"Senior Sister Xie, if I didn't agree, the outcome would be quite miserable, wouldn't it? I suppose if I want to live, I can only continue to yield and survive," Lin Haoming said, sounding helpless.
"A real man knows when to yield and when to stand tall. I have high hopes for you, Junior Brother Lin! As long as you follow me and do your work sincerely, I'll find a way to help you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, regardless of your poor aptitude." After the threat, Xie Ruolan offered a sliver of hope.
Lin Haoming felt that this was her true stance—though it would likely only be fully realized after he swore a Blood Oath.
In the world of cultivation, a Blood Oath is a specialized, binding vow. Breaking it could lead to anything from suffering a cultivation backlash—Qi Deviation—to instant death. While rare treasures exist that can mitigate the effects of an oath, completely erasing its influence is impossible—at least in this world.
---
The Loot
Xie Ruolan quickly gathered the storage bags from the two fallen cultivators. She picked out the items she wanted for herself and tossed the rest to Lin Haoming. Then, she proceeded to harvest the final remnants of value from the corpses.
"Senior Sister, you killed that fellow sect member because you were afraid he'd leak the truth about your real strength, right?" Lin guessed.
"You're smart," Xie Ruolan admitted casually while busy with her grisly work.
"Aren't you afraid I'll leak it?" Lin countered.
Having finished extracting the essence from the corpses, Xie Ruolan looked up at him with her usual disdain. "All I have to do is drop a hint that I have a bit of interest in you. What do you think your life expectancy would be then?"
Lin Haoming gave a bitter laugh. He realized he didn't even need a Blood Oath; she already had him completely under her thumb.
Once she finished with the Heavenly Sword disciple, Xie Ruolan suddenly threw a set of flying swords to Lin. "Keep these. You have five-element spiritual roots; you can use this set of Five Elements Swords all the way until you reach Foundation Establishment."
Lin caught the swords and a jade slip. He pressed the slip to his forehead and scanned it; it was a manual for controlling the swords. Even a cursory glance told him that if mastered, they were incredibly powerful.
However, after withdrawing his divine sense, he looked at the set in his hands with a hint of worry. "These are high-grade magic tools—a matched set, at that. They must be worth over a thousand spirit stones!"
"As long as you know. See? Stick with me and you'll never lack for benefits," Xie Ruolan said proudly.
"The swords are great, but they consume an immense amount of spiritual power. They're usually meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators. I'm only at the 8th level; I probably can't bring out half their power, let alone sustain them."
"True. Take this for emergencies." She tossed him a small bottle.
Lin opened it and gasped. "Spirit Recovery Pills!"
"There were three on that Heavenly Sword brat. One pill can quickly replenish your spiritual power. No wonder he could afford to use the Five Elements Swords so recklessly."
"These are valuable—a hundred stones each, usually used by Foundation Establishment seniors. I'll stick to my Qi Recovery Pills for now," Lin said, tucking the bottle away.
"Standard pills won't help you in the middle of a fight; they work too slowly. Those three are for saving your life," Xie Ruolan noted.
---
Searching for the Rest
Lin realized that despite her ruthlessness, she really didn't want him to die easily. He watched as she retrieved several formation flags and a disk from beneath tree roots and bushes.
This formation was clearly why the Heavenly Sword disciple couldn't use his Earth Escape Talisman. A formation capable of blocking talismans was expensive—no wonder she had been so patient before striking.
"Pack up and follow me!" she ordered.
She began tracking signs of battle, and Lin guessed she was looking for the other two companions of the Blood Refining Sect disciple she had killed.
Sure enough, they found them about three miles away. One had been killed by a sneak attack; the other's defensive tool was shattered, likely killed in a direct confrontation by the Heavenly Sword disciple. It was clear the swordsman had been formidable, and Xie Ruolan's tactical approach had saved her from a much harder fight.
"Senior Sister Xie, when did you first start hunting out here?" Lin asked curiously as he gathered the extra storage bags.
A memory flashed through Xie Ruolan's mind: a young girl, not yet fully grown, clutching two mid-grade talismans with trembling hands, gritting her teeth against her terror as she searched for ginseng.
She pushed the memory away, her expression turning sour. "Why do you ask so much? I'll tell you this: when I first came here, I was worse off than you are now. So stop being so dramatic!"
Lin saw the displeasure in her eyes and fell silent.
---
The Return
Red Leaf Mountain was vast—spanning six hundred thousand square kilometers. Though hundreds of disciples roamed the area, encounters weren't constant. For the next two days, they didn't see another soul.
Lin did manage to find two more Crimson Sun Ginsengs, though they were only twenty to thirty years old—hardly worth much, but better than nothing.
Xie Ruolan usually came here once a month for no more than three days. On the third day, they began their journey back. As usual, Lin walked alone while Xie Ruolan remained invisible nearby. Despite his strong divine sense, he couldn't detect her at all through her mysterious cloak.
"Alright, we've left the junction area," her voice finally rang in his ear, and her slender figure materialized before him.