Raise a sword!

Lan Yingying ran away, panting heavily.

Her white dress was covered in dust, and her veil had fallen off somewhere, leaving her delicate and beautiful face devoid of any color.

She hastily activated another speed talisman, but because of her injuries, even with the talisman's help, she was unable to widen the distance between herself and the Qi Refining Level 8 cultivator behind her.

Seeing that she was about to be caught up, Lan Yingying used all her strength to activate another Golden Armor Talisman, and two golden shields protected her behind her.

bang——

The late-stage Qi Refining cultivator behind him caught up just in time, raised his hand and struck out with a palm strike from a distance. The surging air wave was blocked by the golden light shield, producing a muffled sound.

The force of this palm strike made Lan Yingying's face grow even more unpleasant.

"Li Ruhai! I have no grudge against your Li family! You even have a very close personal relationship with Brother Zhao, and you consider each other friends!"

Speaking of this, Lan Yingying felt extremely wronged.

She was able to escape from the black market by taking the escape route that the aristocratic families had left for their own people.

The second elder brother, Zhao Yuan, was a son-in-law of the Li family. Because he had several promising descendants, he held a very good position in the Li family. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent him out to manage a large business in the black market.

This time, Lan Yingying was able to leave the black market because Zhao Yuan asked Li Ruhai to send her out.

Unexpectedly, just as Lan Yingying was about to thank the man after leaving the black market area, he suddenly raised his hand and struck her on the back.

If it weren't for the beast tide, which kept Lan Yingying on her guard and allowed her to avoid being seriously injured, she might already be a corpse by now.

Even so, she was still severely injured and had to exert all her strength to activate the talisman.

"Of course Brother Zhao wouldn't know about this. It's nothing unusual for a rogue cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refining to die in a beast tide."

Li Ruhai said it in a flippant manner.

Perhaps sensing that Lan Yingying was at her limit, and considering the remoteness of the place, Li Ruhai slowed his pace, his face filled with greed.

"That little wench Sun Yinxi really has some tricks up her sleeve. In just over ten years, she has actually managed to make a name for you four rogue cultivators with no background in the Cangshan Sect's territory."

"One is a true disciple in a sect, and the other leads a demon-hunting team. Miss Lan has some reputation among talisman masters, and even Brother Zhao is not bad. They're all giving birth to spiritual roots for my Li family!"

As Li Ruhai drew closer, Lan Yingying slowly retreated, coldly saying, "Since you know, aren't you afraid that Sun Zhenchuan will find out I'm dead and order a thorough investigation?"

"Your Li family is about to withdraw from the Northern Foothills. How much of a voice can Li Rufeng, a Foundation Establishment elder, still have within the Cangshan Sect? If you anger the sect, your Li family will also..."

Before Lan Yingying could finish speaking, Li Ruhai waved his hand impatiently.

"We can't afford to offend the Cangshan Sect, but Miss Lan, you're not worthy of it."

A hint of sadness crept onto Lan Yingying's pale face.

Yes, she doesn't deserve it.

Even if the Cangshan Sect finds out about what happened today, they won't do anything to the Li family.

On one side is a dispensable rogue cultivator who only has some connection with a true disciple at the Qi Refining Realm.

On the other side are the meritorious families of the sect, who know when to advance and when to retreat, and are willing to give way to those who come after them.

Which is lighter and heavier, at a glance.

Thinking of this, Lan Yingying gave a bitter laugh.

"Hehe, that's certainly true."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lan Yingying took out seven or eight talismans of various kinds from her storage bag, ready to activate them at any time.

"Planning to destroy everything? You can try." Li Ruhai had the upper hand and didn't take Lan Yingying seriously at all.

As the other party drew closer, Lan Yingying asked bitterly, "So, why did you ambush me? We have never considered ourselves enemies of the Li family."

Li Ruhai chuckled softly.

"A common man is innocent."

Lan Yingying was slightly taken aback, then her eyes widened.

"How did you know!"

The reason Lan Yingying was going to the front line of the beast tide was because Liu Chuang, the eldest brother of their four-person alliance who ran the demon-hunting team, had discovered an important spiritual material.

The main ingredient of the Foundation Building Pill is the Mysterious Heart Leaf!

However, the place where Xuanxin Leaf was discovered was remote and deserted. Liu Chuang didn't even dare to tell his subordinates about it, so he could only ask Lan Yingying, the only one in the four-person alliance who was available, to go and help.

At this very moment, the Xuanxin Leaf is on Lan Yingying. It was prepared for Sun Yinxi, who has the best chance of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage among the four of them. It is the key to the result of their more than ten years of planning!

Lan Yingying never imagined that this matter would be leaked and even found out by the Li family.

"If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place... Although I don't know what treasure you've found that made Fellow Daoist Liu Chuang distrust even his own subordinates and send you, his sworn sister, to go."

"But now that we know you have something good, why would we let it go?"

Lan Yingying's eyes widened.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Trick? Heh, since we know you've got the treasure, it's either on you or on Liu Chuang. We might as well kill them both. Why bother tricking you?"

The moment he finished speaking, Li Ruhai had already closed enough distance to him.

Without any warning, he suddenly raised his hand, and a considerable amount of spiritual power had already gathered in his palm.

bang——

A violent sonic boom erupted, and a visible shockwave rushed straight towards Lan Yingying.

At this moment, Lan Yingying was distracted because even her elder brother was being targeted. Faced with the sudden sneak attack, she didn't have time to activate the talisman to protect herself.

Is this the end?

Lan Yingying closed her eyes in despair, her face full of resentment.

She recalled being rejected by the Cangshan Sect and how much she had suffered over the past ten years to get to where she was today.

It took the combined efforts of four people with no background to finally push Yinxi to where she is today.

In just a few years, one of the four of them will become a proper Foundation Establishment cultivator!

By then, which of the four of them won't have a bright future?

Memories kept flashing before my eyes.

Lan Yingying even thought of the alchemist who lived across from her and was difficult to get along with, someone who stayed at home all day.

I always thought this person seemed aloof and unapproachable, but once I got to know them, I found them incredibly comfortable to be around.

She felt more comfortable than she had ever felt since she began her cultivation.

This reassuring friendship even made her feel a sense of unfamiliarity she had never experienced before.

It's hard to say whether it's affection or something else.

But Lan Yingying never intended to reveal her feelings. Cultivators don't have many romantic feelings to think about; the Great Dao is under their feet and ahead of them.

The road ahead is still not smooth, so I have no mind to think about anything else.

"Meat sauce noodles," Lan Yingying said aloud what was on her mind.

The final image before your eyes is a bowl of fragrant, oily noodles.

On her deathbed, Lan Yingying actually had a craving for food.

Or perhaps it was because of the hard work she had endured for over a decade that the long-lost moments of relaxation she experienced with that alchemist were all the more memorable for her.

In the end, Lan Yingying even saw the alchemist's back as he appeared in front of her.

Lan Yingying just found it funny.

"It's unbelievable! I've never tasted a man's touch in my entire life, and now that I'm dying, I'm actually craving a man."