20: Chapter 20 is in hand.

Their cultivation levels were similar, and neither of them had the means to deliver a fatal blow in a single strike.

Feeling the dwindling spiritual power within his body, the gray-haired man anxiously looked at the round-faced woman standing in the safe zone.

"Junior Sister, help me! He's running out of stamina!"

"You're the same."

The tall, thin man sneered and spoke at the same time:

"Junior Sister, I admit defeat. As long as you step in and kill him, I won't take a single spirit-nourishing fruit, and I'm even willing to offer my storage bag."

By this point in the battle, the tall, thin man had figured it out—the round-faced woman had been after the spirit fruit from the very beginning.

No wonder she wasn't attacked by the guardian beast when she retrieved the fruit; she must have made preparations in advance.

Giving two fruits to the gray-haired man was also to divert hostility.

"Heh, keep dreaming. Junior Sister and I are childhood sweethearts, why would she help you?"

The gray-robed man wore a confident expression.

However, the round-faced woman still stood blankly in place without making the slightest movement, as if she hadn't heard their conversation at all.

"Stop!"

The tall, thin man shouted sternly and abruptly retreated. Sensing something was wrong, the gray-haired man also stopped fighting.

"My, oh my~ Why did you stop fighting?"

A bewitching voice echoed through the quiet woods.

The first thing that came into their view was a head of long red hair burning like flames.

Following closely behind, an alluring figure wrapped in a tight black dress slowly stepped out from behind the round-faced woman.

Her delicate face was covered by a black veil, leaving only a pair of slender phoenix eyes exposed. The corners of her eyes tilted slightly upward, and her shifting gaze was full of playfulness and mockery.

"Bang~"

The round-faced woman collapsed headfirst to the ground. As the two men looked closely, they discovered that her back, right at the heart, had been pierced through by a sharp weapon.

"You are not a disciple of the Tianxuan Sword Sect!"

The tall, thin man tightened his grip on the long sword in his hand, his peripheral vision scanning his surroundings in an attempt to find a way to escape.

Meanwhile, the gray-haired man actually dropped straight to his knees, staring blankly at the round-faced woman's corpse while muttering something under his breath.

"Oh? What a devoted lover."

When he got the spirit fruit just now, the greed in his eyes couldn't be concealed at all; why was he suddenly putting on an act of deep affection?

You scoffed.

The next moment, the smile in your eyes abruptly vanished as three bloody streaks of light shot straight toward the tall, thin man.

This person's mind was too calculating; he had to be killed first.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Accompanied by three crisp clangs, the tall, thin man was blasted back repeatedly, his wrist holding the sword trembling slightly.

His spiritual power was nearly exhausted, leaving him no choice but to rely on his physical body to hard-resist. Yet, this very situation gave rise to a sliver of hope in him.

"You actually only have the cultivation of the fourth layer of Qi Refining?"

You remained silent as the blood spirit shuttle turned back to attack once more, while charging toward him with a long sword in hand.

The tall, thin man's expression changed. Even though your cultivation wasn't high, under these conditions, a top-tier magical tool still gave him considerable pressure.

He glanced at the still-dazed gray-haired man and cursed through gritted teeth:

"Good-for-nothing!"

Watching you charge straight toward him with three blood spirit shuttles radiating monstrous baleful Qi, a trace of madness gradually stained the depths of his eyes.

If I'm going to die, then nobody else should expect to have a good time!

The tall, thin man actually directly abandoned defense, gathering all his remaining spiritual power onto the long sword in his hand.

"Die!"

A fierce sword Qi slashed across the air, arriving in front of you in an instant. The next moment, your figure was cut in half at the waist.

"Ha..."

The tall, thin man's expression turned joyful, and just as he was about to burst into laughter, a wave of icy coldness came from his chest.

Looking down, a section of a white sword tip protruded right through his chest.

"Why... why..."

Then the man's legs went soft as he slowly collapsed to the ground. Before dying, he saw the figure of the woman in the black dress ahead slowly fading away...

Mirror Image Water Moon, kid.

You expressionlessly pulled out the long sword, flicked the bloodstains off the blade, and turned your gaze toward the suddenly enlightened devoted brother.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you say?"

The devo... the gray-haired man still looked blankly at the round-faced woman's corpse with lifeless eyes, ignoring you.

Your patience ran out, and you walked briskly toward him with the long sword in hand.

"I'll give you the spirit-nourishing fruit; I hope you can bury us together."

"Alright! This young lady deeply admires a devoted person like you."

You nodded earnestly, mentally crying out 'good grief', wondering if you had somehow transmigrated to the wrong channel.

"Mn!"

The devoted brother gave you an "I know you understand me" look, and resolutely drew his sword to commit suicide.

"Splat~"

Watching his figure fall in a pool of blood, you were left in disarray for a moment.

Are you kidding me, bro? You're actually doing it!

With a feeling of wanting to laugh but thinking it inappropriate, you gathered all the storage bags on the ground.

Just as you were preparing to dig a grave for this pair of star-crossed lovers, a furious roar suddenly came from not far away:

"Damn it, who dares to kill my concubine?!"

"???"

There's another expert?

Hearing that somewhat familiar voice, you turned around to look.

Well, enemies are bound to cross paths; it turned out to be Wang Hao.

You watched as the anger on his face melted away at a visible speed the instant he saw your figure, instantly transforming into lust and depravity.

"You killed this young master's concubine. How are you going to compensate for this?"

You gave this pampered scion a speechless glance; his expression was practically screaming the four words, "I want to bed you."

But looking at the three figures with rich spiritual power behind him, you silently mourned for the devoted brother for three seconds before turning around without a word and bolting into the woods.

"Catch her for this young master!"

The three of them exchanged glances, and two figures rapidly flew on their swords, chasing toward the mountain forest.

After you entered the forest, Mirror Image Water Moon erupted to its absolute limit, your speed so fast it left countless afterimages in your wake.

Utilizing the thick fog and changing directions several times, you rapidly restrained all your aura and hid beside the nest of a peak Tier 1 avian demonic beast.

"Eh? How did her aura just disappear entirely?"

After a while, two streaks of light stopped above the woods, momentarily unsure of which direction to pursue.

Although those in the Late Qi Refining Stage had opened their spiritual sense, the range left much to be desired and was far from sufficient for tracking. In this mist-shrouded secret realm, they truly had no good methods.

"Sigh~ Let's keep looking, lest that arrogant young master throw a tantrum."

The two began searching blindly and randomly. Just as they were about to approach your location like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, a giant cyan eagle blocked their path.

"Scree~!"

A resounding bird cry echoed through the mountain forest, but neither side made a move.

A demonic beast close to Tier 2 already possessed a bit of intelligence, and it could sense that the two people in front of it were not to be trifled with.

"What should we do? It's a Rift-Wind Falcon, this thing isn't easy to deal with."

"Let's go. Our task is to protect his safety; there's no need to put ourselves in danger just to help him find a woman."

"Mn."

After a brief exchange, the two decisively turned around and left.

Watching their figures disappear into the fog, you touched the three spirit-nourishing fruits in your bosom and grinned widely, deciding to find a place to refine them first.

You easily concealed your aura to avoid the demonic beast, and unhurriedly walked toward a distant cave.