Several hours later.
Zhan Hongxiu was drenched in blood, and the Longevity Tortoise beside her had wounds all over its shell. Still, she drove a crimson flying sword through the chest of the last cultivator bandit.
"Finally..."
Years of hardship had lent her face a steely resolve. "After this, I'll hide my identity... then find a master alchemist to refine Foundation Establishment Pills. Foundation establishment is finally within reach."
Yet worries lingered in her heart.
As a wanted "demonic disciple," she would not be welcomed by any respectable master alchemist.
And those demonic master alchemists were often ruthless. They were perfectly capable of colluding with other cultivators to seize her pills. Just then, Zhan Hongxiu caught a pleasant fragrance, and the mana within her faltered.
The Longevity Tortoise beside her let out a mournful cry and collapsed.
"Heh heh heh... my patience wasn't wasted. You must have exhausted all your trump cards by now, haven't you?"
A figure appeared, wearing garishly colored robes, a lecherous grin on his face. "Not only do I get a little beauty this time, but a second-order demon core as well. Heaven truly smiles on me!"
"A foundation establishment... cultivator, resorting to such underhanded methods... you're the cultivator bandit Cai Huafeng?!"
Despair flooded Zhan Hongxiu's face.
But just then, lightning flashed.
Thunderbolts danced wildly across the sky, forming a lightning dragon with a pearl in its mouth that came surging toward them!
"What? A foundation establishment cultivator? A second-order high-grade talisman?"
Cai Huafeng's terrified voice rang out, followed by a shout. "This is a misunderstanding... if you've taken a fancy to that woman, fellow Daoist, she's yours..." Splat!
A heavy impact sounded, and a headless corpse toppled in front of Zhan Hongxiu.
Only the garishly colored robes remained to proclaim their owner's identity.
"Dead... Cai