Next Life, Be More Careful

Crystalline Source is a material used for forging high-level spiritual artifacts.

It is valuable but not particularly rare.

The reason it became notable was that someone urgently needed a large quantity of it.

Wei Changli was using it as bait to lure that person.

Shi Jian knew where to find this material and thought he could benefit from Wei Changli's scheme.

To simply benefit was already a good outcome for him.

But now, driven away by Su Luo, he regretted his decision.

He should have never gone looking for his son.

Now, all he could hope for was to recover from his injuries. He believed that with his recovery, Su Luo wouldn't stand a chance against him.

Su Luo seemed to have seen through his thoughts and kept pressuring him to move faster.

Shi Jian had no time to recover.

However, this also reinforced his belief that Su Luo feared his recovery.

This was good news; there would always be an opportunity when stealing the Crystalline Source.

Shi Jian, endure it. Endurance was something he was best at.

He encouraged himself and temporarily followed Su Luo's commands obediently.

Shi Jian knew that the Tian Guang Sect had a stash of Crystalline Source, and he was familiar with the location.

In less than half a day, he successfully acquired it.

But soon, he was being pursued.

“Quick, they're over there!”

A group from the Tian Guang Sect was hot on the trail of Su Luo and Shi Jian.

They quickly escaped, temporarily shaking off their pursuers. However, they knew it was only a temporary reprieve, as the Tian Guang Sect would catch up eventually.

Su Luo joked, “Why don’t you claim you’re from the Heavenly Demon Sect? Maybe they’ll let you live.”

“Do you think it would help? We just stole from the Tian Guang Sect. They’d rather see us dead.”

Shi Jian felt like he could barely breathe. He was pushing himself to the limit, something that wouldn’t have been so taxing if he hadn’t been injured.

“You’re right, one of us has to stay behind and cover the retreat.”

Su Luo had once been abandoned by Shi Jian to hold off pursuers, barely surviving but losing half his life in the process.

This time, Su Luo held the upper hand.

Shi Jian’s heart sank. As expected, it was going to be him.

But Su Luo said, “I’ll stay behind.”

“What?”

Shi Jian was puzzled. What was Su Luo playing at?

Su Luo continued, “You’re wondering why I’m tougher than you? It’s because I have a treasure. It allows me to transfer half the damage I take to someone else.”

“Such a thing exists?”

Shi Jian's eyes lit up. This treasure seemed perfect for him.

“In the vast realm of cultivation, nothing is impossible. Give me your armor, and I can guarantee I’ll survive.” Su Luo pointed at Shi Jian’s armor.

Shi Jian was tough, partly due to his physical attributes and partly because of the exceptionally sturdy armor he wore.

“You don’t believe me? Try hitting me.”

With some doubt, Shi Jian struck Su Luo, only to receive half the damage himself.

Now convinced, a scheme formed in his mind.

“Let me stay behind,” Shi Jian offered.

“Why?”

“I’m stronger than you. If you give me your treasure, I have a better chance of survival.”

“Is that so?” Su Luo played along.

“Absolutely.”

Shi Jian saw this as the perfect opportunity to take Su Luo’s treasure and then make a run for it.

Holding off the pursuers? Not a chance.

“Brother, then the Crystalline Source is mine, right?”

Shi Jian hesitated but eventually agreed, “Sure.”

To gain Su Luo’s trust, he had to give in for now.

“Take care and survive.” Su Luo said with sincerity.

“We’ll reunite at the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

Shi Jian’s lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile.

Su Luo, too, smirked, knowing exactly what Shi Jian was thinking.

After Su Luo left, Shi Jian set up a diversion, leading the Tian Guang Sect to chase after Su Luo's direction, while he hid nearby, devouring pills to recover.

He hadn’t been able to take any pills during their escape, as Su Luo had always been one step ahead, seizing any chance he had. It was infuriating.

However, soon after, the Tian Guang Sect members unexpectedly found Shi Jian.

He was surrounded.

“Curse it, how could this happen?” Shi Jian thought his diversion had been perfect, yet they found him instead of Su Luo.

“Give it up, disciple of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

“Hahaha, we’ll see who wins this fight.”

“Attack!”

Initially, Shi Jian had no confidence, but now, with Su Luo’s treasure, he felt invincible.

“Ultimate Iron Block!” He activated a defensive technique.

“Not bad, pretty tough.”

The Tian Guang Sect continued their onslaught.

“You must be hurting too, right?” Shi Jian taunted.

“No, it’s quite satisfying. Keep it up, tough guy.”

Shi Jian: ?

Something felt off.

...

Shi Jian managed to escape, badly battered. He should have realized sooner—Su Luo wouldn’t have given him the treasure so easily. He’d been duped.

Being part of the Heavenly Demon Sect, escaping was second nature to him.

Boom!

Shi Jian was blasted to the ground, unable to rise.

Where did that attack come from?

Su Luo appeared before him.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“You tricked me!”

“Indeed, willingly taking a beating—quite amusing.”

Shi Jian was red with rage.

But realizing his predicament, he immediately changed his tone, “You’re here to save me, right? Take me with you, they’re closing in!”

“Dream on, I’m here to finish you.”

“Wait, let’s talk.”

Shi Jian hastily swallowed pills, realizing that today’s barrage of medicines might damage his foundation.

But to survive, there was no other way.

Strangely, Su Luo didn’t stop him.

Shi Jian didn’t care. As long as he recovered, the Tian Guang Sect wouldn’t pose a threat, and neither would Su Luo.

Su Luo produced a sand timer. “Go ahead, here’s a sand timer. When it’s done, you die.”

Shi Jian stuffed pills into his mouth like they were free, feigning fear but secretly hopeful. Once he recovered even a bit, he could turn the tables.

You’ll pay for your overconfidence.

However, as his strength began to return, the sand timer reached the halfway point.

Su Luo struck with a sword, hitting a vital point in Shi Jian’s body.

“Why? You said you’d wait until the timer was done.” Shi Jian was in disbelief.

“The timer running out meant you die, but don’t worry, this sword won’t kill you.”

His assassination attempt fell short, but it eradicated all of Shi Jian’s hope.

The energy he had barely regained flowed away.

Fear began to grip Shi Jian as he realized his inevitable demise.

“Spare me, I’ll do anything.”

“Please, I don’t want to die.”

Su Luo chuckled.

To Shi Jian, that chuckle was the terrifying laughter of death itself.

Under the weight of his fear, Shi Jian still clung to a faint hope that Su Luo was only joking.

But no, the joke was on him. The sand timer ran out, and Su Luo ended his life.

“Next time, be more careful.”

Su Luo felt no great emotions, just a calm sense of completion.

This was merely part of the task of delivering the Crystalline Source to Wei Changli while conveniently dealing with an idiot.

It served as a test, and the results were as expected. This wouldn’t affect the main storyline.

Su Luo felt that in the future, as long as he followed the main plot involving Lin Xuan, there wouldn’t be any significant issues.

Now, it was time to find Wei Changli.