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

Immediately afterwards, a group of people filed out.

The one leading them was Lu Mingxuan, whom they had met briefly at the entrance to the secret realm.

He still had that gentle and refined appearance, with a smile on his face.

Behind him were seven or eight male and female disciples, each with a strong aura, at least at the late Foundation Establishment stage, with two of them even reaching the half-step Void Core stage.

"Junior Brother Fang, we meet again." Lu Mingxuan smiled and cupped his hands, his gaze quickly sweeping over Fang Xuan and Ning Qian, especially lingering on Ning Qian for a moment.

He remembered this woman; was she Ning Qian from Sword Peak, the one who was said to be crippled?

How come she's with Fang Xuan, and their relationship seems... unusual?

"Hmm," Fang Xuan responded indifferently, without saying anything more.

Ning Qian stood beside Fang Xuan, her cool eyes sweeping over the crowd opposite her, her gaze questioning as she looked at Fang Xuan.

She was unaware that Fang Xuan had briefly interacted with Lu Mingxuan at the entrance.

A somewhat arrogant-looking young man beside Lu Mingxuan, perhaps seeing Fang Xuan and Ning Qian's indifferent attitude, couldn't help but whisper:

"Senior Brother Lu kindly saved you, and you didn't even say thank you?"

But before he could finish speaking, he was stopped by a stern look from Lu Mingxuan.

"Do not be rude."

Lu Mingxuan reprimanded in a low voice, then turned to Fang Xuan with his smile unchanged, conveying apology.

"My junior brother is ignorant and speaks without thinking. Please forgive him, Junior Brother Fang."

"We were passing by when we noticed the mixed demonic energy and unusual activity in the area, so we cleared it out. We didn't expect to run into Junior Brother Fang and... this Junior Sister Ning."

His words put him in a very humble position.

Fang Xuan listened to them sing the Red and White Tunes and thought they were performing quite convincingly.

However, it's likely that these monsters were all buried beforehand.

He didn't show it on his face, but simply replied calmly, "I see. Thank you for your help, Senior Brother Lu."

The tone was polite, yet distant.

Lu Mingxuan seemed unconcerned by Fang Xuan's coldness, and instead took two steps forward, his attitude becoming even more enthusiastic:

"Junior Brother Fang, Junior Sister Ning, this secret realm is fraught with danger. Going alone will only leave you vulnerable. I see that you two have just arrived here. Why don't we travel together? That way we can look out for each other."

He spoke sincerely, his gaze mainly fixed on Fang Xuan, clearly indicating that Fang Xuan was the one he wanted to befriend.

As for Ning Qian, in his eyes, she was probably just an extra who depended on Fang Xuan.

Before Fang Xuan could answer, Lu Mingxuan added casually, "To be honest, Junior Brother Fang, I have a fragment of a map of a secret realm bestowed upon me by my father. It marks several places where high-level spiritual objects, even Earth-rank or the legendary Heaven-rank treasures, might exist."

"If Junior Brother Fang is interested, why don't we go together to explore? Whatever we find will be distributed according to our efforts, and we will never let Junior Brother suffer any losses."

Fang Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

It's perfectly normal for Lu Qingsong, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator and the sect leader of Qingyun Sect, to leave some things for his genius son to use in search of opportunities.

This fragment of the map is most likely genuine, and the marked locations may indeed contain treasures.

More importantly, if handled properly, this could be a good opportunity to betray Lu Qingsong.

Of course, there are definitely risks involved.

Lu Mingxuan's invitation was probably not well-intentioned; he might be using him as a stepping stone or have other motives.

But Fang Xuan was confident in his abilities.

"Since Senior Brother Lu has extended such a warm invitation, then let us go together."

Seeing how readily he agreed, a flash of joy crossed Lu Mingxuan's eyes, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Haha, good! Junior Brother Fang is indeed straightforward, then let's set off now!"

His followers behind him had different expressions when Fang Xuan agreed, but none of them said anything more.

But what Fang Xuan didn't notice was that when he agreed to Lu Mingxuan's request...

Ning Qian, standing beside him, clenched her fist tightly at her side.

She looked at Fang Xuan, who seemed completely unsuspecting, and a strange emotion suddenly welled up inside her.

She... didn't want anyone to get close to Fang Xuan, and she didn't want Fang Xuan to get close to anyone else.

So while Fang Xuan and Lu Mingxuan were talking and everyone's attention was on them, she quietly reached out and took Fang Xuan's hand, which was hanging by his side.

Fang Xuan was dealing with Lu Mingxuan when Ning Qian suddenly took his hand.

Then she gently pulled him away, as if trying to drag him off.

He turned to look at her.

However, Ning Qian had already looked away and turned her face to the side.

She still had that aloof and expressionless look, but her ears seemed to have turned slightly red again.

Fang Xuan smiled to himself, thinking that this might be a good way to increase his training points.

Disobedient, chatting and laughing with others, ignoring your senior sister, you deserve to be severely disciplined, right?

.......

The group began to move deeper into the wetlands, in the direction indicated by the remaining map that Lu Mingxuan had mentioned.

Fang Xuan, carrying the black sword, followed at the very back of the group at a leisurely pace.

Ning Qian naturally walked beside him.

After walking for a while, Ning Qian suddenly spoke softly, her tone sounding very natural, as if she were discussing the weather:

"Sword... let me hold it for you for a bit."

"Hmm?" Fang Xuan turned his head to look at her, somewhat puzzled.

The sword isn't heavy, so it's fine for him to carry it himself.

"Holding it... is in the way," Ning Qian added casually, her voice still calm.

Fang Xuan assumed she found it inconvenient to walk in the wetlands while carrying a sword. Although he didn't think much of it, he didn't dwell on it and nodded, "Okay."

With a thought, the black sword in his hand disappeared and was stored in his storage ring.

The very next second after he sheathed his sword, a cool, soft hand slipped quietly into his palm and gently grasped it.

Ning Qian's hands were a size smaller than his, with slender, fair fingers.

He turned his head slightly to look at Ning Qian.

She simply looked straight ahead, as if nothing had happened, and naturally took his hand and walked together.

However, the slight blush that spread to her small earlobes betrayed that she was not at peace inside.

Fang Xuan also quietly gathered his fingertips together, gently enveloping the slightly cool softness.

......

For the rest of their journey, they traveled through shallow marshes.

Occasionally, some ferocious wetland monsters would leap out from the mud and reeds.

Most of them are in the Foundation Establishment stage, with only one or two ignorant individuals in the early stage of the Void Core stage.

However, Fang Xuan and Ning Qian did not need to intervene in these troubles.

Lu Mingxuan and his two half-step Void Core junior brothers often made their move the moment the demonic beast showed itself.

With sword energy crisscrossing, those demonic beasts were often killed or driven away before they could even get close.

Lu Mingxuan clearly intended to demonstrate his strength and sincerity to Fang Xuan, making each move clean and efficient with composure.

Fang Xuan simply nodded and listened, occasionally offering a few words of agreement, but in his mind he was plotting other things.

Ning Qian held his hand tightly, which distracted him a little.

Because he suddenly felt that his legs didn't taste so good anymore, and he wanted to taste what his hands tasted like... no... cough cough...

Ning Qian remained quiet, simply holding Fang Xuan's hand while her eyes warily scanned their surroundings.

She didn't even bother to lift her eyes at Lu Mingxuan's performance and explanations, as if they didn't exist.

In this somewhat eerie atmosphere of harmony, the team continued to advance deeper into the wetlands.

The fog around us seemed to be getting thicker, visibility was decreasing, and the ground under our feet was becoming increasingly muddy and slippery.