run? Are you mad? Even if we flee, Huang Xuan (黄玄) will kill us. It would disgrace the sect. Activate the Hidden Demon Seals."
Parrying blows, they tossed smoke bombs and vanished behind trees. Chen and the others leapt back, covering their mouths with sleeves.
"The poison protection talismans—use them!"
All three instantly put the antidote talismans into their mouths.
Meanwhile, the assassins, hidden among the trees, rolled up their sleeves, chanting heretical mantras as they cut into their forearms. The blood did not flow but evaporated into black mist. Crimson seals with demonic symbols ignited on their flesh.
Their faces twisted in agony, bodies convulsing as they collapsed into the thickening fog.
The Jin clan members exchanged telepathic messages.
"They're Meishuang cultists. Looks like they're activating demonic seals," Jixuan said.
"We can't escape. Demons can fly, and they're incredibly fast. Get under the barrier," Chen replied, already sketching glowing sigils in the air, chanting.
"Disperse!" Jixuan cast at the fog, but it only swirled and thickened.
Seconds later, a translucent blue dome of condensed Qi formed over them.
They peered into the haze, listening.
"I can't sense their Qi," Chen transmitted.
Shadows flickered in the mist.
The forest fell silent. No birds, no rustling leaves, no grass stirring.
Suddenly, a clawed hand shot from the fog, smashing against the barrier in a burst of sparks. Another creature lunged from the opposite side—a pale face twisted in rage, eyes glowing scarlet. Its chest and mask were torn open, shredded by its own new talons. Both monstrosities clawed furiously at the weakening barrier, circling it with unnatural speed.
"I've got five spirit stones. Feed in whatever you've got," Chen said.
"Damn heretics..." Jixuan cursed, channeling what vital Qi she had left into the shield.
I shouldn't have traded those two stones for useless books yesterday, Lei thought bitterly, pulling out his last one.
"I'm out. I'll use my own Qi," Jixuan added.
"My lady—don't! Saving you is what matters, not us!" Chen cried.
Another strike of the clawed paw on Lei's side smashed a hole in the barrier, and a sharp claw pierced into his thigh. Scarlet blood spurted onto the grass.
"Argh! I'm hit!" Lei howled, striking the demon's arm with all his strength, but the blade bounced harmlessly.
"Demonic stone skin!" Jixuan exclaimed. She snatched out the Five Buddhas Sacred Light Amulet, channeling golden Qi into a beam that burned slowly through the black claw. The demon shrieked and ripped free, only to hammer again at the fading dome.
Lei quickly stopped the bleeding by striking his acupoints with his fingers, sinking down onto the ground beside his comrades. The attack hadn't just caused bleeding—the demon had also drained a substantial amount of his Qi through its claw. Lei could no longer remain on his feet, and his eyes were fluttering shut. Just before they closed for good, he saw a shower of fireballs falling from the sky, illuminating the twilight forest.
"The clan head..." he heard Chen's muffled voice, echoing as if from a distance.