Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Chapter 345 Lin Xunfan's Death

The rain-soaked sky was heavy, while the glint of swords and the clash of blades were clearly visible.

The moment the raindrops in front of him were cut off by the blade, Lin Xunfan's fear reached its peak.

That vague feeling became crystal clear in an instant, no longer the dull drumbeat pounding on the heart, but transformed into a cold, murderous glint of a blade.

Before the cry for help could even escape his lips, his gaze plummeted downwards, as if he had suddenly fallen from the clouds.

"Sister...cough cough cough...cough..."

The young man hurriedly opened his mouth, but after uttering only a single word, blood began to flow from his mouth like a burst dam.

Xue Lan stared at the astonished head on the ground.

After all, he was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator; he was indeed not easy to die from.

Lin Xunfan felt his gaze change again, and the autumn rain fell in thin streams, like cold needles pricking his face.

In the pitch-black night, everything was somewhat blurry, except for the pair of icy blue eyes above my eyes that remained bright.

It's like a lamp guiding someone to the underworld before they die.

The inner demon possessing Xue Lan's body looked at Lin Xunfan with a vicious smile in its eyes.

The woman slowly squatted down and met Lin Xunfan's eyes, which were filled with a thousand resentments and ten thousand fears.

"Your sister doesn't seem to have time to save you right now!" The gentle tone belied the chilling words spoken.

"That fellow Daoist was unwilling to tell me her name, but that doesn't matter."

"Xue has always been self-sufficient."

Lin Xunfan's remaining rationality instantly made him realize what this person was going to do. A small white figure flew out from the body of the young man lying to the side and flew into the depths of the dark rainy night in the blink of an eye.

"Trying to run?" The inner demon chuckled softly, glancing at the faint white figure beside him.

Xue Lan, in her soul form, raised her hand, and the causal lines on her wrist twitched slightly.

A kite tethered by a string, without a strong wind... will never escape the grasp of the person holding the string.

Lin Xunfan's nascent soul was burning its own cultivation to escape forward, and in the blink of an eye it reached the edge of the great formation, crashing headfirst into the pale golden barrier.

Yan Chengxue, hiding in the shadows, manipulated the formation to block the man:

"Xue Lan, are you failing me?"

His response was a familiar yet unfamiliar, cold female voice:

"Of course not."

Yan Chengxue was slightly taken aback, her brows furrowing slightly.

Before he could voice his question, he witnessed an incredibly shocking scene.

The nascent soul figure that had just tried its best to break out of the formation suddenly flew back in the direction it had come from at an extremely strange angle.

It felt like something was pulling it.

Yan Chengxue's unease resurfaced. He was a disciple of the War Puppet Mansion and had some knowledge of puppetry and weapon techniques.

The way that Nascent Soul figure was taken away just now was as if it had been implanted with puppet strings, unable to control its own body.

The young man wanted to check on Xue Lan's situation, but the formation could not function without human intervention.

So, having no other choice, he had to use his divine sense to investigate.

Xue Lan used the causal thread to bring back Lin Xunfan's escaped nascent soul, and felt extremely pleased to see the terrified expression on his face.

The inner demon sheathed the long sword in his hand, and with a trace of strange spiritual power in his fingertips, he pointed at the brow of the Nascent Soul figure.

"Soul-stirring!"

The woman uttered these two words softly, and the nascent soul figure beneath her hand let out an exceptionally shrill scream, which pierced everyone's minds like a sharp sword.

Lin Su and Lu Feng, who were hiding in the shadows, heard the shrill scream and shuddered at the same time.

Accompanied by a shrill scream, the inner demon slowly drew out a wisp of grayish-white soul energy from between the eyebrows of the nascent soul figure.

Xue Lan's calm voice slowly sounded beside him:

"Be careful, after all, they are scions of a noble family from the upper realm, and there are bound to be some restrictions in their sea of ​​consciousness."

The inner demon spoke nonchalantly: "So what if there are restrictions? You're here, aren't you?"

Xue Lan was relieved by the trust her inner demon had placed in her; the woman slowly shook her head.

"I don't want to cause any trouble for Ember."

Xue Lan flicked her sleeves to drive away the non-existent dampness.

"The Pure Ice Lotus I left in the Ice Flower Pool should be almost used up. Jin Guang has been impersonating me in the Northern Region for a thousand years, and still has to deal with those wicked immortals and demons..."

"She's clearly just an innocent little sword spirit."

The inner demon rolled its eyes at Xue Lan.

Lord Wolf King's cultivation, magic, and temperament are all top-notch in the Yuanming Realm.

My eyesight and memory aren't very good.

The inner demon wanted to ask Xue Lan what a "pure and innocent little sword spirit" was, someone whose infamous killings made both humans and demons in the upper realm tremble.

Or perhaps in Xue Lan's eyes, anyone with a childlike form is a pure and adorable little child.

Xue Lan knew that her inner demon must have something to say to her, but for some reason, this person had no way of expressing it.

The inner demon silently criticized Xue Lan in his mind, and continued to entangle Lin Xunfan's soul.

Just as the soul was about to be drawn out, Xue Lan suddenly spoke:

"coming."

The instant Xue Lan finished speaking, a layer of cyan-blue light suddenly appeared on Lin Xunfan's originally gray soul, containing firepower that ordinary people could not resist. Using part of his soul as fuel, it burned directly towards the direction of the inner demon.

The inner demon scoffed: "A mere trick."

The woman's right hand, which was holding the soul, remained in the same position, while her free left hand instantly formed a palm and pressed down on the layer of blue-green flames.

Dark demonic energy surged forth and covered the flames. The inner demon turned and glanced at Xue Lan.

"Make your move. Under the cover of my demonic energy, no one will discover you."

The term "inner demon" is accurate. She is Xue Lan's inner demon, something entirely new that no one in the upper realm has ever seen before. The purity of her demonic energy is comparable to that of the sons of the demon gods.

With her covering for Xue Lan, everything was indeed foolproof.

Xue Lan nodded and raised her hand to draw a delicate little inscription in mid-air.

The moment the small inscription appeared, the causal thread connecting Xue Lan's wrist and Lin Xunfan snapped, turning to ashes and disappearing completely.

At the same time, the inner demon pulled Lin Xunfan's soul out, and a wisp of soul smoke flew into the inscription floating in mid-air.

The inscription flickered a few times in mid-air, emitting a faint golden hue.

Xue Lan raised her hand and slowly touched the inscription, beginning to peruse Lin Xunfan's memories.

In the Lin family of the Upper Realm, the old man in blue robes in the warm pavilion suddenly opened his eyes.

With a wave of his sleeve, a delicate jade pendant appeared out of thin air in his hand, engraved with three characters:

Lin Xunfan.

The moment he made his move, the three characters engraved on the jade tablet slowly disappeared, as if they had been casually erased.

The old man in blue frowned and disappeared from the warm pavilion in an instant.

Lin Xunfan's soul had already lost all its vitality during the brief exchange, and when it fell into Xue Lan's hands, it was like a tattered book.

After Xue Lan finished reviewing Lin Xunfan's memories, the magic seal disappeared into the air with a wave of her hand.

"He really is a good-for-nothing abandoned by the Lin family; he doesn't have much useful information."

After hearing Xue Lan's words, the inner demon looked somewhat disappointed:

"Although I expected it, I'm still a little unhappy."

As the woman spoke, the long, black sword reappeared in her hand.

She looked at the center of the array, where the magical light was emanating: "It seems we can only rely on that Fellow Daoist Lin."

Upon hearing this, Xue Lan gathered her sleeves and said, "Her name is Lin Shuang."

The inner demon didn't react for a moment: "Who?"

"I learned from Lin Xunfan's memories that the fellow Daoist who was about to die was named Lin Shuang."

Xue Lan pondered the name in her heart, her voice filled with endless emotion:

"The mountain mists and fogs dissipate with the sunrise, and so does the night frost in her forest."

After saying this, Xue Lan slowly returned to her body, and the two similar figures merged into one.

When she opened her eyes again, the woman's eyes had changed from clear ice blue to calm gray-white.

Whether he was a proud wolf king in his past life or a madman who had fallen into demonic possession.

At the very least, in front of her close friends, she has to be Xue Lan, the senior sister of Jiyuan Peak of the Xuanhuang Sect.

The moment Lin Xunfan fell, Lin Shuang in the center of the formation sensed it.

The life force in Lin Xunfan's body was like a faint candle flame that was extinguished in an instant, without any mercy.

Just who exactly is Xue Lan?

In the instant the woman pondered, the ghostly figure of the Azure Puppet Mother approached again, her fingers with jet-black nails aimed directly at Lin Shuang's eyes.

The woman bent back, the handle of her blue oiled paper umbrella wedging the puppet's arm, and countless wind blades, like tiny insects, wrapped around the puppet mother's sleeve.

In just a short while, half of its sleeve was devoured.

The tall puppet stepped back a distance, its crimson eyes fixed on Lin Shuang.

Lin Shuang held an oil-paper umbrella and looked behind the puppet mother through the rain curtain falling around the umbrella, meeting Wu Yijun's gaze.

Although the puppet itself was a magical artifact that was only half a step away from being a divine artifact, the most troublesome thing was Wu Yijun, who was always hiding behind the puppet and controlling it.

She was incredibly skillful.

Under Wu Yijun's control, the towering Azure Silk Puppet Mother did not resemble a puppet tethered by threads, but rather seemed to be a part of her body.

In addition, Lin Shuang sensed the changes in the surrounding array.

The young man who was hiding in the shadows manipulating the array was also a big problem.

The current situation is not optimistic. After dodging another attack from the Azure Puppet Mother, Lin Shuang landed on the giant tree behind her like a light butterfly.

A few raindrops fell onto the surface of the oil-paper umbrella in her hand. Lin Shuang casually flicked the raindrops off, a gentle smile on her face.

Wu Yijun looked at the woman above him: "Fellow Daoist, are you leaving?"

Lin Shuang countered, "If I said I wanted to, would you let me leave?"

Wu Yijun shook his head honestly: "Your companion just died at our hands a few breaths ago. If letting you out now leads to any trouble later, I will regret it to death."

After saying this, the woman moved her fingertips slightly again, and the Azure Puppet Mother flew towards Lin Shuang, turning into a dark green afterimage.

In an instant, the dark green afterimage clashed with the invisible wind blades once more, causing sand and stones to fly everywhere. If it weren't for the outermost array, the radiant light would have leveled a large area of ​​the surrounding forest.

When Xue Lan arrived, this was the scene she saw.

Yan Chengxue, who had been hiding in the shadows, quietly approached Xue Lan and revealed herself.

"He's dead?" the young man asked with a smile.

Xue Lan nodded: "Not only did he die, but his soul was also searched."

Yan Chengxue clicked her tongue twice: "Although you are cruel, I still have to say you did a great job."

Xue Lan found the man's reaction rather strange. The woman looked at the young man beside her and asked, "Aren't you curious why I, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, can defeat an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?"

Yan Chengxue nodded slowly: "Indeed, we should be curious. So how did you win?"

Xue Lan curled her lips into a smirk and said in a cocky tone, "It's a secret."

Yan Chengxue shrugged: "You've always been like this since you were little. You always like people to ask you questions, but then you never tell them."

The young man wore a casual smile.

"Anyway, it won't cause any major upheaval, nor will it kill me for no reason, so I'll just let you be."

Xue Lan raised the long sword in her hand to her eyes, looking at the gleaming blade, and spoke:

"So, I'm actually quite free."

Yan Chengxue chuckled softly: "You want to go in and help?"

Xue Lan glanced at the young man and asked him with a smile, "Looking at the scene now, does anything come to mind?"

Yan Chengxue looked at the dark, cold rainy night in front of her and smiled softly.

"I remembered."

The Battle of Luoxia Mountain took place on a cold, dark, rainy night.

Xue Lan formed a sword finger with her left hand, erasing all the murderous aura from the longsword. As she put it into her sleeve, she casually took out the Chonglou Illusionary Treasure Map.

Yan Chengxue saw the Chonglou Illusionary Treasure Map transform into a very form-fitting black robe on Xue Lan's body. The large golden lotuses embroidered on it resembled a golden river. The only flaw was that there was a large tear in the sleeve.

Sensing Yan Chengxue's gaze falling on her sleeve, Xue Lan chuckled: "It was from last time, I haven't had time to mend it yet."

After saying this, Xue Lan took the Soul Guide out of her sleeve again.

While manipulating the small array flags in her hand, Yan Chengxue teased Xue Lan, "So you've finally decided to let your daughter get her hands on some blood?"

"After all, it's a weapon. How can one go through life without ever killing someone?" Xue Lan smiled slightly, holding the small, chubby sword in her hand, and lightly flicked it with her fingertip.

"Little Soul".

The Soul-Guiding Sword emitted a soft sword cry, radiating a sharp sword intent.

Xue Lan leaped into the air and headed towards the center of the great formation:

"You stay here and guard the great formation. I'm going to meet that Fellow Daoist Lin."

A fierce burst of magical light rippled out from the center of the great formation in another collision. Lin Shuang looked at Wu Yijun, who was gradually struggling, and a smile appeared on her lips.

He is indeed a rare genius in the lower realm, but there is still a gap between him and her.

The woman slowly opened her hands, then clenched them.

The raindrops that had been flung off the oil-paper umbrella earlier had somehow appeared behind Wu Yijun, transforming into several sharp wind blades that swiftly struck the puppet strings manipulated by the woman's fingertips.

"Clang! Buzz!"

The taut puppet strings sparked a dazzling burst of sparks under the impact of the wind blades, before finally snapping under the strain.

Wu Yijun covered his bleeding left hand and took a few steps back, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

The woman slowly straightened up, smiling as she shook the blood off her hands.

On the side of the girl's fair wrist, there was a long bloodstain.

"Hmm?" Lin Shuang narrowed her eyes slightly. Based on what had just happened, this person's wrist should have been severed by the broken puppet strings.

"wrong!"

Lin Shuang reacted quickly, but in a deadly battle between Nascent Soul cultivators, it was still too slow. A dark green shadow appeared behind her, a particularly obscure light flashing in its dark red eyes.

The next instant, sharp claws struck her protective aura directly, shattering it layer by layer. A deep, bone-revealing wound was left on the woman's back.

Lin Shuang looked at Wu Yijun's injured hand with some embarrassment. The puppet threads that had been completely broken had not been reconnected, but several other puppet threads had appeared at the woman's fingertips, resembling spider silk under the gloomy sky.

The woman in red slowly spoke to Lin Shuang:

"Does fellow Daoist believe that puppeteers only have one set of puppet strings to control their puppets?"