Cheng Xia’s pupils shrank violently as she instantly recognized what was in Qin Yu’s hand, and her expression changed noticeably.
She had not expected the other party to resort to a war of attrition with her.
Cheng Xia’s eyes darted back and forth. It was obvious she was still racking her brains for a solution; if she could not defeat Qin Yu with a single decisive blow, her trip here would have been entirely in vain.
Seeing the woman’s expression, Qin Yu knew she was not so easily fooled. With no other choice left, she could only raise her hand and slice an incision across her palm.
“Cheng Xia, what do you think? If I use the Flames of World Purification an infinite number of times, how many hits can you withstand?”
Qin Yu looked playfully at her own palm, wearing an air of complete confidence.
Cheng Xia eyed Qin Yu with mixed skepticism. She still vividly remembered how the Seventh Elder had been eliminated by Qin Yu, and looking at the Heavenly Origin Pill in Qin Yu’s hand, she began weighing the feasibility of this venture.
Normally, Qin Yu was either holed up in Qinglian Pavilion or the Ancient Tree Sect, and Cheng Xia alone could not easily deal with so many people. Without a doubt, this was the absolute best opportunity to capture Qin Yu and take her back.
At the same time, however, she also remembered that her strength was currently suppressed to its present level. If she were unfortunately killed here, she would truly never be able to resurrect.
After a long pause, Cheng Xia ultimately decided to back down, though she did not spare any parting venom: “Qin Yu, I will let you off this time, but next time might not be the same.”
It was not until Cheng Xia’s figure completely vanished that Qin Yu finally exhaled a breath of relief, feeling cold sweat still lingering along her back.
Indeed, who on earth was not afraid of death? Yet faced with the prospect of being dragged back by the outer tribe, Qin Yu would rather take a gamble.
Stretching out her hand, Qin Yu retrieved a sound transmission talisman to contact Qin Huan. “Elder Sister, how is your side of the search going?”
Qin Huan replied almost immediately, and the various disciples of the Ancient Tree Sect gathered together accordingly.
Once everyone finished their discussion, Qin Huan pulled Qin Yu aside. “Xiaoyu, let me lead the disciples. You should go find Yu Qingya instead.”
As an elder sister, how could she not know what kind of thoughts her younger sister, who had stayed by her side since childhood, harbored? Besides, her own cultivation had been growing rapidly lately, so protecting the disciples should pose no major problem.
“Elder Sister, let us forget it. No matter what, I should stay with the sect.”
Qin Yu made the rare choice of pushing aside her immediate desire to see Yu Qingya.
Perhaps due to her recent encounter with Cheng Xia, she had come to realize why she was so infatuated with Yu Qingya, while also recognizing that she herself still lacked a true sense of responsibility.
Seeing the earnest look in her younger sister’s eyes, Qin Huan found herself unable to say anything more. Having Qin Yu stay behind would actually serve as a wonderful asset should they encounter any monsters.
Thus, the group continued journeying onwards together, though they never expected a group of uninvited guests to suddenly block their path.
“Oh? Isn’t this the renowned prospective sect master of the Ancient Tree Sect, Qin Yu? What is this? Have you stopped playing the role of Yu Qingya’s bootlicking lapdog?”
The leading young man chuckled with a provocative sneer.
Qin Yu raised her eyes to look. Although she did not know the man’s name, the insignia on his robes immediately gave him away as a disciple of the Lingyin Sect.
Seeing him block their way, it was obvious he still held a grudge over Qin Yu holding the token to back Yu Qingya previously.
Yet an ordinary disciple would never dare to act with such audacity. Narrowing her eyes, Qin Yu searched her memory for the plot of the novel. If an inner disciple of the Lingyin Sect with a prominent role was to appear here, it had to be Lin Hao.
This person possessed considerable talent in cultivating spiritual power and likewise considered himself a favored son of the heavens. In his early years, he had fancied Yu Qingya and arrogantly confessed his feelings, only to be rejected outright. Consequently, he grew consumed by anger and turned into one of Yu Qingya’s most bitter detractors.
His appearance here now meant that old grievances and new hatreds had intertwined, fueling his intense resentment.
“Lin Hao, is it? What do you want?”
Knowing the visitor came with ill intentions, Qin Yu dropped all pretense of politeness.
Lin Hao was clearly taken aback for a moment. He had never expected that someone like Qin Yu, whose eyes were always looking down from the heavens, would actually know his name. It seemed he must be simply too handsome.
“How are the Lingyin Sect and you going to settle our accounts?”
Since she already knew his honorable name, Lin Hao felt there was no need to waste any more breath on her.
Qin Huan stepped forward to intervene, but Qin Yu blocked her with an outstretched arm. This matter had been undertaken by Qin Yu herself under the banner of the Ancient Tree Sect to help Yu Qingya; if her sister stepped in to fight her battles now, she truly would be the one dragging the Ancient Tree Sect down.
“How do you want to settle it?”
Qin Yu maintained her calm demeanor, showing no trace of panic.
“How about this? I will not make things difficult for you. Since both of us cultivate spiritual power, why don’t we settle this through a spiritual power duel?” Lin Hao smiled maliciously.
“Oh?”
Judging by the man’s expression, Qin Yu knew things could not be that simple. Since he specifically called for a spiritual power duel, the only format available would be a war of attrition.
Sure enough, Lin Hao continued: “Since you are the next sect master of the Ancient Tree Sect, I will send five disciples to fight you in a sequential rotation until one side loses and the match ends. How does that sound?”
As soon as Lin Hao’s words fell, the expressions of the Ancient Tree Sect disciples shifted dramatically. This was nothing short of blatant bullying.
They were already stepping right over their heads; if they could swallow this, they would lose every ounce of backbone.
Yet Qin Yu stopped them once again, her thoughts operating on an entirely different level.
When they went to Qinglian Pavilion, Lingyin Sect was not the only faction trying to force Yu Qingya to step down. If the Ancient Tree Sect took the bait and made a move out of provocation, their enemies would instantly multiply from one to five.
This was a classic dilemma.
“Just like that?” Qin Yu asked indifferently.
Lin Hao’s complexion turned sour as well. He had assumed he could use this to enrage the Ancient Tree Sect, thereby giving any other hidden sects lurking in the shadows a pretext to intervene, at least teaching the Ancient Tree Sect a painful lesson in the process.
“If you do not want to fight, you can simply have the entire Ancient Tree Sect fight a pitched battle against our Lingyin Sect.”
Hearing Lin Hao’s ultimatum, Qin Yu grew even more certain that other sects were lying in ambush nearby, waiting for them to take the bait so they could be wiped out in one fell swoop.
Since that was the case, Qin Yu needed to change her strategy. This time, not only did she have to defeat these five individuals, but she also had to make the enemy feel that she was completely invincible.
Otherwise, following their scheme, they intended to use a wheel-combat format to eliminate her as the primary thorn in their side, and then unite with the other four major sects to crush the Ancient Tree Sect.
If raw strength could not secure an advantage, numerical tactics had to be neutralized. That was their playbook.
It was a disgusting tactic, but one had to admit it worked effectively against ordinary people.
Qin Yu, however, was different. If she possessed only this little capability, she never would have qualified as one of the two major heroines of the novel.
Opening both hands wide, Qin Yu assumed a combat stance, her expression remaining entirely unperturbed: “Which of you is coming first?”