"Weren't you just saying you wanted to have your way with me? Why are you kneeling on the ground now, kowtowing and begging for mercy?"
Su Miaoqing looked at him with disgust and added, "Having scum like you in the Wentian Sect is a true disgrace to our master. I shall clean up the sect on master's behalf right now."
"Spare me, spare me! I know the location of a ruin. I beg you two to show mercy-I am willing to hand it over with both hands!" Li Lifang pleaded.
"Oh? What ruin? Let's hear it," Su Miaoqing said, her interest piqued.
Unexpectedly, while kneeling and kowtowing, Li Lifang pressed his palm to the ground and channeled Spiritual Power into the earth.
In an instant, countless vines surged around Xiao Yifeng and Su Miaoqing, while thick walls of earth rose to trap them inside.
Caught off guard, Su Miaoqing was temporarily trapped. Li Lifang scrambled to his feet to flee, only for a sword to pierce through his heart from behind.
Xiao Yifeng's eyes were cold as he withdrew his blade, speaking in an indifferent tone. "I knew all along that someone like you held no good intentions."
"You murdered a fellow sect disciple... the Enforcement Hall will never let you off!" Li Lifang gasped out fiercely.
"There is no need for you to worry about that. In fact, I should thank you for setting up this formation to mask our auras. Once all three of you are dead, who will ever know?"
Xiao Yifeng activated Falling Rainbow. The spirit of Zhan Xian instantly drained every drop of Li Lifang's blood. Just as Su Miaoqing shattered the surrounding vines, the body crumbled into ash.
"He actually dared to trick me! How infuriating!" Su Miaoqing fumed.
Then she turned and saw how cleanly and decisively Xiao Yifeng had slain the man. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Xiao Feng, I never realized you were the type to act so ruthlessly while saying so little."
"Senior Sister, you have some nerve saying that about me," Xiao Yifeng replied, looking at her with genuine surprise.
Su Miaoqing's face flushed slightly. "Wasn't I just worried they might hurt you?"
Xiao Yifeng had not expected this pampered young princess to possess such a ruthless streak herself. When she struck down Li Yuanming earlier, she had shown no hesitation whatsoever.
She was merely lacking in worldly experience, which was why Li Lifang's trick had caught her off guard. If she matured further, dealing with her in the future might become quite a handful.
Xiao Yifeng shook his head, bent down, and retrieved the Storage Bags left by the three men. He gathered them into his hand, then cast a burst of flame to burn every remaining trace to nothing.
"Senior Sister, he probably was not lying. The map to that so-called ruin should indeed exist," Xiao Yifeng said with a slight smile.
He unfastened one of the Storage Bags and produced three small map fragments from within.
Su Miaoqing did not notice that while the maps appeared to come from Li Lifang's bag, Xiao Yifeng had actually retrieved them from his own Storage Ring.
This fake ruin map was something Xiao Yifeng had prepared long ago, planning to let Su Miaoqing discover it by chance. He had not anticipated that the opportunity would present itself so quickly.
Upon hearing that a real ruin might be involved, Su Miaoqing was overjoyed and suspected nothing. She immediately took the fragments to examine them.
After studying them for a moment, she said with great enthusiasm, "Let's go, Xiao Feng! Let's go find this ruin!"
Xiao Yifeng nodded. "As long as Senior Sister is pleased, that is all that matters."
Mounting their flying swords once more, the two shot into the air and departed, leaving no trace of what had transpired.
More than half a month later, on a coastal path near a southern fishing village in Qiongxiao Country-where the Wentian Sect was situated-a young man and woman walked side by side.
The woman wore a vibrant red dress and possessed striking, vivid beauty. The young man wore a light, elegant robe and carried himself with refined grace. At a glance, neither looked like an ordinary mortal.
The girl held a torn map in her hand and complained discontentedly, "It was all a waste of time. Every so-called demon or ghost we found along the way was just someone playing tricks. I hope this overseas ruin map turns out to be real!"
Xiao Yifeng offered a wry smile. "We were traveling near the Wentian Sect earlier. If there truly were any wild demons or monsters, the Righteous Path would have eliminated them long ago. How could any have been left for us?"
These two were none other than Xiao Yifeng and Su Miaoqing.
As they traveled down the mountain, every rumor of demons they investigated had turned out to be either a human charade or entirely fabricated, leaving the enthusiastic Su Miaoqing thoroughly disappointed.
Fortunately, they had eventually encountered a minor Foundation Establishment Demon Beast that attacked them. Su Miaoqing had displayed her prowess and slain it, finally satisfying her desire for action.
Afterward, she meticulously studied the map obtained from Li Lifang, which indicated a ruin somewhere in the Outer Sea.
She had no idea that the treasure map was created entirely by Xiao Yifeng to guide her to this specific region. Naturally, his elaborate scheme served a distinct purpose.
The person Xiao Yifeng intended to deceive was not Su Miaoqing, but the protector following behind them. Given Su Miaoqing's innocence, she would have believed whatever he told her. However, Xiao Yifeng had felt a subtle presence tailing them all along.
He reasoned that his master and mistress must have dispatched an elder to protect them. The reason their journey had been so peaceful was likely because that guardian had cleared any real dangers from their path beforehand.
The pair traveled at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights. Along the way, they encountered various local customs and people from all walks of life, which fascinated Su Miaoqing, who had never ventured far into the world before.
Thanks to the abundant silver banknotes Lin Ziyun had provided, they lived comfortably throughout their journey, a luxury Xiao Yifeng knew he owed to Su Miaoqing's presence.
After taking a winding route through the region, Xiao Yifeng finally brought her to his true destination: a small mountain village along the coast of the Bohai Sea.
His goal was not to hunt demons, but to recover his spirit pet from his past life-the Profound Frost Ice Python.
In his previous life, after defecting from the sect, he had kept the Profound Frost Ice Python by his side. It had fought alongside him across many realms, sharing life and death, an irreplaceable companion.
However, because he had discovered the python relatively late in his past life within an overseas ruin, the creature had exhausted a great deal of its original source while trapped inside its egg.
That innate deficiency had permanently barred it from breaking through to the Great Ascension realm, a deep regret Xiao Yifeng had carried for centuries.
He had insisted on descending the mountain early for three reasons: first, to escape the sect's immediate notice and seek an opportunity to reach Foundation Establishment; second, to locate secret treasures for future preparations; and third, to arrive here a decade earlier, hoping to prevent the Profound Frost Ice Python from suffering permanent damage to its source.
As the two walked into the village, Xiao Yifeng found the place unchanged from his memories. Simple wooden houses stood side by side, light filtering through the gaps in their roofs and rafters.
Among the weathered structures, a few tiled roofs spewed faint trails of cooking smoke, and the aroma of food drifted into the air.
From further in the village came the cheerful sounds of children playing and laughing, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
Xiao Yifeng led Su Miaoqing beneath a large shade tree, where an old woman was resting. He approached politely and asked, "Greetings, elder. We are travelers passing through. Might I ask where we can find your village chief?"
"What do you two young people need with the village chief?" the old woman asked.
"We have just arrived and were hoping to find a place to stay for the night. Would that be convenient?" Xiao Yifeng replied with a warm smile.
The local villagers were simple and warm-hearted. Though far from wealthy, they were welcoming to visitors. Seeing that the young pair were well-dressed, polite, and that the young woman was exceptionally lovely, the old woman smiled warmly.
"Why bother searching for the village chief over that? If you two do not mind, you can stay at my home for the night. I am the only old woman living there anyway."
Xiao Yifeng and Su Miaoqing exchanged a glance and smiled. "Then we thank you, elder."
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