Chapter 32: Junior Sister, We Will Not Abandon You

Under the bright, clear moonlight, the dappled shadows of the trees stretched long. A small figure stood beneath them, the hem of her light green robes fluttering without a breeze. Lingxi hovered slightly above the ground, the three red threads on her right hand shimmering with a brilliant, festive glow as they danced in the wind.

Around her, the surrounding branches collided, and vibrant green leaves detached, surging toward Lingxi like a tidal wave and swirling around her as the center. With a slight movement of her lips, the leaves dispersed like the tide. Spiritual light trailed behind them like long tails, and like arrows loosed from a bow, they streamed continuously from Lingxi toward the Face-Wiping Monster.

The monster hesitated, pulling back her hands to shield her chest in a defensive posture. She suspected Lingxi was playing the "pig eating the tiger"—pretending to be weak to catch her off guard. Plucking leaves to cause harm was only possible if Lingxi had reached the Spirit Transformation stage or possessed terrifyingly powerful mental strength. In either case, she would not come out unscathed.

The light green figure moved faster than the leaves. Fragments of light scattered from Lingxi’s previous position like a shattered mirror. Wiping cold sweat from her brow, Lingxi ducked into the Earth Temple and bolted the door behind her.

Fortunately, she had successfully fooled the monster for a moment. The trees around the Earth Temple possessed spiritual essence, and she had borrowed some leaves through a friendly exchange, but it would not last long.

"Senior Brother Baili, I need to borrow some of your blood."

Lingxi flicked her index finger, and the red threads tightened, pulling Baili Ze closer. She swiftly gripped his wrist and drew his sword. The double-edged blade gleamed with a white luster, and two streaks of white light traced across his fair wrist. Before Baili Ze could react, a bloodstain appeared on his skin.

Lingxi pressed her finger to his blood and, following Luo Chen’s instructions, drew a few swift strokes. A blood-red seal appeared on the back of the paint-peeling wooden door, looking for all the world like a haunted crime scene.

As the formation pattern rotated, spiritual energy flooded in. The white light seeped into the blood, and red lines began to crawl across the door like spiderwebs. In the blink of an eye, the peeling mud walls were covered in crimson markings. The white light soared into the heavens, piercing the Milky Way; it was more dazzling than the stars, shining through time and space, illuminating the future.

Surveying the surroundings, Lingxi pulled out stored incense, lit them all, and planted them before the deity’s statue. She exhaled, collapsed onto a tattered prayer mat, and coughed as dust billowed into her nose.

"With the spiritual light in this temple, we should be able to hold on for a while. Whether we can last until Master arrives depends on our luck."

Lingxi paused, spread her hands, and smiled. "However, there is a small matter I must tell you: my luck is not very good, especially in life-or-death situations."

Su An understood instantly. He rolled up his sleeves and said, "Use my blood then. My luck is decent; it should work."

The young man’s eyes were bright, filled with sincerity and youthful innocence. Lingxi rubbed her temples. "Senior Brother, stop fooling around, will you? If your luck were good, would you have been captured with me? Don't forget we’ve been chased for over five miles. Besides, your forehead is clouded with dark energy, and your spiritual aura is murky—you don't look like someone with good luck, yet your destiny path glows with gold. It’s truly baffling."

Baili Ze latched onto the main point. "You mean you are using the spiritual protection of the Earth Temple’s deity? So gods truly exist? And the end of immortal cultivation is indeed ascension?" At the mention of "ascension," a flicker of joy crossed his calm eyes.

Lingxi couldn't understand why neither of them could grasp the point. She tapped her index finger against the floor. "I mean, do you have any magical treasures to assist us, or any way to defeat the Face-Wiping Monster? If not, we are likely to meet our end today."

Su An rummaged through his storage ring, spilling a pile of magical treasures onto the ground. Various artifacts glowed with different colors. Lingxi picked and chose, and under Luo Chen’s guidance, she selected a few highly compatible items to place at the four corners of the room to stabilize the formation.

"Little Junior Sister, is that enough? Should I give you more to strengthen the formation? Are they perhaps too low-grade to be useful?"

The artifacts on the floor were all mid-grade Profound rank or higher. As long as the user was somewhat competent, they could survive in the hands of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. Seeing Su An about to discard the "useless" ones, Lingxi quickly explained, "No, the formation has a maximum capacity. More won't make it stronger; in fact, it risks overloading it. It’s like pouring water into a cup; once it reaches a certain point, the amount of water in the cup won't increase. If you keep pouring, the overflow will wash away the cup, and the water will be lost."

The two men listened, lost in thought. Su An stopped insisting on giving blood and looked at Lingxi, waiting for her next arrangement. Lingxi explained the situation regarding the Face-Wiping Monster, ensuring both understood so they could coordinate their defense.

"If this door is breached, Senior Brother Baili, you take my senior brother and leave. I will lead her away first." Lingxi used a roof tile to draw diagrams on the ground, analyzing the formation's weak points and escape routes.

Su An immediately protested, "No. I am your senior brother; there is no reason for a senior brother to leave his junior sister to face danger alone. It’s ungentlemanly and not heroic at all."

Seeing Su An covered in incense ash, Lingxi said tactfully, "Why don't you find a mirror and take a look? You have to be alive to be heroic!"

Su An stood up with a start, crossing his arms over his chest. The mud on his face cracked as he trembled. "No! I said no, and that’s final!"

His clear eyes flashed with panic. His wrists were taut, veins bulging on the back of his hands as he stood before Lingxi, blocking the dilapidated wooden door.

Lingxi’s fingers tightened around the tile until her knuckles turned white, but she acted as if nothing were wrong. "This is the best method. Neither of you is as fast as I am. If either of you stays behind to stop the monster, there is no possibility of survival. I have calculated that if you use speed-enhancing artifacts, your probability of escape is as high as fifty percent."

The two youths looked at each other and said almost in unison, "Junior Sister, we will not leave you behind."

Lingxi’s small frame shrank slightly as she trembled, and she finally couldn't help but laugh. "You are truly stupidly adorable, my senior brothers. Living and dying together is never the choice of a smart person; the cost-benefit ratio is too low. If you don't listen to me, we will all die here today. Don't forget, beyond the Earth Temple are a dozen farming households, and beyond the village lies Zhuxi City."

Lingxi looked up at the wall, her gaze deep and distant. The corners of her mouth curled up without a hint of warmth, her voice crisp and cold. "I don't really care, but you two are people destined to protect the world. Are you sure you won't consider going for reinforcements? With our current strength, we cannot protect millions of people."

Lingxi crossed her legs, rubbing the tile with her thumb and forefinger, her eyes fixed on the ragged door. While she said that, she had no real plan herself, but she had never been one to sit and wait for death. Opportunities are only left for those willing to try.

*Boom—*

Both doors collapsed inward. The force of the impact sent a spray of mud and leaves surging inside. Lingxi grabbed the prayer mat, reached under Su An's arm, and held it up against the doorway, pouring her spiritual energy into it.

"Stop standing there! Run!"

"Think you can run? It won't be that easy! You won't fool me again! Hehe-hehe—"

Outside the door, leaves and mud swirled in a frenzy. The Face-Wiping Monster’s claws grew long, and she licked her blood-stained nails with pink lips. Dozens of small beasts lay at her feet, their faces drenched in gore. The soles of her embroidered shoes pressed firmly against an unrecognizable corpse, crushing it into a paste of blood.

Seeing the mud-covered faces before her, the monster recalled the trick just played on her. Her fangs bared, and she lunged into the Earth Temple on all fours.