You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

Qi Fei followed Ying Wanning as they walked out of Nanshan Town.

It was completely dark outside. There were no lanterns or lights outside the town, only a bumpy dirt road stretching out beneath our feet, with dark shadows of trees on both sides.

The moonlight was mostly obscured by the clouds, with only a few sparse rays filtering through, casting shadows on the trees on both sides, making the shadows appear menacing and grotesque, as if something were lurking in the darkness.

Ying Wanning walked ahead, her waist swaying gently, her steps graceful. She would glance back at him from time to time, her eyes filled with endless allure and hints.

Her skirt swayed in the night breeze, like a butterfly fluttering its wings in the darkness.

Qi Fei looked at Ying Wanning, who was striking a pose ahead of him, and suddenly stopped.

"Mom," he suddenly said, "you still love playing jungle."

Ying Wanning's body jolted, and she stopped in her tracks.

She slowly turned around, her smile freezing for a moment before blooming again, even brighter than before, with a hint of reproach that said, "What are you talking about?"

"What? What did you call me?" She covered her mouth and giggled. "I didn't expect you to like this kind of thing."

Qi Fei did not laugh.

He raised his hand and wiped his face, making slight changes to restore his original appearance.

It was the appearance of the young man in Tianlan City who was used by this woman as a consumable for refining weapons.

Ying Wanning's smile froze on her face.

She recognized him.

This boy was quite dependent on her back then.

When he called her "Mom," his eyes held a cautious, ingratiating look, like a stray dog ​​that had been taken in, afraid of being abandoned again.

He was obedient and compliant, which is why she left him until the end. Back then, when she learned that the sword energy of Nanshan soared to the sky, she rushed off, and before he could even react, he had already become a piece of waste in her hands.

However, she didn't use this face when she was in Tianlan City.

"You know." Her voice changed; it was no longer soft and sweet, but cold and scrutinizing.

"I remember you didn't have this face back in Tianlan City."

Qi Fei did not deny it: "I know."

"When did you find out?" Ying Wan asked, her gaze sweeping across his face like a knife.

"From the moment you first appeared."

Ying Wanning's eyes turned cold.

The first time he appeared? Was it a few days ago, in Nanshan? How could this young man recognize him at a glance?

"Who told you that?" she asked.

Qi Fei looked at her, his gaze almost too calm.

"I guessed."

Ying Wanning was stunned.

Guess? Just based on a guess?

She stared at Qi Fei's face, trying to find a trace of a lie in him. But his expression was too calm, so calm that it made her uneasy.

"So you knew all along," her voice tightened slightly, "but pretended not to?"

"good."

Ying Wanning's lips twitched.

She recalled how she had appeared in front of Qi Fei twice: the first time at the inn, when she tried to get information out of him, and the second time at the dinner table, when she flirted with him, winking, licking her lips, and beckoning with her fingers.

She thought she was fishing, she thought she was a hunter, and she thought Qi Fei was a fish that would take the bait sooner or later.

But now I'm standing here...

"So, these two times I appeared before you," she forced out through clenched teeth, each word distinct, "wasn't that just being a clown?"

"good."

Ying Wanning's face turned completely cold.

Her earlier charm, coquettishness, and allure were like an outer garment that had been stripped off and thrown on the ground, revealing the cold and sharp underlying nature.

She stared at Qi Fei with a sinister look, as if she were looking at someone who was courting death.

"No," she suddenly shook her head, "you're not him!"

"He doesn't dare talk to me like that. He only dares to steal glances at me, and he has to think for a long time before saying a single word. If I say go east, he doesn't dare go west!"

"He couldn't possibly stand in front of me and talk like that! Who are you anyway?"

Qi Fei simply said coldly, "I am him, but I'm here for revenge."

In his mind, the "sword" that had been observing all along suddenly spoke, its voice tinged with eagerness: "Man, do you want me to help you?"

Qi Fei thought to himself, "No need."

He raised his hand.

"Identifying shadows".

A ball of light appeared in his palm. The light spread out instantly, illuminating the dark wilderness as if it were daytime.

The moment the light fell on Ying Wanning, her expression changed.

She felt the magical power within her body being burned by something, boiling uncontrollably.

"Is this the bizarre method that Isshin was talking about?"

For the first time, Ying Wanning truly felt something about Qi Fei that she couldn't understand.

Previously, when Zhu Yixin said Qi Fei's methods were strange, she didn't believe it. What skills could a mere kid have?

But at that moment, the light shone on her, as if it had set fire inside her, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

But she is not Zhu Yixin after all. She possesses the identity of the Holy Maiden of the Shadow God Cult, the secret techniques of the Blood God Cult, and the skills to live a life of constant danger.

She has plenty of tricks up her sleeve!

Her figure suddenly blurred, like a wisp of smoke blown away by the wind, and she melted into the surrounding darkness.

The shadows that "Shadow Detection" cannot illuminate are her best camouflage. She is like a snake lurking in the dark, silent and ever-present, ready to unleash a deadly venom at any moment.

Qi Fei stood still, the light in his hand neither increasing nor decreasing, his gaze sweeping through the darkness.

Just then, a shadowy figure behind him suddenly moved.

Zhu Yixin darted out from the shadows, the shadow banner in her hand fluttering, and an overwhelming shadow surged toward Qi Fei like a tide.

But as soon as those shadows came into contact with the light of "Shadow Detection," they melted away instantly, like snow meeting boiling water.

The banner's surface twisted and shrank in the light, emitting a hissing sound, as if something was burning.

The Shadow God Sword in Zhu Yixin's other hand also suffered the same fate.

A wisp of green smoke rose from the Shadow God Sword, and the spiritual energy dissipated at a visible speed, causing the magic power within Zhu Yixin's body to burn violently as well.

Ying Wan, hidden in the shadows, watched this scene and muttered under her breath, "Zhu Yixin is such a waste."

Without hesitation, she immediately gave Zhu Yixin a death order: even if she was bathed in that light, even if her magic was burning, even if her flesh and blood were gone, she had to use her body to stop him.

Cannon fodder, isn't that how they're used?

Zhu Yixin's body stiffened abruptly, and the bloodshot in her eyes deepened, like two burning dark flames.

He threw away the broken Shadow Banner and Shadow God Sword, spread his arms, and staggered towards Qi Fei.

His face was expressionless, and he made no sound. Only his blood-red eyes stared intently at Qi Fei, like a puppet being led by strings.

At the same time, Ying Wanning appeared from the shadows.