"You..."

The person from the Jiuling Sect was left red-faced and speechless, having been sharply rebuked.

In Zhang Yiyi's eyes, he was merely an incidental figure. There was no point in holding out hope for him, and wasting a Spirit Fasting Pill on him was of no consequence.

"Daoist Jiang has misspoken. Here and now, a Spirit Fasting Pill is priceless. Miss Zhang is only exchanging it for a favor that may or may not be realized. It's almost like giving it away for free."

Chen Fan, who could be considered a semi-member of the Jiuling Sect at this point, smartly made his stance clear to avoid being lumped together with the foolish Daoist Jiang by the Yunxian Sect.

To eat someone's life-saving item without thanks and then complain about its cost—what nerve.

With such a narrow-minded and unintelligent attitude, even if he managed to return alive, his future achievements would be limited. No wonder Miss Zhang completely disregarded this person's favor.

"I didn't mean that."

Daoist Jiang, realizing his blunder, quickly corrected himself: "I just think that Miss Zhang is very lucky."

After all, they were competitors and not close allies, so it was unreasonable for them to expect anything for free.

However, it was evident that this correction was meaningless and only served to make him seem more ridiculous.

"Luck is also part of strength. If you felt it was a waste, you could have chosen not to eat it. No one forced you."

Even Zhang Tongtong, who was usually gentle and kind, couldn't tolerate this and coldly said, "As a direct disciple of the Great Ascension True Sage from our Yunxian Sect, why would we need such a small favor from you?"

Zhang Tongtong, rarely showing such sharpness, was indeed stepping in for her not-so-close cousin, which was quite rare. Outsiders who didn't know the truth might have been surprised by the sisters' estrangement.

Zhang Yiyi looked genuinely surprised, as she had hardly spoken to Zhang Tongtong in the secret realm.

"Don't overthink it. I'm just speaking out for the sake of fairness among fellow sect members and don't want to tarnish the reputation of our Yunxian Sect."

Seeing Zhang Yiyi's odd gaze, Zhang Tongtong immediately clarified to prevent any misunderstandings, noting that her cousin seemed to be a bit naive despite her sharp appearance.

Otherwise, if Zhang Tongtong were holding so many life-saving items, she could have traded them for far greater benefits and made everyone genuinely grateful and indebted.

But, it was not her concern.

For the sake of sect solidarity, she had spoken up, but she had no intention of getting further involved.

"Oh, don't worry, Cousin. You're right; I didn't think much of it."

Zhang Yiyi smiled and seemed genuinely unconcerned.

However, addressing Zhang Tongtong as 'Cousin' inadvertently revealed their relationship.

Look, even with a life-saving Spirit Nourishing Pill, I didn't give it away for free. The debt of gratitude remains the same.

Such fairness and impartiality are rare indeed. Who else would be so bold as to criticize?

The small dispute was quickly settled, and no one brought up the matter again.

After satisfying their physiological needs with food and drink, the twelve people took turns keeping watch and resting, planning to continue their journey after four hours.

With the loss of spiritual power, sleep became the only way to regain energy. Even in a hurry, they had to spare time for a good rest.

Zhang Yiyi, still energetic, volunteered to take the first watch.

Yuan Ying, having paired up with Zhang Yiyi, dutifully joined her in keeping watch.

"I see you're True Saint Jiang Heng's close disciple from a few years ago. No wonder your name sounds familiar; I feel like I've heard it somewhere."

The two chatted softly, not disrupting the vigilance or the rest of the others nearby.

"I hope that in the future, when people mention my name, they will say, 'Oh, you're Zhang Yiyi,' rather than 'So-and-so's disciple, niece, or even junior sister.'"

Zhang Yiyi responded confidently, her words filled with self-assurance.

Yuan Ying smiled and said, "You're refreshingly straightforward. I like that! Keep working hard!"

Though her wish was beautiful, the reality was harsh. It wasn't easy for this girl to escape the overshadowing brilliance of her teacher and martial uncle.

Her esteemed master had reached the peak of Great Ascension before a thousand years old, and her unique uncle was a genius in his own right. Zhang Yiyi's two senior brothers were already renowned in the cultivation world at a young age. Catching up or surpassing them wasn't something that could be achieved quickly.

"Did Senior Sister have a fight with Brother Mo?"

Zhang Yiyi changed the topic out of curiosity.

She couldn't imagine what could happen in the future that would make someone like Yuan Ying so distressed over a man, to the point of exhausting herself.

As far as Zhang Yiyi could see, Yuan Ying clearly had a fiancé and didn't seem to be smitten with Chen Fan.

"I didn't argue, but I no longer want to continue with this engagement."

Yuan Ying didn't avoid mentioning her family's arrangements not because Zhang Yiyi was from the same sect. Instead, she found a trustworthy listener and vented her feelings.

"Though this marriage was arranged by my family, I was quite satisfied with the match at first. Over the years, we met several times, and he was always kind and considerate. I thought he was content with me as his fiancée and that we had some feelings for each other. But now, it's clear that I was merely deluding myself."

She paused, looking at Zhang Yiyi with a self-deprecating tone: "Not long ago, I heard he has a very close childhood friend who's also his cousin. He even mentioned that after his Golden Core stage, she would become his concubine. I didn't believe it at first and thought of asking him directly for clarification, but he just warned me not to have any designs on his cousin. He even said that even if we became Dao partners in the future, I wouldn't have any say over his women."

"..."

Zhang Yiyi was speechless, not expecting Brother Mo to be this kind of person.

The genuine dual-cultivation partner was still just a fiancée, but he had already reserved his childhood sweetheart cousin as his concubine.

How disgusting—if it were true love, he wouldn't make the girl a concubine and wouldn't be so shameless about it. Such blatant disregard for the fiancée was rare.

"So, is Senior Sister planning to break off the engagement?"

After a moment, she asked, "Can your family agree to this?"

Cultivators usually didn't care much about personal feelings, especially in romantic relationships. Most partnerships were based on practical considerations rather than love.

Zhang Yiyi didn't think that the engagement would be allowed to be broken off simply because Mo Yan had preemptively taken a concubine.