For this cleaver “Zhan Xiuran” used his divine sense to manipulate a blood-qi cord, intercepting it before Fang Qing.To his astonishment, the cleaver cleaved through the cord at their first contact, losing entirely the solidity it had moments before.With the cord severed, the cleaver sliced across “Zhan Xiuran’s” neck, severing head and body cleanly.The fallen head of “Zhan Xiuran” spoke his final words.“I will not… submit!”With that utterance, life fled entirely from him.As “Zhan Xiuran’s” head hit the ground, the blood-qi cords that had bound Fang Qing began to dissipate into motes of red light.Fang Qing drew deep breaths, forcing in the precious air made scarce by oxygen deprivation.Gu Yuan, having felled Xue Dao’s body, had instantly gone limp and collapsed, unconscious on the ground.At the same moment Gu Yuan fainted, a ghostly spirit—only a torso—emerged from his body.Fang Qing, having regained some spiritual energy, looked at the spirit and asked, “Are you Senior Zhan?” her tone certain, as if she recognized him.The spirit floated before her, hands clasped behind its back. “Indeed, I am Zhan Xiuran.”“What happened to him?” Fang Qing pressed.“Nothing serious, just exhausted all my spiritual energy,” Zhan Xiuran explained calmly.“Oh, that’s good,” Fang Qing said, then used true qi to heal the red marks the cords had cut into her skin.At that moment Zhan Xiuran added, “Earlier I dueled Xue Dao’s soul and was defeated, so I fled helplessly into Gu Yuan’s mind sea. But now my time is short. Please convey my words to Gu Yuan later.”Fang Qing nodded, agreeing for now.“If in future you meet anyone from the Refining Spirit Pavilion, tell them of my condition— they will understand why I did this.”Having spoken, he used the storage ring on his corpse’s finger to draw out a token and continued, “This is my Refining Spirit Pavilion token. Present it to prove your identity, and you may join my pavilion.”The token floated into Fang Qing’s hand as soon as he finished speaking.With everything done, Zhan Xiuran transformed into specks of starlight and vanished into the air, leaving only a faint, distant whisper.“I have done what I must. Now… we leave it to fate…” His voice was ethereal, unfathomable.As Zhan Xiuran disappeared, his corpse on the ground also began to fade, leaving behind only the storage ring and a dark strange stone.The storage ring slipped onto the unconscious Gu Yuan’s finger by itself, and the strange stone flew into his brow, embedding itself there.Watching this, Fang Qing felt speechless.Is this the treatment of the World’s Progeny? They receive the best benefits when in danger, while she was sent off with a mere token.Still, she had the Holy Sanctuary. Just now it had sent her a notification.Fang Qing placed the token into her personal space and checked the Sanctuary’s message.[Since the Contracted Member aided in slaying Zhan Xiuran (physical body) and Xue Dao (spirit) without assistance from other Contracted Members, you will receive full rewards. Additionally, because the targets’ power greatly exceeded a Contracted Member’s, this reward is granted a 100% bonus and extra Reincarnation Points. Rewards as follows][World progress 10%][Xue Dao’s Chest (Purple) and Zhan Xiuran’s Chest (Purple) have been added to the Contracted Member’s personal space][Reincarnation Points: 1500]Fang Qing nodded in satisfaction at the Sanctuary’s rewards, then sat down to recover her strength while waiting for Gu Yuan to awaken.…Time passed, and the pain in Gu Yuan’s head sharpened until he opened his eyes and regained consciousness.Upon waking, he heard a cool, calm feminine voice beside him.“I saved your life, you saved mine, so we’re even. I’m leaving now. Farewell.”At that familiar voice, Gu Yuan instantly recognized her and asked, “Where are you going?”“Weiping City, Fire-Gold Sect.”“Coincidentally, I’m headed there too.”Fang Qing gave no reply but walked on in silence.Watching her graceful back, Gu Yuan smiled and said, “Do you know where Weiping City is?”Fang Qing paused, then replied in a cool, distant tone, “I do not.”“Then let us continue traveling together. As friends.”…Fang Qing fell silent.Should she travel with Gu Yuan?She did not wish to. This fellow was a disaster magnet. Barely a day since they met, and danger nearly claimed both their lives.She did not want further contact because more such Xue Dao–Zhan Xiuran affairs would likely follow.Yet it had its benefits—survival always brought rewards, like that token and the chests.But she did not want to gamble again. Her survival this time had been mere chance; next time luck might not favor her.After a moment’s thought she said calmly, “You are a good person. I am not. So I’m leaving.”Gu Yuan thought she fretted over his blocking her blade, so he said, “About that strike, it was my fault. I apologize.”“But… are you really going?”“We have just met, and soon we must part.”Having said this, Fang Qing strode forward, her steps resolute and without hesitation.Gu Yuan watched her back in silence.Her figure was so strong, determined, and… lonely.Just like him.…Treading the heavy earth, Fang Qing did not look back, her gaze fixed ahead.The surroundings were silent, with no beasts in sight—likely a result of the recent battle.After walking some distance and realizing Gu Yuan would not follow, Fang Qing retrieved the two purple chests.She examined the red iron chest that glowed faintly purple and calmly opened it.A flash of white light revealed two items.A jade slip and a small vial containing a drop of blood.Scanning them, Fang Qing obtained their information.Name: Method of Blood-Qi RefinementQuality: Third-Tier PurpleType: One-Time ItemEffect: Upon learning, one can refine the surplus blood-qi from slain creatures for combat use.Rating: 82 (Third-Tier items rate 30–100)Description: This is Xue Dao’s cornerstone method; by this secret art he roamed freely for a century without being slain.Name: Vital Essence BloodQuality: Third-Tier GoldType: One-Time ItemEffect: Consuming it greatly enhances one’s physical aptitude.Rating: 98Description: Over a century of slaughter Xue Dao produced a semi-finished Vital Essence Blood lacking strong-blood refinement. After fusing bodies with Zhan Xiuran in battle, it became complete.Considering the items’ uses, Fang ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Qing concluded she could employ both.Wu Qian’s Bloodthirst could utilize blood-qi, so the Method of Blood-Qi Refinement was naturally useful.And Vital Essence Blood needed no explanation—physical aptitude was precious to a martial artist reliant on her body.But now was not the time to use them.She placed both items into her personal space and then opened Zhan Xiuran’s chest again.

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