I woke up to find myself as the villain's older sister.

"You're welcome. Are you feeling better?" Yun Qingyi looked at him calmly and kindly reminded him, "Would you like to put on some clothes?"

"Ah...oh, much better." Xie Xiyan's already flushed face turned even redder. He deftly took out a robe from his storage ring and put it on. The bright red robe made the handsome young man look even more devilishly beautiful.

Seeing this, Ling Xuzi clicked his tongue twice, "Even a peacock spreading its tail feathers isn't as flamboyant as you."

Yun Qingyi looked calmly at Xie Xiyan, her expression changing slightly, but her tone was somewhat puzzled: "By the way, why is Fellow Daoist Xie's face so red? Has the negative effects of the Abyss Flame not subsided yet?"

Before Xie Xiyan could even speak, Ling Xuzi burst into laughter: "You little brat, you've finally met your match. And this outfit of yours, you're just throwing a flirtatious glance at a blind man."

Xie Xiyan ignored Ling Xuzi's words. The tall man, who was 1.8 meters tall, lowered his head slightly. Although the redness on his face had faded considerably, it was still slightly flushed. He didn't know what to say for a moment, but he was overjoyed: Could this be considered that she was concerned about me?

Yun Qingyi raised an eyebrow, as if she had thought of something, and walked step by step to him. "Or is it that you're shy, Fellow Daoist Xie?"

boom! !

Xie Xiyan's face, which had already lost its blush, quickly regained its warmth. The once calm and arrogant man was now as flustered as a child.

"I……"

For a moment, Xie Xiyan didn't know how to answer, but Yun Qingyi's tone was very serious. When he looked up, he met those clear and calm eyes, and his heart skipped a beat.

Suddenly realizing something, she smiled and readily admitted, "Yes, I was just shy. After all, I've never been treated like this before. Please don't laugh at me, Fellow Daoist Yun."

"No, I'm glad you don't blame me for acting on my own initiative," Yun Qingyi said. Although the situation was indeed urgent at the time, looking back now, it was indeed a bit inappropriate.

Although I am quite open about it and have no ulterior motives, the person involved may see it differently.

Seeing Yun Qingyi's gaze shift several times, Xie Xiyan immediately laughed and said, "How could that be? If it weren't for you, I might be dead here. A life-saving grace should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. It would be too unkind of me to still care about those things."

Xie Xiyan's expression was sincere and genuine.

Ling Xuzi scoffed at this, "Heh, you're just saying whatever comes to mind to try and get closer to people. With your master here, how could anything happen to you?"

He then muttered to himself, "Honestly, he's completely forgotten about his teacher the moment he meets a young lady."

Hearing Xie Xiyan's words, Yun Qingyi's expression softened considerably. "It's good that you didn't take it to heart. Since Fellow Daoist Xie has nothing else to say, I'll take my leave now."

Originally, I came to this fiery pool to try my luck and see if I could obtain the essence of swordsmanship, but now that Xie Xiyan has obtained it first, there is no need to stay here.

Thinking of this, Yun Qingyi released the corpse of the Lava Abyss Python, whose enormous body almost filled the corner of the cave entrance.

According to the Beast Compendium, the Lava Abyss Python is fond of magma and often appears in high-temperature areas. Its numbers are extremely rare. It exists as a guardian beast of the essence of swordsmanship, and the essence of swordsmanship that the Lava Abyss Python guards is located in the python's skull.

Looking at Xie Xiyan, he said, "Yours, I didn't touch it." This meant that the essence of swordsmanship was still intact.

Yun Qingyi was very tempted and wanted it, but she had already stolen someone else's dragon egg last time. If she were to secretly take the essence of swordsmanship this time as well...

That feels really unfair.

It's true that the world of cultivation is a dog-eat-dog world, but things shouldn't be done too many times. Otherwise, you'll always feel a little guilty.

Xie Xiyan glanced at the Lava Abyss Python and smiled, "I naturally trust you, fellow Daoist." But he did not immediately take away the Lava Abyss Python.

Instead, he looked at Yun Qingyi with a calm expression, "However, I feel that since Fellow Daoist Yun saved me, I should do something to show my appreciation. I was just lacking a suit of armor, and I happened to hear that the scales of the Lava Abyss Python were excellent materials for refining weapons, so I came to try my luck, and I didn't expect to actually find one."

Ling Xuzi: "?"

Ling Xuzi: "You brat, what are you up to?"

Xie Xiyan: "I've heard that there seems to be a sword essence inside the skull of this Lava Abyss Python, which can supposedly be used to forge spirit swords. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Yun would like some?" (Smiling)

Ling Xuzi: "??? Are you out of your mind? What nonsense are you spouting??"

Ling Xuzi: "You spent a year honing your skills with the Molten Abyss Python, wasn't it all for this essence of swordsmanship?"

Ling Xuzi: "I have no idea what kind of armor you're talking about!!"

Xie Xiyan ignored Ling Xuzi's words and took out his divine sword short blade. His divine sword was divided into three parts: a heavy sword, a light sword, and a short blade. Separately, they were just parts of the divine sword. Only when they were all gathered together could the full power of the divine sword be unleashed.

Yun Qingyi naturally noticed this detail as well. It seems that Xie Xiyan has also had many opportunities over the years, but that's normal, after all, he is no ordinary person.

Xie Xiyan swiftly sliced ​​open the head of the Lava Abyss Python and extracted the dazzling essence of swordsmanship.

The essence, in the form of water droplets, was not large and emitted a golden glow. Xie Xiyan took out a specially made glass bottle and put the sword essence into it.

Before Yun Qingyi could recover from the glittering light, the person in front of her handed her the glass bottle. The hand holding the bottle had distinct knuckles, and Yun Qingyi could easily see the thick calluses on it.

Cultivators are inherently detached from the mortal world. They rely primarily on spiritual power for everything from walking and doing things to casting spells and fighting. Therefore, most cultivators experience very little wear and tear on themselves and rarely develop calluses.

Even sword cultivators mostly have thin calluses, but the thick calluses on the hands of the person in front of him show that he is extremely strict with himself.

She had only ever met one person like that, and that was Yun Qingrou.

Seeing that Yun Qingyi didn't react, Xie Xiyan pushed the glass bottle forward and smiled, "What's wrong? Don't you want to accept my small token of appreciation?"

Yun Qingyi looked down at the glass bottle so close to her, then looked up at him: "You really don't need it?"

"Indeed, it's not necessary." Xie Xiyan smiled slightly, his expression calm.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, Yun Qingyi didn't hesitate and generously put the glass bottle into her storage ring. She smiled slightly at Xie Xiyan and said, "Since that's the case, then I'll accept it. If you need any help in the future... you can call me."

Xie Xiyan was secretly delighted. "Then can we be considered friends?"

Yun Qingyi raised an eyebrow: "Of course, if you want to."

Xie Xiyan coughed lightly, a hint of tenderness flashing across his handsome face. "From now on, don't call me Fellow Daoist Xie anymore, just call me Xiyan."

"Row."

"May I call you Qingyi?"

"Row."

Xie Xiyan looked around, put the giant serpent back into his storage ring, and seeing that there was nothing to pack, turned to Yun Qingyi and said, "By the way, Qingyi, where are you going? This secret realm is full of mysteries and dangers. Do you want to find someone to travel with? That way you can look out for each other."

Yun Qingyi thought it over carefully and realized that she didn't really have anything to do in secret. Moreover, just as Xie Xiyan said, this ancient secret realm looked peaceful on the surface, but was actually sinister and treacherous.

Moreover, he is quite capable and would indeed be a good companion. Thinking of this, she nodded, "Okay."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xiyan almost couldn't suppress the smile on his lips, but he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Well, let's leave here first."

……

Ling Xuzi, who had completely lost all his strength, floated to the side in frustration as the two left, muttering to himself, "I'm really fed up. How did I end up with such a useless disciple like you?"