However, she did not bother with Luo Ci.
If a Fourth Stage Qi Refining cultivator like Luo Ci could be bullied by a few mortals, then he might as well not return to Zonglei Peak.
It was simply too humiliating!
Lin Qi drew her Small Wooden Sword and fixed the Grey-robed Daoist with bright, focused eyes.
Senior Sister Yuan Xi had been right about one thing—this was a rare opportunity for real combat experience.
Seeing Lin Qi take up a fighting stance, the Grey-robed Daoist could not help sneering.
"A newborn calf is not afraid of tigers. Do you think having talent means you can look down on others with dog eyes?!"
Though he said that, every muscle in his body was taut, and his gaze kept drifting toward Yuan Xi.
Ever since he had seen through Lin Qi and Luo Ci's cultivation levels, the Grey-robed Daoist had been especially wary of Yuan Xi.
Especially since she had remained calm from beginning to end, without revealing the slightest trace of panic.
There was only one possibility. This young-looking girl might possess an even higher cultivation level and simply did not regard their little threat as worth her notice.
Lin Qi felt that this Grey-robed Daoist was a little too bitter toward the world. He seemed especially hostile toward those with good talent.
She had no desire to waste words arguing with him. Drawing her Small Wooden Sword, she activated her movement technique and arrived before the Grey-robed Daoist in the blink of an eye.
When the Grey-robed Daoist saw the rhythmic footwork beneath her feet, the jealousy in his eyes was so thick it was nearly tangible.
Spells, movement techniques, spiritual artifacts, pills... these were things Rogue Cultivators like them could only touch after racking their brains, yet to disciples from great households, they were there for the taking.
This world was truly unfair!
When Lin Qi's plain, unadorned sword descended, he assumed she would be as easy to deal with as Luo Ci.
Two rows of blazing flames shot out from beneath his feet, nearly as tall as Lin Qi herself.
Lin Qi turned her blade, and a strand of spiritual energy solidified before sweeping horizontally, severing the flames at the waist.
Cold light condensed as Sword Qi continued its slaughtering advance.
A flash of astonishment crossed the Grey-robed Daoist's face. He had likely not expected the power of Lin Qi's casual strike to exceed his expectations.
He swung the Fly Whisk in his hand to block it, and a crisp collision rang out in all directions.
In an instant, Lin Qi appeared before him with her wooden sword in hand.
The Grey-robed Daoist reacted quickly enough. He casually clenched his free hand before his abdomen, and countless vines spun as they lashed toward Lin Qi.
Lin Qi held her wooden sword and blocked them with complete composure.
The hard, thorny vines coiled around the wooden sword. She mobilized a thread of spiritual energy and gave it a shake, instantly shattering all the surrounding vines.
Taking the chance to widen the distance, the Grey-robed Daoist laid his Fly Whisk across his hand and laughed loudly.
"This old man misjudged you. Your spiritual energy is abundant, little girl, but you have not reached the Fifth Stage Qi Refining yet. Challenging me with Fourth Stage Qi Refining cultivation? You are still too green!"
Having seen through Lin Qi's cultivation level, the Grey-robed Daoist grew increasingly confident and calm.
He used the same move once more.
Lin Qi's reaction was not slow. The moment the ground stirred, she immediately lifted her foot and changed positions.
Before the winding vines could catch her feet, Lin Qi cut them off at the roots.
After several exchanges, the spiritual energy within the Grey-robed Daoist was nearly unable to sustain him.
This was precisely the opportunity Lin Qi had been waiting for.
She used Tai Chi Swordplay to keep the Grey-robed Daoist entangled, neither too near nor too far.
If the Grey-robed Daoist did not want to be injured, he could only use spiritual energy to defend himself. Once that energy was nearly depleted, he began throwing out the magical treasures he had saved up over the years.
He reached into his robes, pain flashing across his face as he said viciously, "Die!"
A Thunderclap Bead, a low-grade spiritual artifact, was hurled out.
A dangerous aura instantly enveloped Lin Qi.
Senior Sister Yuan Xi, who had been watching from the side, abruptly rose to her feet. "Little Qi, be careful!"
Seeing her Senior Sister about to help, Lin Qi instinctively shouted, "Senior Sister, don't come over! I can handle it!"
Senior Sister Yuan Xi stopped beside the carriage.
The instant the Thunderclap Bead hit the ground, explosions erupted in all directions. The thunder and lightning hidden within it immediately launched a ferocious attack.
Lin Qi recalled every movement she had made when testing Scattered Phoenix Shadow Dance with the Thunder Snake Flower, and the wooden sword in her hand began shifting through sword forms.
The Grey-robed Daoist also noticed the temperature around him dropping as a bone-chilling cold seeped in from all directions.
He instinctively retreated.
But it was already too late.
A phoenix cry tore through the curtain of thunder and lightning. The lightning instantly scattered, while the imposing silhouette of an ice phoenix flickered into view. A trail of cold air dragged behind its tail, freezing the void into a sheet of ice.
A thin layer of ice covered the Grey-robed Daoist's legs in the blink of an eye.
He caught a familiar aura. It was an aura he had often encountered during his decades of wandering and struggling outside—death!
Without a second thought, he released the golden barrier within his body once more.
Ice Phoenix Afterimage surged forcefully toward the golden barrier.
At the first strike, the Grey-robed Daoist vomited blood!
At the second strike, cracks appeared across the golden barrier, and ice spread over it!
At the third strike, the golden barrier seemed to let out a mournful cry before shattering instantly!
The Grey-robed Daoist faced the ice phoenix's impact head-on. He sprayed out a mouthful of blood, and both he and the blood froze in an instant.
Lin Qi braced herself against the ground with her sword and slowly caught her breath.
One use of Ice Phoenix Afterimage had drained every last bit of spiritual energy from her dantian.
Fortunately, the Grey-robed Daoist's barrier had broken. Otherwise, she feared she would not have been able to hold on either.
She happily called to Senior Sister Yuan Xi, "Senior Sister, I won!"
Senior Sister Yuan Xi shook her head as she approached, dispersing the water sphere she had gathered in her hand long ago. "You nearly scared me to death just now."
She reached out and poked Lin Qi between the brows. "You are not allowed to force yourself next time! The Thunderclap Bead is a spiritual artifact, after all. Even many Foundation Establishment cultivators would not dare face the power of its explosion directly. You really have a lot of nerve!"
Yuan Xi had watched from the side without daring to blink, ready to step in the moment Lin Qi fell into a disadvantage.
Who would have thought Lin Qi would unleash a spell of such considerable power?
Lin Qi honestly said, "Senior Sister, I did not let you act because I believed I could handle it. Since this was real combat, I had to persist until I reached my own limit. If I truly could not deal with it, I would immediately ask you for help. I definitely would not force myself!"
Senior Sister Yuan Xi nodded. "All right. I will believe you this time."
Lin Qi asked eagerly, "Senior Sister, I captured a Fifth Stage Qi Refining cultivator alive. Aren't you going to praise me?"
"Captured alive? Are you sure?" The smile in Senior Sister Yuan Xi's eyes deepened.
She walked with Lin Qi to where the Grey-robed Daoist's ice sculpture stood.
Lin Qi frowned in confusion and tapped the ice sculpture several times with her wooden sword. The sculpture shattered at the sound, but the Grey-robed Daoist was nowhere to be seen.
Senior Sister Yuan Xi spoke gently. "This is why I have always wanted to come out and gain experience. These Rogue Cultivators who roam the outside world, even those at the Qi Refining First Stage, possess unique life-preserving methods and are skilled at adapting to the ever-changing battlefield."
"The instant he was frozen, I sensed the aura of an escape technique being used. Unfortunately, he moved too quickly. Even I could not stop him in time."
For a Qi Refining cultivator to escape beneath the very eyes of a Golden Core cultivator, the Grey-robed Daoist had enough to be proud of for the rest of his life.
Lin Qi stepped on the shattered ice across the ground and nodded seriously. "Senior Sister, I was not cautious enough. Next time, I definitely will not leave an opportunity for my enemy!"
Fortunately, Lin Qi had a Golden Core cultivator like Yuan Xi by her side. Otherwise, the Grey-robed Daoist's revenge from the shadows alone would have been enough to keep her awake at night.
One careless mistake could leave endless future trouble.
Lin Qi absolutely did not want to be someone softhearted enough to leave dangers behind for herself!
Senior Sister Yuan Xi approvingly patted her head. "Senior Sister believes in you. Let us go find Third Junior Brother now."
If Senior Sister Yuan Xi had not mentioned it, Lin Qi would have nearly forgotten about Luo Ci, whose manic episode had flared up.
Just as she was preparing to search for him with Yuan Xi, Luo Ci was carried back by a young cultivator dressed in blue-and-white patterned robes.
"Who are you?! Let go of my Junior Brother!" Lin Qi's bearing was still rather imposing.
Luo Ci, filthy as though he had rolled around in mud, was instantly moved to tears when he heard Lin Qi's words.
Senior Sister Yuan Xi saw through everything but did not expose it. She gave a gentle salute. "May I ask who you are? Could you put my Third Junior Brother down first?"
The cultivator in blue-and-white patterned robes set Luo Ci down and returned Yuan Xi's salute.
"I am Luo Zhou of Luo City. By order of the Household Head, I came to receive Fifth Young Master. You must be Fairy Yuan Xi, eldest disciple of True Monarch Qingyun, correct?"
"That is me! This is my Second Junior Sister, Lin Qi."
After introducing Lin Qi, Senior Sister Yuan Xi asked in confusion, "But how did Third Junior Brother end up in this state?"
Luo Zhou coughed twice, looking somewhat embarrassed. "It is a long story."
At the side, Luo Ci silently lowered his head in shame. Fortunately, his face was covered in mud, so no one could see him blushing.
It turned out that Luo Ci had chased after the three men, only to accidentally fall into a trap they had set.
The three men had not used any particularly clever method.
Before every robbery, they would dig a hole in the forest in advance and lure their victims over to step into it.
Today, Senior Sister Yuan Xi had exposed them first, which was why they had stopped the carriage halfway and begun fighting.
When fleeing, they instinctively ran in that direction.
Luo Ci chased after them without any plan and fell straight into the pit.
Not only did he let the three villains escape, but the pit was also too deep for him to climb out of.
After struggling in the pit for a while, Luo Ci's mind finally cleared.
He did not dare contact Yuan Xi or Lin Qi. It was simply too embarrassing, so he silently dug at the soil and desperately tried to climb upward on his own.
The three villains had not actually gone far. They had hidden nearby and watched from the shadows.
Seeing Luo Ci trapped in the pit with no one pursuing them, they prepared to make a comeback. They planned to smash Luo Ci to death in the hole first, then take his treasures and flee far away.
Fortunately, he had good luck.
Luo Zhou and his group, who had been sent to retrieve him, happened to come across them and saved his life.
Since Luo Zhou had only just dug him out of the pit, that was why he appeared before Yuan Xi and Lin Qi looking as though he had rolled through mud.
Lin Qi heard the entire story aboard the Luo Family's Flying Carriage. When she looked at Luo Ci again, there was a trace of disdain in her eyes.
She leaned close to Luo Ci and quietly mocked, "Junior Brother, a Fourth Stage Qi Refining cultivator got taken down by three mortals. You are way too pathetic!"
Luo Ci stared at Lin Qi with wide eyes.
He had probably never met someone who could insult another person to their face with such complete righteousness.
"You...!"
"Call me Senior Sister!" Lin Qi lightly patted his head.
She spoke with a hint of boasting, "Junior Brother, you should really reflect on yourself!"
"Today, your Senior Sister here defeated that Fifth Stage Qi Refining Grey-robed cultivator. Zonglei Peak's face has been preserved, at least."
Her smug, carried-away expression was a little hard to watch.
But Yuan Xi knew that Lin Qi understood Luo Ci's temperament and was deliberately provoking him, so she said nothing.
Before you continue