After Bai Pingqian arrived at the town in the desert, she noticed that the hustle and bustle of the people made it look quite different from what she had imagined a desert settlement to be.
The surrounding houses were all built from yellow earth, but there was no shortage of shops constructed from rocks reinforced with that same soil.
Despite the yellow sand filling the sky, everyone in the town possessed healthy, tanned skin.
Compared to them, she appeared far too pale.
“This is the town in the desert, where water is more expensive than gold…”
The little girl who had been following Bai Pingqian was still driving the carriage behind her.
Now that they had reached the town, the girl was no longer of any use.
“Since we have arrived, you are no longer of any use to me…”
“Ah…”
The little girl driving the carriage panicked the moment she heard those words.
If she were abandoned here, she would likely die within the town.
“Mas—Mistress, please do not leave me!”
As she spoke, the girl scrambled down from the carriage and knelt before Bai Pingqian, pleading incessantly.
However, to Bai Pingqian, bringing her along would be nothing more than a burden.
“Sigh, the goods on the carriage and the carriage itself are yours now. Go find a way to survive on your own.”
Without a shred of hesitation, Bai Pingqian turned her back and walked toward the Lingchuan Port within the town.
The little girl froze as she listened to her words.
“This carriage…”
In the desert, the most precious things were water and the carriages used to transport supplies—not to mention that this was a rare and valuable Camel Spirit Beast.
Bai Pingqian had given away the most precious things she owned without a second thought.
For a long time, the little girl could not believe it.
After walking a few paces, Bai Pingqian suddenly retraced her steps.
She approached the little girl and lightly tapped her forehead with a finger.
Immediately, the girl felt as though something new had been placed inside her mind.
“This is a method for Foundation Establishment. Sister Luo told me to give it to you. You must walk the rest of your path alone.”
Having said this, Bai Pingqian rushed at top speed toward the docks.
In this desert, the most convenient mode of transportation was the Spirit Boats that soared through the sky.
Standing where she was, holding the reins of the carriage, the little girl watched the receding figure.
A tear escaped the corner of her eye.
She had thought that once she was sold into slavery, she would lose all hope for her life.
Instead, she had become the luckiest person alive.
“Mistress, if we ever meet again, I will surely repay this kindness with my life…”
By the time she spoke those words, Bai Pingqian had already long departed.
After reaching the docks as fast as she could, she immediately sought to purchase a ticket to the Central Continent.
“To the Central Continent? Our Spirit Boats only travel to and from the South Sea. We do not go to the Central Continent.”
Hearing the ticket seller’s words, Bai Pingqian felt as if the entire world were collapsing.
The strength drained from her legs.
“Not… not going to the Central Continent?”
“If you want to go there, you can take a Spirit Boat to the South Sea first. Ships from the South Sea can reach the Western Border, and from there, you can head to the Central Continent…”
Bai Pingqian understood immediately.
If she wanted to reach the Central Continent, she would have to make at least two transfers.
Listening to the ticket seller, Luo Qingyao felt that this reality was too cruel for Bai Pingqian.
‘Um, Pingqian? Are you all right?’
Luo Qingyao asked with concern.
After all, the girl did not look fine at all.
Bai Pingqian walked unsteadily away from the ticket counter.
She felt as if all the energy had been drained from her body.
She sat on a nearby chair, lacking even the strength to move.
Luo Qingyao did not know how to comfort her.
‘How about we go to the South Sea first to see?’
“I already asked. It takes three or four days to reach the South Sea. Then, traveling from the South Sea to the Western Border takes another three or four days…”
Bai Pingqian did not continue.
If she calculated it that way, returning by the original path would actually save more time than taking the Spirit Boats.
Unfortunately, there was only one flight path in this barren land.
“It seems I am not meant to be Master’s disciple…”
Luo Qingyao felt a wave of heartache hearing this.
Wanting to give the girl some space to calm down, she shifted her form and vanished from sight, drifting through the desert air while trying to think of another way.
‘All of this is because I misread the map. That is why Pingqian is so sad.’
The more Luo Qingyao thought about it, the more she blamed herself.
She wondered if she could use the power of her remnant soul to achieve a teleportation effect.
However, if she used it now, she might never be able to return.
‘For Pingqian’s sake…’
Luo Qingyao remembered how she had attached herself to the girl to save her own life, absorbing Bai Pingqian’s spiritual energy in the process.
Because of her, Bai Pingqian had lost the ability to save her own parents.
‘I should compensate her as much as I can…’
Just as Luo Qingyao resolved to find Bai Pingqian, she suddenly spotted something while flying.
In the vast sky, a massive Spirit Boat engraved with the name of the Hidden Immortal Sect was approaching.
At first, Luo Qingyao thought she was hallucinating.
But when she looked up again, the massive vessel was heading straight for the port.
She snapped back to reality and immediately hurried to find Bai Pingqian.
“No, I have to tell her—”
“I already see it, Sister Luo.”
“!!!”
Luo Qingyao was about to rush back to inform Bai Pingqian, but before she could even turn around, the girl had already appeared behind her.
It happened so fast that Luo Qingyao barely had time to react.
“A Spirit Boat from the Hidden Immortal Sect actually came all the way here? How incredible!”
Without any hesitation, Bai Pingqian ran toward the docks.
At that moment, the vessel sent by the Hidden Immortal Sect to recruit disciples had just landed.
An Elder responsible for the recruitment stepped out.
Immediately, the divine sense of a Nascent Soul stage expert expanded.
The members of the small surrounding sects began to tremble upon sensing it, wondering who had offended a great sect from the Central Continent.
“I am a Guest Elder of the Hidden Immortal Sect. I have come here to recruit disciples. Anyone with qualified cultivation and aptitude may board the ship and return with me to the Central Continent.”
After finishing his announcement, the Elder returned to the Spirit Boat.
It was as if he had only come out to intimidate any restless people in this wild land.
A Nascent Soul expert’s words carried great weight; the streets were instantly swarmed with people.
Luo Qingyao and Bai Pingqian looked at each other.
They had not expected happiness to come so suddenly.
Bai Pingqian’s previously withered spirit was instantly restored.
“Indeed, indeed! Even the heavens are helping the relationship between me and Master!”
Bai Pingqian hummed a happy tune as she walked toward the Spirit Boat.
Little did Lin Xinyi know that a casual sentence she had uttered during a meeting would bring her such painful memories.
(Murong Xue had torn through the void, allowing the Spirit Boat to cross through space to reach the Southern Barren land quickly. Although the speed was immense, the consumption of energy was enormous.)
Time flew by.
By nightfall, Lin Xinyi sat in her wheelchair, watching the dead-drunk Yun Yiyi in the center of the pavilion.
After the woman had forcibly brought her to the mountains, she had not stopped talking.
Although Lin Xinyi had offered some guidance to Qin Huaiyin’s cultivation during the process, the body tempering procedure was truly boring. Consequently, she had started drinking alone.
“Hic! Come on, little Xinyi, let’s keep drinking—hic!”
Lin Xinyi held a wine cup and drained it in one go.
Although a faint blush appeared on her face, she showed no signs of being drunk.
After all, even for spiritual wine, this level of alcohol was still a bit lacking for her.
“Sigh, if you can’t handle it, don’t drink. Look at what you’ve done…”
Lin Xinyi looked up at the pavilion, which was now missing half of its structure.
The culprit, Yun Yiyi, was swaying while holding a wine cup, her eyes having long since turned into dizzy swirls.
From the very beginning, Lin Xinyi had always found body cultivators to be a hassle.
Once they got drunk and lost control of their strength, their tempered bodies were like steel hammers.
Despite her small stature, Yun Yiyi was exceptionally fast, lunging about like a meteor hammer.
Just a moment ago, a simple punch from her had obliterated half the pavilion.
If Qin Huaiyin had not activated her Dragon Scale Armor and exerted all her strength to catch the falling Yun Yiyi, the entire pavilion in the middle of the lake would have been smashed into the water.
The only silver lining was that this was not her home, so Lin Xinyi did not care how much Yun Yiyi destroyed.
“Hehe… It is because I am happy to have made friends with little Xinyi.”
As soon as Yun Yiyi spoke, she drained another cup.
Despite her poor tolerance, she insisted on drinking.
By the time the second cup hit her stomach, she collapsed within the pavilion.
Qin Huaiyin stood by her side, gently supporting her before helping her lean against the table.
Once finished, she picked up the wine pot nearby.
“Master, do you need me to refill your glass?”
Qin Huaiyin held the pot and filled the cup with clear wine before returning to her standing position.
She did not say an extra word throughout the entire process.
Seeing her obedient behavior, Lin Xinyi felt incredibly stifled.
From the start, she had assumed the girl was simply trying to torment her.
But now, it felt more like she was interfering with her life.
Lin Xinyi opened her mouth, wanting to ask what she was actually trying to achieve.
However, she had consumed quite a bit of spiritual wine.
Even if she did not feel heavily intoxicated, the spiritual energy contained within the wine caused a slight sense of tipsiness to wash over her, especially since her spiritual energy flow was currently obstructed.
“You wanted me to accompany her, and I have. You should be satisfied now.”
Lin Xinyi slowly placed the cup on the table.
She understood that Qin Huaiyin simply disapproved of her actions.
But even so, she believed she was doing nothing wrong.
No matter how much the other girl interfered, she would not change her mind.
“What is Master saying? I have never forced you to do anything…”
Hearing this, Lin Xinyi slowly turned her wheelchair to face Qin Huaiyin.
Even in this situation, the girl dared to claim she had never forced her.
“…”
“If you claim you have never forced me, then what do your previous actions count as?”
“That was because Master seduced me, so it was an irresistible force.”
“???”
Lin Xinyi was almost moved to laughter by that remark.
She had seduced her?
She had been at the other’s mercy from start to finish, feeling like nothing more than a toy.
“When have I ever seduced you? Currently, I find you utterly repulsive!”
“Does Master not plan to admit it? What you are doing right now is seducing me…”
“???”
If Lin Xinyi had not seen her standing there the whole time without a single drop of alcohol, she would have suspected the girl was the one who was drunk.
Qin Huaiyin seemed completely indifferent to her words.
She walked to the side of the wheelchair and reached out to gently lift Lin Xinyi’s chin.
Before Lin Xinyi could react to what she was doing, the girl leaned down.
Their lips collided firmly.
Lin Xinyi pushed at Qin Huaiyin’s chest, but the other girl only paused for a moment before moving back in for a more forceful kiss.
“Mmm—!”
Lin Xinyi was dazed by the sudden kiss.
When she finally managed to push her away, her eyes were filled with panic as she wiped the corner of her mouth.
The spiritual wine had already left a faint blush on her face, but now she was flushed an even more tempting shade of red.
“You! What are you doing?”
“Because Master is very beautiful right now, I could not help myself. Is this not Master’s way of seducing me?”
“What kind of twisted logic is that!”
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