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

She slowly opened her eyes, which were clearer and deeper than before, as if they contained boundless power!

But before she could speak, she felt the still-warm chest behind her. Her face flushed instantly, and she quickly moved to the side.

She stood up, her back to him, her voice carrying a forced calm:

"...I've broken through."

Lin Fengmian slowly stood up. Although he was exhausted and had given up a lot of his pure yang essence, he was filled with a sense of smug satisfaction.

Who told him to have the Pure Yang Holy Body? His foundation is just that strong!

More importantly, the benefits he received from the Red Lotus's breakthrough were even greater.

His fire spirit root had actually been sublimated! Both the purity of his spiritual power and his control over flames had improved to a whole new level.

Lin Fengmian was overjoyed and almost burst out laughing on the spot.

"Holy crap! Is this for real?!"

He looked down at his hands, feeling the fire-elemental spiritual power within him that was more refined and pure than before. Thoughts raced through his mind like wild horses:

"If I find a few more Daoist partners with mutated spiritual roots for dual cultivation in the future, wouldn't I be able to take off from here?! Heavenly spiritual roots, earthly spiritual roots, all of them can step aside! I, Lin, will take the shortcut and reach the pinnacle of life!"

He became more and more excited as he thought about it, and the smile on his lips was almost impossible to suppress.

However, he quickly suppressed his smugness and turned his gaze to Honglian in front of him. At this moment, she was slowly recovering from the afterglow of her breakthrough, and the aura of coldness and heat around her gradually receded into her body.

After her transformation, Honglian seemed like a completely different person.

Her already aloof and ethereal appearance, a result of cultivating ice-based techniques, now had an even more lustrous glow. Her skin was so white it was almost transparent, yet it also had a faint rosy tint.

Her features were already exquisite, but now they seemed to have been cleansed by celestial energy. The cold beauty and mature charm between her brows and eyes were so beautiful that people dared not look directly at her.

Lin Fengmian stared, his eyes wide with amazement.

"Good heavens... Is this the power of a Heaven-rank cultivation technique? This is too..."

He swallowed hard, thinking to himself, "This woman is too perfect! She's practically a creation favored by the Creator!"

If I had to point out any minor flaws—

Why does she always like to be on top?

Recalling what had just happened, Lin Fengmian touched his nose with a hint of grievance.

Despite being in charge of the cultivation technique, she eventually took over all the initiative.

The feeling of being pinned down... although it was quite comfortable, something just felt off.

Just as he was still savoring the moment, Honglian had already straightened her clothes and turned around. She glanced at him.

A hint of tenderness, which she herself was unaware of, flickered in her cool eyes, while her voice returned to its usual clear and sharp tone.

"Junior Nephew Lin, stay close to me. Let's hurry back to the sect's headquarters to check the situation."

Lin Fengmian nodded, putting aside his romantic thoughts, and his expression became more serious.

The two exchanged a glance, and their figures simultaneously transformed into two streaks of light, rushing towards the direction of the Hehuan Sect's headquarters.

Throughout the journey, Lin Fengmian maintained a high level of vigilance with his spiritual senses.

Sure enough, the two had flown less than a hundred miles when several sinister auras came from the flanks.

But Lin Fengmian remained completely calm.

Now, Honglian has completely dispelled the cold poison, possesses the Heaven-ranked cultivation technique "Mysterious Heaven Fire Phoenix Technique", and has just broken through to the mid-stage of the False Infant Realm. Unless a Nascent Soul old monster personally takes action, any False Infant Realm cultivator who comes here is just easy prey!

"They've arrived," Honglian said calmly.

Two figures suddenly appeared from the side, their bodies surging with spiritual energy; they were clearly two cultivators at the late Core Formation stage!

They had clearly come to intercept the fleeing disciples, but when they saw Lin Fengmian and Honglian, a sinister smile flashed in their eyes.

"Two more slipped through the net! Take them down!"

however--

No sooner had they finished speaking than Honglian moved.

She didn't even use any hand seals; she simply raised her hand and waved it casually.

A stream of extremely pure fire-elemental spiritual energy poured out from her palm, transforming into a raging fire wave that instantly engulfed the two Core Formation cultivators and the surrounding space of more than ten feet!

Flames roared, and the heat distorted the air.

The two cultivators didn't even have time to utter a scream before they were reduced to ashes in the scorching flames.

Even the storage bags were gone. Only two wisps of smoke dissipated in the wind, proving that they had once existed.

Lin Fengmian was stunned and couldn't help but secretly praise him.

"The power of a mid-stage Pseudo-Infant... that's too brutal!"

Honglian withdrew her hand, her expression indifferent, as if she had merely swatted two flies.

She glanced back at Lin Fengmian, a hint of barely perceptible smugness in her eyes, as if to say—"See how powerful I am now?"

Lin Fengmian's lips twitched slightly, and he silently gave a thumbs up.

The two continued on their way, dealing with several groups of clueless pursuers along the way.

Wherever the crimson flames went, none could stop them; they swept through the territory of the Hehuan Sect in the Great Yan Dynasty with overwhelming force.

From afar, Lin Fengmian could see the scene of the encampment.

The Hehuan Sect's residence was now completely surrounded by the rebel army, with densely packed figures blocking all sides.

The protective array above the mansion emitted a flickering spiritual light, clearly indicating that it had been under attack for quite some time.

If the barrier itself hadn't been so sturdy, and if Chu Qingyi and two elders hadn't been there to oversee it, it probably would have been breached long ago.

"Those bastards..."

Honglian's pretty face turned cold when she saw this.

Without any hesitation, she raised her hand and waved it, and a sea of ​​scorching fire materialized out of thin air and poured down on the rebel army besieging below!

"boom--!"

The flames, like a waterfall from the sky, instantly engulfed dozens of rebel soldiers. Screams rose and fell; those cultivators who had been attacking frantically outside the barrier were like paper before the crimson lotus's flames, turning into charred remains the moment they touched them, without even a chance to struggle.

In a short time, a large portion of the rebels surrounding the camp were cleared out, and the remaining rebels retreated in panic, not daring to approach any closer.

"It's Senior Aunt Honglian! And Junior Brother Lin is back too!"

Inside the mansion, Liu Shiyin saw the outside scene through the barrier and immediately shouted excitedly. She quickly made a hand seal, opening a gap in the barrier to let the two of them in.

Lin Fengmian and Honglian flashed and landed in the encampment.

The barrier immediately closed again, shutting out the chaos.

Inside the mansion, Chu Qingyi sat cross-legged in the center of the main hall, her body surrounded by spiritual energy, her face slightly pale. Seeing the two return safely, she visibly relaxed, the serious expression between her brows softening slightly.

But then her gaze fell on Honglian, and she paused slightly.