Chapter 6: Kick His Butt

Yuan Yao felt a tightness in her chest; just as she lifted her head, she saw the Eldest Senior Brother already shielding her.

"Junior sister, are you alright?" Song Yan asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine," Yuan Yao said, quickly getting to her feet, then glanced at Lu Xiangxiang retreating not far away.

Seeing this, she decisively grabbed the Eldest Senior Brother's arm, pulling him toward Lu Xiangxiang while shouting, "Junior sister Lu, let's run!"

Before Lu Xiangxiang could react, Yuan Yao reached out and grabbed her, pulling her along with Song Yan as they ran backward.

Yuan Yao pulled one with her left hand and the other with her right, running at breakneck speed.

Song Yan and Lu Xiangxiang could barely keep up with her pace.

Song Yan's pupils narrowed in shock, for in his memory the junior sister who needed three breaths after ten steps—how could she run so fast today?!

Meanwhile, Xie Yan, who was dealing with the middle-aged man, glanced in their direction, the corner of his mouth twitching ambiguously.

"Xie Yan, hand over the Unmatched Pearl!" the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes suddenly, and in an instant his arm transformed into a brown giant python, gaping its bloody maw as it lunged at the white-clad youth.

The youth flicked his left wrist, and in an instant swept out a sword—its strike spanning the four seas—landing instantly upon the brown python.

Slice—

A sound of flesh being torn rang out, accompanied by the python's anguished cry.

"How long can the Unmatched Pearl stay with a fool like you?" the youth's lazy voice drawled.

The middle-aged man was about to speak when, in an instant, his expression turned to utter terror.

The wind seemed to surge in a moment, then fell calm.

The youth sheathed his sword.

On the ground below lay only a corpse split in half.

Xie Yan leapt down to the corpse, instinctively furrowing his brows, then picked up a branch to peel back the middle-aged man's blood-soaked clothing, quickly spotting a totem mark on the man's chest.

It was a sun-outline totem, within which a serpentine pattern was etched.

Xie Yan's gaze was indifferent as he tossed the branch aside.

Suddenly, his steps halted, a familiar sharp pain flared in his chest, followed by full-body numbness that left him barely able to stand.

Meanwhile—

The ground of Wuduan Senlin instantly became a massive vortex.

"Not good!" Xie Yan's face shifted slightly; he tried to leap up and leave, but a powerful suction dragged him downward.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yao and her two companions were also suddenly pulled into the vortex.

The wind howled, the powerful airflow like a frenzied spinning tornado, and in an instant it swept all the cultivators of Wuduan Senlin into the vortex's center.

In this chaotic scene, Yuan Yao, whose cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, blocked the wind's ravages thanks to her defensive spiritual artifact, suffering little harm.

Originally Song Yan intended to grab Yuan Yao, but he heard Lu Xiangxiang's somewhat anguished cry for help.

"Eldest Senior Brother! Save me!"

Song Yan's heart tightened; he momentarily lost focus, causing the hand reaching for Yuan Yao to lag a beat. That split-second delay made him miss the perfect chance to seize her.

"Yao Yao!" Song Yan's face changed as he shouted.

"Eldest Senior Brother, I'm fine!" Yuan Yao replied quickly despite being caught in the storm's center, feeling a strong weightlessness as she struggled to steady herself.

At that moment, she caught a glimpse of a white figure in her peripheral vision.

It was none other than—Xie Yan.

Yuan Yao recalled his earlier insult calling her "little trash," and narrowed her eyes.

Just then, Xie Yan was pushed by the vortex's force to a position below her.

And he happened to have his back to her.

Yuan Yao's lips curled up unconsciously; she clenched her fists, then, using the Using Opponent's Force method, she kicked her leg up sharply and kicked Xie Yan.

Xie Yan keenly sensed her motion, swiftly turned, but it was too late to dodge; he took her kick squarely to the chest.

He winced, furrowed his brows, and let out a muffled groan.

Xie Yan's eyes turned icy in an instant; he quickly grabbed her ankle and yanked hard.

Yuan Yao staggered, doing a near-perfect split in the vortex's center.

At that moment their gazes met above, as if electric sparks flashed, accompanied by an indescribable eeriness.

Yuan Yao felt guilty: "Do you think I did that on purpose?"

Xie Yan gave a half-smile: "Otherwise?"

Yuan Yao: "……"

Before she could utter another word, the vortex's suction intensified, instantly dragging them completely into the Wuduan Mijing.

"Junior sister——" Song Yan's urgent cry faded into the distance.

…

Inside Wuduan Mijing.

After Yuan Yao gradually regained consciousness, she not only felt dizzy and lightheaded but also a strong sense of bodily discomfort; she slowly opened her eyes to see dim stone walls.

What place is this?

Yuan Yao paused a few seconds before rising; her body swayed slightly.

This seemed to be a dark underground cavern.

As she scanned her surroundings, she also noticed an unconscious person not far away.

The person had their back to her.

She felt wary, a little nervous, after all today was her first time leaving her senior brothers to face outside cultivators.

"Are you awake?" Yuan Yao asked cautiously.

No reply.

Yuan Yao knew her cultivation was low, so she dared not approach lightly; she therefore made a wide detour before ending up directly in front of that person.

Taking a closer look, Yuan Yao's mouth corner twitched slightly.

It was him again——Xie Yan.

His black ghost-face mask was askew, looking like it would fall off any moment.

【Target person Xie Yan, Awakening Value -99.】The 250 System's voice sounded in Yuan Yao's sea of consciousness.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yao decisively turned and left; she could not waste time on Xie Yan, because the difficulty of capturing him was more than double that of others.

As she walked, Yuan Yao suddenly stopped.

She turned around, rushed behind Xie Yan, and kicked his butt.

"Never again!" Yuan Yao happily raised her eyebrows, stepping lightly, just as she was about to leave—

Her ankle was entwined by a red thread with lightning speed; the thread cut into her flesh, soon drawing blood that stained her white sock.

"Hiss..."

"Trash." The boy's hoarse voice came from behind her.

Her heart jumped, her hairs stood on end; she immediately looked toward the sound and saw the previously unconscious white-clad boy now sitting on the damp ground, slowly putting on his mask.

And red thread was wound between the fingers of his left hand.

When he slightly lifted his head, revealing his eyes icy to the extreme, it made one feel a chill.

"One kick wasn't enough, you wanted a second—looks like you don't want this foot anymore…"

"I want it! I want it!" Yuan Yao immediately yielded, pressing her palms together, "I know I was wrong; I won't dare again."

Having said that, she bowed deeply three times in his direction.

Xie Yan: "……"