Qin Shu carried He Xin on her back, pushing her cultivation technique to its limit. The turtle beneath her streaked through the sky at high speed, leaving behind a refreshing green glow.

She stuffed handfuls of spirit-replenishing pills into her mouth as if they cost nothing. Just as they escaped ten miles away, a strange roar suddenly pierced through the clouds.

The sheer force of the sound wave nearly blew Qin Shu off the turtle.

Her ears throbbed with pain, but she had no time to worry about it. After flying another twenty miles, her body finally reached its limit. She swayed unsteadily and barely managed to control the little turtle as it descended.

When they were still two meters above the ground, the last trace of spiritual energy in Qin Shu's body was completely drained. Both she and He Xin, along with the turtle, plummeted from the sky.

He Xin, with her lower cultivation level and already weakened from the sonic attack, wasn't faring much better.

But in the moment of freefall, she forced herself to stay conscious, instinctively wrapping her arms around Qin Shu. She twisted her body mid-air, using the last of her feeble spiritual energy to cushion their landing.

"Hiss—"

He Xin gasped sharply in pain and rolled over to rub her tailbone.

"Sister, are you alright?" she asked.

But Qin Shu, lying motionless on top of her, didn't respond at all.

Realizing something was wrong, He Xin ignored her own buzzing headache and hurriedly propped herself up, anxiously checking on Qin Shu.

Qin Shu remained still, her hair disheveled, her hairband somehow broken during the fall, letting her dark locks cascade over her body.

He Xin's heart clenched. She quickly sat up and cradled Qin Shu in her arms, her fingers trembling as she reached toward Qin Shu's nose.

Feeling a faint breath, her tensed shoulders finally relaxed.

She had no healing pills, so she could only feed Qin Shu two more spirit-replenishing pills.

Qin Shu's condition was dire—her dantian was nearly depleted, yet the inner core within it continued to slowly release gold-green spiritual energy.

The giant serpent's spiritual energy was inherently toxic. Before, Qin Shu's own spiritual energy could resist it, but now, with her reserves exhausted, she had no defense.

It wasn't until He Xin fed her the pills that a faint trace of spiritual energy surged back into her dantian.

Qin Shu slowly opened her eyes, meeting He Xin's anxious gaze.

"Qin Shu, are you okay? Do you need more spirit-replenishing pills? I still have some," He Xin asked.

Qin Shu shook her head. She retrieved a porcelain bottle from her jade pendant and took out a Five-Element Blood Coagulation Pill.

As expected of a third-grade pill, the moment she swallowed it, a cooling, soothing sensation spread through her dantian, flowing along her meridians to every part of her body.

The dull pain in her body faded. Qin Shu then took out another pill and handed it to He Xin.

Knowing that Qin Shu had spent thirty-six mid-grade spirit stones to buy these, He Xin adamantly refused to take it.

"No, no, no, I don't need it! I'm fine!" she insisted. The pain in her ears was minor in comparison.

But before she could protest further, Qin Shu simply stuffed the pill into her mouth.

He Xin clutched her lips in shock, staring at Qin Shu in disbelief.

Qin Shu calmly recorked the bottle and said, "Just consider it a gift from the Silk Pavilion—buy one, get one free. We should recover properly first to avoid any lasting damage."

Back at the mine, a high-rank demonic beast had appeared. Just from its roar alone, their eardrums and internal organs had suffered varying degrees of damage.

Having come from the modern world, Qin Shu had deeply ingrained beliefs influenced by modern science—bodily damage was often irreversible. A ruptured eardrum, for example, could lead to permanent hearing loss...

As the third-grade pill took effect, He Xin's torn muscles and overstrained meridians were rapidly mended by its potent medicinal properties. The relief was so overwhelming that she almost let out a moan.

She stretched her body with a satisfied sigh before turning to Qin Shu with a smile. "No wonder it's a third-grade pill—feels amazing!"

Qin Shu, however, sat down cross-legged and said, "Keep watch for me. I need to meditate and recover."

Although her internal injuries had improved, the serpent's poison still lingered. Her dantian was entirely engulfed in a gold-green mist.

She took a top-grade spirit-replenishing pill, absorbed its energy, and used it to encase her dantian and meridians, slowly eroding the toxic mist.

He Xin also sat cross-legged beside her to recover her spiritual energy, but she didn't dare enter deep meditation. They were in the middle of the wilderness—if another beast attacked, they would be doomed.

As night fell, the eerie silence grew oppressive. Occasionally, sword-riding cultivators flew past in the sky, all heading toward the mine.

He Xin glanced at the meditating Qin Shu, a sense of unease gnawing at her.

For the first time, she despised her own weakness. Her cultivation was too low—she couldn't help her sister at all, only drag her down.

Biting her lip, she made a silent vow. Once they returned to the sect, she would train harder. Even if she couldn't keep up with Qin Shu, she had to at least stop being a burden.

As the moon rose, Qin Shu's unique constitution took effect. Gradually, she gained the upper hand in her battle against the serpent's poison.

Bit by bit, she refined the toxic mist within her meridians. When her body was finally filled with her familiar smoky-purple spiritual energy, she slowly opened her eyes.

The forest was filled with the cries of demonic beasts, their sounds echoing from every direction.

He Xin, pale with fear, hugged her knees and huddled close to Qin Shu, shivering.

Even so, she kept part of her attention on Qin Shu's condition.

When she saw Qin Shu stir, she immediately crawled over and tugged at her sleeve. "Sister, you're finally awake! Are you feeling better? Let's leave this place quickly! There are so many beasts... way too many..."

Qin Shu's Duhua Technique had already activated on its own. In the next moment, her expression changed drastically.

This time, she didn't summon her little turtle. Instead, she pulled out the green leaf talisman Wen Chi had given her, pressing five mid-grade spirit stones onto it.

"Let's go!" Qin Shu commanded, sitting down on the leaf and casting a spell.

Without hesitation, He Xin jumped on after her.

As the flying artifact soared into the sky, He Xin frowned and muttered, "How does something as simple as mining lead to this? I wonder what's hidden deep in that mine. So many cultivators were rushing over—do you think they'll be able to handle it?"

Qin Shu listened quietly. After a moment, she finally replied, "They should be able to. This area falls under our Xuantian Sect's jurisdiction. The sect will definitely send reinforcements."

He Xin felt reassured by that. "There are so many elders in our sect—it should be fine."

But just as the words left her mouth, she heard Qin Shu suddenly say—

"The beast tide is coming."