“It is indeed this disciple.”
Mu Qiuhan replied cautiously, all the while racking her brain for an excuse.
Unexpectedly, the old man didn’t ask anything else. He just stared at her with a wide smile, as if she were a delicious meal.
Mu Qiuhan felt a little creeped out by his gaze.
Just as she was about to speak and break the strange atmosphere, she heard him say, “You little doll, I think you’re quite good. Are you willing to become my disciple and cultivate under me?”
These words stunned both Mu Qiuhan and Wei Liangfeng.
So, it wasn’t suspicion, but a desire to take on a disciple.
Mu Qiuhan sighed in relief inwardly, but couldn’t help finding it a little amusing.
Little doll?
If this old man knew her real age was no less than his, she wondered what he would think.
Although she did need guidance on the path of cultivating immortal arts, right now she was trying every way to sneak back to the demon lands. She wouldn’t be foolish enough to walk into a trap and take an elder of an immortal sect as her master.
Mu Qiuhan shook her head and said, “I’m honored by your consideration, Elder, but I am still a disciple of Jade Dragon Ridge. If you wish to take me as your disciple, shouldn’t you discuss it with Elder Yuji first?”
When Elder Xuan Kong heard this, he was momentarily speechless.
Discuss it with Yuji?
Didn’t he know the temperament of that grandnephew Yuji of his?
Let alone this little doll being unwilling, even if she were willing, that penny-pinching grandnephew Yuji probably wouldn’t easily hand over this treasure with dual wood and fire spiritual energy to him.
It seemed he wouldn’t be able to snatch this disciple away.
Oh well, so be it.
He was seen stroking his beard and waving his hand towards Mu Qiuhan.
“Mm, I was inconsiderate. Let’s talk about this after I’ve discussed it with your master.”
Seeing that he wasn’t insisting, Mu Qiuhan felt much more at ease.
She warily glanced at the old man and the young man in front of her.
While the young man hadn’t yet changed his mind, Mu Qiuhan, clutching the spiritual herbs she had obtained from him, quickly left the Scripture Pavilion.
Mu Qiuhan had already stayed in the pavilion for a full ten days.
When she came out of the pavilion door, the moon was already high in the sky.
As soon as she looked up, she saw the full moon, which appeared exceptionally bright because she was on the peak of Longxuan Mountain.
A faint trace of melancholy flashed through her heart, but she quickly brushed it away.
Mu Qiuhan stopped in front of the pair of stone lions before the pavilion.
The battle just now, although it only involved two moves in total, had almost exhausted all the spiritual energy in her body.
Luckily, the old man had appeared just in time. Otherwise, if the fight had continued, she would have been completely at their mercy.
Mu Qiuhan sighed.
She took out the Rejuvenation Pill she had refined just a few days ago from her robes and put it in her mouth.
A warm stream of spiritual energy immediately flowed along her meridians into her dantian, then slowly spread throughout her entire body.
She leaned against one of the stone lions, protecting several vital spots on her back, and stood there regulating her breath for a while.
Only when the feeling of emptiness in her dantian had mostly disappeared did she continue towards Jade Dragon Ridge.
In the darkness of the night, a figure could be seen moving forward rapidly, the fabric of her clothes rustling softly with her movements.
Her footsteps were graceful and light.
If it had been daytime and there were onlookers, they would have easily noticed the uniqueness of her footwork.
However, the mood of the shadow’s owner was far from being as light as her footsteps.
Mu Qiuhan was deeply worried.
Right now, her identity had not yet been exposed, and she could still barely pass as an ordinary disciple, temporarily hiding in some obscure corner of this immortal sect.
But unless she was willing to give up everything from her past and start a new life with this brand-new identity, the truth would eventually come out.
Once her demon identity was revealed, alone and without her former cultivation level, how could she escape from this place packed with immortals?
Every time she thought about this, she felt restless and uneasy.
I must find a way to leave as soon as possible.
This Taiqing Immortal Sect was, after all, not a place she could stay for long.
She returned to Jade Dragon Ridge, worried all the way.
On a corridor in Jade Dragon Ridge, she encountered Qin Ziyan.
Qin Ziyan seemed to be injured; her plain clothes were stained with blood.
Two unfamiliar disciples were half-supporting, half-carrying her, apparently heading towards her living quarters.
It was obvious that her legs were not moving well.
“Senior Sister, what happened to you?”
Mu Qiuhan hurried forward and asked with a concerned expression.
She discreetly sized up the person before her, only to hear the other person cough lightly, her tone tinged with resentment.
“We encountered demons on the way back. But it’s nothing serious, I won’t die yet.”
After speaking, she coughed a few more times.
Although Qin Ziyan’s legs were injured, her spirits seemed quite good, suggesting she had already received medical treatment.
Mu Qiuhan was staring blankly at the cuts on the hem of her clothes when she heard one of the disciples supporting Qin Ziyan say, “The demons are getting bolder and bolder, daring to even trespass on Longxuan Mountain’s territory. If the Sect Master and several elders weren’t in seclusion, we would definitely make sure they couldn’t return this time!”
The other disciple, however, was not as optimistic.
She said worriedly, “This time, the demons were only active in the small town at the foot of the mountain. Who knows if next time they’ll attack the mountain itself.”
“They dare! Even if the elders aren’t here, the mountain-protecting formation is enough to give them a hard time!”
Mu Qiuhan silently watched the two disciples argue as they helped Qin Ziyan towards her room, countless thoughts flashing through her mind.
The marks on Qin Ziyan’s robes looked very much like those left by Wu Ling’s crescent blade.
Does this mean that perhaps she wasn’t harmed in the previous great war between immortals and demons?
But why would she come down to Longxuan Mountain at this time?
What method could I use to bypass the mountain-protecting formation on Longxuan Mountain, send out a message, and contact Wu Ling?
With her current cultivation level, there was absolutely no way she could contend with the sect’s grand formation.
Mu Qiuhan was at a loss for a moment.
She silently returned to her bedroom, which was already pitch black.
On the other side of Longxuan Mountain, the Violet Sun Hall was brightly lit at this moment.
A middle-aged woman dressed in purple robes with colorful embroidery on her shoulders was sitting in the center of the grand hall.
About ten people were seated in the hall. Four of them, like the one in the middle, had colorful patterns embroidered on the shoulders of their robes and wore a golden sash around their waists.
Looking closely, Elder Xuan Kong, who had interacted with Mu Qiuhan not long ago, was also among them.
Presiding over this emergency meeting was Perfected Xuan Ling. She looked around with a solemn expression.
“Elders, I presume you have all heard that a few days ago, disciples who went down the mountain to carry out a mission encountered demons at the foot of the mountain on their way back.”
“The disciples all suffered some injuries. The most seriously injured one has not yet woken up, and I’m afraid her cultivation will be lost.”
Elder Xuan Kong frowned upon hearing this.
These days, he and Elder Shang had been searching for a way to treat the Sect Master and their senior brothers, all their energy focused on consulting piles of ancient texts.
He had indeed only just heard about the matter Perfected Xuan Ling mentioned.
No wonder he had waited and waited today, but Elder Shang hadn’t come to the pavilion to find him. He must have been called to treat the injured disciples.
Then, Perfected Xuan Ling continued, “Not many demons came this time, but their leader had a very high cultivation level. According to the disciples’ descriptions, it seemed to be one of the Four Great Protectors. That’s why Yu Qing and her group were almost powerless to resist. They only managed to escape fully by using the magic artifact previously bestowed by the Sect Master. Unfortunately, Yu Qing…”
She paused and sighed deeply.
“What do you all think about the demons suddenly appearing at the foot of Longxuan Mountain without any attempt to conceal themselves this time?”
Everyone in the hall discussed it animatedly for a while, but in the end, they still couldn’t figure out why the demons had come.
After the discussion, besides reinforcing the sect’s protective formation, Perfected Xuanqing also decided to select disciples with higher cultivation levels from the sect to go down the mountain for patrols daily, led by two elders.
This was, firstly, to ascertain the true purpose of the intruders, and secondly, to prevent a large-scale demon attack without warning.
Although Elder Xuan Kong agreed with her decision, he clearly had deeper considerations.
“Junior Sister Xuan Ling, I believe the most urgent matter is to quickly find a way to heal Senior Brother Sect Master and the other three senior brothers. If the Taiqing Immortal Sect had the Sect Master and several Mahayana stage senior brothers presiding, the demons would certainly not dare to invade so easily.”
Perfected Xuan Ling heard this and sighed deeply again.
“Senior Brother, how could I not know what you mean? But the Sect Master and our senior brothers are gravely injured. It was only because Elder Shang was willing to sacrifice his own lifespan and transfer his heart’s blood that their lives were barely saved. Even so, the damage to their spiritual roots is irreversible.”
“Just yesterday, I went to the spirit realm to visit them…” She suddenly stopped here, her gaze fixing on the empty main seat at the head of the hall.
“How are they?” The few people around her became a little anxious when she stopped mid-sentence.
She shook her head and said, “Not good. Their bodies have mostly recovered, but their spiritual senses are still not clear.”
She retracted her gaze and turned to look at Xuan Kong again.
“I heard that Senior Brother has been searching through all the books in the sect’s collection with Elder Shang these past few days. May I ask if you have found any solutions?”
Elder Xuan Kong was frowning.
Hearing this, he paused for a moment before finally saying, “I did find a prescription that can nourish spiritual roots, but some of the spiritual medicines in it are too precious and probably very difficult to find.”
“Then, in Senior Brother’s opinion, can this prescription help the Sect Master and our senior brothers regain their spiritual senses, or even fully recover their cultivation?”
Xuan Kong shook his head, “I am not very proficient in medical arts. For this matter, I’m afraid we’ll have to ask Junior Niece Jing He?”
The Junior Niece Jing He mentioned by Xuan Kong was also one of the nine great elders of the main hall.
Hearing this, she said, “In that case, Martial Aunt, could you lend me the prescription you found so I can take a look?”
Xuan Kong did as asked, taking out a handwritten prescription from his storage ring and handing it to her.
Perfected Jing He stared at the prescription in her hand, pondering for a while.
Finally, she was heard sighing softly, “It truly is an excellent prescription.”
Perfected Yuji walked closer at this moment.
“Master, may this disciple…”
Seeing this, Perfected Jing He glanced at Elder Xuan Kong, asking for his permission with her eyes.
After receiving his nod of approval, she handed the prescription to Yuji, “You take a look too. It’s always good to broaden your horizons.”
Then, she said to Xuan Ling and Xuan Kong, “Martial Aunts, if we can truly gather all the spiritual medicines in this prescription, this unworthy one has some confidence in helping Senior Uncle Sect Master and the other senior uncles regain their spiritual senses.”
