8

Stars dotted the sky, and the night breeze carried a slight chill.

Han Yi struggled to his feet, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. Seeing that Ning Laoxian was already bound by Su Luowei's Immortal-Binding Rope, he let out a loud laugh, approached the man, and said sarcastically, "I thought you were something special, but you're no match for my senior sister."

Ning Laoxian ignored him, his gaze dark and fixed on Su Luowei.

Su Luowei also scrutinized him quietly.

Ning Laoxian was dressed entirely in black, his face concealed by a mask, with only his eyes visible. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and his self-proclaimed title of "Laoxian" suggested he was quite advanced in years.

Seeing himself ignored, Han Yi awkwardly chuckled twice, then stepped forward and kicked Ning Laoxian hard.

"When I'm talking to you, you dare ignore me!"

Bound by the Immortal-Binding Rope, Ning Laoxian was unable to move his limbs and, unable to dodge, was kicked to the ground.

After that kick, Han Yi seemed to regain some dignity, and his expression improved significantly.

He turned around, putting on a flattering smile as he praised Su Luowei, "It's a good thing Senior Sister arrived in time; otherwise, I would've lost my life. I will never forget your kindness in saving me, Senior Sister. From now on, I would…"

Su Luowei waved her hand, signaling him to stop.

"We've already investigated; that passage leads to an underground cave. We've found the missing girls from the town there. However, they seem to have been drugged, as they're all unconscious. You should return to the city and bring more people here."

"Yes," Han Yi responded, preparing to leave.

Unexpectedly, the man he had kicked to the ground suddenly began to laugh eerily, his laughter growing louder, like a ghostly owl crying in the night, sending chills down their spines.

Hearing the strange laughter, Han Yi couldn't help but get goosebumps. He stepped forward again, intending to kick him, shouting, "Stop playing tricks on me!"

Suddenly, something strange happened!

Ning Laoxian rolled on the ground, evading Han Yi's attack. After rolling to the side, he twisted his body and slowly stood up, his voice dripping with malice, "I was going to let you go out of respect for the Qingxu Sect, but it seems you're determined to die."

Seeing him stand up, Su Luowei frowned, a sense of unease rising within her.

Ning Laoxian looked down at the rope binding his limbs, his tone full of disdain, "If Zhan Xuehan had come herself, I might have been wary. But you're just a few Foundation Establishment brats. Did you think you could trap me?"

As he spoke, his cultivation suddenly surged, rising from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core mid-stage in just a few breaths. With his cultivation at the Golden Core stage, the Immortal-Binding Rope could no longer hold him. He stomped the ground forcefully and shouted, "Break for me!"

The struggling Immortal-Binding Rope was immediately torn apart.

Su Luowei's cultivation was not strong; even with the Immortal-Binding Rope, she could only restrain those at the same Foundation Establishment stage. Somehow, Ning Laoxian's cultivation had suddenly skyrocketed, rendering the Immortal-Binding Rope ineffective against him.

Seeing him break free, Su Luowei's expression changed drastically.

Ning Laoxian moved swiftly. Before Han Yi, who was nearby, could react, he was knocked to the ground. Ning Laoxian pointed his sword at Han Yi's neck, preventing him from moving, and then stomped heavily on Han Yi's lower leg. With a crack, Han Yi let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Ning Laoxian had brutally crushed his leg!

"My leg! My leg!" The excruciating pain made Han Yi forget the sword at his throat, and he bent down, clutching his leg and wailing.

Seeing how ruthless Ning Laoxian was, Su Luowei hesitated no longer. She grabbed the terrified Xie Hanzhu, intending to flee.

But Ning Laoxian moved even faster. He grabbed Han Yi by the neck like a dog and lifted him, blocking the way between Su Luowei and Xie Hanzhu.

"I was just wondering where I'd find a few more girls, and here you are, offering yourselves. Don't blame me for being rude."

With one hand gripping Han Yi's neck and the other holding his black sword, Ning Laoxian pointed the sword at Su Luowei, his tone sinister, "If you surrender, you'll suffer less."

Su Luowei remained silent, drawing her sword and adopting a defensive stance as she stared at him.

Outwardly, she appeared calm, but internally, she was desperately calling out to Xiao Ba.

"Xiao Ba, think of something! We can't beat this guy!"

Xiao Ba was clearly unreliable and more panicked than Su Luowei in such situations. "I, I, I can't do anything!"

"Aren't you supposed to be a mission support system? Don't you have any cheat codes?"

"Wait, I'll check the manual!" Xiao Ba said, then hurriedly disappeared.

Su Luowei cursed Xiao Ba countless times in her mind but kept her composure, staying on guard as she watched Ning Laoxian.

Seeing her so calm, Xie Hanzhu seemed to find her backbone, drawing her spirit sword and pointing it at Ning Laoxian with a nervous expression, "Don't even think about it! I'd rather die than surrender!"

...Xie Hanzhu, could you say less? Can't you see he's glaring at us?

The gap between a Golden Core cultivator and a Foundation Establishment cultivator was enormous. Looking at the two struggling before him, Ning Laoxian snorted disdainfully.

At the same time, Su Luowei suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head, as if needles were stabbing her brain, and she nearly dropped her sword.

"Why am I getting a warning? I didn't even break character this time!"

This stupid system! Not only could it not save her, but it was also dragging her down.

"It's not our fault this time! That person is using a spiritual attack on you," Xiao Ba explained.

Hearing this, Su Luowei recalled that in this world's setting, once a cultivator reached the Golden Core stage, they had the chance to awaken a special skill exclusive to higher-level cultivators—spiritual sense.

Not only had Ning Laoxian jumped from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, but he also possessed spiritual sense!

How could they possibly win?

Xie Hanzhu, standing beside her, was also affected by Ning Laoxian's spiritual attack. It felt as if someone was smashing her head with a giant hammer, making her dizzy and causing her to collapse to the ground.

"I've got it! I have a scanning function! I just scanned him and found out he's severely injured, with his cultivation falling to the Foundation Establishment stage. He's using a secret technique to forcefully boost himself to the Golden Core stage, but it won't last long. You just need to stall him until the technique wears off, then you can beat him!"

"When will the technique wear off?" Su Luowei asked.

"This kind of secret technique comes at the cost of burning one's life force, so it shouldn't last too long."

Hearing this, Su Luowei began to form a plan. She stepped back, grabbing the collapsed Xie Hanzhu, and prepared to flee.

Since his state wouldn't last long, she decided to find a way to dodge and buy time.

Seeing her attempt to escape, Ning Laoxian's eyes flashed with mockery. He closed his eyes, extending his spiritual sense to cover the area. Within the range of his spiritual sense, Su Luowei and Xie Hanzhu were as visible as fireflies in the night.

He directed his spiritual sense toward Su Luowei without mercy.

Originally a high-level cultivator, Ning Laoxian's combat skills were still intact despite his lowered cultivation, and his control over his spiritual sense was refined to perfection.

As she fled, Su Luowei suddenly felt an unbearable pain in her head, as if the sky was collapsing. She knew something was wrong, and the next moment, she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Senior Sister Su, Senior Sister Su," someone called softly by her ear.

Su Luowei slowly woke up.

Upon awakening, Su Luowei found that her hands and feet were bound. She struggled a bit, but the rope didn't budge.

The person who had called her was Meng Shuying. Seeing her awake, Meng Shuying stepped back, creating some distance between them.

Probably due to the spiritual attack, Su Luowei's head was still aching.

This mission was truly torturous, constantly giving her headaches. She wondered if she'd suffer any lasting effects, like a concussion, when she returned to the real world after completing the mission.

Given how stingy the system was, even if she did have a concussion, it probably wouldn't count as a work injury.

The room they were held in was pitch black, with no light at all. Su Luowei frowned as she recalled the scene before she fainted and asked Meng Shuying, "Is this where you were kept before?"

Meng Shuying softly replied, "Yes."

Su Luowei first checked herself. Not only were her hands and feet bound, but her spirit sword and Qiankun Bag were also missing. The Qiankun Bag contained nearly all her possessions; losing it was a significant blow.

After checking herself, she listened carefully but heard no other sounds.

"Isn't Xie Hanzhu or Han Yi here?"

"Mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm." Upon hearing her name, Xie Hanzhu immediately made muffled sounds, indicating her presence. She had awakened earlier than Su Luowei, only to find herself already bound, with Ning Laoxian tying up Su Luowei beside her.

Enraged, she had cursed Ning Laoxian loudly.

In response, Ning Laoxian had gagged her without hesitation.

"Senior Brother Han isn't here," Meng Shuying paused before adding, "When that man brought you and Senior Sister Xie here, I didn't see Senior Brother Han."

As if to confirm her words, Xie Hanzhu made another muffled sound.

Not only had she failed to save anyone, but she had also gotten herself captured. Su Luowei sighed inwardly.

They were still too weak.

Meng Shuying waited for a while, but Su Luowei didn't say anything more. She cautiously moved her fingers, her mind racing with thoughts before she reached out, trying to untie Su Luowei's ropes.

Noticing her movements, Su Luowei was surprised, "You're not tied up?"

She had assumed that Ning Laoxian would have restrained them all.

"I pretended to be unconscious in the corner when he came in. He probably didn't notice me, so I wasn't tied up."

Meng Shuying explained as she carefully searched for Su Luowei's position, but it was too dark to see anything, so she had to rely on sound to navigate.

She tentatively reached out her hand, groping around until she felt something soft and delicate. However, what she touched was unexpectedly soft and resilient.

It was the distinct curve of an adult woman's body.

Realizing what she had touched, Meng Shuying froze.

She quickly withdrew her hand, her entire body trembling, though whether from embarrassment or fear was unclear.

She remembered that Su Luowei disliked being touched by others.

Especially in that area.