The forest rustled silently as countless monstrous creatures and ferocious beasts gathered without a sound. Their eyes, like ghostly flames, burned with greed as they stared at the unconscious disciples on the ground. Zhu Yan's howl had summoned an endless horde of demonic beasts, all converging upon this very grove.
Li Fei involuntarily retreated several steps. The spiritual energy within her seemed frozen, utterly unusable. How could she escape? Everyone else lay unconscious—how could she flee alone?
Her back suddenly bumped into something, startling her so much she nearly jumped. Then she felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around her, squeezing so hard it hurt. Lei Xiuyuan's low voice whispered above her head, "Run."
Run? Li Fei turned to gaze at him in confusion. His face was so close she could feel his heavy breath against her ear.
This time, he didn’t avert his eyes. He simply looked at her calmly, his misty pupils reflecting only her—no one else.
A wave of bewilderment washed over Li Fei. Her lips parted as if to speak, but he suddenly smiled. A flash of golden light flickered in his eyes, and in the next instant, an enormous, radiant sword descended from the sky. He raised his hand to steady it, then gave it a forceful slap. The sword shattered instantly, transforming into countless golden blades of light as fine as ox hair.
The tiny golden blades swirled around her like mist, enveloping her entire body.
What was this? How could he possibly wield an Immortal Technique?
Just as Li Fei was reeling in shock, she felt his scorching hand brush against her face. Then warmth pressed against her forehead—his lips had grazed it in a fleeting kiss.
"Run."
Lei Xiuyuan lifted her abruptly and hurled her with all his strength.
Li Fei had never been so astonished in her life. Her body soared through the air like a wisp of cloud before crashing violently into the midst of the densely packed demonic beasts. The moment the golden blades of light around her touched the creatures, they whirled into motion. A storm of black blood erupted as the beasts were sliced apart, reduced to nothing—not even bone fragments remained.
These blades of light were this powerful?
Her mind was a tangled mess, unable to process what had just happened. He had thrown her? What kind of Immortal Technique had he cast on her? And he wanted her to run alone?!
The demonic beasts howled, surging forward like a tidal wave. Some were shredded by the blades around her, but most bypassed her entirely, charging toward the unconscious disciples.
He told her to escape alone—and then just watch him die?
Was he insane?
Li Fei sprinted desperately toward him, but it was no use. She wouldn’t make it in time! They would be torn to pieces by the horde!
A sharp ringing exploded in her head, followed by a wave of dizziness so intense she staggered and collapsed to the ground. Something inside her burned and seethed, desperate to break free. The unfamiliar sensation was agonizing, and she writhed on the ground, screaming.
Then, without warning, the scorching force within her burst forth, expanding violently around her. All she could see was white—an endless, boundless white. The chaos around her abruptly stilled, plunging into absolute silence. Only a soft white glow enveloped the world.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when she suddenly twitched, as if waking from a dream. The white light rapidly contracted, flowing back into her body before dissipating into nothingness.At first, there was complete silence all around. But gradually, the sound of wind returned, the rustling of dancing leaves came back, and the green grass and trees remained unchanged. The unconscious disciples still lay on the ground, though the miasma that had enveloped them had vanished without a trace. The countless monstrous creatures and ferocious beasts had also disappeared, leaving only Zhu Yan sitting opposite, his mouth slightly agape and his bleeding golden eyes wide open.
Suddenly, he closed his mouth and let out a sigh-like murmur: "...Incredible."
Before the words fully faded, his massive body began to scatter like sand, carried away by the wind until not a trace remained.
She stared blankly at all this, her mind caught between clarity and confusion—an indescribably profound sensation. It was as though she had known what she was since birth, yet the moment she tried to grasp it, the thought slipped away. Part of her was shocked and bewildered by what she had just witnessed, while another part found it utterly natural.
Somewhere in this valley lay a place that filled her with nostalgia—the sealed graveyard. Where was it? Where was it now?
Li Fei couldn't resist the urge to run toward it, but then she caught sight of Lei Xiuyuan. He lay motionless on the ground, his body drenched in blood that stained the earth beneath him.
Snapping back to reality, she sprinted over and pulled him tightly into her arms. His eyes were shut, his breathing faint, his cold cheek pressed against hers. So cold—his body was so cold. He had nearly died. He had told her to escape alone—but what meaning would that have had? If he had died, what would have been the point of her fleeing?
Without even forming a hand seal, Li Fei instinctively raised her hand, and a healing net descended upon him. Its icy-blue glow was several times brighter than usual, and the spiritual energy within it was far more abundant.
She stared blankly at Lei Xiuyuan and the unfamiliar healing net.
What had just happened?
She realized she was trembling violently—was it from fear? Or shock? Was she dreaming?
Suddenly, a long-absent, hoarse voice roared furiously in her ear: "Was it you, you fool?! Your Source Spiritual Qi jolted me awake before my time!"
Li Fei turned in confusion to see an enormous, snow-white Nine-tailed Fox standing beside her. Its narrow, eerie-green eyes, usually brimming with intelligence, now burned with rage as it glared at her.
"...Ri Yan?" she whispered softly.
Was this really a dream?
The fox was seething with anger, ready to unleash another torrent of curses, when it noticed her dazed expression. She pointed at it weakly—then collapsed unconscious.
How long she slept, she couldn't tell. When Li Fei abruptly opened her eyes again, she saw a blood-red sunset stretching across the sky, the evening clouds vast and endless, with only the crisp sound of wind rustling around her.
So... it really had been a dream. She exhaled quietly in relief—only to hear a familiar voice beside her murmur softly, "Awake?"
Turning her head, she saw Lei Xiuyuan crouched next to her, his face still pale. He gazed at her, and for once, his usually composed expression betrayed unmistakable excitement and joy.
Li Fei stared at him for a long moment before the events of the afternoon came rushing back. The memory of him throwing her away and telling her to escape alone made her throat feel as though it had been stuffed with sand.
"Lei Xiuyuan!" she shouted sharply. "You're insane! You were out of your mind back there, weren't you?!"She grabbed him by the collar, only to see streaks of blood still fresh on his body despite his wounds having healed. Her vision blurred instantly as large teardrops rolled down her cheeks—she had truly thought he would die.
Suddenly, she felt his arms tighten around her again. The scent of his blood, sweat, and the dust clinging to him enveloped her entire world. He said nothing, merely pressing the back of her head gently, holding her tear-streaked face against his chest.
From beginning to end, not a single word left his lips.
This was for the best. Right now, she didn’t want to hear anything.
After what felt like an eternity, Li Fei felt as if she might suffocate. His robes were damp—tears and blood mingling together. The rapid, powerful beating of his heart against her gradually brought her back to her senses. Only then did she realize she was still in his embrace. A rush of emotions—embarrassment, shyness, joy, fear—flooded over her all at once.
"...Why aren’t you saying anything?" she asked in a low voice, hoarse and slightly nasal.
Now, she wished he would speak.
His voice was equally quiet. "What should I say?"
She didn’t know either, but unwilling to let the silence linger, she snapped, "If you ever do something like this again, forget the demons—I’ll cut you to pieces myself!"
Lei Xiuyuan chuckled, patting her head lightly. "Disgusting. You’re covered in snot."
Li Fei glared up at him, only to hear a few awkward coughs nearby. She suddenly noticed Su Wan, Ying Yuankai, and the others standing not far away, all deliberately looking elsewhere, pretending they hadn’t seen the two of them embracing and whispering.
Flushing crimson, she scrambled to her feet, hastily smoothing her hair and clothes. Ying Yuankai finally stepped forward with an awkward laugh. "Uh... Lei-shidi, just now... what happened? When we woke up, the miasma was gone, and Zhu Yan was nowhere to be seen..."
Not to mention the large pool of black blood nearby—clearly from a ferocious beast. Could someone have actually used Immortal Technique within the dense miasma and killed Zhu Yan alone? Come to think of it, there wasn’t a trace of demon qi or miasma in the vicinity anymore. Previously, they could always sense some demon qi from miles away, but now, the area within a ten-mile radius seemed unnaturally clean. It was bizarre.
Lei Xiuyuan shook his head. "We don’t know. We just woke up too."
Yeah, woke up and immediately started hugging! The male disciples’ hearts shattered with envy and regret—the prettiest junior sister had already been snatched away by this brat!
After searching the area for a long time, they still found no trace of Zhu Yan’s corpse. This incident had come abruptly and vanished just as suddenly, leaving everyone baffled and unable to make sense of it.
A sudden gust of wind overhead announced the arrival of someone descending rapidly—Le Cailing, who had flown off on a cloud the moment she woke up. Her face was ashen as she landed, demanding urgently, "Where’s Zhu Yan?! Who killed him? I’ve searched everywhere and couldn’t find him!"
No one answered her. After this ordeal, none of them held much goodwill toward this junior sister anymore. No matter how beautiful she was, a terrible personality ruined everything.
Su Wan, however, took pity on her panicked state and spoke up. "We all just woke up. None of us know what happened. We’re all young disciples—we shouldn’t have provoked a ferocious beast like Zhu Yan in the first place. This whole mess started because of you. Don’t you think you owe us an explanation? Why were you searching for Zhu Yan alone?"Le Cailing paused for a moment, seemingly realizing no one would answer her question, and could only say, "I need the Heart of Zhuyan—it greatly benefits cultivation techniques. I've answered your question, now quickly tell me, did Zhu Yan escape or die? Where is he?"
The Heart of Zhuyan greatly benefits cultivation techniques? Su Wan shook her head: "None of us know where he is—you're truly absurd. Even if the Heart of Zhuyan benefits cultivation techniques, what use is cultivation if you're killed? There should be limits to overestimating one's abilities. Didn't Qing Yue Elder warn you before you left?"
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