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

"Tsk tsk tsk, weren't you in charge of guarding the palace? What are you doing in this desolate wilderness, hanging out with this pretty boy?"

"Could they have been up to some shameless affair here? What a shameless couple! If the Empress knew that her husband and confidant had conspired to cuckold her, the scene... tsk tsk, how spectacular that would be!"

Qin Lan's face turned deathly pale upon hearing these foul words.

But the next second, a resolute glint flashed in her eyes.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and slowly stood up—though her body swayed, she stood firmly in front of Lin Fengmian.

She looked directly at Zhao Tiande, speaking each word clearly and distinctly, her voice echoing through the valley:

"Elder Zhao, you are wrong. The Imperial Preceptor Ling Yuanshan and I have always been a couple in name only. We have never consummated our marriage."

She paused, took a deep breath, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and her voice became even more resolute:

"From this day forward, I, Qin Lan, am no longer the wife of the Imperial Advisor!"

She turned around and looked at Lin Fengmian deeply, her eyes no longer filled with hesitation.

"Now, I am merely your woman. Anyone who wishes to harm him will have to get past me first."

Lin Fengmian was stunned.

Looking at the slender, graceful yet upright figure before him, a ripple of emotion stirred within him.

Is this woman... serious?

Does this mean they've unilaterally declared ownership?

Although the two had just had a close physical encounter due to the need to heal their wounds, it was out of necessity!

He, the "playboy," hasn't even given his consent yet, and he's already being forced to take responsibility?

but……

It was indeed... quite moist just now.

At this moment, Zhao Tiande and his men didn't care about any of that. They approached with sinister smiles, their killing intent locked onto the two men.

Lin Fengmian's mind raced. Conventional recovery methods were too slow; there simply wasn't enough time.

He quickly assessed the situation—Zhao Tiande was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and most of his disciples were in the Qi Refining stage. Under normal circumstances, he could easily kill them with a flick of his finger, but now, heavily injured, it was somewhat difficult for him.

He steeled himself and whispered to Qin Lan, who was blocking his way, "Commander Qin, do you trust me?"

Qin Lan did not hesitate at all, and slightly turned her head: "I believe you."

"Let's do it again. But this time, I need your absolute trust!"

Ignoring Qin Lan's nervousness and hesitation, Lin Fengmian suddenly reached out and clasped her hands together.

He actively guided the flow of their Yin and Yang energies into the Tai Chi diagram in their dantian, urging it to rotate at full speed. He used his pure Yang essence to draw upon the other's Yin energy, creating a complementary Yin-Yang cycle.

He sacrificed even more of his pure Yang essence, frantically stimulating the Tai Chi diagram to accelerate its rotation, almost predatoryly extracting the opponent's Yin essence to complement it.

"puff!"

Both men coughed up blood, their injuries appearing to have worsened.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Tiande and the others sneered even more, thinking that they were just making a last-ditch effort.

However, just as the Tai Chi symbol reached its zenith, seemingly about to shatter at any moment—

hum!

At the center of the Tai Chi diagram, where the eyes of the Yin and Yang fish meet, a dazzling light, brimming with boundless vitality, suddenly flashes!

Immediately afterwards, a surge of chaotic spiritual energy, far purer, more powerful, and more balanced than before, erupted and instantly swept over the two of them!

This is not ordinary spiritual power, but a wisp of innate energy born from the ultimate mutual trust and the perfect harmony of yin and yang, returning to its origin!

Lin Fengmian couldn't help but sigh inwardly—

Commander Qin... trusts him way too much, doesn't he?

"boom!"

Qin Lan's body trembled, and the bottleneck in her cultivation that had been stagnant broke through. Her aura rose steadily, and she broke through the shackles in an instant, stepping into the late stage of Foundation Establishment!

What shocked her even more was that the almost depleted spiritual energy in her body instantly returned to its peak state, even surpassing its former level!

Lin Fengmian's situation was much more complicated—his dantian spiritual sea was simply too vast, and his cultivation had barely recovered to around the eighth level of Qi Refining.

He released Qin Lan and gave her a somewhat weak smile:

"Commander Qin, from now on... it all depends on you."

Qin Lan felt the surging new power within her body and nodded emphatically. She slowly turned around to face Zhao Tiande and the others, her aura surging like a tidal wave, her eyes as cold as blades.

Qin Lan felt the surging new power within her body, a chilling glint flashing in her beautiful eyes. She slowly gripped the longsword in her hand, the blade humming, its spiritual energy surging like a dragon's roar.

When she looked up at Zhao Tiande again, her eyes were filled with only a cold killing intent, without the slightest hesitation.

"Zhao Tiande—prepare to die!"

As soon as the clear shout fell, Qin Lan's figure suddenly sprang up, like a fleeting shadow, and took the initiative to attack!

The sword light cascaded down like a waterfall from the heavens, its momentum terrifying and its power far exceeding that of the past. It was so sharp that even the air itself was torn apart by a piercing, ear-piercing shriek.

Wherever the sword points, grass and trees fall, and stones fly!

Zhao Tiande hurriedly raised his sword to meet the attack, his face turning deathly pale instantly.

However, after only a few exchanges, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression completely changed—

Whether it was the solidity of his spiritual energy, the exquisite variations of his sword techniques, or the swiftness of his movements, Qin Lan completely overwhelmed him at this moment!

The feeling of utter powerlessness that was completely suppressed sent chills down his spine and made him feel like his liver and gallbladder were about to burst!

"No...this is impossible! How could you become so strong!"

Zhao Tiande screamed in alarm, retreating step by step, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, and the sword in his hand trembling slightly.

Nothing is impossible.

Qin Lan's voice was icy and chilling, her swordplay was like a dragon, pressing forward relentlessly, her killing intent as fierce as an icy blade in winter.

"Whoever harms the young master shall die!"

The ensuing battle was almost entirely a one-sided massacre.

After Qin Lan broke through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, dealing with Zhao Tiande, who was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, along with a group of Qi Refining stage disciples was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep or a wolf entering a chicken coop—unstoppable!

Sword light crisscrossed, and blood blossoms bloomed in the air.

Screams rose and fell, one after another.

A moment later, Zhao Tiande was covered in blood, his clothes were tattered like a beggar's, and his eyes were full of resentment and hatred. He was extremely disheveled.

He stared intently at Lin Fengmian, his bloodshot eyes brimming with resentment that seemed almost tangible.

Suddenly, he grinned, revealing a twisted and crazed smile, and a hoarse voice, like a broken bellows, squeezed out from deep within his throat:

"Lin Fengmian... Qin Lan... you really think you've got this in the bag, don't you?!"

He shakily pulled a pitch-black talisman from his storage bag.

The talisman was jet black, with an eerie, dark luster flowing across its surface. Countless twisted runes were outlined on it with dark red patterns, and just one glance was enough to make one's mind tremble and one's soul shudder.

The moment the talisman appeared, the surrounding air suddenly froze, and a chilling pressure that sent shivers down one's spine spread out, even swallowing up some of the sunlight. The vegetation within a radius of several feet quickly withered and turned black.

"This is the Soul-Devouring Demonic Talisman! It was personally bestowed by the Demon Lord! It is specifically designed to devour the foundation of one's cultivation and erode the soul!"

Zhao Tiande roared, his eyes turning blood red, and his life essence burned wildly, turning into streams of blood mist that surged into the talisman!