"Ah! That is a Yin Soul Banner that has absorbed the souls of over a hundred cultivators!"
The Heavenly Sword Mountain disciple's face paled instantly. His previous aura of dominance vanished, and without even attempting to strike back, he recalled his five swords and turned to flee.
"Running now? Do you think you can?"
Xie Ruolan snorted coldly. Her delicate frame gripped the massive banner and gave it a forceful swing. Countless vengeful spirits surged out from the fabric, swarming toward the retreating swordsman.
The disciple hurriedly slapped an Earth Escape Talisman onto himself, but after a flash of light, the talisman simply self-combusted. He remained rooted to the spot.
"How is this possible!" Terror gripped him as his escape failed, but it forced him into a desperate final stand. He spat a mouthful of essence blood onto his five swords. They flared with five-colored light and merged into a single, ten-foot-long giant sword, ready to cleave through the oncoming ghosts.
But just as he prepared to strike, his entire body stiffened. The giant sword suddenly fragmented, reverting to five ordinary blades that clattered to the ground. Under the watchful eyes of the onlookers, the Heavenly Sword disciple twitched unnaturally a few times, then collapsed, motionless.
Lin Haoming stepped closer and noticed the man's skin had turned pitch black, as if he had been struck by a lethal poison.
Suddenly, a streak of purple light shot out from the corpse and flew toward Xie Ruolan, coming to a halt just inches before her. It was a tiny purple snake, no thicker than a finger and barely half a foot long. With a flick, it vanished into her sleeve.
Lin realized the truth: the grand display with the Yin Soul Banner was a feint—a distraction to draw the enemy's full attention while the tiny snake delivered the fatal strike.
However, Xie Ruolan didn't put the banner away. Instead, she waved it again, and the ghosts that had been swarming the enemy suddenly turned their sights on the surviving Blood Refining Sect disciple.
"Xie Ruolan! You dare murder your own sect brother?!" the man shrieked. He was already exhausted and had no way to defend himself. Within moments, his cries were silenced as he was consumed by the banner.
---
The Truth Behind the Smile
Watching her kill her own ally without a second thought, Lin Haoming felt a wave of pure terror. This wasn't a fairy; she was a cold-blooded demoness. He was certain that if she wished it, he would be the next to die.
"Are you afraid?" she asked, her voice sweet and smiling. Against the backdrop of the fresh corpses, the smile looked hauntingly beautiful—and utterly bizarre.
"Scared? Of course I'm scared!" Lin replied bluntly.
"When I faced Ancestor Lin back then, I felt exactly the same way," Xie Ruolan said, recalling her own past. "But don't worry. The Ancestor didn't intend to take my life, and I won't take yours."
She retracted the banner, and the wails of the ghosts ceased, though the air remained bone-chillingly cold.
"Back then, my Ancestor wanted you to marry me," Lin said, forcing a strained smile. "You aren't going to make me marry you now, are you?"
"Haha! You're clearly terrified, yet you still dare to say such things? You have quite the nerve!" She laughed, looking at him with genuine interest.
Lin Haoming tried to steady his courage. "Senior Sister, you aren't the type to be swayed by words. If you wanted to kill me, begging wouldn't help. If you don't, it's because I haven't harmed your interests yet."
"Heehee, you really are a smart man. It's a pity your aptitude is so poor, or I might actually consider continuing our fated relationship," she said, putting on a mock-pitying expression.
Lin wasn't in the mood for her acting. He forced another smile. "You never know. Maybe I'll have a great stroke of luck and reach Foundation Establishment—or even the Golden Core stage."
Xie Ruolan turned serious. "You certainly have big dreams. If you can form a Golden Core within a hundred years, I'll actually marry you. But if you fail to even reach Foundation Establishment by thirty, you'll belong to me forever. You'll sign a blood oath to obey my every command for the rest of your life. The same applies if you reach Foundation Establishment but fail to hit Golden Core by age one hundred."
Lin breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he was safe for now. "Why do you value me so much?"
"You lost the protection of an Ancestor, yet you endured the humiliation of the Stupa Grotto for years until you reached the late stages of Qi Refining. As a lowly outer disciple, you repeatedly defeated stronger opponents and played two inner disciples like fiddles. How could I let a talent like you go to waste?"
Lin realized this woman had investigated his entire recent history. She hadn't survived this long on beauty and talent alone; she was as calculating as she was deadly.
"I only survived because of you, Senior Sister," Lin said humbly.
"Exactly. So you'd better work hard for me. I've given you the opportunity; it's up to you to grasp it!" She suddenly flashed a flirtatious look.
Lin saw the charm she projected, but he wasn't fooled. The talk of marriage was just words; she probably didn't even expect herself to reach Golden Core in a hundred years. But then he remembered his Merit Bead.
Reaching the Golden Core stage in a century might not actually be a dream for him. The real question was: if he succeeded, would he actually want to marry this bloodthirsty female demon?