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Several soldiers who were not too drunk saw Xi Da enter with a dark expression and hurriedly stood up in fright. One soldier tried to wake Tian Shi, but Tian Shi was heavily intoxicated and impatiently waved him away.

Yan Wan did not pay much attention to Yan Yixin’s unusual behavior. Someone with such good upbringing might feel annoyance when plans went beyond what was expected, she thought.

This time, it was not something Piaoxiang could withstand. The dark force, carrying immense destructive power, directly kicked Piaoxiang aside. Seizing the opportunity, Yifan spun around and slashed his sword toward the nearby Iron Bull.

A soldier pointed toward the lake’s surface. The weary Prefect wiped the sleep from his eyes, adjusted his noticeably protruding belly, and squinted into the distance.

“No more words. Take care of yourselves. Regardless, you are the most outstanding disciples of our sect. Ha ha!” Tan Zhengfeng laughed carefreely and then walked away.

“Cutting off her financial resources—would that be effective?” Yan Wan pondered the next question.

Experienced solitary cultivators who understood the essence of ‘stealing’ had considerable expertise in learning from masters without being noticed. At a slight reminder, they immediately quieted down. Even the disciples who came from other schools were no strangers to such matters and understood the situation well.

Reflecting further, Yifan suddenly thought of the Nine Heavens Sect’s protective mountain formation—the Nine Dragon Mysterious Palace Array. Could it be that the true power of this formation lay in harnessing the combined strength of the nine dragons and nine palaces to shake the world?

“Fate—” Lianye murmured softly, leaning down while supporting his black dome hat. A scarlet pillar of spatial light enveloped his body.

Success and failure, great victories and crushing defeats, were often separated by just a single point. He had just managed to gain the upper hand and would never risk those advantages again. Xiang Yu was no ordinary man; it was understandable that he underestimated the Qin army the first time, but if there were a second time, he would no longer be Xiang Yu.

“Kang Qiumin? That name sounds vaguely familiar,” Zhou Bailin said steadily, his expression calm.

***

Lin Chuxia was stubborn by nature; once she decided on something, it would not change. Caide also understood this well.

Ming Yi followed her gaze to see Kui Niang picking pomegranates. Unable to reach the higher branches, Jia Qilang supported her waist and lifted her up high. She was delighted with the harvest.

Nodding, Hu Shilin did not dare to argue after hearing this plan and immediately turned to run toward the distance.

Bai Li Xiyue was slightly stunned. For some reason, seeing such a pile of money—the money she had longed to recover, the money the swindler had taken—now laid before her, she felt reluctant to take it, as an inexplicable emptiness settled in her heart.

As Xia Huanfeng had said, the Shangguan gang’s camp was as serene and peaceful as when first seen. Outside the camp, three or four farmers carrying agricultural tools patrolled back and forth. Scattered refugees dared not approach.

Not far away, Xuanyuan Yi Zhi watched the two. Seeing Yanran’s kind and pure nature stirred a faint flutter in his heart. He did not know when he began searching for Yanran’s figure in the mansion, nor when he saw in her the first shadow of Sheng Mingzhu.

Qing Yu’s strength was considerable, but she was somewhat aloof—not cold exactly, but her confident aura made many wary of approaching her. She also was too lazy to initiate casual conversation.

“Your Majesty, didn’t you order Hong Yu to do this?” Hong Yu raised a hand to cover the swollen side of her face, clearly not expecting Su Qingwan to turn against her.

After a while, Sheng Zihui finally came to his senses. Turning sideways, he looked at Yue’er, who had been by his side the whole time, and felt a slight warmth in his heart.

After all, whether from experience or understanding of this ancient painting, Tao Mulin felt he held enough advantages. Winning a Xuande incense burner worth hundreds of millions for no reason was a huge gain. To miss this opportunity would be a pity.

In her heart, she only wished to serve Cao Zheng well, and after receiving the promised benefits, to leave that despicable man behind.

***

When everyone returned to the surface, it felt as if they had come back to the world of the living. Many had perished here; surviving was no small feat. The logistics team had long prepared a medical room and food, waiting for the main force to emerge.

No one had expected Li Xiaoran to have reached level 400, nor that she would speak up for Qin Lie, that useless fellow.

The two were originally unlikely to have any intersection, but due to a temple fair, they became deeply intertwined. That day, they attended the fair together.

“Ji Gong said: ‘Bring him to me.’” The magistrate did not know Ji Gong’s intentions but, worried that Tian Laibao was harboring thieves with jade bracelets and phoenix crowns, hurriedly sent someone to summon him.

But Qin Lie’s heart ached somewhat because Mu Xin’er’s eyes were still moist, evidently having just cried.

This did not mean that reaching level 800 guaranteed a divine-grade mount, only that one qualified for it.

Those three minutes felt as long as three years. Everyone’s spirits were intensely focused until Ye Tian finished treating Deng Qiuyu’s illness. Then they all rose with a roar and headed outside.

This time, to fully seize the clue of spiritual light, she directly unleashed the sealed technique.

The two walked into a nearby dense forest. Qi Yu looked at her calmly and helplessly rubbed her temple, asking if she knew she did not blame her—that did not look like a traitor dragged out for punishment at all.