Conclusion

Ran Qingmo didn't answer the question. Instead, she looked up toward the southwest of Jingjiang Prefecture, a trace of solemnity in her serene eyes. Seeing this, Xu Yuan followed her gaze. He subconsciously assumed Xu Changge had arrived. Unfortunately, he saw nothing beyond the boundless blue sky. Xu Yuan glanced sideways at Zhou Chen, hoping for an explanation. This time, however, Zhou Chen paid him no mind, looking toward the southwestern sky with the same grave expression. Beside them, Ying'er and Si Ziyu were doing the exact same thing. "..." For some reason, Xu Yuan felt excluded from their little circle. Everyone around him understood what was happening; only he stood there feeling awkward. Soon enough, however, Xu Yuan sensed a faint anomaly himself. Using one's intent-soul to probe one's surroundings was, in essence, sensing the fluctuations of nearby Source Qi. That depended on two factors. First, the strength of the intent-soul. The more condensed and powerful the intent-soul was, the more detailed the perception would be. Second, the intensity of the Source Qi fluctuations. Most of the time, the Source Qi between heaven and earth remained in a relatively balanced, tranquil state. However, a cultivator's various actions using Source Qi would disturb it. Cultivation and breathing, martial combat, or even traveling would generate varying degrees of disturbance. Such disturbances depended on the cultivation base of the person causing them and would steadily diminish over distance. In the past, when Xu Yuan sparred with the guards in Wuxuan Courtyard, it would cause disturbances in the surrounding Source Qi. But because his cultivation was meager, the disturbance would fade beyond detection before it could even leave Wuxuan Courtyard. With his weak cultivation, Xu Yuan couldn't sense what was happening to the southwest, yet he could feel the Source Qi in his immediate vicinity. The battle among several Grandmasters had already reduced the Xu Manor residence to ruins, and the Source Qi within was extraordinarily chaotic from the clash of techniques just moments ago. Yet at this moment, Xu Yuan vaguely sensed that this chaotic, impure Source Qi was subtly surging toward the southwest. Silence enveloped the five of them. Clearly, outside Jingjiang Prefecture, things had also reached their final moment. Amidst the silence, Xu Yuan noticed the Source Qi beside him suddenly disturbed once more. It didn't come from afar—it came from Ran Qingmo beside him. Clad in ink-black robes, she abruptly tightened her grip on her hilt. With a stomp that shattered the flagstones beneath her, she shot toward the sky like an arrow. Zhou Chen and Si Ziyu followed immediately behind her. Before Xu Yuan could react, Ying'er appeared at his side as though she had teleported. The sudden turn of events left Xu Yuan momentarily dazed. *What just happened?* Before he could think further, a familiar sensation struck again. *She's inside again.* Ying'er's Source Qi entered his meridians, circulating rapidly along a specific pathway for several cycles. Xu Yuan felt a thin, shield-like membrane form over the surface of his body. Then the world spun, and everything around him began retreating at breakneck speed. Ying'er hoisted him up and dashed toward the northeast without looking back. Still completely bewildered, before Xu Yuan could sort through what had occurred, the corner of his eye caught a figure hurtling across the southwestern sky. The speed was terrifyingly swift. From coming into visual range to appearing above Xu Manor took no more than a breath or two. It was a mysterious masked man. The air around him was distorted, obscuring his face and frame, yet his attire looked rather wretched. His flowing robe was slashed with several gaping gashes from sharp blades, revealing bone-deep wounds beneath. A maggot-like cyan Source Qi clung to the wounds, impeding his healing rate. Even so, the aura radiating from this man sent a shiver down Xu Yuan's spine. Soaring into the air, Ran Qingmo, Zhou Chen, and Si Ziyu tore through the void to intercept the mysterious man. A deafening boom. In a single instant, two figures were sent flying backward. Zhou Chen and Si Ziyu were hurled back just as fast as they had charged forward, crashing heavily into the bustling streets of Jingjiang Prefecture and kicking up a massive plume of dust. Though Ran Qingmo remained in midair after taking the heavy blow, her posture was visibly strained. Qin Weijiu stared at the woman in black before him. Recognizing her in an instant, veins bulged across his forehead. He had come because he sensed something had gone wrong here and wanted to forcefully rescue the Saint's remnant soul. He never expected to be stopped by that old Sword Sect fogey's prized disciple. "Ran Qingmo! What is the meaning of this?!" "..." Taking the full-power strike of an Origin Realm cultivator head-on, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Ran Qingmo's lips. She swept a glance over the heavily wounded Origin Realm expert, pondered for a brief instant with her beautiful eyes, and suddenly turned around to flee. "..." Qin Weijiu was stunned. Watching Ran Qingmo turn into a black streak darting into the distance, Qin Weijiu had no intention of pursuing her. He had little time left; he needed to quickly rescue the Saint's remnant soul and Qin Mo. Yet the next moment, his eyes nearly tore at the corners in rage. That woman was fleeing with the ice-sealed Saint's remnant soul! "Bastard!" Qin Weijiu instinctively moved to give chase, but a suffocating wave of Source Qi was already sweeping in from the southwestern horizon. Qin Weijiu's heart sank abruptly. *Yulan...* *There's no time.* He couldn't finish off that woman Ran Qingmo before Xu Changge arrived. His breathing grew slightly ragged. Suddenly, he detected another familiar aura in the North Court, and his gaze narrowed slightly. *It's Jinxuan.* Inside Xu Yuan's wing room, Su Jinxuan sat gripping the hem of her skirt, her fists clenched tightly. Earlier, when Zhou Chen and the others fought Qin Mo within the manor, they had deliberately avoided the area where she was staying. Now, the outside had been quiet for a long while, but she obeyed Xu Yuan's instructions not to step outside. Qin Weijiu glanced toward the southwest, his eyes flickering with thought. *Should I leave Jinxuan by Xu Changtian's side?* *No.* *In front of that fellow Xu Changge, it would be difficult to hide Jinxuan's Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique.* A decision was made in a split second. Qin Weijiu dove down abruptly, shattering the wing room's defensive array in an instant. Appearing inside the room before Su Jinxuan could react, Qin Weijiu wrapped her in his powerful Origin Realm intent-soul for protection, then soared into the sky and sped toward the horizon. The crisis came quickly and vanished just as fast. Ying'er came to a stop atop a building in the bustling market district and set Xu Yuan down. Pondering what had just transpired, Xu Yuan raised a hand and rubbed the space between his brows. The entire upheaval had begun and ended in what felt like a single breath. Before the dust kicked up by Zhou Chen and Si Ziyu crashing into the market could even settle, that mysterious man had already fled. It was over. Standing on the rooftop, Xu Yuan let out a long breath. Down on the ground, the common folk were in a complete uproar. In this extraordinary world, many had witnessed cultivators clashing, but never in their lives had they seen a battle of such scale directly over the prefecture city. The tremendous roar, the pitch-black canopy that had enveloped the entire Jingjiang Xu Manor, and the profound array runes visible in the sky—all of it had shaken the people to their core. They didn't know what had actually taken place. They only knew that the massive Jingjiang Xu Manor had been completely wiped out in less than a quarter of an hour.