The carriage started moving.

Su Qing felt it was a bit bumpy, even on the bluestone road.

"Xu Ningying, I’m going to rest for a bit. If something comes up that you can’t handle, let me know."

Su Qing really needed some sleep.

Cultivation was mentally exhausting, after all.

He had to control the flow of his cultivation technique.

...

He had only been asleep for two hours.

But Su Qing was already awake.

The carriage was still jostling about.

Su Qing lifted the window curtain and saw they were already out in the wilderness.

To his surprise, Xu Ningying was also lying on her side, asleep.

She didn’t seem worried about anything happening at all.

Su Qing had to admire her nerve.

There was nothing for Su Qing to do, so what else could he do?

Just pretend to be asleep, he supposed.

...

「Nightfall.」

A faint light glowed inside the carriage.

At the same time, Su Qing noticed that the eyes of the horse outside were glowing, illuminating the snowy road ahead as it continued forward.

Xu Ningying had also had her fill of sleep.

Though they had plenty of time, it was impossible to focus on cultivation while traveling like this.

Xu Ningying could only nibble on some dried meat jerky and sip some water.

"Su Qing, do you want some jerky?"

Xu Ningying offered him a piece.

"Of course."

Su Qing accepted it without hesitation.

"Traveling at night, there tend to be more Demon Fiends."

"But my carriage is equipped with Mars Stones, which can repel some of them."

Su Qing nodded. "This carriage is yours?"

"That’s right. It’s one of only ten in all of Shangjing. It’s a Puppet carriage crafted by an Immortal."

As she said this, Xu Ningying couldn’t help but curve her lips into a small smile.

She looked quite proud.

"It’s pretty nice," Su Qing commented simply.

’It really is quite nice.’

’If I can just synthesize a Mutated product, I could probably make something similar.’

Then, Xu Ningying actually went back to sleep, covering herself with a thick quilt.

’She’s got some serious nerve.’

’We’re a man and a woman, all alone. If I wanted to do something, she wouldn’t be able to resist at all.’

A biting wind blew, and the inside of the carriage began to grow cold.

That’s how nights were.

Xu Ningying was woken up by the cold.

"So cold." She pulled her quilt tighter and then saw Su Qing beside her, watching her.

Xu Ningying met his gaze for a moment before quickly looking away, not daring to look any longer.

"Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you looking at me for?"

Xu Ningying had wanted her words to sound a bit tougher.

But when she spoke, her voice had a coquettish tone.

Su Qing felt that something was increasingly off.

He kept his eyes fixed on Xu Ningying.

His stare made her glance at him a few times before she grew shy, wanting to pull her head into her shell like a turtle.

"Have you... been targeted by a Demon Fiend?"

Su Qing had sensed an exceptionally faint aura.

It was definitely from a Demon Fiend.

This was especially true after he had successfully cultivated an Immortal Cultivation Technique.

He had become more sensitive to the auras in the world.

"Is it this?"

Xu Ningying held out her left arm.

On her delicate, jade-like forearm, a purplish-black palm print had appeared.

It was from this arm that the Demon Fiend’s aura was emanating.

Su Qing’s brow furrowed even deeper, then smoothed out again.

"Young lady, do you really need me to escort you all the way back to Shangjing?"

"How long does it take to get from Kexiang County to Shangjing?"

Su Qing asked with a sigh of resignation. Now that he had power, he wasn’t necessarily afraid of Demon Fiends. As someone at the Tenth Layer of Body Tempering, he was eager to test out the true level of his strength.

"About eight days. We’re taking the official roads the whole way by carriage, which is already considered fast. That’s pretty good, since Kexiang County is right next to Shangjing."

"Eight days?"

It was the first time Su Qing realized just how large this dynasty actually was.

This carriage was traveling smoothly. He roughly estimated it could cover at least 80 kilometers a day.

’And it still takes eight days? This dynasty really is massive.’

’The key issue is that transportation is still so primitive. How can they possibly manage it all?’

Su Qing didn’t quite understand.

’Information and transportation are what allow a country to be managed effectively.’

’This country is so backward, yet a single county is as large as a province from my previous life.’

’But the transportation is terrible.’

...

"Don’t worry, this is just a mark left by the Deceitful Bride. An official from the Demon-Extermination Bureau will help me remove it."

"The Deceitful Bride is actually..."

Xu Ningying recalled her first encounter with the Deceitful Bride. When she had Spiritual Qi to use her Magic, she could still handle it.

She had just been careless and gotten hit by a palm strike later on.

"She’s not that powerful," Xu Ningying added in a small voice.

"Mm, if that’s the case."

"Eight days is too long. I’m going to cultivate, so it’s best if you don’t disturb me."

Su Qing had no intention of wasting these eight days.

At the very least, he needed to cultivate the Five Qi God Demon Technique.

Xu Ningying couldn’t help but ask in surprise, "It’s so bumpy on the road. You’d need immense concentration to cultivate; otherwise, you’ll get half the results for twice the effort."

"Don’t worry about it."

Su Qing said flatly, already sitting cross-legged and popping a Great Replenishing Pill into his mouth.

He began to cultivate the First Level Five Qi God Demon Skill.

"What kind of pill was that?"

Xu Ningying asked after seeing Su Qing take the Great Replenishing Pill.

"It’s for replenishing the body."

"Replenishing the body?" After hearing this, Xu Ningying gave Su Qing a strange look.

"You may be very handsome, but you need to practice some self-control. Lust is a part of human nature, but it will deplete your foundation."

Hearing this, dark lines formed on Su Qing’s forehead.

"Shut your mouth."

He glared at Xu Ningying, who was huddled under her quilt.

Xu Ningying grew fearful. They were out in the middle of nowhere; if Su Qing were to do something to her...

’What would I do?’

’Should I submit to him, or should I try to resist?’

In the end, she decided it was best not to provoke Su Qing. ’Based on his looks, he’s definitely a womanizer.’

’I don’t want to end up like the wives in those rich and powerful families, fighting with each other all day long.’

If Su Qing knew what Xu Ningying was thinking,

he would probably be even more speechless.

’Who would want to do something like that?’

’That sort of thing couldn’t compare to the improvements he gained from cultivation.’

「Three days later.」

Su Qing had cultivated five times.

Xu Ningying had used the restroom twice.

She was still a mortal of flesh and blood. The key thing was that she still had to eat and drink. Relieving herself only twice in three days was already remarkably infrequent.

Aside from eating some jerky, Su Qing had been consuming only Great Replenishing Pills and drinking the necessary amount of water.

It was just enough to sustain his body’s needs.

「On the night of the fourth day.」

The carriage stopped.

This small disturbance didn’t affect Su Qing at all.

He was focused on his cultivation.

’Something’s wrong.’

Su Qing sensed a wisp of a Demon Fiend’s aura.

It was thicker than usual.

Xu Ningying, who was currently using the restroom, didn’t notice the shadow of a Demon Fiend appearing behind her.

It wasn’t until the Demon Fiend’s claws, striking as fast as lightning, were about to grab her neck that Xu Ningying finally felt the dense aura of the Demon Fiend and the stench of death.

BANG!

Fortunately, Su Qing arrived just in time, though not without noticing the pale, smooth outline of Xu Ningying’s figure.

Although Xu Ningying had sensed the danger and instinctively lunged forward, she was still a step too slow.

From Su Qing’s perspective, the sight was quite comical, especially with her rear end stuck up in the air.

Su Qing turned a cold gaze on the Demon Fiend.

It was dressed in red bridal clothes, complete with a wedding veil.

"Every debt has its debtor. Didn’t you already get your revenge? Why are you still hunting this girl?"

Su Qing shouted.

He pressed forward. Although he didn’t know any sophisticated fighting styles, his powerful physique allowed him to completely overpower the Deceitful Bride before him.

After they began to fight,

Su Qing realized that this Deceitful Bride’s condition was the same as Wang Li’s had been.

Their strength was about the same.

...