The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

However, inevitably, disaster struck.

The Demon Race had been tracking them by the scent of the flower. Jiang Hongqin had touched the Earth Flower, and then remained hidden in the same spot for a long time. The Earth Flower was a top-grade spiritual plant, its fragrance subtle yet persistent. During the search, a member of the Golden Core Demon Race noticed something was amiss.

It immediately called over numerous other demons, surrounding Jiang Hongqin's small team. The nearest Demon King was Pengshan. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he unleashed a surge of the Earth Veins at the spot where Jiang Hongqin and her people were hiding.

The ground buckled as if a great earth dragon were turning in its sleep, sharp crags bursting from the soil. Earthen spikes and collapsing ground instantly killed seven Foundation Establishment cultivators. Only two others and Jiang Hongqin survived, but all three were gravely wounded.

"It's not them. Just a few ants. You lot deal with them!"

"Yes, sir!" the surrounding demons immediately accepted the command.

Jiang Hongqin and the others scrambled to their feet. Seeing the demons closing in and looking at their dead and wounded companions, she cursed under her breath, "Damn it! If only Murong were here!"

Zhang Tashan was equally indignant. "It's all her Dao Companion's fault! Of all the times to show up, he had to pick now to take Murong away!"

Wiping blood from her lips, Jiang Hongqin said, "Perhaps this is just our fate. But my little brother... I went through so much to get this Earth Flower, and now I won't even be able to get it to him!"

Xu Fu summoned his Spirit Sword. "What's the use of talking about that now? We need to find a way to break out!"

The others nodded grimly. With only five of them left, forming a proper array was impossible. Fortunately, they could tell the Nascent Soul Great Demon was looking for someone else and had no interest in them. Otherwise, they wouldn't have even found the will to fight back.

On the verge of being cornered and killed, the group picked a direction and charged, igniting a fierce battle.

A distant Demon King sensed the commotion and sent a telepathic message to Pengshan.

"Found them?"

"No, just a few ants!"

Dozens of miles away, Chen Dong's group also sensed the disturbance. They were concealed beneath a cliffside flower, shrouded by Zisang Jin's Dao Essence.

Chen Dong didn't need to extend his Divine Sense to know it was Jiang Hongqin's group. There was likely no one else this deep in the Demon Realm, and the commotion was coming from their last known direction.

Murong Qing looked at Chen Dong, her expression tense.

If he could, Chen Dong wanted to save them. It would be a way to resolve the karmic debt between them.

But he was powerless to help on his own, so he turned to Zisang Jin. "Peak Master Zisang..."

Before Chen Dong could finish, Zisang Jin pouted, shook her head, and said, "I know what you're thinking. But the Demon Kings here are the Demon Race's absolute elite. If there were only three or four, I could deal with them easily. With twelve of them, my only choice is to retreat. The path of cultivation sometimes requires difficult choices. Our hands are tied."

Just then, however, Liu Ling spoke up. "Peak Master Zisang, you must have come from the direction of the Guardian Array. Even if you took a long way around, the Demon Race will still concentrate their search efforts there. If we try to circle around again, we'll only run into more Demon Kings. The fight over there has likely been dismissed by the other Demon Kings by now. Why don't we use this window of opportunity to break out in that direction and head straight for Xuhua Mountain?"

"Xuhua Mountain?" Zisang Jin frowned, deep in thought. The place was little more than a deathtrap. Although it housed a Tier Four Spirit Vein, no one dared to cultivate there. The unpredictable flashes of the Sun's Divine Light were a massive headache even for Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. One careless misstep could result in grievous injury.

It was dangerous for everyone. A moment of carelessness, and they could die there long before the Demon Race ever found them. It was not a good choice.

But Liu Ling countered, "My master is skilled in the art of divination. He might be able to predict when and where the Sun's Divine Light will appear. If he can't, we can figure out a new plan then!"

Zisang Jin stared, surprised, then turned to Chen Dong. "You have that kind of skill?"

Chen Dong was at a loss for words. Mu Qingzhu was the one skilled in divination, not him. For a moment, he didn't know what to say—he had a pact with Mu Qingzhu and couldn't reveal her existence.

"Fine," Zisang Jin decided. "We'll go to Xuhua Mountain. A detour is better than running headlong into dozens of Demon Kings!"

A flicker of Dao Essence shone from between Zisang Jin's brows, and the entire group vanished.

Only four remained of Jiang Hongqin's team; another Foundation Establishment Stage companion had been slaughtered. Everyone was grievously wounded. Just as they plunged into despair, on the very brink of death, invisible petals began to drift down around them, filling the air with a sweet, refreshing fragrance...

'Oh no, it's Zisang Jin!'

The thought had barely formed in the demons' minds before their bodies were torn asunder, collapsing to the ground. One after another, their Demon Pills shot out, fleeing for their lives.

Zisang Jin didn't pursue them. Instead, she swept up the four survivors and vanished in an instant.

Two breaths later, the throng of Demon Kings arrived. They caught the lingering fragrance and immediately gave chase.

The number of pursuing Demon Kings had swelled to twenty-eight. Confused, Chen Dong sent a telepathic message, "Peak Master Zisang, what was that?"

Zisang Jin chuckled. "We had to come this way regardless. It makes no difference whether we reveal ourselves or not. These Demon Kings are much shrewder than they used to be. There were already some of them lying in wait up ahead!"

Since they were already exposed, Zisang Jin dropped the concealment of her Dao Essence and Sword Intent. Instantly, she gathered everyone up and shot forward at full speed, transforming into a streak of light.

Ahead of them, Demonic Power solidified until it was nearly tangible. A figure materialized—a slender, male Demon King with a full head of red hair and a pair of goat horns.

"It's Yang Zhang!" Zisang Jin's delicate brows knitted together. Of all opponents, Yang Zhang's Innate Divine Techniques were a natural counter to her own. If she had any choice in the matter, she would never want to face him.

But with a pack of them behind and this one in front, her only option was to charge straight through.

The leaf-shaped mark between Zisang Jin's brows bloomed into a flower. With a frown, she began to chant, "I am but a single branch of peach blossoms..."

A colossal peach blossom materialized in the sky, a bud on the verge of blooming. A radiant light flowed across its petals, swirling with Dao Essence.

"...willing to wither and fall with thee."