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

The black-clad man's sword strikes were fierce, accompanied by a whistling sound. Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye dared not take it head-on and could only dodge continuously.

"This guy's got some skills!"

"Jiang Ye dodged while complaining, "They're much stronger than those lowly thugs!"

Ye Shuli's eyes narrowed, and seizing an opening, she thrust out her dagger like lightning, aiming straight for the man in black's throat.

The man in black reacted quickly, dodging to the side and turning his sword to slash at Ye Shuli's wrist.

"Holy crap! Is this for real?!" Ye Shuli quickly withdrew her dagger, narrowly avoiding the attack.

The two men were locked in combat with the man in black, and for a time it was difficult to determine a winner.

While the man in black was entangled with Jiang Ye, Ye Shuli quickly took out several talismans from her bosom, chanted incantations, and the talismans instantly burst into flames, shooting towards the man in black.

"What the hell is this thing?!"

Caught off guard, the man in black was struck by the firelight, let out a scream, and staggered backward.

"Now's the time!"

Ye Shuli shouted and, together with Jiang Ye, struck down the man in black.

The two men stood panting to the side, finally letting out a sigh of relief as they looked at the man in black who was tightly bound.

However, the guardian beast in the valley continued to struggle in the trap, roaring angrily, reminding them that the crisis was not over yet.

Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye exchanged a glance and hurried back to the valley.

Watching the guardian beast struggling in the trap, Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye guarded the spirit crystal that emitted a soft light, the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

"These spirit crystals..." Jiang Ye rubbed his hands together, then hesitated before asking, "How should we divide them?"

Ye Shuli raised an eyebrow and glanced at him: "You did a lot of work?"

Jiang Ye puffed out his chest, his face serious: "Of course! If it weren't for my heroic fight, you would have been captured by that man in black long ago!"

Ye Shuli sneered, "If I hadn't used a talisman to repel him, you'd still be fighting him hand-to-hand! Do you want me to replay your pathetic state just now?"

"You..." Jiang Ye was taken aback, then became somewhat embarrassed and angry, "I don't care, you can't get the spirit crystals without me!"

"Ha, as if I couldn't get it without you!" Ye Shuli retorted without backing down.

"You...you're utterly unreasonable!" Jiang Ye turned away from Ye Shuli in anger and stopped talking.

Ye Shuli looked at his back and felt a little wronged.

She took a deep breath, trying to suppress her emotions, and slowly began to speak: "Jiang Ye..."

Jiang Ye ignored her.

"Fine." Ye Shuli turned around in a huff. "All the spirit crystals are yours, okay?"

Jiang Ye suddenly turned around, looking at Ye Shuli's aggrieved expression, his tone somewhat...

Jiang Ye felt a pang of pity seeing Ye Shuli's aggrieved expression.

He recalled all the things they had been through together, then turned around, gently took Ye Shuli's hand, his eyes filled with tenderness and apology.

"Li'er, I...I didn't mean that..."

Ye Shuli blushed slightly and shook off his hand, saying, "Who is your Li'er! Don't touch me!" Although she said that, her tone softened considerably.

"My fault, my fault." Jiang Ye immediately raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just... bad at expressing myself..." He scratched his head. "How about we split this spirit crystal in half?"

Ye Shuli snorted lightly, "It should be half and half each, it's not like you're giving me charity." But she felt a sweet warmth in her heart, this guy is actually quite reliable in a crucial moment.

"Yes, yes, my dear lady." Jiang Ye smiled obsequiously, "I'll do whatever you say."

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and the two men's expressions changed as they both looked toward the trap.

The guardian beast, which had been trapped, had somehow broken free and was roaring as it charged toward them.

"Holy crap! What's going on? Even the Immortal Binding Lock can't hold it?" Jiang Ye's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

"Stop talking nonsense, run!" Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye's hand and pulled him towards the edge of the valley.

The guardian beast was extremely fast and caught up in the blink of an eye.

It opened its blood-red maw and spewed a blast of cold air at the two of them.

"I'm freezing!" Jiang Ye shivered and quickly circulated his spiritual energy to resist the cold. "This little thing is quite powerful!"

"Nonsense! It's the spirit beast that guards the spirit mine!" Ye Shuli said, looking back at the relentlessly pursuing guardian beast as she ran. "If it catches up with us, we're doomed!"

"What do we do?" Jiang Ye panicked. "It seems... we can't outrun it!"

Ye Shuli gritted her teeth, suddenly stopped, and turned to face the guardian beast.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Jiang Ye was shocked and tried to grab her, but she pushed him away.

"You go distract it, I'll go..." Ye Shuli pulled out a handful of talismans from her bosom, "I'll go blow up the spirit mine!"

"Are you...are you serious?" Jiang Ye looked at the talisman in her hand and swallowed hard.

Ye Shuli didn't answer, but gave him a determined look. "Go now!"

Jiang Ye took a deep breath, turned around, and ran in another direction.

"Roar!" The guardian beast roared angrily as it saw Jiang Ye run far away and immediately gave chase.

Ye Shuli watched the guardian beast's departing figure, a cold smile appearing on her lips.

Holding the talisman, she slowly walked towards the spirit mine...

"I hope this time, it will be successful..."

Ye Shuli watched Jiang Ye's departing figure, took a deep breath, took out all the talismans, and her eyes were resolute.

Fight!

I refuse to believe I can't blow up this lousy mine!

Just as she was about to light the talisman, a loud shout came from behind her: "Li'er! Watch out!"

Ye Shuli turned around and saw Jiang Ye return, charging towards her recklessly. Behind him, the guardian beast bared its fangs and claws, moving at an astonishing speed!

"What the hell! Why did you come back? To get yourself killed?!" Ye Shuli shouted angrily. This guy always messes things up at crucial moments!

Jiang Ye lunged forward, knocking Ye Shuli to the ground and narrowly avoiding the guardian beast's attack.

"Are you crazy! I told you to lure it away, not to come back and die!" Ye Shuli struggled to get up, but Jiang Ye held her tightly.

"We'll die together!" Jiang Ye growled in her ear, his tone firm and unwavering.

Ye Shuli felt a warmth in her heart. This guy was quite a man in a critical moment!

But now is not the time for sentimentality; the guardian beasts' attacks are becoming increasingly fierce, and they must find a way to escape.

"Stop talking nonsense! Think of something right now!" Ye Shuli pushed him. "If we don't come up with something soon, we're really going to die here!"

"I've got it... I've got it!" Jiang Ye's eyes suddenly lit up. "You... you block it for me!"

"What? You want me to block for you? You want to be my meat shield?!" Ye Shuli was completely bewildered. Did this guy want her to be cannon fodder?

Jiang Ye ignored her protests, shoved her away, and faced the guardian beast's attack himself.

"Jiang Ye! You..." Ye Shuli exclaimed in surprise. Before she could react, she saw Jiang Ye being swatted away by the guardian beast's claw.

"Cough cough..." Jiang Ye clutched his chest, struggling to his feet, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth, yet he flashed a bright smile at Ye Shuli, "Li'er... quick... run..."

Ye Shuli's heart tightened as she looked at the blood at the corner of his mouth, and a surge of anger welled up inside her.

run?

Should he let her leave him behind and run away?

dream!

"You...you hold on! I...I'll go..." Ye Shuli looked at the approaching guardian beast and the raging flames around her, and a thought suddenly flashed through her mind...

"I'll go... put out the fire!"

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through Ye Shuli's mind, and she remembered a classic case of modern fire extinguishing!

She grabbed Jiang Ye, who was still standing there in a daze, and yelled at him, "Quick! Use water! Use water to put out the fire!"

Jiang Ye looked puzzled: "Use water? Where did you get the water? This is the middle of nowhere..."

"Idiot! Aren't you a spirit practitioner? Use your spiritual power to condense water!" Ye Shuli glared at him with exasperation. "Hurry up! If you're any later, we'll be roast suckling pig!"

Jiang Ye then realized what was happening and quickly circulated his spiritual power to form a water barrier around the two of them.

The guardian beast's fire attack struck the water barrier with a hissing sound, instantly turning into wisps of white mist that dissipated into the air.

"Wow! That actually worked!" Jiang Ye exclaimed in surprise; this move was absolutely amazing!

The guardian beast seemed bewildered by this sudden turn of events, standing frozen in place, tilting its head as it looked at the two of them, as if contemplating the meaning of life.

"Let's get out of here before it can react!" Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye's hand and pulled him towards the edge of the valley.

The two ran a long way before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Phew... I'm exhausted..." Jiang Ye plopped down on the ground, panting heavily.

Ye Shuli was also exhausted, but she still couldn't help but tease him: "Your stamina is terrible. You're already this tired after running so far?"

"You...you go ahead and do it if you're so capable!" Jiang Ye retorted defiantly, "I only did it to save you..."

"Alright, alright, stop taking credit." Ye Shuli interrupted him, "If it weren't for my quick thinking, we'd all be kebabs by now."

Jiang Ye pursed his lips and didn't say anything more. A brief silence fell between the two.

Ye Shuli looked at the spirit crystal in her hand, then at Jiang Ye, and suddenly said, "Let's split this spirit crystal in half."

Jiang Ye was stunned for a moment, then grinned and said, "Li'er, you're so kind!"

Ye Shuli rolled her eyes at him: "Don't flatter yourself. I just don't want to owe you a favor."

The two exchanged a smile, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

Suddenly, the ground shook again, this time more violently than before.

"Oh no!" Ye Shuli's expression changed drastically. "That little thing is here again!"

The two quickly got up and looked warily toward the valley.

In the valley, the guardian beast reappeared, its size even larger than before, its eyes glowing crimson, and its entire body radiating a suffocating pressure.

Jiang Ye swallowed hard and muttered, "What...what's going on? It...it seems to have mutated?"

Ye Shuli didn't speak, but gripped the talisman in her hand tightly, a resolute glint in her eyes.

"Jiang Ye..." Ye Shuli's voice trembled slightly, "It seems... this time... we really have to..."

"Let's fight!" Jiang Ye interrupted her, his eyes resolute. "At worst... in eighteen years... we'll be heroes again!"