The outer perimeter of the Cangwu Mountain Range is covered by dense forests.
Yan Guining's forehead was covered in fragrant sweat, and she was panting heavily.
The inner sect robes of the Azure Mystic Sect had been torn in several places by the sharp thorns around them, revealing fair skin.
Behind her followed her junior sister from the same peak.
"Senior sister, should we go any deeper?" The junior sister asked, her face filled with fear.
Yan Guining gritted her teeth. "Keep searching."
During this period, the outside world has been completely turned upside down.
Nangong Wuhen, the holy son of the Heavenly Sword Sect, issued an exorbitant bounty.
Provide clues about Chu Yunfei and you will be rewarded with a third-grade elixir.
Capture Chu Yunfei alive, give him a level-one cultivation technique, and you can even be directly recommended to the Heavenly Sword Sect.
That's insane.
The entire dynasty's Rogue Cultivator and sects rushed into the Cangwu Mountain Range like dogs smelling blood.
In an effort to curry favor with the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Azure Mystic Sect issued a direct order, sending all its disciples who were still alive into the Cangwu Mountain Range for a full-scale search.
This is a hunt that is destined to end in certain death.
Yan Guining volunteered to lead the team into the mountains.
Nobody knew that she wasn't after the bounty at all.
She wanted to find Chu Yunfei before everyone else!
She wanted to tell that bastard that Divine Sea Realm expert had arrived, and that he should run away as far as possible!
Yan Guining had no idea what had gotten into her.
That bastard Chu Yunfei! He publicly humiliated me and even saw my naked body. I should have wanted to tear him to pieces.
However, her inner emotions were extremely complex, even she herself found them incomprehensible.
That's insane.
Yan Guining pinched her thigh hard, forcing herself to wake up.
What's wrong with me? Why should I care if that bastard dies?
But her body's instincts compelled her to continue searching deeper.
"Damn it, you better not let someone else find you first," Yan Guining cursed inwardly.
The two traversed a poisonous miasma-ridden area and arrived at a secluded valley.
Sudden.
Yan Guining paused, her gaze falling on a crevice in the rock.
There, a crimson herb swayed in the wind, radiating an incomparably pure fire-attribute aura.
" Fire Essence Ginseng, a Grade Three Spiritual Herb!"
The junior sister behind him exclaimed in surprise, her face beaming with joy.
Yan Guining's eyes lit up.
A third-grade elixir, priceless in its value.
Since we've run into it, there's no reason to let it go.
She reached into the crevice and pulled it out by the roots.
The moment the Fire Essence Ginseng was acquired, a sudden change occurred!
Swish, swish, swish...
Without any warning.
Five figures dressed in purple robes darted out from the surrounding bushes.
This effectively blocked all escape routes for the two women.
An intense killing intent instantly enveloped the valley.
Yan Guining's expression changed drastically, and he subconsciously drew his longsword to protect his junior sister.
The visitors were all dressed uniformly, with flame patterns embroidered on their robes.
Blazing Fire Sect!
The sect is on par with the Azure Mystic Sect, and the two sects have often clashed.
"Oh, isn't this Azure Mystic Sect?"
The leader, named Li Kun, had a pockmarked face and was quite ugly.
He held a nine-ringed broadsword in his hand, his narrow, lewd eyes first fixed on the Fire Essence Ginseng Yan Guining's hand, then brazenly roamed over her chest and long legs, swallowing hard.
" Li Kun, what do you want to do?" Yan Guining gripped his longsword tightly, his voice cold and hard.
Li Kun sneered, pointing the tip of his knife at Yan Guining's hand. "What are you doing? That Fire Essence Ginseng is something our Blazing Fire Sect has already marked and is already ours. Put the herb down, and for the sake of the Azure Mystic Sect, take your junior sister and get out of here."
fart!
Yan Guining was so angry that his chest heaved.
The elixir showed no signs of being tampered with; this guy was clearly making excuses and trying to steal it outright.
Normally, Yan Guining would never have tolerated such humiliation.
But now, all she could think about was finding Chu Yunfei, and she didn't want to fight to the death with someone over a third-grade spiritual herb, especially since there were five of them.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart.
"Okay, here you go."
Yan Guining tossed the Fire Essence Ginseng at Li Kun's feet and grabbed her junior sister's wrist. "Let's go."
He turned around and took less than two steps.
call!
A stench wafted through the air.
Li Kun took a step forward, his massive body blocking Yan Guining's path.
"Wait."
Li Kun's smile turned incredibly lewd, his gaze roaming over Yan Guining's body, scraping at her flesh.
Yan Guining's voice was icy. "I've already given you the elixir, what more do you want?"
Li Kun grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "When my junior brother from the Blazing Fire Sect discovered this place, there were clearly two Fire Essence Ginseng growing together! Now there's only one left."
He took a sudden step closer, lowering his voice. "I strongly suspect you've hidden another one on your person."
"You can also try to prove your innocence."
"Let me search you myself!"
Li Kun emphasized the last three words, and his rough hand reached lewdly towards Yan Guining's collar.
"Shameless!"
Yan Guining turned pale with anger, and with a backhand slash, she forced back Li Kun's groping hand, her eyes filled with disgust.
The round-faced junior sister beside him, enraged, drew her short sword and pointed it at Li Kun, shouting, "You're talking nonsense! There's clearly only one plant here! We're inner disciples of the Azure Mystic Sect! If you dare touch us, the sect will never let you get away with it!"
" Azure Mystic Sect?"
Li Kun laughed wildly, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
The four Blazing Fire Sect disciples behind him also burst into ear-piercing laughter.
"Little girl, are you trying to intimidate me with the Azure Mystic Sect?"
Li Kun abruptly stopped laughing, his eyes turning fierce and sinister. "This is the Cangwu Mountain Range. Every day, at least a thousand or eight hundred martial artists die here! If we just kill you all and throw you into a horde of demonic beasts, even a god wouldn't be able to find out who did it!"
boom!
Before he could finish speaking...
The five members of the Blazing Fire Sect simultaneously released the fluctuations of spiritual energy within their bodies.
The violent gusts of wind whipped the surrounding thorns into a frenzy.
They were all martial artists at the Spirit Martial Realm!
The weakest is at the Third Level of the Spirit Martial Realm.
The crimson spiritual energy emanating from Li Kun, the leader, was as heavy as a wall, making Yan Guining's breath catch in her throat.
Sixth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm!
It suppressed Yan Guining by two minor realms!
Yan Guining's face instantly turned completely bloodless.
She knew there was no way things could end well today.
The other party never intended to let them go from the start. The Fire Essence Ginseng was just an excuse. The real purpose of these beasts was to rape and murder them.
"Junior sister, I'll stop them in a bit. You use the Divine Movement Talisman to run towards the sect. Don't look back!" Yan Guining whispered, quickly giving instructions.
The round-faced junior sister was trembling with fear, her hand gripping the sword shaking uncontrollably. "Senior Sister Yan, I... I can't escape."
"Even if we can't run, we have to run!"
Yan Guining let out a clear, cold shout and took the initiative to attack.
The longsword in her hand burst forth with a dazzling blue sword light, transforming into countless cold stars that aimed directly at Li Kun's face.
Strike first, strike hard!
"You overconfident, worthless wretch!"
Li Kun, his face full of disdain, didn't even draw his sword. He simply raised his right palm, which was enveloped in crimson spiritual energy, and struck out with it to meet the sword's edge.
clang!
The palm struck the sword's edge, producing a crisp, metallic clang.
The powerful recoil surged through the hilt of the sword into Yan Guining's arm, making her hands go numb and nearly causing the sword to fly out of her grasp.
The difference in their levels of understanding is too great.
"You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences. I'll disarm you first, then slowly teach you how to serve a man!"
Li Kun grinned maliciously, lunged forward, and his hands transformed into a storm of palm shadows, completely engulfing Yan Guining like a tempestuous storm.
Each palm strike carried scorching heat and poison, forcing Yan Guining to defend desperately and retreat repeatedly, with no chance to retaliate.
On the other side.
Four disciples of the Blazing Fire Sect, like a pack of wolves, had surrounded their junior sister, who was only at the Second Level of the Spirit Martial Realm.
A cat playing with a mouse.
They didn't use their full strength at all; they just toyed with the back of their knives on the terrified girl while uttering lewd whistles.
Yan Guining was extremely anxious, but Li Kun held her firmly, preventing her from escaping.
"You dare to get distracted while fighting me?"
Li Kun's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he kicked Yan Guining hard in the stomach.
Yan Guining let out a muffled groan, and his whole body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground, his stomach churning violently.
Before she could even get up, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly rang in her ears.
"Ah--!"
Yan Guining turned to look.
The round-faced junior sister was kicked to the ground by a disciple of the Blazing Fire Sect.
Another disciple grinned maliciously as he circled behind her, raised his long knife, and without the slightest mercy, plunged it directly into her back.
The blade pierced through his chest, drawing out a large clump of warm blood.
The junior sister's screams abruptly stopped.
Her eyes were wide open, her hands gripping the blade in front of her chest tightly, mouthfuls of blood and froth gushing from her mouth, as she looked desperately in Yan Guining's direction.
Then, his body convulsed twice, his head lolled to the side, and he died instantly.
"Junior Sister!!!"
Yan Guining's eyes were bloodshot, as if they were about to burst.
In the instant one loses their composure, numerous flaws are revealed.
This was the opportunity Li Kun had been waiting for.
"You still have time to worry about others? Lie down!"
He roared, gathering all his power at the Sixth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm in his right palm, and with a sonic boom that tore through the air, he slammed it hard into Yan Guining's shoulder.
Bang!
Click.
Yan Guining's protective spiritual power shattered with a loud crash, and the sound of bones breaking was crisp and piercing.
"Puff!"
She coughed up mouthfuls of blood and crashed heavily into the ancient tree behind her like a kite with a broken string.
He fell to the ground, and the longsword slipped from his hand.
She tried to get up, but found that her internal organs had shifted, and she had completely lost her fighting ability.
"Hahaha! If only you had just behaved earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this."
Li Kun shook the blood off his hands, his eyes fixed on the lamb on the chopping board.
The other four disciples of the Blazing Fire Sect drew their long swords, kicked aside their junior sister's corpse on the ground, and gathered around with lewd grins on their faces.
Five people approached, step by step.
Li Kun stopped three steps in front of Yan Guining.
He reached up and unbuttoned his purple robe, revealing a chest covered in black hair, and exhaled a foul stench.
"Junior brothers, you're in luck today."
"This famous beauty from the Azure Mystic Sect, who usually keeps to herself and never even glances at us, is now forced to submit to us brothers' pleasures?"
"I'll try the first taste. You all line up one by one later, and no one is allowed to grab anything!"
The other four burst into lewd laughter.
Looking at her tragically murdered junior sister, and then at the approaching villains, despair overwhelmed Yan Guining like a cold tide.
She knew what was about to happen to her.
That was a hell a hundred times worse than death.
No.
We must not let them succeed!
Yan Guining gritted her teeth, mustered her last breath, and desperately let out a mournful cry for help towards the depths of the Cangwu Mountain Range:
"Help!"
Accompanied by an echo of despair.
Yan Guining closed her eyes and bit down hard on the tip of her tongue.