Yuan Ying naturally understood this principle.

But since she had seen through the truth, she resolutely saw no reason to continue suffering unjustly.

As long as one is determined, there's no relationship that cannot be repaired!

"I've made up my mind. If others disagree, then I'll find a way to make them agree."

Yuan Ying said decisively, "If he wants the benefits of marrying into the Yuan family but doesn't want to disappoint the woman he loves, it seems Mo Yan thinks of me as a fool. Does he really believe that his status as a legitimate spouse is so precious that I, Yuan Ying, would quietly endure and accept it? Hmph, what a fantasy!"

"He doesn't deserve you."

Zhang Yiyi spoke plainly and accurately. It was indeed a fantasy.

As the senior sister of the Lishan Sect, Yuan Ying had the potential to rise to the top of the food chain. There was no need for her to live like an ordinary woman, catering to a man's whims.

Mo Yan surely understood this principle as well. With his penchant for always wanting to be in control, he probably wouldn't want to marry a powerful woman like the senior sister.

So, whether or not there was a cousin who had known him since childhood was irrelevant. The key point was that from the start, Mo Yan never valued Yuan Ying. A partner like that was bound to be unlucky.

"I knew Yiyi would understand me best!"

Seeing Zhang Yiyi take her side without even a hint of pretense, Yuan Ying happily patted the little girl's shoulder.

After this expedition into the secret realm, the first thing she would do upon returning to the sect was to break off her engagement with Mo Yan.

Perhaps, this was also what Mo Yan wished for.

But she was certain that Mo Yan didn't want the engagement to be canceled so soon, otherwise, there was no need for him to feign affection previously.

But she wouldn't demean herself nor play the fool. She had no obligation to please someone who disgusted her.

"Once the engagement is canceled, senior sister will treat you to a drink to celebrate. I'll get you some spirit wine brewed by my grandfather himself. Just two cups, and you'll benefit immensely!"

The more Yuan Ying thought about it, the happier she became. Breaking off with a hypocritical fiancé and gaining a little sister who was both charming and sincere was indeed worth celebrating.

"Alright, then I'll be waiting for senior sister's spirit wine."

Zhang Yiyi laughed along. Scumbags were scumbags, even among sect members.

The two of them, without any burdens, jointly condemned someone who was just a hundred meters away. This was perhaps one of the benefits of not having spiritual power—there was no worry about being overheard.

"You and your cousin don't seem to have a good relationship, right?"

Then, Yuan Ying asked about Zhang Yiyi's matters.

If it weren't for Yiyi calling her cousin earlier, she wouldn't have thought of them as blood relatives.

"Mm, it's just like that. We don't interfere with each other."

Zhang Yiyi replied casually and then asked, "What do you think of my cousin?"

"I don't know her well, so I can't judge."

Yuan Ying replied, "But she definitely doesn't appeal to me as much as you do. We can't be friends, but we're both smart people with no conflicting interests, so we probably won't become enemies either."

"Then, if one day in the future, both you and she liked the same man and had conflicting interests, would you actively seek trouble with her?"

By some strange chance, Zhang Yiyi asked the question that had been on her mind.

Whether it was the Yuan Ying in the original story or the one she had seen and learned about in reality, she was not the type to be narrow-minded or unreasonable.

She had no doubt that Yuan Ying could love and hate with all her heart, but she seriously doubted that such a person would be scheming, cruelly harming other women out of jealousy, or even going so far as to destroy everything if she couldn't have it.

"Why are you suddenly asking me such a bizarre question? How could I and your cousin like the same man?"

Yuan Ying laughed and said, "You're just a child with too many strange thoughts. Your cousin doesn't like Mo Yan, does she?"

"Of course not. I'm just giving an example. If, hypothetically!"

Zhang Yiyi emphasized, "Besides, I don't really think you're all that fond of Senior Brother Mo. It's probably just the engagement giving you some kind of false impression."

"You're quite perceptive."

Yuan Ying almost reached out to pinch Zhang Yiyi's cheek, but the little girl cleverly dodged.

Not denying it was akin to acknowledging Yiyi's point.

Then, she answered the initial question: "I wouldn't cause trouble for anyone. Feelings are not a one-sided matter, and creating trouble for others won't solve anything. Moreover, as cultivators, our most important goal is to pursue the Dao. We should use any spare time to cultivate more rather than making trouble for someone over a man."

"......That makes a lot of sense......"

Hearing this answer, Zhang Yiyi thoroughly understood a principle: It's better to be without books than to believe in them completely!

......

After taking a break and setting out again, the dangers of the desert reappeared.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yiyi's previous grumbling turned out to be true.

They encountered a giant snake as thick as a barrel and later got entangled and bullied by the plants in a small oasis that was hard to find in the desert.

Of course, they were the unlucky zombies in a game of Plants vs. Zombies.

Compared to the others' unbearable suffering, Zhang Yiyi was as excited as if she had received a shot of adrenaline. Her delighted appearance, waiting for the opportunity, made Yuan Ying, who saw her, shiver in the sweltering heat.

After killing several waves of monsters, Zhang Yiyi's increasingly obvious abnormal state could no longer be hidden.

"Yiyi, I just realized you're quite... strange!"

After escaping from the small oasis, Yuan Ying, recalling Zhang Yiyi's various performances when fighting those monsters and during earlier attacks, finally understood something.

It turned out the girl had been using those monsters to test herself!

What was even scarier was that those beasts and plants, which attacked them fearlessly, eventually became terrified of Zhang Yiyi. They would avoid attacking her and even flee.

When did physical cultivation become so formidable? Besides, this girl shouldn't be purely focused on physical cultivation, right?

"Uh..."

Zhang Yiyi touched her increasingly powerful fists and said with satisfaction, "Actually, I can be even more... peculiar."

"......"

Yuan Ying was left speechless.

Others also noticed Zhang Yiyi's extraordinary strength and their assessment of her rose to a new level.

In truth, each of them had gained a lot from the series of attacks, whether in battle awareness, crisis instincts, or overall combat skills.

But compared to Zhang Yiyi, such gains seemed almost insignificant.

This kind of fighting and killing lasted for a full five days.

As time went on, the attackers became increasingly intelligent and formidable.

And this time, their bad luck led them to encounter a pack of blue-eyed snow wolves, with a wolf king leading them and even tactical coordination among them.