"Who are you, and why have you been following me?"
Chu Lingwei looked at the unfamiliar male cultivator before her. She had never seen him before.
"Because I want you to die." The male cultivator's gaze was as cold as the ice and snow, yet devoid of any hatred, anger, or even surprise.
He knew he would be waiting for her here.
"Are you with that male cultivator we injured?" Chu Lingwei was truly puzzled. Who were these people, and why did they keep following her?
"Weiwei, you guessed correctly. Those two are indeed together."
Phantom Cat quickly sent a telepathic message to Chu Lingwei. This man had just flashed a mental image of that male cultivator, indicating they knew each other.
"Whether we know each other or not, today is your day of death." After speaking, the male cultivator charged at her with his spiritual sword. Chu Lingwei, along with Phantom Cat, flew to the side, her confusion deepening. This male cultivator was clearly not using his full strength.
"You must be with that person."
The person Chu Lingwei was referring to was the man in black, the one who had promised to tell her her father's whereabouts if she safely emerged from the Cangshan Secret Realm.
The male cultivator, being extremely well-trained, showed no change in his expression. Wave after wave of spiritual energy was directed at Chu Lingwei.
Every move was intended to kill, striking directly at Chu Lingwei's vital points.
Chu Lingwei was enraged. Her not retaliating did not mean he could be so reckless.
"Meow, we must not let this person leave today." Chu Lingwei's spiritual sword flew out. She retrieved a purple bell from her spatial artifact. As the male cultivator attacked her again, all the spiritual energy he sent towards her was reflected back, striking him heavily.
The male cultivator let out a muffled groan and fell to the ground.
"Such a heavy strike, were you trying to take my life?" Chu Lingwei walked up to the male cultivator, a smile in her eyes.
Chu Lingwei possessed countless spiritual artifacts in her spatial artifact, but she knew her cultivation was still shallow, and her worst mistake would be to rely on them. No matter the situation, she would fight them herself.
Only when absolutely necessary would she use the spiritual artifacts from her spatial artifact.
Today was different. She needed to know why this cultivator was following her.
The male cultivator watched Chu Lingwei walk towards him step by step. He quickly activated the Myriad Miles Spiritual Escape Talisman in his hand, but it was completely useless.
"Trying to escape?"
Chu Lingwei had anticipated this move. While waiting for him, she had already instructed Phantom Cat to set up a barrier. Within this barrier, no talismans could be used.
"You've used it once before; you should have expected me to be prepared."
The male cultivator's expression changed. He stared at Chu Lingwei for two breaths, then a smile, incomprehensible to Chu Lingwei, suddenly appeared on his lips as he attempted to self-destruct.
"How is this possible?"
Seeing that he could not self-destruct, the male cultivator's eyes finally showed emotion. He looked at Chu Lingwei in shock.
She was merely a cultivator in the Rongtian Realm; how could she control him?
"Do you want to die?"
Chu Lingwei squatted down in front of the male cultivator, her hand gripping his neck. She carefully examined his face. This male cultivator had excellent psychological fortitude.
"Kill me."
"Death would be too easy for you." Chu Lingwei shook her head. "Speak. Why did your master send you to follow me?"
The male cultivator remained silent, his attitude clear. He would not utter a single word.
"Are you sure you won't speak?"
Chu Lingwei looked at Phantom Cat. Seeing him shake his head at her, it meant this male cultivator was extremely cautious, leaving no opportunity for him to read his simple memories.
"I am here to kill you today. Even if I die, countless others will come to kill you. You will eventually fall by our hands."
Anger flared in the male cultivator's eyes. He was like a lion about to maul Chu Lingwei to death. However, no matter how angry he appeared, the calm in his eyes remained undisturbed.
What an unprofessional actor.
"What do you think the man in black will feel when he sees you dead?" Chu Lingwei wanted to laugh but held back. She raised her sword and slowly pressed it against the male cultivator's neck. "I think he would feel that your death was most unjustified."
"Ah."
Suddenly, a spray of blood erupted. The male cultivator's eyes widened. He looked towards the sky in what seemed like despair, then closed his eyes.
With a wave of her hand, Chu Lingwei directly put the male cultivator into her spatial ring, instructing Shui Yi to keep a close eye on him.
"Weiwei, he wanted to kill you. Why didn't you kill him?" Feng Ming was very confused. This person had been following them, yet Weiwei didn't kill him.
"The way he looked at me was strange. No matter how much hatred he displayed, his eyes were incredibly clear. He probably didn't intend to kill me."
Chu Lingwei sighed. She had previously had Phantom Cat conjure a scene of the man being killed by her; his reaction likely wasn't fake. "Meow, did you see anything?"
Hearing Chu Lingwei's question, Phantom Cat's small body couldn't help but tremble, a flicker of hesitation in its eyes.
"Meow!"
"I don't know. I only saw many people suffering torture." Phantom Cat saw only a tragic scene, nothing specific. "He was very sad."
Chu Lingwei looked at Phantom Cat in surprise.
"This cultivator has been hiding his true emotions very well, and his cultivation is very high. I couldn't hear or see his memories at all," Phantom Cat nodded affirmatively. "Only when he was dying did I faintly glimpse that scene."
"Come, tell me, what kind of scene was it?" Chu Lingwei gently stroked Phantom Cat's head. Meow would never lie to her.
"I couldn't see clearly. It seemed like many people were locked up somewhere, their faces contorted in pain. They looked so miserable..." As Phantom Cat spoke, its emotions slowly lowered. It seemed to be infected by the suffering of those people and felt like crying.
"Then why was he following Weiwei and trying to kill Weiwei?" Feng Ming found it incredible. What did this have to do with Weiwei?
If this male cultivator was with the man in black, and the man in black knew her father's whereabouts, could her father be suffering torture at this very moment?
Chu Lingwei's heart leaped, and she forced herself to calm down.
If that were the case, the man in black wouldn't need to go through such trouble to make her improve her cultivation.
"Meow, Feng Ming, remember this. You must not tell anyone what you learned today, not even Senior Brother." Chu Lingwei's eyes were firm. The man in black must be hiding a great secret.
Perhaps her father was connected to this secret.
"Okay."
Phantom Cat and Feng Ming nodded vigorously.
"Let's go, we're going in." Chu Lingwei took a deep breath. The most important thing now was to first confirm if her father was at Bingji Cliff, and then make plans.
The group sat on a flying artifact and looked back at the pool of blood on the ground, which was remarkably conspicuous against the snow.