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

Ye Shuli frowned and looked around warily.

"Wait...it looks like something's coming."

Jiang Ye was puzzled and scratched his head: "Huh? Besides a few pheasants and rabbits, what else could there be in this desolate wilderness?"

Before they finished speaking, the ground shook violently, and a colossal creature descended from the sky, blocking their path.

"Holy crap! What the hell?!" Jiang Ye jumped back in fright, almost falling on his butt.

A gigantic spirit beast, radiating a pale blue light, was staring intently at them.

It has the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and a pair of antlers on its head, making it look majestic and domineering.

"What?!" Ye Shuli recognized the spirit beast; it was the spirit beast that guarded the spirit mine.

It seems their theft of spirit crystals has been exposed.

The guardian beast roared angrily, its deafening sound echoing through the valley.

It stared intently at the spirit crystals in Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye's hands with its eyes as big as copper bells, as if it wanted to devour them alive.

"Oh no, we've really messed up this time!" Jiang Ye said with a bitter face. "Lili, what do we do now? Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best?"

Ye Shuli remained calm and analyzed the situation before her.

The guardian beasts were clearly much stronger than them, and they would definitely be no match for them in a head-on confrontation.

The spiritual pressure emanating from the guardian beast made them feel suffocated, and Jiang Ye's face turned somewhat pale.

He glanced at Ye Shuli with concern: "Lili, I...I'm a little panicked..."

Ye Shuli gave him a reassuring look. "Don't panic, I have a plan."

The guardian beast roared to the sky, then pounced on Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye, its huge claws carrying a sharp gust of wind, as if it wanted to tear them to pieces.

Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye, narrowly avoiding the guardian beast's attack.

"Holy crap! That thing is way too fast!" Jiang Ye exclaimed, still shaken.

Ye Shuli ignored him and stared intently at the guardian beast, her mind racing as she searched for a solution.

"This guy seems to have a particularly strong reaction to spirit crystals..." Ye Shuli said in a low voice, "Jiang Ye, you distract it, I'll try to see if I can..."

"Wait, Lili, you wouldn't be thinking of..." Jiang Ye's eyes widened, as if he had guessed Ye Shuli's plan.

Ye Shuli's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile: "That's right, just as you think."

Ye Shuli calmly took out a package from her backpack, which was the special beast-repelling powder she had prepared before coming. The main ingredient was the kind of herb that the guardian beasts hated.

This was a secret weapon she had meticulously developed based on modern knowledge and the properties of herbs from this world.

"Lili, what kind of treasure is this?" Jiang Ye asked curiously.

"Secret weapon!" Ye Shuli smiled mysteriously and sprinkled the beast-repelling powder into the air.

The powder spread out, forming a barrier that separated them from the guardian beast.

Upon smelling the scent, the guardian beast immediately let out a disgruntled roar, stopped in its tracks, and began to writhe restlessly, clearly showing its strong aversion to the smell.

"Wow, this thing works so well?" Jiang Ye exclaimed in surprise, then added with some concern, "But how long can it last?"

"That's enough to hold out until we leave," Ye Shuli said confidently. "Let's go now!"

The two took off running. Although the guardian beast was disturbed by the beast-repelling powder, its duty to protect the spirit crystal made it unable to ignore the two thieves.

Despite its discomfort, it flapped its enormous wings and chased after Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye.

"Lili, it's catching up!" Jiang Ye turned around and saw that the guardian beast was already close by, which scared him out of his wits.

"Don't panic!" Ye Shuli said as she ran, pulling another bag from her backpack. "Here you go!"

Jiang Ye snatched it and found it was a packet of red powder. "What is this?"

"Chili powder!" Ye Shuli shouted, "Sprinkle it on its eyes!"

Although Jiang Ye didn't understand why, he still did as instructed.

He leaped forward and threw all the chili powder in his hand into the guardian beast's eyes.

"Ouch——"

The guardian beast let out a miserable cry, its huge body jolted violently, and it rolled on the ground in pain, clutching its eyes.

"It works!" Jiang Ye shouted excitedly, "Lili, you're amazing!"

Ye Shuli smiled slightly, thinking to herself: Little brat, you're still too green to fight me!

However, before they could rejoice for long, the guardian beast recovered from the sting of the chili powder, and its angry roar once again echoed through the valley.

It chased after them again, faster and more ferocious than before.

Jiang Ye's spiritual power was almost exhausted, and he was about to be caught by the guardian beast. He cried out in despair, "Li Li, this time it's really over!"

Ye Shuli did not give up. Her gaze was fixed on the guardian beast, and her eyes shone with determination.

"It's not over yet..." Ye Shuli said softly, "Jiang Ye, trust me!"

She took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing, as if she had made a decision...

Ye Shuli's eyes darted around, and a plan came to her mind.

She hid the real spirit crystal in her hand, then gathered her spiritual power to create a pile of glittering "fake spirit crystals," which she then threw far away.

"Want it? Come and get it!" she shouted deliberately in a provocative tone.

The guardian beast was indeed fooled. Attracted by the light emitted by the fake spirit crystal, it immediately changed direction and pounced towards it.

"Now!" Ye Shuli shouted.

Jiang Ye had been waiting for this opportunity. He seized the chance, concentrated all the remaining spiritual power in his body into his fists, and slammed them into the back of the guardian beast.

"Let me show you what grandpa's power is! Take this invincible whirlwind kick—oops, I mean invincible whirlwind punch!"

Caught off guard, the guardian beast staggered a few steps and let out an angry roar.

It never expected that this seemingly weak early-stage spiritualist would dare to ambush it!

"Lili, I hit it! I hit it!" Jiang Ye jumped up excitedly, looking just like a weasel that had stolen a chicken.

However, the guardian beast's hide was far thicker than they had imagined. Although Jiang Ye's attack was effective, it did not cause any substantial damage.

This only enraged it. It turned around, its blood-red eyes fixed on Jiang Ye, and let out a deafening roar before lunging at him.

"Oh my god! This is terrible!" Jiang Ye was so frightened by what he saw that he turned pale and ran away.

"Jiang Ye! Don't panic!" Ye Shuli shouted.

However, the guardian beast was extremely fast, and Jiang Ye had no time to dodge.

Just as the guardian beast's giant claw was about to strike Jiang Ye, Ye Shuli suddenly appeared in front of Jiang Ye at the critical moment, blocking its attack.

"Lili! Danger!" Jiang Ye exclaimed.

Ye Shuli's eyes sharpened, and several strangely shaped stones suddenly appeared in her hand, leaving afterimages in the air...

"You think this is the end?" Ye Shuli's lips curled into a cold smile.

Ye Shuli's eyes darted around, and a plan came to her mind.

She quickly picked up several oddly shaped stones from the surrounding area, infused them with spiritual power, and chanted incantations.

These stones seemed to come alive in her hands, emitting a faint glow.

"Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation, activate!" Ye Shuli shouted, placing the stones in her hand around the guardian beast in specific positions.

A dazzling light flashed, and a simple trap appeared at the feet of the guardian beast.

Before the guardian beast could react, the ground beneath its feet suddenly collapsed, and its massive body instantly fell into it.

"Holy crap, what's going on?" Jiang Ye stared at the scene in disbelief and couldn't help but swear.

The guardian beast struggled and roared incessantly in the trap, but the surrounding stone walls remained unmoved, firmly trapping it inside.

"It's done!" Jiang Ye slapped his thigh excitedly. "Lili, you're amazing! How did this even work?"

Ye Shuli raised an eyebrow smugly, "It's nothing, just a piece of cake." Although she said that, she was also relieved, glad that she had made the right bet.

"So what do we do now?" Jiang Ye asked.

"Of course we should get out of here right away!" Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye's hand. "Let's go before it comes out!"

The two quickly ran towards the edge of the valley, but before they had gone far, a deafening roar came from behind them.

"Roar--"

The two looked back and saw that the guardian beast had broken free from the trap and was rushing towards them, its eyes flashing with angry flames.

"Holy crap! How did it get out so quickly?" Jiang Ye was terrified, his face turning deathly pale. "Lili, we're really doomed this time!"

Ye Shuli's expression also turned serious. "Don't panic, I have a way!" She took out a red pill from her bosom and stuffed it into Jiang Ye's hand. "Eat it!"

Although Jiang Ye didn't know what kind of pill it was, he swallowed it without hesitation.

The pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, and a powerful force surged through his entire body, making him feel full of energy.

"Lili, what kind of pill is this? It feels amazing!" Jiang Ye asked excitedly.

"The Spirit Explosion Pill can boost your spiritual power for a short time," Ye Shuli explained. "However, its effects only last for half an hour, so we must hurry!"

The two ran towards the edge of the valley again, this time much faster, quickly leaving Xiaoling behind.

However, before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

"Trying to leave? Not so easy!" The newcomer was dressed in black, with a sinister smile on his face. He was none other than the black-clad men who had been chasing them earlier!

Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves: When it rains, it pours!

The man in black held a long black sword in his hand, the blade gleaming with a chilling light that sent shivers down one's spine.

"Hand over the spirit crystals, and I might spare your lives!" the man in black said coldly.

Ye Shuli sneered, "Want spirit crystals? Dream on!"

"If you won't listen to reason, you'll have to suffer the consequences!" A murderous glint flashed in the man's eyes. "Then don't blame me for being impolite!"

He raised his longsword and slashed at Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye...

"It seems that a fierce battle is inevitable today..." Ye Shuli said in a low voice, a flash of light appeared in her hand, and an exquisite dagger appeared.