Perhaps worried about accidentally touching her wound, Shang Ningye wore a loose robe.
From a distance, it wasn’t very noticeable, but as Mu Qiuhan drew closer, she saw that one side of the robe’s lapel had been pushed open by Shang Ningye’s leaning body.
The moment Mu Qiuhan lowered her head, she caught sight of the fabric wrapped around her chest beneath the robe.
Her gaze paused.
Just as she was about to look away, she suddenly stopped.
That wasn’t ordinary innerwear for binding the chest, but rather a bandage for a wound.
Looking closer, she saw a faint trace of blood seeping out from a spot near Shang Ningye’s left chest, close to her heart.
Mu Qiuhan’s eyes sharpened.
Her heart meridians were actually injured! Who did this?
She stepped forward and took Shang Ningye’s wrist.
Shang Ningye’s breathing was somewhat chaotic at the moment, her pulse even fainter. Her wrist felt cold to the touch, and on her jawline, there was a hint of sweat that hadn’t quite dried, likely from the pain.
No wonder that spirit beast had been so tense earlier.
This person currently had no ability to protect herself. If the one before her truly wanted her life, she would have died ten thousand times over by now.
Thinking of this, Mu Qiuhan felt an inexplicable surge of anger.
How dare she meet an outsider in this condition?
What if someone else had come, and that person happened to have malicious intentions?
Then she thought again, to be injured in such a vital place, she must have been completely unguarded.
Who could have done it?
Did the disciples of Dongtian Peak possess such skill?
Could Qin Ziyan be so tight-lipped, not revealing even a hint when they met earlier?
But if it wasn’t someone from Dongtian Peak, who else in the Taiqing Immortal Sect would want to harm her?
For a moment, her brows furrowed even tighter.
Another soft cough interrupted Mu Qiuhan’s thoughts.
She was startled to realize she was still holding Shang Ningye’s wrist. She discreetly let go, her gaze also quietly shifting away from the blood-stained white cloth.
It wasn’t entirely clear from the pulse, but Mu Qiuhan guessed the wound was slightly off-center, injuring her lungs as well, which was why she coughed from time to time.
But guessing alone wasn’t a solution; she needed to see the injury to decide what medicine to use. It was just that the wound was in such a place…
Mu Qiuhan’s expression became troubled, and she was momentarily at a loss.
She did have several healing medicines she had “borrowed” from Wu Ling, but those items clearly didn’t look like they belonged to an immortal sect.
However, Shang Ningye was usually easy to fool; an excuse might be enough to deceive her. But her spirit beast was very alert. If her identity was exposed because of this, it would be troublesome.
Mu Qiuhan hesitated for a moment before finally asking, “What medicine have you used for this injury?”
Before Shang Ningye could answer, the spirit beast blurted out several medicine names.
Mu Qiuhan listened, pondering for a moment.
The medicines were all good and appropriate, but why did the injury still show no signs of improvement? Even the bleeding hadn’t stopped.
Perhaps the confusion on her face was too obvious, because she heard Chuxue say sullenly, “It’s new injuries on top of old ones. The lingering Snow Artemisia poison in her body is also becoming difficult to suppress.”
“If you ask me, those old geezers should just hurry up and die. If this keeps up, Little Ye will be dragged to her death by them sooner or later!”
“Chuxue…” Shang Ningye softly stopped the spirit beast from saying more.
The beast, though snorting indignantly, did not speak further.
Mu Qiuhan only understood parts of it.
Connecting this with what Perfected Yu Yang had told her when she left Dongtian Peak, a terrifying thought suddenly formed in her mind.
Could this person be using her heart’s blood to keep those old men alive?!
She had found it strange before. As the formidable Demon Lord, she had risked her Tribulation Transcendence cultivation and her life, all to ensure these people from the immortal sects wouldn’t have an easy time.
How could it be that after her own body and Dao had perished, those fellows were still alive?
She never imagined this was the reason!
Mu Qiuhan gave Shang Ningye a deep, complex look.
Facing this weak and pale “culprit,” she didn’t know for a moment whether she felt more resentment or pity.
After an internal struggle between intervening and not, Mu Qiuhan finally gritted her teeth and formed a hand seal.
The cultivation method Xuan Kong had left her included techniques for wood-element spiritual energy. This was something she hadn’t had time to practice before because fire-element spiritual energy was more powerful for attacks. Alone in the immortal sect, self-preservation was her priority.
Now, Mu Qiuhan was attempting to channel the wood-element spiritual energy in her body for healing, just as she had done for herself the previous night. Only this time, the recipient was Shang Ningye.
Streams of gentle green light slowly rose from her palms, enveloping Shang Ningye layer by layer.
For a time, only the sounds of breathing from the two humans and one beast filled the wooden cabin.
The lamps inside the room had been lit by the spirit beast at some point, their clear light illuminating Mu Qiuhan’s upright figure before the sickbed.
Suddenly, this shadow, which had been as still and upright as a bell, trembled violently.
Mu Qiuhan had initially thought that channeling wood-element spiritual energy wouldn’t affect the fire poison in her body.
But perhaps because Shang Ningye’s injuries were too severe, this treatment took too long. The wood-element spiritual energy in her dantian was almost depleted, and the fire-element spiritual energy naturally surged to fill the void, beginning to circulate.
As a result, the fire poison that had been suppressed with such difficulty the previous night flared up fiercely once more.
Fearing that the spiritual energy fluctuations would harm the already fragile Shang Ningye, Mu Qiuhan endured the burning pain in her dantian and slowly withdrew the circulating spiritual energy.
Only after all the spiritual energy was withdrawn from Shang Ningye’s body did she abruptly lean to the side and spit out a mouthful of blood.
This commotion finally startled Shang Ningye, who had been meditating with her eyes closed.
After the treatment, Shang Ningye felt the weakness in her body had eased considerably. Although the bleeding from her wound hadn’t completely stopped, it was much better than before, when the slightest movement would leave her gasping for breath.
Shang Ningye opened her eyes and saw Mu Qiuhan before her, trembling all over.
She was gritting her teeth, her hands tightly gripping the edge of the chair, seemingly struggling against something immense.
A large bead of sweat seeped from her forehead, but it vaporized into mist the moment it was about to drip.
Shang Ningye knew in her heart: Mu Qiuhan’s fire poison was acting up.
Just as she was about to call for Chuxue, the spirit beast leaped forward.
A brilliant white light erupted around its body. Then, the white light transformed into a spirit pearl, appearing before Shang Ningye.
Shang Ningye reached out and cupped the beast core, which was extremely precious to the demon race, without speaking.
Instead, the spirit beast spoke first, “The fire poison in her body is too strong. This is the quickest way.”
“Little Ye, help me pry her mouth open.”
The human and the beast spent some effort before finally prying open Mu Qiuhan’s tightly clenched teeth.
At that moment, Mu Qiuhan’s dantian ached as if it were about to shatter, and her whole body felt like it was burning in a raging fire. When something icy-cold was stuffed into her mouth, she instinctively held it and swallowed.
The beast core tumbled in her stomach. The spiritual energy of the Ice Crystal Beast contained within it gradually spread through her meridians.
The Flame Parasites in her body sensed the aura of their natural enemy and began to grow agitated.
Another mouthful of blood spurted out, but the burning heat in her dantian gradually dissipated.
Chuxue took this opportunity to retrieve the beast core from Mu Qiuhan’s body.
Mu Qiuhan’s hands, tightly gripping the chair, relaxed. Her tense body gradually softened. Her clothes were completely soaked with sweat, as if she had just been pulled from water.
She took a few breaths, her voice hoarse as she said, “Thank you.”
Then she glanced at Shang Ningye and asked, “Are you better?”
Shang Ningye nodded, replying gratefully, “Thanks to you, I feel much better now.”
Mu Qiuhan allowed herself a few minutes to recover, then circulated her energy to dry her clothes before continuing, “Your bleeding still hasn’t stopped. If you want to completely heal your injury, I’m afraid you’ll have to cure the Snow Artemisia poison first.”
After all, besides weakening Shang Ningye, the poison also prevented her wounds from clotting.
Shang Ningye hummed in agreement.
“Actually, I’ve mostly figured out the antidote for this Snow Artemisia. I’m just missing one main ingredient, and besides…”
She didn’t continue, but Mu Qiuhan remembered their previous conversation had also stopped at this point. She pressed, “Missing what?”
Shang Ningye looked at her expression, knew she couldn’t evade the question this time, and replied, “The Golden Lingjiao.”
Golden Lingjiao? What a coincidence.
“Is it the same Golden Lingjiao that Xuan Kong… my Master said he was going to the demon realm to trade for?”
Mu Qiuhan couldn’t help but let a small smile touch her lips.
She had just been thinking that she needed to find a way to get Shang Ningye and this Ice Crystal Beast to temporarily leave the Taiqing Immortal Sect.
In a few days, if Leng Yi really followed orders and attacked, this human and beast would likely be caught in the crossfire.
Especially this spirit beast; it was very useful, and nothing could go wrong with it.
By then, she herself would have already gone to the demon realm to meet Wu Ling and wouldn’t be able to protect them.
She had been worrying about not having a good reason, and now, a ready-made excuse had presented itself.
Mu Qiuhan’s mind raced through several possibilities before she tentatively said, “I actually have a way to temporarily heal your wound, but to completely resolve the poison in your body…”
“Why don’t we take a trip to the demon realm later to try our luck? Even if we can’t retrieve that spirit herb, it would at least fulfill one of my Master’s wishes.”
Shang Ningye didn’t say anything, but the spirit beast asked, “You just said you could heal her wound. What method would you use?”
Mu Qiuhan didn’t hide it and recited a healing formula she already knew. One of the ingredients was the Golden-Edged Chonglou herb they had obtained just two days ago.
“It’s just,” she paused, “the Golden-Edged Chonglou herb in your hand isn’t fully mature yet, so its medicinal effect might be somewhat reduced.”
