Heaven rewards diligence, but there are always fairies plotting against me.

Yu Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled, and her voice was so soft it was almost dripping with water as she whispered in Chu Chang's ear, her breath as sweet as orchids.

Chu Chang looked up.

The cloying gaze and coquettish tone sent shivers down Chu Chang's spine.

He couldn't help but secretly admire her, "Tsk tsk, I didn't realize Senior Sister Yu was so skilled..."

These past few days, Yu Xiaoxiao has been quite the "flirting" girl in front of him.

Upon closer reflection, this is actually quite normal.

Because he's handsome...

Of course, the more important reason is that he has shown extraordinary potential.

He's got potential, which girl wouldn't be attracted to him?

Even a proud woman like Gu Ling Shuang is now treating him incredibly well.

In the past, who would have thought that a proud woman like Gu Ling Shuang would cook for him?

Life is unpredictable.

However, Chu Chang did not respond to Yu Xiaoxiao's initiative.

Just pretend you don't know.

"Brother Chu, something terrible has happened, something terrible has happened..."

Just then, Zhang Erniu, as if he had seen a ghost, scrambled and stumbled from the direction of the riverbank, looking utterly distraught.

Chu Chang frowned, subtly increasing the distance between himself and Yu Xiaoxiao, and said in a deep voice, "What's wrong? Why are you being so impulsive?"

"Something's wrong! There are demonic cultivators ahead!" Zhang Erniu's face turned ashen, and he even stammered as he spoke.

"How did you know?" Yu Xiaoxiao's pretty face tightened, and she instantly became nervous.

Zhang Erniu's clothes were still soaking wet, clinging to his body without him bothering to wring them out. He swallowed hard, recalling with a look of horror, "Those two people had such a heavy aura of yin energy; you could feel a chill run down your spine even from a distance! Two of our sect's disciples were lying on the ground, and those two demonic cultivators were dragging their corpses forward like dead dogs..."

Chu Chang's brows furrowed even deeper: "Can you tell what level of cultivation they possess?"

"I don't know, but... I think it must be incredibly powerful. Our two fellow disciples didn't even make a sound of resistance, and they killed them without a scratch."

Yu Xiaoxiao panicked immediately and said hastily, "They might be two experts at the Qi Refining Realm! Chu Chang, we can't stay here any longer, we need to leave quickly!"

"Okay, let's go!"

Chu Chang dared not be negligent. Although his strength had improved, he would never become arrogant.

He immediately extinguished the campfire, stuffed the roasted meat into his storage bag, and quickly led the two back the way they came.

The three hurried along the depths of the forest, walking for about an hour.

Suddenly, a faint yet somewhat familiar aura emanated from the jungle ahead.

Chu Chang, with his keen senses, was slightly taken aback: "Huh, why is she here?"

Two figures could be seen hurrying towards them from the dense forest ahead.

Leading the group was none other than Xu Shuang, Chu Chang's immediate superior, with an outer disciple beside her.

Chu Chang immediately led Zhang Erniu and Yu Xiaoxiao to greet her, loudly proclaiming, "Senior Sister Xu!!"

"Hey, Chu Chang, what are you doing here?" Xu Shuang looked surprised when she saw Chu Chang emerge from the woods.

Chu Chang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with lingering fear, "Senior Sister, my two friends and I were doing a sect mission nearby. Just now, we encountered demonic cultivators!"

"Demonic cultivators? Where are they?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shuang immediately perked up and said urgently, "To be honest, we also received an urgent mission from the sect. They said that several disciples have recently gone missing here, and they suspect that demonic cultivators are lurking in the vicinity, so we came here to investigate! In which direction are these demonic cultivators you mentioned?"

Zhang Erniu quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, and said, "Reporting to the steward, if you follow this road straight in, it will take about an hour and a half."

Xu Shuang made a decisive decision, turning to Zhang Erniu and Yu Xiaoxiao and ordering, "There's no time to lose. You two return to the sect immediately and report the situation to the Enforcement Hall, asking them to send reinforcements!"

Then, she turned her gaze to Chu Chang: "Chu Chang, come with me."

Xu Shuang knew perfectly well that although Chu Chang had argued with her before, he still possessed a powerful magical artifact!

If a real fight breaks out, his combat power is definitely equivalent to half of the Qi Refining Realm, so having him along would be a huge help.

"Alright, I'll follow your orders, manager!" Chu Changhao readily agreed.

Yu Xiaoxiao and Zhang Erniu exchanged a glance. Although they were somewhat worried about Chu Chang, they knew that staying would only hold them back, so they stopped talking and quickly used their movement techniques to return to the sect.

Chu Chang then channeled his true energy, closely following Xu Shuang and another outer disciple. The three of them moved like swallows, transforming into three afterimages as they darted through the forest at full speed towards the direction where the demonic cultivators had previously appeared.

The three of them flew at high speed along the way.

Through conversation, Chu Chang learned the name of the outer disciple who was traveling with him; his name was Lin Yuan.

Upon hearing the name, a thought flashed through Chu Chang's mind, and he suddenly remembered a topic that Zhang Erniu had mentioned before.

The outer sect has a highly valuable "Outer Sect Strength Ranking".

And the one ranked third seems to be Lin Yuan!

It is said that the top fifty most formidable figures on the outer sect rankings already possess the strength to advance to the inner sect.

The reason they didn't enter the inner sect was simply because they were determined to compete for the title of "Number One in the Outer Sect" in the annual outer sect examination, thereby winning the generous rewards bestowed by the sect.

Therefore, although Lin Yuan is nominally still an outer disciple, he should not be underestimated.

Chu Chang secretly used his Qi to sense the man's strength and discovered that he had indeed entered the Qi Refining Realm!

"It's just ahead."

Before long, the three of them arrived at the small river where Zhang Erniu had bathed before.

A faint, lingering smell of blood drifted through the air. Chu Chang's eyes flickered, and he pointed ahead, speaking in a low voice.

"Kid, go take a look."

Suddenly, Lin Yuan crossed his arms, tilted his head, and spoke to Chu Chang in a condescending, commanding tone.

Upon hearing this, Chu Chang immediately flew into a rage.

Damn it, I kindly brought you guys here to find someone, it's only because of our camaraderie and our mission to slay demons.

You, a Qi Refining Realm expert, are hiding in the back, while I, a lowly disciple, am sent to the front lines as cannon fodder?

Chu Chang immediately said, "Senior Brother Lin, your cultivation is unfathomable, while my skills are only mediocre... If you send me to scout ahead, what if I alert the enemy, or I get instantly killed by the demonic cultivator? Wouldn't that ruin the sect's important affairs? That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"

Lin Yuan was clearly surprised that this disciple dared to talk back, and his face immediately darkened.

A hint of displeasure flashed across his brow, and he coldly snorted, "Insolence! Are you going or not? I'm your senior brother, stronger than you. In this desolate wilderness, my words are orders, and you must obey!"

"I obey orders, and I obey Senior Sister Xu. She's my captain." Chu Chang narrowed his eyes, showing him no respect whatsoever.

Being refuted by Chu Chang enraged Lin Yuan.

That kid is really arrogant.

"Senior Sister Xu, let him go first. The two demonic cultivators on the other side are at least at the Qi Refining Realm. Although we are also at the Qi Refining Realm, we still need to be careful. If we let him go, we can be prepared."

"Are you an idiot? You mean I can die, right?" Chu Chang said angrily.

boom!

Lin Yuan's Qi Refining Realm cultivation shone through: "What did you say?"

That brat actually insulted him!!

How dare he?

Chu Chang wasn't afraid at all. He decisively drew his sword, the corrosive blade pointing at him: "What, you want to fight?"

If a real fight breaks out, Chu Chang is not afraid of him!

So we simply turned against each other.

After all, they've already targeted you like this. If you don't retaliate, aren't you just making trouble for yourself?

"Enough! We don't even know where the demonic cultivators are. What's the point of fighting like this? What if we alert them?"

Seeing the two men on the verge of exchanging blows, Xu Shuang said angrily.

"Chu Chang, put your weapon away. Our mission is to deal with the demonic cultivators. As for Lin Yuan, don't hold it against your junior brother. Chu Chang is right, he's weak. Sending him over there would be sending him to his death."

"Senior sister, you………………"

Lin Yuan wanted to retort, but at this moment, Chu Chang frowned.

He sensed a chilling aura locking onto them.

He quickly looked over and saw two people dressed in black robes hiding in the bushes not far away, who had already spotted them.

"It seems we've been exposed!" Chu Chang said.