He had heard of those powerful cultivators who treated lower-level cultivators with cold indifference and arrogance. But he had never imagined that someone would be driven to kill over just two words!

He was too naive!

Brian Carter took a deep breath, which pulled at his wounds and sent waves of intense pain through him. Struggling to get up, he gritted his teeth and dragged himself to the table.

It was still the same bright, thick cinnabar, still the same wolf-hair brush. Brian Carter dipped it in the ink several times with force.

His entire right hand felt as if it had been broken in several places; even the slightest movement sent pain deep into his bones. Clenching the brush with great effort, a few drops of bright red cinnabar dripped from the tip, falling onto the pink paper, like bloodstains, dotting it with crimson.

Because of the pain, Brian Carter involuntarily sucked in cold air through his teeth, gripping the brush in his right hand, and with utmost seriousness, left three crooked characters on the pink paper.

“I’ll be waiting!”

He tossed the brush aside, glanced at his work, and let out a few harsh, strange laughs. His right hand refused to obey him; it took him half an hour just to barely fold the pink paper into a paper crane.

Unfortunately, it didn’t look as nice as the two characters he wrote last time. Brian Carter felt a bit regretful.

Gasping in pain, he poured the last bit of spiritual energy from his body into the paper crane.

Watching the little pink crane disappear into the sky, he cursed that vicious woman in his heart countless times.

After all this, completely spent, he could hold on no longer. His vision went black, and his whole body collapsed to the ground like a log, passing out instantly.

Section Eight: Change

Slender, fair, jade-like hands gently held a pink slip of paper.

“Hehe, so he suffered a bit, no wonder he’s so flustered and furious. I only meant to scare him a little—who told him to be so stubborn and try to tough it out?”

Her oval face was smooth as cream, her sapphire-blue eyes sparkled with mischief, and beneath her high nose, her lips were a vivid red. The silvery, shimmering bandeau and shorts made from Silver Moon velvet gave her a fluffy, adorable look. Her boldly exposed midriff and jade-like legs radiated youthful energy. Her bare feet, flawless as if carved from ivory by a master, were tied with thin, bright red cords, adding a touch of allure. On her wrists were sky-blue bracelets adorned with many tiny bells; with every graceful step, a string of crisp, melodious chimes trailed behind her.

“But really, what an interesting person.”

“For someone to catch your interest, they must be quite something.” A respectful voice sounded from behind her.

A cultivator with a golden complexion and a sandalwood crown, appearing about forty years old, stood there. Anyone who saw him would be shocked— the renowned John Adams was showing such deference to a little girl.

She had long since noticed his presence and wasn’t surprised. With a giggle, she said, “Yes, a very interesting person. Not even at mid-Foundation Establishment, yet he managed to withstand twenty percent of Lily’s Heart Demon Curse. That’s impressive.”

“Oh.” John Adams was moved. “Truly a talent worth cultivating.” He then mused, “Perhaps we should bring him into our sect…”

Lily turned to face the window, her gaze deep and distant. She said lightly, “On the path of cultivation, opportunity is even more important than talent. Among our disciples, those with outstanding talent number in the thousands. But how many, even among them, achieve the Golden Core, let alone the Great Dao?”

Suddenly, she stuck out her tongue playfully. “Rather than that, I’d rather keep him around for Lily’s amusement.”

John Adams chuckled indulgently, “As you wish, as you wish! Since you’re so interested in him, why don’t we stay here a while longer?”

Lily tilted her head, her blue eyes blinking as she thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Business comes first. We’ve already stayed here long enough. Hehe, Lily left a mark on him—he can’t escape from Lily’s grasp!”

Seeing Lily’s innocent and adorable expression, John Adams couldn’t help but laugh heartily.

※※※※

Brian Carter slowly woke up, his whole body aching unbearably, and couldn’t help but let out a groan.

Thinking back on yesterday, it felt like a dream. But the wounds all over his body kept reminding him that the brutal battle was no dream. He still couldn’t quite believe how he managed to defeat that icy aura. He knew he’d been in a daze for a while, and it was during that time that he won.

But what exactly happened during that period?

He had no idea.

He racked his brains for a long time but couldn’t come up with a clue, so he simply set the question aside. As for the possibility of revenge, Brian Carter couldn’t be bothered to think about it anymore.

He was busy!

Counting on his fingers, he knew how much he had to do today. Watering the medicine fields was a given, but he also had to water a senior brother’s fields— a full hundred acres of spiritual farmland. The medicinal herbs in the fields didn’t care whether he was in good shape or not, and the agreement to water his senior brother’s hundred acres had been set long ago—there was no getting out of it.

Gritting his teeth, Brian Carter dragged himself up, feeling as if his bones might fall apart at any moment.

He crawled at a snail’s pace to Cold Mist Valley. Looking at the vast expanse of medicinal fields, he cursed Emily Brooks and William Grant, that pair of “adulterers,” countless times in his heart.

Cursing was one thing, work was another.

As usual, he formed the hand seals for the Little Cloud Rain Art, but what happened next left Brian Carter completely dumbfounded.