Since this person could name the Fire-Breath Worm in one breath, they must be very knowledgeable about this creature.
Mu Qiuhan watched the cold-faced woman thoughtfully. She hesitated for a moment, then finally asked, “Dare I ask, fellow immortal? If this Fire-Breath Worm stays within the body for a long time, will it cause harm?”
Hearing this, the person’s expression indeed darkened, just as Mu Qiuhan had expected.
The Fire-Breath Worm was a creature of legend. Mu Qiuhan’s understanding of it was limited to the descriptions in that ancient text.
This matter was significant. At this moment, Mu Qiuhan couldn’t worry about anything else. Besides, merely exposing the small secret that she could read lips wasn’t anything fatal.
The person in front of her looked at her quite seriously for a while, then suddenly said solemnly, “The Fire-Breath Worm is born alongside Ever-Burning Ancient Wood, carrying a mystic flame that only extinguishes upon death. Although it can temporarily grant someone fire-attribute spiritual energy, if it resides long-term within the dantian, it will produce a fire poison. In minor cases, it causes delirium; in severe cases, it can burn down the dantian, completely destroy cultivation, and even harm one’s life.”
“However…”
Just as the woman reached a crucial point, she was suddenly interrupted by a low voice.
“Xiao Ye, it’s time to go back. The hour is almost up.”
Mu Qiuhan was surprised to find that right after this voice appeared, the human-sized spirit beast in front of her suddenly shrank to fist-size and lay prostrate on the ground.
She saw its eyes tightly closed, the wisp of white fur on its forehead just barely touching the ground, looking as if it could no longer stand.
“Chuxue!”
Seeing this, the woman was startled. She quickly bent down and picked up the snowy white furball, examining it carefully up close.
She saw the woman’s brows tightly furrowed, a look of confusion in her expression.
But her attention was clearly entirely on the spirit beast now, and she no longer paid attention to talking with Mu Qiuhan.
Seeing the woman turn to leave, Mu Qiuhan became a little anxious.
She stepped forward a few paces, intending to ask the person for a clear explanation.
“Fellow immortal, please wait! From what you just said, it seems there might still be a chance for this matter? I hope fellow immortal will not begrudge her guidance!”
However, the woman no longer paid her any mind.
She saw a green light appear in her hand. In the blink of an eye, the person and beast vanished within that light curtain.
Mu Qiuhan stood rooted to the spot, replaying the last sentence the woman had left behind before leaving.
“All things in the world are mutually supportive and mutually restrictive. If you have the destiny, you will surely find a way to resolve it.”
Meanwhile, the person and beast emerged from the woods.
The spirit beast suddenly dropped its previous listless appearance, poking its head out from the woman’s embrace. A pair of round eyes stared at the person in front, a look of blame in its gaze.
“Xiao Ye, why do you tell people everything? Although that person was wearing the attire of a Jade Dragon Peak disciple, I always felt something was off.”
The woman called Xiao Ye seemed to realize it at this moment.
She saw her gently rub the spirit beast’s head and smile a little helplessly.
“Chuxue, don’t scare me like that again next time.”
Hearing this, the spirit beast snorted loudly. “If I didn’t pretend to be sick again, I’m afraid you would have given away even your deepest secrets!”
“Tell me, were you planning to help that woman suppress the Fire-Breath Worm’s toxicity in her body next?”
“Not quite.” She saw the woman rub the tip of her nose, then give an awkward cough.
A moment later, she saw her cover her mouth and nose and genuinely start coughing.
The woman coughed for a while before finally stopping. However, faint bloodstains were on the palm covering her mouth and nose.
Seeing this, the spirit beast let out a heavy snort.
“Xiao Ye, you’re just too kind-hearted. Whenever someone is injured or ill, you can’t bear to see it. I think you’ll wear yourself out and die sooner or later!”
Although the spirit beast’s words were unforgiving, as it spoke, a white light lit up around its body, enveloping the woman.
The woman sat down cross-legged within the white light and adjusted her breathing on the spot for a while before standing up again.
She gently combed the white fur of the beast in her arms with her fingertips and said softly, “Chuxue, aren’t you the same? You can’t bear to see others injured.”
But the spirit beast just snorted again.
“The one who’s injured is you, so of course it’s different from those other people. If you ask me, those old things can just die; why waste your lifespan for them?”
The woman shook her head. “My cultivation and even this life were given by Master. Longxuan Mountain is the legacy Master left behind. I have no other ability, so I can only help him look after these disciples within the sect.”
However, the spirit beast disagreed. “Those unfilial disciples, if not for them straying from the righteous path, taking shortcuts in cultivation, and coveting the inner cores of the demon race, they probably wouldn’t have ended up in such a state. If Master were still here, he definitely wouldn’t forgive them!”
The woman sighed lightly. “Right or wrong, I won’t comment. I will only do my best to save as many people as I can.”
These words angered the spirit beast, making it curse directly, “A benevolent healer isn’t someone who can’t distinguish right from wrong like you! You’re simply incorrigible!”
The woman didn’t say anything. Her gaze fell upon the brightest star in the night sky, seemingly lost in thought.
After a long while, she finally heard her say softly, “Chuxue, you say Xuande and the others got what they deserved, and it’s not that I don’t know that. But have you ever thought about what Longxuan Mountain would look like if they all perished at this moment?”
She paused, her voice becoming even lower. “The Grand Purity Immortal Sect has been gradually declining over the years. Apart from the ‘Xuan’ generation, few junior disciples are capable.”
“This time, Xuande and the others coveted the Demon Lord’s inner core, leading people from several major Immortal Sects to jointly attack the Demon Realm. Not only did they fail to obtain the demon core, but they thoroughly offended the demon race.”
“Once the demon race recovers, they will retaliate. I’m afraid the first target will be the leading Grand Purity Immortal Sect.”
“The sect’s vitality is already severely wounded. If news of the Sect Leader and Elders having met with trouble were to spread at this time, the demon race would likely stir into action. At that point, how many innocent disciples within the sect would be implicated…”
The woman lowered her eyes as she spoke.
“Master would not want to see such a sight.”
Meanwhile, Mu Qiuhan wandered around the edge of the pond after the person and beast left.
Although the pond water wasn’t as pressingly cold as before, it was still icy cold.
She became more certain that there was likely some special restriction nearby. From the looks of it, it was more like something the spirit beast had set up.
A spirit beast that could speak human words…
Its cultivation must be at least a thousand years old. It was a good thing she was cautious enough earlier and didn’t easily make enemies with them.
At dawn, Mu Qiuhan returned following her memory and met up again with the group of fellow disciples at the place they had separated last night.
Liao Lan saw her return empty-handed and snorted proudly at her.
She pretended casually to show off the Qingling Grass with twin flowers in her hand in front of Mu Qiuhan.
Mu Qiuhan ignored her.
In the entire night, she hadn’t been without gains.
Perhaps because there was a restriction set up by the cold pond, after that person and beast left, no other living creatures appeared, and presumably it was the same on ordinary days.
Thus, the Qingling Grass, which usually liked to grow in secluded places, was quite abundant by the cold pond!
Mu Qiuhan easily found the Qingling Grass. For the rest of the time, she studied the newly acquired cultivation method by the pond.
Rapidly improving her strength was the most important thing for her; she couldn’t be bothered with anything else.
Liao Lan’s “punch” landed on cotton, gaining her nothing. However, Bu Qinglan seemed to misunderstand Mu Qiuhan’s silence.
She leaned closer to Mu Qiuhan and whispered to her, “Otherwise, I can give you one. I was lucky and found two last night. Junior Sister only needs to give me a Cleansing Heart Pill in exchange.”
It sounded like a very worthwhile deal, but Mu Qiuhan shook her head.
“Thank you for Senior Sister’s kindness, but there’s still tonight, isn’t there? I’ll just work a little harder.”
Lu Lingxiao had been paying attention to their movements. Hearing this, he quickly walked over to Mu Qiuhan’s side and gently persuaded her, “Junior Sister, there really isn’t much Qingling Grass around here. I put in a lot of effort and only found two. Take one. It would be hard to explain if you return empty-handed.”
However, Mu Qiuhan still refused.
Seeing Lu Lingxiao actively showing favor to Mu Qiuhan, Liao Lan was already fiercely jealous.
Looking again, Mu Qiuhan still maintained that cold and indifferent appearance. Liao Lan couldn’t help but say to Lu Lingxiao with a sour tone, “Senior Brother, she just thinks her spiritual energy already surpasses yours and mine, so she believes she’s capable enough to disregard your words!”
Before she could say more, Lu Lingxiao stopped her.
“Junior Sister Liao, Master specifically instructed us to stay united when we parted. Have you forgotten?!”
Because of what happened last night, Lu Lingxiao was already dissatisfied with Liao Lan. Seeing her causing trouble again now, his tone was quite heavy.
These words choked Liao Lan, leaving her speechless, and her face darkened further.
Lu Lingxiao separated a stalk from the plants in his hand and handed it to Mu Qiuhan.
“Junior Sister, don’t be polite. Prioritize the overall situation.”
Mu Qiuhan hesitated for a moment, then finally thanked him.
She took the Qingling Grass, but then turned and took out two Cleansing Heart Pills from her storage ring, handing them to Lu Lingxiao.
“Returning empty-handed truly isn’t proper. I only have these in total, Senior Brother, please take them.”
Lu Lingxiao had thought that Mu Qiuhan and Bu Qinglan were newly acquainted and she was too embarrassed to take things from others, which was why he had proactively given her his Qingling Grass.
Unexpectedly, Mu Qiuhan didn’t want to accept his favor at all.
One Cleansing Heart Pill for Qingling Grass was slightly insufficient, so two were a bit too much.
Lu Lingxiao awkwardly handed one back.
“We are fellow disciples from the same sect. How could I possibly take advantage of Junior Sister? Let’s stick to the price Junior Sister Bu offered.”
Mu Qiuhan shook her head. “Senior Brother, please take them. Since we are fellow disciples, I suppose there’s no need to mind these things.”
This single sentence successfully shut Lu Lingxiao down.
The group took their respective gains and, as instructed by Qin Ziyan and Su Sheng last night, returned to the sect first to report back.
Just as Mu Qiuhan had expected, the disciples’ harvests were recorded one by one. Afterwards, someone might still check them.
This was the reason she was unwilling to take out those Qingling Grasses to exchange.
The quantity of Qingling Grass in her hand was too large; she was afraid it would arouse suspicion. It was better to hide her capabilities.
Besides, she had other uses for these spiritual herbs.
Thanks for the chapter