After throwing Heaven Fury into the sword box and fearing it might cause more trouble, Xiang Haikui locked the box tightly.

“Senior, you should go back and rest.”

“If I stay to keep you company, would it disturb you?”

“Oh, not really.”

Yin Changli then sat cross-legged beside her, clearly intending to keep vigil with her through the night.

Xiang Haikui didn’t continue to drive him away.

The two kept watch for most of the night; the night sky was quiet, not even a crow could be heard.

The opponent seemed to have believed her words and gone home to study the mechanism of the Heaven Fury Sword, no longer continuing to drive demon beasts to consume her spiritual energy.

Xiang Haikui yawned several times in succession.

“If you’re tired, why not go back and rest?” Yin Changli suggested.

“I’m not tired,” Xiang Haikui smiled. “It’s just that when I’m beside you, it’s a conditioned reflex—I can’t stay alert.”

Yin Changli was puzzled: “Why?”

Xiang Haikui: “Before, every time we had combat training, you would take me there. After I was completely exhausted, you would bring me back to the little black ball palace. My first reaction was always to lie on the ground and rest.”

At that time, her life had suddenly taken a turn, transforming from a university student who studied and worked part-time into a female warrior.

Her living environment had also changed from the comfortable modern society to one besieged on all sides.

Under tremendous pressure, she only slept soundly inside the little black ball.

She understood it wasn’t the little black ball that gave her a sense of security.

It was the boss sitting leisurely inside the little black ball, drinking tea, like a tall and bright pillar, supporting the sky above her head that seemed ready to collapse.

“Senior, who exactly injured you?” Xiang Haikui turned her head. “Don’t you have any impression at all?”

It was truly difficult to imagine the level of someone who could severely injure the boss like this.

An alien, perhaps.

Yin Changli hesitated slightly: “It might have been me.”

Xiang Haikui:?

Yin Changli cupped his hands together, tilting his head up to look at the brilliant stars.

Tonight, the moon was hidden in a patch of eerie dark clouds, allowing the stars to shine brightly.

Yin Changli: “I entered my posterior spirit realm…”

The spirit realm referred to the world of consciousness.

The anterior and posterior spirit realms referred to the shallow consciousness world and the deep consciousness world.

The posterior spirit realm was a person’s most private garden; even if one’s body was possessed, the possessor could not invade this place.

Yin Changli entered the posterior spirit realm, hoping to retrieve some memories.

It usually stores some unforgettable memories.

But his posterior spirit realm was unexpectedly barren.

This indicated that for a long time in his life, no person or thing had moved him or left a deep impression.

Combined with his action of entrusting Little White to Miss Xiang, he suspected that he might have lived too long and grown too bored, and had committed suicide.

So that bundle of seaweed, the warm vitality that Miss Xiang had infused into him, had not only saved his life but also brought him new hope in life…

“Miss Xiang.” Yin Changli turned his head, wanting to tell her his feelings, but saw that she had closed her eyes for a short rest, and he quickly fell silent.

Yin Changli quietly looked at her, using his gaze to trace the outline of her profile stroke by stroke.

Finally, his gaze moved to her bun hairstyle.

According to Little White, she used to have waist-length hair, but it was when he threw her to the Phoenix Garden where lightning chains struck it to shoulder length that she could only tie it into a small bun.

Yin Changli touched his own completely bald head, thinking this might be karmic retribution.

He had truly been an absolute jerk in the past. How could he have brought himself to harm such a kind, brave, and lovely young woman?

Shouldn’t he have held her in the palm of his hand, shielding her from wind and rain?

He finally understood.

Why had he found life boring and monotonous before?

Because he was a true fool.

…

The night passed uneventfully.

After the sun rose, Xiang Haikui stood up and stretched, picking up the sword box and carrying it on her back: “Senior, let’s go.”

As she stepped forward, her leg went numb, as if stepping into emptiness, causing her to stumble forward.

Yin Changli reached out to support her.

But she performed a graceful side front flip and landed steadily.

Yin Changli awkwardly withdrew his hand and followed her down from the Buddha Cave.

The little monks who were doing morning exercises outside the door greeted them: “Good morning, Senior Brother.”

They pushed one another until one little monk was pushed forward: “Good morning, Second Miss.”

Xiang Haikui smiled and greeted them back, walking into the corridor, immediately smelling the aroma of food, which made her mouth water.

Hearing the movement, Lu Xiqiao walked out of the room, still holding a chicken leg and munching on it, saying indistinctly: “Sister Kui, you two came back just in time, Brother Bai has prepared breakfast.”

“You’re eating meat in a Buddha Cave?” Although Xiang Haikui was also hungry, wasn’t this going too far?

“Precepts are for those with sincere hearts. My heart isn’t sincere anyway, so eating vegetarian against my will would be deceiving Buddha.” Lu Xiqiao smacked his lips, eating with even more relish.

Xiang Haikui admired him. Her heart wasn’t sincere either, but on Buddha’s territory, under the protection of Buddha’s light, she should show at least the most basic respect.

“Move aside.” She pushed Lu Xiqiao aside and entered the room, only to be stunned instantly.

In the already cramped meditation room, there was a large round table. The tabletop was like a multi-layered cake, three-dimensional, densely packed with plates.

Lu Xiqiao let out an admiring sigh: “Brother Bai is truly beyond appearances. He looks like an otherworldly beautiful youth, but unexpectedly has the soul of a mother hen.”

Xiang Haikui wasn’t surprised by Bai Xingxian’s culinary skills.

After all, even when he was still Tuntun Shu, he would use his two front paws to hold a fortune-telling pen as a brush, dip it in lard, and roast fragrant spiritual meat for her to eat.

The problem was, making a full imperial feast early in the morning—was he afraid she wouldn’t have another meal after this one?

A last meal before execution?

That was too inauspicious.

“Uncle.” Bai Xingxian returned carrying two more plates, trembling as he passed by Yin Changli.

Yin Changli nodded; only then did he dare enter the room.

“Little Sister Kui, eat more. Although these look like meat dishes, they’re vegetarian. Young Master Lu’s chicken leg, he bought it himself outside.” Bai Xingxian felt that today she was going to the battlefield, and since he couldn’t help in any other way, he was doing his utmost to contribute a little strength.

Xiang Haikui exclaimed, “Oh!” She certainly knew he had good intentions, so she squeezed out a smile, sat down, and picked up her chopsticks to begin eating.

After eating her fill, she closed the door and took a bath.

When retying her hair, she remembered that the pervert liked to grab the top bun, so with lingering fear, she abandoned the bun hairstyle and tied three small ponytails arranged in a triangle on her head.

After attaching the feather decorations, she looked at herself in the mirror—beautiful!

Honestly, it wasn’t narcissism.

Her foundation was already good, and after cultivating immortality, she had become even more beautiful. The abundant spiritual energy in her body was more effective than any skincare product.

Close to noon, she went out carrying the sword box on her back. The boss, Little White, and Lu Xiqiao accompanied her, all riding camel beasts to the gate of Yin Sha City.

Usually, the city gate was bustling with people coming and going, but today the gates were tightly closed.

Unlike other cities, Yin Sha City had only one gate on the west side, but this gate was divided into inner and outer city gates.

The agreed location for her battle with that pervert was in the area between the inner and outer gates.

After the battle began, both the inner and outer gates opened their barriers simultaneously, surrounding the two of them with the barriers.

There would be no escape, truly a fight to the death.

Xiang Haikui leaped up, flying directly from the back of the camel beast to the top of the city tower.

Only then did she see clearly that, compared to the emptiness outside the city, the main road leading directly to the city gate inside was crowded with people. The pavilions and rooftops were also full of people.

Suddenly becoming the focus of all attention, Xiang Haikui felt uncomfortable and twisted her neck.

Those gazes contained resentment, curiosity, and also… admiration.

Standing high above, with her blue gauze clothes fluttering in the swift wind, Xiang Haikui adjusted her mindset, took out Heaven Fury, and threw the sword box down from the city tower.

Lu Xiqiao ran forward and caught it in his hands: “Good luck, Sister Kui!”

Just as Xiang Haikui was about to speak, she sensed several sword energies rushing toward the city gate.

It should be people from the Azure Sky Sword Sect.

Last night, Xiang Haikui had written a note inviting Elder Fang Zhiyou from the Azure Sky Sect to come to Yin Sha City as a witness. She offered the Five-Formation Sword Array as a condition, thinking he would come.

Besides him, she had also invited the Demon Lord Qing Ni from the Devil City.

Without treasures to entice her, she didn’t know if she would come.

Xiang Haikui was afraid that Meng Xilou and his people would cheat, so she wanted to find several powerful figures to preside over the situation until the sun set.

While waiting, Xiang Haikui suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the crowd inside the city.

Ear-length short hair, simple cloth garments.

She blinked, her vision gradually focusing, and after confirmation, she was incredibly surprised—how could it be Senior?

Previously, he had been accepted as a disciple by Sword Master Jing Wen in Little Wind Town and should have gone to the royal capital academy by now.

Why did he suddenly appear in Yin Sha?

Besides Senior were two sword cultivators, one male and one female, who weren’t from Yin Sha. Their demeanor couldn’t hide their arrogance; they were likely the Sword Master’s sword attendants or disciples.

She really couldn’t resist and sent a voice transmission to him: “Senior? Why are you back?”

Jing Ran looked up at her and instead of answering, asked: “Classmate Xiang, did you already have cultivation powers when you were at school before?”

Xiang Haikui: “No, I only started cultivating after you left.”

Jing Ran was silent for a moment, then answered her question: “On my way to the royal capital, I took a master…”

He briefly explained the process of becoming a disciple. Although Xiang Haikui already knew about it, she still listened silently to the end.

“Originally, I was supposed to return to the royal capital with my master, but my master suddenly changed his mind and diverted northwest. The destination wasn’t Yin Sha. It was as if he were pursuing something, only stopping when we reached Yin Sha. I was quite surprised too.”

Xiang Haikui: “Then where is your master now?”

Jing Ran: “I don’t know. Master told us to enter the city first.”

Xiang Haikui further asked Jing Ran about the time when the Sword Master suddenly changed course, and her heart skipped a beat.

It was around the same day that the boss possessed Dao Chen.

Dao Chen was the Sword Master’s son, and the Sword Master probably sensed it, which was why he had come to Yin Sha.

This was bad news. She hurriedly notified Yin Changli: “Senior, you must be very careful. Dao Chen’s father has arrived.”

Yin Changli was slightly stunned: “That Sword Master?”

“Yes.” Xiang Haikui briefly explained the situation.

On the surface, she remained calm, but the strong hand gripping the sword hilt gradually became numb.

In the dream, after her father fell into demonic cultivation, he slaughtered for a hundred days before Sword Master Jing Wen was invited to the northwest.

Xiang Tianqing killed her father.

She was appreciated by Jing Wen and taken as a disciple.

Now the situation had already been disrupted by her. As long as she could endure until sunset today, her father would be safe and sound.

However, she never expected that the boss possessing Dao Chen would unexpectedly lead the Sword Master to Yin Sha.

It was as if there was a force in the unseen world trying to twist the disrupted situation back to its original course.

She couldn’t help but look up at the sky, feeling apprehensive.

Heaven Fury hummed, and instead of getting angry at her sudden dejection, it jumped forward a large segment of Fury Value.

Xiang Haikui was so angry she rolled her eyes: “You trash sword, you do get more excited the more miserable I am!”

“Lord Meng is here!”

A voice came from the crowd.

Meng Xilou, still wearing his dark green front-buttoning robe, came with his hands behind his back. The crowd automatically parted, making a wide path for him to walk.

Arriving near the inner city gate, guards set up a luxurious armchair in the middle of the street.

Meng Xilou sat down expressionlessly, raising his head to look up at Xiang Haikui.

Wu Mian was guarding the unconscious Xiang Tianqing at the City Lord’s mansion and hadn’t come.

Meng Xilou sent a private voice transmission: “Little Junior Sister, I still want to explain that while the culprit is indeed one of my people, this matter truly has nothing to do with me. It was entirely his initiative, and I am also very angry. That’s why, even knowing my sister wouldn’t be harmed by you, I still allow you to force him out, letting you establish this life-and-death battle.”

Xiang Haikui couldn’t be bothered to respond to him.

Meng Xilou leaned back slightly, resting against the chair, every inch the CEO: “And to be honest, when I approached you before, I did have ulterior motives. As that expert behind you said, originally, both you and your father were on my elimination list.”

“I came to the lower realm not only to protect my sister but also to help her reach the pinnacle. The lives of you and your father were just the first step to attract attention.”

“This step wasn’t necessary.”

Changed tactics again?

Xiang Haikui finally looked at him, wondering what trick he was going to play next.

Meng Xilou curled his lips, about to speak, when the elder in his consciousness sea advised: “Young Master, excessive talk leads to mistakes. You’d better say less…”

“Shut up!” Meng Xilou stopped him. “Just watch quietly.”

The elder: …

Fine, I’ll quietly watch your performance.

A guard served tea. Meng Xilou took it, used the lid to skim off the foam, and took a sip.

The demeanor of a high-class young master, executed to perfection.

Xiang Haikui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

It’s noon now, brother, being exposed to the scorching sun, with your throat almost able to spit fire, aren’t you afraid of burning yourself drinking such hot tea?

“Little Junior Sister.” Meng Xilou’s voice remained sexy and deep. “Show me your skills later, let me see if you are worthy of winning my favor, making me change my plans for you.”

Under everyone’s gaze, Xiang Haikui had a hard time holding back her laughter.

Seeing her strange expression, Meng Xilou said: “Don’t you believe it? Rest assured, it’s true. You’re indeed a lucky little thing.”

“Big Senior Brother, I thank you.”

Originally, Xiang Haikui was feeling troubled, with the upper realm like an insurmountable mountain, pressing on her so she could barely breathe.

Yet Meng Xilou, by his efforts alone, had eliminated her fear of the upper realm.