Senior sister, come quickly into the basin.

It's more than just familiar.

Su Yingxue's pupils slowly dilated.

She knows every single stone brick here.

This is clearly the cave where she has cultivated for more than ten years!

This……

Su Yingxue looked at Li Tianran.

She saw the token at Li Tianran's waist.

Blood Burial Ground, the back of which bears her former number.

The cave dwelling has changed hands?!

"Heh, heh heh,"

She didn't cry, she didn't curse, she kept her head down, and it was hard to tell whether it was a cold smile or a bitter smile.

The cave dwelling, the token, the location—everything was taken.

What can we do?

Since things have come to this, we can only accept our fate.

Li Tianran saw that she was distraught and didn't pay any attention.

He controlled her to send the distress message to Han Laomo using a communication jade slip.

Sent.

Su Yingxue collapsed to the ground, as if all her strength had been drained.

He glanced at her; at the second level of Qi Refining, she couldn't produce much water anymore.

But it's useful to keep it.

In the future, we can let her test poisons, let her explore paths and risk her life, making the best use of her.

Such important supplies are still useful if we keep them.

Li Tianran then took out the Immortal Imprisoning Basin from his storage bag and placed it in front of her.

"Xiao Fang".

Su Yingxue didn't respond, biting her lip.

A hint of hatred flashed in his eyes.

Li Tianran didn't waste any words.

The blood slave talisman on the back of her neck was activated, and she nodded uncontrollably.

"Um."

It turned into a wisp of smoke and was collected into the basin.

Li Tianran put the basin back into his storage bag and sat down on the stone bed.

The matter concerning Su Yingxue has been temporarily shelved.

Tonight I'm going to help Old Demon Han carve patterns and also finalize the matter of capturing blood slaves down the mountain.

After descending the mountain, they sought out the black market for rogue cultivators, exchanging Blood Spirit Grass, Spirit Stones, and Toad Hearts for the armor, pills, and intelligence they needed.

Step by step.

He refused to believe that he could never escape the Blood Spirit Sect or break free from Old Demon Han's control in this lifetime.

After doing all this.

Li Tianran was resting with his eyes closed.

A very faint scraping sound came from the stone door, as knuckles brushed against the crack.

He raised an eyebrow, walked to the door, and opened the peephole.

Zhao Ling was standing barefoot in the gray fog.

Her hair had just been washed and wasn't completely dry yet; the ends clung to her neck, and water droplets trickled down her collarbone and into her neckline.

Ok?

Why are you looking for him so late?

I thought about it for a moment.

Li Tianran opened the door.

Zhao Ling looked up, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment.

"Master wants you to carve patterns on the puppet tomorrow night. I've come to check if you have anything else planned for tonight."

He paused for a moment.

"I was afraid you'd forget."

Li Tianran: "I haven't forgotten."

Zhao Ling paused for a moment.

She raised her hand and closed the door tightly, then turned around to face Li Tianran.

"I came to see you because there's something else I need to discuss."

Her voice was very low, unlike her usual aloof demeanor.

"Her Foundation Establishment Puppet is already more than halfway finished, and the blood pact will be fully embedded in it within three months."

As mentioned last time in the cave, the spiritual power of three other people is needed to stabilize the puppet's meridians.

Zhao Ling paused.

Li Tianran leaned against the stone wall, watching her, waiting for what would happen next.

"The final step in crafting a Foundation Establishment puppet is embedding the soul into the blood jade, which requires a living person to act as a buffer of spiritual energy."

I saw the remains of her puppet-making workshop in Blood Burial Plains.

Those disciples whose spiritual energy was drained had their dantian shattered, their meridians broken, and their souls scattered.

That wasn't used as an aid in refining; it was used as a material.

If I'm not mistaken, it's you, me, and Zhang Xuan.

The three of us are the materials needed for the final step...

After Zhao Ling finished speaking.

She took a step forward with her long, slender legs.

Her wet hair clung to her neck, and water droplets trickled down her collarbone.

"We must obtain the Blood Transformation Technique to refine the blood within our bodies in order to have even a sliver of hope."

"You can't escape on your own, but cooperation offers an opportunity."

Upon hearing this...

Li Tianran looked up, and the two stared at each other for a moment.

He changed his usual respectful attitude.

He asked with a laugh, "What makes you think I can help you escape?"

Zhao Ling didn't care about Li Tianran's tone.

He paused for a moment.

"You spared Shen Qing not because you were soft-hearted, but because it was a backup plan."

The Heavenly Sword Sect will come looking for them sooner or later, and then the Blood Spirit Sect will be thrown into chaos.

Taking advantage of the chaos to leave is one of your real escape routes.

Li Tianran, but you don't have enough pieces right now. Cooperate with me, and I can help you build another line.

That's my value, don't you think?

Li Tianran remained silent for a moment.

"You've certainly thought a lot about it."

"I see much more than that."

Zhao Ling took another step forward, almost touching him.

"It wasn't a coincidence that I took the initiative to go to the town where the Heavenly Sword Sect was stationed to capture blood slaves."

There's a Song Qingshu in that town who's at the ninth level of Qi Refining. What I want isn't a blood slave, but the attention of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

As long as they set their sights on the Blood Spirit Sect, Master Han will have to devote his energy to dealing with them, and I will have an opportunity to take advantage of that.

I didn't lure Song Qingshu out; instead, you ran into Shen Qing.

After you brought Shen Qing back to the mountain, I realized you're not simple.

A blood slave remained calm in the face of a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple at the sixth level of Qi Refining, did not retreat in the face of Zhang Xuan, and remained unchanged in the face of Master Han's distorted scrutiny.

So I just went with the flow.

The Lingtian briefing credited all the credit to you, and Master Han's attention to you has been steadily increasing.

When Zhang Xuan was about to kill you in the square, I stepped in to stop him, not because I was afraid you would die, but because I was afraid Master Han would miss out on such a promising candidate.

"Your name is always at the top of every progress report I submit on the spiritual fields."

Master Han intervened and stopped Zhang Xuan in the square that day.

It's not because Zhang Xuan went too far, it's because she thinks you're valuable; it's what made her think that way.

Zhao Ling spoke very frankly.

She secretly helped Li Tianran more than once.

Li Tianran narrowed his eyes slightly.

"No wonder I always felt things were going too smoothly."

Zhao Ling: "If you feel it's going smoothly, that's fine. Nobody on the Blood Burial Plain ever feels it's going smoothly."

What you need is a crack in the road to survival.

I've widened the gap for you; now it's big enough for the two of us to squeeze through together.

She raised her hand and untied the loose knot around her waist.

The thin robe slipped off her shoulders and bunched up at her ankles.

The bra strap is tight.

It accentuated an extremely narrow waistline and a full silhouette; the moisture hadn't completely dried, and it clung to the skin, glistening.

The old scar was still on her bare ankle, and her legs were long and strong.

She stood in front of him, making no attempt to hide herself, and looked up at him.

There was no seduction in his eyes, but a calm, almost naked honesty.

"You've been holding back for three years, so I'll give you one night tonight."

Her voice didn't tremble, but her breathing was a little faster than before.

"After tonight, let's think about how to get the Blood Transformation Technique, how to refine the Blood Essence, and how to break free from her control."

Li Tianran leaned against the stone wall and looked at her.

From the time we entered the cave until now

She was the one who spoke at every step.

Every sentence was like piling up the chips she had saved up over ten years onto the table.

In this final step, she staked everything on herself.

She wasn't forced into it; it was her own choice.

"Is Senior Sister planning to open up?"

Li Tianran reached out and grabbed her left waist, where her old injury had been.

Zhao Ling trembled slightly but did not back down.

She raised her head, her cold gaze meeting his, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

"Here's a crack, do you want it?"

far away.

Han Laomo's cave was still glowing with a dark red light.

Li Tianran didn't say anything more.

Zhao Ling is the same.

We've come this far.

In the adult world, there's no need for further explanation.

Since there are no vested interests or any constraints...

Then let's just create it out of thin air.

After forming bonds.

Anything else we discuss will fall into place naturally.

"I wasn't used to it the first time, so I turned off the lights."