A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

The rustling sound grew closer and closer, and Jiang Ye felt his heart pounding like a drum.

In the darkness, he held Ye Shuli's hand tightly, his palms sweaty.

Li'er's hands were unexpectedly dry and warm, which made him feel inexplicably at ease.

Suddenly, an eerie green light appeared on the cave wall, flickering like will-o'-the-wisps.

Jiang Ye stared intently, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!

The cave walls were covered with strange runes, like some kind of mysterious script, radiating a chilling power.

"What the hell is this?!" Jiang Ye couldn't help but swear.

Before the words were even finished, the runes suddenly came to life!

A bright green light shone forth, and the runes shot towards the two of them like arrows released from a bow!

"Watch out!" Ye Shuli pulled Jiang Ye behind her, a dagger appearing in her hand at some point. With a flash of cold light, she blocked the runes that were shooting at them.

"Sister Li'er, you..." Jiang Ye looked at Ye Shuli's heroic figure and felt a surge of emotion.

Sister Li'er, you're so reliable at crucial moments!

However, there were simply too many and too densely packed runes, and even though Ye Shuli was agile, she was finding it difficult to cope.

"Jiang Ye, use your spiritual power!" Ye Shuli shouted to Jiang Ye while defending against the rune attacks.

Jiang Ye then realized what was happening and quickly mobilized his spiritual energy to condense a protective shield.

"Beep beep beep~" The runes struck the shield, making a crackling sound, just like firecrackers.

"Luckily, I've made some progress in my spiritual cultivation, otherwise I would have been done for today!" Jiang Ye complained as he struggled to maintain his shield.

Just then, an exceptionally powerful rune broke through Ye Shuli's defenses and shot straight toward Jiang Ye!

"Jiang Ye!" Ye Shuli exclaimed, trying to stop him, but it was too late.

"Ah!" Jiang Ye groaned as he was struck by the rune and fell heavily to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Ye Shuli's heart tightened, and she rushed to Jiang Ye's side, "Jiang Ye, are you alright?!"

Jiang Ye's face was pale, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, but he forced a smile, "Sister Li'er, I'm fine, I won't die..."

Ye Shuli looked at the injured Jiang Ye, a barely perceptible glint of cold light flashing in her eyes...

"You'd better be really alright..." Ye Shuli looked at the injured Jiang Ye, her eyes as cold as an ice cellar.

"You'd better be really alright..." she said in a low voice, her tone chilling.

This damn cave!

These damn runes!

She will not let anyone who dares to hurt her get away with it!

Ye Shuli took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

Now is not the time for lamenting the past; we must first find a way to break this cursed rune!

She carefully observed the arrangement and flashing pattern of the runes on the cave wall, her brow furrowed.

This thing...

It looks a bit like...

Like the rhythm of music?

and many more!

Musical beats?

!

A sudden inspiration struck Ye Shuli.

Back in the day, she was a talented woman who was proficient in music. The fluctuations of these rune energies are just like the rhythm of a death rock song!

A cold smile curled at the corner of her lips. It seemed it was time to show her true skills!

She closed her eyes and silently converted the frequency of the flashing runes into musical notes, and a musical score appeared in her mind.

"One, two, three, four, two, two, three, four..." Ye Shuli silently chanted the rhythm in her mind, and the dagger in her hand moved even more smoothly, and it even resonated with the attack rhythm of the runes!

"Holy crap! Sister Li'er, are you... dancing?" Jiang Ye clutched his chest, staring at Ye Shuli in shock.

How could she still dance under such circumstances?

How big is that heart!

Ye Shuli ignored Jiang Ye's complaints. The dagger in her hand moved faster and faster, as if turning into afterimages, dissolving the runes that were shot at them one by one.

As she moved, the runes on the cave wall flickered more and more chaotically. Eventually, the green light gradually dimmed, and the runes stopped attacking.

"Done!" Ye Shuli gracefully sheathed the dagger and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Awesome!" Jiang Ye exclaimed sincerely.

This is too amazing!

Who exactly is Sister Li'er?

Before Jiang Ye could recover from his shock, a deafening roar suddenly came from the depths of the cave!

Immediately afterwards, a huge shadow beast burst out of the darkness, baring its fangs and claws as it pounced on them!

"Holy crap! Is this ever going to end?!" Jiang Ye couldn't help but curse, enduring the pain as he went to meet the attacker.

He nimbly dodged the Shadow Beast's attacks while searching for its weaknesses.

"Sister Li'er, cover me!"

Ye Shuli nodded, and the dagger in her hand was drawn again, its cold light flashing, buying Jiang Ye precious time.

Just as the human and the beast were locked in combat, Ye Shuli's gaze inadvertently fell upon a corner of the cave, where something seemed to be shimmering with a faint light...

Ye Shuli's gaze was fixed on something shimmering with a faint blue light in the corner of the cave.

"Jiang Ye, look over there!"

Jiang Ye was locked in a fierce battle with the Shadow Beast when he heard Ye Shuli's voice. He glanced over instinctively and was almost blinded by the light.

"Holy crap! What is that thing? It's so bright!"

Ye Shuli rushed to the corner, picked up the blue-glowing stone, and found it to be cool to the touch with a peculiar feel.

"This is... Celestial Star Ore?!" She had seen this stuff in ancient books from modern times; it was said to have miraculous effects on shadow-type creatures!

Definitely a nemesis!

"Celestial Star Ore? What's that? Can you eat it?" Jiang Ye asked jokingly while dodging the Shadow Beast's attacks.

"Shut up! If you want to live, come over here right now!" Ye Shuli glared at him irritably, then quickly took out a spirit crystal from her storage bag and injected its energy into the Tianxing ore.

The blue light surged instantly, illuminating the entire cave as if it were daytime!

"Awooo—" The Shadow Beast let out a shrill scream, clearly very uncomfortable with the bright light.

It instinctively tried to escape, but was hit right between the eyebrows by the Tianxing ore thrown by Ye Shuli!

With a loud "bang!", the Tianxing ore exploded, and blue energy instantly swept through the entire cave!

The Shadow Beast roared in agony, its body gradually becoming transparent before finally turning into a wisp of black smoke and dissipating into the air.

"Done!" Ye Shuli clapped her hands, looking relaxed.

"Sister Li'er, you're amazing!" Jiang Ye looked at Ye Shuli with admiration. This woman always brought him surprises!

However, before they could rejoice for long, the surrounding energy fluctuations suddenly became chaotic, and a powerful spiritual energy surged from all directions, surrounding them!

"Holy crap! What's going on?!" Jiang Ye's eyes widened, completely bewildered.

Ye Shuli narrowed her eyes, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.

"Looks like we've hit the jackpot this time..." She stretched out her hand, sensing the abundant spiritual energy around her, and slowly said, "This spiritual energy is enough for us to break through to..."

Suddenly, Ye Shuli stopped, turned sharply to look at Jiang Ye, a strange light flashing in her eyes...

"Jiang Ye, you..."

Jiang Ye hugged Ye Shuli tightly, so excited he almost jumped up.

"Sister Li'er, you're amazing! You're practically my goddess!" He chattered excitedly in Ye Shuli's ear like a happy little sparrow.

"From now on, if we join forces, we will be invincible!"

Ye Shuli pushed him away with disdain, "Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and absorb the spiritual energy, don't waste this heaven-sent opportunity." Although she said it with disdain, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

This kid is actually quite reliable when it matters.

The two sat cross-legged and began to absorb the rich spiritual energy around them.

Jiang Ye felt a warm current flow into his body, nourishing his meridians. The spiritual energy that had been consumed in the battle was rapidly restored and was still growing stronger.

He felt like a dried-up sponge, greedily absorbing this heavenly rain.

Ye Shuli's situation was similar; the spiritual energy within her body was like a surging river, turbulent and powerful.

Her modern knowledge gave her a deeper understanding of cultivation, and her efficiency in absorbing spiritual energy far exceeded that of ordinary people.

After an unknown amount of time, the spiritual energy around the two gradually dissipated, and the cave returned to calm.

"Phew—" Jiang Ye let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes.

"I feel... refreshed! My strength has increased significantly!" He clenched his fist, feeling full of power.

Ye Shuli also opened her eyes, a glint of shrewdness flashing in them.

"Early stage of Spirit Venerable...not bad." She said calmly, with a hint of satisfaction in her tone.

Jiang Ye's eyes widened in surprise. "Sister Li'er, you...you've broken through to the Spirit Venerable realm?! That's amazing!" He excitedly hugged Ye Shuli tightly. "I'll protect you from now on!"

This time, Ye Shuli didn't push him away; instead, she gently patted his back.

This guy, although he's usually unreliable, is actually quite dependable when it matters.

"You? A mere mid-stage Spirit Master, and you think you can protect me? In your next life!" Despite her words, she couldn't hide the smile in her eyes.

Just as the two were immersed in joy, a dazzling white light suddenly appeared deep in the cave, illuminating the entire cave as if it were daytime.

"Holy crap! What the hell is this?!" Jiang Ye shuddered in fright and instinctively hid behind Ye Shuli.

Ye Shuli narrowed her eyes, looking at the white light, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes.

"Perhaps... it's an even greater opportunity..."

She took Jiang Ye's hand. "Come on, let's go take a look."

Jiang Ye swallowed hard. "Sister Li'er, maybe... we should just call it off? I... I'm starting to panic..."

Ye Shuli flicked him on the forehead, "What are you cowardly for! With me here, what are you afraid of!"

She pulled Jiang Ye along and slowly walked towards the white light.