I don't want to be trained by my senior sister!

In the crimson mist, Ning Qian's figure was like a lone boat.

She struggled to stay upright, her usually serene face stained with blood.

Each burst of sword energy was weaker than the last.

The wound on her left shoulder, torn open by the ghostly claws, was seeping out strands of black energy, eroding her flesh and her dwindling spiritual power.

More evil spirits sensed her weakened state and surged out from the depths of the churning blood mist.

A skeletal beast pieced together from withered bones and resentment lunged forward, only to have its spine severed by Ning Qian's faint sword energy, scattering across the ground.

But the shattered bone fragments exploded with a burst of malevolent energy.

Ning Qian dodged to the side, but was still grazed by a trace of murderous aura, leaving a bloody mark on her cheek.

Immediately afterwards, several invisible resentful energies attacked from behind. She instinctively twisted her body, barely managing to deflect most of the sword energy, but one still pierced through her right calf.

"Ugh..." she groaned, her knee buckled, and she almost collapsed to her knees.

Fresh blood quickly soaked through his trousers.

My vision was starting to blur, and the blood mist was shimmering before my eyes.

My junior brother... is still inside.

Can he hold on? Is he injured too?

She knew she couldn't hold on for long.

His spiritual energy was nearly depleted, and his injuries were worsening.

But... she was going to die anyway.

In this life, I have only ever been barely clinging to life.

Waiting for the final reckoning, or perhaps, silently rotting away in some deserted corner.

But then... she met Fang Xuan.

The person whose eyes sparkle when he smiles, who shamelessly freeloads meals, and who makes her angry with an innocent look on his face.

Silly.

Someone like her is not worth it.

The sword energy that had gathered at her fingertips dissipated once again, and the murderous aura grazed her waist, leaving a trail of blood droplets.

The pain made her vision go black, and she staggered to her feet, grabbing onto a charred bamboo stalk that had been corrupted by malevolent energy to keep from falling.

A metallic, sweet taste rose in my throat.

There's another plan... By burning the last bit of primordial essence and blood, or even detonating the slowly regenerating spiritual bones, perhaps a final burst of power can be unleashed to tear open this barrier, or... severely damage the main body of that evil spirit.

But doing that would render you completely useless, even if you didn't die.

Ultimately, he was lucky to escape with his life.

Without his elixir, she might have died silently that day.

It's better to give it back to him now.

But... for no reason, I feel a little sad.

It's not that I'm afraid of dying.

Death was no longer a foreign concept to her.

It's just a bit of a shame.

She suddenly remembered something from a long, long time ago.

She was just a little girl then, and once she went to a secular town with her elders.

On the street corner, an old man was carrying a straw target covered with strings of shiny things.

Candied hawthorn berries.

Many children gathered around, clamoring to buy it.

Their parents smiled and took out coins.

Xiao Ningxian would stand at a distance and watch for a long time, her fingers secretly twisting the hem of her clothes.

She had never seen it before and was a little curious. The red fruit was covered with a transparent sugar shell, and it looked... like it should be sweet.

But no one asked her if she wanted it.

The elder who brought her out only urged her to leave quickly, saying that a cultivator should not indulge in the desires of the palate.

After that, she never thought about candied hawthorns again.

Cultivation, becoming stronger, revenge, darkness... these filled her life.

Even now, in this dying blood mist, the string of glistening candied hawthorns clearly appears before my eyes.

She hasn't eaten it yet.

But Fang Xuan seems to... really enjoy eating those random, mundane snacks.

He also enjoyed the fried cakes very much last time.

If I could go out and buy him another skewer, would he smile with bright eyes like that day...?

He has a nice smile.

It's much prettier than this world covered in blood.

Ning Qian's lips curved upwards slightly.

A very faint, blurry arc, almost invisible.

In her life, which had been a death struggle for over a decade, filled with pain and scheming... her last thought was a string of candied hawthorns she had never eaten before, and someone she wanted to see smile at again.

What a loser.

My consciousness grew increasingly heavy, and the crimson color before my eyes became ever more intense.

She strained to keep her eyes open, gazing into the distance, though she could see nothing.

Just then, the blood mist beside her suddenly churned violently, and a chilling malice far exceeding the previous one locked onto her.

The main body of evil spirits.

It seemed to sense the intruder's extreme weakness and gave up on dealing with another tough nut to crack.

The dense malevolent energy coalesced into a hateful ghost face, which let out a sinister laugh.

Then he pounced down on Ning Qian.

It's over.

The last bit of spiritual energy condensed weakly at his fingertips, not as a form of resistance, but simply out of instinct.

.......

But immediately that followed was the deep sound of a sword slicing through the air.

In Ning Qian's blurry vision, a tall figure had already blocked her from the ghost mask.

Fang Xuan had his back to her, and the dark black longsword in his hand was slashing deeply into the oncoming ghostly aura.

The sword hummed incessantly as black and red spiritual energies clashed fiercely.

Although most of the incoming malevolent energy was blocked by the black sword, the aftershocks were still fierce.

Fang Xuan's arm was instantly covered in blood, but he didn't move an inch, enduring all the aftershocks of the impact.

"puff!"

Fang Xuan felt a sweet taste in his throat, and finally couldn't hold back the mouthful of blood, which spilled from the corner of his mouth and dripped down his chin.

A few drops landed on the back of Ning Qian's limp hand.

Never mind, let's just install it first.

.......

Ning Qian just stared blankly at the few glaring bright red spots on the back of her hand, looking like a... fool.

"Fang Xuan..." she called softly.

Fang Xuan did not turn around.

He now needs to focus all his attention on the evil entity in front of him, otherwise he might give himself away.

Although this method of building goodwill might have a significant long-term impact.

But there's no other way; it's safest to leave the Qingyun Sect as soon as possible.

.......

The demon mask, blocked by the black sword, roared even more furiously, and the blood-red evil energy of the entire barrier surged wildly.

Fang Xuan's eyes were icy cold, and his aura suddenly surged.

The vast spiritual power within his body was no longer retained.

"boom--!!!"

The violent spiritual energy swept through like a hurricane, forcibly repelling the blood-red malevolent energy and dispersing most of it.

A clear area briefly appeared above the entire courtyard.

The pale moonlight was able to shine down again, illuminating the ravaged battlefield below and Fang Xuan's blood-stained figure.

The ribbon binding his hair had broken at some point, and his long, black hair, now unrestrained, flew wildly in the aftershocks of spiritual energy and the night wind.

The main body of the evil spirit seemed to be stunned for a moment by this sudden outburst, but then became even more violent.

It could tell that Fang Xuan had expended a great deal of energy, while its killing intent was almost inexhaustible.

Let's see who can outlast the other!

An even denser, dark red aura surged from the depths of the barrier, filling the cleared area and condensing into countless ferocious ghost-faced claws, which attacked Fang Xuan from all angles.

Fang Xuan swung his sword to parry and annihilate the incoming attacks of malevolent energy, but his steps began to become heavy and his breathing became labored.

The black sword remained incomparably sharp, slaying evil spirits as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, but his own spiritual power was being consumed at a visible rate.

Each swing of his sword brought forth a large amount of murderous aura that vanished, but it also made his face even paler.

Finally, in a moment when he seemed to be exhausted and his sword swing slowed down slightly.

Several streams of malevolent energy seized the opportunity and instantly coiled around him like venomous pythons.

Immediately afterwards, even more malevolent energy surged in from all directions.

Just before the vortex of malevolent energy completely closed in and swallowed his figure whole, he pushed Ning Qian out.

In her last moment, she only had time to turn around and see a deep, dark red that was so intense it seemed to engulf the blood-stained figure.

"Fang Xuan..."

She cried out his name in a choked voice, and finally fell to the edge of the barrier.

He wanted to mobilize even the slightest bit of his spiritual power.

But.....

No more.

My dantian felt empty, my meridians were dry and painful, and even the strength to lift a finger seemed to have been drained away.

Only on the back of his hand, those few drops of blood from his long-cooled body, still retained a heartbreakingly faint warmth.