"We might have made a mistake."

Granny Yan's figure flickered, rolling up a gloomy wind as she penetrated into a civilian residence. With a backhanded grab, she seized a farm woman, wrapped in a blue scarf, and killed her on the spot.

Although it was dark, the man of the house had come back a bit late, leaving only a woman inside.

There were no children either, making it a good place to hide.

Baihe also stopped in her tracks and peered outside. She saw that torches were already lit, and as far as the eye could see, several major streets were illuminated by the torchlight, revealing long, snaking lines of fire.

She saw a large swath of firelight swiftly approaching in her direction.

"I feel the same," said Baihe. "Could it be that that cheap woman, Green Lady, holds considerable power in the city and is capable of mobilizing a large number of troops?"

Having been chased and forced to switch locations three times, killing dozens of people along the way, the two were also chased into anger.

By now, they had more or less guessed it.

Their judgment might have contained a fatal flaw.

They had anticipated that Green Lady was merely a "Celestial Maiden" planted by the Red Lotus Sect in the vicinity of Qingyang City. Although she had gathered some Jianghu experts, she was effectively an undercover agent, secretly hidden within the county town.

After discovering that all intelligence from Qingyang City had been cut off, they suspected something had gone wrong with Green Lady, either she had died or betrayed the sect.

Of course, each of the Eighteen Celestial Maidens is stunningly beautiful and possesses strange abilities for self-defense. Under normal circumstances, they're very hard to kill.

Therefore, they felt that it was more likely Green Lady had betrayed the sect.

Given this,

The two sneaked into the city and first thing they did was to trace clues from the market rumors and locate the Flower Washing Garden.

And as luck would have it, they found Xiao Ju, who was practicing the Thousand Leaves Hand.

The sect's Martial Techniques were varied and had been passed down for thousands of years.

While there were many different kinds and some had spread throughout Jianghu,

Some unique Martial Techniques were strictly controlled.

Like the Oblivion Melody.

And the Thousand-Handed Guanyin Technique...

Such Superior Martial Arts would generally not be leaked.

A mere maid from Flower Washing Garden was actually using moves from the hand techniques and swordsmanship of the Thousand-Handed Guanyin Technique. Isn't that as plain as the lice on a bald head? It was clear she belonged to the Green Lady.

"If we find Green Lady and capture her, we could find out who the Divine General is, then lure out the Divine General and control him. We wouldn't even need to fight a bloody battle to take over Qingyang City," thought Granny Yan and Baihe.

Granny Yan and Baihe's reasoning was not wrong.

If the target was indeed a Practitioner of the "Purifying Lotus Body" at the fifth or sixth level,

They must be commanding troops in the city—no one else would befit their status.

"The Holy Maiden has instructed that in this region, the seeds of the Divine General are spread among the rural mountains and villages. It should be either Zhou Gou'dan or Tang Dashan, but it's unclear which one has grown powerful,

However, no matter which one it is, as long as he cannot remove the brand inscribed by the Holy Maiden, once the Soul Locking Bell tolls, his mind will completely vanish and he will obey our commands," said Granny Yan.

As a Protector of the Holy Maiden, Granny Yan, on this occasion, took the initiative to act as the vanguard to probe the situation of the Three Counties of Liyou.

She couldn't accept returning without any achievements.

"Could it be possible that she's colluding with the city's main General, that General Zhou? His surname matches as well. Granny, do you think Zhou Ping'an could be that Divine General?" asked Baihe.

"It's highly likely," responded Granny Yan.

Granny Yan looked up at the night sky, and suddenly, her turquoise pupils abruptly constricted.

"Ha... Heaven is aiding us."

Her gaze was sharp, and she had already spotted a thin black shadow gliding deftly through the high sky amidst the faint red glow.

"Awoo..."

Granny Yan opened her mouth and let out a long howl, her sharp fangs protruding, emitting a silent roar.

Inside the house, both Baihe and Xiao Ju were violently shaken, contorting their faces in pain.

Even the black cat in Granny Yan's arms couldn't help but droop its ears and showed an agonized expression with hissing teeth.

The black dot in the sky, affected by the invisible sound wave, plummeted headfirst.

And was captured in Granny Yan's hand.

It was a black crow.

"Hmph, how dare you betray the sect and still use the sect's methods. Yet you never thought that the message conveying technique of the Nether Crow was personally taught by me. How could you possibly escape my interception?" Granny Yan said with a smirk.

The Scattered Flower Celestial Maiden smiled innocently as she curiously looked at the Nether Crow controlled by Granny Yan's "Soul Calming Sound."

Inwardly, she was on guard, thinking that if she used such a method, she must remember never to leave any trace, for Granny Yan, while teaching the technique, had obviously kept something back.

But who doesn't keep something in reserve?

The Divine General lineage had the mental brand.

The Celestial Maiden lineage had various restraining methods.

It was just unknown, what specific measures had been taken against her own person?

'Is it poison? Or cultivation technique?'

While the Scattered Flower Celestial Maiden was pondering in her heart, Granny Yan had already untied a small cloth strip from the crow's leg, glanced over it, and chuckled, "You even think of collaborating with the 'Four Noes Magistrate' of Yunhu to counter the Red Lotus Army together. That's a pipe dream.

Look at this, treated as a traitor, the messenger was slain... tsk tsk."

After reading the tiny inscriptions written in ink on the cloth strip, she retied it to the Nether Crow's leg and cooed strangely, soothing its emotions. With a wave of her hand, she let the crow fly again.

This time, however, she immediately followed in hot pursuit.

"Finally got a hold of your tail."

A long, mournful sigh echoed in the darkness of the night.

"...

One simply can't guard against the infiltration of masters. In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken... It's only right to quickly recruit experts from all quarters," sulked Granny Yan.

"Yes, relying solely on fostering our own masters takes too long, and we're running out of time," replied Green Lady with an ugly expression, suppressing her impatience and refraining from acting recklessly.

Zhou Ping'an stood atop the city wall, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, focusing on the trails of the torchlight. He more or less understood the enemy's position.

"Tang Lin'er and his men have already started closing the net. He's quite skilled in training troops and in battle. While his strength is still somewhat insufficient, to prevent the fish from breaking the net, we should also start moving."

With these words,

Zhou Ping'an's figure turned into a wisp of blue smoke, darting out for dozens of meters in a flash.

Green Lady followed behind him, fluttering like a colorful butterfly.

Compared to usual, she lost some lightness, but her speed was even faster.

Her cultivation had reached the Great Cycle Realm; with just nine more acupoints, she could achieve Great Completion Cycle.

Her strength had grown countless times stronger than when they first met.

With increased power, her confidence had also surged.

She clearly knew that the person approaching might be the very one she feared in her heart, yet she did not retreat half a step.

"What exactly are you afraid of?"

Zhou Ping'an's voice became very gentle, tinged with concern, echoing in the Green Lady's ears.

Although he never wanted to sense, analyze, or pry into the emotions of those around him, not wishing to peek into their innermost secrets,

the Green Lady's anxiety and fear were almost nakedly displayed on her face.

This was an expression he had never seen since they first met.

Just like a helpless little girl.

Walking alone amidst the desolate winds and bitter rain.

"If Granny Yan has come, she should have already ascertained the general situation inside the city by now and learned about our cooperation…"

Green Lady murmured faintly.

"Facing one who rebels against the sect, Red Lotus Sect naturally has a set of control methods. When I was selected as the Red Lotus Celestial Maiden and began to cultivate the Oblivion Melody, my sister, who I depended on for life, was taken away from my side."

Green Lady's tone was low, subtly filled with a deeply engrained hatred.

Yet she was helpless.

Zhou Ping'an's pupils shrank when he heard this.

His heart skipped a beat.

He thought of something.

Only those with feelings can forget them.

How could a heartless person cultivate any Forgetful Heart Technique?

It was precisely because of deep feelings that one must sever them.

Love and separation, unattainable desires…

Although Red Lotus was of the Demonic path, many concepts from the Buddha Sect were intertwined within it.

If one wanted Green Lady's cultivation technique to advance rapidly and reach new heights overnight,

it was very likely…

Zhou Ping'an suddenly felt a bad premonition in his heart.

He felt that the very thing Green Lady dared not contemplate might have already happened.

"It will be okay. As long as Granny Yan and the Scattered Flower Celestial Maiden cannot escape Qingyang City, even if they get the news, they won't be able to spread it. When the time comes, we'll find a way to find out where your sister is and rescue her,"

Zhou Ping'an could only offer such a pale consolation.

"Don't worry, Ping'an. If I lose control of my mind, just kill me with a single palm strike. To die by your hand would leave me with no regrets in this life."

Green Lady took a deep breath, a flicker of determination in her eyes.

Before the battle,

it was imperative not to give the enemy any leverage.

Once they grab hold of your weakness, things will definitely turn for the worst.

"Green Lady, the Holy Maiden treated you not poorly, and I myself had great expectations for you. I personally taught you many cultivation techniques, thinking that among the Eighteen Celestial Maidens, you would one day be most likely to serve by the Old Mother's side and eventually transcend the mundane world. Why do you not cherish this?"

Just as they approached the Precious Jade Workshop in the west of the city, they saw a grey-robed old crone with wildly dancing hair strands standing on the open ground.

Strewn beneath her feet were several corpses.

All of them were gray-faced and already stiff.

A square-faced, muscular man stood behind the old crone, full of shame, and spoke:

"Listen to my advice, Miss. It's not too late to turn back. There's nothing more important than preserving your life. Granny Yan, as a Red Lotus Three Paths Guardian, boasts unrivaled skills. You can't defeat her."

Green Lady recognized that it was "Iron Dragon Hand" Wei Dangyang who she had taken under her wing three years ago in East Mountain County.

At that time, Wei Dangyang's martial arts school had been overrun by bandits, his wife and daughter had been captured, and he himself was gravely injured and on the brink of a tragic fate.

It was then that Green Lady appeared, slaughtering all the bandit masters and saving Wei Dangyang and his entire household.

Since then, this "Iron Dragon Hand" had followed her loyally, traveling far and wide for her, making friends and connections, and had made quite a few contributions.

But now, judging by the current situation, Wei Dangyang had already submitted to Granny Yan's seduction and threats,

laying bare his own secrets before the enemy.

Apart from Wei Dangyang, Tongji from the Heavenly Corpse Sect, who was also standing with his head bowed by the old crone, had surrendered completely without even lifting his head.

This man whom Green Lady had compelled through martial force to join her side and had controlled so that he could not use living people for cultivation, only allowing him to draw in corpse energy from the Mass Burial Mound,

likely harbored deep resentment.

Now, his surrender was quicker than anyone's.

"Miss Qing, what you rely on is actually frail. Don't blame us—for ultimately, no one wants to die,"

Tongji, with his dead fish eyes rolled outward and an impassive face, spoke as if it was the natural thing to say.

Zhou Ping'an turned his head and glanced at Green Lady, chuckling and shaking his head: "You sure have a knack for gathering up a bunch of misfits.

But, I'm somewhat curious, why do they think this old lady is going to win before the fight even starts?

Is it because of that tiny bell in her hand?"

Zhou Ping'an genuinely wondered.

Even as Granny Yan's bell tinkled lightly, he made no move to rush forward and stop it.

Standing not far away, Tang Lin'er suddenly let out a scream, clutched her head, tumbled to the ground, and kicked up dust all around.

…

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