Xuanjian: I am the tenth son of Zhenchi, and I plot to seize the throne from Zhenlong.

"Demonic cultivator! Where are you taking me?"

"Let's see when your sect comes looking for us. If they find us nearby, I'll just leave you here. Also, I'm not a demonic cultivator."

"You reek of blood, trying to hide it, and you still claim you're not a demonic cultivator? My master said the desert is now full of demonic cultivators. I cultivated lightning for this very day!"

"Are you crazy? If I were a demonic cultivator, I would have killed you long ago."

"Then let me go, and I'll leave on my own."

In the desert, one figure is dragging another figure through the air with a rope.

Su Ming shook his head, too lazy to argue with this crazy woman; he had already made up his mind to leave the desert.

If he encounters someone from her sect on this journey, and the woman is still alive, he will have a chance to explain. If he successfully reaches the edge of the desert, he can either release her or kill her with a single sword strike, which will not affect his escape to the south.

Suddenly, he sensed something, turned around, and raised his hand, unleashing several sword energies that grazed the female cultivator's head, repelling a figure that had taken advantage of the darkness to attack.

The demonic cultivator cried out in pain, and seeing that his sneak attack had failed, he didn't linger. He turned and ran away on the wind.

Su Ming sheathed his sword and glanced at the female cultivator below, who seemed stunned by the sword energy from earlier. Seeing that she was no longer making a fuss, he was happy to have some peace and quiet.

Unexpectedly, after only a few breaths, the female cultivator spoke again, her voice less agitated: "You...you're really not a demonic cultivator? What are you doing in the desert?"

Su Ming pondered for a moment. If this woman cooperated, he would have less trouble. So he replied, "I was hiding from enemies. I didn't know there were demonic cultivators causing trouble in the desert, otherwise I would have gone south long ago."

"Enemies? Who did you kill?"

Su Ming shook his head: "Sometimes, living is a source of hatred."

The female cultivator, whose spiritual power had been sealed by Su Ming and who was now tied up and hanging from a rope, pouted, thinking that this man was really just pretending to be profound. Then, her eyes darted around and she said, "Since you're not a demonic cultivator, how about you send me back to my sect?"

"You just tried to kill me, and now you want me to send you back to your sect? You've certainly made a good deal."

"Aren't you hiding from your enemies? Now that the desert is in such chaos, if you take me back, I'll recommend you to become an outer disciple."

Su Ming raised an eyebrow, landed slowly, straightened his stance, and carefully examined the female cultivator. After making her lower her head uncomfortably, he chuckled again: "You're just a lowly cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, powerless and without influence, yet you recommend me?"

Just as he was about to continue his journey, he saw the female cultivator who had been questioned say with some annoyance, "My master is that Foundation Establishment Thunder Cultivator! Now that the Demon Cultivators in the Great Desert are causing trouble, our Jilei Peak holds a special position."

At this point, the female cultivator seemed somewhat ashamed to have used this as leverage, and her voice softened: "Your strength is... passable. As long as your background is clean, I guarantee you'll have no problem entering the outer sect."

Su Ming remained silent, hesitated for a moment, then continued on his way.

A flicker of disappointment crossed the eyes of the female cultivator, who was dangling and swaying in mid-air. A sense of panic filled her heart, and she quickly responded in her mind, "Master... I think I've messed things up..."

"No, you did a good job. Keep him calm."

Yu Yuxi was overjoyed and breathed a sigh of relief. Although she didn't know why her master didn't just take action to capture her and bring her to the sect, her master's actions always had a reason, and he wouldn't lie to a mere Qi Refining cultivator like her.

Su Ming continued flying forward with his head down until the morning of the next day. Feeling that he was close enough to be safe, he found a stone forest and prepared to rest for a while.

As I was quietly adjusting my breathing, a voice suddenly rang in my mind.

"On July 11th, I captured a female cultivator from the Golden Feather Sect. I cultivate the Fire Sect, which happens to be quite similar to the matter involving the Purple Mansion Sect from years ago. Perhaps I can use a secret method to arouse this female cultivator's lust and borrow her destiny to help my cultivation."

"The Golden Feather Sect is powerful and has many strict rules. I am all alone. If I were to join, I would be unable to leave. I still need to revive the Su family, so I have no choice but to give up."

Then, a disciple from the inner chambers passed down a final message: "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. If we can form a Daoist partnership and bring her away from Jin Yu, it may greatly benefit me."

Su Ming opened his eyes, his expression somewhat stiff. He carefully examined the female cultivator leaning against the stone wall, her face pale from being thrown, and sighed.

"What's your name?"

Yu Yuxi raised an eyebrow, thinking that this person had come to his senses and wanted to go with her. A look of joy appeared on her face: "Yu Yuxi of Jilei Peak, let me go quickly. Before the desert is completely in chaos after this Demon Extermination Campaign, let's hurry back."

Su Ming nodded, introduced himself, and sternly refused amidst the expectant look on the female cultivator's face: "I'm not going to your sect. I'm going south. I'll release you when I reach the edge of the desert. Be careful on your way back."

"As long as you don't call your master to hunt me down, our matter is settled."

Yu Yuxi opened her mouth, her face full of disbelief: "What's so good about the South? You'll just be a rogue cultivator in the countryside. My sect is the Golden Feather Sect. Countless people would fight tooth and nail to get into the outer sect, and you..."

She was getting a little angry: "Which remote mountain area did you come from, you rogue cultivator? You don't even know the Three Sects and Seven Schools?"

As she was about to explain the pros and cons to Su Ming, Su Ming casually pulled out a piece of cloth and stuffed it into her mouth.

Yu Yuxi swallowed a pill tucked in the cloth, her tongue swirling around. Before she could even process what was happening, Su Ming's somewhat hoarse voice rang in her ears: "Hurry up and recover your spiritual power. Demonic cultivators are here, all at the Qi Refining stage..."

In just a few breaths, several figures appeared in the air, all smiling maliciously.

The leader glanced at them briefly, then said with a playful tone, "This fellow Daoist is quite skilled and kind-hearted. Even while fleeing for our lives, he thought of finding us a beautiful maid, and even... a magical artifact as a gift. How kind of you."

The group of demonic cultivators burst into laughter, clearly confident that they had the two of them completely under their thumb.

Their group consisted of one at the seventh level of Qi Refining, one at the fifth level, two at the fourth level, and one at the third level, making them one of the largest demonic cultivation groups in the vicinity.

A few days ago, the group caught an injured demon cultivator in the desert. After some inquiries, they learned that someone from the upper sect had come down to exterminate the demon.

Their leader immediately hatched a plan, knowing that this town would most likely be swept away by the upper sect, so the group set up a stakeout in this stone forest.

Most of those who can get to this area so quickly are Qi Refining cultivators, and they naturally have some loot on them. They take advantage of their numbers to ambush small, insignificant, or injured demonic cultivators.

From last night to this morning, we've already devoured two or three waves of easy prey, but these two in front of us are the most special of them all.

Kong Yan was initially quite wary of the female cultivator dressed in the robes of the Upper Sect, but he couldn't resist the urging of his underlings. After all, these Upper Sect cultivators were far superior to the demonic cultivators in terms of their possessions.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, hoping to scare the male cultivator so he wouldn't get hurt.

But after sensing the situation, the male cultivator suddenly smiled contemptuously and charged forward with his sword.

"How dare he?"