Ji Chengtian and the others came to a realization when they saw Tang Yu’s reaction as well as two pink spots flushing on the latter’s cheeks.

Initially, Tang Yu merely wanted to tease Xiaoning out of playfulness – yet, she ended up as the one teased.

Everyone held back their laughter as they looked back and forth at Tang Yu and Su Zimo.

Even though she was disguised as a male, Tang Yu was a woman after all and was easily embarrassed. There was no way she could handle the playful gazes that everyone was casting her as she raised her head and turned to leave in a huff.

Xiaoning looked at Tang Yu’s back view in a dazed manner for a long time.

“Xiaoning, don’t harp on it.”

Su Zimo coughed gently and patted Xiaoning’s shoulders.

Turning to look at Su Zimo, Xiaoning raised her brows slightly. Still somewhat unwilling to accept the truth, she asked, “Young Master Tang is really a woman?”

Su Zimo nodded.

“Hais.”

Xiaoning sighed and could not conceal her disappointment.

Su Zimo smiled bitterly in secret. Xiaoning was at the age where a maiden’s heart was blossoming – to think that her first taste of love would come from a woman.

Fortunately, the two of them had not interacted for long and there was nothing left after things were exposed.

Not long after, Xiaoning recovered and came before Su Zimo, saying sternly, “Brother, I want to join Elixir Yang Sect.”

“Why?”

Although Su Zimo could vaguely guess the reason, he still asked.

“If there’s an elixir recipe for increasing one’s lifespan in Tianhuang Mainland, it has to be in Elixir Yang Sect! I want to give it a shot!”

Indeed, it was as Su Zimo had expected.

In truth, the greatest motivation and reason why Xiaoning became an Elixir Refinement Master was because she wanted to learn how to refine an elixir to increase one’s lifespan.”

Their eldest brother, Su Hong, was only a mortal. With no way to cultivate, his lifespan was a 100 hundred at most.

The reason why Xiaoning became an Elixir Refinement Master was because she wanted to increase her eldest brother’s lifespan and have him live as long as possible.

However, the rarest elixirs in the cultivation world were those that could increase longevity.

Those elixirs and recipes had never appeared in the territories of the Great Zhou Dynasty, much less Azure Frost Sect.

This was an extremely rare opportunity that Xiaoning did not want to give up.

In reality, Su Zimo hoped that Xiaoning could join Elixir Yang Sect as well.

First, he had a deep feud with Blood Crow Palace and it was highly likely that he would experience a great calamity of life and death upon returning to the sect. If Xiaoning could join Elixir Yang Sect, she could avoid the calamity.

Second, Elixir Yang Sect was one of the four unorthodox groups and had a deep foundation and decent strength. It was far superior to the likes of Azure Frost Sect and would suit Xiaoning’s path of cultivation.

Su Zimo said, “Alright, I’ll have Night Spirit accompany you there when the time comes.”

After all, he did not have much of an understanding towards Elixir Yang Sect and could only feel more relieved if Night Spirit was by Xiaoning’s side.

Turning around, Su Zimo looked at Ji Chengtian and the others. He pondered for a moment before saying in a deep voice, “I’ll stay in Xuantian City for the time being. You guys rest a while to recover your energy and leave this place as soon as possible.”

Little fatty frowned and shouted, “Bro, we’ll either leave or stay together!”

“That’s right,” Ji Chengtian nodded as well.

Su Zimo waved it off. “I’m the target of the three Mounted Bandits. If I leave with you guys, none of us will be able to escape. My strength is enough to protect myself but if you guys stay in the city, you’ll only be sacrificing your lives for nothing. There’s no need to act on impulse.”

Ji Chengtian and the others were silent.

They knew that Su Zimo was stating the facts.

There was a seven meridian Foundation Establishment Cultivator among the three Mounted Bandits and they had hundreds of six meridian Foundation Establishment desperadoes.

Given the strength of Ji Chengtian and the rest, they would not be able to survive against the attacks of hundreds of desperadoes even if they were in peak condition.

Right now, the help that they could provide Su Zimo was almost negligible and they might even be a burden for him.

Leaving Su Zimo and Xuantian City was perhaps the best option for them.

…

In reality, Su Zimo wasn’t entirely helpless against a seven meridian Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

As long as he released his blood qi, his strength would climb to another level with the aid of his demonic qi and he could definitely contend with a seven meridian Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

However, if he did that, he would become a mass target and might attract even stronger foes or be surrounded by all the cultivators of Xuantian City!

However, if he had to hide his demonic qi and merely work with his bloodline, Su Zimo would most likely be able to match a seven meridian Foundation Establishment Cultivator at the most with the aid of Blood Quencher.

It would be extremely difficult for him to defeat or even kill a seven meridian Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

The exception to that was if he could unlock his mouth, eyes and all seven orifices to attain lesser mastery of the Orifice Clearing section.

However, that was unrealistic.

In other words, Su Zimo’s only chance was to hold out for 15 minutes against the attacks of the three Mounted Bandits and wait for the assistance of Elixir Yang Sect!

“15 minutes…”

Su Zimo murmured softly. A cold glint flickered through his eyes as he began cultivating.

The next morning, Tang Yu did not appear. Instead, a disciple of Elixir Yang Sect came forward and asked Su Zimo about his decision.

“I’ll stay.”

Su Zimo said before turning to look at Su Xiaoning. “Xiaoning will return with you. Please tell Young Master Tang that I hope that he will take good care of her.”

The disciple of Elixir Yang Sect smiled gently. “Our Young Master has already expected this, so he told me in advance to inform you not to worry and that he will definitely protect Xiaoning well.”

“Also, these are some healing elixirs courtesy of senior brother. Hopefully, they’ll be of use to you guys.”

Before leaving, the Elixir Yang Sect disciple handed Su Zimo a storage bag containing many jade bottles of various elixirs.

Su Zimo took a quick glance and did not spot any perfect elixirs. He then passed everything to Ji Chengtian and the rest.

With Night Spirit’s company, Xiaoning left with the Elixir Yang Sect disciple.

Su Zimo continued cultivating.

Under such a pressing situation, the fifth spirit meridian in his body also appeared and there was a chance he could unlock it within the next few days!

With the help of the healing elixirs gifted by Tang Yu, Ji Chengtian and the others recovered swiftly and were mostly healed by the next day.

This morning, Su Zimo said in a deep voice, “Senior Brother Ji, you guys should leave today. The three Mounted Bandits are going to return anytime now. If we drag on, things might change and it might be too late to leave.”

“Alright.”

Ji Chengtian and the others nodded without hesitating.

Leng Rou, little fatty and Shi Jian got up one after another as well, bidding farewell to Su Zimo.

On the way, all three of them were silent, deep in their own thoughts.

After exiting Xuantian City, little fatty suddenly came to a stop at the north gates. He turned and said, “Senior Brother Ji, Sister Leng Rou and Silly Jian, I intend to explore the ancient battlefield myself. Let’s bid farewell here.”

“I’m not silly,” Shi Jian murmured.

Leng Rou nodded with a cold expression. “Alright.”

Ji Chengtian smiled. “That’s my intention as well. I don’t know when we’re going to meet again after separating today. Everyone… please take care.”

“Take care!”

Everyone bid farewell with cupped fists and Ji Chengtian, Leng Rou and little fatty split into three directions on their flying swords. They disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving Shi Jian the only one remaining.

Scratching his head, he picked a random direction and sprinted with huge strides.