Despite successfully shaking off Lin Fan in Kun City, Yun Qingyao felt far from relieved. She needed to return to the Yun Sect as soon as possible to report what she had witnessed and wanted to resolve the trouble personally. Her most urgent desire was to restore her cultivation quickly.

Losing her cultivation made her extremely anxious, to the point where she couldn’t even knock out an ordinary taxi driver in one blow. Fortunately, even without her cultivation, she still had more knowledge than the average person. Otherwise, failing even with a driver would be embarrassing.

Yun Qingyao found the informant left at Cyan Ox Stronghold, a man with a limp, and borrowed a motorcycle to travel ten miles along the mountain road.

Upon reaching the transit point, Yun Qingyao pushed the motorcycle to the edge of the cliff and let go, allowing it to rush out and plummet down the cliff.

After doing this, Yun Qingyao felt her breathing become heavy, a sense of powerlessness. Just the act of pushing a motorcycle left her feeling like her strength was insufficient.

Yun Qingyao smiled bitterly to herself, knowing that the next hour of climbing and traversing would be a huge challenge given her current physical condition. She seriously doubted whether she could endure to reach the Yun Sect.

If it were only a matter of physical strength, it would be fine—she could just take more time. The problem was that Lin Fan would undoubtedly pursue her relentlessly.

She had left a tracker on the flat-headed man’s car, deceiving Lin Fan, but she knew it wouldn’t fool him for long. Eventually, Lin Fan would discover she was gone and find his own way to the Yun Sect.

She had personally informed Lin Fan about Cyan Ox Stronghold, so he would definitely rush there to start tracking her.

She knew how strong Lin Fan’s tracking abilities were; despite doing her utmost to leave no trace, she couldn’t really relax. As long as Lin Fan found any clue, he could still catch up with her.

This worried her the most, making her feel like she had no time to waste and needed to return to the Yun Sect quickly.

Trying to save time, she entered the mountains and began rushing on her way, not even having time to set up diversions. For one, diversions wouldn’t stop Lin Fan’s tracking; Ye Tianyu’s situation reminded her it didn’t take Lin Fan long to see through diversions. Secondly, her physical strength was inadequate, so she didn’t want to waste it.

Even so, she tried to conserve energy—using it only to rush along the path. Nonetheless, after trekking in the mountains for over ten minutes, she was obviously fatigued.

She had to sit down to catch her breath, touching her face to find it somewhat cold. Without needing a mirror, she knew her face must be very pale.

Lin Fan had controlled her Dantian, leaving her only able to walk. It was as if her Dantian, which used to be a pool with ample water resources, had been sealed or drained by Lin Fan, leaving only a bare minimum to keep her alive. More than that, she couldn’t manage.

"Damn it!"

She reached up and touched the silver needle inserted in her Dantian, wanting to pull it out so badly, but she didn’t dare. She had tried this before, and the pain was something she did not wish to experience a second time.

"Despicable guy! Once my cultivation is restored, I won’t let you go. I’ll fight you and defeat you personally!" Yun Qingyao angrily planned her revenge against Lin Fan, vowing to repay him double for the pain he had caused her.

At this moment, she didn’t think about whether she could beat Lin Fan. Even at her best, could she really be Lin Fan’s match?

Her confidence came not from considering Lin Fan’s power, but from the family backing her. She believed firmly that as long as she returned to the Yun Sect, everything would be solved smoothly.

The powerful family was her pillar, like a child leaving home but always comforted by the thought of parents at home. Home is the best refuge.

Yun Qingyao never considered that the Yun Sect couldn’t handle Lin Fan.

She always believed that Lin Fan seeking out the Yun Sect was a death wish.

Indeed, Lin Fan was very powerful, truly formidable. Even joining forces with those from the Tang Sect, they might not best Lin Fan. His strength wasn’t just in power but in cunning. In Yun Qingyao’s eyes, Lin Fan’s deceit exceeded his strength.

However, in the face of absolute power, Lin Fan’s cunning was useless and merely laughable.

Right now, the priority was to rush back as soon as possible.

Yun Qingyao thought of this, gritted her teeth, stood up, and continued on her way.

The human will is a somewhat mysterious thing. Sometimes it allows a weak person to unleash their potential; people need willpower to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks.

Regularly, if asked to walk thirty miles, you might collapse after a few, but with the temptation of a million-dollar reward for completing thirty miles, you’d push through even if exhaustion bordered on death. That million-dollar lure fuels your will and makes you stand when you’re spent.

Yun Qingyao was just like that now, fueled by the thought of reaching home. This kept her going.

With willpower, she indeed managed to cover more ground.

Half an hour later, she found herself having traveled at least a third of the way, getting closer to home.

Despite her face being deathly pale from severe exhaustion, the closer she got to home, the stronger her will became.

"Not good!"

Suddenly, Yun Qingyao frowned, feeling a prickling pain from her Dantian.

This was not a good sign; it meant her exhaustion had begun affecting her Dantian again. Her Dantian was under Lin Fan’s control and couldn’t harness cultivation energy. But in severe fatigue, her body instinctively attempted to draw upon it, impacting her Dantian.

Continuing like this would certainly damage her Dantian.

Yun Qingyao smiled bitterly, realizing she was reaching her limit, even with the will to support her. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Just as someone can’t walk a hundred miles despite a million-dollar temptation, humans have limits.

And Lin Fan had left her with limited stamina. She was deeply exhausted and had no choice but to stop to rest, needing the needle-like pain in her Dantian to ease before continuing.

Feeling helpless, Yun Qingyao planned to find a place to sit down and take a break, at least until the piercing sensation in her Dantian disappeared, allowing her to resume her journey.

However, at this moment, an issue even more troubling than her Dantian’s pain confronted Yun Qingyao.

She suddenly heard the growls of a wild beast coming from nearby.