Chapter 167: Chapter 165: Since You’re Here, None of You Are Leaving

"Qin, someone’s coming!" A young woman on lookout duty ran back, panting. Her eyes were filled with panic as she looked at Li Qin.

"What do we do, Qin? Our benefactor..." a girl of about eighteen or nineteen asked anxiously.

The group of young women all gathered around Li Qin, looking at her with anticipation.

"Everyone, don’t panic. Vermilion Jade, you first. Tell me... who are they?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Li Qin’s calm demeanor and steady voice helped the anxious young women relax a little.

"Most of them are young men. There are a few older ones, but they don’t look like Elders." The girl named Vermilion Jade had been born into a family of officials and was more familiar with the aura of those in power.

"Mm, then there’s nothing to be afraid of. They... are coming for us!" Li Qin said.

"Ah!"

The young women instantly panicked. ’Isn’t that exactly what we’re afraid of?!’ they thought. ’If not that, what else is there to fear?’ Most of them had personally witnessed other girls being taken away as Tripod Furnaces, never to return. They had also learned the girls’ fates from the mouths of the stewards Qin Li had killed. Without exception, all of them had... died during the Absorption by the Paradise Celestial Palace Elders!

"I know what you’re all worried about. But do we have the ability to resist? Or are you saying that if we push out our benefactor, who is still heavily injured, we’ll be safe?"

Li Qin’s gaze was sharp as she looked at the crowd and said in a low voice, "I believe none of you sisters are foolish. You all understand the situation! Yes, nobody wants to die, and nobody wants to be defiled before they die! But our benefactor saved us. We cannot let him face even the slightest danger, even if it means our deaths! So, I will go out first. As for the rest of you... it’ll be up to luck. Whoever they pick, it’s their fate!"

As Li Qin spoke, the rims of her eyes reddened and she bit her lower lip hard. Images of her parents, her family, and her beautiful hometown flashed through her mind. She silently prayed, ’Farewell, Father and Mother. Your daughter has been unfilial. I can only repay your love and care in the next life!’

Tears streamed from the corners of Li Qin’s eyes, but she still spoke with a resolute expression, "Sisters who manage to survive, remember that you must stick together and be strong! If we aren’t united, we will only die faster! Those beasts will never show us even a shred of pity!"

"Qin, you can’t die! If you die, we’ll lose our backbone! I’m willing to go in your place..."

"That’s right, Qin! You can’t go out! We’re willing to step forward!"

Instantly, dozens of young women spoke up. Though tears streamed down their faces and fear flickered in their eyes, their will was firmer than it had ever been.

There were also some who remained silent, but from their reddened eyes and fierce expressions, their decisions were clear.

These young women may have grown up sheltered, they may have never faced any hardships, and perhaps before this, they were just little girls who would whine and act spoiled with their parents... They didn’t have exceptional talent or formidable martial prowess, but in this moment, they erupted with an incredibly strong courage!

And so, now, they were a group of heroines who would not be outdone by any man, possessing an iron will.

"Hehehe, Senior Brothers, look! That group of prime Tripod Furnaces has spotted us, hehehe!" a young disciple from the Paradise Celestial Palace said excitedly, practically dancing with glee.

Beside him, a Celestial Palace disciple who looked ancient, well past seventy, had eyes burning with lust. He smirked lewdly and said, "That’s right. These virgins are all top-quality Tripod Furnaces! In the past, Low Level disciples like us never had a chance to enjoy them! Only those who went out to the secular world to find Tripod Furnaces got to have their fun. Today, we finally get a turn, haha!"

"Senior Brother, if we do this, Elder Wen and Elder Hai... they won’t...?" another disciple, who looked to be in his forties, asked worriedly, all while drooling over the group of young women.

"Them? Heh, those two old geezers might be incredibly powerful, but they’re about to lose their minds! The Sect Leader is dead! Our Paradise Celestial Palace is finished! Who has the energy to care about what happens here? So what if we use them all for Absorption and have our fun? Worst case scenario, we scatter and flee. I refuse to believe those two old geezers would bother hunting us down!"

"That’s right! They’re too busy trying to avoid that Qin Li. They’ve already been scared out of their wits!"

"Exactly! Today, we’re going to enjoy the treatment of an Elder for once, haha!"

As they approached, the group of Paradise Celestial Palace disciples spoke without restraint, and the young women heard every shameless word.

Although they had already resolved to sacrifice themselves to protect their benefactor, now that the moment had truly arrived, feelings of nervousness, fear, anger, and humiliation washed over the young women’s hearts like a tidal wave.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

Li Qin pushed aside the girls holding her back, stepped forward, and demanded sharply.

Li Qin’s power wasn’t high, only at Tier Five of the Yellow Level. But in the secular world, a young woman like her was already considered quite impressive. Thus, she had far more courage than an ordinary, docile girl.

From their words, she could discern the fate awaiting her group. Judging by their expressions, they had no intention of letting a single one of them go.

"Oh? This little filly has some nerve, doesn’t she?" The ancient old man wore a lewd grin, his gaze shamelessly roaming over Li Qin. He licked his lips and said, "I love a fiery little thing like this. Haha, she’s mine!"

"Hahaha, Senior Brother is as vigorous as ever! This Junior Brother is impressed, truly impressed!"

"Hahahaha!"

The group of Paradise Celestial Palace disciples, whose minds were also on the verge of collapse, seemed to have finally found an outlet. One by one, they began to laugh wildly and arrogantly.

SLAP!

A crisp sound rang out, startlingly abrupt amidst the grating laughter.

Everyone froze, staring at the scene before them in utter disbelief. The disciples of the Paradise Celestial Palace, in particular, couldn’t believe their eyes.

Li Qin had actually slapped the ancient Paradise Celestial Palace disciple—a loud, crisp smack across the face!

Normally, a Celestial Level Martial Artist should never be hit by a Yellow Level Martial Artist, especially face-to-face. It was simply unbelievable.

"Old bastard!" Li Qin sneered, her pretty face frosted with ice.

"You dare hit me?" The old disciple of the Paradise Celestial Palace flew into a rage. A bright red handprint on his wrinkled old face looked utterly ridiculous.

A Celestial Level Martial Artist was tough-skinned, so the slap couldn’t cause him any physical harm. But the immense mental humiliation instantly snapped the old man’s nerves, which had been stretched taut for days.

He unleashed the full force of his Celestial Level aura, immediately crushing the group of weak young women, whose faces turned pale as they trembled uncontrollably.

Although Li Qin also felt suffocated by the pressure, she met the old man’s gaze with a stubborn expression and said, "Old bastard! Were you born from a rock? Do you have no mother, no sisters? You’re just a shameless old beast! You old monster, just kill me!"

"Hahahaha!" The old man threw his head back and laughed. His eyes filled with a sinister light as he sneered relentlessly at Li Qin, his gaze like that of a savage beast eyeing its prey.

"Good, you’ve got spice. I like it. Damn it, I wouldn’t be happy if you weren’t so fiery! Want to die? Dream on! I’ve been in the Paradise Celestial Palace for almost seventy years, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s how to torture people to perfection! Not even the Elders are as skilled in this art as I am! If I don’t torment you until you’re begging for both life and death, wouldn’t that just make me look incompetent?"

"Senior Brother is mighty!"

"Senior Brother is powerful!"

"Let this little chili pepper see where Senior Brother is *really* strong, hahaha!"

"That’s right, Senior Brother! Hurry up and show this little girl what you’re working with! Maybe she’ll even fall in love with you!"

"Shameless!"

"Perverts!"

"A pack of animals!"

The girls could no longer hold back and began to curse at them furiously.

But this, in turn, only made the group of Paradise Celestial Palace disciples even more excited.

"Haha, isn’t this better? What’s the point if you’re all moping around with long faces, dead to the world?"

"That’s right! Curse us! Curse us harder! That makes it more fun!"

"Heh, is that so? You think this is fun?" A cold, detached man’s voice suddenly came from the cave behind the girls.

One of the Paradise Celestial Palace disciples didn’t catch on and continued, "Of course, of course! If not like this, how else can you have fun? Hahaha!"

However, the crowd had fallen deathly silent. His laughter sounded jarring and... strange.

"What’s wrong with all of you? Hmm? Did I say something wrong?" The young Paradise Celestial Palace disciple still hadn’t realized what was happening and looked at his fellow disciples in confusion.

"Senior... Brother... Qin... Qin... Qin Li!" a younger Paradise Celestial Palace disciple, his face ashen, stammered out the name that, to the entire Paradise Celestial Palace, was like that of the Death God himself.

And the girls, who had just been filled with despair, were completely transformed. A great wave of joy erupted from their midst.

"Run!"

Someone among the Paradise Celestial Palace disciples shrieked, and they all scrambled to flee. The old man, who had been the most arrogant, was as slippery as an eel; he turned to run before the voice from the cave could speak again!

An immense pressure shot up toward the heavens!

It was accompanied by an incomparably cold sentence: "Since you’ve come, you can all stay."(To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more Chapters, to support the author, and to support official reading!)