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

The men in black came on menacingly, all of them masked, looking just like comical bank robbers about to rob a bank.

Ye Shuli inwardly cursed, but outwardly remained calm, coldly asking, "Who are you people?"

The leader of the men in black chuckled a few times, his voice hoarse like a rusty door hinge: "Hehehe, who we are is not important, what is important is... the spirit crystals and herbs on you, we'll gladly accept them!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ye was immediately displeased; this was clearly robbery!

He rolled up his sleeves, looking eager to try: "Li'er, it seems we'll be fighting side by side this time! With our swords combined, we'll be invincible!"

Ye Shuli rolled her eyes at him: "Stop talking nonsense! Take care of yourself first!" Although she complained, a warm feeling welled up in her heart. In a critical moment, this goofball was actually quite reliable.

Just as the two sides were about to clash, a deafening roar suddenly echoed from the depths of the valley, making everyone's eardrums ring.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful pressure swept over, making it hard for people to breathe.

Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye's expressions changed drastically, and they both looked in the direction from which the sound came.

"What is that..." Jiang Ye's voice trembled slightly, clearly startled by the sudden turn of events.

Ye Shuli took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Not good! We're surrounded..."

Before the words were finished, a figure slowly emerged from the dense forest.

The man was dressed in a black robe with a hood that covered his face, making it impossible to see his features. However, he exuded a powerful spiritual energy fluctuation, clearly indicating that he was a mid-stage spiritual master!

As soon as the mysterious person appeared, he released a powerful spiritual pressure, and Jiang Ye immediately felt short of breath and his legs went weak.

Ye Shuli was in no better shape; she felt as heavy as if her body were filled with lead, and her movements became sluggish.

This mysterious person's strength far surpasses theirs!

Ye Shuli had a bad feeling; it seemed she had met a tough opponent today.

She forced herself to remain calm, her mind racing as she considered what to do.

Jiang Ye swallowed hard and muttered under his breath, "Li'er, this guy doesn't look like someone to mess with..."

Ye Shuli glanced at him and said in a low voice, "Nonsense! You're only just realizing that now!"

Faced with a formidable foe, Ye Shuli suddenly had a flash of inspiration. A sly smile appeared on her lips as she spoke, "This... big brother, your cosplay is quite professional..." "Cosplay?" The mysterious man clearly didn't understand the term, his tone tinged with doubt and impatience. "Little girl, are you perhaps scared out of your wits?"

"You're the one who's scared out of your wits, big brother." Ye Shuli's lips curled into a slightly mocking smile. "Wearing all black and a hat in broad daylight, anyone who didn't know better would think you're some chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) character who jumped out of an anime. What, are you afraid of getting a tan?"

The mysterious man was stunned by her barrage of modern slang. After he realized what she meant, his face turned ashen.

He growled angrily, "You sharp-tongued little brat! You're asking for it!"

After saying that, he suddenly raised his hand, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy burst forth, transforming into a black energy ball that rushed straight towards Ye Shuli.

"Watch out!" Upon seeing this, Jiang Ye quickly pulled Ye Shuli behind him and mobilized his spiritual power to prepare to take the blow head-on.

However, Ye Shuli was already prepared.

The moment the mysterious man made his move, she pulled Jiang Ye aside and narrowly avoided the energy ball's attack.

"boom!"

The energy ball crashed into the ground with a loud bang, creating a huge crater and scattering flying debris everywhere.

"Your reaction was quite quick." The mysterious man sneered and launched another attack.

This time, he used a strange spiritual technique.

The surrounding air suddenly turned cold, and countless black tentacles surged from the ground, coiling towards Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye like venomous snakes.

Jiang Ye brandished his longsword, severing the approaching tentacles one by one.

However, there were simply too many tentacles. Cutting off one would only cause more tentacles to surge up, seemingly endless.

While dodging the tentacles' attacks, Ye Shuli carefully observed their movements, trying to find their weaknesses.

She soon noticed something was amiss.

The spiritual energy fluctuations of these tentacles all originated from the mysterious man's right hand.

"Jiang Ye, attack his right hand!" Ye Shuli shouted.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ye immediately understood what she meant.

He took a deep breath, concentrating all his spiritual power into the sword, preparing for a full-force attack.

"Trying to attack my right hand? Not so easy!" The mysterious man sneered, and with a sudden wave of his right hand, more black tentacles surged from the ground, forming an impenetrable barrier that separated him from Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye.

"Li'er, this..." Jiang Ye looked at the dense tentacles in front of him and hesitated.

A glint of light flashed in Ye Shuli's eyes, and a confident smile appeared on her lips: "Don't be afraid, I have a way..." She leaned close to Jiang Ye's ear and whispered a few words.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ye's eyes lit up, and an excited expression appeared on his face: "Great idea! Li'er, you're so smart!"

He gripped his longsword tightly, his gaze fixed firmly on the mysterious figure, and he uttered a low shout: "Are you ready, Li'er?"

Ye Shuli smiled slightly: "Of course."

“Then…” Jiang Ye paused, a sly glint in his eyes, “Let’s begin!” Jiang Ye took a deep breath and poured all his spiritual power into the sword, which emitted a dazzling golden light.

He shouted, "Take this 'Mighty Vajra Finger' from Old Jiang!" Of course, he was holding a sword, but that didn't stop him from giving his cool move a name.

A flash of golden light, and sword energy like a rainbow, hurtled straight towards the mysterious man's right hand.

"A mere trick!" the mysterious man sneered, manipulating more tentacles in an attempt to block the sword energy.

However, Ye Shuli was prepared. She pulled out a "Desert Eagle" made of some unknown material from somewhere. Of course, this was just the name Jiang Ye gave it. In reality, it was just a strange slingshot, and she fired a burst of shots at the mysterious man's feet.

"Bilibili!" Although the bullets weren't very lethal, they accurately hit several pebbles at the mysterious man's feet.

The flying pebbles disrupted the arrangement of the tentacles, creating a gap in Jiang Ye's sword energy.

The sword energy struck the mysterious man's right hand without any hindrance.

"Ah!" The mysterious man screamed in agony as his right hand was covered in blood, and a large portion of his black tentacles disappeared instantly.

"Damn brat! You cheated!"

"All's fair in war!" Ye Shuli shrugged, looking completely innocent. "You know 'The Art of War'?"

Enraged, the mysterious man pulled out a talisman from his robes, which emitted a chilling black light.

"Since you refuse to listen to reason and are forced to drink the penalty shot, then don't blame me for being impolite!"

Seeing this, Jiang Ye couldn't help but worry: "Li'er, this thing looks really powerful..."

"Calm down!" Ye Shuli remained nonchalant, even taking out a bag of sunflower seeds and cracking them open. "These things look intimidating, but they're just disposable items. Once we get through this, everything will be fine."

The mysterious man tossed the talisman into the air, and it instantly burst into flames, emitting an even more powerful force that distorted the surrounding air.

"Li'er, be careful!" Jiang Ye shielded Ye Shuli behind him, watching the talisman warily.

Ye Shuli patted his shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

"Don't be nervous, watch me..." A mysterious smile played on her lips as she pulled something from her pocket...

lighter?

"Li'er, what's wrong with you..." Jiang Ye looked completely bewildered.

Ye Shuli smiled mysteriously, pressed the lighter, and a small flame flickered.

"Now, the moment of miracle is about to begin!" She brought the lighter close to the talisman...

"Wait!" the mysterious man suddenly shouted.

Seeing that the talisman was about to be burned by Ye Shuli's strange little gadget, the mysterious man shouted out in desperation.

He never expected that this seemingly ordinary little thing could bring him such a strong sense of crisis.

"What? Changed your mind?" Ye Shuli raised an eyebrow, looking like she was watching a good show.

The mysterious man's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Stop! I...we can talk!"

"Now you want to talk? Where were you before?" Ye Shuli toyed with the lighter in her hand, looking completely nonchalant. "Fine, let's talk then. Tell me, who sent you?"

The mysterious man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately remained silent.

Ye Shuli sneered, "Looks like you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin!" She made a move to light the talisman again.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" The mysterious man was terrified and hurriedly said, "It was...it was the chieftain of Black Wind Stronghold who sent me!"

"Black Wind Stronghold?" Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of doubt in each other's eyes.

They had never heard of this place before.

"Black Wind Stronghold is..." The mysterious man was about to explain when his expression suddenly changed, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then collapsed to the ground.

"Hey! Stop pretending to be dead!" Ye Shuli kicked the mysterious man's body and found that he was no longer breathing.

“Li’er, this guy…” Jiang Ye was somewhat surprised.

"It seems he was silenced." Ye Shuli examined the mysterious man's body and found that a strange energy within him was rapidly dissipating.

"Someone is manipulating all of this from the shadows!" Ye Shuli said in a deep voice. "It seems we've been drawn into an even bigger vortex this time!"

Jiang Ye nodded, his expression turning serious.

As they were preparing to leave, they suddenly sensed that the surrounding spiritual energy fluctuations had become abnormal.

"Li'er, look!" Jiang Ye pointed to the spirit crystal they had found earlier. The light of the spirit crystal flickered erratically, as if it were about to go out at any moment.

Ye Shuli's heart sank, a sense of foreboding washing over her... "This..."