Burial Furnace

The senior sister stood at the door, staring in disbelief at the scene.

She watched as her junior sister—the exceptionally talented and pure-hearted Holy Maiden of the Holy Maiden Sect—was tightly embracing an old man with a full head of white hair, pressing her face against his shoulder, looking like a little bird clinging to him.

She rubbed her eyes, then rubbed them again, to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

At that moment, she even suspected that the old man was Liu Ruxue's biological grandfather.

But judging from their conversation and expressions, it seems that's not the case.

The two hugged for a long time before reluctantly parting.

Liu Ruxue, holding Zhang Yuan's hand, turned to her senior sister at the door with a bright smile: "Zhang Yuan, this is my senior sister, Xie Yunshang, early stage of Golden Core. Senior sister, this is Zhang Yuan, my man."

"What? Your man?"

Xie Yunshang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets; her face was filled with disbelief.

Zhang Yuan himself was stunned.

Good heavens, she actually said he was her man?

They only slept together once.

"Are you crazy?" Xie Yunshang pulled Liu Ruxue aside, lowering her voice, her tone full of shock and incomprehension. "How can an old man at the fourth level of Qi Refining be worthy of you? You are the Holy Maiden of the Holy Maiden Sect! You are destined to ascend to the Immortal Realm!"

"Senior sister, he saved my life." Liu Ruxue's voice was calm and firm. "If it weren't for him that time, I don't know what a miserable end I would have suffered, it would have been worse than death. He is my first man, and he will definitely be my last. I originally thought that his lifespan was coming to an end and that we had already parted ways. Since he is still alive and has embarked on the path of cultivation, then he is my man and my Daoist partner."

Her tone was firm and unquestionable.

Xie Yunshang opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that she couldn't say anything.

Looking into her junior sister's determined eyes, she finally just sighed, shook her head, and said nothing more.

……

……

Take advantage of the darkness and the lack of people.

Zhou Lie wandered around the store lobby and inquired about sales figures.

Just like a few days ago, all the other talismans were selling like hotcakes, but no one was buying the cremation talisman.

It seems the crematoriums have stolen all the business.

He had heard that several Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators had died in the secret realm, and their cremation required many high-level cremation talismans.

"Damn it, we've lost a lot of money. Just getting that old man to sell thirty invisibility talismans at half price every month isn't enough, not nearly enough."

The more he thought about it, the more resentful he became. He abruptly stood up and strode out. He stormed to the entrance of the crematorium, and without knocking, roared at the top of his lungs, "Zhang Yuan, you get out here!"

His voice was loud and clear, startling several crows in the nearby trees, which cawed and flew away.

At that moment, Liu Ruxue was deeply in love with her sweetheart, exchanging sweet nothings. Disturbed by this unexpected interruption, she frowned and asked, "Does that person outside have a grudge against you?"

"He's the owner of the talisman shop. He probably saw that I stole his business from the cremation talismans and wanted to settle accounts with me..." Zhang Yuan said angrily in a low voice.

Liu Ruxue's face immediately darkened.

She turned to Xie Yunshang, who was standing to the side, her voice tinged with coldness: "Senior sister, please teach him a lesson for me."

Xie Yunshang touched her forehead, somewhat helpless, but still stepped out.

She stared coldly at Zhou Lie, her voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable air of authority: "Business is about fair competition. Your Spirit Talisman Pavilion is so powerful, can't you even tolerate a mere crematorium? Even if you can't, don't you know that this crematorium is run by a relative of Liu Ruxue, the Holy Maiden of our Holy Maiden Sect? Do you think our Holy Maiden Sect is made of paper?"

An immense pressure emanated from her, like an invisible giant wave, crushing towards Zhou Lie.

Zhou Lie's expression changed slightly.

He never expected that the crematorium would actually be related to the Holy Maiden Sect.

Moreover, judging from this situation, it's no ordinary relationship—the Golden Core female cultivator personally stepped in to protect them, which is clearly not as simple as just saying it casually.

If he were to cause trouble here, it would be tantamount to directly slapping the Saintess Sect in the face.

Although the Lingfu Pavilion Chamber of Commerce is incredibly powerful, far surpassing the Saintess Sect, he is merely the manager of the Lingfu Pavilion in Qingmu Town and cannot withstand the Saintess Sect's wrath.

He gritted his teeth, his heart filled with resentment, but he could only suppress his anger, cup his hands in a gesture of respect, and force a smile that looked more like a grimace: "So it is a fellow Daoist from the Holy Maiden Sect here. I apologize for my intrusion. I was just passing by and called out casually, with no ill intent. Farewell."

After saying that, he quickly scurried away, looking rather disheveled.

After walking a distance, he looked back at the crematorium sign, a sinister glint in his eyes.

If open methods don't work, then we'll resort to underhanded ones.

He wanted to see how long this old man could live a carefree life under the protection of the Holy Maiden Sect.

Zhang Yuan and Liu Ruxue walked out of the door.

Xie Yunshang crossed her arms, her face full of impatience.

She glanced at Zhang Yuan, then at Liu Ruxue, snorted, and said nothing.

Zhang Yuan cupped his hands in thanks to Xie Yunshang and said sincerely, "Thank you for your righteous help, fellow Daoist."

Xie Yunshang pinched her nose, looking disgusted, her tone full of helplessness and frustration: "Don't be so polite, you're my junior sister's man."

She simply couldn't understand it.

Junior sister Liu Ruxue is a genius with a Heavenly Spiritual Root and a Holy Maiden of the Holy Maiden Sect. Her future is promising, and she may even ascend to the Immortal Realm.

How could such a promising young woman fall for a decrepit old man with a full head of white hair, a face full of wrinkles, and only at the fourth level of Qi Refining?

She racked her brains but couldn't figure it out.

But she also knew that her junior sister was always stubborn, and once she made up her mind about something, nothing could change it.

Although Xie Yunshang was extremely unwilling, she had no choice but to accept it.

Only then did Zhang Yuan have the opportunity to carefully examine this senior sister.

Under the moonlight, Xie Yunshang stood tall and straight, dressed in white, her figure as pure as snow.

Her features were exquisite and three-dimensional, with eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like autumn water, a high nose bridge, full lips, and skin as white as solidified cream.

She possessed an elegant and pure demeanor, exuding a faint sense of aloofness.

As expected of disciples of the Holy Maiden Sect, each and every one of them is exceptionally beautiful.

Zhang Yuan secretly praised him in his heart.

"Senior sister, could you please watch the shop for Zhang Yuan? I need to have a good talk with him," Liu Ruxue said apologetically to Xie Yunshang.

Xie Yunshang was so angry she almost twisted her nose.

She, a dignified inner disciple of the Holy Maiden Sect and a cultivator at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, was actually asked to mind the shop for an old man at the fourth level of Qi Refining?

What kind of situation is this?

But when she saw Liu Ruxue's expectant eyes, she gritted her teeth and endured it.

"Go away, go away." She waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Liu Ruxue smiled and took Zhang Yuan's hand, quickly walking into the small building.

They entered Zhang Yuan's room.

As soon as the door closed, Zhang Yuan could no longer control himself and pulled Liu Ruxue into a tight embrace.