Not far from Sound Soul Valley, nestled within the rugged terrain of the eastern region.
The late afternoon sun cast a golden hue over Shadow Sea City, a mid-sized cultivation hub perched along the fractured cliffs of the eastern Sea-Wind Range. Mist rolled across its perimeter, veiling the city's modest defensive array in shifting clouds.
Outside the city gates, space twisted unnaturally for a breath of time—then, two figures appeared as if conjured from the ether.
Xiao Ning stood at the forefront, his black robes fluttering without wind, his expression was cold and unreadable.
Standing beside him was Mei Lin, her robes stained and disheveled, her spiritual aura flickering like a candle in the wind.
Beads of sweat clung to her forehead, and the corners of her lips were tinged pale.
"W-Who… Who was that woman…?"
Xiao Ning's gaze shifted slowly toward her. His expression remained unreadable, but the cold glint in his eyes sharpened.
A simple mission—capture Jiang Chen, obtain Wu Shu's nascent soul—had spiraled into complete failure.
He had gained neither soul nor advantage. All it had done was waste precious time.
Xiao Ning said nothing, but Mei Lin could feel the pressure in the air. Her heart tightened instinctively.
Just then, Xiao Ning's pupils constricted slightly. His gaze locked toward the southwest horizon, and his expression darkened.
A tremor passed through the air—barely noticeable to mortals, but unmistakable to any experienced cultivator.
In the very next breath, an overwhelming spiritual pressure descended from the heavens like a divine judgment.
Then, without warning, a beam of golden light flashed—and Su Jen appeared, descending from the clouds like a divine lightning.
She scanned the area with her divine sense and narrowed her eyes.
Her white robes flowed like water, her long hair cascading behind her.
A faint ring of light shimmered beneath her feet as she hovered effortlessly in the air, her spiritual sense sweeping outward like a tidal wave.
Her brows furrowed.
"…Vanished?" she murmured softly.
She sniffed lightly, then narrowed her eyes.
"This aura… not teleportation. A concealment technique? No… something more refined. It erased even the traces."
She raised a hand, and runes glimmered briefly in her palm as she performed a series of complex detection arts. After several breaths, her face grew colder.
"Such speed and precision… Can a Nascent Soul cultivator truly accomplish this?"
She fell silent for a moment, then gave a faint snort.
"No. There's someone else behind this."
Without warning, her body dissolved into a swirl of golden particles, vanishing without a sound.
Several hundred miles away, deep within a barren canyon, Xiao Ning and Mei Lin reappeared.
The moment they arrived, Xiao Ning raised his hands. Without a word, he formed a complex series of seals with practiced ease. One after another, eight shimmering talismans formed in the air around Mei Lin, orbiting her like a celestial array.
She flinched, instinctively stepping back.
"Xiao Ning—what are you—"
Before she could finish, his calm, emotionless voice entered her mind directly.
"Don't move. I'm not going to hurt you."
His tone was flat but certain, not the least bit comforting.
Then, with a casual motion, Xiao Ning bit the tip of his index finger, letting a single drop of dark red blood fall from it. The moment it touched the center of the formation, all eight seals flared simultaneously.
Buzz!
The formation tightened around Mei Lin, and eight blinding beams of spiritual light lanced toward her, embedding themselves beneath her skin without resistance.
A strange warmth surged through her meridians—then, the world grew silent.
Her spiritual aura vanished. Her qi presence faded as though she had ceased to exist.
She gasped, her eyes wide.
"I… I can't feel myself…!"
Before she could regain her balance, Xiao Ning's hand touched her shoulder, and the world twisted around them once again.
Moments later, after both of them disappeared.
Whoosh.
Golden light descended once more as Su Jen reappeared.
She hovered silently in place, her cold eyes were scanning the ground below.
Her divine sense spread once more—but this time, there was no sign, not even a spiritual fluctuation to track.
She raised her hand. A faint red mark glowed on her palm—then flickered and faded into nothing.
The tracking mark she had left on Mei Lin's body—had disappeared.
Her pupils shrank slightly.
"How is this possible? Even I didn't detect the removal. What technique…?"
Su Jen's expression twisted with a complicated light.
"Hmph.… someone like that, with the means to erase my mark… this isn't the handiwork of an ordinary cultivator."
She turned slowly, looking toward the horizon with narrowed eyes.
"But it doesn't matter. The tiger may run—but its den won't move. In time, I will find them."
With a final glance at the ground, Su Jen's figure vanished for the third time, soaring toward the heavens in a flash of light.
Just a few breaths after her departure, reality rippled softly—and Xiao Ning and Mei Lin stepped out from thin air.
They had never truly left—only hidden in a space-folding array Xiao Ning had prepared in advance.
The moment they appeared, Mei Lin collapsed onto the ground. Her legs buckled beneath her, and she gasped for breath.
"That was… too close."
She glanced sideways at Xiao Ning, her heart conflicted.
She understood now—Su Jen had placed a mark on her during her earlier interaction with Jiang Chen. She hadn't even noticed it.
And yet, he had noticed. Not only that, but he had removed it—silently, surgically, without alarming Su Jen until it was too late.
Her cheeks flushed with shame.
All of this—her failure, her survival—came back to one man.
She clenched her fists.
If not for Xiao Ning, they would have already died without even understanding how.
That woman—Su Jen—wasn't someone they could even think about resisting. A late-stage Heavenly Tribulation cultivator wasn't just powerful—they stood on the edge of ascension.
To her… they were nothing but ants beneath her feet.
Her gaze returned to Xiao Ning. His face was calm and his eyes were already closed in deep thought.
This man… just who was he really?