“Junior Sister was wronged and filled with grief and rage, so she severed all ties with the sect and forcibly descended the mountain. Right after they left, explosive sounds came from all directions, the mountain collapsed, and the sect was completely destroyed…”

Song Xinian knelt on the ground in the temporarily cleared cave, his head bowed as he spoke with guilt.

Su Yueli knelt beside him, her gaze blank and dazed, unable to fully recover her senses.

Shen Zhiming stood in place, looking at the Wenxin Sect in the distance that had been razed to the ground, his expression composed.

He recalled everything he had seen in the secret realm—the traces of Qin Wan’s battle with the Azure Dragon, the dragon’s remains, the branches Su Yueli had pressed down when she fell from the cliff, the river below the cliff, and the traces of Su Yueli living with someone at the bottom of the cliff.

What had actually happened, he had almost completely deduced. Now hearing Song Xinian recount it again, he couldn’t help but find it laughable.

“Yueli,” Shen Zhiming turned to look at her, “do you know how your senior sister endured those ten days on the cliff?”

Su Yueli kept her head lowered, not daring to speak.

Upon learning that everything in her consciousness sea had been watched by everyone, and that she had continued acting even after everyone already knew everything, she no longer wanted to respond to anything.

Shen Zhiming raised his palm, and the place where Qin Wan had fought the Azure Dragon that day in the secret realm appeared in the air. Su Yueli looked up in confusion, gazing at the scene in midair without understanding.

“This blood is all your senior sister’s.” Shen Zhiming’s voice reminded her. “That day when she pushed you, it wasn’t to harm you.”

Su Yueli said nothing. She quietly watched the blood on the screen, the shattered boulders, and the scattered scales.

“You clearly knew she didn’t mean to harm you. Why did you still try to harm her?”

“How was I to know,” Su Yueli looked at the scene, her eyes slightly red, “that just because she didn’t harm me then, she wouldn’t harm me in the future?”

Shen Zhiming frowned. Su Yueli turned to look at him: “You like me, Jun Shu likes me, Senior Brother likes me—you men all like me. What woman could tolerate me?”

“That’s only because you seduced them!”

Song Xinian shouted. Su Yueli turned to look at him. Knowing her days were numbered, she couldn’t help but mock: “If you had no interest, could I have seduced you? She was your junior sister for over ten years,” she said, then looked at Shen Zhiming, “your personally raised disciple, Jun Shu’s betrothed wife since childhood. You yourselves didn’t care about her, yet you still blame me for seducing you?!”

“When you loved me, you said you’d give your lives for me, viewing all under heaven as ants. When you hate me, you blame me for seducing you into breaking your precepts. You’re all righteous gentlemen while I alone am a femme fatale. Did I force you to interrogate her? Did I force you not to believe her? Did I force you to condemn her without distinguishing right from wrong?!”

“Yes,” Su Yueli nodded, “I’m selfish and self-serving. I feared she would harm me so I wanted to strike first. I wanted her dragon core to advance and used you all. I’m malicious, but what about you?!”

“Both stupid and vicious, yet full of righteous talk. When something goes wrong, you push it onto a woman. If not for your noble births and extraordinary talents, you people,” Su Yueli glanced at the two men, her eyes carrying a hint of contempt, “what difference is there between you and me?”

The scene fell silent. For a moment, neither Song Xinian nor Shen Zhiming could speak.

Su Yueli looked at Shen Zhiming, waiting for a verdict. Shen Zhiming gazed at the disciple before him.

He had developed feelings for her.

From the moment she came up the mountain, he had lost the impartiality he should have had as a master and as sect leader.

He looked at Su Yueli’s gaze that mixed hatred with a hint of fear. After a long while, he lowered his eyes: “Su Yueli, as a disciple of Wenxin Sect, with devious thoughts, deliberately framing fellow disciples, is sentenced to three bone-piercing nails, confined to the Contemplation Cliff’s ice cave to face the wall for a hundred years. Until the bone nails are removed, she may not leave the mountain.”

“As for Qin Wan,” Shen Zhiming turned to look into the distance, “instruct the disciples to secretly search for Qin Wan and Jian Zhiyan. Jian Zhiyan’s life or death doesn’t matter. Bring Qin Wan back to the sect without the slightest injury. If she’s willing to return…” Shen Zhiming paused and didn’t continue.

However, Song Xinian understood. Shen Zhiming wasn’t planning to hold Qin Wan accountable. On the contrary, if Qin Wan was willing to return to Wenxin Sect, she might perhaps become Shen Zhiming’s choice for Wenxin Sect’s next sect leader.

Song Xinian lowered his head and respectfully responded: “This disciple understands.”

Su Yueli sat on the ground in a daze. Thinking about the cruel torture of bone-piercing nails and the hundred years on Contemplation Cliff, for a moment she didn’t know whether she should feel fortunate or whether death would be swifter.

After saying these things, Shen Zhiming raised his eyes to look at the Wenxin Sect that had been razed to the ground.

He seemed to have a clarity he hadn’t experienced in several years.

A disciple at the Golden Core stage with such tenacity, who fought the Azure Dragon in blood for ten days; a disciple who would protect fellow sect members even while jealous and disliking them; a disciple who very likely possessed a dragon core and achieved Foundation Establishment in one day, who with just a pile of arrays could raze Wenxin Sect to the ground…

This was a once-in-a-century genius in both temperament and ability. This was the future the sect could truly rely upon.

Shen Zhiming closed his eyes, somewhat weary: “Notify the Lord of Desolate City to bring Ning Buxiu back.”

“Yes.”

“What about Jun Shu?”

“I heard he’s still bathing.”

Shen Zhiming: “…”

He roughly knew what Jun Shu had encountered. Thinking about it, that Jian Zhiyan probably wouldn’t survive.

He sighed: “Notify the disciples to rebuild the Dao Palace.”

When Wenxin Sect began reconstruction, it was nearly evening. Qin Wanwan and Jian Xingzhi walked out of Wenxin Sect’s territory and reached a riverside. Sensing that Shen Zhiming’s pressure had disappeared, Qin Wanwan immediately sat down on the grass, then spread out her hands and lay down, calling out: “Not walking anymore, can’t walk anymore, I need to rest.”

“You’re tired from just this little distance?” Jian Xingzhi frowned, came back and crouched down to pull her. “How can a cultivator be so delicate? Walk a bit more.”

“How much more?” Qin Wanwan was pulled by him into a sitting position, wanting to negotiate a compromise with Jian Xingzhi.

Jian Xingzhi raised his hand and pointed at a distant mountain: “Just cross that mountain.”

After crossing the mountain they’d reach town. Hearing this, Qin Wanwan immediately went on strike and lay back down on the grass: “You go. Let’s part ways here.”

You think I don’t want to?!

Seeing Qin Wanwan’s lazy appearance, Jian Xingzhi clenched his fists.

666 sensed Jian Xingzhi’s emotions and quickly warned: “Host, you can’t hit the female lead. She’s your lifeline, your goal. Hitting her means a hundred thousand volt shock—think it through.”

After becoming familiar over these few days, Jian Xingzhi also knew what a hundred thousand volts meant.

He looked at Qin Wanwan lying on the ground, a breath stuck in his chest.

“Get up.”

He restrained himself as he called to Qin Wanwan. Qin Wanwan played dead and didn’t move.

With nowhere to vent, Jian Xingzhi raised his hand and viciously punched the large tree behind Qin Wanwan, gritting his teeth: “Get up!”

After he spoke, Qin Wanwan heard something cracking. She opened her eyes in a daze to see the large shady tree above her head emit a “creaking” sound, slowly toppling backward, then with a thunderous “boom,” kicking up a cloud of dust.

‘Jian Zhiyan’ stood before her, his eyes full of killing intent, blood dripping from his clenched fist. In that instant, she seemed to see Jian Xingzhi the killing god standing before her, and moreover, the killing god with his rage meter completely full.

The place where that sword had stabbed her when they first met began to ache faintly. Qin Wanwan trembled as she got up, took out a handkerchief, and with shaking hands went to bandage Jian Xingzhi’s hand.

“Big… Big Boss.” Qin Wanwan swallowed. “That poor tree, it grew so big with such difficulty. Next time if you have something to say, there’s no need to destroy nature like this.”

“Can we go now?”

Jian Xingzhi looked coldly at Qin Wanwan. Qin Wanwan quickly nodded.

Jian Xingzhi turned and left. Qin Wanwan stood in place, tilted her head back to hold back tears that wanted to fall, took a deep breath, and comforted herself.

If the world bullies me, I’ll endure it, let it be. Once we get out, I’ll immediately dump him!

The prospect of dumping ‘Jian Zhiyan’ ignited a small spark of hope in Qin Wanwan. She followed listlessly behind Jian Xingzhi, walking downstream along the river.

After walking for a while, Jian Xingzhi saw how quiet she was and couldn’t help looking back at her.

He saw Qin Wanwan with her head down, her steps unsteady, looking extremely exhausted.

Jian Xingzhi stopped, looked at her from a distance, thought for a moment, and finally called to her: “Qin Wan.”

“Hm?” Qin Wanwan lifted her head. Jian Xingzhi made a beckoning gesture toward her, then turned his back to her and half-crouched down.

Qin Wanwan was stunned. Jian Xingzhi urged her: “Hurry up.”

Hearing this, Qin Wanwan’s eyes lit up. She quickly ran forward and jumped onto Jian Xingzhi’s back.

Jian Xingzhi’s horse stance wavered beneath him. After stabilizing his form slightly, he stood up with her on his back. Qin Wanwan wrapped her arms around his neck and made a show of asking: “Are you okay? Am I not too heavy? If you can’t carry me, just say so. I can walk.”

“Shut up.”

“Oh.”

Qin Wanwan immediately fell silent. After being quiet for a while, Qin Wanwan felt bored again and couldn’t help trying to make conversation: “Jian Zhiyan, actually we don’t need to rush like this. I put lots of food in my storage pouch. We can eat while we walk, touring the mountains and enjoying the waters along the way—it would be extremely pleasant.”

“No.”

He still had the task of causing trouble ten times and assisting her in five brawls within five days. In this godforsaken place where chickens don’t shit and birds don’t lay eggs, how could he complete it?

“Ah,” Qin Wanwan sighed, “Zhiyan, you’re just too earnest, too ambitious. For a male companion, knowing so many things really isn’t necessary. Oh, speaking of which, I forgot to ask you before,” Qin Wanwan relaxed and remembered her previous questions, “when did you learn immortal techniques? Oh, and that day at the Life-Judging Platform, that array in your palm—where did you learn that?”

Hearing this, Jian Xingzhi immediately tensed up.

He was crystal clear about how much the cultivation world detested body possession.

If in the realm where he had cultivated in his previous life there was someone who seized another’s body, they would definitely be hunted down by the entire cultivation world to eliminate this vicious method.

Although he hadn’t actively seized the body, saying so wouldn’t necessarily be believed. He was quite nervous. Seeing his demeanor, Qin Wanwan knew he had difficulties he couldn’t speak of. She patted Jian Xingzhi’s shoulder: “You don’t need to be afraid. I’m just asking casually. Everyone has their own fortuitous encounters. If you don’t want to say, it’s no big deal.”

“Mm.”

Jian Xingzhi had never liked Qin Wanwan’s ‘none of my business’ temperament so much. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt something was wrong: “Qin Wan, something’s off about you,” he frowned, “you’re at the Golden Core stage—don’t you know too many things?”

They were all heaven-tier techniques, and all ones he’d never seen.

Hearing this, Qin Wanwan suddenly felt Jian Xingzhi had become clever. She cleared her throat lightly: “I won’t ask you, so you don’t need to ask me either.”

They were parting ways soon anyway—why ask so much?

Qin Wanwan closed her eyes and rested her head on Jian Xingzhi’s back: “Alright, I’ll sleep for a bit. Call me when you can’t carry me anymore.”

Jian Xingzhi didn’t respond to her. After carrying her for a while and feeling her breathing become steady, Jian Xingzhi immediately began running frantically through the dense forest.

When Qin Wanwan opened her eyes again, it was already morning. Qin Wanwan felt sunlight falling on her face. Ahead was the city gate of an ordinary small town. Above the gate, the three characters “Xunxian Town” looked quite imposing in the sunlight.

“We’re here?”

Qin Wanwan rubbed her eyes, unable to believe it. She jumped down from Jian Xingzhi and looked around. In the early morning, Xunxian Town was bustling with people. Everyone lined up to hand over their travel documents and bribe money to the guards, then successively entered the city.

Qin Wanwan walked to the notice board beside the city gate. The board was covered with various portraits—all people the Heavenly Sword Sect offered large bounties for. One picture had no face, and above it was written:

[Qianliu, known as the Flower-Picking Thief or Lecherous Demon, possesses the treasure ‘Thousand Faces,’ skilled at disguise, adores beauties (both men and women), over a hundred crimes committed, recently wandering near Heavenly Sword Sect territory. Bounty level: Mid-Tier Level Five]

This world divided everything into Heaven, Mid, and Earth tiers, each tier having nine levels, with nine being the highest.

Mid-Tier Level Five—this Qianliu seemed somewhat formidable.

Qin Wanwan casually scanned the information, quite moved.

Jian Xingzhi glanced at the faceless portrait before Qin Wanwan, then at the three-day countdown for his first task in his mind. He knew he couldn’t delay any longer.

He looked toward the city guards at the gate who were collecting bribe money from passersby and called out: “Hey.”

Qin Wanwan yawned and looked in the direction Jian Xingzhi was watching. She saw a child and an old man being scolded by soldiers for not having money to pay the passage bribe.

The old man bowed and scraped, looking extremely pitiful.

Jian Xingzhi’s “hey” drew everyone’s attention.

Before Qin Wanwan could react to what was happening, she saw Jian Xingzhi point at her and speak with an arrogant tone: “She says you’re all trash—she can take on a hundred of you!”