Chapter 1350: Hunter and Prey

Yun Jianyue snorted coldly and immediately summoned the Changxin Palace Lantern. The raging sea of White Lotus Flame was instantly absorbed into it, shrinking to a tiny, soybean-sized flicker that violently danced within the lamp. It seemed to struggle with all its might but remained unable to escape the lantern's confinement.

Banka was greatly alarmed, never having expected his trump card to be defeated so easily. At this point, he couldn't help but realize he had hit a brick wall. Without hesitation, he turned and ran. Hyenas possess immense stamina; even lions are no match for them in long-distance chases.

However, Yun Jianyue gave him no such chance. Moving like lightning, she appeared behind him almost instantly. She then seized his head and effortlessly plucked it off. Indeed, "plucked" was the most fitting word; it was hard to find another to describe the action.

Banka, meanwhile, remained oblivious. As he ran with all his might, he suddenly felt his entire body become lighter. Then he saw a figure appear ahead. How could this person be running so frantically without a head? As this question arose, he suddenly realized a terrifying possibility. Then, his consciousness completely faded into darkness.

The headless body continued to run for a moment longer before collapsing weakly to the ground. Blood gushed from its neck, and it lay twitching on the ground.

Witnessing this horrifying scene, Heichigu was scared out of his wits. He frantically ran in the opposite direction, his legs so weak he nearly stumbled several times. Yun Jianyue, like the grim reaper, swiftly reaped the lives of Banka's surrounding subordinates.

Sensing death approach, Heichigu shouted as he ran, "You can't kill me! I'm from the Heichi family! My uncle is the current Emperor's uncle, the Grand Minister of Works, and my elder brother is..." Before he could finish, he heard a whoosh from behind. Fearing he would meet Banka's fate, Heichigu quickly turned and opened his gaping mouth to bite his assailant. His black teeth gleamed ominously. This was his family's innate ability: teeth so hard they could easily crush metal and jade, and coated with venom. Anyone bitten by them, no matter how powerful, would die on the spot.

Unfortunately for him, he had encountered the Demonic Sect Master, who had fought her way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. There was no way she would be caught off guard and ambushed. A sharp gust of wind from her finger struck his forehead first, and a mist of blood immediately burst from the back of his head. His once aggressive, wide-open mouth instantly sagged limply. Heichigu fell backward in despair, his eyes wide open, seemingly unable to believe that someone truly dared to kill him within the royal court.

In the blink of an eye, the hunters became the hunted. Not a single one of the previously vicious individuals in the clearing was left breathing. Yu Yanluo was secretly startled. She was accustomed to seeing Yun Jianyue bicker with Yan Xuehen, acting like a mischievous young girl. Only now did she recall that Yun Jianyue was the infamous Demonic Sect Master.

Yan Xuehen, her face frosty, retorted, "Fiendish woman, you are far too ruthless! How could you kill so many people?"

"Womanly compassion, spare me your lectures." Perhaps due to the recent slaughter, a hint of ferocity still lingered in Yun Jianyue's eyes. "If you're not convinced, then let's spar."

Seeing that the two genuinely seemed on the verge of fighting, Zu An quickly stepped in to mediate. "Actually, Sister Yun did this for the safety of our group. If we let them go, it would invite even stronger retaliation, and our information would be leaked. All sides would start paying attention to us and investigating us, even the Demon Emperor would take notice. At that point, none of us would likely survive. Sister Yun knew all this, but you know her personality – she would never bother to explain herself to us."

Yun Jianyue's eyes flickered slightly. *This guy actually understands me,* she thought. However, she denied it verbally, saying, "Why be so long-winded? This Venerable One simply felt like killing; there are no other reasons." Yan Xuehen had, in fact, largely guessed the reason. However, as a long-standing righteous leader, she found such drastic methods difficult to accept. What angered her more was that Zu An had chosen to side with Yun Jianyue, despite their much closer relationship!

Rage points from Yan Xuehen +333, +333, +333...

Zu An jumped in surprise, not understanding what he had done to offend her.

Just then, the Changxin Palace Lantern in Yun Jianyue's hand began to tremble violently, as if it could explode at any moment.

"What's wrong?" Zu An quickly asked.

Yun Jianyue said gravely, "I was able to seize Banka's White Lotus True Flame by exploiting his low cultivation level and unfamiliarity with controlling it. However, the White Lotus True Flame is a unique entity in this world – as the saying goes, 'one mountain cannot hold two tigers.' Although I could temporarily absorb it with the Changxin Palace Lantern, the two true flames within are incompatible. If they remain together for too long, they're likely to erupt completely."

At this point, Yan Xuehen put aside her anger and quickly said, "We need a container to store this true flame. But ordinary objects cannot contain it; they would be instantly incinerated into ash."

"Unfortunately, Banka's furnace was damaged during the fight," Yu Yanluo said, picking up the completely deformed and shattered furnace next to Banka's corpse. It seemed the violent power of the Changxin Palace Lantern pulling out the White Lotus True Flame had caused its destruction.

"That's because some people are too ruthless in their attacks," Yan Xuehen retorted, glaring fiercely at Yun Jianyue.

Yun Jianyue's phoenix eyes narrowed, about to flare up. Seeing them about to argue again, Zu An quickly said, "I do have something here; I wonder if it could contain this White Lotus True Flame." As he spoke, he pulled out the Nine Cauldrons, which he had obtained long ago from Shenxuzi's courtyard behind the National Academy. After initially using it to refine some Essence Gathering Pills, he hadn't touched it for a long time. In his opinion, since the item was used for refining pills with fire, it must naturally have extremely high resistance to fire.

Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both uttered exclamations of surprise. "At first glance, your cauldron seems unremarkable, but upon closer inspection, it's truly extraordinary. Even we can't quite discern its depths. It just might work."

Yun Jianyue instructed Zu An on how to contain the flame. The Changxin Palace Lantern's trembling had reached its limit, and fearing damage to it, she released the White Lotus True Flame. In doing so, it incinerated the hyena tribesmen and the assassins from the Heichi family cleanly, leaving not even a trace of ash. Zu An, seizing the opportunity, followed Yun Jianyue's method and absorbed the White Lotus True Flame into the Nine Cauldrons. Yun Jianyue, standing by, couldn't help but praise, "Your talent, young man, is truly exceptional. You learn things so quickly."

Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes, thinking, *Have you forgotten his transcendent talent?* She suddenly recalled that it was his essence blood that had nourished her, causing her, originally gravely wounded and weak, to recover to her current fighting strength... A faint blush immediately appeared on her fair cheeks.

At this moment, Zu An had successfully and intently contained the White Lotus True Flame. The White Lotus True Flame, which had initially been wild and unruly, instantly became docile once inside the Nine Cauldrons.

Yan Xuehen clicked her tongue in wonder, "This cauldron is quite interesting."

"Let's go back first; it seems the Golden Crow Guards are heading this way," Yu Yanluo anxiously warned, gazing at the distant dust cloud. Clearly, the disturbance here had been significant enough to alarm higher-ranking officials. Heichigu's influence alone could no longer prevent them from coming to investigate. The others naturally had no objections and quickly withdrew.

After they left, a troop of Golden Crow Guards soon arrived, led by none other than General Ma Tian of the Left Guard. He had been banished to investigate the assassin's whereabouts outside the palace after the assassin had infiltrated it. He had rushed over with his men after sensing the unusual energy fluctuations here. Seeing the scorched area, he couldn't help but frown.

He had many capable subordinates, and soon someone reported that a great battle must have just occurred there. All clues had been destroyed by fire, and such immense destructive power generated in such a short time could only be attributed to the legendary true flames. "True flames?" Ma Tian frowned slightly. *Why does the royal court feel so turbulent lately?*

"Send men to investigate the soldiers who just blocked our way and ask them whose orders they were following to cordon off the streets." Soon, someone returned with a report, and Ma Tian's face darkened. "Huh, it's the Heichi family again?" He had been severely implicated by them before!