Meng Lin, battered and exhausted, cautiously approached the fallen beast. Its massive, golden-scaled body lay still on the ground, the deep wound she had inflicted with her Celestial-Thunder Blade slowly oozing blood.

Despite the beast’s apparent defeat, Meng Lin’s instincts kept her on edge. She didn't know why, but she felt that the battle was not over.

As she drew closer, Meng Lin focused her spiritual consciousness on the creature, probing it. The energy from her Heaven’s Punishment attack had deeply disrupted the beast’s internal flow, yet she could still sense a faint, erratic pulse of vitality. It was still not dead.

'That's surprising,' Meng Lin thought. "Hmm?" she noticed a thick black aura coming from the wound of the beast; it was the Darkness Qi from her slash.

Just as she prepared to move closer, her senses flared. A cold, piercing presence appeared within her spiritual consciousness, sending a shiver down her spine.

She felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her side as a surge of Qi struck one of her spiritual veins, causing her to falter backward as the blade moved down to tear her body apart.

ROAR!!

Suddenly, a raging inferno engulfed Meng Lin as a draconic head sprang out of her forearm, its gaze a piercing cold ruthlessness as a massive force gathered.

Boom!!

A defensive explosion of fire erupted. The inferno, a mix of Elemental Qi, expanded outward, creating a tempest of raging flames and blistering heat. The ground beneath Meng Lin’s feet trembled as the wave of fire surged through the area, incinerating everything in its path.

Meng Lin struggled to regain her footing amidst the chaos. The overwhelming heat and energy from the explosion had left her slightly disoriented; however, she didn't sustain any damage.

Through the haze of flames and smoke, she glimpsed the distant silhouette of her attacker. The figure was standing several meters away, unaffected by the sudden explosion.

The draconic head that had emerged from Meng Lin’s forearm slowly retracted, its fierce gaze softening as the inferno subsided.

Meng Lin’s heart pounded in her chest as she got a good look at her attacker.

“Intriguing,” a charming and familiar voice cut through the chaos, as several meters away stood a woman with lazy eyes and an amused smile on her face.

"You!?" Meng Lin's eyes narrowed as she recognized the woman standing before her. Her familiarity was unsettling; a mix of annoyance and apprehension slowly began to rise within Meng Lin.

The woman, draped in a flowing robe that was untouched by the explosion, looked too nonchalant in the current dangerous situation.

"Indeed," Wei Wei replied with a lazy smile, her voice dripping with amusement. “I must say, your reaction was quite impressive. I didn’t expect you to have such... methods.”

Meng Lin released her spiritual consciousness, only for it to pass through Wei Wei as if she were not there. However, even in the dangerous situation, she forced a smile on her face. “So it was you,” she said, her voice steady despite the seething pain. “You were the one behind the attack.”

Wei Wei’s lips curled. “I wonder about that. You, on the other hand, have been quite the enigma. Your storage method, your techniques—none of it was what I anticipated.” She took a step closer, extending her left hand, in which she held a small storage bag.

Meng Lin narrowed her eyes, her gaze focused on the storage bag in Wei Wei's hand. Despite her weakened state, she didn't fluster. “So you want something from my storage bag. However, why attack me, and why now?”

Wei Wei’s eyes glinted with cold, detached amusement. “Stop pretending. You have another storage method. What I want is the jade box."

Meng Lin’s gaze flickered as she contemplated the words— the jade box! Meng Lin looked down and sighed. “So you think you can waltz in here and take my stuff by force? If you wanted it, you should have come sooner.”

Wei Wei’s smile widened slightly, but her eyes remained as icy as ever. “Oh, I had my reasons for waiting. And now, as luck would have it, you are right where I need you to be. The Ancient Spirit Pool is the perfect place for a confrontation.”

Meng Lin took a deep breath, her mind racing as she assessed the situation. She was still on edge from the battle with the beast, and her Qi reserves had dwindled significantly.

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Her eyes flicked suddenly as she said, "I didn't notice before because of my realm, but your aura,” Meng Lin said, struggling to keep her voice steady, “it feels... off. Are you hiding something?”

Wei Wei’s gaze flicked to Meng Lin’s, her smile faltering for a split second before regaining its earlier charm. "You’re perceptive. But let’s focus on the here and now, shall we?” She raised her right arm and gathered a swirling mass of golden Qi into a spear.

Her aura, which had been restrained, surged; her late-stage Soul Wondering Realm power erupted with a force that made the air around them tremble. The golden Qi coiled around her spear like a serpent ready to strike, and the ground beneath her feet cracked under the pressure.

In an instant, Wei Wei’s figure vanished from sight. Meng Lin’s eyes darted around, her senses on high alert as she activated her Brute Qi. Before she could react, Wei Wei reappeared directly in front of her, the spear aimed straight at her chest.

Peng!!

The spear struck with explosive force, sending Meng Lin crashing backward. Her Brute Qi flared, barely holding together as the impact shattered her defenses. The shockwave of the attack reverberated through her body, making her gasp in pain.

Without missing a beat, Wei Wei reappeared to Meng Lin’s left, her movements smooth and almost imperceptible. She thrust again, the spear slicing through the air with ease.

"Ah!"

Meng Lin twisted her body, but the spear’s edge grazed her left side, ripping through the Immortal Lotus Robe like butter and causing her to cry out in pain.

Wei Wei’s and eyes narrowed. “You’ve got some fight in you; I’ll give you that.” With a swift flick, she gathered her spear’s energy in the air before disappearing before Meng Lin once more.

Meng Lin’s senses were stretched thin and she sensed the shift in the air. With a burst of energy, she twisted around and unleashed a wave of Darkness Qi all around. The shadows swirled and mixed around her as she tried to create an area of effect that would make it harder for Wei Wei to appear freely.

Wei Wei's figure appeared within the vortex of shadows, her movements slowed with slight confusion. “Clever,” she remarked before she began to spread her spiritual consciousness. However, to her surprise, it could not make sense of her surroundings; it was as if it were not registering the surrounding space.

Suddenly, she felt the ground wiggle as her legs began to submerge into the shifting shadows beneath her feet.

Her spear faltered momentarily as she fought to keep her balance. Her eyes widened in brief surprise. “Another Variant Elemental Qi," she said as she recognized the different Elemental Qi at play.

"Hump," she snorted, took a deep breath, and expelled a wave of brilliant golden light from her body, dispersing the shadowy darkness around her.

The surrounding darkness began to fade as Wei Wei began to see clearly once more. The sight that greeted her made her form an amused smile.

Meng Lin appeared behind the fading darkness, her blade shimmering with a threatening chaotic aura. A small crack appeared on her blade, and she unloaded her attack.

"Heaven’s Punishment!" Meng Lin's voice rang out as she thrust forward with all her remaining Brute Qi.

Wei Wei’s lips curled into a condescending smile as the darkness receded, revealing Meng Lin’s imminent attack. She smiled further as she used her ability, teleporting away from the attack.

As Wei Wei’s figure flickered and vanished to appear a few meters away from Meng Lin, her smiling face suddenly took on a perplexed look as she felt energy surge toward her from out of nowhere.

Before she could react, a blinding flash of light enveloped the area. In an instant, the blinding light pierced through her abdomen, leaving a wide, jagged hole in her stomach.

The force of the impact sent her crashing to the ground, her golden spear falling from her grasp.

Meng Lin, utilizing her last bit of energy, stood with her breathing calm. She watched as Wei Wei struggled on the ground, her body shaking in a pool of blood.

“You are too overconfident,” Meng Lin said, her voice strained. “And now, you face the consequences.”

Wei Wei tried to raise her head, her face pale and breath ragged. "Hehe, me overconfident," she gasped, her voice weak, she looked towards the sky and said. "You... That was her last bit of energy this is where she dies, right, my double?"

"Yes," another voice called out, breaking the tense silence that had settled over the area. Suddenly, Wei Wei's body glowed with an intense crackling golden light before bursting out in splendor.

As the blinding light faded, a figure emerged, draped in a deep azure robe that shimmered subtly. Her long, white hair cascaded down her back, and her eyes, sharp and calculating, betrayed no emotion, while Meng Lin’s heart sank as she recognized the elderly face.

"Senior Sister Liu...?" Meng Lin’s voice trembled slightly.

Senior Sister Liu’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Yes, Meng Lin. It seems you’ve finally caught on.”

Meng Lin looked at the figure for a moment before her gaze turned cold, her hands trembling as she gripped her weapon tighter. “You finally show yourself."

Senior Sister Liu tilted her head, seemingly surprised by Meng Lin’s lack of shock. “You’re not as surprised as I anticipated. I assumed the revelation would shake you more.”

Meng Lin’s eyes narrowed. “You were careful, so very careful to make me come up with the idea of leaving the sect on my own accord."

Senior Sister Liu's eyes gleamed with a touch of amusement. “Ah, have you pieced something together?"

Meng Lin’s gaze grew colder. “What was the reason Wei Wei threatened me right before the pagodas, right under the gazes of the Spiritual Imprints?, what was the reason the Blue Feather Bird left your villa to answer my questions in that manner, and what was the reason you told me that it might be possible for someone to be keeping an eye on me the moment I stepped outside my villa?"

Meng Lin took a step forward, her eyes locked on Senior Sister Liu as she explained. "I didn't know the answers as to why all that happened, but I did know the feelings that I felt when I was in each of those situations."

Senior Sister Liu’s eyes grew colder, her amusement slightly diminishing. She took a slow breath, her expression now unreadable. “It seems you’ve connected all the dots. However, it doesn’t change the outcome, this is where your journey ends"

Meng Lin's body pulsed with a red light as her eyes held a sharp ruthless light. “You may have orchestrated every detail, but I still have one last move to make."