228: Chapter 228 That Woman

Just as Xue Wuya raised his foot, preparing to crush Ye Tian's skull with a single stomp.

A burst of light, somewhat enchanting laughter echoed through the valley.

The violent Xue Wuya froze, abruptly turning his head to look at the source of the sound.

He saw that on the branch of an ancient tree not far away, a stunning woman dressed in a water-red gauze dress was sitting sideways, though no one knew when she had arrived.

Her bare feet were dangling gently, and the blood-colored mandala embroidered on her skirt swayed in the breeze.

A trace of playful amusement rested on her incredibly beautiful face; it was none other than Yun Zhiying!

"How boring..."

Yun Zhiying tilted her head, looking at Xue Wuya, her tone filled with a hint of complaint, "I haven't seen enough yet."

Xue Wuya's pupils constricted, and he shouted sharply, "It's you? How are you here!"

Yun Zhiying did not answer him; instead, her gaze fell upon Ye Tian, who was struggling to support his body, and her smile deepened, "Little brother, you performed quite well. To be able to hold on for three moves against someone in the tenth stage of the True Martial Realm, big sister here is quite surprised."

Ye Tian's heart shook violently!

It was this woman again!

Now, he finally understood why Xue Wuya's cultivation had suddenly surged; it turned out that this woman was behind everything!

What on earth did she want to do?

Xue Wuya, however, was infuriated by Yun Zhiying's dismissive attitude: "Woman! The deal between you and me is finished! Leave immediately, or don't blame this Sect Leader for killing you along with him!"

"A deal? Hmm, I suppose it is finished."

Yun Zhiying extended a jade finger and tapped her lower lip, seemingly in thought, then smiled sweetly, "However, you, this chess piece... are useless now."

The moment the words left her lips, she raised her hand toward Xue Wuya and lightly flicked her finger.

There was no fluctuation of True Essence, but the expression on Xue Wuya's face froze instantly!

He looked down at his chest in disbelief.

He saw that at the location of his heart, a hole the size of a finger had appeared, though no one knew when. There was no blood, but the surrounding skin and flesh were rapidly turning gray and withering, as if all strength had been drained from him!

"You..."

Xue Wuya opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but could not make a sound.

The power within his body gradually receded, the blood-colored patterns on his skin quickly faded, and his pitch-black eyes returned to normal, but there was not a trace of life left in him.

He did not understand why this woman, having helped him increase his strength, would suddenly appear now to kill him.

"Thud."

Xue Wuya fell, and he had died so strangely.

Hou Xiaojie had been dumbfounded for a long time, his mouth wide open, drool dripping down the corner of his mouth without him even realizing it. He stared blankly at the woman in the red dress on the tree and muttered, "Wow... a fairy..."

Ye Tian rolled his eyes at Hou Xiaojie speechlessly; what time was it, and he was still acting like a lovesick fool!

He endured the intense pain, stared vigilantly at Yun Zhiying, and asked in a low voice, "Who exactly are you? What exactly do you want to do?"

Yun Zhiying floated down lightly from the tree as if she had no weight, landing a few steps in front of Ye Tian. She covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes shimmering, "Don't be so nervous. Big sister here was just passing by and decided to see if your strength had improved. Hmm... so-so, you haven't disappointed me too much."

She spoke casually, as if she had just casually swatted a fly a moment ago.

A fire was pent up in Ye Tian's heart; this feeling of being played in the palm of someone's hand made him extremely displeased!

But he was very clear that this woman's strength was unfathomable, and she was proficient in illusions, able to easily control a person's mind. In his current state, he was definitely not her match.

"Just to test me?" Ye Tian gritted his teeth and said.

"What else?"

Yun Zhiying leaned closer, and a faint, bewitching fragrance wafted from her body, "What benefit would killing you bring me? Big sister here has no interest in your meager possessions."

Her gaze swept over the finger where Ye Tian wore the qingxuan ring, and a meaningful smile hung on the corners of her lips.

"Alright, the show is over, and it's time for big sister to go."

Yun Zhiying stretched, revealing her perfect curves, "Little brother, Cultivate well. I hope that next time we meet, you can bring big sister more surprises."

After saying this, her figure gradually faded until it completely vanished into thin air.

She came without a shadow and left without a trace, her methods were heaven-defying, and her intentions were unfathomable.

Ye Tian stood in place, his expression so gloomy it could drip water.

Yun Zhiying was like a cat that had caught a mouse; she was not in a hurry to eat it but was enjoying the process of toying with it.

Ye Tian clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms.

He absolutely did not want to experience this humiliation of having his life controlled by someone else ever again!

"Senior Brother! Senior Brother! Are you okay?"

Hou Xiaojie finally scrambled over, his face full of lingering fear, but he immediately became excited again, "Who was that fairy just now? My god, she was too beautiful! Senior Brother, how do you know her? Is she interested in you?"

Ye Tian was getting a headache from his noise, so he simply tapped a certain Acupoint on his neck.

"Uh... uh..."

Hou Xiaojie immediately opened his mouth wide, but could not make a sound. He could only gesticulate with his hands and feet, his face full of grievance.

"Be quiet for a while!"

Ye Tian sighed, feeling that the world was finally peaceful.

He took out a Medicinal Pill, swallowed it, and sat cross-legged to begin healing.

The Mini Dragon Ape also came over and lay down quietly beside him.

To tell the truth, this woman Yun Zhiying was indeed breathtakingly beautiful. That temperament, which fused charm and mystery, was something Ye Tian had only seen once in his life.

Even a beauty like Mu Sisi seemed to lack a bit of that soul-capturing charm when compared to her.

But Ye Tian immediately shook his head to dispel these romantic thoughts.

He kept reminding himself: This woman is too terrifying!

Her thoughts were as deep as the sea, her cultivation was unfathomable, and she was even more proficient in illusions, able to kill invisibly!

She was the most troublesome and dangerous opponent he had encountered so far!

After adjusting his breath for about an hour and stabilizing his injuries, Ye Tian stood up and unsealed Hou Xiaojie's mute Acupoint.

"Let's go, to Cangya County."

"Senior Brother, that fairy..."

"Shut up! Mention her again, and I will make you stay mute all the way to Cangya County!"

"Oh."

The two and the ape set off on their journey once again.

Only, Ye Tian's heart was heavier than before.

He had to go to the Ancient Sword Mansion Ruins in Cangya County!

He needed Opportunity, he needed to increase his strength faster!

Only by possessing sufficient strength could he escape the fate of being controlled, and only then... could he have the qualifications to speak on equal terms when facing that woman who was like clouds and shadows!

After leaving that valley, Ye Tian took Hou Xiaojie and the Mini Dragon Ape and walked along the official road for another two days.

Along the way, Ye Tian spent most of his time silently adjusting his breath and healing.

In the battle against Xue Wuya, although he had relied on his Martial Dao Will and strong Physical Body to hold on, his internal organs were shaken, and his Meridians were not lightly damaged.

Fortunately, with the chaos bead secretly nourishing him, plus the high-quality Medicinal Pill he carried for healing, his injuries recovered faster than expected.

Ever since Hou Xiaojie had his mute Acupoint tapped and then unsealed by Ye Tian, he had been much better behaved, but his eyes were still darting around, occasionally stealing glances at Ye Tian, clearly still full of curiosity about the mysteriously appearing "fairy in red."

However, he also knew that his Senior Brother was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to chatter again.

The Mini Dragon Ape sat quietly on Ye Tian's shoulder, occasionally extending its small claw to curiously fiddle with the hair at Ye Tian's temple.

On the morning of the third day, they turned into a fork in the road called the "Qinglan Ancient Path."

According to the map, although this small path was more rugged than the official road, it could save nearly a hundred miles, making it a shortcut to Cangya County.

On both sides of the ancient path grew tall purple-mist firs, which, under the sunlight, emitted a pale purple mist, appearing quiet and deep.

"Senior Brother, the Spiritual Qi in this place seems to be much denser than on the official road."

Hou Xiaojie took a deep breath, feeling comfortable all over.

Although he was in the Ningyuan Realm and his perception of Spiritual Qi was not as sharp as Ye Tian's, he still noticed the difference.

"Hmm."

Ye Tian nodded, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

This purple-mist fir forest was indeed somewhat peculiar; it was rich in Spiritual Qi, and the air seemed to be permeated with a trace of extremely faint thunder-attribute aura.

"Be careful. Places with dense Spiritual Qi often have Yao Beasts lurking."

No sooner had he finished speaking...

"Crackle!"

A blinding silvery-white bolt of lightning slashed out from the canopy of a huge purple-mist fir in front, fast as lightning, shooting straight at Ye Tian's brow!

Before the attack arrived, a sense of numbness and stinging pain had already reached him!