At Jiufeng Peak, within a certain spring pool.
Hazy water mist lingered around the body, exuding an enchanting and seductive atmosphere. Gu Chen closed his eyes, lazily draped over the edge of the pool, enjoying himself in blissful comfort.
Suddenly, a wave of inexplicable panic and unease welled up in Lin Qingyi's heart. Her foot slipped, and she actually tumbled straight down onto Gu Chen...
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Domain, Qingyang City, within the Lin Family market.
"Cough, cough... How... how can your cultivation levels suddenly have broken through to such a terrifying realm?!"
A Lin Family elder spat out a mouthful of blood, looking in terror at the elder powerhouses from the other families, a tumultuous storm raging in his heart. He could not understand for the life of them why the strength of these family experts had advanced in leaps and bounds in such a short period of time, reaching such an astonishing level—while their Lin Family remained completely unaware...
"What, surprised, aren't you? Hahaha..."
The burly man wielding a giant saber strode up to him, his eyes filled with disdain and mockery. He looked down from on high at the Lin Family elder before him, as if gazing at a lamb awaiting slaughter. As his words fell, a powerful aura erupted from his body, pressing down upon the Lin Family elder like a massive mountain. The latter's face turned even paler, and his breathing grew rapid.
Lin Qiu had suffered the backlash of her own secret art, rendering her unable to mobilize the spiritual power within her body; she could only lean on her sword for support in utter helplessness.
The burly man slowly raised his foot, then viciously kicked the elder in the chest. Accompanied by a muffled thud, the elder spat out another mouthful of blood, his body flying backward powerlessly before crashing heavily against a wall, his life or death unknown...
"Cripple the lot of them for me!"
The head of the Li Family pointed a hand at the Lin Family members, a mocking curve playing at the corner of his mouth as he instructed his own elders and clan experts.
"Understood, Family Head!" The Li family members acknowledged with nods, then walked toward the Lin Family members with ferocious grins. The experts of the other families likewise wore playful expressions as they joined the ranks, taking part in the brutal torment of the Lin Family elders and clansmen.
Tears rippled in Lin Qiu's eyes, her heart filled with anger and unwillingness. She clenched her teeth, deeply engraving the grinning expressions of the other families' experts into her mind, and then questioned them with an icy tone:
"My daughter Lin Qingyi is now a disciple of the Tianhuang Holy Sect! Aren't you afraid of retribution from the Tianhuang Holy Sect by bullying my Lin Family like this?"
Hearing this, the head of the Xu Family curled his mouth in a disdainful sneer: "If it were before, I might still have had some scruples... But not long ago, my son also entered the Diyou Blood Palace to cultivate—and that is a force no weaker than the Tianhuang Holy Sect! Hahaha!"
The head of the Zhang Family looked at the despairing and hateful gazes of Lin Qiu and the Lin Family members, his face brimming with triumph and contempt.
Cold rain drizzled down, mixing with the blood of the Lin Family members and staining the ground of the market red.
Before long, the head of the Li Family had thrown Lin Qiu and the heavily wounded, dying Lin Family members out of the market together.
"Father, why don't we seize Lin Qiu first and present her to Young Master Liu, before killing all the people of the Lin Family?"
Li Bing looked at Lin Qiu and the Lin Family members stumbling away down the street in the distance, and asked the family head Li Hu with a puzzled expression.
"That Young Master Liu of Luo City wants the Lin Family matriarch and her daughter most of all. If we kill all the people of the Lin Family, what will we use to lure her back? Once she returns from the Tianhuang Holy Sect, we will present both mother and daughter to Young Master Liu together—wouldn't that be even more perfect?"
An amused and cruel smile appeared on Li Hu's aged face.
"So that's how it is! Father, your wisdom is brilliant indeed! Once Young Master Liu is having fun, he might even reward us with some top-grade pills! Hahaha!"
Li Liu wore a sudden realization on his face, akimbo, and laughed with a crooked smile.
The heads and elders of the other families, however, had gloomy eyes and harbored their own dark designs, each calculating how they could claim this heaven-shattering merit for their own family once they met Young Master Liu.
***
The next day.
The peak of Jiufeng Peak.
Lin Qingyi pushed open her door, took a wooden ladle and wooden basin to the mountain stream, and drew face-washing water for Gu Chen.
[Qingyi, your most urgent task right now is to focus tightly on your cultivation and stop dwelling on worldly romance...]
The Female Flame Emperor looked at Lin Qingyi, who would periodically chuckle stupidly or drift off into a trance, and sighed with utter helplessness as she advised her in her mind.
[Oh come on, Xiaoyan, I really wasn't letting my mind wander! (,,??.??,,)]
Caught right in the middle of her thoughts by the Female Flame Emperor, a flush of red appeared on Lin Qingyi's face as she pouted in defense.
[Stop drawing water, it's been full for ages... Besides, judging by your master's talent and potential... you are absolutely incapable of holding onto him...]
The Female Flame Emperor spoke in an indifferent tone, seeming to have given up all hope of successful persuasion.
"Hmph, how would I know if I can hold on to him unless I try? When the time comes and I successfully make Master fall in love with me, Xiaoyan, you are forbidden from fighting me for him, you hear! (???????)」
Lin Qingyi let out a soft huff, speaking in a confident tone.
Just as she was about to pick up the wooden basin and return to the peak, she suddenly received a spiritual weapon transmission from her mother.
In an instant, the wooden basin dropped to the ground with a "bang"...
***
"Qingyi, do you have something on your mind?"
Gu Chen looked at Lin Qingyi, who was absent-minded while washing his face, and asked with concern in his tone.
"...Master, I..."
Lin Qingyi lightly bit her cherry-red lips, her tear-filled, limpid eyes shimmering with mist as she hesitated over whether to tell her master what had happened.
"Qingyi, don't worry. No matter what happens, Master will be here to help you."
Gu Chen reached out and gently patted her little head, speaking in a soft tone.
"Master! The market belonging to Qingyi's family has been seized by other families in the city! They even beat up our clansmen at the stalls... Mother and the elders wanted to retake the market, but they were beaten until their limbs were broken and their cultivation was crippled by experts from the other families, and then they were thrown out of the market... Qingyi wants to return to her family first to take revenge for Mother and the others! Once revenge is taken, Qingyi will definitely rush back to the Tianhuang Holy Sect at top speed to serve by your side day and night!"
Grief was written all over Lin Qingyi's face, and a fierce, angry light flashed in her eyes. Like a wounded little fawn, she threw herself into Gu Chen's arms, hugging him tightly as she spoke in a trembling voice.
"In that case, Qingyi, return to your family first."
Gu Chen said in a steady tone, while simultaneously retrieving some medicinal pills and a few strange mystic artifacts from his robe, gently handing them into her hands. "These are healing pills and defensive mystic artifacts. Take them with you for self-defense in case of emergencies."
Lin Qingyi respectfully received the pills and mystic artifacts, storing them away in her Storage Ring. Then she knelt on both knees and kowtowed once toward Gu Chen, her voice choked with emotion as she said: "Thank you, Master!"
Afterward, she slowly rose from the ground and flew down the mountain, filled with a murderous intent. Her figure cut across the air like a shooting star, tracing a beautiful yet resolute arc...