After being jilted by the saintess at the beginning, why is she crying?

The courtyard gate closed again.

Inside the room, only Lin Fengmian and Honglian remained.

The atmosphere in the cramped space suddenly became subtle.

Honglian sat on the stone bench, head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Lin Fengmian stood beside her, but did not rush to speak.

A night breeze blew by, ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead. She subconsciously raised her hand to tuck them away, but this aggravated her injury, causing her to furrow her brow slightly.

Lin Fengmian saw this and silently took out a healing pill and handed it over: "Uncle-Master, take this first."

Honglian took the pill, but did not swallow it immediately. Instead, she looked up at him, her beautiful eyes filled with complex emotions.

Honglian took the pill, her fingertips trembling slightly as they touched his palm. She didn't swallow it immediately, but instead looked up at him.

Those eyes, usually so cool and composed, were now filled with complex emotions.

She put the pill in her mouth, closed her eyes, and regulated her breathing for a moment. As the medicine took effect, her complexion improved slightly.

But his brows remained furrowed, as if the stone weighing on his heart was far heavier than the injuries within his body.

"Elder Chu Qingyi... is still recovering from her old injuries. Although she intimidated those people during the competition, I can see that her internal injuries are holding her back. If she were to face a true Nascent Soul cultivator, I'm afraid..."

"Moreover, the Heavenly Star Alliance... now has countless Nascent Soul stage elders hiding here."

Honglian's voice continued, tinged with a sense of helplessness:

"Since they dared to openly force the emperor to abdicate, they must have made thorough preparations. If Uncle Chu were to reveal his cultivation level and fight head-on now, he would likely only face certain death."

She clenched her sleeves tightly, her knuckles turning white.

The feeling of knowing danger was ahead but being powerless to do anything about it made her chest feel tight and suffocated.

Just then—

A sweet taste suddenly rose in her throat.

"cough--!"

A mouthful of blood welled up uncontrollably. She instinctively raised her hand to cover her mouth, but it was too late. The blood, carrying an icy chill, fell onto the bluestone ground and condensed into fine frost, emitting wisps of white steam.

"puff--"

The bloodstains spread across the stone surface, with a thin layer of frost forming at the edges.

Upon seeing this, Lin Fengmian's pupils contracted slightly, and he quickly stepped forward to support her arm: "Uncle-Master! Why has your cold poison flared up again?!"

Honglian shook her head, wanting to say something, but then coughed violently again, her face turning almost deathly pale. She raised her hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, forcing a smile, her voice hoarse:

"It's nothing... It's probably just that the injury I just sustained aggravated an old wound. The cold poison took the opportunity to retaliate... It's nothing serious."

As she spoke, she tried to straighten up, but she was clearly struggling; her fingertips were trembling slightly. She took a deep breath, suppressing her surging blood, and forced herself to say:

"Let's figure out... how to escape. Staying here isn't a long-term solution."

Lin Fengmian felt a pang of pain in his heart as he watched her struggling to maintain her composure. He knew Honglian's usual temperament—stubborn, proud, and never willing to show weakness in front of others. At this moment, she had clearly reached her limit, yet she was still thinking about how to get him out of there.

He remained silent for a moment, then a resolute glint flashed in his eyes.

A bold idea took shape in his mind.

"Uncle-Master."

He suddenly spoke, his voice more composed than before.

Honglian raised her head and met his gaze.

Lin Fengmian didn't waste any words. Instead, he raised his hand, his fingers forming a sword shape, and gently touched her brow. A warm, gentle spiritual light flowed from his fingertips, like a trickle, and entered her sea of ​​consciousness.

Honglian's body stiffened slightly, then she closed her eyes, her consciousness sinking into that spiritual light—

An ancient and profound incantation for a martial arts technique appeared in her mind like a slowly unfolding scroll.

【The Secret of Yin and Yang Creation】.

Honglian's divine sense swept over the words. At first, she was a little confused, but the more she looked, the more her breathing became out of rhythm.

The dual cultivation methods recorded in that technique, including various postures, acupoints, and methods for the fusion of spiritual energy... every word was so clear that it made one blush and their heart race.

Her cheeks flushed bright red instantly, and even the roots of her ears turned crimson.

"Lin...Lin Fengmian...what is this?"

Her voice trembled with a hint of embarrassment and anger, yet she unconsciously lowered it, as if afraid of being overheard by someone outside the courtyard.

Lin Fengmian remained calm and composed, instead saying solemnly:

"Uncle-Master, don't refuse yet. I have a way to get you out of here."

He paused, looking at her intently:

"Break through first. Once your cultivation advances to the mid-stage of the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm, those Nascent Soul elders won't be able to stop you so easily. At that point, they won't make a move so easily, and our chances of escaping will be much greater."

Upon hearing this, Honglian opened her mouth, wanting to refute something, but realized that what he said did make sense. The royal city was currently shrouded in the divine senses of two Nascent Soul cultivators; forcibly breaking in would be tantamount to suicide.

However, if she can break through to the mid-stage of the False Infant realm in a short period of time, she might indeed find a glimmer of hope if her opponent is careless and underestimates her.

only……

She looked down at the "Yin Yang Creation Manual" in her mind, and the blush on her face deepened.

Seeing that she didn't directly refuse, Lin Fengmian secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then asked:

"Uncle-Master, if I'm not mistaken... you should have a fire elemental root, right?"

Honglian paused for a moment, then nodded: "That's right, I have a fire elemental root."

Having gained a clear understanding, Lin Fengmian immediately calmed his mind and communicated with the old man who had been silent for a long time in his sea of ​​consciousness—

"Hey! Old man! Hurry up! Give me a top-tier cultivation technique for fire elemental roots!"

Deep within his consciousness, Li Cheng's voice rang out, tinged with exasperation:

"You brat! Do you really think these top-tier martial arts techniques just fall from the sky?! You think you can just take them like that?!"

But he suddenly fell silent halfway through his sentence.

As if recalling Lin Fengmian's endless tricks and the mysterious owner of the jade tube, Li Cheng remained silent for a moment before finally handing over his most treasured technique.

A ray of spiritual light surged into Lin Fengmian's sea of ​​consciousness. He was moved and memorized it. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he directly pointed a finger at Honglian's brow and transmitted the technique to her.

"Uncle-Master, this is the 'Mysterious Heaven Fire Phoenix Technique,' a Heaven-Rank cultivation method that is very suitable for your fire spirit root constitution. You should study it first, and I will help you suppress the cold poison."

Honglian's consciousness once again sank into her mind, and when she saw the contents of the "Mysterious Heaven Fire Phoenix Technique," her beautiful eyes widened suddenly.

Heavenly-rank cultivation technique?!

As an elder of the Hehuan Sect, she was extremely clear about the grades of cultivation techniques. Heaven-rank cultivation techniques were extremely rare, with only a handful available throughout the entire Zhao Kingdom. Each one was a treasured secret of every major sect, never to be passed on to outsiders.

But this man in front of her just casually gave her one?!