The Four-Winged Roc descended slowly, its massive wings stirring up dust and dead leaves as it landed behind the Beast Mountain Sect disciples. Its breath was ragged, feathers torn and stained with blood. Pan Lun slipped from its claws and crashed onto the ground with a dull thud. Several of his ribs were clearly broken, his breathing shallow and uneven.
For a moment, everyone stared.
Then the disciples reacted.
"Elder!"
"Elder Pan!"
They rushed toward him in panic. One disciple helped him sit up, while others stood around him anxiously, faces pale and fists clenched. Sympathy, fear, and anger mixed in their expressions.
A disciple crouched in front of him, voice trembling. "Elder Pan… who did this to you?"
"Yes, Elder!" another shouted. "Who dared to hurt you?"
Before Pan Lun could even gather enough breath to answer, footsteps echoed from behind.
The man playing with the dagger strolled forward lazily, twirling the blade between his fingers. He looked down at Pan Lun with open contempt. "So this half-dead dog is your elder?" he sneered. "Tch. He looks like shit."
Laughter erupted from the black-cloaked figures behind him, sharp and cruel.
A disciple suddenly stepped forward, rage burning in his eyes. "You bastard! How fucking dare you disrespect our elder!"
He barely finished his sentence.
Flash.
The dagger arced through the air.
The disciple's head flew off his shoulders, spinning once before hitting the ground with a sickening thud. His body remained standing for a heartbeat, then collapsed forward, blood spraying across the dirt.
Silence fell like a hammer.
The man with the dagger flicked the blood from his blade and glanced sideways at the black-cloaked man who had stopped him earlier. "See? Not my fault. He disrespected me, so I killed him."
The other man finally revealed his face. It was ugly, twisted, with a long scar running across his nose. He sighed irritably. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't kill everyone, idiot."
The remaining disciples were terrified. Their courage shattered instantly. They scrambled backward, huddling behind Pan Lun like frightened animals, some shaking so badly they could barely stand.
The dagger-wielding man stepped closer and crouched in front of Pan Lun, his smile sharp and cold. "So… where's the artifact we asked for? Don't tell me you came all this way empty-handed."
Pan Lun's vision swam. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he forced out broken words. "I-it's… in m-my… ri-ng…"
The man's grin widened.
Above them, hidden among the branches, the white-haired woman spoke coldly, eyes locked onto the scene. "Junior Sister, no matter what happens, we take both the artifact and that stone."
The pink-haired woman nodded, already shifting into position. She crouched low, left hand gripping the sheath, right hand wrapped tightly around the sword's hilt. Her eyes were sharp as blades. "I'll take the artifact the moment he pulls it out. You capture the stone at the same time."
"Agreed," the white-haired woman replied, mirroring her stance.
Below, the dagger man reached out and roughly yanked Pan Lun's spiritual ring from his finger. "Relax," he said mockingly. "I'll only take what belongs to us."
He injected his spiritual energy into the ring.
A flash of green light appeared as a piece of green cloth materialized in his hand. Dark, oppressive energy leaked from it the instant it emerged.
At that exact moment—
A pink blur exploded from the trees.
The pink-haired woman appeared right in front of him with terrifying speed. Her sword slid from its sheath in a smooth, deadly arc, aimed straight for his throat.
"What the—!"
The man barely had time to react. He jumped backward instinctively, dagger raised defensively.
Slash.
The blade missed his neck by a hair's breadth, cutting through the air and leaving a sharp hiss behind.
But when he looked down—
The green cloth was gone.
His pupils shrank.
From the shadows above, the white-haired woman moved at the same time, eyes already locked onto the dark stone as chaos erupted below.
"FUCK!" the dagger-wielding man roared as he realized the green cloth was gone. His beast qi exploded outward, black and viscous, cracking the ground beneath his feet. "Kill them! Don't let those bitches escape!"
The seven black-cloaked men moved at once.
One leaped forward, fists wrapped in dark qi, smashing toward the pink-haired woman. Another swung a chain forged of black metal, whistling through the air toward her waist. Two more split off, charging straight at the white-haired woman near the stone.
The pink-haired woman didn't retreat.
Her sword flashed.
A pink arc of beast qi cut through the air, slicing the chain clean in half. She twisted her wrist and stepped forward, her blade piercing straight through the chest of the man who had charged her head-on. His eyes widened in disbelief as blood sprayed from his mouth.
She ripped the sword out and kicked his corpse aside without slowing.
"Too slow," she said coldly.
The dagger man snarled and lunged at her himself, dagger coated in dense black qi. Their weapons collided with a screech that made everyone's ears ring. Shockwaves rippled outward, blowing nearby disciples off their feet.
Meanwhile, the white-haired woman moved like a ghost.
She appeared beside the stone in a blur of golden light just as two black-cloaked men attacked her from opposite sides. One thrust a spear of condensed dark qi, while the other swung a massive axe downward.
She raised her sword calmly.
Golden beast qi erupted, forming a radiant barrier. The spear shattered on impact. The axe slammed down, but she sidestepped, her blade tracing a precise line.
Slash.
"Die, You Evil Sanctum's Dog."
The axeman's arm fell to the ground.
Before he could even scream, she reversed her grip and drove the sword through his throat. His body collapsed soundlessly.
The remaining attacker hesitated for half a breath.
That was enough.
The white-haired woman's eyes turned icy. Her sword hummed, releasing a golden wave that cleaved straight through his torso, splitting him in two.
Blood rained onto the stone.
The dark stone pulsed violently, reacting to the bloodshed, leaking thicker streams of evil energy.
"Don't let her touch the stone!" one of the black-cloaked men shouted in panic.
Three of them rushed her at once.
Too late.
She slammed her palm onto the stone.
Golden beast qi poured into it like a flood, clashing violently with the dark energy. The stone shrieked, a horrifying, inhuman sound that made everyone's soul tremble.
Cracks spread across its surface.