The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 90

A’Ling watched as the silver light transformed from mist into a discernible shape. As it approached, the face formed by the silver light, as translucent as cicada wings, revealed its features clearly.

Seeing the familiar face, A’Ling was not surprised this time.

In her previous life, she had mistakenly identified the ‘person’ before her as Shi Qingqian. But now, she knew her name – Jin Zhuyue.

Seeing the ghostly fiend about to leave, A’Ling immediately turned, hoisted Shi Qingqian onto her back, picked up the ugly dog, and followed.

It was the same in her previous life. After she sacrificed herself to turn the surrounding ghostly fiends into ash, Jin Zhuyue appeared and led her to an exit.

While falling earlier, A’Ling recalled her past life’s experiences and finally understood why, in the secret chamber of the demon cave in Zhuoling Mountain, she had recognized at first glance that Jin Zhuyue was not Shi Qingqian.

It was because she had seen Jin Zhuyue before.

A’Ling, carrying Shi Qingqian, followed Jin Zhuyue towards the depths of the dark valley.

Since Jin Zhuyue’s appearance, the mournful cries from the valley floor had ceased.

Along the path they traveled, one by one, the ghostly fiends wailed and collapsed, seeming to fear Jin Zhuyue greatly.

A’Ling looked back. They had already traveled far, and the prostrate ghostly fiends dared not look up.

Was this the might of the Ten Fiend Ghost Soul?

The ghostly fiends, so fierce moments ago, were now filled with fear before Jin Zhuyue, their trembling dread seemingly etched into their fractured souls.

A’Ling tentatively tried to speak to Jin Zhuyue, wanting to ask why she was here and why she was saving her.

Unfortunately, just like in her previous life, there was no response.

Perhaps it was because of her ghostly fiend form, preventing her from speaking, or for some other reason.

After walking in the darkness for an unknown time, they finally saw light ahead.

A’Ling saw the Nine Heavens Immortal Binding Net covering a section of the mountain. Her trembling eyes shone brighter than the silver light.

With one hand protecting the nascent soul in her arms, she freed the other, summoned Little Wandering, and lashed out with a whip, cracking the formation and retrieving the Nine Heavens Immortal Binding Net.

A’Ling excitedly glanced at the artifact in her hand and immediately performed the artifact recognition ritual.

Once the artifact recognized her, A’Ling tossed the Nine Heavens Immortal Binding Net behind her, “Protect Shi Qingqian.”

At her command, the Nine Heavens Immortal Binding Net instantly transformed into a large net, securely shielding Shi Qingqian on A’Ling’s back.

A’Ling straightened up slightly. Now she didn’t have to worry about Shi Qingqian falling.

She could also better protect the nascent soul in her arms.

A’Ling was about to condense Jin Zhuyue into a pearl, as she had done in her previous life, but this time Jin Zhuyue dodged.

“What, you don’t want to go out?”

As she spoke, A’Ling thought of something and quickly explained, “Don’t worry, I won’t hand you over to anyone else this time.”

Previously, she had been deceived by Elder Qi Yu. She didn’t know what Elder Qi Yu wanted the Ten Fiend Ghost Soul for in her previous life, but it certainly wasn’t anything good.

This time, she decided not to give the item to anyone.

Jin Zhuyue still appeared as if she couldn’t understand A’Ling’s words, her eyes filled with chaos and confusion.

A’Ling sighed heavily. The Ten Fiend Ghost Soul, after countless deaths and lingering souls, likely had no human consciousness. She just didn’t understand how Jin Zhuyue, who had no human consciousness, could have appeared to save her.

As A’Ling worried about not being able to take her with her this time, the figure before her gradually dissipated into a ball of silver light, circling A’Ling.

A’Ling was puzzled. She reached out her palm, wanting the silver light to fall into it, but saw it circling her wrist instead.

A’Ling became even more confused about its intentions. When she noticed the white bone bracelet on her wrist, she remembered that it was made from Jin Zhuyue’s remains.

Could this item have attracted Jin Zhuyue?

But that didn’t seem right either; she hadn’t had this white bone bracelet in her previous life.

A’Ling was about to remove the white bone bracelet, but since she was holding Shi Qingqian’s nascent soul with her other hand, she had to withdraw her hand first before taking off the bracelet.

Before she could withdraw her hand, the silver light circled a few times, and the ball of light scattered into specks of light, gradually seeping into the white bone bracelet like melting snowflakes.

What was happening?

A’Ling stared wide-eyed at everything. After the beam of light completely disappeared, A’Ling quickly withdrew her hand and touched the white bone bracelet on her wrist.

Jin Zhuyue’s ghost soul had merged into her own remains?

What was this meant to do?

Suddenly, many images flashed through A’Ling’s mind. She looked at the newly acquired memories with shock, her apprehension growing.

Jin Zhuyue hadn’t become like this on her own; it was Qi Yu again. In the images, Qi Yu had hidden her remains in that secret chamber. It turned out that the scene of Jin Zhuyue’s death recorded by the Cosmos Pearl in the secret chamber was meant for her to see.

How cruel! She had made Jin Zhuyue watch her death scene repeatedly, forcing her to relive the pain of golden core extraction countless times, eventually losing her three souls.

A’Ling finally understood why Elder Qi Yu knew so much about the origin of the Ten Fiend Ghost Soul. She had been using this method to refine ghostly fiends!

Fortunately, A’Ling looked at the images in her mind with relief. Fortunately, Jin Zhuyue had escaped and fled into this Pi Lingyun Valley.

It was a pity, though, that her soul had escaped. The repeated forced viewing of her death had been imprinted on her soul. Even though she had successfully escaped, after countless relivings of the pain of golden core extraction, she had become a Ten Fiend Ghost Soul.

Damn it, Elder Qi Yu was truly detestable!

“Don’t worry, when we get out, I will expose Elder Qi Yu’s wicked deeds and see if there’s any way to help you cross over.”

A’Ling spoke, intending to remove the white bone bracelet to store it properly. But the moment she touched it, she felt a burning sensation.

She immediately pulled her hand back, but it was strange. She felt it was hot to the touch, yet it didn’t feel that way when worn on her hand.

The next scene made her exclaim in surprise, “What, what is happening?”

The white bone bracelet on her wrist flashed with silver light and slowly turned into dust.

However, these white powders, like flour, didn’t fall. Instead, they gradually covered the purple bracelet that Little Wandering had transformed into.

A’Ling felt a bit panicked. She wanted to stop it but couldn’t grasp the powder, watching helplessly as it seeped into Little Wandering.

She quickly summoned Little Wandering, transforming it into its whip form. She saw that within the purple and gold light, besides the faint glow from the fusion of the Spirit Mountain Tiger-Headed Spider’s demon core, there were now specks of silver light.

It was truly dazzling.

What was going on? Had Little Wandering done something?

No, it shouldn’t be. When not summoned, Little Wandering was just an ordinary bracelet.

Then did Jin Zhuyue want to enter Little Wandering herself?

What did she want to do? A’Ling scratched her temple. Her mind couldn’t analyze the current situation.

A’Ling glanced at the ugly thing in her arms and thought it would be good if Shi Qingqian were awake so she could ask her.

No, she almost forgot. This was Shi Qingqian’s nascent soul; she had to help it return to Shi Qingqian’s body quickly.

She had to set aside her questions about Jin Zhuyue for now. She needed to get Shi Qingqian’s nascent soul back into her body.

This must be done before they left. If this secret were discovered, it would be bad.

It wasn’t a matter of reputation. If people knew that Shi Qingqian’s nascent soul could have a physical form, flesh, and blood, she might be treated as a monster.

A’Ling quickly channeled her spiritual energy into Shi Qingqian’s nascent soul, starting by healing its injuries.

Unfortunately, her healing techniques were not as good as Lan Fushang’s.

Gu Jingyang also uttered a similar lament. After a terrible night, Longyin Town was filled with weeping and cries for help.

The Gu family of three had all mobilized, and the medical cultivators in the city had gone to the streets to help with the rescue. However, there were simply too many injured people, and they couldn’t possibly save them all.

Apothecary Yang Xia hadn’t even had time to drink a mouthful of water after a day and a night. The healing medicine from Tranquil Shade Herb Hut had run out, and injured people were still being brought in continuously.

There was no other way; she could only prioritize those with severe injuries. The rest would have to endure it themselves.

Gu Jingyang flew her sword over Longyin Town. The city now resembled a living hell, filled with wails and cries. Anger blazed in Gu Jingyang’s eyes.

These mutated beasts were clearly not normal mutations. Like the mutated beasts encountered in Zhuoling Mountain, they were likely created intentionally by someone.

She felt that this person was within Mystic Crane Mountain, but she didn’t know their purpose.

Before she could figure things out, she suddenly heard a faint, low growl of a fierce beast.

The sound seemed to come from the direction of the Crane Gate in Mystic Crane Mountain.

As Gu Jingyang was about to listen more closely, her Phoenix Feather glowed. Heng Qingyi sent a message: Mystic Crane Mountain had been attacked.

The demon race was launching a large-scale invasion.

On Summer Shadow Peak of Mystic Crane Mountain, Shan Xinci listened to Shan Lei’s report on the current situation outside. Hearing that the mutated beasts were causing widespread suffering among the mortals, the corners of her lips couldn’t stop curving upwards.

The more sin these mutated beasts committed, the more miserable the human realm would become. By then, when their medical cultivators came up with a method to subdue them, wouldn’t the human realm have to worship them and deify them?

Shan Xinci also craved that sense of being admired by thousands.

Shan Lei stood by, hesitating to speak. She always felt that those mutated beasts were a bit off. The mutated beasts they had released earlier were meant to wreak havoc in the sword cultivator’s cave dwellings, but those beasts had gone to the Soaring Rainbow Tower instead.

She had mentioned this matter, but Shan Xinci had dismissed it as a temporary mistake, and she couldn’t say anything more.

And then there were the ghostly fiends that had escaped. Shan Lei felt that they were even more troublesome than the mutated beasts.

After escaping from Pi Lingyun Valley, the ghostly fiends, upon possessing someone, no longer had ghost energy. How were they supposed to identify if their fellow disciples had been possessed by ghostly fiends?

She was truly worried. She voiced this situation again, and Shan Xinci’s brow furrowed.

“Saint Venerable Dao Rong must have his plans. There’s no need to worry.”

Shan Xinci, along with Ye Bingfeng and Jiang Qiuchun, had previously sealed Pi Lingyun Valley, so no new ghostly fiends would escape. Although the ones that had already escaped were difficult to identify after possession due to the lack of ghost energy, they could at most possess low-level cultivators and wouldn’t cause any significant trouble.

Shan Lei still wanted to say something when suddenly an alarm sounded. A disciple came to report: the demon race was attacking!

Jin Quecong broke through to the Divine-Demon Realm the day before the opening of the Crane Gate in Mystic Crane Mountain. As soon as she broke through, she encountered the opening of the Crane Gate in Mystic Crane Mountain. She felt that these two events were inevitably connected and believed it was divine guidance.

She was here to seize territory today!

She had long been annoyed by these self-proclaimed righteous cultivators occupying the best cultivation spots. She truly didn’t know where demon cultivators fell short.

Although demon cultivators had committed many wicked deeds due to their demonic nature in the past, since the previous Demon Lord Shi Yu unified the Demon Realm, such incidents had become rare.

The previous Demon Lord Shi Yu had promised them that she would find a good place to relocate the demon cultivators from the Demon Realm, a place that was not shrouded in perpetual darkness and smelled of rotting corpses.

Unfortunately, before Demon Lord Shi Yu could fulfill her promise, she died.

As for how she died, they didn’t know. They didn’t even know who to seek revenge from.

She was also a demon who had signed the Demon Lord’s Eternal Covenant with Demon Lord Shi Yu. She deeply respected this Demon Lord who had helped her cleanse her demonic nature. Since she couldn’t avenge her, it would be good to fulfill her last wishes.

Speaking of which, five years ago, through the [Demon soul Crimson Phoenix Art], she had sensed the descent of a new Demon Lord. However, after waiting for five years, the new Demon Lord had yet to appear. She even suspected that the new Demon Lord also disliked the barren place of the Demon Realm.

Regardless, she had already set her sights on a good place like Mystic Crane Mountain.

Now that she had broken through to the Divine-Demon Realm, she was considered one of the highest-cultivation demons in the Demon Realm, besides the Demon Lord. She thought that if she could seize Mystic Crane Mountain this time, her reputation would surely soar. If the Demon Lord didn’t return, she would be the undisputed ruler of the Demon Realm.

Jin Quecong glanced at the mutated beasts below her, her smile widening. Perhaps the deceased Demon Lord knew she was coming to seize territory and was protecting her. These mutated beasts, which had appeared from nowhere, had obediently followed her and came with her to seize territory.

This time, victory was hers.

The Crane Gate, which she had initially thought would be difficult to break through, was entered with ease. Now, as they moved forward, it was as if they were entering an unpopulated land. They had even fought their way to the front of the Twelve Cave Abodes of Mystic Crane Mountain.

She looked up at the three mountain peaks suspended in mid-air and, after carefully selecting one, chose Spring Water Peak.

After seizing Mystic Crane Mountain, she would live there. Being so high up, she had to admit that these self-proclaimed righteous cultivators knew how to stratify themselves.

Look at the demons in their Demon Realm; their ranking was only apparent when they fought.

In their daily lives, they lived together, and every demon equally endured the stench of the rotting Corrupted Corpse Forest.

“Kill!”

Jin Quecong shouted excitedly and personally joined the fray. She wanted to seize this good place as quickly as possible and let these cultivators, who always felt superior, experience the Demon Realm. She wondered if staying in that gloomy, enclosed environment day after day could cultivate a peaceful heart.

The Twelve Cave Abodes retreated steadily against the fierce advance of the demon race.

When Gong Shuangyu’s sword was knocked down by Jin Quecong’s staff, she was protected by her subordinates and retreated into the cave dwelling.

“Damn it!” Gong Shuangyu trembled with rage, her eyes red. She punched the hard rock wall of the cave dwelling.

“Be careful of your wound.” Ming Yunying was using healing arts to treat Gong Shuangyu’s injuries, her face full of worry.

Gong Shuangyu was already one of the top experts in the cave dwelling, yet she still couldn’t defeat that demon cultivator. This time, it was likely troublesome.

It had to be said that Mystic Crane Mountain was truly weak now. After a century of peace, those in the cave dwellings with some talent were always targeted in various ways, leaving behind only the mediocre but adept at scheming.

Even she was like this. Otherwise, with her skill level, how could she have become the leader of the Medical Cultivator Cave Dwelling? It was only because she followed the instructions of Venerable Min Ci.

She now truly worried about their fate.

She knew her skills were subpar, but she hadn’t expected that the usually arrogant sword cultivator would also be so… she didn’t know how to describe it.

Also useless.

All hope now rested on the three peak masters.

Ming Yunying inwardly disdained Gong Shuangyu’s incompetence, but outwardly maintained an indignant expression, joining her in cursing the demons for their unrighteousness in attacking during the chaos.

“If their spiritual energy hadn’t been depleted by those mutated beasts the other day, those demons would have been no match for you.” Ming Yunying tried to salvage Gong Shuangyu’s reputation.

Gong Shuangyu felt a little better, thinking it must be so. She must have depleted her spiritual energy while dealing with the ghostly fiends escaping from Pi Lingyun Valley and hadn’t recovered yet. Then, she had returned to the cave dwelling to deal with the mutated beast incident.

The consecutive events had depleted her spiritual energy, which was why she was struck down by the demon cultivator.

“Ghostly fiends, spirit beasts, and now the demon race attacking – so many things happening at once. Someone must be behind this!”

In her anger, Gong Shuangyu thought of A’Ling, “It must be her. It must be that A’Ling. She is the Demon Realm’s spy in Mystic Crane Mountain. She was the one who handled the Zhuoling Mountain mutated beast incident. She was simultaneously catalyzing the mutated beasts and destroying the barriers. When the demon race attacks now, she must have informed them and collaborated from the inside!”

She felt she had discovered the truth and became more agitated as she spoke.

Ming Yunying listened and found this explanation reasonable.

“Once this is over, I will make sure that demon spy pays dearly!” Gong Shuangyu said through gritted teeth.

She directly conveyed this speculation as a conclusion to the other cave abode masters. Many people within Mystic Crane Mountain believed this theory.

While being suppressed by the demon race, many unsuspecting disciples began to hate A’Ling for causing all this.

However, they temporarily couldn’t spare the time or manpower to capture A’Ling. When they saw Ye Bingfeng also defeated by Jin Quecong, everyone fell into deep panic. They feared they were finished this time.

Two of the three peak masters had already been defeated. The remaining one, Venerable Min Ci, Shan Xinci, was only a medical cultivator, and her combat power was completely inferior to the other two.

Moreover, she had been injured while dealing with the mutated beasts earlier. It was obvious what the outcome would be without even fighting.

Shan Xinci felt extremely embarrassed seeing the disappointed looks on everyone’s faces. This was completely different from what she had envisioned.

For some reason, those mutated beasts actually obeyed the demon race. Her control techniques were completely useless.

This time, there was truly trouble. She knew very well how powerful the mutated beasts they had dealt with were.

The three peak masters could handle them with ease, facing them one by one. The problem was that as long as they weren’t utterly destroyed, they could recover their full health and fight again, possessing infinite energy.

And their sheer numbers meant the three of them couldn’t possibly deal with them all.

She was bitten by a mutated beast during a round of attacks and was momentarily careless. Through repeated experiments, Shan Xinci confirmed that she truly couldn’t control these mutated beasts they had created anymore.

She suppressed her panic and directly took out the [Spirit Gathering Hundred Mile Talisman], channeling her spiritual energy towards the sky. Now, only Saint Venerable Dao Rong could save them.

Jin Quecong watched the talisman ascending like a firecracker and didn’t need to guess; it was definitely a plea for help.

But she also knew that the person in the sky was heavily injured and in seclusion, not to emerge for another hundred years. If he couldn’t hold back this time and came out before his injuries healed, then it would be perfect to deal with them both.

“I knew long ago that Mystic Crane Mountain was full of useless people. I regret not coming to see them earlier, hahahaha! They are even more useless than I imagined.”

Jin Quecong said with a smile to the demons behind her, and the demons laughed heartily.

“Indeed, killing these cultivators is easier than cutting vegetables in the Demon Realm!”

“What vegetables from the Demon Realm? Did you steal vegetables from the human realm again?”

“What are you talking about? I bought them!”

Many of them had been worried about not being able to win. They didn’t know that in just over a thousand years, Mystic Crane Mountain had become so incompetent. These people, living in this place with abundant spiritual energy, were they only thinking about eating and drinking?

The demons chattered amongst themselves, laughing mockingly.

Anyway, with the mutated beasts charging ahead, their chatting and laughing didn’t hinder their progress at all.

After Ye Bingfeng protected her heart meridian with her spiritual energy, she heard these words, and her blood surged, almost causing her wounds to split open.

They were losing, entirely because of those unkillable mutated beasts that had appeared from nowhere, not because of these few demons.

She had just annihilated the largest mutated beasts, almost depleting her spiritual energy, which was when Jin Quecong seized the opportunity and struck her with a palm.

And she even attacked and fled, directly claiming to have defeated Ye Bingfeng with one palm!

Since she embarked on the path of cultivation, she had never suffered such humiliation!

The demon race was truly despicable!

She clutched her chest, watching these demons distorting the facts and mocking them as useless.

These demons were not difficult to deal with. What was difficult were those unkillable mutated beasts.

She had already used up her spiritual energy just by eliminating a small portion of them, but the demon race had tens of thousands of mutated beasts behind them.

What was the origin of these mutated beasts, and why had they mutated like this?

They were huge but agile, with the sharp claws and teeth of fierce beasts. Some even had wings of birds.

She recalled Gu Jingyang and the others’ report on their trip to Zhuoling Mountain, where they had also encountered two mutated sword dragons that could revive after death.

But when they sent people to check, they didn’t find any mutated beasts.

Later, the same incident did not happen again, and the matter was left as it was.

Unexpectedly, in just a few years, the outside world was now full of such mutated beasts.

And they were being used by the demon race!

It was also their fault for not taking this matter seriously. The demon race had not invaded for thousands of years, and they had completely lost their vigilance in times of peace, nor did they retain the belief that diligence leads to success while idleness leads to failure.

Except for the few peak masters and some cave Abode Masters, the remaining disciples were useless.

For the first time, Ye Bingfeng regretted suppressing talented individuals out of jealousy, which had resulted in the current weakness of Mystic Crane Mountain’s combat power.

After recovering slightly, Ye Bingfeng immediately rejoined the battle. It was too late to regret now. Even if it meant sacrificing her life, she had to defend Mystic Crane Mountain.

Jin Quecong became more and more excited as she fought, not only with the joy of seizing territory but also with the joy of discovering her own strength.

Although the victory over the Mystic Crane Mountain peak master was a result of opportunism and leveraging the mutated beasts, defeating the cave Abode Masters was a real achievement.

The cultivation technique left behind by Demon Lord Shi Yu had indeed benefited them demons who lacked special talents. What she said was true: as long as they were diligent and focused, they could also be very strong.

“Surrender and live. We only want Mystic Crane Mountain.”

Jin Quecong shouted loudly, her mood excellent. Demon Lord Shi Yu had said that excessive killing would backfire, and she was only here to seize territory.

“You wish!” Ye Bingfeng felt deeply insulted. These demon cultivators were deliberately trying to insult them.

If the world were to know that Mystic Crane Mountain had fallen into the hands of demons and that they cultivators had been driven out like stray dogs, it would be better to extract their golden cores and commit suicide.

“You refuse the path of life, so you will lie down and await burial!”

Jin Quecong channeled demonic energy in her palm. In an instant, a fierce wind swept through, and the black energy in her palm grew larger and larger, eventually becoming as big as a water vat.

She smiled slightly and threw the demonic energy in her palm forward with force.

The power of this strike was enough to wipe out all the Mystic Crane Mountain disciples blocking their path.

However, her smile froze on her face as soon as it appeared.

A cold wind suddenly blew, and a sword energy descended from the sky, splitting her demonic energy with a single blow. The violently repelled demonic energy even pushed all of them back dozens of meters.

“It’s Saint Venerable Dao Rong! We are saved!”

“Saint Venerable Dao Rong has come out of seclusion! Wonderful!”

The disciples of Mystic Crane Mountain, seeing the elegant figure suddenly appear before them from the sky, cried out in joy.

“How is this possible? Wasn’t he supposed to be in seclusion for a hundred years?”

Jin Quecong looked at the person who had appeared with surprise. She knew that this person had to go into seclusion for a hundred years to heal his injuries, so how had he actually come out now!

Even if he came out, why was he still so strong? If it weren’t for the grim expression on his face, one would hardly guess he was injured.

Jin Quecong sighed inwardly. He was indeed compassionate, coming out before his injuries had healed for the sake of Mystic Crane Mountain.

She heard that he was injured during lightning tribulations, which was not a minor injury.

Although she knew he was injured, the strength he had just displayed made her realize the vast gap between them. She immediately ordered her demons to retreat, letting the mutated beasts charge forward.

She wanted to bring back all the people she had brought with her. As for these mutated beasts, they had joined them halfway, so it didn’t matter if they were lost.

Saint Venerable Dao Rong’s wide daoist robe billowed in the wind. He looked at the mutated beasts charging towards him with a calm expression.

He casually raised a hand, and a sword light flashed, scattering a mist of blood in the air.

Everyone was startled. Some even cried out, “Saint Venerable!”

They saw Saint Venerable Dao Rong sacrifice his flesh and blood, using himself as the core of a formation, and employing a self-injurious formation to trap and kill the thousands of mutated beasts on the spot.

Everyone looked at Saint Venerable Dao Rong’s arm, which was now just white bone, and their hearts were deeply moved. They all knelt down.

Shan Xinci’s eyes suddenly reddened, and her whispered words were choked with tears, “Saint Venerable…”

Saint Venerable Dao Rong had sacrificed his flesh and blood for them. He already had a compassionate face, and now, standing before the densely packed invading demon race, amidst the scattered blood mist of the mutated beasts, he looked like a deity.

No, Saint Venerable Dao Rong was more compassionate and merciful than any deity.

In their most dangerous moments, gods never appeared. Those who saved them from peril were always these people, who were like them, mere mortals, yet willing to offer their flesh and blood for them.

Shan Xinci knelt on the ground, sincerely bowing.

Jin Quecong tilted her head, her eyes filled with shock as she watched all this. Seeing the mutated beasts, which were so powerful, slaughtered in an instant, she issued a command without hesitation.

“Retreat! Quickly, retreat!”

She only wanted to seize territory; she didn’t want to die. If she couldn’t win, she certainly couldn’t win this.

Ye Bingfeng, seeing the enemy trying to escape, immediately wanted to pursue.

Saint Venerable Dao Rong reached out and stopped her.

Ye Bingfeng looked at the skeletal arm before her, her eyes suddenly reddening, “Saint Venerable, it is our uselessness.”

Saint Venerable Dao Rong’s calm face seemed devoid of pain. He slowly shook his head, and the next moment, blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

“Saint Venerable!”

Ye Bingfeng cried out in alarm and quickly stepped forward to support him, feeling the Saint Venerable’s unstable aura. She was greatly alarmed. The Saint Venerable had come out of seclusion before his lightning tribulation injuries had healed to save them.

And he had even performed such a dangerous formation for them.

Her heart ached terribly, and she despised her own incompetence. Previously, she had harbored many suspicions about Saint Venerable Dao Rong, but now she wished she could offer her own flesh and blood to replace Saint Venerable Dao Rong’s.

Saint Venerable Dao Rong gently pushed away her hand and also refused the help of Shan Xinci, who had come to treat his injuries.

He lowered his gaze and looked at the bony palm not far away.

Mu Ling, an apothecary, had also been fighting the mutated beasts. After the mutated beasts were all killed by Saint Venerable Dao Rong, she wanted to leave. However, because someone beside her had been severely injured by a mutated beast, she couldn’t bear to abandon them and stayed.

She thought that if she hid in the crowd, it should be fine. She was currently treating a fellow disciple’s broken leg. Just as she had set the bone, she was uncontrollably thrown backward rapidly.

With a ‘plop,’ everyone watched as the person Saint Venerable Dao Rong grabbed was brought before them. Those who recognized her directly called out Apothecary Mu Ling’s name.

“Saint Venerable?”

Ye Bingfeng was somewhat confused. Why had Saint Venerable Dao Rong suddenly pulled this person from the crowd?

Saint Venerable Dao Rong, with his skeletal hand, waved in the air, drawing a talisman and directing it towards Mu Ling’s glabella.

Not good, Apothecary Mu Ling thought, it’s over. The demonic energy within her could not be controlled and scattered in an instant.

“It’s a demon! Apothecary Mu Ling is a demon!”

“How is that possible? Apothecary Mu Ling has been in Mystic Crane Mountain for so long, how could she be a demon?”

“It must be a spy from the demon race! There must be a conspiracy lurking in Mystic Crane Mountain!”

Saint Venerable Dao Rong glanced down at Apothecary Mu Ling once, then withdrew his gaze and said to Ye Bingfeng, “I’ll leave her to you.”

Ye Bingfeng immediately bowed in acknowledgment and watched Saint Venerable Dao Rong leave.

Gu Jingyang had also sustained some injuries while fighting the mutated beasts earlier and had been focusing on regulating her breathing and protecting her heart meridian. The moment she saw Mu Ling being identified as a demon, her already calm breathing became disturbed again.

How could it be? How could Apothecary Mu Ling be a demon? Seeing this sudden scene, Gu Jingyang thought of A’Ling.

Did A’Ling also have demonic energy within her?

She looked around at her fellow disciples who, upon discovering Mu Ling was a demon, were indignantly clamoring for her execution. Even the disciple whose broken leg had just been treated by Mu Ling, upon learning that Mu Ling was a demon, firmly believed she was a spy from the demon realm and worried that the treated wound was poisoned.

In this situation, as long as someone was discovered to be a demon, even if they hadn’t done anything wrong, even if they had been saving people like Mu Ling, they would likely be treated as malevolent and having ulterior motives.

If A’Ling were a demon, or had demonic energy within her, she absolutely shouldn’t return now.

A’Ling couldn’t hear Gu Jingyang’s worries. Because of the seals in Pi Lingyun Valley, she couldn’t contact Gu Jingyang.

She was currently carrying Shi Qingqian on her back, struggling to climb upwards.

In her previous life, she had also climbed out from this mountain path. At that time, she had spiritual energy in her body and was alone, so the climb wasn’t too difficult.

Unlike now, she was about to die of exhaustion.

Earlier, she had already depleted all her spiritual energy to heal Shi Qingqian’s injured nascent soul. Now, she was no different from an ordinary person.

Carrying someone and climbing a mountain five to six hundred zhang high was truly arduous.

A’Ling stopped to rest again. Fortunately, Shi Qingqian’s nascent soul had returned to her body, but her spirit was injured, and she was still unconscious.

When they got out, A’Ling thought she should find Apothecary Mu Ling. Since she had been able to heal Shi Qingqian’s nascent soul before, she likely had a way this time.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead with force, A’Ling continued to carry Shi Qingqian.

She had promised that she would definitely bring Shi Qingqian out of Pi Lingyun Valley!