“Tch, if she won’t talk, then she won’t talk. Let’s go.”
Shen Qinghe tugged Lizhu away.
Lizhu asked in confusion, “Why not keep pressing?”
Shen Qinghe shrugged. “She’d rather die than speak, which already tells us plenty. No need to push someone to the brink of death.”
Lizhu said, “Why not? She’ll definitely hold a grudge against us after today. We might as well eliminate the root of the problem.”
Shen Qinghe looked at him in surprise. The youth’s pitch-black eyes held not a single ripple, and his lips even curled slightly upward at the mention of the word “kill.”
If anyone else saw him like this, they would only find it unsettling and want to keep their distance.
But Shen Qinghe was somewhat mesmerized. She instinctively followed his line of thought and said, “Yeah, why not eliminate the root of the problem?”
The white-haired youth’s smile widened.
So good-looking. That smile had exactly the vibe of a crazy villain.
This immortal cultivation world also had its ultimate villain—the Lord of the Demon Realm. It was said no one had ever seen his true appearance, and he simply scattered demonic creatures everywhere.
Even at the final battle, the male lead only sealed the Demon Realm to keep the creatures from coming out again.
Anyway, that villain definitely wasn’t as cool as Lizhu looked right now.
“Then shall we—”
Lizhu spoke slowly, carrying a certain excited allure.
Shen Qinghe finished his sentence: “Keep walking.”
Lizhu’s steps halted.
…What?
Shen Qinghe also stopped, blinking in confusion. “Is there a problem? Weren’t you just testing whether I had harmful intentions?
Don’t worry, I’m a youth of the new era. I live by the principle of ‘I won’t harm others unless they harm me.’ I absolutely won’t kill indiscriminately. You can rest easy, Brother Lizhu.”
Lizhu frowned. “Won’t kill indiscriminately?”
“Definitely. I swear it on my character.” Shen Qinghe raised four fingers in a vow.
Lizhu stared at her for a few moments before finally looking away. “You’re truly strange.”
In a world where everyone chased after profit, she actually said something like “won’t kill indiscriminately.”
Shen Qinghe said, “I know my words sometimes sound strange. Just get the gist of it—no need to dig deeper.”
“You make people want to dig deeper,” Lizhu said.
Shen Qinghe gave a mysterious blink. “Then take your time digging.”
Being able to pique the curiosity of a great power—Shen Qinghe felt her trip as a modern person wasn’t wasted.
The two spoke past each other, yet somehow the conversation flowed surprisingly smoothly.
When they reached the main hall, it was far livelier than yesterday. Cultivators from every sect had arrived.
Among them were Su Wanqing and Xiao Jingyuan.
The moment she saw Shen Qinghe, Su Wanqing’s eyes blazed with anger. She strode forward and demanded, “Why did you leave Azure Profound Sect without a word?”
Shen Qinghe showed no fear. “It’s my territory. I come and go as I please. Is there a problem?”
Her voice wasn’t quiet, and people from other sects turned to look.
Su Wanqing suppressed the fury in her heart and forced a smile. “I’m just worried about you, little sister. What if you run into danger out here? I hope those magic treasures you asked me for will be of some use.”
Everyone’s gazes turned curious with a hint of gossip.
They recognized Su Wanqing—back when the Su family hadn’t yet fallen, she had frequently appeared at grand occasions.
Even after the Su family’s decline, Su Wanqing had Shen Qingci, the Azure Profound Sect’s sect master, backing her, so no one dared look down on her.
And the one thing Azure Profound Sect never lacked was magic treasures.
Su Wanqing, however, said that all her magic treasures had been taken back by Shen Qinghe—how could this not invite deep speculation?
Seeing everyone’s attention fixed on this, Su Wanqing’s lips curved up in a barely perceptible smile, her voice softening by a degree: “Sister means no harm. Those treasures were originally given to me by your brother. It’s only natural that you’re reluctant to part with them. I’ll return them all to you, as long as you’re happy.”
She put on the air of a doting older sister.
The people around began whispering among themselves.
“Who would’ve thought the Azure Profound Sect was so stingy—taking back what they’d already given away.”
“Miss Su has such a good temper. The Azure Profound Sect Master’s sister looks like a well-behaved girl, but who knew she had such a bad temper.”
As the crowd murmured one after another, Su Wanqing felt a surge of delight. This was exactly the effect she wanted.
With so many eyes watching, she didn’t believe Shen Qinghe would dare not return the items.
Shen Qinghe clicked her tongue, then broke into a sweet smile: “Sister Su flatters me. I heard that Sister Su was too embarrassed to accept my brother’s gifts. Now that I’ve taken them back, Sister Su need no longer fret or grieve over them. You won’t have to tie yourself to my brother’s cultivation or become his Dao Companion because of these things—you can rest easy and be with Xiao Jingyuan now.”
Su Wanqing’s expression stiffened, all her remaining words choked off.
The crowd finally understood the full story.
So it turned out Su Wanqing herself had been too embarrassed to accept them.
Granted, the Azure Profound Sect’s magic treasures were certainly tempting, but if one had no connection to the Sect Master, it would indeed be embarrassing to keep them.
Everyone’s gaze unconsciously drifted toward the young man standing beside Su Wanqing.
He had a decent enough appearance, but his cultivation level didn’t even seem to have reached the Golden Core Stage. What was Su Wanqing thinking, giving up the Azure Profound Sect Master for some obscure little rogue cultivator?
Xiao Jingyuan, under the weight of all those stares, wished he could bury his head in the ground.
Feeling utterly humiliated, he turned and walked away. “Let’s go.”
As he passed Shen Qinghe, his steps were hurried, and he accidentally bumped into her.
Shen Qinghe stumbled, nearly falling, and just happened to crash into Lizhu’s arms. Her hand brushed against something she didn’t recognize, and she quickly pulled it back.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
Lizhu blinked in slight confusion. “Why apologize?”
Shen Qinghe: “…”
She bumped into him—shouldn’t she apologize?
That said, this righteous and noble Young Master Lizhu was truly a kind soul. He knew she hadn’t done it on purpose, so he didn’t mind.
Shen Qinghe decisively shook her head. “Nothing.”
She rubbed at her clothes.
Huh… not small at all.
As soon as Xiao Jingyuan left, Su Wanqing hurried after him, nearly bumping into someone else as well.
People from the other sects shook their heads and sighed, resolving to teach their own young fairies back home not to be so love-struck.
The voice of Vice Valley Master Qin Zhongshan rang out: “The reason I’ve invited everyone here today is to request assistance from all the sects. Apart from the Azure Profound Sect, which was just attacked by demonic creatures, representatives from all other sects should be present.”
“Who says so? The Azure Profound Sect is here too!”
Shen Qinghe raised her hand, her voice loud and clear.
Qin Zhongshan let out a silent sigh. “Very well, the Azure Profound Sect has arrived as well.”
No one else paid Shen Qinghe and her companion any mind.
Shen Qinghe appeared to be at the Golden Core Stage, but her spiritual power was weak—if a demonic creature came, she’d be lucky to run away, let alone fight. And she’d brought along someone with almost no spiritual power at all.
Still, Shen Qinghe was quite satisfied, proudly telling the white-haired youth beside her, “We’re the Azure Profound Sect’s representatives now. We need to put on a good showing.”
Lizhu: “Yes!”
Everyone else: “…”
Well, at least the youngsters were happy.
Qin Zhongshan cleared his throat and continued, “Recently, our Spirit Medicine Valley has also been attacked by Demonic Creatures. The situation is dire. Today, on behalf of Spirit Medicine Valley, I earnestly request that all of you lend your aid to repel the Demonic Creatures together and uphold the righteous path.”
“Well said, well said. We are all righteous cultivators; helping one another is only natural.”
Qin Zhongshan gave a signal to his disciples, who immediately began distributing medicine bottles.
Qin Zhongshan spoke up, “These are Spirit Gathering Pills. Anyone below the Spirit Severing Stage can take them to enhance their cultivation level. I hope they will be of assistance to you all.”
“Vice Valley Master is far too generous.”
Everyone accepted them with delighted smiles. There weren’t many people present who had already reached the Spirit Severing Stage, and even if they had, they could give the pills to the younger disciples of their sects. It was a win-win situation.
Coming to Spirit Medicine Valley this time had been the right call.
Shen Qinghe, however, wasn’t greedy for these Spirit Gathering Pills. Over the years, her brother had gathered countless spiritual medicines and miraculous pills for her, so she didn’t care much for these. She only remembered that Spirit Gathering Pills tasted sweet.
Thinking of what had just happened, she felt an inexplicable sense of guilt and handed all the pills to Lizhu. “You can have all of these.”
Lizhu lowered his gaze. “You want me to eat them?”
“Yeah, they’re really tasty.”
Lizhu said nothing, his expression complicated, but he silently opened his mouth and ate them.
The others looked at them with expressions that were hard to describe. Spirit Gathering Pills—such precious treasures—were being given away like candy to someone else.
What a waste of heavenly treasures!
But then again, she was the sister of the Azure Profound Sect’s sect master, who never lacked rare spiritual materials. Well then, no problem.
As the crowd dispersed, Shen Qinghe felt embarrassed and tugged at Lizhu’s sleeve.
It didn’t budge.
She felt even more guilty.
Sure enough, men would care about such things—it wasn’t something a little candy pill could smooth over.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Qinghe asked cautiously.
Lizhu said, “It’s strange.”
“Strange?”
Shen Qinghe blinked, confused, and looked over. She vaguely saw something.
Her face instantly flushed bright red.
“How do I make it go down?”
He asked, his eyes filled with pure curiosity, not a trace of ulterior thought.