Lauren actually slowed, realizing he wasn’t wrong. She ducked into cover, swapped in a fresh Hidden Spirit Talisman, and swallowed two Restoring Spirit Pills in quick succession, feeling the depleted spiritual energy seep back into her veins.

  “What now?” Little Four Legs muttered under her breath.

  “What else?” Lauren’s dry voice echoed. “Burn through my belongings first and see if I can stay alive. If that fails, well… then die.”

  “Die? You make it sound easy."

  "I don’t want to, but what choice do I have? At least I’ll go down fighting.”

  Little Four Legs studied her for a moment, and for the first time, thought she sounded like a woman carrying a heavy story.

  “Fine,” he said. “If you’re determined to fight, pull out four top-grade spirit stones.”

  Lauren stumbled. “Four top-grade spirit stones?”

  “Yes. Four.”

  Her gut clenched. She had plenty of mid- and low-grade stones, but very few of the top-grade kind. Each one was worth a small fortune—veins that produced them were absurdly rare. Only the wealthy or the sect’s inner elite could even afford to carry a handful.

  Still, money was meaningless if she ended up dead. Without hesitation, she dug them out. “And then?”

  “Put them into your Ice Domain Array,” he instructed. “If you want even a sliver of a chance, you’ll need the array at full power. With luck, maybe the aura of it alone will make him think twice.”

  Lauren’s eyes widened. “Wait—you mean the array runs on these? On top-grade stones?”

  “Of course. Did you really think it worked for free? Nothing that powerful comes cheap. Stop whining and load them in.”

  Heart aching, Lauren slotted the four glittering stones into the formation pte. Each one clinked into pce like a nail hammered into her soul.

  She went through her inventory, checking every life-saving treasure her senior brother had forced into her hands before this journey. One by one, she realized they were useless. Against an elder at the Spirit Severing stage, her talismans and charms were paper toys. Even detonating the Gintama Sword in his face wouldn’t be enough now that he was wary.

  She exhaled sharply. “Just my luck.”

  “You are unlucky,” Little Four Legs agreed ftly. “High-level cultivators usually can’t be bothered crushing juniors. But you? First time down the mountain and you draw the attention of a Spirit Severing freak. If this keeps up, I doubt I’ll live to see you ascend.”

  Lauren barked a ugh, bitter but amused. “You could try having a little faith.”

  Little Four Legs misread her sarcasm and answered earnestly, “Confidence is good. I don’t like jobs with too much turnover.”

  Lauren nearly choked. “…Are you saying if I die, you’ll just find another employer?”

  A beat of silence. Pah, disgusting!

  .....

  Lauren forced herself to stay optimistic. If Little Four Legs didn’t want to move, then at least he’d help her wring every possible chance of survival out of this mess.

  Indiana had her good luck. She had a snarky four-legged cheat. Not the worst trade.

  Her strength was nearly restored. Spiritual energy coursed through her veins again, no longer hollow and dry. She stood, dusted herself off, and pressed forward.

  Meanwhile, Yusuf was still entangled with Jade.

  Jade wasn’t a peerless fighter, but her mastery of formations was solid and her sheer tenacity terrifying. She kept him pinned, refusing to let him slip away. Every moment lost was another step further Lauren could take—and another chance that he would lose the item the Sect Leader had ordered him to obtain at all costs.

  “Mr. Yusuf?”

  Relief washed over him when a Core Formation disciple from the Moonlit Sect dropped in. Perfect timing—his signal hadn’t gone unanswered.

  “I don’t need you here,” Yusuf barked. “Go catch the Foundation Establishment girl.”

  He tossed the man a jade slip containing Lauren’s location. The Core Formation disciple skimmed it and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

  “Yes, Mr. Yusuf.”

  So it wasn’t Jade he was expected to fight after all. If it had been, he’d be nothing but cannon fodder.

  Jade made to intercept, fury fshing in her eyes, but Yusuf blocked her path.

  “Jade,” he ughed harshly, “since you’re so eager to fight, then fight me. Why chase after others?”

  Jade’s voice was like ice. “So this is the great Moonlit Sect? You lot cim righteousness, but you stoop to robbing juniors. Treasures in the secret realm belong to whoever seizes them. And yet you, Yusuf—a Spirit Severing cultivator—have the gall to hunt down a Foundation Establishment child?”

  The words struck home. Yusuf felt the sting of shame, but the item was too vital. Pride meant nothing compared to a direct order from the Sect Leader.

  Far from the csh, Lauren’s path was suddenly blocked.

  “Stop.”

  A man in Moonlit Sect robes—Core Formation, second stage.

  Lauren’s gaze narrowed. “Fellow Daoist, why are you stopping me?”

  “I’d like to invite you to the Moonlit Sect.”

  Her lips thinned. Of course. That shameless bastard Yusuf must have called for reinforcements.

  So he really does want me dead.

  Little Four Legs’ voice cut in coldly: “He’s only Core Formation, stage two. Kill him.”

  Lauren hesitated only a beat. “…Okay.” She offered the man a faint smile. “Thank you, fellow Daoist, for showing me the way.”

  What harm could a sixteen-year-old girl pose?

  That smile disarmed him—lowered his guard, just a fraction. He didn’t know why his uncle-shifu wanted her, but it hardly mattered. A polite escort job, maybe? He summoned his flying boat, preparing to take her away.

  He never got the chance.

  The moment he turned, Lauren flicked out a Level 2 Armor-Breaking Talisman.

  The talisman wasn’t much against a true expert, but it was enough—his formidable Core Formation defenses crumbled down to Foundation Establishment levels for the space of ten breaths.

  His eyes widened in shock.

  In that heartbeat, Lauren poured every drop of spiritual energy into a single, ruthless sword thrust. The bde punched through his chest, shattering his golden core in an explosion of energy.

  The man froze, disbelief frozen on his face, and colpsed lifeless.

  From afar, Yusuf’s spiritual sense followed everything. Rage twisted through him as he watched the girl cut down his sect’s disciple without hesitation.

  “This damned girl…” he hissed.

  Her decisiveness shocked even him.

  Lauren tore across the wilderness, gritting her teeth.

  Two auras closed in from behind—Core Formation, both of them.

  “Fuck, two of them this time,” she spat.

  Little Four Legs’ voice was grim. “These ones are ready for you. No sneak attacks. You’ll have to deal with them fast—because more will come.”

  “I know,” she snapped back, irritation yered over panic.

  It had taken Thunder Sect fifteen days to reach the Hidden Mist Secret Realm. The Moonlit Sect was only three days away. That difference weighed heavily on her as the pressure from behind surged closer.