After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 51

Dead silence.

Inside the cave, a pin drop could be heard. Only Shi Feng’s heavy panting, born of pain and terror, and the lingering sound of his dropped long saber clashing against the stone, echoed particularly harshly in the cavernous space.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Ye Li. Their eyes, which had initially been filled with greed, malice, and schadenfreude, quickly morphed into shock, terror, and a deeper layer of apprehension.

A Space Movement Technique! It was absolutely an advanced movement technique involving the laws of space! And that bizarre, unpredictable Extreme Cold Finger Technique that had disabled one of Shi Feng’s arms with a single touch! These were definitely not abilities an ordinary Enlightenment Realm disciple should possess! Were the benefits within that Inheritance Cave Mansion truly so heaven-defying?!

Gao Sheng’s face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water, and the murderous intent in his heart surged like a volcano. The potential and threat Ye Li displayed had far exceeded his estimates. If this woman was not eliminated, she would surely become a huge problem in the future, possibly even jeopardizing his position in the Battle Maniac Peak! More importantly, he had to get his hands on that movement technique and finger technique!

“Good! Very good!” Gao Sheng laughed in his extreme rage. His powerful aura as an early-stage Spirit Mansion Realm expert exploded forth without reservation, forming a mighty spiritual pressure that rolled toward Ye Li like a tide. “Ye Li, you truly harbor malicious intent, daring to secretly learn such a sinister Demonic Art! Today, I, Gao Sheng, shall clean up the sect’s mess, capture you, and hand you over to the Law Enforcement Hall!”

He immediately pinned the label of “Demonic Art” on Ye Li, both to create an excuse for his own action and to incite others to join the siege.

“Senior Brother Gao is right! Everyone, let’s go together and take down this wicked woman! Inheritance treasures belong to the capable!” a rogue cultivator, whose mind had long been clouded by greed, shouted in agreement. He was at the late-stage Vein Condensing Realm and believed himself to be much stronger than Shi Feng.

“Exactly! No matter how strange her movement technique is, she’s only in the Enlightenment Realm. Her spiritual energy is limited. With so many of us, we can exhaust her to death!”

“Kill her! The treasures will be split evenly!”

Under the incitement, the cultivators who had been hesitant, especially the rogue cultivators and disciples from minor sects, had the flame of greed reignited in their eyes. A dozen people slowly moved, forming a semicircle to close in on Ye Li. Among them were many mid-stage and late-stage Vein Condensing Realm cultivators. Within the Profound Cloud Sect, a few disciples from the Battle Maniac Peak had shifty eyes, clearly tempted, but due to their sect fellowship (or perhaps fear of repercussions later), they held back for the time being.

Su Wanyun’s face turned pale with anxiety. She wanted to rush forward to help but was held back tightly by Liu Yiyi: “Wanyun, don’t be reckless! If we go up, we’ll only drag Senior Sister Ye down!” Han Li, furthermore, hid behind Chen Mo, trembling. Chen Mo had a grave expression, his hand clutching several attack talismans, seemingly hesitating whether to intervene.

On the Azure Water Pavilion side, Qin Yixuan’s delicate brows furrowed. Her clear, cold gaze swept over the scene and finally settled on Ye Li’s back, which seemed frail yet stood tall like a pine tree. She subtly raised a hand, stopping her somewhat restless fellow disciples behind her. “Wait and see.” She wanted to know the true extent of this girl’s capabilities, who had surprised her time and again.

Facing the oppressive spiritual pressure and the siege formation of a dozen cultivators, Ye Li’s expression remained unchanged, a cold sneer forming in her heart. Gao Sheng’s slander was expected, and the greed of these rabble was simply human nature.

She appeared calm, but in reality, the Silent Cosmos Emperor Scripture was operating at full capacity within her. Extreme cold spiritual energy surged continuously through her meridians, and the fragments of the Reincarnation Mirror emitted a clear radiance, keeping her spirit platform bright and maximizing her perception of everything around her.

“Cleaning up the sect’s mess? Are you worthy?” Ye Li’s voice was still cold, laced with undisguised mockery. “Why bother finding such high-sounding excuses to steal the inheritance? Come at me. Let me see what you’re made of!”

Before her voice faded, she launched a preemptive strike! Her figure flickered. The first layer of the Heavenly Cosmos Trace-less Steps, the “Star Flash,” was deployed to its limit, and she vanished from the spot like a ghost.

“Be careful!” Gao Sheng roared a warning, simultaneously sweeping out his spiritual consciousness at full power, attempting to lock onto Ye Li’s location.

But Ye Li’s movement technique was too bizarre. It wasn’t a straight-line charge but rather an irregular, short-distance flickering, utilizing her subtle perception of space. In everyone’s eyes, only a faint afterimage flashed repeatedly within the crowd, making her trajectory impossible to grasp.

“Ah!”

“My leg!”

Screams rang out one after another!

Ye Li’s target was clear: first eliminate the weaker, yet most boisterous, miscellaneous cultivators! She did not use the highly draining Ice Soul Sealing Heaven Finger but instead channeled her extreme cold spiritual energy into her legs and short sword.

The Shadow Step combined with the “Star Flash” charge allowed her to move like a tiger among sheep. With every flicker, the ice-cold short sword accurately slashed across a late-stage or mid-stage Vein Condensing Realm cultivator’s wrist, ankle, or a key meridian node for spiritual energy circulation! The cold energy invasion, while not fatal, instantly crippled their fighting ability, leaving them to fall to the ground and wail.

Her movements were fast, precise, and ruthless, without the slightest hesitation—the killing techniques of a thousand refinements. The battle consciousness of a supreme being from her previous life was perfectly displayed at this moment!

In just two or three breaths, five or six cultivators screamed and collapsed, no longer a threat.

“Surround her! Don’t let her pick us off one by one!” Gao Sheng was both shocked and enraged, not expecting Ye Li to be so decisive and vicious. His figure shot up, both palms glowing with a yellowish-brown light, and he struck toward a direction where Ye Li reappeared—it was the ultimate technique of the Battle Maniac Peak, the Mountain Collapse Palm!

At the same time, the late-stage Vein Condensing Realm rogue cultivator and two other strong mid-stage Vein Condensing Realm cultivators also reacted, swiftly casting their signature spells. Fireballs, wind blades, and golden streaks of light sealed off Ye Li’s retreat from various directions.

Facing the attacks from all sides, Ye Li’s eyes narrowed. Taking Gao Sheng’s Spirit Mansion Realm attack head-on was absolutely unwise.

Just as the attacks were about to hit, her figure blurred again. Instead of dodging backward, she slipped through the gap between two spells at an incredible angle, like a swimming fish. The subtle application of space by the Heavenly Cosmos Trace-less Steps allowed her to narrowly evade most of the attacks. Simultaneously, she flicked out two talismans!

One was the Profound Ice Shield Talisman, which instantly condensed a thick ice shield in front of her, blocking a sharp wind blade that had attacked from the side.

The other was the Earth Trap Talisman, which landed precisely at the feet of the late-stage Vein Condensing Realm rogue cultivator! That cultivator was fully concentrating on activating a Fire Serpent Spell and had not anticipated the ground beneath him would suddenly cave in and soften. His body stumbled, and his spell was immediately interrupted.

It was this momentary lapse! Ye Li, as if predicting the move, moved like lightning, thrusting her short sword straight toward his Dantian Qi Sea! The rogue cultivator was horrified and only had time to hastily shift his body to the side.

Puchu! Although the short sword missed the Dantian, it plunged deep into his ribs. The extreme cold spiritual energy frantically poured in, instantly freezing the surrounding meridians. The rogue cultivator let out a miserable shriek and fell to the ground, severely wounded.

In a flash of lightning, Ye Li disabled another person!

But Gao Sheng’s Mountain Collapse Palm was already upon her! The heavy palm wind enveloped her, making the air around Ye Li viscous. The full-power strike of a Spirit Mansion Realm expert was incomparably more potent than anything in the Vein Condensing Realm!

Ye Li had nowhere to dodge. A cold light flashed in her eyes, and without hesitation, she unleashed the first stance of the Ice Soul Sealing Heaven Finger she had just grasped—Ice Trace!

She pressed her fingers together like a sword, highly compressing nearly thirty percent of the extreme cold spiritual energy in her body at her fingertip, and met Gao Sheng’s palm! Where her fingertip passed, the air seemed to freeze, leaving behind a distinct white trace.

Finger and palm met! There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a muffled sound, like cracking ice! Boom!

A powerful energy ripple burst forth from the center of the two! Ye Li’s body shook violently, and she flew backward like a kite with its string cut, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. Taking a Spirit Mansion Realm strike head-on, even with the power of the Ice Soul Sealing Heaven Finger, she had suffered a significant shock.

Gao Sheng, however, let out a muffled groan and staggered back two steps, his face showing a mix of shock and uncertainty. A thin layer of white frost covered his palm, and a bone-chilling cold aura was creeping up the meridians of his arm, causing a slight stagnation in his spiritual energy circulation!

“The Power of Sealing?!” Gao Sheng was horrified internally, hastily activating his spiritual energy to dispel the cold. He had never expected Ye Li’s finger technique to not only be immensely powerful but also come with such a troublesome secondary effect!

This direct clash, which seemingly put Ye Li at a disadvantage, made all the onlookers gasp in disbelief! A peak Enlightenment Realm cultivator clashing directly with an early-stage Spirit Mansion Realm cultivator, getting repelled but also causing Gao Sheng to suffer a hidden loss?! This completely overturned their understanding of the gap between cultivation realms!

“This woman… absolutely cannot be spared!” The murderous intent in Gao Sheng’s eyes had reached its peak. He no longer cared about any sect rules; he simply wanted to kill Ye Li immediately with his own hands!

“Attack together! She’s at the end of her rope!” Gao Sheng roared and charged again. This time, he held nothing back, bringing out his ultimate Spiritual Artifact—a bloody battle saber that emitted a fierce, malevolent aura!

The few remaining cultivators with fighting strength were also intimidated by Ye Li’s power, but driven by Gao Sheng’s incitement and their own greed, they clustered around again, and various attacks overwhelmingly enveloped Ye Li.

Ye Li wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her eyes as cold as ten thousand years of ice. The continuous use of the Heavenly Cosmos Trace-less Steps and the Ice Soul Sealing Heaven Finger had severely drained her spiritual energy, and she was indeed near her limit. Yet, there was no fear on her face; instead, she possessed a fierce sharpness that came from being provoked.

While moving through the gaps between attacks with her bizarre movement technique, she continuously threw out talismans—Explosion Talismans, Ice Cone Talismans, Mist Talismans… These were all what she had painstakingly refined or “found by chance” earlier. She used them without reservation now, immediately causing chaos on the battlefield.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The flashes and sounds of the talismans exploding were incessant. Ice cones shot out, and mist permeated the air, greatly disrupting the vision and spiritual consciousness of the attackers.

“Damn it! Where did she get so many talismans!”

“Be careful! This smoke is poisonous!” (It was actually ordinary mist, but some were suffering from psychosomatic effects).

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ye Li locked onto another target—the Battle Maniac Peak disciple (not Shi Feng) who had been shouting the loudest earlier. Like a ghost in the dark night, she silently appeared behind him.

Ice Soul Sealing Heaven Finger—Ice Trace! A finger pointed out, aiming directly for the vital spot on his back!

The disciple sensed the danger and turned around in terror, but it was too late to dodge. He could only hastily raise a spiritual energy shield.

Crack! The spiritual energy shield was pierced by the finger force as easily as paper. The extreme cold finger energy penetrated his body! The disciple’s eyes bulged, his body instantly stiffened, and he fell straight down, his condition unknown.

Another one taken care of!

But Gao Sheng’s bloody battle saber had also slashed right in front of her! The fierce saber light carried a bloody stench, locking onto Ye Li’s aura.

Ye Li forcibly twisted her body and used her short sword to block horizontally.

Clang! The jarring sound of metal on metal was piercing! The short sword snapped instantly! The immense force sent Ye Li flying backward again, where she heavily struck the cave wall and spat out a mouthful of blood. The attack of a Spirit Mansion Realm cultivator wielding a Spiritual Artifact was simply too terrifying.

The short sword in her hand was merely ordinary mortal iron and could not resist the attack at all.

“Let’s see where you can run now!” Gao Sheng’s face was ferocious as he pressed forward relentlessly, raising his bloody battle saber to kill Ye Li on the spot.

Su Wanyun let out a desperate cry of alarm, and Liu Yiyi closed her eyes in distress. Chen Mo finally couldn’t hold back, throwing two Lightning Strike Talismans at Gao Sheng, but Gao Sheng casually dispersed them with a swing of his saber.

Qin Yixuan’s finger twitched slightly, but she ultimately restrained herself. This was an internal conflict of the Profound Cloud Sect, and it was inappropriate for her to intervene. Moreover, she had a persistent feeling that the young girl would not fall so easily.

It was at this critical moment!

Ye Li leaned against the stone wall, but a hint of fierce resolve flashed in her eyes. Sometime, a talisman with a deep color and incredibly complex runes had appeared in her hand—it was one of the trump cards she had refined earlier, a Grade Two Superior Attack Talisman, the Profound Yin Malevolent Thunder Talisman! This talisman possessed immense power, but it required time to activate and struck indiscriminately at friend and foe. She hadn’t had a chance to use it during the previous skirmish.

Now, with Gao Sheng closing in, the time was right! Without hesitation, she frantically poured her remaining, scarce spiritual energy into the talisman!

“Not good!” Gao Sheng felt the heart-stopping, destructive fluctuation emanating from the talisman. His face instantly changed, and he wanted to retreat, but it was too late!

“Let’s die together!” A fierce light flashed in Ye Li’s eyes, and she was about to activate the talisman!

“Enough!” Just at this line between life and death, a clear and cold shout rang out!

A deep blue water curtain, like the most resilient silk, instantly appeared between Ye Li and Gao Sheng! The water curtain seemed gentle but contained immense power, simultaneously isolating Gao Sheng’s saber momentum and the destructive fluctuation of the talisman Ye Li was about to activate!

It was Qin Yixuan who had intervened! Her figure floated gracefully to land in front of the water curtain. Her face was like frost, and her gaze swept over Gao Sheng and the restless cultivators. She said coldly, “Inheritance is won by individual fortune. Doesn’t it shame you to have so many of you besiege one person, especially a disciple in the Enlightenment Realm?”

Gao Sheng was blocked and was both shocked and furious. “Qin Yixuan! This is an internal affair of my Profound Cloud Sect! Is your Azure Water Pavilion going to interfere?”

Qin Yixuan said coolly, “I simply can’t stand seeing the many bully the few. Moreover, this place is the core of the secret realm, fraught with peril. If your internal conflict and deadly fighting attract some unpredictable existence, who will bear the consequences?”

Her words were logical and well-founded. More importantly, her identity as an elite disciple of the Azure Water Pavilion and her formidable strength made Gao Sheng and the others wary.

Just then, the entire cave suddenly began to shake violently! Rocks from the ceiling crumbled and fell, and the ground cracked open.

“What’s happening?”

“Is the cave collapsing?”

Everyone panicked.

Qin Yixuan’s expression shifted slightly. She looked toward the Inheritance Cave Mansion, only to see the stone palace gate and the light barrier rapidly turning illusory, as if their energy was about to be exhausted. And from the deeper part of the cavern, where terrifying auras had twice emanated, a new disturbance seemed to be coming!

“The core of the secret realm is unstable; we shouldn’t linger here!” Qin Yixuan decided instantly and said to Ye Li, “Go!”

Ye Li also sensed the heart-palpitating fluctuation from underground and knew she couldn’t stay. She gave Qin Yixuan a deep look, said nothing more, forcefully drew a breath, and her figure flashed, speeding toward one of the cave’s exits. Although she was not lightly injured, her speed remained extremely fast when deploying the Heavenly Cosmos Trace-less Steps.

Gao Sheng and the others were unwilling to give up, but faced with the imminent collapse of the cave and the watchful Qin Yixuan, they could only grit their teeth, abandon the pursuit, and rush toward the other exits.

Su Wanyun, Liu Yiyi, and the others also hurried to follow Ye Li’s direction.

A moment later, the entire Inheritance Cave Mansion completely collapsed amidst roaring sounds, buried under rubble. However, the news about the Venerable Xuan Huan’s inheritance and how Ye Li, an Enlightenment Realm cultivator, fought alone against the crowd and clashed head-on with a Spirit Mansion Realm expert, spread like wildfire among the surviving disciples of the various sects.

Ye Li’s name, for the first time, truly stirred up waves among the younger generation of the Spirit World. Yet, her crisis was not over; it had only just begun. Gao Sheng’s murderous intent and the greed of others who learned the news would certainly not let her off easily.

In the Cloud Mist Secret Realm, the winds of change were rising once more.