If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

The tip of the sword extended forward precisely, stopping exactly three inches in front of the arm that the young master of the Heavenly Demon Sect had just raised.

The sharp sword energy forced the surrounding swirling demonic mist to retreat and disperse to both sides.

The violent and raging air currents within the deep pit momentarily came to a standstill.

Mo Chengyue stepped onto the scattered rubble, with most of his body hidden in the shadow of the rock wall.

He stared directly at the young demon master, who was at the peak of the late Core Formation stage, without any hesitation.

Mo Chengyue deliberately lowered his voice, but his unquestionable words echoed clearly throughout the surrounding deep pit.

"Touch her hand, and I'll chop it off."

"I will kill anyone who touches her."

"Try touching a single hair on her head, you dare?"

The young master of the Heavenly Demon Sect narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the uninvited guest before him. The fat on his cheeks twitched twice as he uttered words filled with murderous intent.

"In all my years of roaming the demonic path, I have never seen a mere mid-stage Golden Core ant dare to spout nonsense in front of a late-stage Core Formation peak cultivator."

"Who do you think you are, daring to play the hero and save the damsel in distress? Believe me, this young master will peel your skin off inch by inch right now and feed it to the dogs!"

Mo Chengyue maintained his sword-pointing stance, his tone exuding an infuriating nonchalance.

"I'm nothing special, just an honest, hard-working person who happened to be passing by and picked up some debts on the side."

"Weren't you so arrogant just now? How come you're jumping back like a roasted chicken after I blasted you with one talisman? Is this all the young master of the Heavenly Demon Sect has to offer?"

Seeing the young master of the Heavenly Demon's face turn extremely gloomy, a hint of mockery appeared in Mo Chengyue's eyes.

With his chin slightly raised, he declared once again in a strange yet authoritative tone.

"I'm taking Ju away today, and I'll show you who dares to stop me!"

Just as the two were locked in a fierce confrontation, Lin Miaoyin, who was being held tightly in his arms, was suffering from the dual torment of a full-blown outbreak of the aphrodisiac and damage to her internal organs.

Her body was burning hot, like a branding iron just pulled from a furnace. Her remaining rationality was shattered by the toxins, and all she could see were blurry, double images.

Lin Miaoyin's confused mind went blank for several breaths the moment she heard that familiar voice.

She thought this was another cruel illusion created by the aphrodisiac, since this poison was best at digging out the most vulnerable desires in people's hearts.

She endured the excruciating pain of her ruptured meridians, trying desperately to dispel the false illusion before her eyes, not wanting to suffer such ridiculous torment before her death.

Feeling the firm warmth from her waist and hearing those domineering and completely unreasonable protective lines above her head, Lin Miaoyin's body tensed up uncontrollably.

But the warmth from the hand around her waist felt so real, and the heartbeat transmitted through her clothes was so clear.

This undeniable sense of reality gradually shattered her despairing expectations about death.

With great difficulty, she tilted her head back and slowly raised her stunning face, which was covered in blood and dirt.

By the faint, cold light reflected from the surface of the longsword, Lin Miaoyin finally saw the handsome and familiar profile. It was her fellow disciple who should have been buried under the pile of rubble.

Tears streaked with blood slid down her filthy cheeks, leaving mottled streaks on her face.

Her chapped lips trembled violently, and the pride she had been holding onto completely collapsed at this moment. Large, disbelieving tears welled up in her narrow phoenix eyes.

Lin Miaoyin's usual aloof and virtuous facade has been completely torn away; now she is nothing more than a vulnerable woman grasping at a straw in her desperate situation.

Lin Miaoyin very slowly extended her slender hand, covered in mud, her fingertips icy cold and shivering, and carefully touched Mo Chengyue's cheek.

Her gentle movements carried a certain piety, as if she feared that if she used even the slightest bit more force, this illusory lifeline would vanish like a fragile bubble in the wind.

Her eyes held a mixture of despair and ecstatic joy, and her soft, intermittent voice murmured in the night wind.

"Junior brother?"

"Weren't you already dead under that pile of rocks?"

"That's wonderful! I can see you one last time before I die. Did you come here specifically to pick me up?"

Mo Chengyue lowered his head slightly, meeting Lin Miaoyin's beautiful eyes, which had completely let down their guard and pride.

A complex emotion flashed across his eyes, which he quickly suppressed, and gently patted her trembling, thin back.

Mo Chengyue, in his usual snobbish and self-righteous tone, mercilessly interrupted her self-pitying tale of parting and death.

"Stop messing around, you won't die as long as I'm here."

"I haven't even collected the interest from your life yet. Even if the King of Hell himself came with the Book of Life and Death, he wouldn't dare take someone like you."

Hearing this sarcastic yet strangely comforting teasing, Lin Miaoyin's hot tears flowed even more fiercely, and her poisoned fingers unconsciously gripped Mo Chengyue's shirt.

"Why are you always like this? You're clearly trying to save someone, but you always have to pretend to be a profit-driven, unscrupulous businessman."

"But hearing your infuriating words again is actually more effective than any magic pill."

Standing in front, the young master of the Heavenly Demon Sect watched the two interact as if no one else was around, and had completely recovered from the shock of being ambushed.

He released his divine sense to carefully scan the spiritual energy fluctuations on Mo Chengyue's body, which belonged to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. The wariness in his eyes completely turned into fury at being provoked to his face by a lowly ant.

He no longer maintained that facade of a shrewd and cunning strategist. His cultivation at the peak of the late-stage Core Formation realm was like an erupting volcano, compressing the surrounding air and causing it to emit a piercing, mournful sound.

"I thought it was some old monster in the Nascent Soul stage putting on a show, but it turns out he's just a piece of trash who hasn't even reached the late Core Formation stage."

"Someone like you isn't even worthy of carrying my shoes in our Heavenly Demon Sect, yet you dare to try and play the hero saving the damsel in distress."

"You arrogant and worthless piece of trash, how dare you ruin this young master's grand plan!"

Under his control, the thick, viscous demonic energy transformed into dozens of heavy chains coated with deadly poison.

They blocked all of Mo Chengyue's escape routes from all sides, displaying a cruel posture as if they wanted to grind the man and woman into mincemeat.

Mo Chengyue picked at his ear, and the nonchalant look on his face gradually faded, replaced by a shameless expression that only cared about money and not people.

"Do all you villains have to recite these clichéd lines before you go out? It's always the same old phrase: 'difference in levels.'"

"I'm a very pragmatic person. I don't care about morality or ethics. All I know is that she owes me the interest on a life she didn't pay off."

"Anyone who dares to touch my debtors is ruining my livelihood. Today, you must leave your life here as compensation."