Survival Was Hard

She truly found it hard to imagine.

That female cultivator named Lü Shenliang was actually using all sorts of methods to torture her junior brother, Wang Li!

It was exactly like a real interrogation under torture.

She had previously suspected that this female cultivator from the Profound Heaven Sect was deliberately playing mad and foolish, but now it seemed that this female cultivator was truly seriously ill.

This Wang Li... really did have a hard time surviving.

For a moment, watching that scene, she could not help but sympathize with Wang Li.

At the same time, she felt somewhat relieved. No wonder this Qi Refining stage cultivator's divine sense was so resilient, remaining utterly unfazed even beneath the mental pressure of a Golden Core cultivator. So he was regularly subjected to such torment in his daily life.

"Are you going to talk or not?"

Lü Shenliang had failed with the Soul Searching Technique and found no trace of anything. Unwilling to give up, she began using other methods.

Dozens of strands of light, finer than hairs, flowed from her fingertips and pierced into Wang Li's blood vessels.

Wang Li's entire body was numb and unbearably itchy. His body kept twisting in midair, and even his face was somewhat distorted. "Senior Sister, what exactly am I supposed to say? You ask me, but I want to ask you too."

"Pah, you still dare to be stubborn!"

Lü Shenliang glared furiously. Bolts of dazzling lightning descended from the sky out of nowhere, striking into Wang Li's body along those threads of light. Wang Li immediately convulsed wildly from the shock, every strand of his hair standing on end.

Wang Li's tongue had been numbed by the electricity, and the corners of his mouth kept twitching. He truly wanted to cry but had no tears.

He had once considered whether he should interrogate his own senior sister under torture, only to be thwarted by having no opportunity at all. How had it suddenly become his senior sister genuinely torturing him instead?

"I'll see how long you can keep acting tough." Seeing that such methods seemed useless against Wang Li, Lü Shenliang drew a deep breath. As her brows furrowed, the shoes on the feet of the upside-down Wang Li flew off into the air, leaving his two bare feet pointed at the sky. At the same time, several strands of white Vital Energy, soft as feathers, appeared beneath Wang Li's soles and continually brushed against them.

Wang Li's eyes instantly bulged.

"Senior Sister, don't be this vicious!"

He had only just managed to squeeze out that complete sentence before the unbearable itch set in. His body was restrained by Vital Energy and could not move, so he immediately began laughing loudly while howling in misery.

"..." He Lingxiu broke out in goosebumps as she watched.

Such a terrifying scene even made her consider retreating.

She felt as if the soles of her own feet had begun to itch.

"You really don't know?" After tormenting Wang Li for a moment, Lü Shenliang suddenly stopped and asked seriously.

"If I knew, wouldn't I have told you already? I've been asking you this whole time, trying to find the cause from you, and you're still asking me!" Wang Li shouted, his face somewhat twisted.

"Strange! Could it be that you truly aren't aware?"

Lü Shenliang pondered for a moment. With no solution in sight, she finally decided to stop. She turned Wang Li right-side up and lowered him onto the ground.

But in the blink of an eye, she could not help saying, "That kind of interrogation under torture just now seemed rather fun too."

"Don't..." Wang Li's face went pale.

But in the next instant, the numb, itchy feeling across his body faded somewhat, and he felt that it was actually rather comfortable.

I can't have thoughts like that. He immediately could not help slapping his own face, feeling that his thoughts were somewhat wicked and perverse.

"Someone has come. We've seen this person before." At that very moment, Lü Shenliang seemed to have completely regained her calm as she said this to him.

He Lingxiu, who was still beneath this solitary peak and hesitating over whether to meet the two of them, was startled once again. She distinctly sensed a divine sense as tangible as substance sweeping over her body.

In the next instant, a dark golden sword light above her head came crashing down like a meteor striking the earth.

Her expression immediately turned solemn.

This female cultivator's divine sense was far stronger than she had expected, and the speed of that sword light... even if she wanted to flee, she would not have time.

The dark golden sword light that had fallen like a meteor suddenly turned several yards above the ground, then drifted gently down. At the instant it was about to truly touch the earth, the Profound Heaven Sword Qi silently vanished, and Lü Shenliang and Wang Li landed without the slightest impact.

"I've seen you before."

Without wasting any words, Lü Shenliang looked at He Lingxiu and said, "You were the female cultivator behind True Person Wu Yang. You are a disciple of the Huayang Sect."

He Lingxiu's brows furrowed slightly.

She still wore the same appearance she had in Scorched Wood Market. Her appearance-altering spell was exceptionally wondrous; ordinary Golden Core cultivators could not see through it at all. Yet this crippled Golden Core cultivator from the Profound Heaven Sect had seen through her at a glance.

As she looked at Lü Shenliang opposite her, the strange feeling in her heart grew stronger and stronger.

At this moment, Lü Shenliang seemed perfectly normal to her, yet why had she gone so mad in the scene He Lingxiu had witnessed earlier, crazily tormenting the junior brother who was practically dependent on her for survival?

At that thought, she could not help glancing at Wang Li.

What made her pause, then involuntarily curl her lips upward, was that Wang Li was still barefoot.

"What, did you come all the way from the Huayang Sect just to look at my junior brother's feet?" Lü Shenliang noticed her gaze, and her tone immediately turned unfriendly.

"I did not come from the Huayang Sect. I came from Scorched Wood Market." He Lingxiu was no stranger to storms and waves. She calmly moved her gaze from Wang Li's bare feet and continued, "I have not come to see you over the Yin Thunder Umbrella either. There is a job in Scorched Wood Market, and I wish to ask whether the two of you will take it."

Lü Shenliang gave her a serious look and, without wasting words, asked, "What job?"

"Lead the way into the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain and search for several cultivators who may have become trapped within." He Lingxiu calmly looked into her eyes as she spoke.

Lü Shenliang glanced at Wang Li.

Wang Li, who had been obediently listening while sizing up He Lingxiu, immediately froze.

He was quite surprised.

Because normally, Lü Shenliang made such decisions. Yet from the look in Lü Shenliang's eyes now, it seemed she wanted him to decide this matter.

"Not going!" He immediately shook his head and answered with exceptional decisiveness.

He knew very well what kind of place Scorched Wood Market was. Any job connected to such a market would absolutely not be simple.

What was more, in his eyes, this female cultivator from the Huayang Sect also seemed rather strange.

He knew almost nothing about He Lingxiu, but he did remember seeing her standing behind True Person Wu Yang that day.

How could such a young female disciple of the Huayang Sect seem so deeply involved with Scorched Wood Market?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt there were countless troubles within this matter.

Seeing his utterly resolute refusal, He Lingxiu merely smiled and said, "Seven million spirit sand."

Wang Li immediately said seriously, "It's not impossible to discuss it."

This outcome apparently did not surprise He Lingxiu. Her smile grew even brighter as she said, "To be honest, I think you truly should consider it carefully. You risked Old Ancestor Tong Hui's Heavenly Tribulation to obtain the Yin Thunder Umbrella, and the items you gained were worth only around seven million spirit sand. Besides, this job is quite simple. You only need to lead several cultivators into the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain. Once you bring them near the Burial Bone Pagoda, your task will be complete. As far as I know, you have entered the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain at least twice. Although people turn pale at the mere mention of the Chaos Domains, for you, this should be no harder than blowing dust away."

Wang Li sneered. "How could something worth seven million spirit sand possibly take no effort at all?"

He Lingxiu did not get angry. She chuckled, looked at his feet, and deliberately asked, "Feeling cool?"

"Not bad."

Wang Li's expression did not change as he said, "At least sixty percent in advance."

He Lingxiu said disdainfully, "The rule is forty percent."

Wang Li said, "At least fifty percent. You came all the way here specifically to find us, so you must also think that my going offers the greatest chance of success. More importantly, this matter must be urgent. If we go too late, then even if we can successfully enter the depths of the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain, those cultivators you are looking for may not even have bones left."

He Lingxiu raised her brows slightly. "Deal."