When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

This time, more demonic cultivators had come than before, at least twenty or thirty of them.

Although not all of them had reached the Nascent Soul realm, demonic cultivators possessed numerous techniques—using poisons, insects, or refining corpses into puppets—too many to count. In terms of combat power, they were no less formidable than ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators. Beyond these methods, what made them even more despicable was how certain demonic cultivators would steal souls and refine them, turning living people's souls into magical treasures—extremely sinister yet extremely powerful.

Take the current situation—seeing Yun Qingyue guarding the temple gate alone, holding the pass, and the demonic cultivators unable to break through despite repeated attempts, their leader finally grew impatient. He waved his hand and summoned a black and red banner enveloped in demonic energy. As he brandished it forward, a heavy mass of dark demonic energy surged toward Yun Qingyue.

The little white cat's sharp eyes immediately spotted several human faces interspersed within that demonic energy. Their expressions were contorted in pain, their appearances twisted, instantly reminiscent of legendary evil spirits—truly chilling to behold even for a moment.

Fortunately, even without Jiang Mo's warning, Yun Qingyue wouldn't miss such a dramatic display. Upon seeing the souls trapped within the demonic energy, her beautiful brows immediately furrowed, her expression darkening—she knew these were the souls of people victimized by the demonic cultivators. Not only had they lost their lives, but their souls had also been imprisoned and tortured by the demonic cultivators, now stripped of their rationality and turned into puppets.

These souls were truly pitiful, and Yun Qingyue felt both sympathy and indignation, but it was impossible for her to hesitate because of this. Instead, this sight fueled her anger. She formed hand seals and stepped in a mystical pattern, sweeping her hand to release a sword energy far stronger than before. It not only broke through the demonic energy and refined souls attacking her but also struck back at the lead demonic cultivator.

Where the Ice Frost Sword Intent passed, the air froze, magical treasures frosted over, and even two demonic cultivators who failed to retreat in time were frozen in place.

Seeing this, the lead demonic cultivator knew he was in trouble. He retreated dozens of steps yet still couldn't escape the threat. With no choice left, he raised the soul-refining banner to block. This soul banner had been refined with countless efforts—its frame made from the bones of a demonic dragon, its fabric woven from heavenly demon spider silk, and after years of refining and nurturing souls, it had become incredibly resilient.

Just one problem—the banner didn't yet contain enough souls, so it was one step short of advancement. The demonic cultivator didn't want to damage the soul banner at this critical moment, and seeing Yun Qingyue's formidable sword intent made him even less willing to take risks.

However, compared to his personal safety, the soul banner wasn't quite as important... With a loud "BANG," the demonic dragon bone on the banner finally blocked the sword energy. Frost crept up from the banner to the lead cultivator's hand, though he dispersed it with his demonic energy. Nevertheless, his expression was far from pleasant, for he clearly saw a deep sword mark left on the demonic dragon bone, and the demonic energy of the soul banner had dissipated by a third.

After recognizing Yun Qingyue's formidable power, the demonic cultivator finally spoke: "Who are you to meddle in others' affairs? Isn't the Canglán Secret Realm big enough, aren't there enough treasures inside? Why must you oppose us here?"

Yun Qingyue ignored his implied retreat, swinging her hand to unleash another sword strike.

The demonic cultivator's face darkened further. This time, he dared not use the soul banner to block and instead pulled out a small knife from his body and threw it forward. The knife was also a high-grade magical treasure, though clearly being used as a sacrificial piece now—at least it blocked the sword energy momentarily, allowing him to dodge with ease.

But this was certainly not a long-term solution. The demonic cultivator was seething inside yet had no choice but to speak plainly: "If you leave now, we'll mind our own business. We won't stop you."

Although Yun Qingyue appeared imposing, she had to acknowledge that the demonic cultivators had strength in numbers. Currently, she relied on guarding the temple gate. If these demonic cultivators were to enter Foguang Temple, she would be at a disadvantage in future confrontations—this temple was neither her territory nor did she have any connection to it. If Tan Xin hadn't been inside, if she hadn't happened to listen to the old monk's sermon, she would certainly have retreated when faced with this situation.

But there were no "ifs," so Yun Qingyue remained unmoved, each sword strike she unleashed undiminished in power.

Seeing that verbal persuasion was ineffective, the lead demonic cultivator grew frustrated and immediately ordered everyone to attack forcefully. If they couldn't defeat Yun Qingyue, they would at least keep her occupied while breaking down the temple gates to enter.

The scene quickly descended into chaos. Under the fierce assault of the demonic cultivators, Yun Qingyue was forced to retreat, gradually giving up her position at the temple gates.

The little white cat had been observing the battle for a long while, several times itching to join the fight, but ultimately restraining herself—these demonic cultivators were destined enemies, and if she couldn't ensure they would all be eliminated, it was best not to reveal herself rashly, otherwise her identity would be exposed and bring more trouble to her senior sister. So she could only make subtle moves behind the scenes, never truly showing herself, fighting alongside her senior sister.

However, as the situation gradually worsened, the little white cat grew anxious. She looked back several times—regardless of whether those monks in the main hall were human or ghost, it was their temple being attacked, wasn't it? How could they have the nerve to hide in the main hall without coming out?!

But indeed, no one emerged from the main hall. The old monk's sermon continued uninterrupted, and even Tan Xin seemed to ignore the disturbance at the temple gate.

The little white cat grew somewhat angry. Seeing that all the demonic cultivators had invaded the temple, she forcefully tapped the ground twice with her front paws. The next moment, a tall figure suddenly appeared behind the demonic cultivators. Before they could react, it swung a heavy sword. Some unfortunate demonic cultivators who couldn't dodge in time were cut in half at the waist, only their Nascent Souls escaping in terror.

A Nascent Soul without a physical body is vulnerable, yet also extremely dangerous, especially those of demonic cultivators. They wouldn't honestly seek precious materials to rebuild their bodies; instead, they would take shortcuts and directly possess others.

Although Jiang Mo wasn't very familiar with demonic cultivators, she had seen plenty before and naturally wouldn't overlook such a threat. Thus, before the Nascent Soul could escape in the chaos, several golden lights appeared around it, mercilessly destroying it.

Though it takes long to describe, everything happened in an instant.

And just as the suddenly appearing tall puppet drew everyone's attention, Yun Qingyue struck again with her sword, this time unleashing her ultimate move—as she swung her sword, the surrounding water vapor rapidly gathered toward her blade's point, instantly coalescing into a fierce tiger that roared to the heavens before pouncing toward the enemy with an intimidating aura.

The tiger formed from frost was naturally white, with faintly visible stripes... The little white cat, who had just successfully launched a sneak attack, stared at the ice tiger, then stared again, suddenly realizing it looked familiar.

The system, silent for so long, finally spoke up: "Stop looking, host. This ice tiger is identical to you when you transform to your larger size."

It was unexpected, and quite embarrassing for the tiger.

The little white cat secretly glanced at her senior sister, then watched as the ice tiger remained solid while pouncing around the battlefield. She very much wanted to personally join her senior sister in battle. But seeing that her senior sister still had things well in hand, she ultimately held back. She merely tapped her paws on the ground again, and the tall puppet that had been fighting the demonic cultivators suddenly paused, immediately giving a demonic cultivator the opportunity to split it in two.

Unfortunately, before that successful demonic cultivator could rejoice, the bisected puppet showed signs of activity again. After a series of transformations, the original single puppet became two. Though smaller in size, they were now more agile and troublesome...

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The door to the main hall stood open, allowing the sounds from outside to transmit inside unhindered. The monks within remained unmoved, and the old monk's sermon continued unhurriedly, as if completely oblivious to everything happening outside.

No one paid attention to the situation outside, except for Tan Xin.

Although Tan Xin had initially been engrossed in the sermon, he was neither deaf nor blind. With the sounds of attack so clearly entering the hall, he naturally guessed what was happening outside—demonic cultivators had indeed come in pursuit, and the one currently fighting them could only be Senior Sister Yun. This matter had nothing to do with her originally, yet she had become involved. How could Tan Xin, the person directly concerned, ignore it?

Therefore, even though the old monk's sermon had reached a critical point, even though he had gained significant insights in this brief moment, he resolutely stood up, intending to go out and fight alongside Yun Qingyue.

All the monks in the hall were sitting cross-legged, making Tan Xin's rising very conspicuous and eye-catching.

The sermon suddenly stopped. Tan Xin looked up and saw that the old monk was looking at him. Though elderly, his eyes remained clear as ever, and his gaze toward Tan Xin was neither sad nor happy as he asked, "Are you leaving?"

For some reason, Tan Xin felt somewhat ashamed. He pressed his palms together and bowed: "Thank you for your guidance today, Master. I still have worldly matters unfinished and fear I cannot stay to hear more of your teachings." He didn't mention that the demonic cultivators were invading Foguang Temple's grounds, nor did he ask the assembled monks to join him in repelling the enemy, seeming to know such persuasion would be meaningless.

Indeed, the monks in the hall continued to ignore the events outside. Even the old monk with the highest cultivation among them didn't glance outside once. He merely looked deeply at Tan Xin, then sighed lightly: "So be it. You may go. Such is fate."

Tan Xin bowed once more, then turned to leave. At the doorway, he looked back.

The old monk still sat in his original position. Seeing Tan Xin turn back, he smiled at him, then raised a finger and pointed to his own heart.

Tan Xin didn't understand the meaning, but the old monk clearly had no intention of explaining. After this gesture, he closed his eyes again. He no longer lectured, and seeing this, the monks also closed their eyes and began chanting sutras. The sound of Buddhist chanting rose once more within Foguang Temple.

Everything seemed to return to its original state, leaving Tan Xin with an inexplicable sense of loss and melancholy. However, the sounds of battle outside never ceased, and he had no desire to linger. He finally turned and rushed outside—the benefits of listening to this sermon were undeniable. Not only was his spiritual energy replenished, but his cultivation had also shown signs of breakthrough. His departure would not be a burden to others.

By the time Tan Xin reached the battle scene, Yun Qingyue and the demonic cultivators had pushed the battlefield quite a distance inward from the temple gate. However, the demonic cultivators' attack wasn't directed toward the main hall, but toward the pagoda behind it.

Although Yun Qingyue and the little white tiger didn't know why, they understood they couldn't let the demonic cultivators succeed.

When Tan Xin appeared, the demonic cultivators, stimulated by something unknown, suddenly divided their forces. In an instant, half their numbers turned to attack Tan Xin. The pressure on Yun Qingyue and the little white tiger abruptly decreased.