"Enough, Pei Xuanjing. Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough before. Let me say it again," Shen Qing said.
"From now on, you people from Worry-Free Peak have nothing to do with me anymore.
"Stop following me around and doing things that only make you feel good about yourselves. I don't care. Even a dog wouldn't want your so - called sincerity.
"Considering what you've done before, you should be lucky that I haven't taken revenge on you and still let you live in this world."
Shen Qing mercilessly mocked Pei Xuanjing, her eyes filled with intense disgust. Pei Xuanjing showed a hurt expression and clenched his fists tightly.
"And you, Shen Chuyun. I'm at the mid - Nascent Soul stage. Do you think a mere gu worm can hurt me? Do you need to act like a hero here?
"Don't mention sisterhood anymore. Being born of the same mother as you is a stain on my life that I can never wash away."
These two sentences shattered Shen Chuyun's self - esteem. Already injured, she couldn't hold on any longer and fainted on the ground.
After saying that, Shen Qing took out a small flying boat from her storage bag. It was just big enough for two people to fly back to the land.
Li Xian hesitated for a moment, then walked up to An Ge and stretched out his hand. "Give me the Water - Crossing Red Silk, or I'll kill you."
The two sisters, who had been hoping that Li Xian had come to save them, immediately trembled upon hearing this. Without even daring to resist, they directly handed over the Water - Crossing Red Silk.
"Did you steal it or rob it?"
An Ge replied in a trembling voice, "It was given to me by that master. How dare I steal or rob?"
After getting the answer, Li Xian turned around contentedly.
Seeing the two sisters huddled together, looking so pitiful, Shen Qing felt a twinge of compassion.
"The death of this gu worm will cause Wutong to suffer a backlash, so you don't need to be afraid. Take this boat back to the shore. I don't want to dwell on what happened before."
The two An sisters were extremely grateful, almost kneeling down to kowtow.
The flying boat rose, and the figures of Pei Xuanjing and Shen Chuyun slowly disappeared from sight.
Li Xian reached out and pulled Shen Qing into his arms. Feeling the warmth and familiar aura, Shen Qing, who had been on high - alert, gradually relaxed.
Li Xian rubbed Shen Qing's trembling hands. Just now, he had been the closest to Shen Qing and knew that at the last moment, Shen Qing had almost stepped in to save Shen Chuyun.
If Pei Xuanjing hadn't appeared, Shen Chuyun wouldn't have died.
She just couldn't be so heartless as to really watch Shen Chuyun die in front of her.
"Li Xian, I feel so bad. Why? I hate them, but I can't really watch them die in front of me."
Li Xian sighed and held Shen Qing tighter.
"In this world, there are always people who are neither purely good nor purely evil. That's why they're bound by their morals and emotions. They're neither extremely true nor extremely false, so they're lost in this world."
It wasn't just Shen Qing. He was the same way.
The Merman Clan was like this too.
"Get some rest. Our training should be paused for a while. It's time to go back to the sect and take a look."
"Okay."
In Li Xian's arms, Shen Qing closed her eyes peacefully and let herself sink into sleep.
After half a month of traveling on and off, Shen Qing and Li Xian finally returned to the Five - Element Dao Sect.
Originally, Shen Qing wanted to go back to the Beast - Taming Sect first to find the Dark Wolf and the others, but she learned that the Dark Wolf and the father - daughter pair of the Huan family had been taken away by Yu Xuzi.
Without caring about anything else, Shen Qing and Li Xian rushed to the Five - Element Dao Sect first.
It was Shen Qing's first time at the Five - Element Dao Sect. She felt that the mountain peaks here were towering into the clouds, shrouded in mist, looking just like a magnificent Chinese ink painting.
On the way up the mountain, they passed many pine trees. Along the way, they could also see some Bagua formations carved on the stones.
The spiritual plants of the five elements were arranged in combinations, skillfully forming various formations.
As they got closer to the mountain gate, Shen Qing saw some younger disciples riding celestial cranes, flying back and forth among the mountains.
Seeing this scene, Shen Qing thought of the legendary Mount Buzhou in her mind. There was no connection at all, but she just thought of it for some reason.
"The Five - Element Dao Sect is really different from other sects."
Li Xian was used to the scenery of the Five - Element Dao Sect and didn't find it novel, but he still carefully introduced it to Shen Qing.
The disciples guarding the mountain gate recognized their senior brother from afar. They stood up straight with their magic tools in hand, afraid that their senior brother would catch them making any mistakes.
But the corners of their eyes were curiously looking at Shen Qing. They immediately knew that this was their senior brother's fiancée.
Seeing Shen Qing's extremely curious look, Li Xian couldn't help but show a hint of a smile.
The other disciples had never seen their senior brother show such an expression. They only dared to take a couple of glances and then looked away.
Xiao Jinglan got the news early. Not long after they entered the mountain gate, he flew over on his sword and landed steadily in front of them.
"Senior brother, wuwuwu, I missed you so much!!"
Xiao Jinglan rushed over and hugged his long - missed senior brother tightly, crying loudly.
"As soon as you're not in the sect, all the miscellaneous things fall on my head. All the tasks of leading the team, teaching the disciples their morning classes, and even cleaning the mountain gate, I have to do it all. I've been working so hard, like a dog. I'm so miserable, aaaaa!"
Li Xian's eyebrow twitched. He endured the urge to push Xiao Jinglan away and let him vent.
Shen Qing was holding back her laughter on the side. She had never seen Li Xian look so embarrassed and at a loss.
After venting, Xiao Jinglan returned to his normal self, as if the person who had been crying and complaining about being tired just now wasn't him.
"Yo, Shen Qing, long time no see. Your cultivation has improved again. You're making really fast progress."
Shen Qing also greeted Xiao Jinglan with a smile. "You're not bad either. You're at the early Nascent Soul stage."
Among the peers, most of the disciples were only at the Golden Core stage. Only a few had reached the Nascent Soul stage.
And those who could reach the Nascent Soul stage smoothly were mostly sect disciples. Among the scattered cultivators, unless they had extremely high talents, it was very difficult to advance with only those scarce resources.
Li Xian was used to Xiao Jinglan's quick mood - changing. After tidying up the collar that Xiao Jinglan had messed up, he asked, "Is Master here?"
Xiao Jinglan nodded. "Of course he is. It was Master who told me to come and find you."
Li Xian looked at Xiao Jinglan angrily. "Then stop wasting our time here. Hurry up and take us there."
"Don't be in a hurry. Master... is busy..."
Shen Qing and Li Xian looked at each other, not understanding.
But when Xiao Jinglan led them to the guest courtyard, they understood.
Yu Xuzi and Huan Zhong were drunk under the big tree in the yard. There were wine bottles scattered all over the ground, and the mellow fragrance of the wine filled the air.
Yu Xuzi was still holding a wine flask in his hand. Drunk, he grabbed Huan Zhong. "Old Zhong, you're no good. You've only drunk so little. Are you just sipping like you're feeding fish?"
Huan Zhong let out a thunderous belch. His cheeks were flushed, and he didn't give in. "What are you talking about? You couldn't beat me when you were a kid, and you still can't drink me under the table now. Just you wait."
Saying that, he shouted, "Qianyu, bring some more wine for your dad and your uncle!"
Yu Xuzi muttered discontentedly, "What uncle? I'm your uncle's older brother. Your dad has to call me big brother!"