Destroy It

This is what cultivation truly is, this is the profound essence of formation arrays.

Han Ying'er finally realized that there really was some incompatibility between her and Qin San.

But why?

Why did things feel normal with Lin Xuan, but so unbearable with Qin San?

She couldn't understand it.

However, Han Ying'er didn't dare to cultivate with Lin Xuan too much, afraid that Qin San would come looking for her.

She returned early.

"You're back, how do you feel?" Qin San stopped his cultivation and asked.

"Much better."

Qin San nodded upon hearing this and reached out to hold Han Ying'er's hand.

But the moment he touched her hand, she recoiled as if shocked by electricity.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Their hands held each other again.

But before long, that unbearable feeling surged up once more.

......

Su Luo now felt completely drained.

Li Siyi felt the same way.

In the end, they decided to take a break.

Despite the exhaustion, the gains were quite substantial.

Li Siyi faintly felt that she was on the verge of another breakthrough, even though she had just broken through not long ago.

"Do you feel like you're about to break through?"

Li Siyi still held Su Luo's hand, but they weren't cultivating, just chatting during their rest.

"Not really."

"That can't be. I'm almost breaking through to the mid Foundation Establishment stage, and you're still stuck at Qi Refinement?"

"With my poor talent, that's just how it is."

"Even with poor talent, it shouldn't be this bad."

"Ah, I broke through."

Su Luo directly adjusted her cultivation level to the peak of Qi Refinement. That should satisfy you, right?

"How is this such a coincidence?" Li Siyi became even more convinced that Su Luo was hiding her true strength.

"It's all thanks to you, cultivating so diligently, not wasting a single moment."

"Hehe."

"I wasn't complimenting you."

Watching the disciples and Su Luo converse, Nangong Xiyun, hiding in the shadows, couldn't help but reminisce. When was the last time she had a breakthrough?

She couldn't remember, perhaps thirty years ago.

Nangong Xiyun had almost forgotten what it felt like to break through.

It was a pity. Now that she had hit a bottleneck, it wasn't something that could be overcome through mere cultivation. Otherwise, with her talent, she would have broken through long ago.

What she needed was a trigger, but this trigger was different for everyone, and she had no idea what hers might be.

......

The third day.

After trying it once, she couldn't stop.

Because she simply couldn't bear dual cultivation with Qin San, Han Ying'er sought out Lin Xuan more and more frequently, and for longer periods.

Coincidentally, Yuan Jie, who had come out for some fresh air, thought her eyes were playing tricks on her from too much cultivation.

Why was Han Ying'er cultivating with Lin Xuan?

Huh? Why?

But as she thought about it, Yuan Jie suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

If Qin San saw this...

And when she turned her head, she was nearly scared to death.

Because Qin San had already seen it.

His left hand gripped his right wrist, but his eyes were fixed on the scene before him.

Why? Just moments ago, she was in his grasp, but now...

Tears began to stream down Qin San's face.

Yuan Jie wanted to comfort him, but no words came out.

Qin San noticed Yuan Jie, and at this moment, he was barely holding onto his rationality.

He rushed up to Yuan Jie.

"Yuan Jie, you like me, right? Please, help me forget all of this!"

Qin San pulled Yuan Jie, trying to drag her into a room, hoping to numb himself through cultivation.

But...

*Slap!*

Yuan Jie's slap brought Qin San back to his senses.

"You're pathetic."

Yuan Jie would never agree to Qin San's request under such circumstances. What would that make her?

A substitute for Han Ying'er?

The thought brought tears to Yuan Jie's eyes. So, she was just a replacement.

She then left dejectedly, leaving Qin San standing there in a daze.

Ah.

After a long while, Qin San's arms hung limply at his sides.

Let it all burn.

......

After his breakdown, Qin San decided to drop the act and carry out the Heavenly Demon Sect's plan.

Originally, he had only planned to eliminate Zhuo Mingyuan and Yuan Jie, then continue his undercover mission with Han Ying'er back at the sect.

But now, he no longer wanted to continue the undercover mission. He decided to first eliminate Zhuo Mingyuan and Yuan Jie, then cripple Han Ying'er.

Finally, he would torture Lin Xuan in front of Han Ying'er.

All he wanted now was to vent his anger, to make Lin Xuan suffer the cruelty of the demonic path, and to make Han Ying'er regret everything.

As for Su Luo and Li Siyi?

Just two small fry, easily dealt with.

Though he might feel some guilt towards Elder Yanxi, Qin San no longer cared about the undercover mission, so what was there to fear?

Once the plan was set, Qin San's eyes turned cold, and the demonic energy that had been lying dormant within him began to awaken.

He first lured Han Ying'er away from the cultivation site and then restrained her.

He had initially planned to cripple her directly, but for some reason, a large bell-shaped phantom suddenly appeared around Han Ying'er, protecting her.

No matter what Qin San tried, even his strongest attacks couldn't break through it.

He could only restrain her for now.

Han Ying'er suddenly remembered Li Siyi's warning about being wary of sneak attacks, but she never imagined that the attacker would be Qin San.

Li Siyi couldn't do much either. If she had said Qin San would betray them, who would believe her?

How many times had the four of them risked their lives together? Why would they believe her?

If Li Siyi had really accused Qin San of betrayal, they might have even joked about it with Qin San, saying something like, "Li Siyi said you'd betray us, isn't that hilarious?" which would only make Qin San more cautious.

"Why are you doing this, Qin San?"

"This is all your fault!"

Qin San roared, then ignored whatever Han Ying'er said and left again.

He needed to strike before Zhuo Mingyuan and Yuan Jie noticed anything was wrong.

The four members of the Seven Stars were all at the early Golden Core stage, but Qin San had actually reached the mid-stage long ago, though he had been hiding it.

If he used demonic techniques, his strength would be half a step into the late Golden Core stage. And if he used some demonic secret techniques, even at the cost of his lifespan, he could fully reach the late Golden Core stage.

But even so, he wouldn't confront Zhuo Mingyuan and Yuan Jie head-on.

Why fight them directly when he could ambush them?

Using Han Ying'er's disappearance as an excuse, Qin San lured Zhuo Mingyuan and Yuan Jie out.

However, Lin Xuan saw them rushing out and, out of curiosity, secretly followed them.

Meanwhile, Su Luo and Li Siyi were still cultivating.

Qin San seized the moment and swung his sword, aiming to cleave Zhuo Mingyuan in two.

Under normal circumstances, Zhuo Mingyuan could have dodged it.

But because he trusted Qin San so much, Zhuo Mingyuan hadn't been on guard, though his survival instincts made him instinctively dodge.

It was too late, though. The sword strike would have severed his right arm.

At the critical moment, another bell-shaped phantom enveloped Zhuo Mingyuan, blocking the attack.

Qin San was stunned. How do you have one too?

There was no time to think. Before they could react, Qin San thrust his sword at Yuan Jie.

Qin San knew full well how strong they were when fighting together. If they teamed up, it would be troublesome.

But then, Yuan Jie also had a bell-shaped phantom.

At this point, Qin San completely lost it.

"What is this? How do you all have these things?"

"We've risked our lives together so many times, and I never knew you had something like this!"

"Are you using these things specifically to guard against me?"