The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 67
by Little PandaJade Shattered
His voice wasn’t loud, but in the deathly silent atmosphere, even from a distance, a cultivator’s hearing was incomparable to that of a mortal. The group closest still managed to make out the name he uttered.
This name was rather unfamiliar to most people. Only a few remembered a lecturer mentioning this particular name during an early morning class long ago, and the person associated with it was no saint; the lecture had entirely recounted the evil deeds this person had committed.
The last person who came to the Secret Realm to cause trouble, intending to seize the Tongyou Fruit, had just been captured, and now this Hong Ye had appeared. It was hard not to suspect her motives for coming here.
Song Linlin had originally clung to a sliver of hope, thinking, what if she had guessed wrong? But now the Guardian Elder had directly spoken the name Hong Ye.
Her last shred of hope shattered, Song Linlin couldn’t describe her current feelings. All other extraneous thoughts vanished from her mind, leaving only one shocking fact:
Chi Qianning was actually the Hong Ye from the book!!!
Recalling all the time she had spent with the other woman these past days, Song Linlin felt a thunderclap echo in her mind. Heavens! What have I done?!
Not only had she brought a major villain into the heart of a righteous sect, but she had also engaged in dual cultivation with her, slept in the same bed at night, stuck close together constantly, and even almost did everything they shouldn’t haveβ¦
After all that, she now discovered the other person was actually a villain who committed all kinds of evil and killed without batting an eye!
Song Linlin was utterly stunned by this revelation. She stared dumbfounded at Chi Qianning’s back, then remembered something else:
It seemed Chi Qianning was thinking of snatching the Tongyou Fruit now because she had taken the initiative to tell her there was one hereβ¦
This was bad. Now she had become a traitor to the sect!
Fortunately, no one else knew about this. Otherwise, Song Linlin would probably be captured by the others working together right now, then locked up and interrogated.
Her emotions were a tangled mess. Her already not-so-sharp brain completely seized up, leaving her momentarily unsure how to face this situation.
Meanwhile, in the core area, neither side chose to make the first move. The Guardian Elder didn’t act because he felt that with so few people on his side, they definitely couldn’t defeat Hong Ye, who had long been famous in the cultivation world. Thus, he didn’t dare act rashly.
He rapidly considered the situation, unable to understand why the enemy was also just standing there, not immediately rushing over to snatch the Tongyou Fruit. If Hong Ye wanted to deal with him, it would be even easier than dealing with Tan Bixuan just moments ago.
Still, this was good. The longer they delayed, the more likely it was that powerful elders within the sect would sense something was wrong.
The Guardian Elder silently mulled over various possibilities, but in reality, Chi Qianning was merely stalling for time, allowing the surrounding disciples spectating nearby to withdraw.
“What are you standing around dumbfounded for? Want to die? Hurry up and retreat further away!” The elder who had been maintaining the passage roared at the disciples still dazed nearby.
The crowd, initially stunned, finally snapped back to reality and immediately fled in the opposite direction. This time, there was no need to flee in an orderly queue because the demonic beasts, previously in a berserk state, were now all too afraid to move. Some weaker demonic beasts were even fleeing towards the surrounding areas.
Song Linlin was bumped by someone, which jolted her out of her daze. Turning her head, she saw that everyone who had been standing near her was rapidly fleeing towards the periphery, already having covered a considerable distance.
Now, Song Linlin was the only one left standing there. Startled, she immediately bolted in the opposite direction. Regardless of what happened, a battle was definitely going to break out in the core area behind her, which was far too dangerous. Better slip away first!
Song Linlin fled like smoke, not daring to look back, running faster than she ever had in her life. Originally at the back of the crowd, she now overtook many disciples who had initially been ahead of her.
When she neared the tide of demonic beasts, they were completely prostrate on the ground, too terrified to move. Song Linlin didn’t stand on ceremony; she stepped onto the backs of the demonic beasts and leaped forward rapidly. This was much faster than running on the ground. She was quickly approaching the middle region.
By now, Song Linlin could no longer see the situation in the core area, nor did she hear any loud sounds of fighting. She didn’t know if they had started battling yet.
She was busy escaping and couldn’t offer any help in a battle of that level anyway. She could only silently pray in her heart that there wouldn’t be too many casualties.
β¦
Song Linlin arrived at the entrance of the Secret Realm. Perhaps feeling that the disciples’ own escape speed was too slow, the two Nascent Soul stage elders sent into the Secret Realm directly used their spiritual energy to teleport disciples close to them to the entrance. This certainly made things convenient for Song Linlin.
The entrance remained open, allowing free passage in and out. Naturally, Song Linlin bolted out without a backward glance.
Many others had also escaped from the Secret Realm. The elder guarding outside didn’t yet know that another enemy had appeared inside. Initially, he hadn’t allowed those inside to run out, but now, having heard what happened, he could only let the escapees gather together first.
The guarding forces outside the Secret Realm were now severely insufficient. Most guards had been dispatched inside to deal with the beast tide, leaving the area around the Secret Realm vulnerable. The elder worried that people from the Demonic Path might take advantage of the chaos to sneak into the vicinity. Thus, the large group of escapees was dispersed to stand guard in the surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, in the core area.
Tan Bixuan lay on the ground, securely bound. Not far away stood Chi Qianning and the Guardian Elder. Originally near despair from being captured, Tan Bixuan now felt a glimmer of hope upon seeing Chi Qianning appear.
She could sense the immense power of the woman who had appeared after her just from her aura alone. Moreover, for someone to appear at such a time, they definitely weren’t a good person either.
So, Tan Bixuan shouted towards Chi Qianning: “Senior, my father is Tan Hai1, the Cult Leader of the Wenxin Cult! Today, due to my inferior strength, I was unfortunately captured by them. I implore Senior to lend a hand and save me!”
Hearing this, the Guardian Elder frowned. He hadn’t expected the person he captured to be the daughter of the Wenxin Cult Leader. This demonic path faction was quite formidable and had risen rapidly in recent years. If this newcomer was also from the demonic path, she might very well save Tan Bixuan out of consideration for Tan Hai’s reputation.
Lying on the ground, Tan Bixuan, afraid the mysterious woman hadn’t heard, yelled her pleas for help towards Chi Qianning several more times, even promising many benefits.
Chi Qianning glanced sideways at the person on the ground. Although Tan Bixuan couldn’t see Chi Qianning’s face, she could sense the woman’s gaze shift towards her, so she yelled even more fervently.
Hearing the incessant pleas, Chi Qianning frowned slightly, withdrawing her gaze with impatience. In the next instant, Tan Bixuan could no longer make a sound. The world instantly returned to silence.
The Guardian Elder, observing from the side, was startled. Looking at the blood spreading on the ground and the decapitated corpse, he couldn’t fathom how the other woman had managed to kill someone so quickly.
Sensing the various residual auras within the Secret Realm, Chi Qianning could detect that most disciples had already been transported out. Song Linlin’s aura was not among the remaining ones. Thus, she waited no longer and slowly walked forward.
Seeing the person opposite finally make a move, the Guardian Elder didn’t dare be negligent. With just his group, they definitely couldn’t even block a single blow from her. He decisively ordered the people around him: “Activate the formation!”
This was a formation left behind when the Secret Realm was first established to protect its core, precisely to prevent outsiders from stealing the Tongyou Fruit.
Chi Qianning didn’t waste words with them. Since the formation was already activated, it was clearly impossible to make them hand over the Tongyou Fruit willingly. In that case, she would just take it by force.
She was currently in a weakened state, but after so many days of recuperation, restoring her strength to near its former level for a short period was not a problem. Furthermore, the group opposite her wasn’t strong, and using such a powerful formation was strenuous for them. Snatching the Tongyou Fruit from within in a short time wouldn’t be an issue.
Outside the Secret Realm.
Song Linlin deliberately blended into a sparsely populated area to stand guard. It was the edge of a cliff, overlooking a rushing river below. Surely no one would be bored enough to climb a steep, seventy or eighty-meter-high cliff just to infiltrate the Xuanyun Sect.
Five others were also standing guard with her. Two, like Song Linlin, had just escaped the Secret Realm and been assigned guard duty. The other four were disciples a few years older than them, who had accepted a related mission to come here.
This type of guard mission wasn’t difficult. In the past, no one had ever dared cause trouble within the Xuanyun Sect. They only needed to stand guard for a few days; there was absolutely no danger involved, yet the rewards were quite generous.
Song Linlin stood listlessly, her mind preoccupied with Chi Qianning. Even now, she couldn’t believe the other woman was the villain Hong Ye from the book. It gave her a massive headache.
In any case, she couldn’t face Chi Qianning directly anytime soon. It was simply too terrifying. She should find a way to hide away for a bit first.
While Song Linlin was lost in thought, contemplating life, several figures were hiding behind the trees in the distance.
“It’s almost time. Let’s go kill those few people now and clear the way for the Young Mistress’s retreat!” a woman said.
“Alright!”
The others responded in agreement.
This cliff was the escape route Tan Bixuan had arranged beforehand. Below the cliff was a turbulent river; absolutely no one would expect them to escape by jumping off the cliff. It was an excellent retreat point.
The group crept forward stealthily, approaching the few Xuanyun Sect disciples guarding the location. According to the lead woman’s observation, the strength of these guards was definitely not very high.
However, she didn’t dare let her guard down because of this. Her group had to take advantage of the guards’ laxness to eliminate them quickly, leaving no opportunity for them to send a distress signal.
The distance closed. Unfortunately, there was no more vegetation ahead to conceal their figures. At this point, the lead woman was still ten meters away from the nearest guard.
She hesitated no longer. Reaching out, she signaled the people behind her, then gently drew her weaponβa sharp short blade.
The next moment, the lead woman shot forward, thrusting the blade in her hand towards the person nearest her. The figures behind her also selected their targets, closing in within a mere second or two.
Song Linlin was still spacing out when a sudden gust of wind rushed past. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a woman with a blade rapidly approaching her. The opponent’s speed was so fast she couldn’t react at all. Behind that woman, several other black-clad figures leaped out, all wielding weapons and charging menacingly.
Her pupils dilated instantly. She subconsciously tried to dodge sideways, but she had barely moved when the opponent’s blade stabbed forward. The tip swung upwards from belowβthis strike would definitely hit her stomach.
Clink!
Because Song Linlin had shifted, the blade tip first struck her identity waist token. This hard jade token absorbed most of the force for Song Linlin, but being fragile jade, the token shattered. The blade pierced her body, and blood instantly stained the gleaming steel.
β¦
Having successfully eliminated the guards stationed by the cliff edge in just over ten seconds, the lead woman breathed a sigh of relief. They had struck quickly; those few guards hadn’t even had time to send a signal before being completely dispatched.
The group waited in place for several more minutes. Based on their understanding of Tan Bixuan, she should have resolved things by now. However, Tan Bixuan did not appear.
“Was the Young Mistress delayed by something?”
The lead woman muttered to herself, having no choice but to continue waiting. A faint sense of unease grew in her heart, intensifying as time passed. Tan Bixuan still hadn’t shown up.
The group exchanged glances, worry evident in their eyes. The lead woman retrieved a piece of fine white jade from her Qiankun Ring.
This jade token contained a drop of Tan Bixuan’s essence blood. As long as she was alive, the blood in the token would remain bright red. If she died, the blood would turn black.
As the jade token was taken out, the sense of foreboding intensified. The lead woman flipped the token over. In the center of the white jade, the once bright red blood had long lost its vitality, turning a dark, blackish-red color.
“Young Mistress, she⦔ Holding the jade token, she couldn’t believe her eyes for a moment.
The others naturally saw the blackened blood as well and were equally incredulous.
“How is that possible?!”
“The Young Mistress was killed?!”
Silence fell upon the group. After a long moment, the lead woman said, “Let’s return to the sect first and report this matter to the Cult Leader.”
“As for these bodiesβ¦ burn them.”
She casually cast a Flame Art. The corpses before them began to burn. The magically conjured flames spread rapidly, much faster than ordinary fire.
The group began to retreat towards the cliff edge. The woman felt something hard underfoot. Lifting her foot and looking down, she saw where she had stepped: a shattered jade waist token, now dusty from being trodden on. A string of characters seemed to be carved on its surface.
She only remembered shattering this thing herself, but she had no mind to investigate further. The group continued forward and jumped together off the seventy or eighty-meter-high steep cliff. In mid-air, she took out a magic tool. A boat, initially model-sized, immediately enlarged, steadily catching them. It then landed on the water surface and sailed forward with the current.
The author has something to say:
Of course, the protagonist has plot armor, don’t worry.
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