44: Chapter 43 Wen Xinran and Wen Xinmei

For the convenience of taking care of her, the apartment Wen Xinran rented was not far from Xuanzong University.

Once the identity verification cleared, the two of them entered the apartment.

The space was not large; it was obvious that Wen Xinran indeed had very little money left.

At a glance, Li Fan saw Wen Xinmei lying on the bed.

Right now, her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.

Only when she saw someone entering did a flicker of life appear in her eyes.

Supporting herself with both hands to sit up, she looked at Li Fan warily.

"Sister, who is this?"

"Didn't I say... not to bring anyone else here?"

It was clear that Sister Wen harbored deep distrust.

Wen Xinran could only explain.

"Sister, this is the person I mentioned to you a long time ago, my future Dao Companion."

Hearing this, the suspicion in Sister Wen's eyes deepened instead.

"Is this the man who took advantage of your body?"

Li Fan scratched his cheek awkwardly, while Wen Xinran grew a bit anxious.

"No, it's not like that! I brought him over to take a look. Maybe there's another way."

Sister Wen turned her head away.

"No need. These people are nothing but sycophants clinging to the Wen family."

"Now that they see our Wen family has fallen to such a state, they've all scattered like rats from a sinking ship."

Seeing Sister Wen's deep distrust, Li Fan recalled what he had learned from Wen Xinran.

Over the past few days, she had contacted many friends she thought she was close with to ask for help.

Unexpectedly, she was rejected by all of them, and some even kicked her while she was down.

The few who were willing to help all made exorbitant demands.

Some demanded that Sister Wen devote her body to them, along with various other unspeakable requests.

Thus, Sister Wen no longer trusted the outside world, let alone Li Fan.

Remembering something, Sister Wen asked.

"Sister, was that Spirit-Returning Pill successfully refined?"

"The Spirit Refining Room was taken back..."

Seeing Wen Xinran's dejected expression, Sister Wen naturally knew it hadn't been refined...

She beckoned Wen Xinran to the bedside, patted her head, and comforted her instead.

"It's fine. Are you hurt?"

"With your Qi Refining Realm cultivation, the Spirit-Returning Pill was already difficult to refine in the first place. We'll just find another way."

Seeing that her sister was clearly severely injured yet still cared for her just like before,

Wen Xinran immediately threw herself into Sister Wen's arms and began to cry.

"Sister, is the Wen family's lineage going to end with our generation...?"

Sister Wen kept patting her sister's back to comfort her, while looking up at Li Fan.

"You should leave. We will find a way ourselves."

Hearing this, Li Fan did not turn to leave. Instead, he swiftly shot a blast of Spiritual Qi toward Sister Wen.

Sister Wen saw this sudden burst of magic power.

Since her body was severely injured and she couldn't channel her Spiritual Qi, she could only lean down to shield Wen Xinran.

A violent explosion of Spiritual Qi erupted, and smoke filled the air.

As the dust and smoke cleared,

a Spiritual Qi shield appeared in front of the Wen sisters, but it had actually come from Li Fan, who had initiated the strike.

Li Fan stood before the bed.

With his back to the two Wen sisters, he stared grimly toward the balcony.

Three people stood on the balcony now, their auras fully unleashed, exuding an extremely powerful pressure.

The leader's eyes were icy.

"Fellow Daoist, would you mind handing the lives of these two Wen family women over to me?"

He couldn't see through Li Fan. The total amount of Spiritual Qi Li Fan had just used to protect the two women was by no means low.

Before Li Fan could reply, Sister Wen spoke up first.

"One Golden Core Early Stage and two Foundation Establishment Perfection, all to take the life of a weak woman like me."

"Such a grand gesture. I wonder which influential family it comes from?"

The three ignored Sister Wen and simply stared at Li Fan. He was the greatest variable of this excursion.

Li Fan was also puzzled at this moment.

The Wen family's assets had already been taken over by the authorities. Why were they still coming to take their lives?

He cupped his hands.

"The Wen sisters no longer pose any threat to the power behind Your Excellency. Could you spare them?"

The leading Golden Core Cultivator merely chuckled softly, giving no direct reply to Li Fan.

"Judging by Fellow Daoist's intentions, you plan to protect these two women?"

Sister Wen now understood their current predicament.

She pushed Wen Xinran to Li Fan's side, having already made her decision.

"Take Wen Xinran and go. Don't worry about me."

Before Li Fan and Sister Wen could argue further, the Cultivator on the balcony let out a cold snort.

"Neither of the Wen sisters is allowed to leave."

Seeing this, Li Fan also let out a sigh.

"In that case, let's have a fight then."

The three of them didn't expect Li Fan to actually dare oppose them. Just as they were about to test him again,

Li Fan had already condensed his entire body's Spiritual Qi to the absolute limit.

The moment his cupped hands fell, his Spirit Reflection and Physique anomalies manifested simultaneously.

A piercing sword chime rang out. With a flash of golden light, a fierce Sword Qi slashed directly at the three of them.

As the three scrambled to defend themselves, they felt the Sword Qi sweep over them like a boundless sun, exuding a heavy and profound aura.

It caused the Spiritual Qi circulating within their bodies to suddenly stagnate.

Before they could cast any of their signature defensive spells, they had no choice but to take this sword strike head-on.

As the golden glow dissipated, Li Fan narrowed his eyes, silently assessing the situation.

"Even though my total Spiritual Qi can match a Golden Core Cultivator, is the fundamental gap in Realm still impossible to bridge?"

A gash was violently torn across the chests of the two Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivators by the Sword Qi, with blazing patterns appearing on the wounds and spreading outward.

While screaming in pain, the two also had to channel their Spiritual Qi with all their might to suppress the sword scars on their chests, leaving them with no strength left to fight.

However, for the Golden Core Cultivator, aside from his figure-concealing black robe being shredded by the Sword Qi and a red sword mark left on his chest, he was completely unharmed.

"Foundation Establishment?"

At this moment, the Golden Core Cultivator also deduced Li Fan's cultivation level from the previous strike.

He was secretly shocked. He hadn't expected Li Fan, with only a Foundation Establishment cultivation, to be able to unleash a technique capable of threatening a Golden Core Cultivator.

But with the situation being so urgent, he couldn't care less about that now.

"You're merely at Foundation Establishment!"

Gathering his magic power, he prepared to blast Li Fan along with the two Wen sisters to death.

But Li Fan's face showed no fear whatsoever.

Just as the Golden Core Cultivator was feeling puzzled, the voices of the two Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivators rang out.

"Not good! The concealing Formation has been broken by the Sword Qi!"

Hearing this, the corners of Li Fan's mouth curled up. It was just as he had expected.

Since this apartment was not far from Xuanzong University, for the three to dare strike here, they must have set up a concealing Formation.

From the very beginning, the target of Li Fan's Sword Qi was not the three of them, but the Formation behind them.

Otherwise, leaving the Golden Core Cultivator aside, those two in the Foundation Establishment Realm would have definitely ended up as corpses on the spot.

"Go!"

This was the vicinity of Xuanzong University, directly under the jurisdiction of the Xuanxing Department.

With such a huge commotion, the Cultivators patrolling the area would undoubtedly arrive within seconds.

Locking his gaze onto the three below, the Golden Core Cultivator blasted out his long-accumulated spell.

Having no time to check the result, the moment the spell left his hands, he immediately cast an escape technique and vanished with the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Standing in front of the two women, Li Fan watched the incoming Golden Core spell without a change in his expression.

A Pale Leaf flew out from his bosom, blocking the way ahead.

The full-force strike of a Golden Core Cultivator was terrifyingly powerful.

Yet, even though the rampaging Spiritual Qi swept through and leveled this floor of the apartment, it could not harm the three beneath the Pale Leaf in the slightest.

[The Strongest Underdog Counterattack System item has been used. No extra hard training points will be rewarded this time.]

Had it not been for the need to protect the two Wen sisters, Li Fan could have easily escaped directly without using this item.

Before the Pale Leaf was completely consumed, the rampaging Spiritual Qi was suddenly calmed by someone. Li Fan looked up at the sky.

Two Golden Core Cultivators were already standing in mid-air.

"Do not panic, young friend. This area has been taken over by the Xuanxing Department. Three Fellow Daoists have already gone to pursue the culprits."

As they spoke, the two Golden Core Cultivators in the air channeled their magic power together.

The rubble and broken walls flew back into place, while building materials continuously flew out from the sleeve of one of the Golden Core Cultivators.

Before long, the apartment was fully restored to its original state.

Li Fan silently marveled at the grand scale of the Xuanxing Department, which had actually dispatched five Golden Core Cultivators at once.

Turning his attention back inside the apartment, Li Fan looked at Wen Xinmei on the bed, who was now both shocked and overjoyed.

She hadn't expected Li Fan, a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator, to actually be able to withstand a Golden Core powerhouse and protect her and her sister.

Forcing herself up, she knelt and bowed to Li Fan.

"Thank you, Young Master, for saving my life."

Li Fan hurriedly helped her up, though he couldn't help but tease her.

"Weren't you trying to kick me out just now?"

With a faint smile, the hand he used to support Wen Xinmei smoothly pressed against her chest.

A thick stream of Spiritual Qi poured into her body, circulating through every inch of her Meridians.

Meanwhile, Wen Xinran was also shocked. Feeling the majestic Spiritual Qi Li Fan was pouring into her sister's body, she only now managed to speak.

"You've actually reached the Foundation Establishment cultivation level!"

To think that just dozens of days ago, she had personally witnessed Li Fan break through Qi Refining in the Secret Realm. How much time had passed since then?

Imitating Sister Wen's manner, Li Fan reached out his other hand and gently patted Wen Xinran's head.

"What? Is Foundation Establishment not good?"

Wen Xinran did not resist, simply letting Li Fan rub her head.

A moment later, Li Fan withdrew both of his hands at the same time.

Wen Xinmei spat out a mouthful of congested blood, her complexion looking much better.

Seeing this, Wen Xinran stepped forward and took her sister's hand.

"Are you feeling better, Sister?"

Wen Xinmei nodded, placing her hand on her chest where Li Fan had just touched.

She raised her eyes to look directly at Li Fan, her gaze incredibly resolute.

"Young Master's kindness is something this humble girl can never fully repay... I can only..."

Li Fan spoke up to interrupt her.

"Don't be in such a hurry. It hasn't been completely cured yet."

His action just now, much like when he took care of the fainted Wen Xinran before, had merely helped Wen Xinmei regulate her chaotic Spiritual Qi.

"The magic power left behind by the Nascent Soul in your body is still there. That is the root cause."

"To completely heal, you must ask a Cultivator of the same level to take action to wear down that magic power first."

Hearing this, Wen Xinmei's eyes darkened, her voice bitter.

"We can't ask anyone..."

"Just now, my terminal received an official message, and I finally know why the other influential families won't let us go."

"The new United Pharmaceutical is built upon the assets of the Wen family."

"The authorities promised that as long as the two of us break through to Golden Core, we will obtain management seats in its branch."

After hearing this, Li Fan finally understood the whole story.

The authorities had certainly investigated the entire Wen family massacre long ago, but there were surely many influential families involved.

Out of consideration for the bigger picture, in exchange, the other families had been made to hand over a portion of their assets, which, combined with the Wen family's legacy, was used to establish the Xuannü United Pharmaceuticals.

They also compensated the two surviving sisters of the Wen family.

Currently, Sister Wen was at the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm. As long as she recovered, she could begin working on breaking through to Golden Core to obtain the management seat.

Under the entanglement of these interests, since the other families had failed in their attack this time,

they would surely have backup plans. They had likely already pulled the strings, so no other Nascent Soul would be willing to step forward and help the Wen sisters.

After Li Fan explained the general situation to Wen Xinran, she looked at her silent sister and asked anxiously,

"Then what should we do?"

Facing this question, Li Fan pondered for a moment. He suddenly remembered that the Dao Entrance Realm powerhouse at his home could take action, couldn't she?

But the scene from yesterday flashed before his eyes again.

The way Nangong Miao had flown into a jealous rage just because another woman had touched his hand.

And this time, he would be bringing them directly into his home... Thinking of this, Li Fan felt a wave of dread wash over him.

However, looking at the pitiful Wen sisters,

he could only sigh and say in an unnatural tone,

"Actually... I do have a way."