I, who was turned into a woman by the Jade Maiden Master, want to rebel against the Heavenly Gang.

"Hehe." Qin Rufeng chuckled lightly, "I've had enough of the consequences of not eliminating the problem completely." A name that made her heart clench suddenly surfaced in her mind... Han Ying.

Then he unleashed the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix and tore the old dog apart with a flurry of swords.

Li Qingshi, standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded...

She muttered to herself, "This person's claim of being half-step Golden Core is no exaggeration. Master, you killed him as easily as slaughtering a chicken or a dog."

Perhaps Li Qingshi had previously relied on Qin Rufeng to curry favor during times of crisis, but now she has been completely won over.

Thankfully, Qin Rufeng was barefoot, otherwise she would have loved to turn into a shoe so Qin Rufeng could step on her, so she could hold onto his leg more securely...

She picked up the blown-away straw hat and knelt down before Qin Rufeng, offering it to him with both hands.

Qin Rufeng took the bamboo hat and instructed, "Don't make a fuss."

Li Qingshi knelt down and bowed, saying, "This servant understands, this servant obeys."

Qin Rufeng searched the old dog for its storage bag and then quickly left.

As evening fell, the bell rang again and the cell doors opened. Qin Rufeng returned to her cell as usual. This time, Li Qingshi followed closely behind, wanting to enter as well, but Qin Rufeng did not stop her.

Compared to the perilous outside, the prison cell is safer.

Although you can't get incense pills and elixirs in prison, as long as you stay inside and don't come out, you don't have to worry about being attacked by red-eyed people.

The only problem is that the quantity of pills is limited.

If the red dust could cause people to mutate into "red-eyed people," then this elixir probably wouldn't eradicate the mutation, but only alleviate it. That's why it's said to "solve an immediate crisis."

Four pills are definitely not enough; we'll need to seize more. Or perhaps there are incense burners and incense pills outside, which might also contain pills.

Qin Rufeng was pondering the riddle on the bamboo slip when he suddenly noticed that Li Qingshi was sweating profusely, so he quickly asked her what was wrong.

Chapter 98 The Master in My Dream

Li Qingshi looked troubled and said, "That uncomfortable feeling is back. My lower abdomen is swollen and painful, my throat is dry and thirsty, and my whole body is hot."

As she spoke, she looked up at Qin Rufeng, and her eyes were already slightly red.

Qin Rufeng quickly said, "Take another pill."

Li Qingshi immediately took the pill, and her symptoms were immediately relieved. In particular, her red eyes visibly faded and returned to normal.

It seems certain that the method of "Red Moon Disaster Relief" involves distributing elixirs. And this calamity was precisely what the Red Moon cultists spread to everyone...

Moreover, this elixir is not an antidote; it can only alleviate the symptoms. Without the elixir to sustain life, one will transform into a mindless, bloodthirsty monster known as the "Red-Eyed Man."

Thinking of this, Qin Rufeng felt his dantian swell even more. He also felt a burning sensation throughout his body.

With his own top-grade Jade Maiden Sect cultivation technique at his disposal, his cultivation level was far superior to Li Qingshi's, who was only in the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Therefore, he seemed to have a stronger ability to resist the red smoke's erosion. However, he couldn't hold out for long at this rate.

What should I do? Should I take some kind of elixir?

Qin Rufeng still didn't want to...

Although she had already confirmed the effects of the elixir, she didn't believe the mastermind was so kind. She always felt that there must be some other trickery hidden in the elixir.

But the red smoke and dust are constantly eroding the body...

Qin Rufeng felt something gathering in his dantian, absorbing spiritual energy as well as primordial yin and blood.

Qi, blood, and yin cannot be blocked, but spiritual energy is different; spiritual energy offers more room for manipulation... at least that's the case for Qin Rufeng.

Because she has a considerable amount of entropy energy remaining in her body. Normally, it's compressed to a very small size and enveloped by spiritual energy. Now, why not try releasing it?

So Qin Rufeng meditated and regulated his breathing, releasing the entropy within his body, which formed the yin-embracing-yang pattern engraved on the hilt of the giant sword.

However, her current spiritual entropy is very unbalanced. She has been cultivating with spiritual energy these past few days, but has nowhere to absorb entropy.

Qin Rufeng thought of the broken swords he had collected in the Mangshan Sword Tomb, which all seemed to carry some entropy energy.

So she opened her storage space and summoned some broken swords. Then she began to absorb the remaining entropy energy from the swords.

Li Qingshi had no idea what Qin Rufeng was doing, but she was startled to see her summon a large number of ancient-looking broken swords.

After absorbing some of the energy, Qin Rufeng put away the broken sword, then summoned some more to continue absorbing.

Until the entropy was somewhat replenished. Although it was still far from balanced, the entropy within her body was now able to completely envelop the spiritual energy, forming a dark ring.

After this series of actions, Qin Rufeng's bloating and pain in his lower abdomen and the burning sensation throughout his body were actually relieved.

It seems that whatever that red smoke is, its parasitic growth, mutation, or inherent abilities all originate from spiritual energy. Therefore, entropy can be suppressed.

Li Qingshi, who was standing to the side, saw everything. Although she didn't know what Qin Rufeng was doing, she knew how her master had suppressed the mutations brought about by the red smoke.

Although Li Qingshi kept saying that she didn't care if her master killed her, if she didn't want to live, why would she be so willing to be a slave and cling to his leg?

She was worried that Qin Rufeng might mutate. With her cultivation level, the thought of her becoming a red-eyed person was simply unimaginable.

Fortunately, Qin Rufeng had his own solution.

She sat in meditation with her eyes half-closed, unaware that Li Qingshi's gaze towards her was becoming increasingly adoring... and even lecherous.

Qin Rufeng had been mentally exhausted from the recent continuous battles, and was now extremely fatigued. After using spiritual energy to regulate his condition, he was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open.

She sat in meditation and drifted off to sleep.

In her dream, she saw her master, Liu Bailian. A few days apart felt like three autumns; Qin Rufeng had so much to say to her master.

Then the memories in the dream became blurry and fragmented.

Ru Feng dreamt that she tightly hugged her master and tore at her clothes. Surprisingly, her master was neither angry nor resisting, and was as compliant as a little kitten.

In the cold, gloomy prison, there were no flowers, no wine, only the cold moon and blue frost...

In a tender spring dream, Qin Rufeng and her master drank wine in the breeze from a high-rise building by the river.

The distant mountains are shrouded in mist, and a light rain is falling. Fallen flowers drift for miles along the river.

Slightly drunk, Qin Rufeng leaned back against the peach tree. His arm dangled down, and the golden goblet slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

Liu Bailian bent down and knelt to pick it up. Her slender, delicate hands, like orchid fingers, held the wine cup upside down. The wine flowed from her fingertips to her fair wrist, each drop releasing its fragrant aroma.

Qin Rufeng looked up and felt dizzy. She saw a white snake flicking its tongue on a branch of the peach tree she was leaning against, burrowing into the peach blossoms and causing butterflies to spread their wings and flutter about.

Again, wind chimes hang from the eaves of the pavilion, their clear sounds echoing in the light breeze and drizzle, as the tassels flutter in the breeze.

After a long sleep, Qin Rufeng woke up from a beautiful dream. His master was nowhere to be seen… only Li Qingshi nestled in his arms.

Upon seeing Qin Rufeng wake up, Li Qingshi blushed and called out, "Master..."

"Thank you for not abandoning me, Master. In this way, it can be considered as fulfilling the promise written on the bamboo slip."

Now that things had come to this, Qin Rufeng could only calmly say, "This matter and everything about me must never be mentioned to anyone."

Li Qingshi: "This servant obeys."

The moonlight was exceptionally bright tonight, and dark, writhing shadows reappeared on the surface of the giant stalagmite outside.

Unable to sleep, Qin Rufeng began to take stock of the contents of the old dog's storage bag from the daytime.

The Crimson Moon Cult gave us three pills. We also received several Qi Gathering Pills, which are supplementary pills for replenishing spiritual energy and are a lower-grade alternative to the Qi Condensation Pill.

There are some spirit stones and spirit herbs. There are also a few mid-to-low-level cultivation manuals.

The cultivation technique that involves shortening one's lifespan and transforming into a snake is called "Greedy Snake," and it must be quite powerful. Depending on one's spiritual root, one can transform into a giant snake of different forms, and the strength of the snake transformation depends on the lifespan one is willing to sacrifice.

Old Deng must not have much life left, so he couldn't bear to part with it. Otherwise, the serpent wouldn't have been pinned to death by a single sword strike.

Another option is the Earth Spirit Root Technique "Mindful Earth Rock Wall," which is a decent defensive method.

Another thing is a book of illustrations on how to draw talismans. This could give Qin Rufeng a new skill, after all, it's never a bad thing to have a skill.

Besides these, there was a fruit with twisted, sharp points on its surface, the nature of which was unknown. However, it could be sensed to contain powerful spiritual energy.

This might be the most valuable thing in Old Deng's storage bag.

While Qin Rufeng was examining the spoils of war, Li Qingshi was studying the elixirs and incense pills.

Seeing that she seemed to have grasped something, Qin Rufeng asked her what she had figured out.

Li Qingshi said, "Both the fragrant pills and the elixir contain the same main ingredient: a flower petal."

The pills that suppress infection and the incense that drives away people with red eyes use the same ingredient? That makes perfect sense.

I never imagined that this bizarre "pink eye" disease, which resembles a viral infection, could be cured by the petals of a certain plant...

Qin Rufeng nodded and said, "Good analysis. You can take this."

Qin Rufeng handed Li Qingshi a pill. Only one; no more.

Firstly, Qin Rufeng was unsure how long his entropy energy could withstand the red smoke, and secondly, this was also a way to control Li Qingshi.

Next, it seems we need to find more elixirs and incense pills. And also... a way to escape this prison.

The next morning, the bell rang again. This was the third day the prison doors had been open.

Qin Rufeng and Li Qingshi walked out of the prison cell at the same time. Just as they were pondering where to explore today, they suddenly heard a bugle call... A natural disaster was coming!

Chapter 99 This is a natural disaster

"The horns are blaring, a natural disaster is imminent." Qin Rufeng immediately recalled the poem on the second bamboo slip.

The "natural disaster" was indeed not the red smoke and dust released by the Red Moon Cult that could cause mutations. Rather, it was a more sudden and violent catastrophe.

Qin Rufeng quickly recited the poem on the second bamboo slip, trying to obtain more information...

But what can be deciphered in this fleeting moment? The last sentence is the clearest in meaning... "Imprisoned, I shall live peacefully as long as I can."

At this moment, the bugle was still sounding, but the bells had not yet stopped ringing.

Qin Rufeng understood. That's right, the prison cell was the safest place. She immediately grabbed Li Qingshi's hand and started walking back. However, the cell door behind them was already closed; they had to be moved to an empty cell.

The other people around also realized it, but he shouted, "It's a natural disaster! Quickly go back to the cell to hide from the natural disaster."

This shout had a significant effect; those who hadn't come out remained silent. They even made a feint, causing the cell doors to close.

Some people outside started playing a game of musical chairs.

Qin Rufeng was rather unlucky; those around him were either too slow to come out at all, or they were lucky enough to be nearby and had already secured a room.

In a moment of desperation, she decisively spread her fiery phoenix wings and flew up with Li Qingshi. After finding an empty room on a higher level, she accelerated and rushed inside, spewing flames from her tail.

Just when they were about to succeed, a guy with a few tufts of blond hair suddenly blocked the way in front of the cell.

The nearby cells were all full, and this was the only one left. If that blond-haired guy wanted to go in, Qin Rufeng could use his Flowing Light and Instant Water technique to try and take him, but he definitely wouldn't be able to take Li Qingshi with him.

At critical moments, one's own life is more important... Just as Qin Rufeng was thinking this, she discovered that the blond-haired man did not rush to seize the cell, but instead cast a spell and shot a golden ball of light at her.

Is this guy crazy?

Qin Rufeng tilted her body and kicked Liu Linger (T3) with her right leg, sending him flying. At the same time, an ice lotus bloomed under her feet. Using the ice lotus as leverage, she suddenly changed course in mid-air and dodged the yellow-haired cultivator's attack.

The golden orb exploded behind Qin Rufeng, and she managed to drag Li Qingshi into the prison cell without any serious injury.

The bell stopped ringing as soon as the two of them entered, and all the cell doors were closed, regardless of whether anyone was inside.

It was a close call...

Standing outside the cell door, the blond-haired man exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, little beauty, you're amazing! You actually managed to dodge? What kind of movement technique is that? I've never seen anything like it before."

Qin Rufeng glanced at the blond-haired man and said calmly, "Ten lotus roots grow in the clear pond, and lotus flowers are picked while wading; you pass by the pond, leaving only one lotus flower."

The blond-haired guy looked completely bewildered. "Oh ho~ this little beauty can even recite poetry? What does that mean?"

Qin Rufeng said, "There are ten lotus flowers in the pond. After you pass by the pond, there will be one left."

The blond-haired man still didn't understand. "What does it mean? Does this pretty girl like to speak in riddles? Her voice is quite nice, though. Take off your veil and let me see."

Qin Rufeng didn't want to pay him any more attention. Li Qingshi, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand the man's frivolous words and scolded him, "Where did this lecher come from? Are you out of your mind? Why won't you let us in if you won't come in yourself?"

"It's funny," said the blond-haired guy. "I find it hilarious to see you all running towards the jail. The more anxious you are, the funnier it is."

"Then I thought, what if I block you from going in... wouldn't that be more interesting? I really want to see your expressions when you're stuck outside."

So this guy is just a lose-lose situation, a complete lunatic. Li Qingshi couldn't be bothered with him anymore...

A moment later, the horn blasts finally stopped. Everyone knew something was about to happen.

The atmosphere wasn't particularly tense, though; the blond guy even started humming a tune. After all, most people were outside, and having more people around made them feel safer.

However, regardless of the circumstances, they were now "locked" outside by the fallen prison doors.

A moment later, a sharp cry came from the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a huge shadow sweep across the courtyard.

It spirals around the stalagmite pillar, gradually decreasing its height.

Qin Rufeng was in prison, and even looking up from the cell door, there was a significant blind spot. She still couldn't see what was in the sky.