A moment later, Lu Fuyue collected Nan Chuli's heart's blood in a jade bottle, then tossed him the demon core she had just received before quickly turning and leaving.

Taking his heart's blood was ultimately her way of betraying him.

The Grade 7 Heart-Protecting Pill can not only help Nan Chuli recover quickly and replenish the loss of heart blood, but it can also save his life if he is on the verge of death in the future.

When he wakes up, he won't remember anything.

This can be considered a reward for taking his heart's blood.

As for what Nan Chuli just said, she didn't take it to heart at all; he probably mistook her for someone else.

Unaware that the demon core, a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, that Lu Fu had discarded landed beside him the moment it appeared, Nan Chuli, who was unconscious, was unaware of what was happening.

His ranking points were soaring, surpassing the second-place player by tens of thousands of points.

Outside the Monster Forest, everyone present was shocked.

...

After obtaining the Heart's Blood, Lu Fuyue returned to the inn she had stayed at before and then entered the space.

In the small bamboo house,

Lu Fuyue took out the jade bottle containing her heart's blood, formed a hand seal, and sealed it away.

She never does anything without being sure of success; once she gets the water strings here, she's determined to succeed!

Having only heart's blood isn't enough; someone also needs to hold off that early-stage Nascent Soul stone statue.

Only by allowing her to enter the royal ancestral temple of the Southern Spirit Kingdom can she have a chance to obtain the Water Zither Strings.

As for who can hold back the stone statue, wouldn't Yun Zhantian, the number one expert in the Southern Spirit Kingdom, and the leader of the Alchemy Alliance be the best choices?

After all, last time, it was the two of them who personally pushed her into that place, almost causing her to die there.

However, the timing is not right yet; the four-nation competition is not over yet.

Therefore, she had no choice but to temporarily seal away this bottle of her heart's blood to prevent its effects from diminishing.

After sealing the blood from her heart, Lu Fuyue found a place to put it away.

The stone statue she encountered earlier served as a reminder that she would inevitably face many opponents with higher cultivation levels than herself on her journey to find the strings.

The vast difference in cultivation level sometimes means that aptitude alone is insufficient to defeat an opponent.

Therefore, when you know you can't win, the best option is to quickly avoid and escape.

So ever since Lu Fuyue nearly died at the hands of that stone statue, she had an idea in her mind: to cultivate the Lotus Steps technique to increase her escape speed.

The lotus blossoms appear with every step, and there are three levels in total. However, she has only comprehended the first level and has just reached the entry level.

The second level is called the depths of the Lotus Hermit's Retreat.

Once refined, it can transform into a red lotus petal, disappear from its original location, and quickly disappear into the most crowded place.

Lu Fuyue sat on a palm-leaf fan in the small bamboo house, practicing the Lotus Steps Technique. She calmed her mind and focused her spirit. Soon, her body disappeared from the spot, and the phantom of a red lotus petal flashed by. But the next second, Lu Fuyue reappeared in the same spot.

Lu Fuyue slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was still in the same place. A hint of confusion flashed in her eyes.

But my method was clearly correct, so how could it have failed?

Lu Fuyue thought about it carefully but couldn't figure out the problem. So she started the second level of cultivation, intending to find out the problem while she was cultivating.

The cultivation technique was activated again, and the light blue spiritual energy completely enveloped her body.

Lu Fuyue calmed her mind and imagined her body as a red lotus petal, and soon she transformed into a red lotus petal.

But then she stopped, opened her eyes wide, and finally realized where the problem lay.

Lu Fuyue pursed her lips and looked around, because this space itself had a binding force.

The second layer of "Lotus Steps" implies changes in time and space, and its core point lies in comprehending the power of space, rather than transforming into a lotus.

Only cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage can comprehend a trace of spatial power, while she is currently only at the Foundation Establishment stage, making it difficult for her to comprehend spatial power.

Furthermore, the place she is currently in is an independent space, making it even more difficult for her to perceive changes in spatial power.

That's why she failed; she will never succeed unless she can comprehend the power of space.

Lu Fuyue sighed. To comprehend the power of space requires a stroke of luck; it's not something that can be done casually.

Since that's the case, let's get the water strings first.

***

After the Four Kingdoms Grand Competition concluded, Nan Chu Li emerged victorious.

Yun Luoxue, however, only made it into the top ten.

At this moment, Nan Chuli was standing in the pavilion by the lake, playing the same tune on his jade flute.

But some images vaguely surfaced in my mind.

Nan Chuli was distracted and, in a daze, blew the wrong notes several times.

In the scene, he was lying on the ground, seriously injured, while Miss Lu mercilessly plunged a dagger into his chest.

Nan Chuli put down the jade flute in her hand, lowered her eyes to look at her chest, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

But he wasn't injured or uncomfortable at all, yet the feeling was incredibly real, especially her indifferent eyes, which were more hurtful than the dagger.

There were so many strange things in the Monster Forest last time.

For example, who killed that early Foundation Establishment stage demon beast?

Could it really be her?

But why did she do that? She killed him, but didn't let him die.

Suddenly, a look of shock flashed in Nan Chuli's eyes, as if he had guessed something.

She wasn't killing him; she was taking his heart's blood.

She came here for something, and to get that thing, he needed his heart's blood.

Therefore, her next target is the royal ancestral temple of the Nan family.

No, even if he had his heart's blood in that place, he couldn't successfully enter; he had to stop her.

Thinking of this, Nan Chuli immediately headed towards the back mountain of the royal palace.

Meanwhile, Lu Fuyue secretly kidnapped Yun Luoxue and took her to that mountain.

Yun Luoxue's cultivation was sealed, and she was thrown to the ground by Lu Fuyue without any power to resist.

Lu Fuyue looked at her and smiled gently, "Miss Yun, how have you been?"

Yun Luoxue looked up at her in horror, "You're not dead! You're still alive!"

Lu Fuyue smiled sarcastically, then slapped her across the face, causing blood to flow from the corner of her mouth and her cheek to swell.

"The people who harmed me are not dead, so how could I possibly die? Miss Yun, look at this place, isn't it very suitable as your burial place?"

Yun Luoxue suddenly looked around and realized that this place was actually the royal back mountain, the legendary place where one could never leave once they entered.

But how exactly did Lu Fuyue get out? Not only did she not die here, but she also seemed even more unfathomable.

As Yun Luoxue was thinking, a chill crept up from the soles of her feet.

"What...what exactly do you want?"

Seeing Yun Luoxue's state, Lu Fuyue stepped on her body.