After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 60

The news of Ye Li accepting the Black Wind Mountain Range mission was like another giant rock thrown into an already turbulent lake, once again attracting widespread attention within the sect.

“She actually dared to go? Knowing that Senior Brother Gao Sheng also took the mission!”

“Isn’t this walking into a trap? Black Wind Mountain Range is not inside the sect. Laws are lax there, and anything could happen by ‘accident.’”

“I heard she’s been in seclusion lately, focusing on her subsidiary professions. Does she really think refining elixirs and drawing talismans can deal with the elite of the Battle Frenzy Peak?”

“Perhaps she has nothing to fear? Her strength is undeniable, after all.”

Amidst the discussions, there was worry and confusion, but more so a schadenfreude anticipation, waiting to watch a fierce showdown.

Ye Li was indifferent to all of it. In the few days before the mission departure, she made thorough preparations. She fully refined her newly created Profound Ice Sword, drew a sufficient quantity of improved Burst Talismans and Swift Talismans, as well as the critically important three Ice Soul Sealing Talismans. Regarding elixirs, superior-grade Meridian Condensing Pills and Spring Recovery Pills were naturally necessities. At the same time, through Lin Feng, she obtained the detailed information about the “Black Fiend Gate” rogue cultivators in the Black Wind Mountain Range that Sun Xiaohou had collected, including their general area of activity, the known strength of several leaders (mostly Meridian Condensing middle to late stage, suspected to have a Spirit Mansion Realm leader), and their usual sinister methods.

On the day of departure, the square in front of the Profound Cloud Sect’s Mission Hall gathered several teams ready to head to the Black Wind Mountain Range. Gao Sheng’s team from Battle Frenzy Peak was the most conspicuous, consisting of five disciples, including Shi Feng (though missing an arm, he now uses his left hand for his saber, his strength having recovered by seventy to eighty percent). Each of them exuded a fierce aura and shot hostile glances at Ye Li, who arrived alone.

On the other side, the Jade Water Pavilion’s team also arrived. Qin Yixuan, in snow-white robes, was aloof and ethereal, followed by four female disciples of the Jade Water Pavilion, their formation neat. She glanced at Ye Li, her gaze briefly lingering before moving away indifferently, with no exchange between them.

According to the mission requirements, this kind of Class B superior-grade cooperative mission required the teams to coordinate in a designated area for the cleanup, but specific actions were independently managed. This meant that while Ye Li was nominally in a cooperative relationship with the other teams, she would practically have to face the Black Fiend Gate rogue cultivators alone, and potentially… the hidden dangers from her “allies.”

“Hmph, overestimating herself,” Gao Sheng sneered, leading his team onto the sect’s flying artifact first—a faster “Azure Jade Boat.”

Ye Li wore an expressionless face, paid the contribution points, and rented a “Wind-Chasing Crane,” a transportation spiritual beast raised by the sect. She soared into the sky alone, heading towards the Black Wind Mountain Range. Her solitary figure formed a stark contrast with the teams of Gao Sheng and Qin Yixuan, making her look even more isolated.

Qin Yixuan watched Ye Li’s receding back, a flicker of an imperceptible emotion crossing her cold eyes, before she too led her team onto another flying boat.

…

The Black Wind Mountain Range stretched for thousands of miles, its mountains steep and treacherous, filled with miasma, a paradise for various demon beasts and rogue cultivators.

Ye Li did not go directly to the area marked for rogue cultivator activity but landed in a secluded valley on the outskirts of the mountain range. She put away the Wind-Chasing Crane and employed the Boundless Trace Steps, her figure seamlessly blending into the forest like a phantom. She chose not to meet up with the other teams, deciding instead to act alone.

Rather than entrusting her back to unreliable “allies,” it was better to control the situation herself. This was a lesson she had learned with blood in her previous life.

According to the intelligence, the Black Fiend Gate rogue cultivators were cunning, specializing in concealment and traps. Ye Li spread out her spiritual consciousness, coupled with the enhanced perception provided by the reincarnation mirror shard, carefully exploring forward. She moved like the most seasoned hunter, not missing any trace.

On the first day, she did not actively search for rogue cultivators but familiarized herself with the environment, marking several perilous locations potentially suitable for rogue cultivator hiding spots, and conveniently slaying a few unsuspecting first and second-tier demon beasts as a warm-up.

On the evening of the second day, as she passed a swamp emitting a faint putrid smell, her spiritual consciousness keenly captured faint spiritual energy fluctuations and suppressed panting sounds ahead.

She approached silently, concealing herself behind a dead tree. She saw three cultivators dressed in black tight-fitting attire with skull embroidery on their chests (the symbol of the Black Fiend Gate) cornering a severely injured young man, a disciple of some minor sect. The youth had clearly been training here but unfortunately encountered the rogue cultivators and was now at the end of his tether.

“Heh heh, boy, hand over your storage bag and that ‘Rotten Bone Flower.’ We’ll give you a quick death!” the leading Meridian Condensing middle-stage rogue cultivator grinned menacingly, blood dripping from his blade.

Ye Li’s eyes were cold. Survival of the fittest was the norm in the cultivation world, but such wanton slaughter of the weak filled her with disgust. More importantly, this was an opportunity.

She did not strike immediately but waited patiently. Just as the rogue cultivator leader relaxed his guard and bent down to search the youth for valuables—

Boundless Trace Steps — Star Flash!

Ye Li’s figure appeared behind the rogue cultivator leader like a teleportation. The Profound Ice Sword stabbed out silently, aimed straight for his back heart! Before the sword arrived, the extreme cold sword qi sent chills down the rogue cultivator’s spine!

“Who?!” The rogue cultivator leader was horrified and hastily swung his blade to block.

But Ye Li’s strike was fast, accurate, and vicious! The Profound Ice Sword bypassed the blade at a tricky angle, precisely plunging into his heart! The extreme cold sword qi instantly erupted, freezing his heart meridian!

Instant kill!

The other two Meridian Condensing initial-stage rogue cultivators had no time to react, only seeing a flash of cold light again! Ye Li’s figure seemed to split, simultaneously appearing beside both of them, the Profound Ice Sword tracing two icy arcs!

Puff! Puff!

Two heads flew into the air, their faces still etched with expressions of shock.

From the moment she struck to the end, it was over in the blink of an eye. Three rogue cultivators, all annihilated!

The severely injured youth was stunned, staring at the cold, murderous woman who had suddenly appeared, momentarily forgetting his pain.

Ye Li didn’t even look at the youth, swiftly cleaned up the battlefield, collecting the three rogue cultivators’ storage bags, and flicking a finger breeze to turn the three corpses into ice shards, destroying all evidence. The entire process was calm, efficient, and utterly decisive.

Having done all this, she finally walked up to the youth, tossed him a bottle of ordinary Vitality Recovery Pills, and said coldly, “If you can walk, leave quickly.”

The youth finally came to his senses, quickly took the elixir, and was profusely grateful: “Th-thank you, Senior, for saving my life! Junior…”

“No need for words, leave,” Ye Li interrupted him, her tone brooking no argument.

The youth dared not say more, took the elixir, struggled to his feet, and stumbled away into the dense forest.

Ye Li, meanwhile, quickly left the scene to find her next hunting location. She didn’t much value the belongings of these low-level rogue cultivators; what was important was to accumulate actual combat experience, temper her killing intent, and gather more detailed information about the Black Fiend Gate.

In the days that followed, Ye Li completely transformed into a “mission maniac.” She was no longer limited to the areas marked by the sect but actively ventured deeper into the Black Wind Mountain Range, relying on her powerful spiritual consciousness and elusive movement technique, like a grim reaper in the night, constantly hunting down lone or small groups of Black Fiend Gate rogue cultivators.

Her fighting style was extremely ruthless and efficient. She often delivered a fatal blow before the enemy was even aware of her presence. The Profound Ice Sword, combined with the Ice Soul Sealing Finger, allowed her to virtually crush any rogue cultivator below the late-stage Meridian Condensing Realm. Even when facing small teams, she utilized terrain and talismans, employing tactics of stealth attack, separation, and eliminating them one by one, never engaging in a head-on fight.

In just half a month, the Black Fiend Gate rogue cultivators killed by her exceeded twenty, including two late-stage Meridian Condensing leaders. She not only earned a huge amount of contribution points (the sect mission awarded points based on the rogue cultivators’ heads and identity tokens) but also acquired a considerable number of spoils of war. Although the quality was generally not high, the accumulation was a fortune.

Her name even began to circulate in a small circle among the rogue cultivators, who called her “Ice Wraith,” a name that struck fear into their hearts.

During this time, she occasionally sensed the activities of Gao Sheng’s team and Qin Yixuan’s team from afar, but she deliberately avoided them, preventing unnecessary contact.

One day, based on a map found in a rogue cultivator leader’s storage bag, Ye Li found a suspected secret stronghold of the Black Fiend Gate—a hidden cave located on a sheer cliff.

She concealed her aura and approached quietly. The cave entrance had a simple illusion array and warning talismans. These were virtually useless to Ye Li. She easily deciphered them and slipped into the cave.

The cave was quite spacious and surprisingly held over a dozen rogue cultivators gathered, seemingly distributing supplies. The leader was a one-eyed old man whose aura had reached the initial stage of the Spirit Mansion Realm, a Hall Master of the Black Fiend Gate in this region!

“An opportunity!” A cold light flashed in Ye Li’s eyes. If she could take down this Spirit Mansion Realm Hall Master, her mission evaluation would be greatly enhanced!

But she was not reckless. The opponent had a large number of people, and a Spirit Mansion Realm expert was present. A direct assault was absolutely unwise.

She patiently lay in wait, like the most patient viper, awaiting the best moment. Finally, after most of the rogue cultivators had taken their supplies and left, only the one-eyed old man and two trusted subordinates remained, chatting in the inner depths of the cave—

Ye Li moved! She first silently placed several improved Burst Talismans and one Ice Soul Sealing Talisman at the cave entrance as a backup. Then, she locked her target onto the two late-stage Meridian Condensing subordinates!

Star Flash! Charge! The Profound Ice Sword shot out like a venomous dragon leaving its lair, aimed straight for one person’s throat! At the same time, her left hand formed a sword-finger, and the Ice Trace finger force shot towards the other person’s Dantian!

Fast! Extremely fast!

“Enemy attack!” The one-eyed old man reacted instantly. His Spirit Mansion Realm pressure burst forth, and he slammed a palm towards Ye Li!

But Ye Li was prepared. Her figure flickered, avoiding the palm wind, and the direction of her sword finger remained unchanged!

Puff! Puff!

The two subordinates had no time to react. One’s throat was pierced, and the other’s Dantian was penetrated by the finger force, instantly killed!

“You junior are courting death!” The one-eyed old man was both shocked and enraged. Vicious light shot from his single eye, and a poisoned black short halberd appeared in his hand, rushing towards Ye Li with a stench!

The full-force attack of a Spirit Mansion Realm expert was astonishingly powerful! Ye Li dared not meet it head-on, executing the Boundless Trace Steps to its limit, dodging and weaving with the old man in the narrow cave, while continuously throwing out talismans to interfere.

Boom! Boom! Burst Talismans exploded, and Ice Cone Talismans scattered! The cave was in chaos!

The old man was powerful. He brandished his short halberd, blocking most of the attacks, but Ye Li’s movement technique was too elusive, always narrowly avoiding fatal blows. Frustrated by the prolonged fight, the old man grew anxious, and his attacks became fiercer.

It was now! A flash of brilliance crossed Ye Li’s eyes. She exposed a weakness, as if her spiritual energy was depleted, her figure momentarily halting.

The old man was ecstatic. The short halberd thrust straight at Ye Li’s heart!

However, just as the short halberd was about to hit, Ye Li’s figure abruptly blurred, sliding sideways at an unimaginable angle. Simultaneously, the last Ice Soul Sealing Talisman she had been clutching instantly activated!

Om!

A powerful ice-sealing force erupted with Ye Li at the center! The one-eyed old man was caught off guard, feeling a chill all over his body, and the circulation of his spiritual energy suddenly became sluggish!

Although this sealing force could only affect him for a short breath, it was enough for a killer of Ye Li’s caliber!

Ice Soul Sealing Finger — Ice Trace! A full-power strike!

The fingertip, condensing most of her extreme cold spiritual energy, struck later but arrived sooner, precisely landing on the old man’s slightly open mouth caused by his surprise!

The extreme cold finger force, like an ice awl, instantly penetrated his brain!

The old man’s single eye bulged violently, his face filled with unbelievable terror. His body stiffened in place, his life quickly draining away.

Ye Li gasped, her face pale. Killing a Spirit Mansion Realm expert by leaping a realm, even with thorough preparation and using all her means, was a huge drain on her. She quickly cleaned up the battlefield, collecting the storage bags of the old man and the two subordinates, especially the old man’s token representing his status as a Hall Master.

Then, she detonated the talismans pre-set at the cave entrance, collapsing the entire cave to destroy all traces, before retreating quickly, her body exhausted yet exhilarated.

A month later, when Ye Li returned alone to the sect’s Mission Hall with a full bag of rogue cultivator heads and identity tokens (including that Spirit Mansion Realm Hall Master token) for handover, the entire Mission Hall was shaken!

Completing a Class B superior-grade cooperative mission solo! Slaying dozens of rogue cultivators, including a Spirit Mansion Realm Hall Master! The contribution points earned were an astronomical figure!

The name “Mission Maniac Ye Li” spread like wildfire! This time, it was no longer just because of her inheritance and talent, but because she proved her ruthlessness, intelligence, and power with solid battle results!

Although Gao Sheng’s team and others also completed their missions, their results paled in comparison to Ye Li’s, and their expressions were understandably grim.

Ye Li, in the respectful and awe-filled gazes of the crowd, calmly exchanged her contribution points, purchased the resources needed for her next stage of cultivation, and then returned to her small courtyard on Cloud Elixir Peak, starting a new round of secluded cultivation.

For her, the Black Wind Mountain Range mission was merely a necessary tempering. Her gaze had long been set on more distant places. Constant battle, accumulation, and advancement were all for the purpose of ultimately standing at the pinnacle and settling all scores!