The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

Ying Li, Yue Wei, and An Yao ran quite a distance out of the river before stopping to catch their breath. The three turned to look at the area above the spirit crocodile, where a large cloud of blood mist was faintly visible. A sense of dread filled them; if they had been any later, they too would likely have become the crocodile's prey. They couldn't possibly defeat such a large crocodile; perhaps only when they became top-tier disciples could they contend with it.

Yue Wei felt increasingly uneasy. He stared at the blood mist rising from the sky, his face extremely grim. "We've killed someone. If Yuan Zhongyue finds out, he'll definitely send experts from the Zhongyue Alliance to kill us. If we drag our families down with us, we're finished!"

An Yao's face was also filled with conflict and fear. They were just ordinary disciples; being able to stay in the bloody Bixia Palace was already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. But they had clearly caused a great disaster. "That wasn't just a low-ranking disciple, but also Yuan Zhongyue's beloved! I heard Yuan Zhongyue is a pervert, who loves killing, but he dotes on Meng Mei. Now that Meng Mei has been killed by us, what will happen next..."

Yue Wei and An Yao's families were merely minor clans in Linshui City, lacking a Spirit Master and their strongest cultivators only at the early stages of Divine Cultivation. The fact that Yuan Zhongyue could act so arrogantly among the lower-ranking disciples proved that her family was far more formidable.

"Don't worry, I killed Meng Mei. If Yuan Zhongyue investigates in the future, I, Ying Li, will take full responsibility and will absolutely not implicate my two brothers." Ying Li pursed her lips tightly. If Yuan Zhongyue really targeted her, she would definitely take full responsibility.

"How can this be, Sister Li..." Yue Wei looked troubled. On one side was Ying Li, and on the other was his own life and his family. Why should he make such a choice?!

Ying Li waved his hand, "Now we should leave this place as soon as possible and become stronger. If we live in fear all day long, we will probably not be able to escape when we fall into Yuan Zhongyue's hands. If we fight hard now, we might still have a way out later."

"That's right. Only by becoming stronger can one have the confidence to live. If you're always weak, you never know when the strong will crush you." After a long while, Yue Wei and An Yao nodded with difficulty, their eyes filled with a sense of solemnity and helplessness as they looked at Ying Li.

"Now that you've figured it out, let's go. We can't have come to this hunting ground for nothing; we should at least get some inner cores to take back." Ying Li's eyes were clear and bright. An Yao's words had not only enlightened Yue Wei, but also told her that only by becoming stronger could she survive, and only by surviving could she protect the Ying family!

The three of them hunted down the demonic beasts in one go, and in the end, it was a worthwhile trip. Ying Li alone obtained a total of 660 inner cores from the ant-beasts. Because she had just absorbed the spiritual energy of the spirit crocodile's egg, she carefully wrapped up her 160 inner cores and handed them to the two brothers, saying, "When the spirit crocodile suddenly returned, I was afraid that I would no longer be able to absorb the spiritual energy from the spirit crocodile's egg, so I took the liberty of absorbing it all into myself. Consider these inner cores as my apology to my two brothers!"

Yue Wei and An Yao's expressions changed, especially An Yao, who waved her hands repeatedly to refuse, saying, "Sister Li, you have been kind to us, and although we each collected inner cores after hunting the ant beasts, you were the one who helped the most when Yue Wei and I were in danger. Now you are making such a big gesture, we really cannot accept it, it is too precious."

Yue Wei waved her hand, her face full of shame, "Sister Li, I'm useless. I couldn't even protect you in the emergency. How can I have the nerve to take these things? You should use them yourself. Besides, An Yao and I have collected quite a few as well, so these are for you to use."

Ying Li smiled sweetly, stuffed her share into the cloth bag at her waist, and then handed the bundle to Yue Wei and An Yao all at once. "What's wrong with me? I'm so grateful to you two brothers for taking care of me these past few days. I've finally adapted to the environment of Bixia Palace. Besides, you are my second brother's good brothers. I'll need your help to look after me in the future. Consider this a small gift from me, your younger sister, on behalf of my second brother!" Although these two people didn't have high spiritual power, they weren't bad people. Ying Li could tell that they were genuinely good to her and Ying Zhe, so it was only right that she give them all this.

Hearing this, Yue Wei and An Yao exchanged a helpless glance and had no choice but to accept it and divide the inner cores among themselves. This was no small gift; it was an immense present. Even their family patriarch had probably never seen so many ant-beast inner cores.

As darkness fell, Ying Li, Yue Wei, and An Yao agreed to leave the spiritual energy gate and return to their respective residences in Bixia Palace. Ying Zhe and Ying Xue paced back and forth in the small pavilion. They hadn't seen Ying Li for a long time; half a month had passed, and he still hadn't returned home. What if something had happened to him?! They had just heard that Ying Li had gone to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range to look for them, but they had returned long ago and hadn't run into him.

"Second brother, don't worry, your little sister is very capable, nothing will happen to her." Ying Xue couldn't help but comfort Ying Zhe, seeing his anxious expression. In fact, she was also trying to reassure herself, as she was just as worried. Originally, there were only the three of them in Bixia Palace. Although she and Ying Li had a grudge, they were still descendants of the same family. Now that one of them had suddenly disappeared, leaving only her and Ying Zhe, who knew what storms might come their way.

"Shut up! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking! You've never gotten along with your little sister since you were little, and you've always bullied her. You and Ying Luo are exactly the same. You'd love for your little sister to get into trouble, wouldn't you?!" Ying Zhe was already anxious, and now that he heard Ying Xue say something, he found it all very offensive. He had nowhere to vent his anger, so he just yelled at her.

Ying Xue looked aggrieved, and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. She couldn't decide whether to stay or leave, so she could only stand there and stare longingly at Ying Zhe.

"It's so annoying, get away from me! All you've ever done is cry! Ying Luo is so capable, and you haven't learned a thing." Although Ying Zhe still had a smug look on his face as he scolded Ying Xue, he used his right hand to rub Ying Xue's face with his sleeve. He was helpless; if he hadn't been so angry, he wouldn't have picked on the weak.

"Second brother is also anxious. When we left home, Grandpa told us to take good care of our little sister. If something happens to her, how can we, as her older brothers and sisters, face back to the family? Stop crying, or I'll definitely scold you if you keep crying." Ying Zhe sighed, there was nothing he could do.

"Second brother!"

Just as Ying Zhe was wiping away Ying Xue's tears, a familiar voice rang out. Ying Zhe and Ying Xue were overjoyed to see Ying Li, dressed in purple, waving at them from the mountainside.

"Little sister is back!" Ying Xue cried with joy, wiped away her tears, and hurried to greet her.

For once, Ying Li didn't give Ying Xue a cold look, and the three of them chatted and laughed as they returned to the mansion. Ying Li placed the bulging cloth bag he was carrying on the table, took out two hundred ant beast inner cores from it, and handed them to Ying Zhe. "Second brother, I got these this afternoon when I went hunting in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range with my brothers Yue Wei and An Yao. You and third sister can each have half. They will be very helpful for cultivation."

Looking at the two hundred glittering silver ant beast inner cores in his hand, Ying Zhe almost burst into tears. Such a generous gesture, Ying Li just took out two hundred so easily! He and Ying Xue had carefully infiltrated the Spirit Beast Mountain Range for many days and only managed to obtain thirty-two in total! The difference was astounding!

However, Ying Zhe had always admired Ying Li, and Ying Li's current strength was within his expectations. Therefore, he inquired about Ying Li's experiences and only felt relieved after learning that she was unharmed, and began counting her inner cores. Ying Li naturally glossed over the matter of the spirit crocodile's blood debt. Since Yuan Zhongyue hadn't yet discovered Meng Mei and the others' absence, why should she have revealed it earlier and caused Ying Zhe and Ying Xue to worry?

"Third sister, here are your 110 pills. Second brother was in a bad mood and yelled at you until you cried, so I took your gift and gave it to you. Please don't cry anymore, second brother really can't stand girls crying all the time!" Ying Zhe carefully put the 110 ant beast inner cores into a brocade pouch and handed it to Ying Xue, saying apologetically.

"I...I don't want it anymore. Second brother, you keep it. Or you can return it to your little sister...I...I can't take these things." Ying Xue's face was pale. She suddenly thought of the scene that day when she followed Ying Luo and beat Ying Li to death. Although she didn't hit her at the time, and although she stopped Ying Luo, it was still useless. She watched Ying Li being beaten to death with her own eyes! Although Ying Li was later saved by a master and came back to life, it was still a hurdle in Ying Xue's mind. Every time she thought of it, she felt unbearable pain.

Now, every time she sees Ying Li, she feels ashamed and guilty, wishing she could disappear into the ground. She could have asked her third uncle to save her, but she chose to keep it a secret afterward, or rather, she was an accomplice.

Ying Zhe didn't understand the implications and only thought that Ying Xue felt she owed Ying Li too much when they were young, so he took it upon himself to give the things to Ying Xue.

Ying Li remained silent. She would never forgive Ying Xue in her lifetime. But if she were Ying Xue, perhaps she would have made the same choice, or perhaps even more ruthless, becoming the true culprit. Ying Xue didn't do it, so what was there to blame? This world has always been like this: only the strong are right, and the weak are always wrong.

Ying Xue held the brocade pouch in her hand, feeling the heavy spiritual energy inside, and suddenly felt her palm become burning hot.

"You little rascal, I didn't realize you had such a broad mind! If it were me, I would wipe out his entire family, let alone his accomplices!" The alluring man smiled slightly, but as he spoke, a chilling glint of sword light flashed in his eyes.

Ying Li ignored him and simply took out the remaining three hundred ant beast inner cores and placed them on the table. Today, she had absorbed the spiritual power of the spirit crocodile egg and felt a burning sensation all over her body. She also felt a faint leakage of spiritual power from the withered bone ring on her right hand. The feeling that she could freely use the spiritual power of the withered bone ring had increased. Could it be that the spiritual power of the spirit crocodile egg could really help her break through to the second stage of spiritual cultivation?!

"That spirit crocodile is among the top hundred demonic beasts. Although its spiritual power is incredibly domineering, the power within its egg is very pure. Now you've suffered a misfortune because of a good fortune. Before that damned Yuan Zhongyue finds you, quickly use this ant beast's inner core to break through to the second stage of spiritual cultivation. Otherwise, you really can't defeat it on your own, and you might even lose your two lovely older brothers and sisters." The alluring man smiled playfully, and when he looked at Ying Li's right hand with the withered bone ring, a crescent-shaped scar on his forehead suddenly appeared with a red light! It disappeared again in an instant, without Ying Li seeing it at all.

Ying Li frowned. He was right. She needed to become twice as strong now, otherwise she wouldn't be able to survive in the dog-eat-dog Bixia Palace. She sat cross-legged on the ground, grabbed a handful of ant beast inner cores, and began to refine them. Rich spiritual energy flowed continuously into her dantian. The long night stretched on, and after an unknown amount of time, the wind howled through the small pavilion on the hill, then fell into deep silence once more.