Feng Luochen walked toward the fallen men, her steps unsteady. Following Lestes's instruction, she raised her sword and stabbed downward. The blade pierced cleanly through the chest.
As soon as it was over, her strength gave out.
The poison in her body surged violently. Her vision blurred, her legs trembled, and she nearly collapsed.
Lestes noticed immediately.
"If the poison isn't treated soon, you won't last much longer," he said calmly.
He turned to her and spoke with quiet authority."Sit down. Lotus position."
Feng Luochen obeyed, lowering herself to the ground.
"I'll refine the poison inside your body using flame," Lestes said.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Alchemy.
On the Martial Heavenly Continent, alchemists were among the most revered existences. To refine pills or cleanse poison using flame required an extraordinarily powerful soul and precise control. Only one in ten thousand cultivators could even step into alchemy, and high-tier alchemists were rarer still.
So he's an alchemist as well…
For the first time since becoming his servant, Feng Luochen felt a trace of relief. Serving a powerful alchemist meant she would never lack medicinal pills in the future—a priceless advantage for cultivation.
"Remove your outer garments," Lestes said, his tone matter-of-fact. "The flame must act directly on your meridians."
She stiffened, then nodded. Blushing faintly, she removed her outer layer and sat upright again.
Lestes positioned himself behind her and placed his palm against her back.
The moment his hand made contact, a surge of heat spread through her body. Her breathing became unsteady, and her thoughts began to wander.
"Focus," Lestes said sharply."Regulate your breathing. Don't resist. One mistake and the poison could turn fatal."
His words snapped her back to reality.
She closed her eyes and calmed her mind.
A controlled flame emerged from Lestes's palm—not fierce, not wild, but steady and refined. It flowed into her body, moving through her meridians like a guided current. Wherever the flame passed, the poison was burned away, strand by strand.
Time passed slowly.
At last, Lestes withdrew his hand.
"The main poison has been removed," he said. "There's some residue left, but it won't matter after you take a few antidote pills."
Feng Luochen exhaled deeply, relief washing over her.
Lestes turned away and began searching the corpses. He retrieved three storage rings.
Storage rings were essential tools for cultivators, used to carry items across long journeys. Depending on their grade, they could hold anywhere from one to hundreds of cubic meters of space. These three were low-grade, each with about two cubic meters of storage.
Inside, he found gold coins, medicinal pills, and several cultivation manuals.
He examined the techniques briefly.
Trash.
From the perspective of someone who had once stood at the peak of existence, these methods were crude and incomplete. Still, he needed to understand the cultivation system of this lower plane.
After a moment, Feng Luochen finished adjusting her clothes and approached him.
Lestes was sitting beside one of the corpses, eyes closed.
He was using a forbidden soul technique—Memory Extraction of the Dead.
Though his cultivation base was gone, his immortal soul and essence blood remained. Through sacrifice, he could forcibly extract fragmented memories.
Information flooded in.
This world was called the Martial Heavenly Realm.
The cultivation system here was structured as follows:
Body Refining Realm – Tempering bones, blood, muscles, and marrow
Qi Condensation Realm – Absorbing heaven-and-earth qi into the dantian
Foundation Establishment Realm – Refining spirit qi and stabilising one's foundation
Core Formation Realm – Condensing the dantian into a Golden Core
Nascent Soul Realm – Shattering the core to give birth to a nascent soul
Deity Transformation Realm – A legendary peak rarely reached
He opened his eyes and organised the information.
"We're heading deeper into the forest," Lestes said, pointing ahead. "There's something valuable there."
Feng Luochen hesitated.
"The inner forest is extremely dangerous," she said carefully. "Even powerful cultivators avoid it."
She didn't say the rest, but she thought it clearly: If danger arises, he will survive. I won't.
Lestes looked at her calmly."There are risks, yes. But not many. With cooperation, we'll manage."
Cooperation? she thought, stunned.
In her eyes, Lestes was at least a Core Formation cultivator. What could she possibly contribute?
As if reading her thoughts, he continued,"I'll suppress the demon beasts with soul pressure. You kill them with your sword."
He glanced at her."You can kill a stunned enemy, can't you?"
She straightened immediately."Yes. I can."
"Good. Let's go."
After an hour of travel, they reached the foot of a small mountain. Along the way, they gathered medicinal herbs and killed several high-tier demon beasts with surprising ease.
To Feng Luochen, it felt unreal.
"There should be a cave nearby," Lestes said. "I'll search."
He sat down and extended his divine sense.
Minutes later, his eyes opened.
"Found it."
The cave entrance was hidden behind a rock formation. Feng Luochen shattered the stone with a sword strike, and they entered.
At first glance, the cave appeared empty.
"This isn't right," Lestes murmured.
Then his gaze sharpened.
"A formation."
It was old and weakened, but extremely well concealed.
"Break it by force," he said.
Feng Luochen gathered her strength and struck the wall.
The formation shattered.
What lay beyond left her breathless.
Mountains of spirit stones filled the space, glowing softly. Shelves of ancient books lined the walls. Several rare heavenly treasures and high-grade pills rested nearby.
"This amount of wealth…" Feng Luochen whispered."It's enough to sustain a top-tier sect for a hundred years."
Lestes nodded but remained uninterested in the stones. His attention was fixed on the books.
"I'll cultivate here until I reach Foundation Establishment," he said.
For safety, he laid down several concealment formations at the entrance.
Then he handed Feng Luochen a jade slip.
"This is a cultivation method for you—Yin–Yang Divine Fusion."
Her eyes widened.
It was a dual cultivation technique—but not one meant for exploitation. This method focused on balancing yin and yang, strengthening the body, soul, and divine sense together. It was even more rare and valuable in female cultivators.
"I modified it myself," Lestes added. "It will suit you."
Feng Luochen clenched the jade slip tightly.
For the first time since her fall, she felt something stir in her chest.
Hope.