Mortal: I'm in Tianxing City, intelligence updates daily.

Since meeting Li Shizhou in the cave, Zhuo Ruting, who had been in a state of confusion, suddenly felt reassured and nodded without hesitation.

Li Shizhou took out several defensive talismans: "Take these talismans for self-defense. Don't be afraid. Run away as soon as you see someone. I will hide next to you and wait for an opportunity to strike. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Okay, Ting'er will do whatever Brother Shizhou says."

After Zhuo Ruting finished speaking, she walked in the direction of the cave exit. Li Shizhou drove his black cloak and spirit boots, silently following closely from five zhang away.

They had walked for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn when a woman in a green dress appeared not far away. Her cultivation had reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

She was overjoyed when she detected Zhuo Ruting with her divine sense, and said loudly in a shrill voice, "You lowly wench, I've finally caught you! Surrender now!"

While speaking, he manipulated his magical artifacts to capture Zhuo Ruting.

Zhuo Ruting turned and ran, but the woman in the green dress snorted and began to give chase.

She chased him for no more than ten zhang when suddenly a three-foot-long green sword pierced through her chest with a whoosh.

Then another flash of cold light appeared in the cave, and before the woman in the green dress could scream, her head fell to the ground. The headless corpse twitched a few times on the ground and then fell still.

Li Shizhou stuffed the spoils into his pocket, exchanged a few words with Zhuo Ruting, and the two continued walking out of the cave.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, a young male cultivator in a gray robe was looking around inside. His cultivation level was only at the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

This time, Zhuo Ruting didn't need to distract him.

Li Shizhou stealthily approached the gray-robed youth from behind and ended the battle with a single sword strike.

As he was collecting his spoils, Zhuo Ruting suddenly cried out from inside the cave and stumbled toward a broken jade pendant on the ground.

This jade pendant is called "Benming Soul Jade", and it has a similar function to the Benming Soul Lamp.

Once it shatters, it means that the owner's soul has been destroyed. Judging from this, this item should belong to Zhuo Ruting's grandmother.

"grandmother..."

The woman's wailing echoed through the cave, heartbreaking to hear.

Li Shizhou walked over, intending to offer a few words of comfort.

Zhuo Ruting was already on the verge of exhausting her magical powers, and then suffered the great blow of her grandmother's death. She fainted after crying for only a few words.

Seeing this, Li Shizhou scooped the person up in his arms, and a flying chariot flew out from the storage bag at his waist with a flash of light.

He carried Zhuo Ruting and jumped onto the flying chariot, soaring into the sky towards Tianxing City.

Throughout the journey, Zhuo Ruting would wake up and fall asleep intermittently. Each time she woke up, she would cry her heart out, and then fall into a deep sleep again after crying herself to sleep.

Li Shizhou could only rack his brains to comfort her.

......

Two days later.

Tianxing City, Yuheng Academy, Cave No. 124.

Li Shizhou had just pushed open the stone door, laid Zhuo Ruting horizontally on the bed, and was about to get up to report to the steward in charge of Yuheng Courtyard.

Just then, Zhuo Ruting's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her beautiful eyes slowly opened.

Upon seeing Li Shizhou, she called out, "Brother Shizhou, where are you going?"

Li Shizhou leaned over and sat on the bed, saying, "Someone has plotted against you this time, and your original cave dwelling is no longer safe. Although the disciples of the Star Palace can let people live in the cave dwelling, they must report it first. I will pretend that you are my Daoist partner and come here to stay temporarily. I was just about to go."

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Ruting's eyes flashed with shyness. She looked away and lowered her head, not daring to look at him, while her fingers rubbed her dress.

After a moment, she said in a barely audible voice, "If it's discovered that I'm lying, won't it implicate you, Brother Shizhou?"

Li Shizhou's heart pounded. After a moment of hesitation, he nervously whispered in the woman's ear, "If we were to become true Daoist partners, would you be willing?"

Zhuo Ruting slowly raised her head, a look of joy in her eyes, and whispered through her slightly parted red lips, "I...I do."

Li Shizhou breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the woman's soft body into his arms.

After whispering sweet nothings to each other for a while, and smelling the faint fragrance emanating from Zhuo Ruting, Li Shizhou became somewhat distracted, and the side effects of cultivating the Pure Yang Technique reappeared.

Soon after, his face turned bright red and his body became hot.

Zhuo Ruting noticed his unusual behavior and sat up, asking with concern, "Brother Shizhou, what's wrong? Why is your face so red?"

Li Shizhou recounted the story of cultivating the "Pure Yang Technique" in a somewhat abridged form.

"Then how can I eliminate the yang fluid in your spine?" Zhuo Ruting asked curiously, her eyes wide open.

"My cultivation technique comes with a secret dual cultivation method..."

Before Li Shizhou could finish speaking, it was Zhuo Ruting's turn to blush, and in the blink of an eye, even her neck turned crimson.

After a moment, she said shyly, "Then...then let Ting'er help Brother Shizhou cultivate."

.......

The next day at noon, the sun was shining brightly outside.

Li Shizhou opened his eyes and felt refreshed. Zhuo Ruting was sleeping soundly on his chest.

He gently moved the woman's soft body aside, and quietly got out of bed and dressed.

After carefully examining his body with his divine sense, he discovered that his cultivation had increased again, and he was not far from the peak of Qi Refining.

It's getting late, and if we don't report it soon, it will be too late.

Li Shizhou left the cave without making a sound.

When he returned about half an hour later, he saw Zhuo Ruting dressed neatly in loose clothes and tidying up his somewhat messy cave dwelling as soon as he pushed open the stone door.

Upon seeing Li Shizhou enter, Zhuo Ruting's face lit up with joy.

She jogged towards Li Shizhou, holding up her skirt with one hand.

Beneath the wide, long skirt, it looked as if two rabbits were tumbling around.

Li Shizhou opened his arms and embraced Zhuo Ruting. After a brief moment of tender cuddling, he asked, "Ting'er, who exactly did you offend?"

He had wanted to ask this question for a long time. After all, he had killed three cultivators. Now that he knew the answer, he could prepare a countermeasure in case he offended someone.

On the way back to Tianxing City, he was so busy comforting Zhuo Ruting that he didn't have time to ask her anything.

I was busy all night and only just remembered.

Zhuo Ruting's slender eyebrows furrowed slightly as she pondered deeply.

After a while, she shook her head and said, "I don't know who I offended. I've been cultivating diligently in Tianxing City and rarely go out, let alone make enemies. My grandmother is also an honest person."

After listening, Li Shizhou couldn't make sense of it at all.

After a moment, he suddenly remembered that after killing those three cultivators on Liuyun Island a few days ago, he hadn't had time to clean up the storage bags and spoils he had obtained. Perhaps there were a few identity jade tokens or something similar inside.

So he took out all the items he had obtained on Liuyun Island.

The two of them were tidying up and sorting things on the bed while searching for jade pendants.

Until a golden storage bag was opened, a large pile of thin women's clothes fell out, with a blue jade pendant mixed in among them.

Looking at the words on the jade tablet, Zhuo Ruting suddenly looked up and said to Li Shizhou with some excitement, "Miaoyin Sect."