A Bandit’s Due and a Ghastly Awakening

As the giant’s head fell, the air in the vicinity stilled once more.

All eyes turned upwards, fixed on Yu Qingxuan, the woman veiled and clad in white, hovering in the air.

Unfazed by the gazes of the crowd, Yu Qingxuan remained silent, for the denouement was at hand.

She extended a hand, her voice cutting through the quiet.

“Hand it all over. You’ve taken my things.”

Her voice, imbued with a gentle warmth, seeped into their ears, yet it felt like a demon’s whisper.

Some remained bewildered, wondering what ‘her things’ referred to.

Had any of them truly taken anything from this Golden Core senior?

However, the more astute individuals, particularly the leaders of the three prominent families, quickly grasped the situation.

“Senior, everything is within this storage pouch.”

Yang Xiao of the Yang family offered an awkward smile, dutifully presenting the storage pouch she held.

Yu Qingxuan wore an expression that suggested ‘a teachable moment’.

With Yang Xiao’s clear example, even those who hadn’t fully understood now recognized the reality of their predicament.

They could only grimace and reluctantly hand over their own storage pouches.

Once the Yang and Wang families had relinquished their items, Yu Qingxuan did not forget the Wen family.

She beckoned with a hand.

Wen He watched Yu Qingxuan hovering above, a thought forming in her mind: ‘This truly is the manner of a mountain bandit.’

Yet, recognizing the overwhelming power before her, she and the women by her side also surrendered their storage pouches.

The members of the Yang and Wang families, witnessing this, were momentarily stunned.

‘Wasn’t this woman part of the Wen family?’ they wondered.

However, Wen He dared not offer any explanation at that moment.

Yu Qingxuan’s gaze remained fixed on her; to speak would surely invite death.

It was truly a bitter pill to swallow, like a mute person eating Coptis, unable to voice her suffering.

Yu Qingxuan observed the twelve storage pouches in her hand, feeling their substantial weight as she tossed them lightly.

Her eyes then flickered to Qin Yan, who was watching her, and she let out a small, quiet cough.

‘My junior brother has witnessed this display,’ she mused, ‘I wonder what he makes of it.’

Still, cultivation was inherently a struggle for resources, with the capable claiming their due.

Moreover, these cultivation families were immensely wealthy; what she took amounted to little in their vast fortunes.

How did Yu Qingxuan know this so intimately?

Her own Yu family, after all, was one of the largest in the Northern Reaches.

No one understood cultivation clans better than she did.

Qin Yan observed his senior sister, now silent in the air.

Regarding her actions, he had little to say; entering a secret realm was, by its very nature, a quest for treasures, and his senior sister had already shown considerable mercy.

Just then, a woman clad in green stumbled forth, running from a distance.

“Wen Xuan? You’re alive!”

Wen He exclaimed, her voice laced with surprise.

“Yes, my dear sister~”

The girl, Wen Xuan, swiftly approached Wen He, but her arrival was immediately followed by a long sword plunging into Wen He’s abdomen.

At that very instant, blood trickled from Wen He’s lips, her expression frozen in stunned disbelief.

Such an abrupt and horrifying event not only shocked the members of the other two families but also caused Yu Qingxuan to frown deeply.

She was just about to extend her divine sense to investigate Wen Xuan.

In the next second, Wen Xuan’s mouth spewed forth a swarm of dense black insects.

These creatures, however, were not aimed at Wen He, but rather at the Golden Core corpse seated majestically upon the lotus pedestal.

Yu Qingxuan cast a swift glance behind her, then suddenly cried out.

“Junior brother, be careful!”

Qin Yan was momentarily taken aback, his gaze following Yu Qingxuan’s.

He watched in horror as the corpse, seated on the lotus pedestal, suddenly threw its head back and opened its mouth to the sky.

A wisp of black mist emanated from its lips, and then its pristine white body rapidly decayed and shriveled, transforming into a ghastly apparition!

“Who dares disturb this venerable one’s cultivation!!!”

A furious roar echoed, piercing the ears of all present.

Boundless corpse qi then began to spread throughout the secret realm.

The Wang and Yang families were the first to react, but even with their swift response, all but one leader from each family perished tragically within the suffocating corpse qi.

Even the last Wen family woman, standing beside Qin Yan, let out a piercing shriek as she succumbed to the deadly aura.

A prickling sensation spread across Qin Yan’s scalp at this sight.

No longer concealing his cultivation, he exerted all his strength to resist the corpse qi that now saturated the entire secret realm.

The only surviving leaders of the Yang and Wang families were also at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Witnessing this, Yu Qingxuan knew they could not linger.

She intended to rush to Qin Yan’s side and lead him away.

However, with her cultivation being the highest among all present, the transformed Golden Core corpse instantly lunged at her.

Yu Qingxuan had no choice but to abandon her attempt to reach Qin Yan, turning instead to confront the corpse zombie.

The two engaged in a fierce aerial battle, exchanging blows.

The corpse zombie possessed tough skin and thick flesh, but fortunately, its cultivation appeared to be only at the early Golden Core stage, preventing Yu Qingxuan from being immediately disadvantaged.

Nevertheless, it was merely a corpse zombie without any magical artifacts, and Yu Qingxuan was confident she could resolve it.

However, time was precisely what she lacked.

As she battled the corpse zombie, her gaze intermittently drifted towards Qin Yan.

She saw that all the women who had previously succumbed to the corpse qi had now transformed into zombies, charging towards the three remaining survivors.

“If my junior brother suffers even the slightest harm, I will utterly obliterate your souls!”

Yu Qingxuan’s voice, hoarse with fury, was directed at the two surviving women.

Engaged in combat with the corpse zombies themselves, the two women could only offer a wry smile at Yu Qingxuan’s words.

Though her declaration was harsh, she was their sole reliance.

Should Yu Qingxuan fall, all of them would become mere sustenance for the Golden Core corpse zombie.

Yet, Qin Yan, possessing the highest cultivation among those present apart from Yu Qingxuan, was not to be underestimated.

His long spear blazed with fierce flames, a natural bane to these corpse zombies imbued with yin qi.

In an instant, the entire secret realm descended into utter chaos.

Meanwhile, in a shadowed corner, a figure cloaked in black watched the unfolding events.

She observed the man with the long spear, systematically cutting down the approaching corpse zombies.

“Qin Yan…” she murmured.

Her gaze then shifted to the woman battling the Golden Core corpse zombie in the air.

“Qin Yan’s senior sister, Yu Qingxuan…”

Then, her entire being dissolved into a cloud of black insect mist.

Under the cover of the pervasive, equally black corpse qi, she moved towards Qin Yan and the others, who had formed a small combat group of three.

In a flash, the leaders of the Wang and Yang families fell to the girl’s long sword.

Qin Yan stared at the mysterious figure before him, surrounded by a swirling multitude of black insects.

These creatures, which he had seen earlier emerging from Wen Xuan’s mouth, were now gnawing at the surrounding corpses.

Fortunately, the flames scorching his long spear kept the insects at bay.

“Qin Yan, my corpse worms are still so afraid of your fire, hehehe~”

A girl’s voice, somewhat hoarse and uneven, reached Qin Yan’s ears.

Her fragmented laughter, in particular, sent a shiver down his spine.

‘Why does this cloaked figure know me?’ Qin Yan wondered. ‘Who is she?’

He tightened his grip on his long spear, a slight frown creasing his brow.

Had the girl attacked him just now, even if he hadn’t died, he would have been severely wounded.

Consequently, Qin Yan found himself momentarily indecisive.

Yu Qingxuan, naturally, witnessed this scene as well, but embroiled in battle with the Golden Core corpse zombie, she had no leisure to be distracted.