"You want to see, huh? Fine, I'll let you broke losers feast your eyes!" Ian Song sneered.
With a cold smirk, Ian Song waved his hand, and a huge pile of top-grade spirit crystals appeared at his feet. He waved again, and the entire stack vanished without a trace.
The Skyflower Sword Gate trio stared wide-eyed at the dazzling crystals; immediately, greedy green light and murderous intent flashed in their eyes.
Because that brief flash revealed at least five or six hundred top-grade spirit crystals—more than the entire wealth of their Skyflower Sword Gate combined. How could they not be tempted?
What’s more, the other side only had two mid Foundation Establishment cultivators and one peak Qi-Refining, while their own team had one late Foundation and two mid Foundation. The odds were all in their favor.
Shayne Snow was stunned that Ian Song could pull out so many top-grade spirit crystals. At the same time, she was a little angry: 'Showing off that much wealth is basically daring people to kill you for treasure!'
Only Lena Ling watched Ian Song suspiciously. She realized that her usually honest and low-key 'Second Fool' was suddenly acting completely out of character—he’d never been this flashy before.
"Kill them!"
In the next instant, Iron Kui stepped forward and swung his sword at Shayne Snow.
He could tell Shayne Snow was the strongest of the three. If he killed her, the other two would pose no threat.
The other two immediately swung their swords at Ian Song and Lena Ling.
"Second Fool, run!" Lena Ling shouted.
Lena Ling gave a crisp shout and took the initiative, raising her sword to block the two attackers.
Skyflower Sword Gate disciples were famed for their sword arts, so as soon as they exchanged blows, Shayne Snow was immediately at a disadvantage. Within just a few moves, she was forced to retreat again and again.
Lena Ling, on the other hand, had only recently broken through to mid Foundation Establishment, but thanks to her frequent training outside the sect, she managed—just barely—to hold off the other two working together.
"Ugh!"
A muffled cry rang out—Shayne Snow's arm was slashed by a sword. She dodged as best she could, but a gruesome wound still appeared on her left arm.
"Bang!"
Iron Kui seized the chance and delivered a flying kick, sending Shayne Snow hurtling dozens of meters away.
"Kill!"
Iron Kui flashed forward, appearing before Shayne Snow. He swung his longsword, aiming to cut off her head. Severely wounded, Shayne was powerless to dodge. Seeing the blade slash toward her neck, despair flickered in her eyes.
"Stop!"
With a cold snort, a golden flying sword shot over like lightning, slicing off Iron Kui’s sword arm with a wet sound. It circled his neck, leaving a thin line of blood.
The blood line widened quickly, then a spray of blood erupted. Iron Kui’s head—full of unwillingness and terror—rolled off his neck and landed right at Shayne Snow’s feet.
"Senior Brother Iron Kui!"
The two Skyflower Sword Gate disciples fighting Lena Ling were stunned by the scene.
"Die!"
Lena Ling seized the moment of distraction and thrust her sword with full force.
"Squelch!"
Her sword pierced straight through the man’s chest.
At the same time, a golden sword light shot out, piercing through the brow of the last Skyflower Sword Gate disciple before landing neatly in Ian Song’s hand.
"Aunt-Master Shayne, let me help you!" Ian Song put away his flying sword and hurried over to help the shaken Shayne Snow to her feet.
"Lingxiao, was that flying sword a ninth-grade treasure?" Shayne Snow wiped blood from her mouth, asking enviously.
"Yeah, Senior Azure gave it to me," Ian replied. As he spoke, he took out a bottle of pills, poured one out, and handed it to Shayne Snow. "Aunt-Master, this is a healing pill from Senior Azure. Please take it."
"Thank you."
Shayne Snow took the pill and swallowed it. Her expression changed instantly, and she sat down cross-legged to absorb the medicine’s effects.
Lena Ling walked over, grabbed Ian Song by the ear, and growled, "Second Fool, did you do that on purpose?"
"Senior Sister, that hurts!" Ian Song cried out, face twisted in pain.
"I asked if you did it on purpose!" Lena Ling twisted his ear harder.
"Did what on purpose?"
"Hmph, still playing dumb? You totally baited those three into trying to kill us for treasure!" Lena Ling snorted dismissively.
Ian Song quickly pleaded, "Senior Sister, I was wrong! It’s just that those three were so annoying—and I wanted to try out the ninth-grade treasure Senior Azure gave me!"
Lena Ling glanced at Shayne Snow, who was still absorbing the medicine, then gave Ian Song a warning glare. "Second Fool, I’ll let you off this time. Next time you deliberately provoke someone, see how I deal with you!"
"Senior Sister, I promise I won’t do it again!" Ian Song hurriedly promised.
In just half a quarter-hour, Shayne Snow stood up, her pallor replaced by a healthy flush.
"Senior Azure’s pills really are miraculous. In such a short time, my injuries are completely healed," Shayne Snow marveled, then looked at Ian Song with envy. "You really are a lucky kid. I don’t know what Senior Azure sees in you—first treasures, then pills and spirit crystals."
"Hehe!" Ian Song replied with a goofy grin.
"Aunt-Master, should we keep moving?" Lena Ling asked.
"Wait. Let’s clean up the battlefield and bury them first." Shayne Snow swept a cold gaze over the three corpses.
"Aunt-Master, I’ll do it!"
Ian Song rushed to do the job, digging a pit and tossing in the three corpses before covering them with dirt. When he finished, he handed three storage rings to Shayne Snow. "Aunt-Master, these were on those guys."
Thanks to storage bags and rings, cultivators usually carry all their valuables with them.
That’s why killing for treasure is so common in the cultivation world.
After accepting the rings, Shayne Snow led Ian Song and Lena Ling deeper into the island.
Over five hundred li away, another group was speeding through the wilderness.
Two of them were Prime One Church’s Divine Son and Divine Daughter—Warren Tang and Lila Li.
Suddenly, Warren Tang shouted, "Everyone, stop!"
The group looked at Warren Tang in confusion. Lila Li whispered, "Did you notice something, Senior Brother?"
Warren Tang didn’t reply. His gaze swept the surroundings, finally locking onto a small grove hundreds of meters behind. He called out coldly, "You’ve been following us for long enough—come out!"
"Ha! Didn’t expect you to be so alert!"
To everyone’s surprise, Fire God Church’s Divine Son and Divine Daughter—Fletcher Toba and Diana Toba—emerged, accompanied by two other young men and women.
Seeing the four walk out together, Warren Tang’s face changed dramatically—he cursed inwardly. The Toba siblings had joined forces with Witch God Church’s Witch Son and Witch Daughter, Damien and Mira.
Lila Li’s beautiful face also turned pale, her eyes full of worry. Even facing the Toba siblings alone, they’d likely lose. With Damien and Mira added, defeat was certain—and they might not even survive.