Hearing this, Perfected Xuan Kong’s face lit up with joy.
Just as he was about to speak, Perfected Xuan Ling asked, “Elder Jing He, how certain are you about this matter you mentioned?”
Elder Jing He thought seriously for a moment and finally replied, “Fifty percent.”
Perfected Xuan Ling nodded.
She hummed softly, then quietly repeated, “Fifty percent.”
After that, she said no more.
Seeing her apparent lack of interest, Perfected Xuan Kong grew anxious.
“Even if there’s only a fifty percent chance, we should still do our best to try!”
Perfected Xuan Ling snorted lightly at his words.
She said calmly, “That may be so, but Senior Brother, you must know that the Dragon’s Gall Flower and Golden Lingjiao in that prescription are supreme treasures, even in the Demon Realm and the Yao Realm.”
“Even if the Monster King agrees to let us exchange other items for the Golden Lingjiao, what about the Dragon’s Gall Flower?”
“Right now, our sect is on bad terms with the demons. Negotiation is impossible. Surely we can’t resort to taking it by force?”
If the Taiqing Immortal Sect still had such strength, they wouldn’t be so wary of the demons who suddenly appeared at the foot of the mountain.
These words made Perfected Xuan Kong pause.
He stood frozen in place, lost in thought for a moment, then muttered, “No matter how difficult, we must try.”
Perfected Xuan Ling ignored him and asked instead, “Elder Jing He, if the Sect Master and the others recover their spiritual sense, what are the chances of their cultivation recovering?”
Jing He replied, “It’s unlikely they’ll recover fully in a short time. However, with the talent of our senior Martial Aunts, if their spiritual roots are well repaired, given time, I believe it’s not impossible for them to cultivate to the Mahayana Realm again.”
Perfected Xuan Ling sighed upon hearing this.
After that, she began to arrange the patrol duties.
Her words, up to this point, basically showed her attitude.
The sect currently lacked the means, and more importantly, the strength, to make sacrifices for an uncertain outcome.
Seeing she was unwilling to discuss the matter further, Perfected Xuan Kong felt displeased, but he couldn’t really say she was at fault.
However, he couldn’t bring himself to give up.
He thought for a moment, then said to Xuan Ling, “Junior Sister, I know the situation in the sect is complicated right now, and I shouldn’t add more trouble. But please forgive me, I cannot participate in this patrol.”
Perfected Xuan Ling had just emphasized to everyone that the Protector from the Demon Realm who had come this time had a cultivation level comparable to the Mahayana Realm. Two elders needed to accompany the patrolling disciples at all times to ensure their safety.
Hearing Xuan Kong’s words now, she paused.
“Senior Brother, you mean…”
“Junior Sister, I still wish to do my humble best for the Sect Master and our senior brothers. Please, Junior Sister, do not refuse. Even if I ultimately bring nothing back, it will at least be a way to honor the centuries of friendship between us martial siblings.”
With him putting it that way, Perfected Xuan Ling naturally found it hard to refuse.
She said lightly, “In that case, I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother to make this journey. However, I hope Senior Brother understands that the sect can barely look after itself right now and probably cannot spare any extra manpower.”
Seeing Perfected Xuan Kong’s displeased expression, Perfected Xuan Ling quickly added, “If any disciples within the sect are willing to go with you, Senior Brother, you may choose them.”
The implication was that he could freely choose disciples below the Soul Transformation Stage, but he shouldn’t consider anyone stronger.
Perfected Xuan Kong snorted. “No need. I alone am sufficient.”
Perfected Xuan Ling looked at him a few times.
At this moment, she seemed to feel she had been a bit too harsh just now, and her tone softened somewhat.
“Senior Brother, among the ‘Xuan’ generation in the sect, only you and I remain. I hope you will prioritize your own safety on this trip and not force things too much. I believe that if the Sect Master and our senior brothers knew, they certainly wouldn’t blame you.”
Xuan Kong had been nursing a bellyful of anger and was about to flare up, but upon hearing her words, the rising temper somehow dissipated, replaced by an indescribable sense of desolation.
A dark glint flashed in his eyes.
“Junior Sister, I don’t know when I’ll return from this journey. The sect’s affairs will all depend on you. The demons are stirring now, so Junior Sister, you must be extra careful.”
Seeing his emotions were about to get out of control, Perfected Xuan Kong turned around. “The Sect Master and our senior brothers will surely overcome this calamity. Junior Sister, wait for my good news.”
With that said, he intended to leave immediately.
Perfected Xuan Ling stopped him. “It’s already late at night. Senior Brother, are you planning to set off right now?”
Perfected Xuan Kong said, “This journey will certainly not be peaceful. It’s more convenient for me to travel alone than to be distracted protecting those reckless youngsters.”
He sighed. “Junior Sister, let’s bid farewell here. As for the Scripture Pavilion’s affairs, I’ll have to trouble you to arrange for someone else.”
Perfected Xuan Ling nodded in agreement.
Xuan Kong then summoned his magic artifact, formed a hand seal, and disappeared from before the hall.
Perfected Xuan Kong circled above Longxuan Mountain once but didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he headed towards Jade Dragon Ridge.
He stopped before the rainbow bridge at Jade Dragon Abyss, and with a flip, he leaped straight off the bridge.
In the darkness of the night, a black figure could be vaguely seen falling straight down from the bridge like a bird.
The figure passed through the white mist lingering beneath the rainbow bridge, followed by a crisp splash – the sound of a body hitting the water.
The moment Perfected Xuan Kong hit the water, he felt countless cold vines rapidly spreading towards him from all directions.
Soon, the vines coiled around his limbs and neck. They bound him tightly, constricting further and further.
Perfected Xuan Kong felt himself suffocating.
At the same time, the vines were strenuously pulling his body towards a huge whirlpool in the water, as if trying to tear him to pieces with its terrifying force.
However, he didn’t resist, allowing his body to be moved by that force.
In the whirlpool, he felt a bone-chilling pain, as if his limbs were being torn apart by the water, yet he remained motionless.
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, his body was suddenly flung by a powerful force.
The scene before his eyes changed instantly. The water that had surrounded him vanished in a moment.
Perfected Xuan Kong was thrown in front of a cave residence, landing prostrate on the ground.
He gasped for breath, stood up, and dusted off the non-existent dust from his robes.
A huge, snow-white beast lay sleeping lazily at the entrance of the cave residence. Perfected Xuan Kong bowed to the beast.
“Senior Xue, may I ask if Martial Grandaunt is inside?”
Hearing this, the spirit beast slowly lifted an eyelid, looked at him several times with considerable displeasure, and then replied with a yawn, “Why are you people here again? Can’t you let her rest for a while?”
Perfected Xuan Kong, with his half-white beard and hair, respectfully replied, “This junior indeed has a very important matter. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare to disturb you so readily. I hope Senior will forgive me and announce my presence.”
The spirit beast grunted.
“Important matter? Which of your matters isn’t important?”
“She has been tired all day and just returned. She’s resting now. Come back tomorrow.”
With that, it closed its eyes again and began to doze off.
Seeing it was ignoring him, Perfected Xuan Kong had no choice but to give up.
Just as he was about to leave, he sensed a violent fluctuation of spiritual energy from within the cave residence.
The spirit beast obviously sensed the disturbance too. It leaped up from the ground in a single bound.
It slammed a giant paw onto a depression in the stone door, and the door slowly opened.
The spirit beast’s figure flashed, and a white shadow, like a streak of lightning, disappeared into the cave.
Xuan Kong hesitated before the door for a while.
He waited for a long time, but there was no sound from inside the cave.
Recalling the fluctuation just now, he felt very uneasy. So, he gritted his teeth and decided to follow the shadow into the cave residence to take a look.
Who knew that just after stepping past the stone door and walking a short distance, he entered a huge magic formation.
An immense pressure, far exceeding the Mahayana Realm, rushed towards him, nearly making him lose his footing.
He dodged left and right, but unexpectedly, just as he managed to avoid an attack from one side, he immediately fell into an illusion.
He was suffering immensely in the illusion, on the verge of wishing for death, when suddenly someone grabbed his shoulder and pulled him out. Cold sweat was already drenching his forehead.
Xuan Kong looked back and saw a woman with a serene expression standing behind him.
The woman had black hair and snow-white clothes, with a slender figure. Her eyes, set off by her serene expression, appeared incredibly deep. However, her complexion beneath the plain clothes was excessively pale, and there was an unnatural flush between her lips.
Xuan Kong caught the faint scent of blood carried in the fragrant breeze around her and was slightly startled.
“Martial Grandaunt, what happened to you just now? Are you alright?”
The woman smiled faintly at him. “I’m fine.”
He wanted to ask more, but she interrupted him.
“Come with me. We can talk later. Don’t disturb Master’s peace.”
Xuan Kong’s words caught in his throat.
It was rumored that this was the burial place of the founding ancestor. He had only come to the entrance of this cave residence with the previous Sect Master before and had never entered. He didn’t know there was such a powerful magic formation inside.
Besides being frightened, he also secretly blamed himself for being too reckless.
While he was thinking, he had already followed Shang Ningye out of the magic formation.
The two of them walked forward for a short while and arrived in a hidden realm.
A rich scent of plants and trees immediately made him feel incredibly refreshed in body and mind.
Shang Ningye led Xuan Kong to a wooden house, brewed him a cup of Nine Flowers Jade Dew, and then asked, “Elder Xuan Kong, for what reason have you visited so late at night?”
Perfected Xuan Kong hesitated for a moment, then took out the prescription from his storage ring.
“Martial Grandaunt, I recently found an ancient prescription. I had intended to discuss it with you in the pavilion, but you didn’t come today.”
Shang Ningye smiled at him apologetically. “My apologies. The sect disciples were ambushed today. It was an emergency, and I forgot to inform you, Elder.”
Xuan Kong nodded. “I’ve already heard about this matter.”
Shang Ningye sighed. “It’s a pity about that child, Yu Qing. She gave her all to protect the sect’s disciples but had her dantian destroyed by those demons. I could only save her life; her cultivation is completely gone.”
Xuan Kong didn’t know these details. He was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then also sighed deeply.
“Martial Grandaunt must have done her best.”
He recalled everything that had happened earlier in Violet Sun Hall, and a wave of helpless sorrow washed over him.
“Martial Grandaunt, please take a look at this ancient prescription and see if it might benefit the Sect Master and the others.”
