Li Xian secretly thought to himself, "If I were to point him out on the spot, I really wouldn’t fear He Wentian. But the situation here is complicated; I need an excuse to hide my identity and observe quietly. With their constant talk of noble and righteous sects... it’s best for a small-time Flower Thief like me not to show up."

He then said, "That’s right, that makes sense. You should say I left after accomplishing my goal, not wanting to reveal my name. I reckon they should comply."

Lin Aoshan said, "Alright! I’ll help you right away." She immediately returned to the group of women and whispered something to Zhao Chunxia. Upon hearing that Li Xian had already left and wanted to conceal his name, Zhao Chunxia felt deeply disappointed, looked around, and suddenly felt a few degrees of internal discord.

But the opportunity for the alliance of the Sword Sect was too good to pass up, so she had to temporarily suppress her disappointment. She decided to put this matter aside for the moment.

Peng Sanluo asked, "Demon woman? Who is the demon woman?"

The disciple replied, "It’s truly... truly unexpected. Do the senior sisters and elders still remember in Flying Dragon City, there was a Madam Wang who was quite famous? She organized temple fairs, burned incense with golden utensils, and was extremely generous."

Mu Hongchou said, "Are you suggesting that the demon woman you’re referring to is that Madam Wang?"

The disciple said, "Indeed! This person is not actually surnamed Wang; her real name is Wen Caishang, also known as Lady Broken Sword! She’s a highly dangerous and cunning individual, extremely skilled in disguise, with a reputation for being generous and kind... All these virtues are deliberate disguises, and she has ulterior motives for lurking in Flying Dragon City."

The women exclaimed, "Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover. We’ve suffered too much because of this." "Madam Wang is actually Madam Wen, and City Lord He is equally deceitful—this world is truly... truly..." "People’s hearts are unpredictable, and today I’ve finally witnessed it!"

Tang Mengluo said, "Lady Broken Sword? I’ve vaguely heard of this name. This woman is extremely beautiful and equally dangerous. The term ’Broken Sword’ implies that her beauty can make heroes bow and surrender, and her skills can break even the Treasure Swords of heroes. She is both mysterious and incredibly formidable. But she has been silent for a long time; why has she suddenly appeared?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The disciple replied, "We do not know either, but she must be plotting something vicious. Otherwise, her hiding in Flying Dragon City and spending money so lavishly can’t be justified. Moreover, she is exceptionally familiar with hidden treasures, and the collapse of Jieyou Tower... was her doing! City Lord He felt deeply that he couldn’t rival this woman, so he specially requested our Sword Sect to assist in capturing her and stopping her evil deeds!"

The women were not angry upon hearing this, but instead clapped and cheered. The disciple found this rather odd, as the mention of ’He Wentian’ usually prompted curses, but due to the clamor of voices, no one could explain what had happened. The women were more concerned about their senior and junior brothers and elders, asking questions continuously. The disciple, filled with confusion, continued, "What’s even more enraging is that this demon woman has a ruthless heart. Our Five Mountains Sword Sect... to this day... to this day has lost over seventy disciples because of her."

With that, he burst into tears, pounding the ground in grief.

The women exclaimed repeatedly, urgently inquiring about the names of their familiar and close senior brothers and junior brothers to verify whether they were still alive. Upon learning that some had passed away, they couldn’t help but weep in sorrow.

He Lijun said, "What a demon woman! This demon woman rivals He Wentian in vileness! Our Five Mountains Sword Alliance has suffered terribly because of her. Tell us in detail, how did this demon woman cause harm?"

The disciple began to detail what they had encountered along the way. Ever since experiencing the "Palace Thundercloud," the Five Mountains Sword Alliance had felt guilty yet trusting of He Wentian. He Wentian’s words deceived them into joining forces to deal with Wen Caishang.

Everyone advanced deep into the area, encountering many traps along the way. Each time they barely caught a glimpse of Wen Caishang’s figure, they would fall into a grave danger or a large pitfall shortly thereafter. They were tormented to the point of extreme frustration and grievance.

The most dangerous incident occurred when the Five Mountains Sword Alliance and He Wentian, due to Wen Caishang’s scheming, were trapped in a stone chamber, and they didn’t even get close enough to touch an inch of her robe. Subsequently, the stone chamber began to flood, drowning numerous disciples of the Sword Sect and soldiers of Flying Dragon City on the spot.

With deep grievances, they naturally pursued with great effort. Fortunately, they chased her to the vicinity of the Black Hall, where the tolling bells seemingly worked in their favor. The gap narrowed, and a few times they even came face to face, gradually forcing that woman into armed confrontation.

The disciple said, "Esteemed elders, senior sisters, and junior sisters, since you’re all unharmed, please hurry forward. Quickly assist our Five Mountains Sword Alliance; this demon woman is truly not simple!"

"Our Sword Sect elders have surrounded that demon woman. Today, we are determined to kill her."

The women responded in unison, all heading in the directed pursuit. Li Xian mingled among the crowd, his mind racing, following along, while the scenery beside him swept past one by one. Despite being located below ground, this garden was as lush and vibrant as spring, offering an extremely beautiful view.

Suddenly, they saw a red Lake Heart Pavilion. Surrounding the lake were members of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, and a woman in a white dress sat elegantly in the Lake Heart Pavilion. A gust of lake wind blew, and her long hair fluttered, a fragrant scent wafting across everyone’s noses. She was graceful and composed, dignified and gentle, with a stone zither before her. It was carved when the Lake Heart Pavilion was built, and she gently played the instrument, its melodies drifting in the air, extremely relaxing.

Beyond the lake, shouting and cursing rang out, as if it were two different worlds.

Li Xian saw the lady again and murmured to himself, "The agreed time for the eye-gouging has come, yet the lady did not appear. Now we’ve encountered each other here, but she’s already surrounded by the various sects."