Chapter 11 | How Could the Master of All Villains Be Righteous?

At this, Wen Li finally breathed a sigh of relief, yet she dared not lower her guard.

She quickly flew over to Du Mojin and the others.

“Let's go, fast.”

Seeing Wen Li looking even more tense than when she was fighting the great demon, Du Mojin asked in confusion, “What's wrong? Didn't you drive the great demon away?”

They didn't know the great demon was an Ancient Soaring Serpent; they only knew that after exchanging a few words with Wen Li, it let out a roar and disappeared.

“That monster said I'm useless for picking on a kid and told me to wait right here,” Wen Li said. “It went back to rally its second grand-aunt, third brother-in-law, and fourth uncle. It's even digging up its buried ancestors! If we don't run now, you can wait around to be stripped naked and turned into kebabs.”

Wen Li's words convinced all three of them completely.

That was so sick!

Lin Qing raised his hand. “I'm allergic to cumin. Can they skip the cumin when they roast me?”

Wen Li rolled her eyes. “Then why aren't you running?!”

They quickly pulled every ounce of strength they had to flee the area with Wen Li and Yao Dai. Du Mojin even used up all the speed-boosting flight talismans given to him by his Grand Elder.

Wen Li stayed close beside Yao Dai as usual, so neither Du Mojin nor Lin Qing noticed anything amiss.

With hearts pounding, they flew for an unknown duration until they finally escaped the scope of Mount Duanya. Lin Qing was even in high enough spirits to joke, looking at Wen Li with deep admiration, having long forgotten his earlier disdain.

“Wen Li, you're not at early-stage Foundation Establishment, are you? Your spell casting was so masterful, and that array too... Are you actually at mid-stage Golden Core?”

Secretly leaning her full weight against Yao Dai while acting as though nothing was wrong at all, Wen Li lifted her eyes.

“Which mid-stage Golden Core do you know that risks their neck for three thousand medium-grade spirit stones?”

Hiss! That slight movement felt like her ribs shifted out of place. It hurt so badly!

Lin Qing scratched his head sheepishly. “...Sorry, my family hasn't seen a Foundation Establishment cultivator in eighteen generations.”

He realized she was right—someone at the Golden Core level would require high-grade spirit stones to hire.

Wen Li said, “Oh, then congratulations on green smoke rising from your ancestral grave.”

Lin Qing stared with wide, earnest eyes. “How did you know my ancestral grave smoked after being struck by lightning?! Was it you who struck it?”

The corner of Wen Li's mouth twitched. “...If I struck anything, it would be your head.”

Lin Qing fell silent for a second.

But his confusion remained. “Still, your command of arrays, spells, and sword intent isn't something a Foundation Establishment cultivator should have. You...”

“Alright, let's part ways here. I need to get out of here fast, so don't follow me. That great demon remembers my aura and you'll be dragged into this. I need to hurry back and report to my sect.”

Wen Li cut him off directly, selecting a spot and stepping off their flying boat with Yao Dai.

Hearing this, Du Mojin's expression tightened. Demon beasts were indeed notoriously vengeful.

“Then we should accompany you back, otherwise you...”

Wen Li waved her hand. “My sect doesn't welcome outsiders. If fate allows, we'll meet again.”

“Farewell.”

Before the two could react, Wen Li had already flown away quickly with Yao Dai.

Leaving Lin Qing and Du Mojin behind, their eyes filled with regret.

They naturally wanted to get to know an interesting expert like Wen Li better, but unfortunately, the timing wasn't right.

“Senior Brother, earlier Wen Li said she was a rogue cultivator with no sect or affiliation, but now she says her sect doesn't welcome outsiders... Do you think she might be a legacy disciple from a major sect out on an experiential trial?” Lin Qing's eyes sparkled with longing.

Du Mojin narrowed his eyes slightly. “Judging by her combat style today, she doesn't seem like someone from a sect in Western Province. If she really is at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection, yet able to fight across realms against a Golden Core, I fear... she might be a favored child of heaven from Central Province's One Hall and Three Palaces.”

Just now was already a matter of life and death, yet the highest cultivation level she revealed was Foundation Establishment Great Perfection. It was unlikely she was hiding anything further.

Central Province was the land that cultivators from all four provinces—Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern—of the Linggang Immortal Realm yearned for. Rumor had it that in Central Province, Golden Cores walked the streets like commoners while Nascent Souls guarded doors. People like them, hailed as sect geniuses in Western Province, would be nothing more than ants over there.

But judging by her apparent age, if she were nurtured by One Hall and Three Palaces, she shouldn't be merely at Foundation Establishment; she should at least be at mid-stage Golden Core. It was very strange.

Furthermore, he had never heard of fighting across realms like this. Occasionally, a once-in-a-centuries genius might manage to fight across sub-tiers using dharma treasures and arrays.

But a Foundation Establishment fighting a Golden Core...

Did such a person truly exist?

From start to finish, Wen Li's only dharma treasure was that kitchen knife, “Hold On,” which looked like an Earth Grade artifact at best.

Perhaps she really had hidden her cultivation realm.

While the two were still speculating...

Wen Li, who had been pushing through her limits to fly away with Yao Dai, finally relaxed completely once the System confirmed they were safe. She quickly found a cave.

“Pfft!” Fresh blood spattered across her green robe.

“Master!”

Her spiritual power long exhausted and her body severely injured, Wen Li couldn't even raise her hand. She flicked her tongue over the corner of her lips to lick away the blood. Now that she could finally relax her tense frame, she leaned against the stone wall, breathing heavily as color rapidly drained from her face, leaving her deathly pale.

The rapid rise and fall of her chest betrayed the intensity of her pain.

Even so, Wen Li maintained a calm, indifferent expression as if life and death meant nothing to her.

“Master, you...”

“What do you need me to do? What pills do you have on you? Is there anyone I should go find that we can trust?”

Yao Dai was terrified. Dazed, her fingertips trembled, yet she didn't dare touch Wen Li recklessly. She had noticed earlier that her master felt off, realizing only now that Wen Li had been using her to hide her injuries and weakness.

Wen Li had expected her to follow the cliché tropes by crying out, “Master, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me!” while violently shaking her and making her injuries worse. Seeing this, Wen Li was pleasantly surprised. My eldest disciple isn't an NPC. It really is great that she has a brain.

Wen Li didn't waste words on nonsense.

“By my rough estimation, I have four broken ribs, one of which is dislocated. My internal organs are jostled and bleeding internally, and my spiritual energy is completely drained. Take out a small black bottle from my spatial ring and feed me all the pills inside. Apply the ointment from the white bottle to my wounds, snap the dislocated bone back into place, and stick a talisman from the ring at the mouth of the cave to prevent intruders.”

“This is an array. Plant these four small flags around the area. If anyone still forces their way in, take Hold On. It will temporarily obey you.”

“I need to sleep deeply for at least three days. Take the food from the ring and eat that; don't go outside.”

“Understood!”

Yao Dai's eyes grew red and moist as she quickly memorized every word. “Master, what if you don't wake up? Should I go back to the Wuji Sect to fetch help?”

Master belonged to the Wuji Sect, and since the Wuji Sect was so powerful, they would surely send people to help.

At those words, Wen Li's eyes flickered slightly. The corners of her lips pulled up into a smile that Yao Dai had never seen on her before.

Yet Yao Dai felt that smile was deeply bitter.

“Don't go. I will certainly recover.”

Wen Li extended her hand slightly, revealing from beneath her sleeve a tiny black snake coiled around her forearm.

It was actually still biting her wrist and sucking her blood, looking quite arrogant and pleased with itself.

“This snake? Is it that big long worm from before?”

“Master, wait until I smash it to death and brew snake soup for you! Let's see if it dares bite you again!”

Yao Dai stared at the black snake with bloodshot, dark eyes.

“It cannot die. While I am asleep over the next few days, use my belt to bind it. Remember to tie a dead knot at its seven-inch mark, and ignore whatever it does.”

Only then did Yao Dai realize that Wen Li's belt was actually a Heaven Grade artifact—an Immortal-Binding Rope.

“Mas...”

Yao Dai wanted to say more, but saw that Wen Li had already closed her eyes tightly and slipped into a deep sleep. Her breath hitched in panic, and she quickly followed the instructions—feeding her the pills, applying the ointment, and setting up the defensive array.

Looking at the black snake still biting Wen Li's wrist, the girl's fox-like eyes narrowed, a murky murderous intent surging in her depths.

“You're the one who injured my master...” her voice whispered, cold and sinister.

She squeezed the black snake's seven-inch mark with her hand, gradually increasing her pressure. Extremely weak, the black snake could only glare at her and wriggle its body, possessing no strength left to resist.

“No, Master said you cannot die.”

Suddenly, a sliver of rationality returned to Yao Dai's bloodshot, dark pupils. She couldn't make Master angry. She quickly took the Immortal-Binding Rope, tightly tied the black snake at its seven-inch mark, and rolled it into a ball.

Then...

Thud!

Yao Dai threw the black snake with force, slamming it hard against the ground in vent of her wrath.

She slowly squatted down, meeting the black snake's cold, hatred-filled slitted eyes. Her gorgeous face bore none of her usual obedient softness in front of Wen Li; instead, a trace of ruthless malice lurked within as she curled her lips, her voice sick and calm.

“Master said you cannot die, but she didn't say you cannot be hurt. You hurt her, so I will make you pay it back.”

The System, watching the whole time, was terrified. Wait, something's wrong! This little girl used to just follow Wen Li around talking nonsense, so why is she still so ruthless even after being saved and having her revenge taken?

[Alert! Alert! Your eldest disciple is beating up your second disciple!]

Unfortunately, the elder-abusing System's alarm fell on deaf ears; Wen Li had already fallen into a deep slumber—or rather, into a state of self-healing.