Calling for reinforcements now… she didn’t know if there would be enough time.

Wen Yuncheng glanced at the ordinary people in the dungeon and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming they weren’t injured. Without further delay, she used her displacement skill to return to Lin Jinyu’s side, instantly recalling Number One.

The moment she was steady, Wen Yuncheng eagerly told Lin Jinyu the news she had gathered at the stronghold. After relaying the information, she explained her dilemma. “That’s just a holding area. To find the blood sacrifice site, we have to wait for that Star Venerate to lead the way. A Star Emperor from Fu might be presiding over the actual ritual, so there’s no way it’s just one Star Venerate… But if we wait for reinforcements, I’m not sure these residents can afford to wait.”

“I’ve already notified the nearby sects. Seniors will be arriving shortly.” Lin Jinyu was ultimately unwilling to take the risk. After Wen Yuncheng left, she had thought for a moment before using a communication stone to inform Sect Master Lin that they had found a stronghold. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all. It was shortsighted of me, to be honest.” Wen Yuncheng scratched her head. She had only been thinking of it as a scouting mission, not a full-blown operation. The moment she entered the stronghold and realized the situation was serious, she immediately thought of calling for backup. Lin Jinyu’s actions had actually helped her a great deal. The only question was whether any Star Emperors would come from the nearby sects. If only a few Star Kings arrived, they would… likely be cannon fodder. She didn’t know when the Star Venerate would arrive to pick up the residents. If they had an exact time, they could decide on a better course of action.

Wen Yuncheng stroked her chin, trying to think of a plan that would solve both problems. “What if… I were to mix in with the residents?”

“What if there’s a Star Emperor at the blood sacrifice site? Even if there isn’t, you’d have to drop your disguise to fight, and you wouldn’t be able to use the displacement skill with your three Apostles. If the area is confined, it would be difficult to deploy your machines,” Lin Jinyu said, directly pointing out the flaws in Wen Yuncheng’s tentative plan. “Besides, even if you blend in, you’d have a hard time protecting those residents if a battle breaks out during the ritual.”

Wen Yuncheng’s spirits immediately sank. The Mechanical Overlord template was perfectly suited for being a war machine. Whether for sieges or defense, as long as the terrain was open, she was a one-woman army. But when it came to protecting fragile, ordinary people or fighting in tight spaces, she was indeed at a disadvantage.

“Let’s see when that Star Venerate arrives.” Lin Jinyu raised a hand to brush her scabbard, her gaze fixed on the village. “You just need to place a marker on him.”

Wen Yuncheng sprayed Number Two with green paint and had it lie in a pile of grass to observe the situation. She and Lin Jinyu then retreated. Since they were meeting reinforcements from the sects, they couldn’t do it right outside the enemy’s nest—that would be too obvious.

Fortunately, the reinforcements from the sects arrived first.

The aid didn’t come from some unknown minor sect. The village was indeed remote, but the closest major sect was Zhengxi Tower. With most of the Star Emperors away dealing with the Huanling, the ones who rushed over were three Star Venerate-level seniors, all elders of Zhengxi Tower.

The Star Emperors had, of course, been notified as well, but it would take them time to arrive. Upon hearing the sudden news of a blood sacrifice and a Fu stronghold, Zhengxi Tower, being the closest major sect, had naturally dispatched the strongest forces they had available at a moment’s notice.

“Greetings, Seniors!” Upon seeing the reinforcements, Wen Yuncheng politely greeted each of the three Star Venerates. She then explained the situation inside the stronghold and their plan.

Now with three Star Venerates backing them, Wen Yuncheng was full of confidence. “We have a special tracking method, so we need to let that Star Venerate escape. Lin Jinyu and I can handle him when he arrives. We hope you three seniors can then head to the stronghold, subdue the Star King in the dungeon, and rescue the residents unharmed… Oh, and the Fu members in the dungeon must be killed instantly. Don’t leave a single one alive, or we’ll be exposed. What do you think, Seniors…?”

“A trivial matter.” The three elders exchanged a look and agreed with a smile. “However, you two will be facing the Star Venerate?”

“It’s not that we don’t trust you, but you’re both so young. To put it bluntly, if anything were to happen to you…”

“Seniors, there’s no need to worry. I’m already a 3rd Layer Star King. Although Jinyu is a 2nd Layer Star King, if she activates her sword intent and attacks with her full power, she can fight a Star Venerate to a standstill for a short time without any problem,” Wen Yuncheng said confidently.

“The Fu organization seeks to maintain a low profile, so they won’t fight us with their full strength here,” Lin Jinyu added. “If that Star Venerate senses something is wrong and can’t defeat us quickly, he will definitely retreat.”

“In that case, we’ll do as you say.”

“I wonder how many more people they need, really…” the Star Venerate sighed as he flew through the air. He was finding it harder and harder to understand what the higher-ups were plotting. A blood sacrifice? What on earth were they sacrificing to?

He spotted the village from a distance and was slowing his flight to descend when alarms suddenly blared in his mind. “Who’s there!”

There was no reply. Wen Yuncheng, under the enhanced effects of Camouflage and Illusion Dream (Modified), piloted her Floating Magnetic Disk to close in on him. As he shouted in alarm, she had already fired a Magnetic Pulse!

He was sent flying! Wen Yuncheng followed up with a stun grenade. At that very moment, Lin Jinyu, who had been on the ground building up her sword intent for a long time, soared into the air. Boundless killing intent wrapped in a frigid aura—her Profound-rank longsword slashed down fiercely. The sharp sword intent instantly tore through the void and struck the Star Venerate directly!

Wen Yuncheng awkwardly froze the hand she was about to use to call in Airstrike Support. She felt… they might have overdone it. Had they just nearly one-shot a Star Venerate? That didn’t make sense. Was this Star Venerate really that fragile? It was a sneak attack, a well-planned one at that, but wasn’t he a little too weak? Did he have no sense of alertness at all?

This wouldn’t do! Bro! Sir! You can’t die! Wen Yuncheng didn’t dare use Airstrike Support. Instead, she raised the Mountain River Seal and slammed it into the Star Venerate, knocking him a little farther away before slapping an Monitor on him. A large, bloody gash had been torn across the Star Venerate’s chest by the sword qi. He clutched his chest, coughing up blood, not even daring to utter a threat. Using the force from the Mountain River Seal, he fled with great speed.

Wen Yuncheng put on a show, chasing him for a while on her Floating Magnetic Disk and firing a few symbolic shots from her Star Hand Cannon. The terrified Star Venerate didn’t even dare to look back. Enduring his injuries, he activated two defensive spirit treasures and vanished from Wen Yuncheng’s sight as a tiny black dot.

It all happened so fast. When Wen Yuncheng returned to Lin Jinyu’s side, the Little Ice Mountain also seemed a bit embarrassed. Wen Yuncheng thoughtfully refrained from commenting and instead praised her. “We’re a match made in heaven! See? From now on, we can ambush Star Venerate-level experts just like this. As long as we set up a good ambush, we can instantly kill them with a burst of power!”

“…I didn’t expect an unguarded Star Venerate to be… so easily and severely injured.” Lin Jinyu had deliberately charged that sword strike for a long time, unleashing what could be called a 120% burst of power. She had been afraid of failing to cripple him on the first strike, which would have allowed him to attack Wen Yuncheng. But as it turned out… the Star Venerate had been just a hair’s breadth from death.

“It’s fine. That Star Venerate didn’t expect it either. A good result is a good result!” Wen Yuncheng told her not to worry about the minor details. “If we had accidentally killed him, it would just mean he was too weak. We’re both Star Kings. A Star Venerate getting killed by Star Kings is his problem, no matter how you look at it.” She comforted the Little Ice Mountain. Being strong was a good thing. After all, Lin Jinyu had never had a chance to test a sword strike that had been charged for so long with her full power… The Star Venerate could only blame his own bad luck.

When they returned to the village, they saw the three Star Venerates leading out a large group of residents with sallow complexions. Their faces were waxy and yellow, a clear sign that the Fu organization hadn’t been feeding them much. Wen Yuncheng took out a large amount of dry rations from her storage ring and distributed them. As the three Star Venerates comforted the residents, one said to Wen Yuncheng, “It’s all taken care of. That Star King had a Yellow-rank defensive spirit treasure. Do you want it?”

“Haha, that’s the seniors’ spoils of war. I won’t take it.” In truth, Wen Yuncheng no longer cared for Yellow-rank spirit treasures. She rarely even used her own treasures, like the Mountain River Seal. The Flying Sky Shuttle’s consciousness attack was at least somewhat unique, but as for the others, like the heart-protecting mirror and the cauldron… she had barely used them.

For the sake of the residents’ safety, Wen Yuncheng had even given up the experience points from the Fu members. Why would she care about a Yellow-rank spirit treasure?

They took the frightened residents to a nearby town to be temporarily settled. The Empire would have to step in to handle their future arrangements.

Over the next few days, Wen Yuncheng kept a close watch on the Star Venerate’s movements. He never stayed in one place for long and was constantly on the move. Wen Yuncheng guessed he was healing while traveling. After all, Lin Jinyu’s slash… had been quite terrifying.

Wen Yuncheng silently marked the Star Venerate’s trajectory on a map while she and Lin Jinyu tailed him. The Empire’s reinforcements soon found them. The arriving Star Emperors were all familiar faces: Chu Han, Mo Dingtian, the kind Senior from Dream Haven Sect, the Star Emperor from Xuancheng Academy, and one person Wen Yuncheng hadn’t expected—Grandpa Lin.

Protector Di Feng hadn’t come, which Wen Yuncheng completely understood. That Protector’s temper was beyond explosive; when he went mad, he’d even attack himself. For a mission that required stealth, Di Feng was an unstable element.

However, the moment she saw Grandpa Lin, Wen Yuncheng instantly forgot what expression she was supposed to be wearing. She felt extremely awkward. She had nothing in her storage ring that could serve as a gift for their first meeting. Seeing him so suddenly, she even forgot to greet Senior Chu Han and the others. It was Lin Jinyu who pulled her along to greet them one by one before calmly introducing Wen Yuncheng to her grandfather.

“Grandpa, this is Wen Yuncheng.”

“Haha, I know, I know. I knew of her when you asked me to save her back then.” Grandpa Lin laughed heartily and patted Wen Yuncheng’s shoulder. “Aren’t you going to call me Grandpa?”

“!!!” Wen Yuncheng snapped out of her daze and quickly said, “Hello, Grandpa! I’m Wen Yuncheng!” Then, at 1947’s friendly suggestion, she bought a tin of premium, spirit-rich tea from a cultivation plane in the system’s store and presented it with both hands. “Grandpa, I didn’t prepare a gift… This tin of tea is to show my respect to you.”