Chen Hutian gazed at Xue Ling, whose back was turned to him, and let out a heavy sigh of relief. But before he could even relax, an intense sense of crisis welled up within him.

Meanwhile, Xue Ling carefully searched for Shen Haoran’s aura within the Nine Yin Soul-devouring Array. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, all she could feel was a vast, cold expanse of Yin Qi. ’Does this mean Shen Haoran died inside?’

At this thought, Xue Ling’s heart sank. ’Shen Haoran holds my very life in his hands! If he’s dead, then I won’t live for much longer either.’

’It’s all because of this damn Hehuan Sect!’ Killing intent surged within Xue Ling. ’Since I’m not going to live much longer, I might as well drag these people to the grave with me. And the first on my list is Chen Hutian!’

Xue Ling turned, her eyes flashing with icy killing intent. The very air around her seemed to freeze over.

A chill ran down Chen Hutian’s spine as he met Xue Ling’s gaze. The woman before him now felt utterly invincible. ’So she was hiding her true strength all along!’

WHOOSH!

While he was distracted, Xue Ling vanished. She reappeared an instant later, right in front of Chen Hutian. Her slender hand chopped toward him in a seemingly gentle motion, yet its edge was sharp enough to tear through space itself. A deep, bloody gash appeared on Chen Hutian’s shoulder. If he had been any slower, his entire arm would have been severed.

However, only after dodging Xue Ling’s first strike did Chen Hutian realize her follow-up attacks were the true killing blows. The terrifying offensive instantly left him grievously wounded, and he plummeted from mid-air. The gap in their strength was simply too vast!

Chen Hutian’s defeat was a matter of moments. Meanwhile, on the ground below, the six Elders of the Hehuan Sect stared with furrowed brows into the Nine Yin Soul-devouring Array, their view completely obscured by the frigid, black Yin Qi.

"Grand Elder, has the array’s core been destroyed?" one of the Elders asked uncertainly.

"Hmph. Whether the core has been destroyed or not, they’re dead either way!" the Grand Elder said with extreme confidence, his eyes fixed on the array. "This Nine Yin Soul-devouring Array is fraught with lethal dangers. If the core is destroyed, the people inside will suffer a backlash from the Yin Qi. Even we couldn’t withstand Yin Qi of that intensity, let alone three Spirit Marquis Tier Martial Artists! It won’t be long before they’re nothing but frozen corpses!"

"Haha! So much for that brat’s arrogance. To think he’d dare make a move against our Hehuan Sect... he truly overestimates himself!" Hearing the Grand Elder’s words, the other five Elders breathed a collective sigh of relief.

However, just as they were preparing to celebrate, the Yin Qi within the Nine Yin Soul-devouring Array suddenly began to roil. A moment later, as if answering some unseen summons, all of the Yin Qi surged madly toward the sky.

CRACK... CRACKLE...

As the Yin Qi converged above, the runes that formed the great array in mid-air began to splinter. Countless spiderweb-like fissures spread across the entire formation in an instant, and finally, it shattered before the six Elders with a deafening BOOM. The Yin Qi, seeming to have found an outlet, burst forth in a frenzy. Even Xue Ling, still in the air, was swallowed by the torrent before she could react.

"What’s going on?" The six Hehuan Sect Elders stood stunned, staring at the shocking scene before them.

"Grand Elder, look over there!" one of the Elders suddenly cried out, having spotted something while the others were distracted by the spectacle.

The other Elders immediately followed his gaze. Not far away, with the majority of the Yin Qi having rushed skyward, three figures were faintly visible in the dissipating mist. Even from such a distance, the six Elders felt a scorching aura wash over them. For those who practiced yin-attribute Cultivation Techniques, the sensation was extremely uncomfortable.

"That’s Shen Haoran!" The Grand Elder’s face darkened instantly upon seeing the three figures. He couldn’t believe Shen Haoran had actually escaped the Nine Yin Soul-devouring Array completely unscathed.

The other Elders also stared at the three figures in disbelief. The Nine Yin Soul-devouring Array was the Hehuan Sect’s ultimate trump card. Even they, with their power, would face certain death if they entered. ’How could three Spirit Marquis Tier Martial Artists not only survive it but also destroy it? Is that really the power of someone at the Spirit Marquis Tier? Or is my own cultivation to the Spirit Aspect Stage a complete joke?’

As the six Hehuan Sect Elders watched in shock, Shen Haoran slowly emerged from the dissipating Yin Qi. It had been an extremely perilous situation. Using his profound knowledge of the Array Dao, Shen Haoran had located the Nine Yin Soul-devouring Array’s weakness and a way to counter it. However, had it been anyone else, they probably couldn’t have escaped even if they knew the solution.

When the core of the Nine Yin Soul-devouring Array was destroyed, all the Yin Qi gathered inside would erupt at once. The resulting blast was even more powerful than the nine Yin Qi Dragons. The erupting Yin Qi was pervasive and bone-chillingly cold—something even a typical Spirit Aspect Tier expert could not withstand. Fortunately, Shen Haoran possessed the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian. No matter how frigid the Yin Qi, it could not penetrate the Obsidian’s protective barrier to harm him. At the very moment of the eruption, Shen Haoran had shielded Luo Xiaowen and Changmao within its protection, allowing all three of them to walk out unharmed.

"You’re still not dead!" Seeing Shen Haoran walk out alive, the Grand Elder’s face grew so dark it was practically dripping with gloom.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Shen Haoran said casually, brushing the dust from his clothes. "How could I possibly die before you do? Of course, I’ll still be alive long after you’re dead."

"You—" The Grand Elder choked with rage, but before he could retort, a deafening blast echoed from the sky. A brilliant, five-colored light flared, and an enormous, five-colored python abruptly appeared in mid-air, instantly scattering the dense cloud of Yin Qi. It was Xue Ling, transformed into her true form!

The five-colored python lowered its head, and upon seeing that Shen Haoran was unharmed, it let out a great sigh of relief. ’If he’s okay, then my life is safe for now!’

However, as she looked at the dissipating Yin Qi, killing intent flared within her. ’That Yin Qi almost invaded my body! If I hadn’t transformed into my true form in time—and if snakes weren’t naturally attuned to yin—my entire Cultivation would have been crippled!’

Xue Ling fixed her enormous serpentine eyes on the six Elders, her scarlet tongue flicking in and out. Seeing this, Shen Haoran was secretly delighted and immediately shouted, "Xue Ling, if you kill these six, I’ll give you another Spirit Medicine!"

Hearing Shen Haoran’s words, a human-like smile curled the corners of the great python’s mouth. She had no intention of letting these six live anyway, and now she was getting a free Spirit Medicine for it. Without a moment’s hesitation, she transformed into a streak of five-colored lightning and appeared before the six Elders in an instant.

Xue Ling’s strength already far surpassed theirs, and in her true form, her combat prowess had multiplied exponentially. The battle was a one-sided slaughter. A few moments later, the six Elders were silenced forever, and the Hehuan Sect was utterly destroyed...