Xiao Manxuan's words weren't finished when Miss felt a gust at the back of her head, danger approaching. She didn't have time to react and could only hug Xiao Manxuan and roll aside to avoid the threat.

It was a narrow escape; a long-handled blade brushed past her clothes, cutting deep into the ground.

Miss turned her head and saw another imposing Skull Man. Although this skull was unmounted, it was armored better than ordinary Skeleton Soldiers, and the weapon it wielded wasn't an ordinary saber, but a heavy long-handled blade.

The long-handled blade might be unfamiliar to many, but everyone knows the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade from history, wielded by Martial Saint Guan Yu. The Crescent Blade is a type of long-handled blade, extremely heavy, making its slashes particularly powerful.

From the weapon it wielded, Miss guessed that this skull was at least at the Chiliarch level. If it had been before she was injured, she could have easily ignored the Skull Man of the Chiliarch level, but now she was at her limit.

The Skull Man swiftly raised the long-handled blade again, sweeping it mercilessly with great force, creating a whooshing sound in the air. Miss again raised her sword to resist. She had no other choice, her sister was right beside her.

With a "clang," the long-handled blade was deflected, but Miss was shaken by the enormous power, retreating with a mouthful of blood sprayed out, and the talisman paper she held fell and fluttered into the air.

The long-handled blade came back again, slashing down, but Miss was already severely injured and coughing blood. Xiao Manxuan, without thinking, threw herself onto her sister, trying to block the blade with her own body.

But she waited for some time and didn't see the blade descend, nor did any other Skeleton Soldiers come to attack. Confused, she turned to look and saw an astonishing sight.

The long-handled blade was actually blocked by the talisman paper in the air. The seemingly fragile yellow paper blocked the heavy blade. The Skull Man, devoid of soul or mind, only had battle instincts and clearly couldn't comprehend the phenomenon before him.

After a failed strike, it retracted its long-handled blade and slashed again. But at this moment, the yellow talisman suddenly glowed with an earth-colored light, which quickly spread into a hemispherical light curtain that enveloped Miss and Xiao Manxuan inside.

The long-handled blade hit the light curtain as expected, but it only caused water-like ripples without breaking through. The surrounding Skeleton Soldiers gathered at the edge of the light curtain. Unable to proceed, they slashed with their blades, but no matter how many Skeleton Soldiers hacked, the light curtain showed no sign of breaking.

"This... this is the Demon Exorcist's defense barrier!" Miss said in shock, the blood at the corner of her mouth still fresh. "Lin Tian wasn't lying. This is a true peace charm."

"Demon Exorcist? Like the one who appeared at Fanyin Temple, the sister who knew magic?" Xiao Manxuan looked up at the semi-transparent light curtain, speaking curiously.

"The one at Fanyin Temple indeed was a Demon Exorcist, but for your classmate to produce this kind of talisman is remarkable. I wonder what her background is?" Miss asked, confused.

Xiao Manxuan shook her head and said, "I don't know either. Sister Yu, like Lin Tian, is a transfer student in our class. Her family seems strange; she is the only one."

"Whatever it is, she's been a great help. We don't know how long this defense barrier will hold. I need to perform breath control to recover my True Qi, in case the situation changes. Xuanxuan, don't leave the barrier to find Lin Tian. Wait until I recover my True Qi," Miss said sternly. Although worried, Xiao Manxuan nodded.

Miss was about to sit cross-legged when the clear night sky suddenly changed, with clouds covering the once-starry sky.

The sisters thought it was just a weather change, but the clouds continued to press lower until, within a few breaths, they almost touched the highest chimney of the abandoned factory. The bright moonlight and starlight vanished, replaced by ominous clouds as if the end was near.

Within the barrier, Lin Tian was alone, battling two Skull War Generals on Skull Warhorses. His clothes were in tatters, but the two Skull War Generals weren't much better off—one had lost its left hand, while the other was in worse shape, with its left hand gone and ribs mostly shattered.

However, Lin Tian couldn't feel relief. He had severed the skull's arm bones more than once, but they always regenerated quickly.

The regenerating Skull War Generals and their Skull Warhorses seemed as if accompanied by a Priest or Shaman that heals them, enduring and resilient in battle, quickly returning to their original state when shrouded in black mist.

For now, he didn't have to fight the Skull War Generals, as all the skeletons had stopped. Lin Tian noticed that the cause of their halt was the thick cloud layer descending upon the blood-colored barrier.

Within the clouds, purple electric flashes moved, looking both eerie and magnificently beautiful.

"Oh my, is a fellow cultivator undergoing tribulation? Such a big scene," Lin Tian couldn't help but say.

"Brother Tian, what's undergoing tribulation?" Rossi asked curiously.

Lin Tian blinked and said, "You Western monsters don't undergo tribulation, so it's understandable you don't get it. Undergoing tribulation is when, among the Six Paths of Life, cultivators—human, god, demon, and so on—reach a certain level and the heavens send down tribulation to test them. Pass it, and they advance smoothly. Fail, and they turn to dust."

Of course, Lin Tian was just making it up, but suddenly he thought of the "tribulation" character in Xiao Manxuan's name. Could it be this little girl's tribulation?

While he was lost in thought, Charlotte spoke up, "Who's there? Come out. Don't play tricks!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the dark clouds in the sky surged, and a purple lightning bolt struck—not at Charlotte, but at the blood-colored barrier.

A dazzling spark erupted where the barrier and lightning met, as if the lightning had the upper hand, tearing a big gap in the blood-colored barrier.

A figure passed through the barrier, landing on the rooftop opposite Charlotte. Lin Tian squinted and saw a slender figure in purple, clearly a woman. Even with her back to him, Lin Tian recognized who it was.

The purple dress, a purple belt cinched at the slender waist—on closer inspection, one would find that the purple belt was actually a soft whip. What's more astonishing is that above her head hovered a Seal.

Seemingly not jade yet not quite not, the Seal was entirely white. Its base was squared with ancient patterns carved into it, and atop the base roared a white tiger looking skyward.

The white tiger's form was so lifelike that one could almost hear its kingly roar.

"I say, Celestial Master, why are you everywhere?" Lin Tian said in surprise, looking at the purple figure on the rooftop.

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