The seductive young woman had a waist as supple as a willow in the wind, swaying left and right as she walked toward him. She giggled, "How tough are you, really? Just now I watched you—your speed was the slowest. Not by much, but it shows your body-refinement is a notch below the others. Even a small gap means a world of difference in strength."
Her footsteps stopped right beside the spot where Quinn Shepherd had hidden his flying swords underground, careful not to step into the perimeter of flying blades.
The swords Quinn had arranged underground were the first move of Sword Treading the Rivers and Mountains. If this woman stepped inside, the formation would erupt, tearing her apart and turning her into a blood waterfall within the mountain-and-river tableau!
But her steps stopped just short of the boundary, clearly sensing something was wrong.
Quinn's eyelid twitched. He praised, "Clever girl. What's your name, then, little sister?"
"I'm Camilla Tabor, disciple of True Demon Tapor."
The woman looked surprised, then laughed. "People from High-Emperor Heaven usually shout and draw swords the moment they see a demon. They never smile. But you—calling me 'little sister' the moment we meet. If all your people were like you, I wouldn't have had to kill so many of your cultivators. Now I'm curious—who are you really?"
Quinn opened his mouth, about to answer, when Camilla Tabor suddenly stomped her foot. The ground shook—flying swords erupted upward!
Quinn's expression shifted. He raised his hand, gathering all the flying swords into his palm. With a series of metallic clangs, they collided and fused into a Sword Pill, about to fall into his grasp.
As Quinn recalled the swords, Camilla Tabor lunged forward at near sword-speed. Before the Sword Pill could fully form, eight spider legs sprouted from her back, stabbing wildly ahead and shattering the Sword Pill with a flurry of blows!
This woman was frighteningly clever—her eight spider legs attacked like a raging storm, breaking the Sword Pill and denying Quinn any chance to recover!
"You really are the weakest one. That means I get first merit!"
Camilla Tabor chuckled, summoning two razor-sharp bone spurs and driving them into Quinn's chest!
"Huh?"
She had just stabbed into Quinn's body when something felt wrong. The smile on Quinn's face froze—and then his whole form melted into a pool of black ink, sliding down slowly.
Not only did Quinn dissolve into ink—even the Departure–Demon Fire Wall behind him turned to flowing ink!
Camilla Tabor spun around in alarm, only to find herself inside a picture frame. Outside the frame, another Quinn was strolling toward her at a leisurely pace.
Only now did she realize that her earlier pounce had landed her inside a painting!
"Is this a painting? Why can it move, speak, and show no flaws at all?"
Camilla Tabor was horrified. She leapt upward, trying to escape the painting, but no matter how hard she jumped, she remained trapped within. All around was blank emptiness, with only the ink stains on the ground still wet.