"You villain, let me go quickly."
The Phantom Cat's eyes widened, looking incredulously at the man before him, who could actually seal its spiritual power.
"I'm a villain?" Zuo Ao Ran chuckled. "But you're right, I'm not just a villain, I'm also very..."
A chilling aura slowly filled Zuo Ao Ran's eyes as a green light shot towards the Phantom Cat. The cat felt its spiritual power rapidly draining from its body and flowing into the man's eyes.
"You're not human."
The Phantom Cat grew frightened. He was clearly not human.
Chu Ling Wei could clearly sense the Phantom Cat's fear.
"Feng Ming, distract them to the east for two breaths, then enter the space."
Chu Ling Wei cast a protective charm on Feng Ming, and the two separated.
Feng Ming nodded heavily and sprinted eastward. A high-level spirit beast's aura flashed, immediately drawing the attention of the five individuals.
Zuo Ao Ran paused, his voice cold, "Investigate."
"Yes," Zuo Yi replied respectfully and, along with another man, pursued Feng Ming.
Chu Ling Wei silently appeared near Zuo Ao Ran, quickly weaving hand seals. Two array discs landed and simultaneously trapped Zuo Ao Ran and two other Heaven Transformation realm powerhouses.
"Who's there?"
Zuo Ao Ran saw only spiritual fluctuations before finding himself within a high-level array. The small spirit beast before him vanished into thin air.
"Heh, a mere array can trap me?" Zuo Ao Ran sneered and waved his hand, shattering the formation.
"Still not going after them?"
Chu Ling Wei stored the Phantom Cat in her spatial realm, not engaging in further combat, and retreated swiftly.
Simultaneously, she threw out more high-level array discs, hindering their pursuers. The pursuers were all Heaven Transformation realm powerhouses, a realm far beyond her own. After escaping for a hundred miles, Chu Ling Wei vanished into her spatial realm. She was more curious than anything to know who these people were.
The pursuers suddenly disappeared. Zuo Ao Ran and the others couldn't sense any trace of them and stopped to search.
"What's going on?"
When Zuo Ao Ran arrived and saw his little spirit beast had been rescued, a dark energy erupted from him. No one had ever snatched anything from him before.
"Please forgive me, Master," Zuo Yi said, kneeling after failing to pursue Feng Ming for even two breaths, his aura completely gone.
"Rescued?" Zuo Ao Ran chuckled, finding it interesting. "Find that little spirit beast, or bring me your head."
"Yes."
Zuo Yi and the others vanished from Zuo Ao Ran's side.
"Who are these people?"
Inside her spatial realm, watching everything that transpired outside, Chu Ling Wei was deeply perplexed. Judging by their attire, they didn't resemble any sect she knew.
"Wei Wei, he's not human. He can absorb my spiritual power." The Phantom Cat still struggled against its restraints, sounding aggrieved.
"Demon?" Chu Ling Wei's mind instantly conjured the image of the eighth-rank Crimson Electric Marten killed by her senior disciple, which had been possessed by a demon.
"Mao Mao, bear with it for now. I can't break your restraints. I'm going to face him."
Chu Ling Wei couldn't undo the Phantom Cat's restraints. Outside the spatial realm, the man had already begun a massacre, killing any spirit beasts that appeared around him. His spiritual power possessed a strange nature, aligning even more closely with Chu Ling Wei's suspicions.
"Wei Wei, be careful." The Phantom Cat stirred, anxious, but its bound body prevented it from helping.
Chu Ling Wei reappeared outside the spatial realm, launching a spiritual attack imbued with spatial energy at Zuo Ao Ran, her sword aimed directly at his dantian.
Zuo Ao Ran, prepared, turned and absorbed Chu Ling Wei's first attack head-on. His body was forced to its knees by the immense spiritual power.
"So it's a young lady." A trace of blood flowed from Zuo Ao Ran's lips. His body pinned by spiritual energy, he saw a woman in black before him. Though her face was hidden, her graceful posture made him smile. He especially enjoyed collecting beautiful women from around the world.
Chu Ling Wei's sharp gaze swept over Zuo Ao Ran's eyes. The Phantom Cat quickly warned, "Don't look into his eyes!"
"Die." Chu Ling Wei's sword transformed into streaks of sword energy, stabbing towards Zuo Ao Ran's dantian and his brow.
A hundred miles of ice froze over, sword energy erupted, and thick snow covered the ground.
"That depends on whether you have the ability," Zuo Ao Ran laughed. He raised his hand, and the Emperor Gold Cauldron flew into the sky, scattering golden light. It descended from above, shattering Chu Ling Wei's sword momentum.
"Imperial-grade magical artifact." Chu Ling Wei dodged the attack, realizing this person's identity was certainly not simple. Unfortunately, he was too arrogant.
A smile touched Chu Ling Wei's lips as she rang a bell in her hand. The "ding-ling-ling" sound enveloped Zuo Ao Ran. Zuo Ao Ran's brow furrowed. Did she think a mere low-grade artifact could break his Imperial-grade artifact? It was sheer delusion. He sent a stream of spiritual energy towards the bell.
Now was the moment. The Ice Jade Frost Sword, combined with the three styles of the Nine Heavens Sword Art, materialized into countless beams of spiritual sword light, surrounding Zuo Ao Ran and striking directly at his brow.
"Is this all you can do?" Zuo Ao Ran scoffed. No artifact in the world could harm him. He was determined to have the woman before him.
Chu Ling Wei flipped forward, retrieving the bell that was about to be struck by Zuo Ao Ran. She threw a Thunder Spirit Blast Bead at the Emperor Gold Cauldron that had risen into the sky again. Zuo Ao Ran sensed danger, but it was too late to dodge. The Emperor Gold Cauldron roared, and a massive spiritual energy impact struck Zuo Ao Ran directly.
"Pfft!"
"Damn it." Zuo Ao Ran's body was pressed to the ground, a green light flashed in his eyes, his entire skeleton shattered, and his flesh and blood were mangled.
Chu Ling Wei was also not in good shape. She was facing someone of unknown identity, and who knew what magical treasures he had to protect himself. She didn't choose to enter her spatial realm but quickly retreated after succeeding, still being affected by the spiritual energy and sent flying.
"Ah!" Chu Ling Wei felt her heart explode. Just as her face was about to hit the ground, she was caught securely in a pair of arms. An eighth-rank pill was sent into her mouth, and spiritual energy flowed into her body, easing the pain.
"Senior Brother, you've come out of seclusion." Chu Ling Wei looked up, her voice filled with surprise.
"You," Leng Xing Zhi said helplessly, "you are so reckless." If he hadn't sensed Chu Ling Wei was in danger, she would have been captured by those four Heaven Transformation realm powerhouses by now.
Chu Ling Wei felt a bit embarrassed and explained, "It's Mao Mao. He was captured by those people, and I came to save him."
Leng Xing Zhi softly hummed and held Chu Ling Wei in his arms, stopping in a safe location. "Quickly recover."
Chu Ling Wei closed her eyes and began circulating her spiritual energy to heal her wounds. Leng Xing Zhi stood outside the barrier, looking towards the direction where he had just saved his junior sister, a dark glint in his eyes. He raised his right hand, and spiritual energy swirled in the air, distorting space. A small spirit worm was crushed into powder.
"Bang."
"My mother worm is dead!" Zuo Qing exclaimed in shock. "My tracking spirit worm has been discovered. To be able to kill the mother worm through the child worm, it must be a supreme earth-level mighty figure."
Zuo Yi looked at his unconscious master with panic. He couldn't spare the time to track down who had injured his master and immediately summoned his artifact. "We need to leave here quickly."