My Love Life With The Sect Masters in Xianxia (Patreon)

Chapter 131: Traveling with the Enchantress

Cultivators flocked to the Ten Thousand Mountains, seeking that elusive celestial destiny.

Except for Sheng Zhixia.

She claimed she wanted to stay behind to comfort the common folk and clean up the spiritual beast corpses outside the city, so she didn't join the others.

This made Li Ran admire her a little.

It was clear that this imperial princess truly cared about the people.

With her noble status and talent in the Golden Core realm, such a mindset was rare.

But for some reason, Sheng Zhixia always looked at him with a peculiar gaze.

There was a bit of avoidance, a touch of awkwardness, and even… a trace of awe?

Li Ran didn’t dwell on it too much.

He figured the young lady was just shy, embarrassed after accidentally walking in on him bathing the previous day.

Little did he know, everything he had done over the past day and night had been witnessed by Sheng Zhixia in its entirety.

This had a profound impact on the girl's heart...

Apart from the imperial family members who stayed behind, the others quickly gathered their belongings and set off towards the Ten Thousand Mountains.

To avoid causing too much commotion and attracting powerful spiritual beasts, the group split into several smaller teams, each separated by hundreds of meters, advancing into the dense forest.

Outside the forest, Li Ran and Yue Jianli hovered in mid-air.

Glancing at the disciples of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion and the Hidden Gauze Sect behind them, Li Ran sighed, "It seems we’ll have to split up."

"Indeed," Yue Jianli nodded helplessly.

In front of these disciples, they still had to maintain a proper distance.

Li Ran reminded her, "Keep the talisman I gave you safe. If you encounter any danger, crush it immediately, and I'll sense it right away."

The Ten Thousand Mountains were shrouded in strangeness. Although Yue Jianli was strong, Li Ran couldn’t help but worry.

Seeing his concern, Yue Jianli’s heart softened.

She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "Got it, big brother."

This form of address was something Li Ran had made her call him during their intimate moments the previous day.

Seeing her hesitant and shy demeanor, Li Ran almost couldn’t hold himself back from dragging her back to the inn for another “session.”

But after saying her piece, Yue Jianli fled with a red face, leading her team away.

Watching her delicate figure retreat, Li Ran shook his head with a smile.

"Who would’ve thought she’d learn how to flirt with me…"

After watching her leave, Li Ran cleared his throat and commanded, "Disciples of the Hidden Gauze Sect, listen up!"

"Here!"

The disciples responded in unison.

"I brought out this many people, and I’ll bring back the same number—no one gets left behind!"

"Yes!"

Li Ran continued, "Form a defensive formation. If there’s danger, retreat immediately. The meeting point is at the teleportation formation."

"Understood!"

The disciples of the Hidden Gauze Sect responded, their eyes filled with admiration and trust.

<+>

The Ten Thousand Mountains

Something had changed since Li Ran's first visit to this place.

Lin Langyue's speculation was correct—the spiritual beasts had indeed grown stronger.

To be precise, the beasts from deeper within the forest had all moved outward.

During the last sect trial, even disciples in the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment realms could explore the outskirts of the forest.

But this time, Li Ran had barely entered the dense woods when he encountered three Foundation Establishment spiritual beasts and one Golden Core spiritual beast!

Bang!

Li Ran smashed the head of the Golden Core tiger with a single strike of his spear, his expression turning grim.

This was clearly abnormal.

Just as he was about to say something, a soft rustling sound came from nearby.

Without even looking, Li Ran thrust his spear backward.

Buzz!

A pink glow lit up, deflecting his Cloud Feather Spear to the side.

Qin Ruyan emerged from the forest, her pretty face filled with grievance.

"Holy Son Li, you’re really quite impatient—attacking me with your spear as soon as we meet."

Li Ran chuckled, "My apologies. I thought you were a spiritual beast."

Qin Ruyan rolled her eyes at him. "Have you ever seen such a beautiful spiritual beast?"

As she spoke, she spun in place, her black gauzy dress fluttering slightly, revealing her peach-like, curvaceous figure.

Li Ran had seen many beauties, each one a peerless, captivating presence.

Qin Ruyan might not have been the most beautiful, but she was undoubtedly the most alluring. Every gesture and movement seemed to ripple with temptation.

"As expected of the Saintess of the Hehuan Sect, truly a master of her craft," Li Ran said, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Tch."

Seeing him remain unmoved, Qin Ruyan restrained her teasing demeanor.

"Holy Son Li, since we’ve run into each other, why don’t we travel together?" she suggested.

Li Ran thought for a moment before nodding. "That’s fine."

This forest felt strange beyond words. With the Hehuan Sect’s formidable strength, traveling together could be advantageous.

Hearing his agreement, Qin Ruyan’s face lit up with joy as she briskly walked to his side.

"Then let’s go."

"Mm."

With their combined forces, they led their respective disciples deeper into the forest.

The addition of the Hehuan Sect made hunting spiritual beasts much easier, and their progress quickened significantly.

Along the way, Qin Ruyan stole glances at Li Ran.

Clad in white robes, he exuded elegance and charisma, with a sharp, heroic air between his brows—a striking image of a refined gentleman.

The stark contrast between this and his ferocious, bare-chested battle against the Thunder Lion was almost unbelievable.

Noticing her gaze, Li Ran frowned and said, "Why are you staring at me?"

Qin Ruyan grinned mischievously, saying, "I must admit, I prefer Holy Son Li’s look without clothes."

Li Ran: "…"

Qin Ruyan tilted her head playfully. "Aren’t you curious why?"

"No," Li Ran replied flatly, shaking his head.

Qin Ruyan bit her lip, her eyes sparkling as she murmured to herself, "Because it makes you look so… ravishing."

Li Ran almost fell out of the air.

For a moment, he regretted agreeing to travel with this enchantress.

"Ha-ha~~"

Qin Ruyan covered her mouth and giggled, her body trembling slightly.

But then, as if recalling something, she sighed softly. "It’s such a pity. If only Lin Langyue had died in the beast tide…"

Li Ran raised an eyebrow curiously. "Lin Langyue? What grudge do you have against her?"

The first time he had met Qin Ruyan, she’d been oddly thrilled about Lin Langyue getting beaten.

Qin Ruyan scoffed with disdain. "That woman always acts so superior, as if her ‘Path of Detachment’ is somehow more noble than the Hehuan Sect’s ways."

Shrugging, she added, "I just can’t stand her, that’s all."

Li Ran nodded in agreement. "That’s true. The Dao has countless paths, all leading to the same destination. There’s no such thing as one being superior to another."

Qin Ruyan chuckled, her tone turning teasing. "I knew you’d agree with me, Holy Son Li. After all, you and Head Disciple Yue already dual cultiv—"

Her voice trailed off abruptly.

Before she could finish, Li Ran grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into a tree trunk!

The massive ancient tree, requiring five people to encircle it, trembled before snapping in half and toppling to the ground with a loud crash.

The disciples nearby were stunned, unable to process what had just happened.

Moments ago, they’d been laughing and chatting. How had it escalated to violence so suddenly?

Qin Ruyan’s face turned pale as she forced a smile. "Holy Son Li, what are you doing?"

Li Ran’s pitch-black pupils shimmered with a golden light, his gaze icy and filled with murderous intent.

"You dared to spy on me?"