"This filthy bunch, are they trying to make me shave my head?"
Fuming, Mu Ningzhu grumbled under her breath.
Yunxi silently touched her own hair, privately thankful the evil cultivators had left their mark on her boot instead of her hair. Then she quickly spoke up.
"Senior Sister Mu, now's not the time to worry about your hair. I remember the alchemy shop sells Hair Growth Pills. Why don't you buy the pills first before cutting your hair? Either way, we can't let those evil cultivators track us again. That fake display with my magic treasure might work once, but if I use it too often, they'll figure it out."
She wasn't just being cautious. The only reason they succeeded last time was because the formation concealed them, and the evil cultivators hadn't seen any "backing expert." Add the Nascent Soul-level pressure she'd faked, and they were able to reverse the ambush and kill three of them.
But one had escaped.
If they refused to give up and kept tailing them from the shadows, they'd eventually realize the truth—that they were just four juniors. And when that happened, those evil cultivators wouldn't show mercy. They had, after all, ruined the enemy's plans.
Mu Ningzhu took a deep breath, then nodded.
"I'll go to the pill shop now. No need for you to follow."
"Yes, Senior Sister Mu."
Yunxi didn't insist. Mu Ningzhu had far more experience with field cultivation. She could handle herself.
That night, when the four gathered again, Mu Ningzhu had tied her hair into a high ponytail. It looked barely acceptable, but at least presentable.
Yunxi brought out Dian Dian and let the Xunzong Mouse sniff everyone once more. After confirming there were no more traces of evil cultivator markings, they all finally relaxed.
Still, Mu Ningzhu stayed cautious and reminded them,
"Even though we caught the trick in time, Yunxi and I did make eye contact with the one who escaped. To be safe, we'll set off at first light and speed up our return to the sect. Let's not give them another chance to track us."
"Yes, Senior Sister Mu."
All three answered in unison.
These were the kind of evil cultivators who abducted people to serve as cauldrons. None of them had the strength to fight such foes directly. Sometimes, retreat was the wisest path.
That night, Yunxi spent the first half drawing talismans and the second half tempering her body. She only slept for an hour before dawn but still felt refreshed as the group set off again.
Thanks to Dian Dian's keen nose, they had successfully removed the evil cultivators' marks. When the enemy tried to trace them later, they found nothing and lost their trail entirely.
Later on, when Yunxi returned to Kunyu City as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she crossed paths with those evil cultivators once again.
But back in the present, after a full day of travel, the group finally located a ruined temple to rest in.
Yunxi looked at the half-collapsed structure and hesitated. To her, these kinds of places always seemed to be magnets for strange incidents, and those incidents rarely ended well.
"Junior Sister Wei, why aren't you going in?" Mu Ningzhu looked at her lingering just outside the doorway.
Yunxi rubbed her nose and said with a grimace,
"Senior Sister Mu, this temple feels unlucky. How about we find somewhere else instead?"
The other three paused at her words. Qin Tongshuang smiled and said gently,
"Yunxi, don't be afraid. It's just an abandoned temple. The influence of Buddhist cultivators may have waned in Weiyu Realm, but they're not entirely gone. Besides, Buddhist cultivators are usually peaceful. It's not as bad as you imagine."
Yunxi sighed inwardly. That wasn't what she meant, but clearly, they weren't changing locations tonight. She had no choice but to accept her fate and walk in.
This time, however, she deliberately sat beside Zhang Yan.
Qin Tongshuang blinked in surprise and whispered,
"Yunxi, why aren't you sitting next to me?"
"Zhang Shixiong has strong yang energy. Sitting next to him feels... safer."
That answer made Mu Ningzhu chuckle, half amused, half exasperated.
Still, she couldn't scold a junior on her first field training. So she patiently explained,
"Although there are ghost cultivators in Weiyu Realm, unless their soul-cultivating methods have reached a high level, they won't dare provoke us. Any of our magic tools could easily destroy their fragile soul forms. There's no need to worry."
Yunxi had read records about ghost cultivators in the sect's library. She knew they cultivated their soul instead of their body. But reading about something was different from experiencing it firsthand. She wasn't a local cultivator, after all.
Still, she nodded with a smile.
Not long after they activated their isolation formation, rain began to pour outside. A short while later, a figure in a conical hat stepped into the ruined temple.
He was clearly a cultivator. Though he'd walked through heavy rain, his dark blue robe was completely dry—he must have used a rain-avoidance technique.
The male cultivator scanned the temple. Seeing no one, he assumed he was alone and chose a spot near the entrance to meditate, likely waiting for daylight before setting off again.
Yunxi's group had no intention of greeting him. They remained within their barrier, staying cautious as ever.
Yunxi glanced at the man twice. He looked refined, almost scholarly, like an ancient scholar heading for the imperial exams.
She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
Usually in this kind of setup, a beautiful ghost woman would appear and a tragic love story between human and ghost would unfold.
Just then, a bolt of lightning split the sky.
A crimson figure dashed into the temple through the storm.
Her entrance was so dramatic it caught everyone's attention, including the meditating man and the cultivators hidden behind the formation.
Yunxi focused her gaze. The newcomer was a young woman in a red robe, thoroughly drenched from head to toe.
The red-robed girl noticed the man and quickly clasped her hands in greeting. Then she cast a cleansing spell to tidy up her soaked appearance.
Despite her swift actions, her wet robe clung to her curves, making her alluring figure impossible to ignore. The male cultivator stole a second glance.
The red-clad girl finally spoke,
"Daoyou, I lost my team in the storm and need a place to wait out the rain. Sorry for the disturbance."
The man withdrew his gaze and replied calmly,
"It's no bother. I arrived just before you, for the same reason."
He closed his eyes again to continue meditating.
The woman chose the other side of the entrance, took out a prayer mat from her storage pouch, and also sat to meditate.
Yunxi looked left, then right. Something felt off.
Qin Tongshuang noticed her restlessness and whispered,
"Yunxi, what are you looking at? Are they acting strange?"
Yunxi, adopting the tone of someone who'd seen it all, replied,
"One man, one woman, stuck in a room overnight. Something's bound to happen."
"Like what?"
Qin Tongshuang stared at her, eyes wide with curiosity.
"I don't know exact—"
Before she could finish the sentence, a soft moan rang through the temple.
"It's starting!" Yunxi whispered, a little too excitedly.
All four girls, including Mu Ningzhu, turned to look at the red-robed girl. Her cheeks were flushed bright red, and pink mist was rising from her body.
"Hold your breath!"
Mu Ningzhu reacted instantly, sealing the formation completely to keep the mist from seeping in.
The poor male cultivator, however, wasn't so lucky. Being close to her, he had already inhaled some of the pink gas.
His eyes snapped open, bloodshot and unfocused.