A horrifying chill spread throughout her body, as if she were being watched by something.
Yuan Shu frowned.
Those eyes... looked like the eyes of a beast!
Was it a feline beast? A wolf beast? Or perhaps a snake beast?
Yuan Shu couldn't figure it out.
She had had this dream once before—the exact same place, the same dimness, and the same feeling of something entangling her.
And then...
Once was a coincidence, but twice could not possibly be!
Yuan Shu frowned, feeling as though she had been targeted by something.
But then again, the owner of those eyes in the dark...
Ahem, was very special, very... unusually long-lasting.
That feeling of not being able to touch the sky or step on the ground persisted from the moment she fell asleep to the moment she woke up.
It left her cheeks flushed and burning even after she was fully awake.
Yuan Shu reached up to rub her forehead and tapped the Hehuan Divine Tree in her sea of consciousness. "Was this your doing?"
The Hehuan Divine Tree shook its branches in bewilderment, as if asking Yuan Shu in return, "What are you babbling about?"
Yuan Shu frowned. If it wasn't the Hehuan Divine Tree, then what was it?
After thinking for a while to no avail, Yuan Shu let out a breath and gave up.
Since that thing had appeared twice, it would definitely appear again in the future.
She would eventually find out what it was!
Zhai Shuo looked at Yuan Shu's exhausted little face and felt a pang of guilt.
It must be because she had exhausted herself taking care of him and Long Yunhui earlier.
He should have carried Yuan Shu earlier; he really shouldn't have let her walk such a long distance by herself!
He needed to hurry back to the sect so that Yuan Shu could rest sooner!
With this thought in mind, Zhai Shuo quietly quickened his pace.
...
By evening, the sky was filled with sunset clouds, forming a spectacular sight of fiery clouds, blazing red and absolutely beautiful.
At the Luoxian Sect's Handyman Disciple Management Office, Yun Sheng had just settled the latest quota of spirit stones required for handyman disciples.
Not long after stepping out the door, his path was blocked by several people.
The leader was handyman disciple Lu Heng, accompanied by three of his usual handyman lackeys.
Relying on his slight immortal affinity and having broken through to the third level of Qi Refining last year, he threw his weight around among the handyman disciples and frequently bullied the weak.
The former Yun Sheng was one of his victims!
At this moment, Lu Heng was tossing a stone in his hand. He casually propped his leg up on a rock in front of him, blocking Yun Sheng's way.
"I was wondering why I haven't seen you taking part in the sect tasks for handyman disciples these past few months. Turns out you've come into some money! Huh?"
"Hehehe, using spirit stones to directly offset sect tasks... seems you're unusually rich!"
"Perfect timing. Your big brother here is a bit tight on cash lately. Hand over all the spirit stones you have on you, will ya?"
Lu Heng's gaze landed on Yun Sheng's waist.
He had been hiding outside the management office just now and saw with his own eyes Yun Sheng taking out a large handful of spirit stones from his cosmos bag to give to the manager.
And it looked like there were still plenty more inside!
At that moment, greed had taken root in his heart.
Yun Sheng was just a lowly handyman with no one backing him up. How could he have the money to buy his way out of sect tasks?
On what grounds?
Even a proper third-level Qi Refining cultivator like himself still had to obediently do sect tasks!
No matter who gave those spirit stones to Yun Sheng, today they would belong to him!
Yun Sheng frowned, his cold gaze sweeping over Lu Heng as a chill flashed through his eyes. "Move out of the way!"
His time was precious now. He didn't want to waste a single moment on anything other than cultivation, let alone deal with the sect's scum.
He only wanted to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible so he could stand by Miss Yuan's side.
He knew that someone like Yuan Shu would advance very quickly once she truly started cultivating.
He didn't want to be left further behind, otherwise, he would only drift further away from her!
As for how Lu Heng used to rely on his strength to bully him, he hadn't forgotten, but he just didn't have the time to deal with it right now!
Lu Heng didn't expect Yun Sheng to dare to talk back to him. He looked up in surprise and sized him up.
"Yun Sheng, haven't seen you for a few days, and you've grown a spine? You even dare to yell at me?"
Yun Sheng frowned, his face full of impatience. He had already been delayed by this Lu Heng for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
In this amount of time, he could have sat cross-legged and completed two cycles of cultivation!
"I'll say it one last time. Move!"
Yun Sheng's expression turned cold, his cherry-pink eyes staring frostily at the person opposite him.
It was Lu Heng's first time seeing Yun Sheng so fierce, and a sense of fear inexplicably rose in his heart.
But when he snapped out of it, he became furious.
Yun Sheng was nothing but a useless piece of trash with absolutely no talent for cultivation.
It was a waste that he even followed a direct disciple; he hadn't even broken through the first level of Qi Refining yet, and he dared to clamor at him?
"Yun Sheng, you're courting death!"
Lu Heng's heart hardened. He clenched one hand into a fist, gathered his spiritual energy, and swung it straight at Yun Sheng's face!
According to his expectations, Yun Sheng absolutely wouldn't be able to dodge this punch.
Once the punch landed, Yun Sheng would definitely be knocked to the ground, begging for mercy on his knees!
"Bang!"
A muffled sound rang out, and immediately after, someone was indeed sent flying, tracing a parabola before landing heavily on the yellow earth opposite, kicking up a cloud of dust.
But that person was not Yun Sheng; it was Lu Heng.
Lu Heng's lackeys were stunned, unable to react for a moment.
When they finally came to their senses, they hurriedly scrambled over and helped Lu Heng up from the ground.
At this moment, Lu Heng's carefully coordinated fine silk clothes had become filthy, covered in dust.
Yun Sheng had deliberately hit him towards the biggest dirt pit.
The dust blasted up from the ground, not only coating his entire body but also covering his face.
He was already a short and ugly person, and now he was even more of an eyesore.
The spot on his chest where he was hit stung with a burning pain, but what filled Lu Heng's heart more was shock.
To be able to send a third-level Qi Refining cultivator like him flying with a single punch, Yun Sheng's strength had to be at least at the fifth level of Qi Refining or above!
But, but how could that be possible?
"You, you, you, how is this possible? You, you broke through?"
Lu Heng wiped the bloody foam from the corner of his mouth and pointed a trembling finger at Yun Sheng.
A cold sneer curled on Yun Sheng's handsome face. "What, you're allowed to level up, but I'm not allowed to break through?"
With that said, he lifted his foot and walked straight toward Lu Heng.
It was clearly the same person, with the same delicate and beautiful appearance, but his entire aura was completely different now.
Like a sharply honed sword, waiting to be unsheathed at any moment!
Lu Heng swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva and instinctively backed away.
But Yun Sheng seized the opportunity and kicked him flying again with a vicious strike!
This time, Lu Heng crashed into a large rock behind him, instantly breaking two ribs.
His miserable scream echoed through the air.
Hearing this, his three little lackeys were trembling with fear, nearly scared to tears.
They were terrified that Yun Sheng would give them the same treatment.
In the cultivation world, the strong were revered!
Even in the Luoxian Sect, might made right!
Unless you had a sufficiently strong background, getting beaten up by someone stronger than you was just something you deserved!
Just like how Lu Heng used to bully Yun Sheng, it was only fitting that Yun Sheng was now taking revenge on him!
No one would stand up for him.
"Yun, Yun Sheng, it was Lu Heng who bullied you before, it has nothing to do with us. We, we were just forced by his tyrannical power. We're, we're sorry..."
