Chapter 2867: The Killer Appears

More than a month later, Du Xueyao left Qingjiao Valley alone. She was not ambushed and safely returned to Hundred Flowers Villa.

As soon as she returned, Du Yunfeng sought her out, his face grave. "Senior Wang has been waiting for a long time," he said. "Come with me."

The Du family's in-laws came to visit, and Wang Changsheng was among them, avoiding detection by others.

Indeed, this was Wang Changsheng's third plan.

"Senior Wang is here already?" Du Xueyao's expression hardened as she followed Du Yunfeng to a secret chamber over a hundred zhang large. Its stone walls were inscribed with numerous runes, emitting powerful restrictive fluctuations.

"Junior pays respects to Senior Wang." Du Xueyao quickly bowed with a respectful demeanor.

"I will be staying with the Du family for some time," Wang Changsheng instructed. "Unless there's an emergency, stay at Hundred Flowers Villa and do not mention my presence to anyone else."

He suspected that the enemy would target Du Xueyao, so he decided to stay with the Du family to protect her.

Wang Changsheng was so persistent mainly because he wanted to earn merit.

A racial war could break out at any time. If this matter truly involved the Lizard Clan, the Wang family would have earned merit, meaning fewer of their experts would be drawn away. However, without concrete evidence, it wouldn't count as merit.

The Grand Preceptor of the Profound Moon Sect was collecting the essence souls of Five-Yin Maidens, but there was no way to definitively prove a connection to the Lizard Clan.

Wang Changsheng had acquired many excellent materials through the auction, intending to use them for artifact refining. Refining artifacts at the Du family's residence was not much different from doing so on Qinglian Island.

If all the treasures were refined and the enemy still didn't appear, he would take Du Xueyao to Qinglian Island to ensure her safety.

"Yes, Senior Wang," Du Xueyao agreed.

Wang Changsheng gave a few more instructions and then dismissed them.

Wang Changsheng took out the Azure Lotus Spirit Refining Cauldron and his artifact refining materials and began to refine artifacts.

Seasons came and went, and sixty years passed.

It was night, and a bright white moon hung high in the sky.

A team of Du family disciples was patrolling near Hundred Flowers Villa, led by Du Xuefeng.

Du Xuefeng was Du Xueyao's cousin and possessed mid-stage Soul Transformation cultivation.

A streak of green light flew in from afar. Du Xuefeng's expression tightened, his face filled with vigilance.

Soon after, the green light stopped, revealing a portly old man in a green robe with a round face and small eyes, and a green gourd hanging from his waist.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, it's you. Why are you returning so late?" Du Xuefeng said with a smile. The old man in green was a guest elder of the Du family. He had saved a Du family elder many years ago and had been with the Du family for over five hundred years, frequently entering and leaving the estate.

"I have urgent business to report to Senior Du." The old man in green's expression was solemn.

"Then hurry on!" Du Xuefeng waved his hand, allowing him to pass.

The old man in green nodded and flew towards Hundred Flowers Villa.

Du Xuefeng continued leading his patrol. Less than fifteen minutes later, a deafening dragon roar erupted, reverberating through the sky. At the same time, a massive ball of crimson fire flared above Hundred Flowers Villa, and alarms blared loudly.

"Oh no! Enemy attack! Hurry back!" Du Xuefeng's face changed dramatically as he exclaimed.

Before they could return to Hundred Flowers Villa, a streak of golden light shot through the air, moving incredibly fast. Du Xuefeng had no time to stop it.

Hundred Flowers Villa was in ruins, with many collapsed houses and flames soaring skyward. Numerous Du family disciples lay on the ground, blood pooling around them.

A million li away lay a range of undulating mountains.

A streak of golden light rapidly swept across the sky, and after a flash, it landed in a valley surrounded on three sides by mountains.

The light dissipated, revealing a graceful young woman in a golden dress, her face full of joy.

She flicked her sleeve, and a formation flag, flickering with yellow light, flew out and disappeared into the stone wall.

The stone wall lit up with a yellow glow, revealing an opening several zhang wide. The young woman in the golden dress flickered and flew inside.

Soon after, she appeared inside a cave about an *mu* in size, where a large formation, over a hundred zhang in circumference, was situated.

Her figure flickered, and she appeared on top of the formation. Just as she was about to activate it, a man's loud roar rang out, and a large amount of rubble tumbled from the stone walls, falling to the ground.

The young woman in the golden dress let out a scream and passed out.

The ground burst open, and Wang Changsheng flew out from underground, his expression icy.

A late-stage Void Refinement cultivator had infiltrated the Du family to assassinate Du Xueyao.

He had the Mirrored Dragon create an illusion, deceiving the opponent into thinking they had killed Du Xueyao. Wang Changsheng had tracked them all the way here.

The opponent had also set up a teleportation array, showing extreme caution.

Wang Changsheng's figure flickered, and he appeared beside the young woman in the golden dress, using a secret soul-searching technique.

"The Grand Preceptor of the Profound Moon Sect! I finally found the real person." Wang Changsheng let out a sigh of relief, his expression grave.

This woman was sent by the Grand Preceptor of the Profound Moon Sect to carry out a mission. After succeeding, she was to use the teleportation array to leave and rendezvous with the Grand Preceptor.

Wang Changsheng's palm pierced through the young woman's chest, extracting a miniature Nascent Soul. He affixed a silver talisman to it and placed it into a jade box.

Wang Changsheng confiscated the young woman's belongings and collected her body as well, to be used as evidence.

He walked onto the teleportation array, and with a flick of his incantation, the array shook violently. A dazzling spiritual light flared, enveloping Wang Changsheng's figure.

After a slight dizzy spell, Wang Changsheng appeared in a giant valley.

As soon as he appeared, the void rippled, and a golden, shimmering hand materialized out of thin air, swatting towards Wang Changsheng's head.

Wang Changsheng showed no fear. His right hand glowed with dazzling blue light, and he met the attack.

With a thunderous roar, the golden hand shattered, the void vibrated and distorted, and a powerful surge of energy shattered the teleportation array.

A resounding Buddhist chant echoed, and a massive golden light barrier materialized out of thin air. On its surface was a large golden lotus pattern.

Grand Master Daren stood outside the golden light barrier, his expression icy.

"Coming here alone," Grand Master Daren scoffed, "should I call it courageous or utterly foolish?"

"As a member of the Buddhist sect, yet you go around collecting the essence souls of Five-Yin Maidens. No wonder you were able to deceive Fellow Daoist Long," Wang Changsheng said in a deep voice.

"Hmph, a member of the Buddhist sect? That's just a title. Only the wise adapt to circumstances. If you are willing to work for us, I can spare your life and provide you with cultivation resources. If you achieve great merit, even tribulation-transcending treasures would be within your grasp. How about it?" Grand Master Daren's tone was full of temptation.

"Hmph, I, Wang, may not be a good person, but to make me like you, selling my life to foreign races for a paltry gain—dream on! I will not kneel," Wang Changsheng said with disdain.

"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Since you pursued me alone, then I shall send you on your way. It'll be one less formidable enemy." Grand Master Daren's face turned cold, and he took out a pale golden formation plate, injecting an incantation into it.

He had made two preparations: if his subordinate teleported over, there would naturally be no issue; but if an unknown cultivator teleported over, he would activate the formation to destroy them.

In a one-on-one battle, he might not be a match for True Monarch Taihao, as True Monarch Taihao was renowned. However, trapping True Monarch Taihao with a seventh-tier formation now would pose no problem.

Buddhist chants resounded, filling the heavens and earth.

Inside the golden light barrier, the void vibrated and distorted. Countless golden Buddhist characters materialized out of thin air, and after radiating dazzling spiritual light, they twisted and transformed, turning into golden spears that shot straight towards Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng did not dare to be careless. He flicked his sleeve, and twelve Sea-Calming Beads flew out. With an incantation, the twelve Sea-Calming Beads revolved rapidly around him, and countless torrents of blue seawater surged forth.