Hou Xiaomei recalled all the past events that Yan Xiaobao had been involved in and smiled. Finally, she took a deep breath. Her eyes filled with determination, her cheeks flushed, she decided she must strive to cultivate. If she didn't, there was no hope for anything to happen between her and Yan Xiaobao.

With the stories of Ye Xiao spreading, Yan Xiaobao sat beneath the Blood Pool, cultivating. With the help of the powerful Blood Qi in the area, he was already working on the second layer of the Immortal Heavenly King.

So far, more than half of the Heavenspan River water had merged into his first spiritual ocean. Soon, this process would be complete.

This meant he had begun to break through from early foundation establishment. It was also another step forward in his control of great magic. At that time, he would be able to experiment in ways he had only ever dreamed of before.

Although he hadn't encountered the opportunity to use his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, he was sure that when he opened it, it would be stronger than ever.

Then there was his Mountain Shaking Bash. He continued to practice with it, and as he became more familiar with it, rumbling sounds echoed around his Immortal Cave.

He also hadn't given up on his work with atomic energy. Although he hadn't mastered it, he was sure it was an extraordinary magic, and the thought of being able to harness the forces of attraction and repulsion made his heart pound with anticipation.

"If I fully understand it, then if someone stronger than me is chasing me, I can flick my finger, and they won't be able to come near. As for those weaker than me, I can wave my hand, and they will fly towards me." When he thought of this, his eyes sparkled like diamonds. "Being able to force people to come and go at my will. Now that is a level in itself." The more Yan Xiaobao thought about it, the more he looked forward to it. He could almost imagine what it would be like when he mastered atomic ability, reducing things to ashes with a wave of his hand. The swoosh of his sleeves could send distant enemies far away while bringing friends close to protect them.

It was a fascinating thought, and Yan Xiaobao watched for a moment before deciding to do some more testing.

He worked diligently for more than half a month.

One night, during his study of atomic power, a blood-colored sedan chair turned towards the direction of the sect, carried on the shoulders of eight Stone Statue Ghosts.

On either side of the sedan chair were the masters of the palace maids, holding blood-colored lanterns, causing scarlet light to spill in all directions. Inside the sedan was Xue Mei, wearing a mask, staring seriously at the jade in her hand.

She had left the sect a few months prior on a mission. After killing some profound sect disciples from a local cultivation family, she was now on her way back to the sect.

"Ye Xiao..." Looking at the sect, her eyes glowed with murderous intent. About a month ago, while still on her mission, she heard other disciples talking about Nightcrypt. She knew of the chaos in Zhongshan and that her Immortal Cave had been destroyed...

Now, even more murderous intent lingered in her eyes. In the past, she hadn't given much thought to Nightcrypt. To her, he was like an ant, someone who could be killed with a flick of a hat.

If not for her being on a mission, she would have arranged for his extinction. Even the fact that he had been hiding on Corpse Peak didn't matter. Of course, she wouldn't do it herself.

But at that time, Nightcrypt had actually destroyed her Immortal Cave. Later came the news of him battling a group of foundation stage cultivators, even absorbing all the Blood Qi of the Middle Peak during his Reverse Blood Ancestor's awakening. It was truly an amazing achievement.

However, if Xue Mei wanted him dead, she could still make it happen!

She waved her hand and said, "To Middle Peak!"

In response to her words, the palace maids and Stone Statue Ghosts changed direction. They were now heading towards Middle Peak in the dark night instead of towards Ancestor Peak.

Her arrival created pressure that many foundation-establishing cultivators could sense, and they immediately saw the blood-colored sedan. As for those who had battled Yan Xiaobao before, their eyes flickered with emotion.

This was especially true for Master God-Diviner. He now lived in a relatively crude Immortal Cave, and when he saw Xue Mei's sedan flying through the air, he began to tremble excitedly.

"Let's see how you hide this time, Nightcrypt! Everyone else fears attacking you. Even Patriarch Limitless has approved of you. But, Miss Xue Mei has reached the nine Tideflows, and she is the 'beloved daughter' of Patriarch Limitless! If she wants you dead, even the clan leader won't stop her! You're dead, Nightcrypt!"

Though it was very quiet on Middle Peak, if you listened closely, you could hear many cultivators trying their best to stifle their breathing. It was like the calm before the storm.

Soon the blood-colored sedan hovered over Xue Mei's Immortal Cave. When Xue Mei saw the rubble below, she began to breathe heavily. She transformed into a beam of blood-colored light, shooting towards the Immortal Cave.

Her sleeve waved, sending countless rocks and pieces of rubble flying away, revealing a destroyed Spell formation and the shattered remnants of her Blood Bottle.

As she stared at her bottle, her murderous aura grew stronger and stronger, until explosive energy formed around her. Surprisingly, nine vortexes could be seen swirling around her.

These were the manifestations of her nine Tideflows from the Earthstring foundation establishment. They spun rapidly until they looked like nine massive tornadoes, causing a widespread shock to cultivators in the area. A moment later, Xue Mei's voice echoed, filled with boundless killing intent.

"Where is Nightcrypt!?"

Master God-Diviner had been closely watching what was happening, and upon hearing her words, he suddenly burst forth, flying over. He clenched his hands and bowed his head in excitement, saying, "Miss Xue Mei, please take charge here. Nightcrypt is irredeemably vicious, a villain guilty of every conceivable crime. Not only did he destroy your Immortal Cave, but he also killed many fellow disciples of the sect. Then he stole my Immortal Cave! That is where you can find him right now. I'll lead the way, Miss!"

Xue Mei looked at Master Shen with a gaze that made his heart pound. To avoid her gaze, he quickly led her towards Yan Xiaobao.

Quite a few other foundation-establishing cultivators were secretly watching in the area, and they began to follow. When they anticipated witnessing Miss Xue Mei slaughter Bai Xiaochun, a sinister look appeared in their eyes.

"Nightcrypt is dead!"

"Hmph! Let's see him be arrogant and aggressive this time! He can bully us, but he'll be like a worm before Miss Xue Mei!"

"Miss Xue Mei achieved the nine Tideflows, shaking the entire eastern lower reaches of the Cultivation World. Aside from the legendary Bai Xiaochun, who could be a match for her?"

They eagerly followed until they were outside Yan Xiaobao's new Immortal Cave.

"Miss Xue Mei," Immortal Master Shen gritted his teeth, "the scoundrel is right in here!" After everything that happened, Master God-Diviner loathed Yan Xiaobao to the bone.

Xue Mei looked at the Immortal Cave and Blood Tree with a vicious face. The Blood Tree opened its eyes and immediately started trembling. None of them dared to say a word; clearly, they could feel that Miss Xue Mei was much more terrifying than Ye Xiao.

Not only did they not say a single word, but they also uprooted themselves and moved aside, revealing the Blood Pool and Immortal Cave.

Xue Mei's killing intent slowly turned into Blood Qi, swirling around her as she started moving forward. She took a moment to hover directly above the Immortal Cave. There, she raised her right hand, turning it blood red before pushing it downwards.

The entire Middle Peak trembled in response, and an identical Spell formation appeared as when the clan leader moved not too many days ago. A tremendous amount of Blood Qi rotated together, converging beneath Xue Mei, forming a massive blood-colored plum blossom. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Then, the plum blossom began to descend towards the Immortal Cave!

The cave's Spell formation activated, trying to fight back, but the blood-colored plum blossom was too strong. It had converged all the Blood Qi of the area and seemed capable of completely controlling the Spell formation. The formation could only hold on for a few breaths of time before vanishing. Then, Xue Mei's assault continued to descend.

Incredible rumbling sounds echoed in all directions. As Yan Xiaobao's Immortal Cave began to collapse, the crowd watched with excitement, rocks and rubble tumbling in all directions.

"Miss Xue Mei is all-powerful!"

...