Chapter 74

"Who's there! Come out!"

Beside a mountain stream, a man and a woman were facing each other across the stream.

The man was dressed like a common martial artist, wearing a bamboo hat, but the sword in his hand was clearly a magical artifact, entirely blue, with a faint ripple of water-like energy continuously undulating.

The woman was beautiful and graceful, holding a palm-sized bronze mirror in her hand, looking alertly at the opposite bank, appearing somewhat pitiful.

Almost simultaneously, both of them raised their heads and stared at the same spot upstream, and the woman even let out a cry of surprise.

By the stream, the grass rustled, and after a moment, Qin Sang emerged from it, showing no sign of embarrassment at being discovered, and calmly nodded to the woman.

This woman turned out to be a fellow disciple of the Kuiyin Sect, an elder sister named Shen Jing, who, like Qin Sang, was at the sixth level of the Qi Cultivation stage. Although they had never spoken, they had met once when Uncle Yue was lecturing.

However, the reason Qin Sang revealed himself was not because of Shen Jing's identity.

Qin Sang was actually quite helpless. The Cloud Wing was an excellent magical artifact, but it consumed a lot of spiritual energy and could not be maintained for long. Otherwise, with his cultivation, he would not have been able to sustain it for very long.

He was cautious enough, observing from a mountain peak after every stretch of travel, then using the Cloud Escape technique to move on, but he did not expect that this unremarkable mountain stream would hide two people.

The stream was flanked by towering ancient trees, completely concealing the inside. After discovering them, Qin Sang was both surprised and delighted, immediately intending to activate the Cloud Wing to hide, hoping to benefit from the situation.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Shen Jing and the man were about to face a life-or-death battle, their nerves extremely tense, and any slight movement around them could not escape their notice. The Cloud Escape technique was just a common escape method, still too shallow. It might have worked from a distance, but at such close range, it was easily detected.

Qin Sang decided not to hide anymore and walked out boldly.

Seeing that it was Qin Sang, Shen Jing's eyes lit up, and her alertness turned to surprise and joy. She exclaimed, "Junior Brother Qin!"

"Senior Sister Shen."

Qin Sang acknowledged her, then fixed his gaze on the man with the bamboo hat across the stream.

Hearing the exchange between Qin Sang and Shen Jing, the man's already gloomy face became even darker, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the sword, his eyes darting around, seemingly considering which direction to flee.

"Junior Brother Qin, this is great! We ended up in the same area," Shen Jing said, her eyes sparkling with excitement and joy, making her even more charming.

"Senior Sister Shen, let's deal with the current trouble before catching up," Qin Sang said.

Before he finished speaking, Qin Sang's figure flashed, blocking the man's escape route.

If it were him, his first thought in such a situation would also be to run.

There was no reason to leave the jade token in front of him. As for how to divide it, that could be discussed after obtaining it.

Shen Jing finally realized this and said, "Right, right... Fortunately, Junior Brother Qin came. Otherwise, I would have been in grave danger. Junior Brother Qin, be careful, his sword technique is very strange."

As she spoke, Shen Jing raised the bronze mirror in her hand, pointing it at the man with the bamboo hat.

At this moment, the man with the bamboo hat suddenly said in a hoarse voice, "I'll give you the jade token. Will you let me go?"

Qin Sang did not answer. If this person was reasonable, they might be able to negotiate, but after Qin Sang revealed himself, Shen Jing had foolishly called out their relationship, so they could not let this person go.

Shen Jing glared at the man with the bamboo hat, clearly not agreeing.

The man with the bamboo hat said coldly, "I wonder how you two plan to divide this jade token?"

"I don't want it!"

Before Qin Sang could speak, Shen Jing suddenly said loudly, "Junior Brother Qin, if it weren't for you, I would have lost my life today. You can have everything; I don't want anything."

This response greatly surprised Qin Sang, and he looked at Shen Jing with a strange expression, wondering if he had overthought things. After all, among cultivators, there were those like Master Han who were grateful and kept their promises, and those like the Tan brothers who hated evil.

Qin Sang had no objections to Shen Jing voluntarily giving up the spoils.

With two against one, it didn't take much effort. The man with the bamboo hat was severely injured by Qin Sang's Water Yin Thunder Spell and beheaded with a single strike.

Qin Sang didn't even use the Purple Soul Bell.

Qin Sang used the tip of his sword to pick up the man's storage bag and the long sword, then looked at Shen Jing and praised, "Senior Sister Shen, your magic mirror is truly formidable."

During the fight, the man with the bamboo hat, not knowing Qin Sang's true strength, chose to break through Shen Jing's defenses but was firmly held back by her bronze mirror.

Every time the man with the bamboo hat struck with his sword, Shen Jing's bronze mirror would emit a golden ring, blocking it firmly, allowing Qin Sang to prepare his spell calmly. By the time the man realized his mistake and tried to attack Qin Sang, it was too late.

Qin Sang remembered that this bronze mirror was the reward Shen Jing received from the Sect Master's residence, and it was indeed an excellent magical artifact.

"Junior Brother Qin, you flatter me," Shen Jing said, a hint of shyness in her eyes.

As if the fight with the man had been too exhausting, Shen Jing's breathing was slightly rapid, her cheeks flushed, and her forehead damp with sweat. She lifted her delicate finger to brush her bangs aside and said softly, "Without Junior Brother Qin's help, even if this mirror were more durable, I would have eventually been worn down. It's still your Water Yin Thunder Spell that is more powerful."

As she spoke, Shen Jing naturally moved closer to Qin Sang.

"Senior Sister Shen, hold on!"

Qin Sang's figure suddenly retreated, maintaining a distance, and said calmly, "It's better if we keep some distance between us."

Shen Jing was taken aback and said resentfully, "Junior Brother Qin, what do you mean? I didn't take anything from him. Isn't that enough to show my sincerity? Don't you trust me?"

Qin Sang bowed, "It's not that I don't trust Senior Sister Shen, but the Ascension Conference is too brutal. I have no choice. Please forgive me, Senior Sister Shen."

"Junior Brother Qin, do you mean... you don't plan to team up with me?"

Shen Jing was incredulous, "Have you forgotten Uncle Yue's instructions? Aren't you afraid of being punished by the sect?"

Qin Sang smiled slightly, "As long as I can enter the Yuanzhao Sect and complete the sect's mission, Uncle Yue won't punish me for such a trivial matter."

"Junior Brother Qin's words make sense."

Shen Jing fell silent, still unwilling, and said sadly, "But... do you realize how difficult it is to obtain a jade token? I've been here for so long and have only managed to get one, using up all the spirit talismans I accumulated as a wandering cultivator. If it weren't for the magic mirror, you would be seeing my corpse now. There are five of our sect's disciples who have broken through to the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, and there are also seventh-level experts among the wandering cultivators. With our cultivation, how can we compete with them?"