The woman in a fiery red dress wandered aimlessly through the grass and trees, kicking and stepping, the delicate face full of dejection.

Chen Yuanzhi was in a bad mood.

She grew up in the Mirror Sea Sword Sect since childhood, with a father who indulged her every whim, and a group of senior martial brothers who doted on her, like a princess of the Mirror Sea Sect, the center of attention. From a young age, whatever she wanted, someone would always bring it to her; whatever she wanted to do, someone would always end up doing it for her.

But the sudden changes in the Mirror Sea Sect seemed to have changed everything wonderful overnight.

First, her father allied with Uncle Wu to oppose Senior Brother Lu, having Senior Brother Lu lead the Mirror Sea Sect to join under the Qinggu Sect.  

Then, Senior Brother Lu was unwilling, not only refusing her father's proposal, but also secretly reaching an agreement with the Shangxuan Sect, preferring to hand over the sect to the Shangxuan Sect rather than be manipulated by her father.

Previously, she was angry at her father's actions, feeling that he had betrayed the Mirror Sea Sect, but now, Senior Brother Lu had done something similar to her father, just changing the target.

From a personal emotional perspective, she didn't feel that the Shangxuan Sect and Qinggu Sect were any different, both relying on their strength to bully the weak. If the current Mirror Sea Sect was also the number one sect on the continent, who would dare to humiliate them?

In that sense, her father's approach wasn't really inappropriate, and she had yelled at him before...

Chen Yuanzhi sighed, squatted down, and idly poked at the weeds.

Actually, what she hoped for most was to be able to cultivate happily together every day like before, without any worries.

But now...

The sound of talking came from not far away.

She looked up and found that she had unknowingly arrived at her father's cave abode.

From the outer peak of the Mirror Sea Sect to the desolate Mirror Sea Mountains, there was a large area of the back mountains in between, where the cave abodes of generations of Mirror Sea Sect elders were located, in order to cultivate in peace and quiet, and to be able to assist in a timely manner when the sect had matters.

"Yuanzhi, what are you doing hiding there, sneaking around!" Elder Chen turned his head and saw her, frowning.

Another elder, Wu Feng, was standing beside him.

Faced with the people closest to her, Chen Yuanzhi pouted and unconsciously acted coquettishly, "I came out for a random walk, Dad, Uncle Wu."

Elder Chen's face was solemn, as if he wanted to say something but didn't, unlike usual, where he would show a doting smile as soon as he saw her.

Instead, Elder Wu laughed, "Junior Brother Chen, you haven't told her yet?"

Elder Chen frowned slightly, "Don't meddle, she's my daughter, of course I'm going to take her away. The current situation doesn't allow us not to leave anymore."

Elder Wu asked, "The item, did you get it?"

Elder Chen grunted, "That thing was surrounded by layers of restrictions, fortunately I was alert, otherwise I would have triggered the mechanism."

Chen Yuanzhi widened her eyes, "Dad, we're leaving? Where to?"

Elder Chen didn't speak. Elder Wu smiled, "Naturally to Qinggu Sect, surely you don't want to follow Lu Yanping and the others to Shangxuan Sect?"

Chen Yuanzhi was shocked, "But, but, Senior Brother Lu's side, isn't it not good..."

She really couldn't say what exactly was wrong, only feeling that her father and Uncle Wu's behavior of sneaking around wasn't very upright.

Elder Chen softened his expression, "Yuanzhi, your father won't harm you. Your identity is sensitive, following Lu Yanping and his group, they won't truly treat you well, and might even think you are a spy I sent. Going to Qinggu Sect, there will be a group of martial brothers and sisters of similar age, and you'll have friends again then."

Chen Yuanzhi had a sudden realization and blurted out, "Dad, we are originally people of Mirror Sea Sect, not ones who grew up there since young. Even if we go to Qinggu Sect, they won't truly treat us well either!"

Elder Chen was about to say something, but his face changed and he said sternly, "Who's there, come out!"

Zhou Yin leisurely stepped out from behind a rock.

"I didn't mean to overhear, please continue." He glanced at the three and turned to leave.

"Stop right there!" Elder Chen sneered, "Since you heard, you might as well stay!"

With a wave of his sleeve, the Tianwu Wheel flew towards Zhou Yin.

The Mirror Sea Sect was originally a sword cultivation sect, rarely using anything other than swords as magic weapons, but Elder Chen's Tianwu Wheel was refined from thousands of highly poisonous centipedes. Let alone ordinary people, even cultivators who were touched by this Tianwu Wheel would immediately be poisoned.

"Dad!" Chen Yuanzhi cried out in alarm.

The Lingyin Sword left his hand and met the black mist in mid-air, battling into a mess, but the Tianwu Wheel was ultimately a myriad of poisons, and very quickly, even the white sword light of the Lingyin Sword began to turn gray.

On the other side, Elder Wu's Soul-Locking Rope fiercely whipped towards Zhou Yin's shoulder.

He frowned and couldn't help but bend forward slightly. The Lingyin Sword, lacking spiritual power support, fell from the air.

The Soul-Locking Rope then firmly tied Zhou Yin's hands behind his back.

When facing Nüyue, at least besides Zhou Yin, there were other people. And when fighting Cultivator Wei on Tianqu Peak, both were at the Foundation Establishment stage, so Zhou Yin could still rely on his reactions and experience to win.

But no matter how rich his experience was, under the joint efforts of two Core Formation stage cultivators, a Foundation Establishment stage person had no ability to resist at all.

Elder Chen wanted to make a killing move, but Chen Yuanzhi alone blocked in front of Zhou Yin.

"Dad, don't!"

Elder Chen was furious, "What are you doing, get out of the way!"

So many things had happened in one day, each exceeding her scope of understanding. Chen Yuanzhi only felt that all of this was not very real. Since when did her father, an elder of the Mirror Sea Sect, want to make a killing move against a disciple of his own sect.

"You can't kill him!" Chen Yuanzhi shouted.

Elder Wu laughed, "What's this, dear niece, I haven't seen you close to him usually. How come you suddenly thought of the camaraderie between fellow disciples? Could it be that you think he's handsome and have taken a fancy to him?"

Chen Yuanzhi gritted her teeth, in for a penny, in for a pound, "Dad, no matter what, this person must not be killed. If you want to kill him, kill me first!"

Chen Zhong felt that the biggest mistake he made in his life was joining the Mirror Sea Sword Sect.

The second mistake was not allying with Wu Feng to kill Lu Yanping first when he became the sect leader.

The third mistake was raising a daughter who turned her back on him.

Now, this daughter he had raised from a young age, was standing in front of him, preferring to protect someone else and oppose him.

His eyes turned cold, his disappointment beyond words, "This person just heard our matters, if we let him go, he will immediately go tell Lu Yanping!"

Heaven and earth bear witness, Zhou Yin truly had no interest in snitching. He was merely passing by here in search of Zhou Chen, and happened to be unlucky. But at this moment, with a knife to his throat, anything he said would be in vain, so he simply kept his mouth shut.

Chen Yuanzhi said, "Then I'll guard him here. After you leave, I'll release him, okay?"

Before she finished speaking, Chen Zhong moved his finger, and she was already immobilized, unable to move.

Chen Zhong turned to look at Wu Feng, "Why aren't you making a move yet!"

Wu Feng chuckled, "Actually, I have an idea. This kid can be kept for now."

Chen Zhong: "What's the point of keeping him? The longer the delay, the more risks!"

Wu Feng: "This kid has the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment stage. It would be a pity to kill him. As you and I are nearing the end of our lifespans, although Qinggu Sect has top-grade spiritual medicines to help us pass the bottleneck of the Core Formation stage, the items are not yet in hand, so who can say for sure. With this kid around, if necessary, we can absorb his cultivation to delay for a few years."

Chen Yuanzhi's eyes widened in disbelief that this sinister technique of stealing others' cultivation, used only by demonic cultivators, was actually mentioned by Elder Wu, who had doted on her since childhood.

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Zhong agreed, "Very well, let's bring him along then."

"Father!..." Chen Yuanzhi called out tremblingly.

"Dear niece, I forgot to tell you," Elder Wu smiled, "Junior Brother Chen is not your real father. You were abandoned in swaddling clothes and he picked you up at the foot of Mirror Sea Mountain and brought you back to raise. So, there should be a limit to your mischief. If you slip away later to inform Lu Yanping and the others, don't blame your father and Uncle Wu for not showing mercy."

Chen Yuanzhi felt as if she had been struck by five thunderbolts, her face deathly pale.

"Father?" She looked at Chen Zhong, full of shock and disbelief. "Uncle Wu, what he said isn't true, right?"

Chen Zhong did not look at her, nor did he smile and coax her as he had done before. He only turned his head to Wu Feng and said, "Time is of the essence, let's go!"

Although her heart kept screaming that Uncle Wu was just lying to her, her father's reaction made Chen Yuanzhi's heart instantly turn half-cold. Contrary to her usual behavior, she did not wail loudly. Even when she was taken down the mountain, she did not speak again.

Qinggu Sect was located within the Southern Realm, while Anyang now belonged to the Dongyue. Therefore, setting out from Mirror Sea Sect, they needed to cross the border and travel a long distance.

It was not difficult for Elders Chen and Wu to go there, but now carrying precious treasures and bringing two extra people, in order to avoid drawing attention, they first took advantage of the fact that Mirror Sea Sect had not yet discovered the disappearance of the sect's magic treasure.

They brought Zhou Yin and the other down the mountain, changed clothes, bought a horse carriage, and drove it westward like ordinary people, heading towards Qinggu Sect.

Zhou Yin and Chen Yuanzhi were placed under a body-binding spell and sat in the carriage, but it did not prevent them from speaking. The carriage was surrounded by restrictions, so even if they shouted, their voices could not be transmitted out.

It's just that one was taciturn and lazy to speak, while the other was lost in thought with a gloomy expression. Even without the restrictions, they were in no mood to shout.

Chen Yuanzhi cried for a long time until she fell asleep from exhaustion. When she woke up, she found that the carriage wheels were still rolling and had not stopped.

When she spoke, her voice was hoarse, no longer as domineering as before. "Have we left Dongyue?"

"Not yet."

"You... you should find a chance to escape!" Chen Yuanzhi thought for a moment and said in a low voice.

Zhou Yin did not speak.

How to escape?

Wu Feng and Chen Zhong were not newly ascended Core Formation stage cultivators, but experts who had reached the late Core Formation stage. They were only a step away from advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

In front of them, Zhou Yin had no chance of winning. Moreover, in order to avoid attracting attention, the two deliberately disguised themselves as ordinary people and specifically traveled to populous county towns, hiding in plain sight. This way, the chances of encountering cultivators were even fewer.

Logically speaking, apart from the two of them, no one in Mirror Sea Sect had higher cultivation than them. Wu Feng and Chen Zhong shouldn't need to be so careful, but judging from their previous conversation, the two seemed to have taken something extraordinary from Mirror Sea Sect. They were probably worried that the Shangxuan Sect would intervene, so they were taking precautions at every step.

Zhou Yin: "What did they take from Mirror Sea Sect?"

Chen Yuanzhi wanted to say she didn't know, but suddenly had a flash of insight. Could it be that thing?

"I once heard my father..." She remembered her origins and paused for a moment before continuing, "I heard him say that Mirror Sea Sect had a treasure that protected the sect. It was left behind by the Sword Immortal Xuan Ying and was called Jade Spirit Rhinoceros Horn. If immersed in water on the night of the full moon, it could turn clear water into sweet dew. Even if one was afflicted with a deadly poison, it could turn danger into safety. However, if the sweet dew was left out for more than two hours, it would automatically revert back to clear water. It was truly miraculous."

Zhou Yin pondered in silence. He had also heard of this Jade Spirit Rhinoceros Horn in his previous life before his demise. At that time, it was already regarded as a supreme treasure by Mirror Sea Sect.

But the function of detoxification was actually not very useful, because cultivators themselves had spiritual power to protect their bodies and could naturally avoid ordinary toxins. If they really needed to use the Jade Spirit Rhinoceros Horn for detoxification, they would have to wait for a night of the full moon.

If the clear water didn't turn into sweet dew in time, the person would probably already be dead. Unless the Jade Spirit Rhinoceros Horn had other unknown uses that Mirror Sea Sect kept secret...

Seeing his calm expression without any sadness of facing death, Chen Yuanzhi felt a bit strange. Along with the sorrow of her own origins, her sympathy and closeness towards Zhou Yin also increased a bit. They were both wanderers in the world.

"When we arrive at the inn later, I'll find a chance to make them release the body-binding spell on you. Then you hurry and run, run as far as you can!" After saying that, Chen Yuanzhi lowered her head and smiled bitterly, "No matter what, no matter what, he is still my father. He should still have some feelings for me, right!"

Zhou Yin said, "No need."

If there was only one opponent now, there might be a possibility of success. Without at least a sixty percent chance, it would just be alerting the enemy and courting death. He estimated that before they reached Qinggu Sect, he should not be in danger for the time being.

Chen Yuanzhi was anxious, not having thought that much, "Why are you so stubborn!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the carriage stopped. Outside, it was bustling with people coming and going, clearly in the middle of a lively town.

Author's note:

The crowd asks, "Where did Furball go?"

Furball: I want to appear in the most impressive manner when my beloved is down on their luck! That way... Hehehe, oh no, I mean, chirp chirp chirp!