The situation had changed completely.
The two Tianyan Sect disciples smoothly turned back around, holding their long swords to face the woman.
One of the disciples sent a voice transmission to Wang Lin, briefly reporting what had just happened.
"Captain, an Nascent Soul Realm evil cultivator directly hurled a purple bead-like treasure at us, and we fell into an illusion. It was a seamless deception. If it weren't for your signal's Dao rhyme just now, we would have been ambushed."
Wang Lin's expression was calm as he held his sword, and he replied with a voice transmission as well.
"Mission changed. Support has been notified to the Tianyan Sect. First, engage and buy time. If the situation turns unfavorable, execute a retreat. Keep your teleportation talismans ready."
The two Tianyan Sect disciples nodded in unison.
Li Xingtian was also included in the voice transmission channel.
He had to admit, from what Li Xingtian had seen with his own eyes, the way these Tianyan Sect disciples handled the situation was truly impeccable.
He could truly feel the difference between a regular army and a band of outlaws.
But then again, it was to be expected. Li Xingtian never imagined his own Shijie could command the situation like Wang Lin.
But looking at Zhang Miaoyu's expression, it was as if her Shijie was indeed commanding things perfectly.
It was truly baffling, especially for Li Xingtian, who had read Cui Hao's
Sect Accepting Disciples, I Can See Attribute Tags
hundred-thousand-character mission summary—a summary that was nothing but a list of her mistakes.
It was truly hard to reconcile with his Shijie's command.
Li Xingtian didn't dwell on it further, continuing to probe his surroundings with his blood qi.
According to what they said, that Nascent Soul evil cultivator, Meng Jun, was probably not dead yet. One always had to be wary of such lurking thieves.
However, things had developed to this point, and the tide had finally turned.
"Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?" Wang Lin thought, though his expression was one of utter disdain.
"If not, you can leave your last words behind, though I certainly won't be the one to remember them."
Upon hearing this, the woman instantly laughed. Leaving everything else aside, her laugh was actually quite pleasant.
Her laughter carried a hint of mockery.
"I was just toying with you all, and yet you've actually managed to catch your breath."
As her words fell, Wang Lin's expression instantly turned serious, his eyes locked on the woman.
The woman stood in mid-air, her own gaze fixed on Wang Lin and the others.
Wang Lin sneered, "I don't know if you've caught your breath, but I know you won't be able to in a moment."
The woman narrowed her eyes and said in a sharp tone:
"Heh... You'd better not come begging for mercy later."
Li Xingtian also summoned his spirit treasure, but after waiting for a moment, neither of the two made a move first. They just stared each other down, trading vicious words.
Due to their high cultivation levels, they could genuinely hold their gaze without blinking.
Li Xingtian understood now. It seemed, in his Master's words, that Wang Lin and this woman were—purely "talking trash."
It was all about saying vicious things for free; if you didn't say them, you were losing out.
Wang Lin was willing to trade barbs to buy time because the reinforcements from the Tianyan Sect were on their way.
But what about the woman?
Was it just a matter of making the most of her last moments, getting a few more breaths of air?
Sect Accepting Disciples, I Can See Attribute Tags
Li Xingtian's expression grew solemn. He sent a voice transmission to Wang Lin.
"She's probably holding back a powerful move. Even if we want to stall, we shouldn't just stand here and let her prepare."
A powerful move?
The term was new, but Wang Lin understood its meaning. Li Xingtian made a good point.
After a moment of thought, Wang Lin transmitted, "You all hold back. I'll go test her strength."
With that, Wang Lin moved to a different position, slightly raised his hand, and a earth dragon erupted from the ground, charging straight at the woman.
Immediately after, a second and third earth dragon, under Wang Lin's control, followed closely behind, also charging at the woman.
The Tianyan Sect naturally possessed the Five Elements Manipulation technique, as well as other arts. Besides sects that relied solely on such techniques and divine abilities, they were among the very best in the Central Continent.
This was a technique every cultivator had to learn, though it was mostly used for large-scale area-of-effect attacks against weaker foes.
After all, no matter how cool a technique looked, its paled in comparison to the power of a divine ability.
For a cultivator—when fighting, one must always prioritize the most powerful moves.
Holding back in a fight was like walking with your hands instead of your feet.
It meant either your feet were broken, or your brain was.
However, using it for long-range harassment was a decent choice.
Several earth dragons were viciously swatted apart by extending branches from the flower tree, not even managing to touch the hem of the woman's skirt.
Wang Lin raised his hand slightly, and several fire dragons shot forth, but they were also blocked by the branches.
The woman covered her mouth and chuckled, then clapped her hands as if in encouragement.
"What a fine circus act. A few more, maybe I'll let you live a little longer."
Wang Lin wasn't fazed by the taunting at all. He stopped using techniques and instead, a flash of cold light from a spirit sword flickered past.
The Yanshen Taiqing Sword was once again unleashed.
The woman's expression also turned serious. She slightly raised her hand, and the flower tree trembled as countless branches formed layer upon layer of shields.
The Yanshen Taiqing Sword, without a doubt, cleaved through layer after layer of shields,
Sect Accepting Disciples, I Can See Attribute Tags
striking directly at the woman behind them.
Under Wang Lin's vigilant gaze.
Without any surprise, the woman was once again sent flying, crashing violently into the ground.
The aftermath scattered the flowers, and from the great crater carved by the sword, the woman slowly climbed to her feet.
"Alright, since the circus act is over, it's time for you to beg for mercy. It's been so long since I've eaten, my digestion has slowed down."
The woman raised her hand and pointed it toward the flower tree.
The tree instantly trembled, condensing at an incredible speed while simultaneously rushing toward the woman.
As if in an instant.
The woman grasped a wooden sword, fully engraved with flowers, that had formed from the Heavenly Flower Tree.
She raised her hand slightly and slashed down at Wang Lin!
Countless petals seemed to materialize out of thin air, shooting toward Wang Lin at an immense speed. Each petal seemed to shimmer with an extreme cold light.
In an instant, the dense swarm of flowers rapidly enveloped Wang Lin.
Attacks could still be felt emanating from within, but it seemed extremely difficult to break free from the flower's enclosure.
The woman let out a light laugh and her gaze leisurely drifted toward Li Xingtian and the others.
"I've always hated being woken up, especially when I'm having a nice dream."
Li Xingtian frowned upon hearing this. That sentence... was highly suggestive. Was she admitting she was the Dream Lord?
However, Li Xingtian remained skeptical.
If the Dream Lord could resurrect herself so easily, she wouldn't have been such a minor figure back in the day.
One of the Tianyan Sect disciples, seeing the situation turn sour, spoke to the other.
"You stay and guard him. I'll go support the Captain."
"Don't go." Li Xingtian reached out to stop him, his tone serious. "It's a trap."
The Tianyan Sect disciple shot him a glance, ignoring Li Xingtian, and prepared to move toward Wang Lin to provide support.
Sect Accepting Disciples, I Can See Attribute Tags
Li Xingtian's expression was slightly helpless, but there was nothing he could do if they wouldn't listen to his commands.
Seeing her opponents split up, the woman's face lit up with joy, and her body shot toward a person for the first time.
In an instant, a wooden sword slashed toward the Tianyan Sect disciple who was about to provide support.
The disciple reacted by sidestepping and counter-swinging with his own sword.
The two swords clashed, and petals erupted, dancing all over the sky.
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