Chapter 5: The Fierce Battle of Five

“Fair one, if you refuse to negotiate, so be it. But even if you know you can't defeat the four of us, there's no need to cast aside your spirit weapon. Once your weapon is gone, wouldn't you have no choice but to surrender? Don’t let it be so easy for us! Hahaha!” The Immortal of the Nine Netherworlds let out a sinister, cackling laugh that echoed around the spring and waterfall, startling flocks of birds, hoping the sound would unsettle the Peony Fairy’s mind.

The Peony Fairy was unfazed by his mockery. Instead, her beautiful eyes flashed coldly, and her rosy lips parted as she uttered a single command: “Divide!” The word materialized in golden light and shot straight into the mid-grade spirit sword she had just thrown.

The sword, hilt up and blade down, began to spin in circles in the air before her. As the golden word entered the blade, the sword split into twelve identical spirit swords.

Seeing the Peony Fairy remain silent but unleash twelve swords, the four of the Hundred Poisons Cult hastily scattered, wary of accidentally injuring themselves once the battle began.

But the Peony Fairy cared nothing for their retreat, nor did she worry about their escape. She immediately let out another crisp command: “Go!” The word split into twelve, each flying toward a sword. As soon as the words merged with the swords, they shot toward the four cultists like meteors.

It was clear the four had grossly underestimated the power and cultivation of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

In an instant, the four were thrown into chaos by the twelve sword attacks, their defeat all but certain.

...

The Cult Master of the Hundred Poisons, the Immortal of the Nine Netherworlds, had not expected the Peony Fairy’s cultivation to be so profound—her famed reputation was truly deserved. On the way there, the four had schemed to suggest an alliance through marriage, planning to lull the Peony Fairy into complacency. Then, the two envoys from the north and south would seize the chance to use the “Enthralling Blossoms Powder”; once poisoned, she would be at their mercy.

But unexpectedly, the Peony Fairy struck first, catching them completely off-guard. For a moment, the Immortal’s mind whirled with regret and frustration; plans never keep pace with sudden change.

...

The Immortal of the Nine Netherworlds was unwilling to flee in defeat, yet he now found himself with no easy way out.

Moreover, even if they did flee, the Peony Fairy would surely give chase, making escape even more unlikely. Realizing it was all because of Elder Jin’s faulty intelligence, he wanted to curse the fool for failing to uncover the Peony Fairy’s true strength. But with danger at hand, he suppressed his anger and shouted, “North and South Envoys, proceed as planned! Elder Jin, what are you waiting for? Use the Enchantment Bell!”

At the command, the two envoys ignored the swords still attacking them. They leapt into the air, positioning themselves above the Peony Fairy. Each drew a small black pouch from their robes, reached in, and flung handfuls of red powder toward her.

The powder drifted down, transforming into a pink mist that enveloped the Peony Fairy. Though she did not know the nature of the substance, she was certain nothing from a demonic cult could be harmless. Yet she remained utterly calm, lightly leaping aside to dodge the cloud with ease.

Elder Jin saw her evade the “Enthralling Blossoms Powder,” but his expression did not change. He reached into his robe and produced a palm-sized bronze bell—the very Enchantment Bell mentioned earlier, a low-grade spirit tool.

Holding the bell before him, he chanted quietly and formed a strange gesture with both hands. Suddenly, streams of spiritual energy surged from his body into the bell. The bell began to shake on its own, emitting the lascivious moans of men and women entwined in passion.

As the sounds echoed, the four cultists burst into raucous, lewd laughter, hoping to break the Peony Fairy’s defenses with the Enchantment Bell.

At the first sound, the Peony Fairy was momentarily dazed, a fleeting haze of desire clouding her mind for the first time in her nine hundred years of cultivation. But she quickly suppressed the disturbance, biting her tongue and regaining her clarity.

Their actions only strengthened her resolve to utterly destroy the four before her.

Inwardly, she seethed: How many female cultivators in the spiritual world had fallen to these evil objects? Even death a thousand times would not be enough for these four.

In that instant of distraction, the Immortal of the Nine Netherworlds seized his chance, spitting out a command: “Draw!” The twelve spirit swords were immediately pulled toward him.

Seeing her swords wrested from her control and all attacking only the Immortal of the Nine Netherworlds, the Peony Fairy frowned but did not rush into her next move. Instead, she lightly touched the black ring on her middle finger with her right thumb. Four golden rectangular talismans, each about the size of an iPhone X Plus, flew from her hand, each inscribed with the character for “Suppress.”

She parted her lips and uttered, “Suppress.” The word flew into the talismans, making the characters blaze with golden light as streams of spiritual power coursed across their surfaces. The talismans grew steadily larger.

These were her life-bound treasures, refined after attaining the Nascent Soul stage—a power she had never yet used in battle, but whose might rivaled even the most seasoned of life-bound artifacts.

The four talismans were directly controlled by her Nascent Soul, immune to external influence unless she herself was annihilated.

The Peony Fairy’s hatred for the Hundred Poisons Cult ran deep. When she first entered the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers, a dear junior sister had fallen victim to their poison, leaving her heartbroken. Yet, knowing her early cultivation was too shallow to take revenge, she had devoted herself to training, and with her unique extreme-yin constitution, reached the Nascent Soul stage in record time.

Afterward, she studied the cult’s weaknesses, and upon discovering them, crafted these talismans specifically to counter the Hundred Poisons Cult: the “Suppress Evil Talisman.”

Once the talismans had grown large, she uttered, “Go!” The word entered the talismans, and the four golden seals shot toward the four cultists, each targeting one of them, stopping before them and bathing them in golden light.