Complete silence descended upon the battlefield.

The place where the two cultivators had stood moments ago was now completely empty, leaving behind neither corpse nor blood. It was as though they had never existed at all.

Meng Lin stood there with her slightly pale face, her expression calm throughout the entire time.

Senior Sister Liu froze while the Nascent Soul steward stared blankly at the empty sky. Cold sweat drenched his back, and the watching cultivators throughout the city were no better.

The giant withered finger slowly hovered above the heavens, its aura gloomy and ancient while strands of gray aura drifted around it like mist. Merely looking at it caused one's heart to tremble and their soul to instinctively recoil.

Lu Qian held a silent countenance as his brows remained furrowed. Since the finger appeared, he had been carefully analyzing it.

The aura emanating from that finger was not powerful in the conventional sense, nor was it particularly oppressive. Yet its power undoubtedly reached the level of a casual strike from an Ensoulment Realm Cultivator.

His gaze shifted toward Meng Lin.

Looking at her slightly pale face and the faint traces of exhaustion hidden beneath her calm expression, Lu Qian's furrowed brows gradually relaxed. A trace of confidence slowly returned to his eyes.

So that's how it is.

"No wonder you dared act so arrogantly." Lu Qian spoke calmly as though he had already seen through everything. "A Nascent Soul cultivator possessing a technique capable of rivaling an Ensoulment Realm strike is indeed extraordinary."

His gaze remained fixed on Meng Lin while the confidence in his expression grew increasingly obvious. In his eyes, he had already figured out the truth behind her strength.

"Unfortunately, such power clearly exceeds your cultivation." Lu Qian slowly shook his head. "A technique like this cannot be used repeatedly."

Senior Sister Liu subconsciously nodded.

That made sense.

A Nascent Soul cultivator killing two Late Stage Nascent Soul cultivators instantly was already absurd enough. If she could continuously unleash attacks at the Ensoulment Realm level, then what meaning would cultivation realms even possess?

Senior Sister Liu gradually calmed down as the fear in her heart rapidly faded away. No matter how monstrous Meng Lin was, she was still only in the Nascent Soul Realm.

Meanwhile, Lu Qian continued speaking.

"Hand over the Immortal Lotus Robe and my offer will still stand." His voice remained calm and steady. "Otherwise, once I make a move, your fate will not be much better than theirs."

An invisible pressure gradually spread outward while the surrounding spiritual energy trembled. Countless scenes flickered behind Lu Qian as an enormous phantom began taking shape.

The vague outlines of mountains and rivers gradually appeared behind him while heaven and earth resonated with his presence. This was the symbol of an Ensoulment Realm cultivator.

An Ensoulment Domain.

Within the domain, one's own Gold Core manifestation appears, with the surrounding spiritual energy becoming an extension of their thoughts

Senior Sister Liu's confidence increased further.

The moment the domain appeared, the fear lingering within her heart rapidly dissipated. No matter how strange Meng Lin's technique was, she was still facing a genuine Ensoulment Realm expert.

Lu Qian opened his mouth, preparing to continue.

Then—

The gray aura surrounding the giant withered finger suddenly surged.

The crimson ring on Meng Lin's finger glowed with an otherworldly aura as everyone froze.

The surrounding heavens darkened and the gray aura of the withered finger rapidly gathered together while an indescribable sense of danger spread across the battlefield.

Boom!

The clouds above violently churned while thunder rolled across the heavens. Black clouds gathered from every direction as though responding to the appearance of something that should not exist.

The giant withered finger began changing.

Gray aura condensed around it as a palm gradually appeared beneath the finger. Then another finger emerged, followed by another, causing everyone's expressions to stiffen.

Within moments, the original withered finger had become part of a colossal withered hand.

Its surface was dry and cracked as though it had weathered countless ages while strands of gray aura drifted through the countless fissures covering it. Merely looking at it filled one with an indescribable sense of dread.

The oppressive aura instantly multiplied.

Crack!

Space fractured around the hand while dark fissures spread throughout the air. The newly formed withered hand hovered above the city like the hand of an ancient god, causing countless cultivators below to collapse onto their knees.

Even breathing became difficult.

Lu Qian's expression froze.

The confidence in his eyes disappeared completely while disbelief rapidly replaced it. The pressure emanating from the hand had already surpassed the previous attack several times over.

"This..."

His pupils contracted violently.

At that moment, Meng Lin moved.

Her arm shot forward and the colossal withered hand mirrored the motion. Its speed was so fast that it instantly blurred from sight.

Lu Qian's scalp exploded with danger and his decision came instantly.

He grabbed Senior Sister Liu by the collar and hurled her toward Meng Lin with all the force his Ensoulment Realm cultivation could muster.

At the same time, a crystalline object appeared within his hand.

A Realm Breaking Crystal.

Without the slightest hesitation, spiritual energy flooded into it while spatial fluctuations immediately appeared around his body. He no longer cared about face or dignity.

"Elder Lu!" Senior Sister Liu's scream was cut short as she tumbled through the air directly into the path of the withered hand.

Meng Lin hesitated for a moment before the withered hand opened its palm around Senior Sister Liu, and when the hand opened again, nothing remained.

The hand, only slowed for a fraction of a second, however it was enough for Lu Qian's Ensoulment Domain to outward without hesitation.

Boom!

Mountains and rivers materialized around him, causing the surrounding heaven and earth to instantly came under his control.

The gray aura descended first.

Rumble!!!

The Ensoulment Domain violently shook as the mountains and rivers within became unstable. Lu Qian's expression changed as an inexplicable feeling spread throughout his domain, causing his spiritual energy to become sluggish.

Then the colossal withered hand arrived.

BOOM!!!

The heavens shook as the withered hand slammed into the Ensoulment Domain. Countless cracks instantly spread throughout the domain before it shattered apart.

"Pfft!"

Lu Qian coughed out a mouthful of blood as the backlash struck him. The gray aura spread throughout his domain, while his body was thrown backward through the sky.

The Realm Breaking Crystal activated.

Space twisted violently as a crack appeared behind him. Just as the withered hand closed around his body, Lu Qian disappeared into the spatial crack without the slightest hesitation.

Boom!!!

The heavens shook as the spatial crack collapsed behind him. The giant withered hand slammed into empty space, causing violent fluctuations to sweep across the region.

When everything settled, Lu Qian was gone.

Only a lingering trace of spatial fluctuations remained behind. The mighty Ensoulment Realm cultivator had fled.

Far away beyond the boundaries of the realm, within the Primordial Sea a miserable figure stumbled out from another spatial passage.

Thud!

Lu Qian fell onto a platform of golden light that acted as a shield against the wild variety of auras that surrounded the area.

Blood covered his robes while his face had become deathly pale.

Strands of gray aura lingered across his body eroding his flesh and vitality. No matter what method he used, he was unable to completely remove them.

Lu Qian looked back toward the spatial passage, for the first time in many years, genuine fear appeared within his eyes.

---

The spatial crack had long since disappeared.

Meng Lin remained standing in the sky, her gaze fixed on the empty space where Lu Qian had vanished. The colossal withered hand gradually dissipated above the heavens while the gray aura slowly retreated back into her body.

Her face was even more pale, the exchange had consumed over half of her energy.

After several moments of silent contemplation, she finally withdrew her gaze and stabilized her breathing, contemplating.

There was a Spatial Storm Talisman within her inventory.

If she activates it, there was a chance she could still catch up to Lu Qian and kill him. However, the talisman would envelop the user within a spatial storm, she would not be able to unleash attacks while protected inside.

She also recognized that crystal.

It was a Realm Breaking Crystal.

Back in the Primordial Sea, she had seen her own Realm breaking crystal endure several spatial storms without breaking apart. If she were to use the spatial storm surrounding herself to attack it, she could end up stranded within the primordial sea.

With her energy condumed so rapidly, that was a risk she was not willing to take.

At least she gained something from this encounter.

Meng Lin waved her hand gently.

The void rippled as two storage rings emerged from the distorted space. They belonged to the two Nascent Soul cultivators who had been erased earlier in the battle.

Then she made another gesture. The surrounding space twisted and a figure was suddenly expelled from a hidden layer of the void before crashing next to the Nascent Soul Steward.

The steward flinched and took an instinctive step back. “W-what… what is this senior?”

His eyes were still locked on the empty sky where moments ago two Late Stage Nascent Soul cultivators had existed, and now there was nothing left.

His legs trembled uncontrollably.

He had seen it clearly. A single withered hand descended, and the entire heaven dimmed. Even the Ensoulment Realm cultivator had been forced to retreat without hesitation.

His breath caught in his throat.

“Senior…” he swallowed hard, forcing his trembling hands to steady as he cupped his fists deeply. “This one… this one was blind earlier.”

His posture bent lower.

Far lower than before.

“If this senior requires anything from Heavenly Crossing City, this old man will exhaust all means to assist.”

He did not dare look at her.

He had witnessed a Nascent Soul cultivator slaughter two peers, send an Ensoulment Realm master fleeing. The power gap between same-realm cultivators could be vast, but this... this was something else entirely.

Meng Lin ignored him, first arriving before Senior Sister Liu.

Senior Sister Liu's eyes were vacant, and a faint strand of gray aura still lingered within her pupils. Her body remained stiff, as though her consciousness had been forcibly suppressed.

Meng Lin descended slowly in front of her.

She had originally intended to question her, as there were still many things she wanted to know.

However, before she could speak, Senior Sister Liu's body suddenly trembled violently.

A strange fluctuation erupted from within her body before quickly stabilizing again.

Meng Lin's expression changed slightly.

Senior Sister Liu's vacant eyes regained a brief moment of clarity, and her lips trembled as though she was about to speak.

But that clarity vanished almost instantly.

Her face turned deathly pale, and her body stiffened completely.

“No…”

The words escaped her mouth in a broken whisper before her life force abruptly collapsed.

A moment later, all signs of vitality vanished from her body.

Meng Lin immediately swept her spiritual sense through the corpse.

A faint frown appeared on her face.

The Nascent Soul was gone, it hadn't been shattered but rather gone altogether.

Meng Lin narrowed her eyes slightly.

She remembered the interaction between Wei Wei and Senior Sister Liu back then, combined with that brief fluctuation moments before death, it was clear her demise was related.

Something had triggered a hidden mechanism within her body.

The moment she regained awareness, her Nascent Soul was erased instantly.

"Sigh" Meng Lin.

Not knowing one's enemy was truly frustrating.

Meng Lin turned to the old man, her face gloomy. "You said you're the steward right."