"Let's rest here for a bit."

After a long journey, his internal energy was rapidly depleted. Qin Xin noticed that Tie Niu was panting heavily, his face pale, seemingly due to his injuries not yet fully healed. He spoke up.

Shui Qingxi nodded gently, withdrew her true energy, dusted off her clothes, sat on a withered tree branch, and looked around to check for any danger.

Seeing Shui Qingxi's somewhat wary expression, Qin Xin chuckled and said, "Don't worry, there shouldn't be any danger around here."

"I'm used to it." Shui Qingxi's words were very calm, as if she was still angry.

Seeing Shui Qingxi's attitude, Qin Xin dared not provoke her. He turned to look at Tie Niu, who was currently lighting a campfire and taking out some unknown dried monster meat, which he then roasted over the fire.

As dusk fell, the dried meat, roasted over the flames, began to emit a meaty aroma.

"Alright." Tie Niu's somewhat simple and honest face broke into a smile, which aggravated the several tiny wounds on his face.

Qin Xin took the dried meat that Tie Niu had roasted and offered a skewer to Shui Qingxi, but she refused. She took out a few spiritual fruits from her spatial ring, savoring them with her cherry-like lips. The juice dripped to the corners of her mouth and shone brightly in the reflection of the flames.

Qin Xin was a little embarrassed by the rejection and sat down to gnaw on some jerky. However, compared to the spiritual fruit in Shui Qingxi's hand, the jerky was indeed a bit tasteless. Tie Niu chuckled twice when he saw this.

There was silence between them, with only the constant crackling of the burning campfire.

~~~~~~

In a thriving and lush valley.

A young girl with her face veiled by a white gauze sat cross-legged, and a five-colored lotus flower slowly bloomed behind her. Under the infusion of abundant spiritual energy from heaven and earth, the five-colored lotus flower emitted a dazzling light.

As the figure of an old man in black robes slowly appeared, the girl opened her eyes, her gaze radiating majesty.

"Miss, Qin Xin, whom you asked me to inquire about, has now opened the main peak of the Kun Sect in the inner courtyard of the Eastern Wilderness Academy and become the peak master of the Kun Sect." The old man in black robes bowed to the girl who was sitting cross-legged and said.

Upon hearing this, the girl raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh? I didn't expect him to have some skill."

"However, the second prince of the Great Xia Dynasty has been arranged by the Xia King to cultivate at the Eastern Wilderness Academy. Do you need my help to deal with him...?" The old man in black robes said, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Elder Feng, there's no need." The girl gently shook her head, seemingly having her own plans.

"There is one more thing I need to tell you, Miss. Qin Xin has now left the Eastern Wilderness Academy, accompanied by the daughter of the Prince of Zhennan of the Great Xia Dynasty. There was also a guard who seemed to be from Qin Xin's family. However, after they left, several people followed them." The old man in black robes thought for a moment and said.

Upon hearing what Elder Feng said, the girl muttered, "The daughter of the Prince of Zhennan? She's quite lovely too."

Elder Feng sensed the fluctuations in the young girl's aura and his expression changed slightly. "Miss, why are you so concerned about Qin Xin? From my observation, his talent is extremely ordinary, his martial spirit is also very common, and the spiritual power level of his martial spirit is also very weak."

"As for the head of the family..."

Before the old man could finish speaking, the young woman interrupted him, her voice rising slightly, "Old man Feng, I have my own plans. Just follow behind him and protect him secretly. Be careful not to be discovered. Don't make a move unless absolutely necessary. If your identity is exposed, there might be some trouble."

"Yes!" Elder Feng bowed slightly to the young woman. "Miss, if I may ask, have you fallen for Qin Xin?"

"Old Feng, you've gone too far." The girl's eyes sharpened.

Old Feng didn't stop there, and continued, "Miss, you should know that we will eventually have to go back."

"well!……".

With a sigh, Elder Feng's figure vanished silently from the valley.

After the old man in black robes disappeared, the girl fell into deep thought and sighed softly, "Do you like it?"

At that moment, a towering figure appeared in the girl's heart, disregarding his own danger to shield her. However, she quickly recalled the intimate moments she had shared with that figure, and a blush spread across her face. "Hmph! How could I like this person? This was just to repay him."

Forcibly suppressing the wild thoughts in her mind, the girl once again activated her martial spirit. With the infusion of powerful true energy, her martial core seemed to be surrounded by a vast ocean of true energy.

~~~~~~

In the withered forest, as the campfire gradually dimmed, Qin Xin and his companions continued their journey towards Tianyuan City.

Due to the urgency of the situation, the three did not pass through the towns along the way. Although there were constantly monsters appearing in the Dead Leaf Forest, Qin Xin was able to detect them in advance and avoid them thanks to his keen spiritual sense.

There were even some dangers, which even Shui Qingxi, who was at the sixth level of the Qi Sea Realm, did not expect. When she looked at Qin Xin again, her eyes revealed admiration.

The instant the Water Cloud Silk slipped from Shui Qingxi's hand, a level-three wolf-like demon beast that appeared in front of Qin Xin and the other two was instantly strangled to death.

Qin Xin took out a small knife and stepped forward to cut open the belly of the level-three demon beast, but he did not find any beast crystal.

After wiping the knife clean on the beast's fur, Qin Xin put it into his spatial ring, Zhihong. Just then, Qin Xin noticed something was wrong.

"It seems like someone is chasing us!" Qin Xin said, then he led Shui Qingxi and Tie Niu to hide to the side.

Shui Qingxi had been very impressed with Qin Xin's keen senses along the way, so she was slightly surprised when Qin Xin said that someone was chasing them.

As for Qin Xin, he didn't pay much attention to what was behind him while rushing along the way. Occasionally, he would sense the aura of human martial artists through his spiritual sense, but he thought it was just a coincidence, since many adventurers would venture into the Dead Leaf Forest every day.

But just now, Qin Xin suddenly sensed that the auras he had sensed before had reappeared, seemingly following their path as if they were tracking them.

Concealing their presence, the three hid among the fallen leaves that had accumulated over the years in the forest.

In a short while, several footsteps quickly approached.

Qin Xin could make out the voices of the group through the gaps in the withered leaves.

"Ruan Xiaoman! Han Yao! Ji Ju!"

Upon seeing those figures, Qin Xin instantly recognized several of them. They were all dressed up as if they were deliberately trying to conceal their identities.

"These people..." Qin Xin was puzzled as to why these people had suddenly appeared here.

While he was pondering, several people not far away spoke up.

"Miss Ruan, are you sure Qin Xin is heading in this direction?"

Like a gigolo, Han Yao reached out and stroked Ruan Xiaoman's waist, leering as he spoke.

"Young Master Han, would I lie to you? But after we catch Qin Xin, don't forget what you promised me." Ruan Xiaoman stretched out her fingertip, hooked Han Yao's chin, and gently blew on it.

Ji Ju seemed somewhat uncomfortable watching this scene. "Han Yao, if you want to do anything, wait until after you kill Qin Xin. Young Master Yun is still waiting for me to return."

Seeing Ji Ju's appearance, Ruan Xiaoman licked her scarlet tongue, swayed her lithe waist, walked in front of Ji Ju, and deliberately let her body go limp, wanting to fall into his arms, but Ji Ju dodged her directly.

"My little brother is really quite clueless about romance," Ruan Xiaoman said with a hint of resentment, her captivating eyes fixed on Ji Ju.

Ji Ju snorted, "I don't need such sordid things. After we meet Qin Xin, leave Shui Qingxi to me; you can handle the rest." (Qianqian Xiaoshang)

"Of course." Han Yao quickly stepped forward to help the somewhat frail Ruan Xiaoman to her feet.

Looking at the fallen monster corpse in front of her, the previously delicate Ruan Xiaoman seemed to regain her strength. She gently squatted down and glanced at the monster's disemboweled body. "This monster just died recently. It seems they haven't gone far."

"What else is there to say? Let's chase after them." Ji Ju deliberately dodged Ruan Xiaoman and led several Lei Ge disciples forward.