Zhang Li’s escape wasn’t due to cowardice.

Normally, even with his Qi cultivation nearing completion, he would dare to confront Qin Dexin.

But now, heavily wounded and facing Qin Dexin who was at Foundation Building stage, he had no chance of winning.

Run!

Zhang Li circulated all his spiritual energy to the extreme.

Once he crossed the boundary, someone from the Zhang family would surely assist him.

Intentionally diving into the dense foliage of the forest, his gray robe concealed his form and aura.

Combined with his injuries, his presence became elusive, momentarily eluding Qin Dexin’s pursuit.

But would Qin Dexin let him escape so easily?

A heavily wounded cultivator at the peak stage of Qi refinement was like a dying ember.

“Stop immediately! Explain the reason for sneaking into our secret realm, and the Qin Clan might spare your life,” Qin Dexin shouted loudly from behind.

As an elder himself, Zhang Li could not possibly believe such nonsense.

His chest surged with emotions.

Due to his injuries and the effort of escape, he coughed up blood.

At this moment, Zhang Li felt desperate.

He knew his escape was futile, so he turned around and fought Qin Dexin.

Even if he died, he wanted to drag someone down with him!

Qin Dexin sneered, wielding her sword and meeting each strike with lethal precision.

Suddenly, Zhang Li grinned with blood-stained teeth, looking grotesque and disgusting.

He revealed his successful scheme and shouted loudly, “Join me in death!”

Qin Dexin’s pupils contracted as he quickly retreated.

Zhang Li intended to self-destruct!

However, just as Zhang Li’s energy peaked and he was about to explode, a slender white hand suddenly tapped his forehead, instantly halting all the turmoil within his body.

Qin Dexin looked towards a figure clad in white robes

“Surprise flashed across their faces: ‘ Ancestor!'” Ancestor hovered solemnly in the air, sensing the rune she had given to Qingqing had been activated, she knew the girl was in trouble and hurried over.

Now seeing the scene, she wasn’t sure if she was too late…

Ancestor Wenxuan remained silent, forming a few hand seals, and Zhang Li silently collapsed.

Qin Dexin noticed she still had a bit of breath left.

“Ancestor, why not kill him?”

“Keeping him might be useful.” Ancestor didn’t care about Zhang Li, her gaze turned towards Qin Ruqing, saying in a deep voice, “Let’s go, let’s see Qingqing!”

Qin Ruqing was still unconscious, with Qirong and Luwei by her side.

When Qin Dexin went after someone, Luwei had already given Qingqing hemostatic pills and treated her wounds.

Qirong crouched nearby, keeping watch and worriedly said, “Third Sister, how is Qingqing?”

Luwei frowned, “She’s badly injured, with many meridians severed and three ribs broken. I’ve stopped the bleeding and her Dao Physique should help her heal on her own, but we don’t know when she’ll wake up.”

Just then, Ancestor arrived swiftly. Luwei and Qirong stood up in pleasant surprise, calling out, “Ancestor!”

Ancestor nodded hurriedly, walking to Qingqing’s side and checking her pulse.

After a while, Ancestor seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, though her expression remained stern.

“First, let’s go to our residence.”

At their residence, Qingqing lay silent on the bed, pale but breathing steadily.

A large group surrounded her.

Qin Ruqing’s anxious parents had rushed over; there were also elders on duty and, of course, Ancestor…

No one dared to speak as Ancestor carefully examined Qingqing’s injuries.

After a while, Ancestor said, “She activated the rune I gave her, sealing my strongest spell inside.

She used it to severely injure Zhang Li, but was caught in the aftermath, with over half her meridians shattered and three ribs broken. Fortunately, she’s alive.”

Ancestor’s tone seemed to mix relief with anger.

Everyone else was shocked.

Zhang Li was a formidable cultivator, almost at Foundation Establishment, while Qingqing was just at the third level of Qi refining.

Yet, with a single rune, she had managed to contend with him for so long and even injured him severely?

Qingqing’s sharp wit and intelligence were evident; just from these few words, everyone understood the countless risks involved.

Luo Xian sobbed quietly beside the bed, heartbroken.

Qin Dexin wore a deeply pained expression, though she restrained himself out of respect for the clan leader.

Qingqing had been pampered since childhood and had never experienced such suffering.

Qin Deming clenched and unclenched his fists by his thighs, then, after a while, adjusted his emotions and asked, ” Ancestor, can Qingqing’s injuries… be healed?”

Ancestor reassured them all with a single sentence: “Rest assured. If Qingqing were an ordinary third-level Qi refiner, she would likely have perished in the explosion earlier.

But this girl has immense luck and a Dao physique. When she wakes up and rests for a few months, she will recover completely.”

Luo Xian’s heart finally settled upon hearing this.

She wiped away her tears, stood up—never one to be frail—and gently

Behind the half-turned heart, rising emotions were like raging flames.

Luo Xian summoned her personal magical tool, saying coldly, “Where is that thief from the Zhang family? Let me kill him!”

Qin Dexin hurriedly held her back: “He’s currently imprisoned in the dungeon. Rest assured, Zhang Li injured Qingqing.

He’s the direct evidence himself, and the Qin family will seek justice for you.

Don’t act impulsively now. If you kill him outright, Zhang’s family will deny everything, and Qingqing will suffer for no reason.”

Ancestor also looked at Luo Xian seriously, saying, “Zhang Li will surely die, but we must wait until matters are settled.”

Luo Xian could clearly distinguish.

Her desire to kill Zhang Li stemmed from a mother’s most direct hatred.

At this moment, she forced herself to restrain and nodded, “Very well, let him live a while longer.”

Ancestor understood Luo Xian very well.

Qingqing was usually lively and energetic; seeing her now so weak lying there, not just as a mother, even she felt heartbroken.

After some thought, Ancestor continued, “It’s fine. I have a method to accelerate Qingqing’s recovery. I saved some Healing holy medicine from before and left three drops for Qingqing. She probably hasn’t used them all, so now is the perfect time.”

Jade Marrow, a sacred medicine for healing! With this, Qingqing’s injuries could be completely healed!

As for Ancestor leaving three drops of Jade Marrow for Qin Ruqing, no one dared to comment.

Qin Ruqing had discovered the Stalactite Spirit Cave herself.

Since Ancestor had leftovers, giving them to Qin Ruqing as a reward was perfectly reasonable.

Ancestor took out the storage pouch from Qin Ruqing’s waist, a birthday gift from Qin Dexin when she turned eight, which she had used ever since.

Qin Dexin also noticed this pouch and couldn’t help but look saddened.

With Ancestor’s cultivation, she could easily break the seal on Qin Ruqing’s storage pouch.

Opening it, she scanned inside with her divine sense.

Ancestor didn’t look much further, focusing on finding the Jade Marrow, but suddenly felt an extremely cold aura.

Hm? This is… Ancestor seemed to understand something, her body paused, her pupils dilated greatly, and her hand trembled as she reached into the storage pouch.

Everyone felt something was amiss.

Luo Xian furrowed her brow and said, “Ancestor, could it be that Qingqing didn’t bring the Jade Marrow with her?

It’s understandable; she might have considered the Jade Marrow too precious and left it at home. I’ll go back and get it…”

Ancestor shook her head, suppressing the complex emotions in her eyes, and said, “No need.”

She took out a green jade bottle. “I’ve found it.”

Luo Xian breathed a sigh of relief.

Ancestor opened the jade bottle and found only two drops of Jade Marrow inside…

However, she already had an idea of where the other drop of Jade Marrow had gone.

After feeding Qingqing one drop of Jade Marrow, Ancestor returned the jade bottle to the storage pouch.

Watching Ancestor’s actions, Luo Xian asked with concern, ” Ancestor, is one drop enough? Qingqing is so severely injured; shouldn’t she take two drops?”

Seeing her concern, Ancestor deliberately smiled, “With your daughter’s Dao physique, even without Jade Marrow, her injuries would heal completely.

Now with this precious spiritual medicine, in just three days, she’ll be jumping around like usual.”

This was partly teasing Luo Xian for being overprotective and partly teasing Qingqing for her resilience, showing she wasn’t that fragile.

Everyone smiled with understanding.

Luo Xian didn’t feel embarrassed; instead she breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”

Qin Ruqing’s injuries were not serious, and the topic of discussion among everyone turned to the recent events.

In truth, they had already pieced together a rough idea of what had happened.

Qin Dexin said, “It seems to have started from the incident at the pharmacy.

The Zhang family grew suspicious and sent their third elder, Zhang Li, to our secret realm to investigate.

It just so happened that he encountered Qingqing.”

“Qingqing has a special physique, young age, and high cultivation level.

She doesn’t look like an ordinary clan member, which is what made Zhang Li harbor ill intentions.”

This was indeed a reasonable speculation.

However, Second Elder wondered, “I heard Zhang Li encountered Qingqing at Mirror Lake near the border, which is quite a distance from our residence.

Why would Qingqing go there? It’s quite suspicious.”

This was indeed a major point of doubt.

However, if it was said that Qingqing was mischievous and playful, it would also make sense.

Next to them, Qirong and Luwei exchanged a glance, and neither of them said a word.

Why Qingqing went to Mirror Lake was crystal clear in their minds, but the reason couldn’t be casually shared with their clan members.

Even the most innocent Qirong knew how to handle this matter.

Qingqing could tell them about the Heart of Frigid Ice, trusting them, but they couldn’t casually divulge this information and bring disaster upon her.

Qirong and Luwei both had the same firm conviction: until Qingqing woke up and told them what to do, they would absolutely play dumb and not utter a word!

Surprisingly, it was Ancestor who explained the reasons to everyone.

Ancestor said calmly, “It was my order. I have an item near Mirror Lake, and I asked Qingqing to retrieve it for me. Who knew she would encounter this unexpected event… It was just a stroke of bad luck.”

With a few casual words from Ancestor, the true cause of the incident was glossed over, surprising everyone.

So, it was Ancestor’s order?

In that case, everything made sense.

Ancestor had something she needed Qingqing to fetch near Mirror Lake, and it just so happened that she encountered Zhang Li, who had been sent by the Zhang family to investigate the secret realm.

It seemed indeed that Qingqing had just been unlucky.

As for why Ancestor instructed Qingqing to go to Mirror Lake, since Ancestor remained silent, no one dared to inquire further.

They brushed over this matter and briefly discussed how to deal with the Zhang family’s issues next.

And so, today’s matters were finally clarified.

After Ancestor fed Qingqing a drop of Jade Marrow, her complexion finally stopped being pale, and even a hint of rosy color returned.

Qin Deming and his wife, after seeing this, finally completely let go of their worries, only waiting for Qingqing to wake up.

However, this wait lasted until the third day.

“Ancestor, why hasn’t Qingqing woken up yet?” Luo Xian, watching Qingqing still not waking up for a long time, began to worry again.

With Qingqing’s Dao physique and taking Jade Marrow, theoretically, she should have woken up the same day.

Could something have gone wrong, and Ancestor hadn’t detected some illness?

Ancestor checked Qingqing’s body again, also puzzled, saying, “Her broken meridians have already been reconnected, and the injured ribs are healing. All her bodily functions have returned to their peak, and even her spiritual energy is more active than usual. Logically, she should have awakened long ago.”

Luo Xian furrowed her brow, starting to speculate in a bad direction. “Could she have been poisoned?”

Ancestor shook her head, stepping forward to conduct a more detailed examination of Qingqing.

Unexpectedly, Qingqing, lying quietly on the bed, suddenly showed some movement.

It wasn’t that she woke up.

Instead, the spiritual energy within her body began to accelerate, like a whale sucking in surrounding spiritual energy into her body.

Ancestor looked at this scene in astonishment for a while before smiling and shaking her head, praising, “This girl… I wondered why she hadn’t woken up. It turns out she’s about to break through.”