Elder Xia nearly burst into laughter.

He had previously been uncertain about whether the corpses alone would be enough to complete the ritual.

But now?

With a living Nascent Soul cultivator, and a powerful one at that, the chances of failure were virtually nonexistent.

A twisted grin spread across his face.

He gestured for the corpse puppets to bring the woman over. The black net dragged across the ground behind them, making her look like prey caught in a hunter’s trap.

Yet just as Elder Xia was about to turn his attention back to the coffin, a sudden chill shot through his body.

His intuition screamed of danger.

Without even thinking, Elder Xia reacted.

Death Qi surged behind him and condensed into a massive shield.

But that provided him no sense of safety. More Death Qi poured out, forming a second and a third shield.

Then a fourth.

Unfortunately, before he could create any more, the source of the threat finally revealed itself.

A figure had somehow appeared less than ten feet away.

A black dagger was held in its hands, flashing eerily through the darkness.

Its target? Elder Xia’s head.

Elder Xia’s instincts had been correct.

The shields indeed blocked the way of the dagger.

However, before he could celebrate...

Crack!

A sharp sound echoed through the chamber.

Then an explosion.

The first shield shattered before exploding. The second one met the same fate.

Then the third and the fourth one.

In the span of a breath, every defensive barrier Elder Xia had created was destroyed.

The black dagger continued forward without losing momentum.

Fortunately, at the very last second, Elder Xia made a decisive choice.

Scrrrch!

The blade sliced through flesh, causing blood to spray through the air.

However, it failed to reach Elder Xia’s skull. Instead, it pierced through his neck.

At the critical moment, Elder Xia had twisted his body, sacrificing a less vital area to protect his life.

The decision proved effective.

Though black blood gushed from the wound and chunks of rotting flesh fell to the floor, he had earned a short window of opportunity.

His figure blurred. Within a split second, he crossed the entire chamber and reappeared near the opposite wall.

One hand pressed against his neck.

As he watched the black blood wriggling from the wound like living worms, a sinister green light flashed within his pupils.

He lifted his head to look at the assassin.

It was a man clad in black robes and wearing a silver mask.

At first glance, he looked almost identical to the cultivators who had delivered the coffins.

Yet Elder Xia would never mistake him for one of them.

The reason was obvious:

The opponent was too strong! Evidenced by both the aura surrounding him and the overwhelming power he had just displayed.

"Who are you?"

Elder Xia’s hoarse voice echoed throughout the chamber.

The sound of flesh knitting together followed as his wound began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Standing across from him, the masked man remained silent.

Naturally, it was none other than Chen Xuan.

He knew better than to reveal any clues. Not only had he concealed his aura, but he had even disguised himself as a demonic cultivator.

There was no reason to speak. Doing so would only give Elder Xia more information to work with while providing him absolutely no benefits.

Indeed, seeing no response, Elder Xia frowned.

He spoke once more.

"We’re both demonic cultivators. Why are you attacking me?"

"Don’t you know the demonic alliance has forbidden internal conflict?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Are you planning to betray the demonic path and join the righteous faction?"

He questioned loudly.

However, it remained a mystery whether he really wanted an answer or if he was merely buying time for his injuries to recover.

As an "old monster", Chen Xuan immediately saw through the act.

But he didn’t expose it. After all, he was waiting for something as well.

Several moments passed in silence. Then, the signal he had been waiting for finally arrived.

Without warning, Chen Xuan’s eyes flashed.

Several powers erupted at the same time.

A golden sword pierced through the chamber ceiling and descended like a comet.

A cute girl materialized above it. Honglan pointed forward, and the sword immediately shot toward the corpse puppets.

At the same time, a black vortex appeared beneath their feet.

An overwhelming devouring force exploded, restraining the remaining puppets and preventing them from assisting Elder Xia.

The sudden reversal caught Elder Xia completely off guard.

Just as he was about to retreat farther back, however, Chen Xuan’s figure had already appeared before him.

The same black dagger thrust forward once more.

Elder Xia’s reaction was almost identical to before. Death Qi surged, and layers of defense were formed.

Yet midway through casting them, his body suddenly stiffened.

A sense of dread flooded his mind, and he was forced to turn his head.

The sight instantly shocked him.

Behind him, a black-and-white wheel had appeared without his knowledge. Its aura was almost nonexistent, hidden beneath a mysterious power.

Yet despite its concealment, the pressure it radiated was overwhelming.

Elder Xia’s pupils shrank. He wanted to speak, to beg for mercy.

But he no longer had the chance.

Boom!

The Yin-Yang Annihilation Wheel descended. His body exploded on the spot.

Not even his Nascent Soul escaped. A shrill scream echoed from within the blast, but it quickly quieted down.

The Nascent Soul had only just emerged when it was engulfed by the wheel’s power. In an instant, it was shredded into countless fragments.

Boom!

The floor trembled.

As soon as Elder Xia died, the corpse puppets collapsed to the ground.

The vortex and the wheel dissipated.

Honglan’s human form dissolved into a golden light before returning to her sword body and flying to Chen Xuan’s hand.

Watching everything settle, Chen Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

This satisfaction only deepened when he sensed the little amount of energy he had consumed.

’This is the difference combat experience makes.’

’In the past, even if I had various abilities and spells at my disposal, I’d struggle to kill this guy so quickly.’

’Only after I experienced several life-and-death events and trained within the Seven Trials Tower can I unleash the full potential of my combat prowess.’

The result left Chen Xuan pleased, but he didn’t lose his cool.

He knew that things were far from over.

Turning around, his gaze landed on the giant chained coffin.

Perhaps due to Elder Xia’s death, the thing sealed within had become increasingly violent.

The chains rattled frantically, as though they were about to burst.

Chen Xuan frowned.

He prepared to step forward, intending to reinforce the seal before investigating the situation further.

Yet at that moment, a soft chuckle reached his ears.

It was neither hoarse nor creepy like Elder Xia’s, but rather gentle and melodious.

It sounded pleasant to the ears, like the song of a siren.

Turning his head, Chen Xuan looked toward its source.

It was the caged female cultivator.

Seemingly having witnessed everything that happened, she showed no trace of panic.

Instead, she looked at Chen Xuan with a smile and laughed.