“Senior, what are you doing at this time?”
Li Qingran propped her chin on her hands, staring at the ceiling.
She could probably sense that Chen Huaian was very busy at the moment and had no time to pay attention to her.
“A big shot like Senior must be fighting for the cultivators of the entire Cangyun Realm, like exterminating great demons or something…”
Imagining this, her mind painted a scene of a white-haired elder, graceful and ethereal, wielding a flying sword to slay great demons. As she thought about it, a silly smile appeared on her face.
If only…
the Senior were her master, that would be wonderful.
“No, Li Qingran, you mustn’t get greedy!”
Li Qingran slapped her head, giving herself a slight warning.
Today, the Senior had generously given her twelve spirit crystals, maintaining a high-level spirit gathering formation for six hours.
Moreover, he had roughly boosted her cultivation to the fifth level of Qi Refinement.
Thanks to the restoration of her meridians and internal injuries, the dissipation of spiritual energy in her dantian had slowed considerably.
However, her dantian was still shattered, like a basin with a hole; spiritual energy would always leak out bit by bit.
“I need to find a way to fix my dantian and spirit root.”
Li Qingran pondered. Though the Senior had vast powers, she couldn’t trouble him with everything.
If he was willing to help her, that was his choice; she couldn’t actively seek his help.
She already had specific ideas; the Bluecloud Sect was definitely unreliable.
She had to go to other sects, even if they were just small sects.
Those small sects might have some ancient texts; perhaps by chance, she could find methods to repair her dantian and spirit root. If all else failed, she could leave the cultivation world, find a beautiful place to live in seclusion, slowly collect clues about her enemies, or simply return to the Southern Dynasty and become a female general?
As for taking revenge on those senior brothers who were looking for her…
Li Qingran hadn’t thought about it.
She was never a match for those senior brothers before, and now her chances were even slimmer.
This was indeed quite cowardly, but that had always been the survival rule in the cultivation world.
She had previously wanted to give up on life, so nothing mattered to her then.
But now she wanted to live a little longer, until the day the Senior finished his business and was willing to come see her, even if it was just to say a word.
She really wanted to thank the Senior in person.
…
…
“Something’s wrong! Wasn’t it said that Li Qingran was thrown into a straw hut?”
Song Jiaojiao frowned as she looked at the stone house at the foot of the mountain.
Cultivators had excellent vision, and she could tell that the stone house was newly built, which meant that someone was helping Li Qingran.
But who could that person be?
The few direct disciples of Chixiao Peak?
It wasn’t impossible…
Although Mu Baishuang said those few despised Li Qingran, what if they still cared for her old feelings and gave her some support?
Then if she killed Li Qingran, wouldn’t that be going against those few direct disciples?
But she didn’t want to give up on the Foundation Establishment Pill either.
Song Jiaojiao thought it over and decided to test things out first.
She also wanted to see if those few had left any methods around Li Qingran’s residence.
So she took out a half-zhang long red incense from her storage ring.
This incense was called ‘Beast Frenzy Lure,’ and its fragrance spread widely, hard for cultivators to detect but capable of attracting keen-scented beasts. Usually, it was used to lure monsters during hunts, but at certain times, it could also serve as a weapon for murder.
Initially, her plan was to rush into the straw hut to assassinate Li Qingran and then dump the body into the mountains to feed the beasts, which would be the cleanest approach. But now the plan had changed; she didn’t dare to approach recklessly and could only use the ‘Beast Frenzy Lure’ to let the beasts do the killing, even though the resulting beast riot might attract the sect’s attention.
“Li Qingran, when the wall falls, everyone pushes; don’t blame me.”
Song Jiaojiao lit the red incense and flicked her finger.
The red incense shot out and landed on a tree near the house.
After finishing all of this, she quickly laid out a concealed aura formation.
When the small-scale beast riot broke out later, there would inevitably be one or two fierce characters, and with this formation, she could ensure her safety.
Next was to hide in the dark and watch the show.
It took time for the beasts to gather after smelling the scent.
Meanwhile, the girl in the stone house, peacefully sleeping, remained completely unaware of the danger approaching.
…
Five in the morning.
A faint light had already appeared on the horizon.
Chen Huaian was nearing the mountain peak.
However, his current condition was not good. The wind on Panshan was strong, and the temperature was low. Many tourists halfway up the mountain were sweating profusely but began to feel cold as they approached the peak; the sweat on their bodies dried out in the cold wind, and to warm up, they had to quicken their pace or stop at roadside restaurants for some hot porridge.
But Chen Huaian was different.
His face was pale, his whole body soaked in sweat, and every step he took was unsteady, with droplets falling from the soaked edges of his clothing.
He had only eaten two pieces of bread on the way; the rest was just drinking water, continuously drinking water.
Yet although his steps were staggered, every step was firm, no longer wavering.
His back was straight, and his calm gaze was fixed ahead; the light in his eyes made him appear as if on a pilgrimage.
“Buddy, let me carry you up! Stop climbing!” Zhang Rui felt like crying; he would remember tonight’s experience for a lifetime. He watched helplessly as a man with his legs covered in bone tumors persevered through excruciating pain, step by step, without stopping, climbing those stone steps.
The two middle-aged men were barely keeping up, and the punk girl was also panting heavily.
Zhang Rui usually exercised regularly, so he was in decent shape, but his pressure mainly came from the psychological aspect.
With each step Chen Huaian took, seeing the sweat droplets fall from his clothing, he felt his heart being tortured once again.
Throughout the process, Chen Huaian never complained about anything.
He embraced their malice with a generous and calm attitude.
Behind Chen Huaian were not just the four water friends, but many other tourists who had given up halfway up the climb. However, after hearing Chen Huaian’s story, they spontaneously followed behind him, and slowly the number grew larger.
At this moment, as they neared the mountain top, the large crowd had formed a long line on the stone steps.
“We’re almost there.” Chen Huaian looked up at the peak, smiling.
He had to reach the top.
Because an hour ago, a level 57 guy had said that if he could reach the peak before sunrise, he would give him 66 ‘Drum Tower Dragon Cities,’ each worth 2888 RMB; after deducting the platform’s share, he would pocket 95,000 RMB. Plus other tourists’ cumulative tips, he could earn about 120,000 RMB that night.
Of course, it was also possible that the guy was just bragging.
Chen Huaian was very open about these things; he had originally intended to reach the peak.
He would accomplish it regardless of the big guy’s gift.
His intention to climb Panshan wasn’t solely to make money.
He just wanted to see how far he could push himself in the little time he had left, to see how much heat he could still generate.
However, just as there were 98 steps left to the top of Panshan, a sharp pain suddenly shot through Chen Huaian’s left leg.
His body lost balance, and he knelt on the stone steps.
Following him, Su Xiaoqian instinctively looked at Chen Huaian’s leg, her expression changed as she covered her mouth and screamed.
“Ah! His leg…”
Chen Huaian grit his teeth and looked down at his leg,
Only to see that his ankle to knee had twisted into an incomprehensible shape.
He had…
broken it.
