With Liu Zixi present, Long Shengtian did not make a move but instead brought up conditions.
“Miss Liu, I think we can negotiate. I can offer something in exchange for the Refining Spirit Grass.”
“Oh?”
Liu Zixi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“And what exactly are you offering as your stake?”
“Heh.”
Long Shengtian folded one hand behind his back.
“At the moment… I don’t have anything yet, but soon, I will present a far more perfect Foundation Establishment Pill with both hands.”
Well, to freeload with such confidence.
Liu Zixi sneered coldly.
“Are you playing me?”
Long Shengtian shook his head with a sigh.
“Sigh, I had no intention of using force against you, Miss Liu. If I do, I might inadvertently harm you. I hope you reconsider.”
Liu Zixi circulated her True Qi.
“Let’s settle this with real skill.”
To be fair, although Long Shengtian only possessed Qi Cultivation, his perspective as someone who had crossed tribulation gave him a distinct edge.
Fighting another Qi Practitioner like Liu Zixi was practically a sure win.
Long Shengtian said casually, “If Miss Liu insists, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
Long Shengtian planned everything carefully but forgot one person—Qin Mu.
After all, Qin Mu’s Qi Cultivation Third Layer was so weak his combat ability was almost negligible.
However, Qin Mu managing to hold his ground against two Nascent Soul elder sisters did take some skill.
Of course, a head-on clash was impossible, but let’s not forget, he had the “Sixth Brother Tactic”—sneaky and unyielding.
Long Shengtian struck first, throwing a punch at Liu Zixi.
Liu Zixi used her body technique to dodge Long Shengtian’s attack.
For a while, their battle went back and forth. Suddenly, Qin Mu came rushing over with a mysterious large lump of something.
“Ah, shit!”
Qin Mu flung it toward Long Shengtian with all his might.
Long Shengtian punched it apart, then—bang!
A thick, foul stench spread out, accompanied by a flurry of flying dung.
Smack!
The warm mess hit Long Shengtian’s face—a powerful mental assault in addition to the physical attack.
Visibly, Long Shengtian’s body trembled, leaving him speechless, his hands shaking.
“You brat!!”
Long Shengtian roared in fury. His eyes turned blood-red as he dashed toward Qin Mu.
“Junior Brother! Dodge quickly!”
Liu Zixi shouted urgently.
“Heh heh.”
Qin Mu smiled mysteriously, watching Long Shengtian charge.
“Let me show you a big surprise.”
Qin Mu quickly leapt onto a tree, and before Long Shengtian could get close, a beast’s roar rang out.
A black shadow hurtled toward Long Shengtian.
“Roar!”
The black shadow was a massive dog-like creature.
Seeing Long Shengtian, it stuck out its tongue, drooled everywhere, and lunged with a howl.
“Devouring Hound!”
Long Shengtian saw the beast and hurriedly retreated, but the hound pursued relentlessly.
Liu Zixi came to Qin Mu’s side, looking at Long Shengtian’s miserable figure being chased by the Devouring Hound. She asked, “Junior Brother, what exactly did you throw just now?”
Qin Mu chuckled, “Oh, that? It’s a good thing—several kinds of animal snacks mixed with Blood Fragrance Fruit. The Devouring Hound loves it!”
On the way here, Qin Mu had suspected the presence of Devouring Hounds.
These fierce beasts ate almost anything, had the strength of Foundation Establishment stage adults, thick skin, and were extremely difficult to fight.
When Qin Mu was young and bored, he had read about the Devouring Hound and its habits in some miscellaneous books. He even tried this method once.
The scene of the hound ravenously devouring the snacks was so intense it was hard to recall without nearly vomiting.
***
A flow of cherry-pink light landed, revealing a graceful figure. Qin Mengyu scanned the surroundings.
“This is the place.”
She sensed Mu’er’s aura nearby.
“Holy Maiden Her Highness!”
Soon, several figures arrived.
“Rest somewhere nearby. If you encounter a Dao Sect youth, bring him to me.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
***
“Huff, huff, that damn brat!”
Long Shengtian panted heavily.
Four or five Devouring Hound corpses lay before him.
The consecutive battles had pushed him to his limit.
Luckily, fate smiled upon him as he saw the emblem of the Dan Sect not far away.
“Heh heh, seems I have quite the affinity with the Dan Sect.”
Long Shengtian headed toward the Dan Sect camp.
The Dan Sect disciples had just finished setting up camp.
Seeing a youth in Dao Sect robes approaching and recalling the Holy Maiden’s order, they hurried to inform her.
“Well, well, didn’t expect to see you again, Junior Brother. I told you this place was dangerous. You look utterly exhausted. Luckily, we are nearby.”
The disciple guiding the way was the same one from before.
Long Shengtian followed behind him, surprised that the Dan Sect Holy Maiden was here and wanted to summon him.
Pill Venerable Qin Mengyu’s name would later resonate throughout the Heavenly Profound Continent.
Even when he was at the Nascent Soul stage, she had already broken through to Crossing Tribulation, and then astonishingly reached the Great Perfection stage at a very young age.
If Long Shengtian could establish good relations with Qin Mengyu this time, it would be a great gain.
Thinking this, Long Shengtian reached the door.
“The Holy Maiden Her Highness is inside.”
Long Shengtian nodded. “Thank you, Senior Brother.”
“Heh heh, no need to be polite. But Junior Brother, mind your words. The Holy Maiden is gentle, but if you say something improper, it could get complicated.”
Long Shengtian watched his guide disappear, then pushed open the door.
Creak—
Long Shengtian opened the door and saw a breathtakingly beautiful woman approaching him quickly.
But in the next moment, her smile vanished and was replaced by a cold, indifferent expression.
Qin Mengyu looked at the Dao Sect youth before her. Although he matched her requirements, he was not Mu’er.
Long Shengtian saw Qin Mengyu’s sudden change of expression and was filled with question marks.
“You…”
Qin Mengyu started, but when she saw the Storage Pouch hanging from Long Shengtian’s waist—one she had personally given to Mu’er—she stopped.
“That Storage Pouch—where did you get it?”
Qin Mengyu asked sharply.
“This?”
Long Shengtian patted the pouch.
“Naturally, it’s mine. Holy Maiden Her Highness interested in it?”
Qin Mengyu snorted softly.
“Yours, huh.”
Her tone was declarative.
She pointed lightly, and instantly a powerful spiritual pressure forced Long Shengtian to drop to his knees with a loud thud.
His face flushed red.
He tried to stand but no matter how hard he struggled, it was useless.
A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!
Long Shengtian never expected Qin Mengyu to be at that stage.
“Holy Maiden Her Highness, if you attack me without cause, many disciples saw me enter here. If I don’t leave, it could harm your reputation…”
Bang!
Long Shengtian’s head smashed into the ground.
“Last chance: where did you get that Storage Pouch?”
The thought of the Storage Pouch she had personally given Mu’er in someone else’s possession filled Qin Mengyu’s eyes with icy coldness.
“Holy Maiden Her Highness, well, it is indeed mine.”
Long Shengtian was utterly baffled as to why she cared so much about this pouch.
“Fine, if you won’t say,” Qin Mengyu slowly stepped forward, “then I won’t waste words. Soul search will settle this quickly.”
Hearing “soul search,” Long Shengtian broke out in a cold sweat. Nine out of ten results ended in madness.
Gritting his teeth, Long Shengtian braced to burn his lifespan to perform a secret technique and escape.
Just then, a voice sounded outside the door.
“Junior Brother, the Holy Maiden Her Highness is inside.”
“Alright, thanks, Senior Brother!”
Two voices came, one after the other. Long Shengtian recognized the latter instantly—it was the brat who had toyed with him earlier.
As soon as the boy’s voice sounded, the chill in Qin Mengyu’s aura quickly faded.
Pat, pat, pat.
Qin Mu had just stepped into the room when he heard hurried footsteps, followed by a soft embrace.
A familiar scent—it was Sister Mengyu!
“Mu’er, Mu’er…” Qin Mengyu held him tightly with trembling voice, having thought he was in danger.
“Sister Mengyu… be gentle, I can barely breathe.”
Qin Mu patted her arm. The white fluff was so big, though it felt pretty good.
Qin Mengyu immediately loosened her embrace and sniffed.
“It’s just that I was too impulsive. It’s good you’re safe, Mu’er.”
Finishing her words, she looked at her brother’s pale face and quickly examined him.
Though much better, his injuries still showed signs of severity.
Tears welled in Qin Mengyu’s eyes as she tenderly touched her brother’s cheek.
“Mu’er, tell me—who did this to you?”
Qin Mu was about to answer when his eyes caught Long Shengtian inside, performing a deep five-body kowtow.
“Ah! What are you doing here!?”
Such unlucky encounters—no matter where he went, he seemed to run into this guy!
Qin Mu felt more speechless than ever.
“Did he attack you, Mu’er?”
Qin Mengyu pieced it together quickly, seeing her brother’s injuries and the Storage Pouch he carried—the one given to Mu’er.
With her sister standing firmly behind him, Qin Mu sniffled and teared up.
“Sister Mengyu, you don’t know— I almost never got to see you again.”
Qin Mu recounted everything to her honestly.
The more Qin Mengyu listened, the colder her expression became.
Not far off, Long Shengtian heard that the brat who had humiliated him was Qin Mengyu’s brother. Inside, it was like a magnitude ten earthquake.
Impossible!
How could Qin Mengyu possibly have a brother?
Sword Immortal Qin Ruoshang and Pill Venerable Qin Mengyu—he had never heard of a brother before!