A useless person with five spiritual roots? I sacrificed the proud daughter of heaven.

"Senior brother, let's go!"

Zhao Yanran shouted, struggling to deal with the two mermaid statues. In just a short while, she had already been stabbed in several places.

Shen Ci then seemed to wake up from a dream and hurriedly pulled Zhao Yan away. Only after they retreated into the dense forest did the two mermaid statues finally return to normal.

"I'm sorry, Junior Sister Yanran, it's all my fault. I was too impatient."

Shen Ci looked at Zhao Yanran's injuries with a face full of guilt, but Zhao Yanran just smiled gently.

"It's alright, these are just superficial injuries, and besides, I know you didn't do it on purpose, Senior Brother Shen."

"Ding~ Congratulations, host. Shen Ci's favorability has reached 85. Please keep up the good work."

Hearing the system's announcement, Zhao Yanran's expression remained unchanged. She tugged at Shen Ci's sleeve and looked at the two mermaid statues with concern.

"But senior brother, what should we do with those two merman statues?"

Shen Ci's gaze suddenly sharpened. He turned his head and stared at the two mermaid statues, unconsciously tightening his grip on Zhao Yanran's arm.

"It's alright, they're just two inanimate objects. I'll definitely find a way to crack them."

Shen Ci told Zhao Yanran to rest in the dense forest, while he himself walked around the palace. The entire palace was extremely secure, without even a single window; the only entrance was the large door.

He then tried sticking the blasting talisman on the wall, attempting to blast a gap in it, but the grayish-white wall, made of some unknown material, remained completely still, not even a single fragment was blasted off.

The only breakthrough we have so far is those two mermaid statues.

Shen Ci gritted his teeth and took out an eighth-grade purple lightning talisman from his storage bag.

He had acquired this at a high price from an auction house, intending to keep it to unravel its mysteries. However, compared to the treasures within the Dragon Palace, an eighth-grade purple thunder talisman was nothing.

Once he breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, he'll be able to acquire even more Thunder Talismans.

Shen Ci held the talisman and flew forward. The two mermaid statues immediately rushed towards him. He looked for an opportunity and when the two mermaid statues were close to each other, he immediately affixed the eighth-grade purple thunder talisman to the top of the mermaid statues' heads.

The lightning talisman slowly burned, and Shen Ci curled his lips into a smile before retreating rapidly.

To avoid being affected by the lightning, he deliberately led Zhao Yanran back several miles.

"Senior brother, is the Rank 8 Purple Thunder Talisman really effective?"

"Of course."

Shen Ci said firmly.

The heavenly lightning summoned by the eighth-grade purple lightning talisman could not be stopped even by a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. He refused to believe that these mere two mermaid statues could withstand it.

Zhao Yanran raised her head and looked at the cloudless sky, which really didn't look like it was about to be struck by lightning.

She kicked a small pebble at her feet in frustration, and asked herself:

"System, where is Jiang Xuanli? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

"he died."

"Dead?" Zhao Yanran was silent for a moment, then a bad feeling suddenly arose in her heart. She asked again, "It wasn't Sheng He who..."

"Yes."

"I knew it, they're all useless!"

Five years ago, Wu Yan told her personally that the Seven Killings Pavilion would kill Sheng He.

A month ago, Jiang Xuanli found her with great confidence and also said that he would help her kill Sheng He.

But Shenghe is still alive and well!

Zhao Yanran sighed. Her years of experience told her that the lightning probably wouldn't strike. Relying on these people was useless; to enter the palace and obtain the treasure, she would have to rely on herself in the end.

System: You might not be someone I can rely on either...

"System, help me exchange for the Invisibility item."

"Host, please note that the invisibility item is ineffective within the Dragon Palace."

"What!" Zhao Yanran screamed, "Why!"

The system covered its ears and explained expressionlessly, "The Dragon Palace is also formed from the body of a giant dragon. All items become ineffective within the Dragon Palace. For example, Shen Ci's eighth-grade purple lightning talisman will not work no matter how long you wait. Heavenly lightning will not fall within the Dragon Palace."

"You mean we can't get in?"

"If you can't get in, what's the point of having me here!"

The system closed its eyes helplessly, and after Zhao Yanran finished her long string of curses, it pinched its brow and reminded her, "This is the Dragon Palace. Didn't Xuanxiao catch a mermaid for you?"

"Mermaids? Of course I know, but what good are they?"

The system patiently explained, "Those two statues are mermaid statues. If you go in wearing a flowing dress made of mermaid skin, the mermaid statues will think you are also a mermaid and won't stop you."

Zhao Yanran nodded thoughtfully, her gaze suddenly falling on Shen Ci beside her.

"If we can't use the Concealment item, we can at least use the Bewitching Pill, right?"

"Junior Sister Yanran, you..."

Before Shen Ci could finish speaking, Zhao Yanran's soft lips pressed against his. Shen Ci's eyes widened, and his heart pounded wildly.

"Shen Ci's favorability rating is 90, 95, and 100. Congratulations to the host for achieving the maximum favorability rating again. You are rewarded with 10,000 points. Your total points are currently 15,089."

Hearing the system's announcement, Zhao Yanran breathed a sigh of relief, rolled her eyes, and immediately distanced herself from Shen Ci.

"Junior Sister Yanran, you... why are you suddenly like this... I know how you feel. Don't worry, I will definitely take responsibility for you!"

Shen Ci was still in a daze from the kiss. His face was flushed, and he looked at Zhao Yanran with a serious expression.

Zhao Yanran wiped her mouth, looked at Shen Ci with disdain, and took out the soothing incense without hesitation and lit it.

"You, go to the ship and wait for me now."

Shen Ci's eyes gradually became lifeless. He stood up and nodded stiffly at Zhao Yanran.

"Yes."

Zhao Yanran put away the calming incense and only took out the flowing light dress from her storage bag and changed into it after seeing Shen Ci walk away.

Shen Ci is a talisman cultivator and is quite good-looking, but what good is that?

Zhao Yanran smoothed out the wrinkles on her skirt; she had no intention of sharing the treasures of the Dragon Palace with anyone else.

……

Looking at the yellow paper pasted on the mermaid statue in the water mirror, A Yuan asked curiously, "What is this?"

"Eighth-grade Thunder Talisman".

"A thunder talisman? But the Dragon Palace never uses thunder."

The two looked at the clear sky reflected in the water mirror at the same time, and Sheng He's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

Half an hour later, the sky was still clear and cloudless. Sheng He was busy stuffing the scattered treasures back into the room with A Yuan when the door suddenly opened slowly behind them.

Zhao Yanran looked up and met Sheng He's eyes, who was carrying the alchemy furnace.

"Sheng He? It's you again?"

"Zhao Yanran?"

Sheng He chuckled, put down the alchemy furnace, and drew his longsword from behind his back: "What a small world."

"What...what are you going to do?" Zhao Yanran clutched the hem of her skirt and cautiously backed away. "Let me tell you, harming fellow disciples is a serious crime. Aren't you afraid of being crippled and imprisoned on the Cliff of Repentance like Senior Brother Chu Heng?"

"You were killed by Jiang Xuanli, not me. What am I afraid of?"

Zhao Yanran opened her eyes slightly, as if she had thought of something. Without hesitation, she closed the door and turned to run away. Sheng He was about to chase after her when a figure rushed out even faster than her.