Li Qiancheng didn’t look back or even ask why. Without a moment’s hesitation, he withdrew his power and dodged to the side.

The Devouring Spirit Sand flew straight toward Ye Zhiyao.

Ye Zhiyao was currently suffering the effects of consuming too many Spirit Pills, her body brimming with Spiritual Energy. Like flies drawn to meat, the Devouring Spirit Sand swarmed her frantically.

Before long, all the Spiritual Energy in Ye Zhiyao’s body was drained away, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Lu Sangjiu’s desire to kill Ye Zhiyao began to stir. ’Maybe, if my luck holds, I can actually finish her off right here and now...’

But just as the thought entered her mind, she suddenly heard a loud CRASH from behind. A large boulder fell from above, nearly smashing into her.

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’...I hate this damned Heavenly Dao that protects Ye Zhiyao!’

Not daring to hesitate any longer, Lu Sangjiu obediently recalled the Devouring Spirit Sand.

Li Qiancheng was still shaken. "Why did a rock suddenly fall? Thank goodness you were lucky and didn’t get hurt. You scared me to death!"

The corner of Lu Sangjiu’s mouth twitched. "Yeah... My luck is always great. Heh."

Seeing that Lu Sangjiu was unharmed, Li Qiancheng’s gaze fell upon Qin Yu. He disdainfully nudged the man’s unconscious body with his foot.

"This is all he’s got? And he dared to challenge me? He’s nothing special!"

Just as he was about to hoist the two unconscious people over his shoulders, Chen Xiaofeng belatedly rushed in.

"Junior Brother Li, Junior Sister Lu! I’m so glad you’re both okay!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when he saw Ye Zhiyao and Qin Yu on the ground, and his expression instantly changed.

Just as he was about to ask what happened, Li Qiancheng snorted. "Bad weeds grow tall. They’re not dead, so you can relax."

Chen Xiaofeng finally breathed a sigh of relief, then said apologetically, "That Flower Demon was too cunning. I let my guard down for a moment and fell into its trap, passing out. I’m truly sorry!"

Li Qiancheng waved a dismissive hand. "As long as everyone’s okay, that’s all that matters. Besides, the Flower Demon didn’t get away either."

At this, he turned to Xie Ningyuan. "Fellow Cultivator, thank you for protecting my Little Junior Sister just now. May I ask for your name?"

Li Qiancheng didn’t recognize Xie Ningyuan, but seeing that he’d been with Lu Sangjiu and had even helped her earlier, he treated him very cordially.

Xie Ningyuan gave his name, a kind smile on his face. "We are all Cultivators; it’s only natural to help one another when away from our homes. You needn’t be so polite."

Lu Sangjiu just wanted to roll her eyes at his act. ’Never mind being polite. He should be grateful I’m not taking my anger out on him, okay?’

’After all, if he hadn’t pulled me back at the critical moment, Ye Zhiyao wouldn’t have succeeded so easily.’

’The thought that all her efforts had been for nothing made her skin crawl, and she wished she could just smash something on the spot to vent her frustration.’

Li Qiancheng didn’t notice Lu Sangjiu’s foul mood. He just chatted warmly with Xie Ningyuan for a bit before changing the subject.

"By the way, since you were the one who captured the Flower Demon, we’ll leave her to you to deal with. We just hope you won’t release her to wreak havoc on the world again."

Li Qiancheng was quite reliable when it came to the important things. Lu Sangjiu had almost forgotten the original purpose of their mission, but he remembered it clearly.

Xie Ningyuan nodded. "Of course."

Li Qiancheng didn’t press the matter, just nodding and saying, "Mr. Xie, these two sect members of mine need immediate treatment, so we’ll be taking our leave now."

With that, he and Chen Xiaofeng each hoisted one of the unconscious pair over their shoulder. Then he said to Lu Sangjiu, "Let’s go."

Lu Sangjiu followed for a few steps before stopping. She turned back to Xie Ningyuan. "Um... if you can, please spare the Flower Demon’s life."

Xie Ningyuan raised an eyebrow. "I seem to recall you saying this Flower Demon was the one who threw all of you in here."

Lu Sangjiu gave a careless shrug. "What can I do? I was just born soft-hearted. I enjoy repaying evil with good, you know?"

’In truth, Lu Sangjiu had already wanted to kill the Flower Demon back when it used her and Ye Zhiyao to test the path.’

’But seeing just now that Chen Xiaofeng was completely unharmed, she had suddenly let it go.’

’The Flower Demon wasn’t truly evil to the core. Besides, her later actions were more or less influenced by the "plot."’

’They were all just pawns manipulated by fate. She couldn’t help but feel a sliver of pity for a fellow sufferer.’

’It was just a few extra words. It wasn’t like it would cost her anything.’

’As for whether he’d actually spare its life, that was Xie Ningyuan’s business. All that mattered was that saying her piece made her feel better.’

With that thought, Lu Sangjiu cupped her hands. "Farewell."

But Xie Ningyuan suddenly spoke up. "Wait a moment."

As he spoke, he held out a small porcelain vial to Lu Sangjiu. "It must be fate that we traveled together. Perhaps we’ll meet again in the future."

"I’m grateful for your company today, Ms. Lu. This... please consider it a token of my gratitude."

Lu Sangjiu stared at the porcelain vial in his palm, her expression complicated. "...More Elixir Pills?"

’Seriously? Does this guy have to be so petty?’

’Just because I fobbed him off with some First-rank Elixirs, does he really have to flaunt his High-level Elixirs at me over and over again???’

’But... a free gift is a free gift!’

Lu Sangjiu decisively took the small vial and, without even checking its contents, tossed it into her storage bag.

Then she said with feigned sincerity, "I’ll accept your kind gesture. It’s just a shame you’re a Buddhist Practitioner. It could never work between us... Mr. Xie, it’s best if you just forget me!"

’See him again? I’d rather we never meet again!’

Leaving Xie Ningyuan with a slightly stunned expression, Lu Sangjiu—having successfully weirded him out one last time—turned and walked away with a cheerful spring in her step.

Watching her departing figure, Xie Ningyuan finally let out a silent laugh after a long moment.

’Lu Sangjiu... We will be seeing each other again very soon.’

Lu Sangjiu, Li Qiancheng, and the others left. On their way out, they rescued the Cultivators from the Li Family who had been captured by the Flower Demon.

After descending the mountain and returning the men to the Li Family, the group rushed back to the Seven Emotions Sect without a moment’s rest.

They were afraid that if anything happened to those two, the unreasonable Bai Heng would once again pin the blame on them.

Upon returning to the sect, Li Qiancheng’s first instinct was to send Ye Zhiyao and Qin Yu directly back to Purple Peak. However, remembering the trouble Lu Sangjiu had gotten into before, he decided to contact their master, Duan Xingyun, first.

Duan Xingyun arrived quickly and accompanied Li Qiancheng to take the pair to Purple Peak, while Lu Sangjiu and Chen Xiaofeng went to report the mission’s completion to the Sect Leader.

Lu Sangjiu was quite disappointed that she couldn’t go to Purple Peak to watch the drama unfold.

She felt even more regretful later when she heard from Li Qiancheng that Duan Xingyun had managed to extort another hefty price from Bai Heng.

"Master, what treasures did you manage to squeeze out of Martial Uncle Bai Heng this time?"

’Lu Sangjiu was still sore about not getting her things back from Ye Zhiyao. But if they could pry something out of Bai Heng’s hands, then this trip wouldn’t have been a complete waste, would it?’

Duan Xingyun gave a prim smile. "How can you call it extortion when it’s between martial brothers? He was simply grateful that you saved his two disciples and offered these gifts voluntarily."

With a wave of his hand, a collection of Elixir Pills, Magic Treasures, and talismans appeared on the table.

"You both worked hard this time. Take these and figure out how to split them between yourselves!"