Chapter Twenty-Nine: Caught in the Middle Under Immense Pressure

The powerful aura arrived extremely quickly, almost instantly.

The branches and leaves in the forest moved without wind, and a figure in white, like a bolt of lightning, swept into the ravaged battlefield, the strong wind he brought causing fallen leaves to fly everywhere.

Fang Li gripped her longsword tightly, suppressing the weakness caused by the depletion of her spiritual energy, and looked warily at the newcomer.

When she saw the other person's face clearly, she couldn't help but be taken aback.

Shen Yunzhou?

How did he end up here?

Shen Yunzhou stood still, still with that cold and aloof demeanor, his dark eyes filled with icy intent.

His gaze swept quickly over Fang Li, noticing the bleeding wound on her shoulder, her pale face, and her slightly trembling body after exhaustion. His brows furrowed even more tightly.

Then, his gaze fell on the ugly corpse of the Nightmare Earth Demon on the ground. Without saying a word, he walked straight to the corpse, bent down and carefully examined it for a moment, confirming that it was completely dead.

He straightened up and took out a small white jade bottle from the storage bag at his waist.

Without even glancing at Fang Li, he flicked his wrist, and the jade bottle flew with an irresistible force, precisely into Fang Li's arms.

Fang Li caught it instinctively; it felt cool and smooth to the touch.

"Sect missions cannot be undertaken alone with reckless courage." Shen Yunzhou's voice rang out, still with that chilling tone, as cold and hard as a stone: "If you do this again, don't even think about taking on a mission again."

Fang Li looked at him strangely as he looked away, his jawline still taut, her mind a little dazed.

Before she could process this sudden act of concern, another voice, which gave her a headache, came from outside the woods:

"It seems I'm a bit late? The demonic aura in the forest is still quite strong. Is Junior Sister Fang alright?"

Xie Chen!

He walked calmly out of the shadows of the forest, waving his signature jade-bone fan. His moon-white robe was spotless, and a warm smile graced his face.

Those fox-like eyes first fell concernedly on Fang Li, then swept over the demon corpse on the ground, and finally glanced casually at Shen Yunzhou, who exuded a chilling aura beside him.

"Senior Brother Shen is here too? What a coincidence." Xie Chen's smile remained unchanged, his tone familiar.

Shen Yunzhou didn't even lift his eyelids, only giving a cold "hmm" in response.

The atmosphere instantly became strange and awkward.

Fang Li looked at Shen Yunzhou on her left, who was standing there like an icicle, and then at Xie Chen on her right, who had a gentle smile but unfathomable eyes. She felt immense pressure being caught in the middle!

Her spiritual energy was almost depleted, and her shoulder was still aching. All she wanted was to treat her wounds quickly, put away this damned demon corpse, and find a quiet place to recover! Not stand here as a backdrop for these two!

"Ahem..." Fang Li cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound normal: "Thank you for the medicine, Senior Brother Chen. The demon has been eliminated. It's not safe to stay here any longer. Shall we return to the sect to report?"

As she spoke, she endured the pain and quickly stepped forward to put the Nightmare Demon's corpse into an empty storage bag. Her movements were swift and decisive.

"Junior Sister is right." Xie Chen nodded readily, then glanced at Shen Yunzhou: "Senior Brother Shen, shall we go together?"

Shen Yunzhou didn't speak, but only glanced coldly at Xie Chen, then... turned around, took a step, and walked down the mountain.

Xie Chen didn't take offense and maintained his smile, gesturing for Fang Li, who was still dealing with the scene, to "please".

Fang Li: "..." Could she say no? Obviously not!

Then, on the way back through the mountains, an extremely strange scene unfolded.

Shen Yunzhou walked at the front, his steps swift and powerful, his robes fluttering in the night, and a low-pressure vacuum automatically formed within three meters of him.

Fang Li walked in the middle, trying to minimize her presence, silently circulating her cultivation technique to recover a trace of spiritual energy, while enduring the throbbing pain in her shoulder. She was also holding the bottle of pills given to her by Shen Yunzhou, unsure whether to take them or not.

Xie Chen trailed behind, waving his fan and walking leisurely, as if he were taking a moonlit stroll.

However, his smiling eyes would occasionally fall on Fang Li's slightly stiff back or on Shen Yunzhou's cold and hard profile in front of him.

They remained silent the entire way.

The only sounds were the rustling of leaves in the mountain breeze and the faint thud of the three people's footsteps on the gravel, which made the atmosphere even more deathly still and oppressive.

Xie Chen tried to break the silence.

"Junior Sister Fang, this Nightmare Earth Demon is quite cunning and skilled in illusionary ambushes. It's a pleasure to see you kill it all by yourself. Your cultivation has improved again. Congratulations!" He spoke sincerely, with admiration in his voice.

Fang Li was about to say something modest, but before she could speak...

A cold, hard voice came from ahead: "Hmph."

Shen Yunzhou didn't even turn his head.

Xie Chen's smile remained unchanged as he continued, "However, Junior Sister's shoulder injury looks quite serious. The Nightmare Earth Demon's claws seem to carry some foul energy, which needs to be cleaned promptly, otherwise it could leave hidden dangers. When you return, Junior Sister, you might want to visit Uncle-Master Liu in the alchemy room; I happen to have a bottle of Cleansing Essence Powder..."

"No need." Shen Yunzhou continued walking without stopping: "I've already given you the pills."

"Oh?" Xie Chen raised an eyebrow, his gaze casually sweeping over the white jade bottle in Fang Li's hand. "Senior Brother Chen's pills are naturally excellent. However, the Cleansing Essence Powder is even more effective against this kind of impure energy, Junior Sister, please don't refuse..."

"Noisy." Shen Yunzhou uttered two words coldly, his pace seemingly quickening.

Fang Li felt a throbbing vein on her forehead.

In the midst of this suffocating silence and the awkward undercurrents, the three finally caught sight of the majestic outline of the Heavenly Sect's mountain gate.

As dawn broke, many early-rising disciples were already active in the square in front of the mountain gate.

Fang Li, like a prisoner about to be released, almost burst into tears of excitement when she saw the mountain gate.

Finally! Finally, I'm free!

However, she was too happy too soon.

As the three approached the mountain gate, a loud voice, as clear as a morning bell, suddenly rang out, instantly attracting the attention of everyone in the square!

"Fang Li! You're back?!"

Ji Qianqiu burst out of the mountain gate like a human tank, and in a few big strides he was in front of the three people.

His eyes widened as he looked Fang Li up and down, lingering particularly on her pale face and the bandages wrapped around her shoulders.

"I heard you went down the mountain to fight monsters all by yourself? And you finished them all? That's impressive!" Ji Qianqiu's voice was loud and unrestrained, making Fang Li's eardrums ring. His large, fan-like hand was about to pat Fang Li's shoulder with excitement: "Tell me quickly! What kind of monster did you fight? Was it powerful? Was the fight exciting?!"

"Stop!" Shen Yunzhou shouted, and at the same time, an invisible force precisely separated Ji Qianqiu's hand.

Xie Chen stepped forward at just the right moment, seemingly unintentionally blocking Fang Li's path, and said with a smile while waving his fan, "Junior Brother Ji, Junior Sister Fang is injured, please don't be reckless."

Ji Qianqiu's hand was pushed away. He glared at Shen Yunzhou with a hint of displeasure, then looked at Xie Chen, who had a gentle smile on his face, and frowned. "Tsk, what are you two doing here?" Then his gaze fell back on Fang Li, his eyes still burning. "Injured? It's just a minor injury! Come on! Let's go turn in the mission first! Then tell me about that monster! If you haven't had enough, we'll spar a bit after you're healed! I promise I'll go easy on you!"

Fang Li: "..." (┙>∧<)┙へ┻┻Thank you so much!

At this moment, in front of the mountain gate, Shen Yunzhou, Xie Chen, and Ji Qianqiu, three inner sect prodigies with very different styles but all eye-catching, surrounded Fang Li, who was pale, had an injured shoulder, and looked like she had no will to live, like three mountains!

This scene was clearly seen by more and more early-rising disciples in the square!

"Hiss—!" Gasps of astonishment rose and fell.

"Look! It's Senior Brother Shen, Senior Brother Xie, and Senior Brother Ji!"

"They're surrounding...Junior Sister Fang?!"

"My God! She's injured? All three of my senior brothers went to pick her up?!"

"Who said that Junior Sister Fang went down the mountain alone to do a mission? This entourage... is she alone?!"

"I told you the rumors were true! All three senior brothers chased after Junior Sister Fang down the mountain! Now they're escorting her back together!"

"Wow! I'm so envious! Did Junior Sister Fang save the cultivation world in her past life?!"

"Quickly! Spread the word! The latest version! Junior Sister Fang encountered danger while exorcising demons at the foot of the mountain. Her three senior brothers, concerned for her, joined forces to descend the mountain, heroically rescuing her and tenderly escorting her back to the sect! Ahhh! I'm dying of excitement!"

The rumors exploded at this moment! They spread throughout the entire outer sect of the Heavenly Sect at the speed of light!

Standing at the back of the crowd, Su Wanqing, who had just arrived, looked at Fang Li, who was surrounded by three outstanding young men like "stars fawning over the moon".

Listening to the heartbreaking and insane discussions around her, she dug her nails into her palms, her beautiful face contorted slightly with jealousy and resentment.

Fang Li! That bitch! What right does she have?!