She gloatingly held up the Seven-Petaled Flower, flashing the pair an incredibly sweet smile.

At that moment, the two of them snapped out of their stupor, staring in shock at Song Wanning, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"You again?!"

Ye Chuxue’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. The hatred in her heart surged, and now, the mere sight of Song Wanning was enough to make her lose all reason.

Gu Qingyuan’s expression darkened as well. "Song Wanning, what are you doing here?"

"We discovered the Seven-Petaled Flower first. Give it back immediately!"

He struggled to prop himself up, glaring at her with a threatening gaze.

Even now, he still maintained an air of superiority.

Seeing Song Wanning just smile without a word, Gu Qingyuan grew even more furious. "I haven’t even settled the score with you for hurting Chuxue, and now you’re stealing our things?"

"Song Wanning, how did you become this kind of person?"

The judgmental look in his eyes made Song Wanning laugh.

"Gu Qingyuan, I don’t think you’re just blinded by love. I think you’re just plain brainless."

’I can’t believe I never realized how stupid Gu Qingyuan was...’

The thought that she had once liked such a person soured her mood instantly. She felt insulted.

"What do you mean by that?"

Gu Qingyuan’s face was still dark, his mind completely fixated on the Seven-Petaled Flower.

"If you return the Seven-Petaled Flower to us now, I can choose not to report the matter of you harming Chuxue to the Sect!"

He knew in his heart that Song Wanning was no longer the obedient girl who used to hang on his every word. Now that they were both heavily injured, they stood no chance of taking it from her by force.

After speaking, he shot Ye Chuxue a reassuring glance, hoping she would understand his intentions.

Ye Chuxue was no fool, either. She forced herself to calm down, determined not to be led around by Song Wanning.

"Master is right. As long as you return the Seven-Petaled Flower to us now, I can let bygones be bygones!"

Though she hated Song Wanning with every fiber of her being, she had to force out these words against her will. Ye Chuxue dug her nails into her palm, murderous intent coursing through her.

After hearing the master and disciple’s words, Song Wanning sneered.

"Oh, please don’t let bygones be bygones. In fact, you should report me to the Sect’s Ancestors. Let them teach me a good lesson."

"You’re always calling me vicious anyway. I’m used to it."

She shrugged, looking completely unconcerned.

"But before that, I suppose I should live up to the title. I hope you’ll be satisfied."

She brazenly stored the Seven-Petaled Flower in her Storage Ring right in front of them, a defiant smile playing on her lips.

"Song Wanning, give me back the Seven-Petaled Flower!"

Ye Chuxue forced her injured body to move and lunged at her, a crazed look in her eyes.

Gu Qingyuan was also livid, pointing at Song Wanning and roaring, "Song Wanning, how could you be so despicable? Give us back the Seven-Petaled Flower now!"

"Do you really think we wouldn’t dare report this to the Sect?"

At this point, he suddenly realized that besides the Sect, he had no leverage over Song Wanning whatsoever.

Song Wanning sidestepped slightly, and Ye Chuxue’s lunge missed, sending her sprawling face-first into the dirt.

She lifted her head, the corners of her mouth caked with dirt, looking utterly ridiculous.

"Oh? Why are you giving me such a deep bow? I have no intention of taking you as my disciple, you know."

Song Wanning’s mocking words made Ye Chuxue so furious she could have coughed up blood.

"Song Wanning, you’re only acting this way because you’ve cultivated a few years longer than me..."

What Ye Chuxue hated most at that moment was that she had started cultivating hundreds of years later than Song Wanning. Otherwise, she would never have repeatedly found herself in such a passive position.

But to her surprise, Song Wanning just pursed her lips. "Your master started cultivating earlier than I did, didn’t he? And isn’t he just as useless?"

"If you’re not good enough, don’t blame the heavens, the earth, or the timing."

On the path of cultivation, besides aptitude and fortune, one’s state of mind was also exceptionally important.

’By provoking Ye Chuxue again and again, I’m aiming to shatter her Dao heart and completely sever her path of cultivation.’

No matter how much the Heavenly Dao favored her, some things could not be changed.

She looked down on the two of them, the smile on her lips growing wider.

After several clashes, she now had a much deeper understanding of the Heavenly Dao.

The Heavenly Dao didn’t have the power to do whatever it pleased, especially within a Secret Realm like this. These isolated world fragments were beyond its control; it could only do its best to enhance the female lead’s fortune.

The most it could probably do was send down a Heavenly Punishment during a crisis, but it couldn’t interfere much beyond that. Otherwise, Lu Nanfeng would never have been able to succeed.

If the Heavenly Dao could do as it pleased, the world would descend into utter chaos. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Grasping this point, Song Wanning’s confidence grew, and she became increasingly filled with anticipation for the future.

"Song Wanning!!"

Humiliated, Gu Qingyuan was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

’It was just breaking off an engagement, that’s all. Why did Song Wanning have to take things this far!’

But Song Wanning had no intention of wasting any more time. She had treasures to find and cultivation to do!

So, she simply and crudely tied the two of them up with the Immortal Binding Rope and began dragging them toward the Demon Cave.

The pair was dragged mercilessly across the ground. Furious and frantic, they opened their mouths to curse at her, only to get a mouthful of dust, choking so hard they couldn’t even keep their eyes open.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH—"

The two of them broke into a fit of coughing.

Song Wanning paid them no mind, moving quickly. The two behind her suffered terribly, bumping and stumbling along the way, scraping past countless rocks.

They were battered and bruised.

Ye Chuxue’s delicate skin was scraped raw, a horrific sight to behold.

In truth, injuries like these were insignificant to cultivators like them.

But the humiliation involved was something no one could bear!

What’s more, both of them were incredibly proud and arrogant. When had they ever suffered such a disgrace?

Gu Qingyuan tried to shout again, "If you have a problem, direct it at me! There’s no need to involve an innocent person!"

His heart ached for Chuxue. Seeing her being tormented like this by Song Wanning made him wish he could kill her on the spot.

The next second, however, Song Wanning suddenly changed direction. An instant later, Gu Qingyuan had an intimate encounter with a large pile of demonic beast dung.

His mouth, wide open in anger, instantly chomped down on a chunk of it.

At that moment, Gu Qingyuan’s mind went blank. Before he could even react, he was dragged completely through the pile of dung.

A foul stench instantly enveloped him. Beside him, Ye Chuxue stared, stunned, not even noticing the rocks hitting her in the face.

’That thing in Master’s mouth is...’

"BLECH—"

Ye Chuxue stared at the dark, mushy substance and couldn’t stop herself from vomiting.

Gu Qingyuan, meanwhile, was on the verge of a complete breakdown. The disgusting taste and the strange texture left him feeling as if he’d been struck by lightning.

It was only when he managed to spit some of it out that he could finally believe what had just happened.

This was an absolute, unprecedented humiliation!

"AHHH—"

Gu Qingyuan ground his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, and used every last ounce of his strength to lunge at Song Wanning.

"I’LL KILL YOU!!!"