Within the cave rubble came out a burst of qi as Meng Lin emerged from the rubble unscathed.

She instantly began spreading her spiritual consciousness but as she did. She felt a wave of oppressive force pushing her down, making it a bit difficult to move, it was an unfamiliar energy that matched the same intensity as qi.

As she raised her head to look, she saw that a few meters away from her were five old men and dozens of other people who held in their hands a talisman.

Behind them was the head of an old man on a pole and it was none other than old man Liu, whom Meng Lin recognized.

Four of the old men wore gray robes and the only one with a red robe walked forward and spoke in an angry tone which Meng Lin couldn’t understand “So… you for… responsible.. my… deaths”

He slapped a paper talisman on his body and released an aura that bore down on Meng Lin.

‘This feeling’ Meng Lin uttered as she felt an even more oppressive aura that made her unable to move, gazing up at the old man she saw that he was releasing aura like a cultivator however he was doing it like a conductor from the paper talisman that he had on his body.

‘That’s quite the way to utilize the talismans’ Meng Lin thought as she released her own qi that began to interfere and disrupt the force surrounding her.

“What” the old man in red said in shock, not just him, the other old men began to take out talismans with a serious look as they began to worry.

The red-robed old man spoke some more before he took out a multicolored talisman and threw it out towards Meng Lin.

Crackle!!

Rumble!!!

As the multicolored talisman flew through the air, it crackled with an ominous energy. The air around it seemed to vibrate, and the ground beneath Meng Lin's feet trembled.

Meng Lin only had a split second to react as a lightning spear emerged before her eyes and struck out towards her head, threatening to kill her in one shot.

Peng!

The talisman collided with something hard causing a powerful explosion of energy that sent shockwaves rippling through the cave. Debris flew in all directions, and the force of the impact knocked some of the followers behind the old men who were unprepared.

Within the dust and smoke, Meng Lin had a calculating look on her face.

She raised her arm to see that there was a white mark on her forearm, from where she had blocked the attack.

She didn’t think it would be so powerful, and since she wasn’t expecting it to be so fast she was only able to raise her arm in the nick of time.

As the dust settled, Meng Lin locked eyes with the old man in red. His face contorted with surprise and disbelief. "Impossible," he muttered something that Meng Lin was finally able to understand.

The other old men also realized the situation and began throwing out talismans towards Meng Lin.

One of them threw out a multicolored talisman that emitted a fiery glow. Another old man chanted an incantation while throwing out a talisman as a gust of wind blew and threatened to knock Meng Lin off balance. The remaining old men unleashed a barrage of attacks, each talisman carrying a multicolor glow to them.

Meng Lin's mind raced as she assessed the situation. She wanted to see where her powers lay and that’s why she didn’t attack yet, however from what she could see, they were not enough for her to test her limits.

With a quick flick of her wrist, she summoned a protective shield of qi, forming a barrier around her.

The talismans collided with the barrier, causing sparks to fly and energy to ripple through the air.

Meng Lin could feel a little strain on her qi as she maintained the shield, but she felt that she could keep it maintained all day.

Looking at the crowd that continued to release one talisman after another toward her she smiled as her thoughts went to their talisman attacks. It seems that the multicolored talismans are of a higher grade, most likely at the Earth grade as there is only one sky-grade talisman master in this whole province.

She doesn’t know of the difference between earth grade and sky grade however she felt that she could still take a sky grade talisman master.

After her evaluation, Meng Lin decided that it was time for her to go on the offensive. She slowly started to gather her qi around her, causing the air around her to ripple and distort. The attacks finally stop and Meng Lin said in a low voice, "It’s my turn."

Suddenly, her body began to turn into a formless mist as she took on the second form of the Formless Cultivation Method, Form Eraser.

Two of the old men, alarmed by this change, quickly threw more talismans towards her, hoping to land a hit. But, to their disbelief, their attacks merely passed through the mist, unable to harm her.

With a swift motion, Meng Lin flew towards one of the old men and her misty hand materialized and the nails on her hand grew into claws.

Slice!

Across the body of the old man was a line that grew before ripping him in two.

The other old men began to take out talismans to escape but it was too late, Meng Lin moved fast, arriving before the old man in red.

His face contorted in horror as he took out a talisman to use in himself but Meng Lin’s claws already tore through him before he could act.

The three remaining old men and the dozens of people began to flee, each taking out various talismans to use, one of the old men was already over 40 meters away, fleeing in a multicolored ray of light.

Meng Lin stopped and reverted to her original form before reaching out with her left hand.

“You won’t be getting away”, she said with a cold gaze as she uttered “Core Manifestation”

Booom!!!

A large noise was heard, accompanied by a colossal water bubble materializing around Meng Lin, stretching outwards in a radius of 60 meters. Within the clear, aquatic sphere, everything instantly started to collapse and lose their form, a testament to the raw, chaotic energy contained within.

The three fleeing old men, previously at the edge of escape, suddenly found themselves within this terrifying domain. Their bodies started to disintegrate, turning into bloody mist within the water bubble. The dozens of people who were trying to flee, too, met the same fate, with some of them not even being able to let out a scream before they perished in a mist of blood.

The chaotic energy within the water bubble was so violent that it didn’t just turn their bodies into bloody mist but also their clothes, talismans, and even their very souls were affected.

The bubble lasted only for a few seconds, but within those seconds, the entire area was turned into a bloody mist, leaving nothing behind but Meng Lin standing in the middle of the rubble, unscathed.

The intensity of the scene was horrifying, the once lively active environment was now eerily silent, the only sound that could be heard was Meng Lin's calm breathing.

Slowly, the water bubble started to shrink, getting absorbed back into Meng Lin. The blood mist also started to dissipate, revealing the true extent of the devastation. Nothing was left of the surroundings, and if Meng Lin had not limited it to the surroundings then even the ground beneath her would have been destroyed.

Meng Lin stood alone in the rubble, her face showing no emotion. She was thinking about old man Liu, it was no wonder she couldn’t get a response from the talisman that he left behind.

At least she had avenged the old man, however she had killed dozens of people instantly, and she didn’t even have a shed of feeling towards it, only that it was what they deserved for trying to kill her.

Meng Lin sighed “It seems like I have changed,” she said while lost in thought.

Boom!!!

Hisss!!

From underneath the rubble came a burst of light with an angry hiss as Purple finally pulled itself out of the wreckage.

It looked around in anticipation of a fight but only saw Meng Lin standing there with her head low.

Slithering forward it rubbed its head on her hand, awakening Meng Lin from her thought process.

She patted his head before, pricking at his skin with her nail, with a grin she said “You came out too late, the battle is already over.”