Bone-stripping and tendon-pulling? The reborn senior sister becomes the number one cultivator in the

Si Jinchuan followed silently behind, watching Xie Wanning tremble with sobs. He reached out his hand, wanting to comfort her.

But he still pulled his hand back.

He crouched down, his gaze falling on the blood-covered raccoon cat, and gently waved his right hand, casting a cleansing spell.

The bloodstains on the little raccoon gradually faded, restoring its original color. The little raccoon, with its eyes closed, seemed to be asleep.

Si Jinchuan hesitated for a moment before handing Xie Wanning a handkerchief.

"Thank you," Xie Wanning said, her voice choked with emotion, as she took the handkerchief and wiped away the tears streaming down her face.

Not long after, Xie Wanning struggled to her feet, her body staggering but she remained standing, while Si Jinchuan silently stayed by her side the whole time.

Xie Wanning carefully placed the little raccoon's body into her spatial ring. She would find a suitable place to bury the little raccoon.

"Let's go, Brother Si. Brother Zhou and Brother Shen are still waiting for me." Xie Wanning's eyes were sharp as she followed the direction of the bloodstains.

Si Jinchuan watched Xie Wanning's departing figure, his lips slightly pursed, but he said nothing.

It took half an incense stick's time for the bloodstains to finally stop.

And at the end of the road was Zhou Zhuocheng.

His grey Taoist robe was already stained crimson with blood, and his body was covered in horrifying wounds. The deepest wound was in his abdomen, a fist-sized hole from which dark black blood was continuously flowing. His face was deathly pale, his lips were bloodless, and even his breathing was barely audible.

Xie Wanning hurriedly ran over and fed Zhou Zhuocheng the Grade 8 Recovery Pill.

With Xie Wanning feeling uneasy, she finally heard Zhou Zhuocheng's breathing gradually become clearer, and the bleeding from his abdominal wound stopped, while the shallower scars on his body disappeared.

Xie Wanning breathed a sigh of relief; she hadn't arrived too late this time, and Brother Zhou was able to come back to life.

She even thanked her for her alchemy skills, saying that it was her eighth-grade pills that gave Brother Zhou a glimmer of hope.

A moment later, Zhou Zhuocheng slowly opened his eyes and saw Xie Wanning standing beside him. His eyes, which had been dull and lifeless, now held a hint of joy, and his body trembled slightly: "Little sister, it's so good that you're alright, cough cough cough."

"Brother Zhou, have some water first." Xie Wanning handed the water bottle to Zhou Zhuocheng's lips, and after drinking it, Zhou Zhuocheng's face regained some color.

"Brother Zhou, who hurt you like this? Where is Brother Shen?" Xie Wanning held Zhou Zhuocheng's hand and asked anxiously.

"Ahem!" Zhou Zhuocheng coughed twice and said, "It's the demonic cultivator Wu Ying. Brother Shen and I left the cave and found Wu Ying chasing other rogue cultivators, so we stepped in to save them. Unexpectedly, we were both seriously injured by Wu Ying."

"Wu Ying pierced my dantian with a single sword strike, damaging my spiritual root and elixir. I was seriously injured." Zhou Zhuocheng's eyes dimmed. A cultivator's most important thing is their own cultivation. Losing one's spiritual root and elixir is equivalent to never being able to cultivate again in the future.

"Brother Shen used a teleportation talisman to send me back to the cave to save me. And he alone..." Zhou Zhuocheng frowned, veins bulging, enduring immense grief.

Finally, he said in a hoarse voice, "He held off Wu Ying's attack alone, in order to buy time for the other rogue cultivators to escape and also to buy me time to teleport."

Finally, this burly man could no longer hold back his grief, and tears streamed down his face like a torrential downpour.

Upon hearing this, Xie Wanning was filled with a mixture of grief and anger.

She knew that Brother Shen was likely doomed, and that surviving would be as difficult as ascending to heaven. But she hated that demonic cultivator named "Wu Ying" to the core; it was he who had harmed Brother Zhou and Brother Shen.

Brother Zhou and Brother Shen were her saviors; they brought her out of the secret realm and taught her how to live without her memories.

They are Xie Wanning's family, like her own older brothers. They treat her with warmth, protect her safety, and help her clean up her messes. No matter how reckless Xie Wanning is, they will always dote on her gently.

However, such a good Brother Zhou had his cultivation destroyed by demonic cultivators, preventing him from attaining the Great Dao; such a good Brother Shen was being hunted down by demonic cultivators, and his fate was unknown.

Xie Wanning held back her tears, stood up abruptly, and said firmly, "Brother Zhou, I will avenge you."

But Zhou Zhuocheng grabbed her clothes tightly, and the weak Zhou brother almost gritted his teeth and roared, "Little sister, you are not allowed to go."

Xie Wanning pulled her clothes back and resolutely went to seek revenge.

But then a serious and angry shout was heard: "Xu Weilin, if you go to take revenge now, don't acknowledge me as your elder brother anymore."

Xie Wanning turned around in shock and saw Zhou Zhuocheng struggling to get up, his waist wound reopening and blood flowing all over the ground.

Zhou Zhuocheng's words struck Xie Wanning's heart like a giant hammer.

Xie Wanning hurriedly helped Zhou Zhuocheng to sit down, and said remorsefully, "Brother Zhou, don't be angry. I won't go. Calm down and be careful with your wounds; they haven't healed yet."

Xie Wanning was deeply afraid that Zhou Zhuocheng would get hurt again, since although the Grade 8 Recovery Pill had stopped the bleeding, it had not completely restored Zhou Zhuocheng's body.

Xie Wanning channeled spiritual energy into Zhou Zhuocheng, while Si Jinchuan took out clean cloth to bandage Zhou Zhuocheng's wound. Finally, Zhou Zhuocheng's wound stopped bleeding.

Suppressing the overwhelming rage for revenge within her, Xie Wanning asked in confusion, "Brother Zhou, why won't you let me go and take revenge?"

Zhou Zhuocheng sighed heavily before slowly speaking: "Before Brother Shen risked his life to teleport me away, he told me to make sure you were safe. I was also worried about you and afraid that something might happen to you."

"Little sister, that demonic cultivator is at the late Nascent Soul stage. We can't beat her. I can't watch you go and die. I hate that demonic cultivator too. I wish I could tear him to pieces. He killed my brothers and friends. How could I possibly let him go?" Zhou Zhuocheng was agitated, his eyes red, wishing he could tear Wu Ying apart with his bare hands.

“But I can’t let hatred cloud my judgment, and I can’t just stand by and watch you die for us. So, little sister, stay by my side and wait for the secret realm to open. Then we’ll find other helpers and come back to take our revenge. Okay?” There was a hint of pleading in Zhou Zhuocheng’s eyes. He knew that his little sister was always clear about her loves and hates and had a chivalrous spirit. He was afraid that she would risk her life to fight against Wu Ying for revenge.

Xie Wanning looked at Zhou Zhuocheng and finally gave in: "Okay."

Zhou Zhuocheng breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Little sister, have you seen that raccoon? I fainted as soon as I arrived at the cave, so I don't know what the raccoon is..."

He stopped before he could finish speaking, because he saw tears welling up in Xie Wanning's eyes, and in that instant, he understood everything.

It was clearly a tanuki without a contract and could have escaped at any moment. Yet, it selflessly stood in front of Zhou Zhuocheng and Shen Kang'an, blocking Wu Ying's fatal blow and giving Zhou Zhuocheng and the others a chance to survive. Therefore, Shen Kang'an also teleported the tanuki back to the cave.

"The little raccoon came to me. If it weren't for it, I probably wouldn't have been able to find Brother Zhou. But I couldn't save it." Xie Wanning covered her face, her sobs echoing in the cave, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Zhou Zhuocheng patted Xie Wanning's back tenderly and comforted her, "Little sister, it's alright, it's alright, it's all over now."

But Xie Wanning still didn't stop crying. Tears streamed down her fingers, and her body trembled violently as if struck by lightning.

Zhou Zhuocheng was heartbroken. He hugged Xie Wanning with his large body, wanting to give her some warmth and to tell her that her older brother would protect her.

Unexpectedly, a sharp pain came from the back of his neck, and Zhou Zhuocheng instantly lost consciousness, only hearing a faint "sorry".