Song Wanníng narrowed her eyes, instantly pondering the meaning behind the man's words. Her kind? Could he also be a Heavenly Dao envoy? Her heart sank at the implication. If that were true, the man in front of her was not just any common intruder; he was an awakened one, sent specifically to target her or those like her.
A thin layer of rime began to crawl across the flagstones between them as the spiritual tension tightened, the temperature in the courtyard plummeting. She looked at him, her gaze as sharp as a blade.
"So, what do you want? To tie me up too?"
She remained calm, her eyes radiating a deadly chill that matched the frost on the ground. Regardless of his intent, she still had to rescue that fellow cultivator she had seen in the jade cup.
He chuckled, the sound echoing off the stone walls of the courtyard. "Hah, you are not scared at all!"
His cultivation surged suddenly, the air around him rippling with visible waves of power. It shot from the level of an early Dixian all the way to the peak, the pressure causing the bamboo chair to creak before finally stabilizing. Even seeing his true strength revealed, she showed no reaction. After all, she had faced a Tianxian immediately after her own ascension, so she couldn't fear a peak Dixian, no matter how much aura he projected.
She lounged lazily against the back of her chair, half-smiling at him with a cold, mocking tilt of her head. "You really think you can keep me here? If I were you, I would tell me where that person is. Otherwise, the fate of the Yao family will be your future."
A threatening aura rolled off her in heavy waves, pressing down on him and counteracting his own pressure. The man smirked, his eyes flashing with a competitive light. "Arrogant, aren't you?"
He straightened his posture, and a white longbow appeared in his hands with a flash of light. The weapon gleamed like milky jade. It looked expensive, yet thin green threads coiled around the limbs of the bow like living vines, giving it a sinister, suffocating air.
Song Wanníng's expression hardened into a mask of stone. She rose from the chair in one fluid motion, her spiritual sword whistling as it flew from its sheath into her palm, the tip aimed directly at his throat.
The battle ignited instantly, the courtyard flooded with a blinding light that drowned out the twilight. He was a purely Wood-attribute cultivator. Every strike from his bow or palms hummed with a vibrant, emerald energy that felt like the pulse of a forest, yet it carried a jagged edge of deadly potential. He turned what should have been soothing, healing energy into a lethal force that shredded the air and cracked the stone floor.
Attacks she had never seen before—vines made of pure light and arrows that bloomed into thorns—poured at her, testing her limits. But her internal power far surpassed her nominal cultivation level. Having just ascended to early Dixian, she found herself evenly matched with him as she parried each blow with precise, efficient movements.
The man was not rushed either. Each move he made carried a subtle Dao essence that tried to root her in place. Without the Bodhi Tree Spirit inside her sea of consciousness absorbing the excess wood energy, she would struggle to counter him effectively. Her repeated, successful defenses made his expression grow serious, his brow furrowing as he realized she was not weakening. This woman was beyond his expectations. At this rate, he might not be able to defeat her before his own energy ran dry.
His attacks became ruthless, the arrows flying faster and trailing toxic green mist. Several of her little companions tried to help, emerging from her spiritual space. While they were legendary treasures in the lower realms, they were insignificant in terms of raw power here, far weaker than Song Wanníng in her current state. Still, they charged him without a hint of fear.
"You damned invader! Who gave you the guts to act so arrogantly here? Coming to us like this!" Xiao Jin shouted. The little spirit darted through the air like a streak of gold, his tiny form blurred as he looked for a gap in the man's defenses. "You thieving scum deserve to die! I will make sure one day you die a miserable death!"
"Big sister will wipe all of you out!" another added, their voice high and full of righteous fury. Xiao Jin was fired up, his small fists glowing, and the others seemed pumped on adrenaline as they swarmed the periphery of the fight.
Hearing this, the man frowned, his movements slowing slightly as he processed the words. He clenched his fists, glaring at Song Wanníng through the haze of battle. "You are not the invader?!"
Xiao Jin clearly assumed he was the intruder from another world. But the man had been told that Song Wanníng was the real invader. Sensing something was wrong, the man froze mid-draw. Even when Xiao Jin managed a small attack against his shoulder, he just dodged the blow, not striking back at the spirits.
Song Wanníng noticed the shift in his intent, pausing midair. Her robes fluttered as she slowly descended to the ground. "You are not the invader?"
Both of their eyes reflected the same sudden surprise.
"I am not the invader!" They almost spoke in unison. Then, as if realizing the depth of the deception, the man's face darkened until it was nearly purple. "So he dared to trick me!"
His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists, the sound of bone popping loud in the sudden silence of the courtyard. His anger turned his eyes a deep, bloodshot red. He had almost been played like a common puppet.
Song Wanníng's brow tightened as she lowered her sword, though she did not sheathe it. "What is really going on?" She had already suspected a complication, but the reality still seemed unbelievable. Could this man actually be her fellow cultivator, a guardian of this world?
He hesitated, looking at her with a mixture of shame and fury, then carefully explained everything. "After I ascended, I had a strange dream. Someone told me the world was being eroded by intruders from another realm, and a world war would break out. My duty was to eliminate them and restore order. I thought it was a dream at first, but when I woke up, I had an advanced cultivation manual sitting beside me, and even my power had increased while I slept. That is when I knew it was not a dream; it is a sign from the Heavenly Dao.
I followed the instructions provided in the manual, tracking an intruder through the border cities," he continued, his voice shaking with repressed rage. "Recently, I captured one. That person fought me for days before I finally subdued them. During the interrogation, they finally revealed your name as their leader. I began gathering intel on you and knew you were coming this way toward Wángyōu City. I disguised myself as an attendant disciple at the lake to draw your attention. Seeing your companion and your strength, I assumed you are an intruder too. If not for that sword speaking just now, I…"
He looked embarrassed, his gaze dropping to the floor. He had almost been fooled into killing a potential ally. Song Wanníng knew about the invaders and must have received a Heavenly Dao sign as well. They were supposed to be teammates in this struggle, yet they nearly killed each other because of the lies of a prisoner.
Her brow furrowed, her mind racing through the timeline. "Do you think it is possible he let himself be captured on purpose?" she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Maybe approaching you was all part of a plan to eliminate me using your hands?"
She felt the sequence of events was far too coincidental. Every move the captive had made seemed calculated, risking his own life to set this confrontation in motion.
"You mean…" The man's expression shifted as he realized the terrifying possibility. If the prisoner was a plant, then his base was no longer secure. He shot toward the courtyard exit immediately, his green aura flaring.
Song Wanníng scanned the surroundings with her divine sense, found no other threats nearby, and quickly followed him into the night.