Consort Dan might have lacked experience, but she was exceptionally clever. Though she was being pushed back step by step, she showed no signs of defeat.
"This Qin Thirteen is utterly despicable. If I use my techniques to suppress him, he'll inevitably use these mortal women as leverage to keep me in check."
Consort Dan's mind raced. "To kill him, I must strike true in a single blow. Otherwise, even on the verge of death, he'd drag these mortal women down with him."
Though Consort Dan had never met any of these women, she simply couldn't stand by and watch them perish, treating common lives like ants. It wasn't in her nature.
As for Qin Thirteen—though he appeared to have the upper hand against Consort Dan, deep down she felt no fear.
Over these years, she had trained under the Peacock Great Emperor, receiving his guidance and following a cultivation system he had tailored specifically for her.
More importantly, she still carried some high-grade equipment the Peacock Great Emperor had given her.
These treasures would give her the means to survive even against an Imperial Realm powerhouse, let alone a mere mid-stage Saint Realm expert whose strength was roughly equal to her own.
Qin Thirteen knew none of this. His broad saber grew ever fiercer, pinning Consort Dan down relentlessly. This only fueled his confidence, and an overwhelming desire to conquer gradually erased his earlier worries and wariness.
In that moment, he had only one thought: "I will take this beautiful woman!"
Qin Thirteen had roamed the martial world for many years—it wasn't as though he'd never seen a beautiful woman. But a woman with the bearing of the one before him? He truly never had.
Even if he'd caught a fleeting glimpse of one, those top-tier geniuses from first-rate sects existed in an entirely different world from him, far above, beings he could only look up to.
In plain terms, it was the gap between a toad and a swan.
And now, he felt that a swan was drawing close to his mouth.
Qin Thirteen had his own calculations. Whether those mortal women lived or died meant nothing to him. The entire pretense was simply to keep Consort Dan constrained—worried about the consequences of a careless strike.
In truth, he had no desire to fight down below.
A battle between Saint Realm experts on the ground would cause devastating destruction. This was the foundation of his Tree Spirit Sect, and he didn't want it ruined too badly.
So he had kept the fight with Consort Dan in the air all along.
As the two clashed, the various cultivators of the Tree Spirit Sect began emerging from the shadows, watching the aerial battle unfold.
Several of Qin Thirteen's close associates called out, "What are you all standing around for? Get in there and help!"
But Qin Thirteen laughed. "Brothers, just watch from below and see how your Sect Master takes this woman down!"
"Keep a close eye on those mortal ants! If even one of them escapes that courtyard, kill them without mercy!"
Qin Thirteen's order thoroughly crushed Consort Dan's hope of letting the mortal women escape. She knew that even if they got away, these powerless weak women could never break through the sect's defenses. The moment they stepped outside that courtyard, they would be dead.
Consort Dan looked around and saw cultivators filling the Treasure Tree Sect from every direction. There were at least a thousand of them, most at the Origin Realm.
There were even several Saint Realm warriors mixed in among them.
"This Qin Thirteen has actually gathered so many rogue cultivators here? The Treasure Tree Sect is only a sixth or seventh rank sect—does it really hold that much appeal?" Consort Dan found it strange.
Seeing the Treasure Tree Sect's gates swarming with cultivators on all sides, Consort Dan knew that dragging things out would only work against her.
She decided to cut the Gordian knot.
Her right hand swung the short blade while her left hand grasped at the void, producing three brilliantly colorful plumes. These were three peacock plumes—one of the protective treasures the Peacock Great Emperor had given her.
Consort Dan hurled them into the air, chanting under her breath.
In an instant, the three iridescent plumes conjured a sky full of shimmering five-colored divine radiance that flooded the entire void. The brilliant light they emitted blanketed the open space.
Qin Thirteen hadn't even reacted. A flash of surprise had barely crossed his eyes when, in the next instant, the five-colored radiance had already swept before him.
One of the peacock plumes transformed into a sharp blade and cleaved straight into his face.
Tssk!
A flash of light sliced through Qin Thirteen's body.
Then, with a tearing sound—
Qin Thirteen's body split down the middle into two halves, one falling to each side.
Boom!
His bisected corpse hit the ground almost simultaneously, sending up a spray of blood.
Even Consort Dan was stunned by the sight. When the Peacock Great Emperor had given her these three plumes, he'd simply told her that when she encountered danger, she could deploy them to slay enemies far above her level—that it would be no trouble at all.
Consort Dan had tried them half-expectantly, but the result left her dumbstruck.
Qin Thirteen, whose strength could have suppressed her, had been utterly powerless before the peacock plumes. He couldn't even react before being cleaved clean in two.
The three peacock plumes drifted back through the air, returning to their original form, lying quietly in Consort Dan's palm as if the bloody carnage moments before had nothing to do with them whatsoever.
Consort Dan's clear eyes gazed at the plumes in her hand, unable to believe what she'd just witnessed. Her heart was a tangle of emotions. "Your Majesty, you have been far too kind to Dan'er. Dan'er is dull-witted, yet she can never see through this entanglement of karma. Dan'er promises you—if I cannot find him this time, I will return peacefully to the Glazed King City and watch over Nian'er as she grows. But before that, please forgive Dan'er's willfulness. I came here seeking him, but even if I don't find him, I must find Grand Tutor Ye. His kindness to me has been just as immense…"