It was just past the fourth watch of the night. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, while the "woooo" of wolves echoed outside the carriage.
Ji Shengyao fumbled around in her sleeping bag for a while. She took a pouch from Wang Li's person, and using both her hands and mouth to open it, she retrieved the key to the handcuffs.
A question arose in her mind: why did the enchantress never keep the key in her Storage Ring? She guessed the key was special; perhaps like a living thing, it couldn't be placed in a ring's space. This wasn't unheard of.
After unlocking the handcuffs, her spiritual power returned. She then pulled the Binding Immortal Rope off her Junior Sister's hands. The two sisters regained their freedom, no longer under the enchantress's control.
"Wait a moment!"
Before jumping off the carriage, Zheng Linger suddenly turned her head with a fierce look. "That damned enchantress is so arrogant; she really doesn't treat us sisters like humans! Leaving like this is letting her off too easy! I want to give her fifty hard slaps across the face and make her face swell up like a watermelon!"
Seeing her Junior Sister reach out, Ji Shengyao hurriedly stopped her. "Don't touch her! If she wakes up, none of us will be able to escape!"
What she didn't say was that she likely wouldn't be able to escape. Unless she encountered a Senior from the Tianchi Holy Land or the Ji Family within the next hour or two, the enchantress would be able to pinpoint her location the moment dawn broke.
Moreover, she seemed to be able to teleport, though she hadn't used it in a long time. If her Junior Sister slapped the enchantress fifty times today, once she was caught and brought back, things would be miserable for her.
"Senior Sister is right. I was blinded by anger."
"You're just too impulsive! Remember, go to the territory of your sister, Princess Tianyang. I recall you saying a few years ago that Princess Tianyang was about to break through to the Nascent Soul stage; she's likely already reached it by now. She also has two Nascent Soul guards protecting her. Three Nascent Soul cultivators will surely be able to rescue me. If I'm the one who escapes, the Ji Family has experts as numerous as clouds; saving you would be a piece of cake."
Ji Shengyao felt a bit resentful. Last night, they clearly agreed that after doing that, she would help her increase her cultivation. In the end, she was carried off the desk with a sore waist and weak legs, yet that enchantress actually forgot!
She sighed softly. "Forget about our waist tokens; that enchantress put them in her Storage Ring. If the ring is tampered with, she'll likely notice. Besides, with my ability, I can't unlock her Storage Ring. She even took our own Storage Rings, fearing we'd run away. Except for our Lifebound Treasures, which can't be put into a Storage Ring, she took everything."
"That just proves how worried that damned enchantress is! Isn't that perfect?"
After the two sisters got off the carriage, Zheng Linger took the lead. She had just leaped up with her lifebound sword when—thud—she crashed into an invisible wall and fell flat on her backside.
Clutching her forehead, she said, "Senior Sister, there's a concealed spiritual power wall set up by that damned enchantress. It doesn't seem like an isolation Spell; it feels like it's built from pure spiritual power. It can only be broken by force."
"It's at least at the fifth level of the Golden Core stage. However, that enchantress probably forgot that as long as I gather spiritual power, my Azure Lotus Divine Sword can unleash power far exceeding my own!"
Ji Shengyao dared not delay. She forcibly circulated her spiritual power, unleashing the strength of the fifth level of the Golden Core stage.
This was enough to drain most of the spiritual power in her body. Combined with her extreme anxiety, her spiritual power became violent, causing some minor injuries to her Meridians.
Zheng Linger looked at her Senior Sister, whose strength had improved by leaps and bounds—she had even infused it with seven-colored spiritual power!
In less than seven days, not only had her Senior Sister's cultivation increased by six levels, but her spiritual power had also turned into an eerie seven-colored energy.
It seemed that damned enchantress had put quite a bit of effort into her Senior Sister!
With a bang, the spiritual power barrier shattered. Ji Shengyao hurriedly shouted, "Go, quickly! Now that the spiritual wall is broken, she's probably about to wake up! We'll follow the Yuanshan River—you go upstream, and I'll go downstream. No matter what happens, don't stop!"
The two stepped onto their Flying Swords and sped away. Ji Shengyao knew deep down that she would only be free for an hour or two at most...
Just as they left, Wang Li opened her peach-blossom eyes and muttered, "Lucky for you, Little Chili Pepper, you didn't slap me. Otherwise, neither of you sisters would have been able to run."
Having exhausted her spiritual power and suffered damage to her Meridians, Ji Shengyao flew less than ten miles before descending weakly.
Seeing a group of Zhen Sect Disciples in gray robes walking on the ice in the distance, she cautiously gripped her Azure Lotus Divine Sword and approached. To her surprise, she spotted Lin Fan, the traitor from the Lianhun Sect, among them.
"Lady Saintess, you escaped!"
As soon as Lin Fan saw Ji Shengyao, his originally depressed mood instantly turned joyful. The reason for his gloom was that his Master had exhausted his Primordial Spirit to save him and was now in a deep slumber.
When he woke up, for some reason, he had been thrown into the river by his fellow Disciples to be washed. He was scrubbed for an entire hour, yet there was still a lingering smell of manure on him that wouldn't go away.
Seeing Ji Shengyao's pale face and chaotic spiritual power, she was clearly suffering from internal injuries and excessive spiritual exhaustion. He felt his chance had come.
He pulled out a white porcelain bottle commonly used in Alchemy. "Lady Saintess, I have a bottle of Profound-grade Spirit Gathering Pills here. They can help you recover from your injuries."
"Don't... don't come any closer!"
Ji Shengyao drew her sword immediately. She possessed the Immaculate Heart, and by getting just a little closer, she could sense Lin Fan's good or evil intentions. However, in her heart, she only felt disgust for this traitor. Furthermore, Disciples of the Tianchi Holy Land were required to maintain their distance from men.
She looked warily at the eight men and three women from the Zhen Sect. "How do I know if those are real Spirit Gathering Pills? My spiritual power is damaged, and I can't circulate it to identify the pills."
One of the female cultivators took the pill from Lin Fan's hand and circulated her spiritual power to examine it. "Lady Saintess, I know your state of mind has been somewhat damaged by that enchantress, so it's normal not to trust others. My Master and I have visited your Baihe Peak before, and my younger sister is an Outer Sect Disciple of your Tianchi Holy Land. I've tested it; there are indeed spiritual fluctuations. It's a Spirit Gathering Pill. If you trust me, please take it quickly!"
Watching from the shadows, Wang Li opened the System mall. It was filled with everything except anything decent, as dazzling as an adult novelty store. It even had colorless and odorless pills that could stimulate desire.
Seeing the female cultivator throw the Spirit Gathering Pill to Ji Shengyao, she immediately used the Stealing Heaven Technique to swap the pill mid-air.
Ji Shengyao circulated a trace of spiritual power to identify it and found nothing unusual about the pill.
Thinking that the enchantress would likely be chasing her soon, she knew she had to recover her cultivation quickly. This might be her only chance to reach the Ji Family's territory.
"In a few days, my Master and I will personally visit the Zhen Sect to thank you for your help."
She had no Spirit Stones on her. Furthermore, there were no elders from the Zhen Sect present, and she had no evidence, so she decided not to expose this despicable traitor for now.
Without waiting for the Zhen Sect members to urge her to stay, she used her Flying Sword Technique to leap high into the air and fly downstream.
Before she had even flown for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, she felt a wave of heat wash over her body. She thought of the feeling she had when the enchantress disciplined her on the street, but this was even more intense.
Without a word, she exerted her spiritual power to its limit and flew rapidly, hoping to find a cave to neutralize the effect with her cultivation. When her spiritual power was exhausted, her legs went weak as she landed, and she collapsed onto the ground.
Looking up, she saw a pair of red embroidered shoes. The newcomer crouched in front of her, a devastatingly beautiful face quietly watching her. "Are you still going to run?"