After leaving the ruins of the Wang residence, Bai Qingxue did not flee far.
She took Little Snow to a secure cave in the barren mountains on the outskirts of Stonia, set up a simple concealment formation, and began to plan.
"Yuxia is vindictive by nature. The Wang family massacre must have made her feel she's vented her anger." Bai Qingxue sat cross-legged, a cold gleam flickering in her eyes. "But she definitely won't stop there. I must eliminate this threat."
Little Snow lay by her knee, looking up at her and letting out a soft cry.
Bai Qingxue stroked her head: "You think we should fight back too, don't you? Hiding isn't a solution. Besides..." The image of that charred ruin appeared before her eyes again. “Those innocent people cannot have died in vain.”
She took out the jade which Dustin had given her, rubbing the smooth jade surface thoughtfully.
This man Dustin, though he had lost all his cultivation, possessed excellent medical skills and an extraordinary bearing—perhaps he had some unexpected connections.
But the current matter involved immortal cultivation clans and was extremely dangerous. She was unwilling to drag unrelated mortals into it.
"However," Bai Qingxue's gaze sharpened slightly, "perhaps I can leverage the situation."
She recalled the two special auras she had sensed in the park a few days ago—Qin Hao and Qin Xue.
Those two were clearly also disciples of a hidden clan, with deep auras and considerable cultivation. They seemed to hold a certain transcendent indifference toward the mortal world, different from arrogant types like Yuxia.
Their appearance in Stonia surely meant they had plans.
If she could lead Yuxia toward where they were, perhaps she could create some chaos, or even... use them as borrowed blades to kill.
But this plan was too risky. The depth and attitudes of those siblings were unknown. Rashly involving them might backfire.
After pondering for a long time, Bai Qingxue ultimately shook her head.
The safest approach for now was still to rely on herself, along with whatever limited help she might be able to contact.
She closed her eyes and focused, her fingertip tracing patterns in the air before her, spiritual energy forming a complex rune.
This was a secret communication method unique to the Bai family. Due to the family's upheaval, very few could be reached this way, and the distance couldn't be too far, but perhaps there was still a sliver of hope.
The rune flickered several times before quietly dissipating, receiving no immediate response.
Bai Qingxue wasn't discouraged—this had always been just an attempt.
"Next, it's time to 'flee.'" Bai Qingxue opened her eyes, a cold arc forming at the corner of her lips.
She deliberately left several traces carrying faint hints of her aura within a small area, pointing toward the vast mountain range northwest of Stonia.
The terrain there was complex and rarely visited by humans—a common choice for cultivators to battle or hide. At the same time, she cleverly allowed a wisp of her aura to "accidentally" leak out, attaching it to a low-level independent cultivator passing by the outer reaches of the barren mountains.
Having done all this, Bai Qingxue took Little Snow and headed truly toward the depths of the northwestern mountains.
But she didn't venture blindly deeper. Instead, at the edge of a valley with treacherous terrain, surrounded by mountains on three sides, she found a hidden spot and began setting up formations.
This wasn't originally her area of expertise, but the Bai family heritage included a volume on formations, and being naturally talented, she had studied some of it.
Now, she took out the few spirit stones she had left along with some materials containing spiritual energy. Combining these with the valley's existing terrain and features, she laid down a composite formation focused on trapping enemies—the "Mist-Lock Spirit Formation."
Once activated, this formation could generate clouds and mist to obscure vision and partially block spiritual sense detection. It could also slow the spiritual energy circulation of those who entered. Though limited by materials and not powerful enough to trap and kill experts, it was sufficient to create chaos and buy time.
Setting up the formation took her most of the day and consumed much of the spiritual energy she had reserved for healing.
But her gaze was resolved, without hesitation.
"Now, all that's left is to wait." Bai Qingxue swallowed a pill and sat cross-legged at the formation's core to meditate. Little Snow alertly crouched on a rock outside the formation, standing guard.
Two days later, on the outskirts of the northwestern mountains from Stonia.
Immortal Lady Yuxia listened to her subordinate's report with a grim expression.
"Immortal Lady, following that faint trace of aura, we discovered signs of Bai Qingxue's presence about a hundred li to the northwest. There are indeed residual fluctuations from healing and meditation." The sinister man reported respectfully.
“The northwestern mountains?” Immortal Lady Yuxia sneered. "So she's trying to hide in the deep mountains to heal. Does she think I won't be able to find her there?"
"Immortal Lady, the Seventh Elder and the Shadow Guards will arrive in Stonia tomorrow. Should we wait for the Seventh Elder before..." another guard cautiously suggested.
“Wait?” Immortal Lady Yuxia shrieked. "By then, that wretch might have healed and fled far away! She's seriously injured and not yet recovered—now is the perfect time to capture her! The Seventh Elder wants her taken alive. If we can seize her first, wouldn't that be a great achievement? Even if we can't catch her, if we can wound her severely and corner her, it'll be easy pickings once the Seventh Elder arrives!"
Whenever she thought of Bai Qingxue, her teeth itched with hatred. Especially when she thought of her son Lin'er, whose injuries still hadn't healed, who was tormented by cold poison and cried out in pain from time to time—her fury burned even hotter.
The Wang family massacre had provided some relief, but only capturing Bai Qingxue would truly satisfy her.
– Marine
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