The intruder forcibly broke through the barrier. Endless bell sounds rang out nonstop. The heavy purple robes whipped up towering waves of qi, churning the water vapor while concealing traces of killing intent. Clearly, the visitor harbored ill intentions.
In the woods, Yao Guanheng immediately rose to his feet, intending to block the intruder. At the same time, he sent a transmission to the youth in the pavilion: 【It’s Valley Master Ci Yuan. I’ll hold him off first. The Young Lord can’t have an accident here.】
This man had been relentlessly pursuing demonic cultivators. If the Young Lord fell into his hands, the outcome would likely be dire.
In the pavilion, Ji Lingyao reacted with extreme speed. As the pressure from a mighty cultivator closed in and he abruptly received the transmission, he only paused imperceptibly before casting a spell to send the girl before him away.
He was responsible for assisting with the investigation and held a command seal for passage. He directly sent her out of Pill Cauldron Sect’s blockade and transmitted back to Yao Guanheng: 【You take her and leave. Leave this place to me.】
After all, they were both long-time informants inside Jade Ecstasy Palace. Even if they couldn’t stand each other, they still shared a degree of tacit understanding and coordination.
The figure in the woods didn’t reveal himself. Instead, he directly activated breath concealment, turning into mist as he departed to rendezvous with the Young Lord and escort her away.
Just as Ji Lingyao made his move, several rays of light had already streaked through the air. Looking closely, they were slender strands of spiritual power, refined with exquisite dao rhymes and shaped like silver needles.
The spirit needles carried a veil of mist with them. The mist twisted like serpents, surging straight toward the girl’s figure with the intent to encircle and capture her.
The youth blocked with one hand and unleashed a wind spell with the other. But the spirit needles had been aimed at him from the start. They struck his arm while the mist rushed right up to his face. The vast gap in cultivation made the wind spell too weak to dispel the mist. The serpent-like condensed mist spell only stalled for an instant before nearly brushing past the girl.
The entire incident unfolded in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, the girl dodged it. She was successfully sent away from the area, and the mist struck nothing but empty air.
A miss by a hair’s breadth is as good as a mile. Having failed to capture his target, the mist whipped around and bound the falling youth instead. It tightly constricted his neck, as if a hand were choking his throat, slamming him against the railing.
This mist meant to encircle the girl was actually non-toxic. The real poison lay in those unassuming spirit needles. If not for the quiver in the air and the sharp eyes of a cultivator, no one would have noticed them at all.
They were dark weapons quenched in poison, nothing more.
The toxin took effect almost instantly. Ji Lingyao sensed it immediately—his own spiritual qi had grown sluggish. In about two breaths, he wouldn’t be able to cast any spells at all.
He had just been supplemented by his little junior sister, leaving him with scant spiritual qi to begin with.
In that critical moment, the gray-eyed youth seized the remaining power he had left. He swiftly cast a spell, erasing all traces of his collusion with the demonic cultivator from his body.
Then, he produced a piece of clothing. Even with the mist gripping his neck, it didn’t hinder his movements—though he looked rather disheveled.
He draped the outer robe over himself, covering the body his little junior sister had made use of, preserving a modicum of dignity.
By the time he finished, the intruder had arrived at the pavilion.
The silver bells tinkled lightly. Having failed to capture his target, Ci Yuan’s expression was icy cold. His purple eyes gleamed with eerie, dangerous allure as he lowered his gaze onto the youth he had just seized.
The poison had already taken effect. Though not fatal, once a cultivator lost their spiritual power, they forfeited most of their ability to defend themselves, becoming easy prey.
Yet the gray-eyed youth remained calm and composed. Now utterly drained, he leaned against the railing to regulate his breathing and gather his strength. His posture wasn’t exactly upright.
Seeing who had attacked him, he even curved his lips in a smile and greeted this senior who had wounded him: “Valley Master Ci Yuan, I’ve long admired your renowned name. What is the meaning of this?”
Ci Yuan’s gaze swept over the youth’s casually draped outer robe. Beneath it, his clothes were clearly disheveled. Ci Yuan’s expression darkened further, his tone laced with hostile chill: “Who was that female cultivator just now? This Venerable should be the one asking you what you’re doing here. All Azure Profound Sect disciples have already left.”
Ji Lingyao smiled. “As Senior can see, I was having a private rendezvous. The intact barrier was suddenly shattered by Senior, which frightened my companion. So I took it upon myself to send her away. I hope Senior can forgive the imposition.”
His fingertips twitched slightly. He’d recovered a bit of strength through regulation, so he casually adjusted his outer robe. Though his face had paled somewhat and he looked disheveled in his rumpled clothes, his demeanor remained calm and poised.
The youth showed no displeasure. After all, he was facing a senior of far higher cultivation—a sect lord no less. His tone carried a measure of respect and courtesy.
“I hadn’t heard that Azure Profound Sect’s chief disciple had gotten involved with someone.” Ci Yuan’s purple eyes deepened as he stared at the youth’s face, narrowing his eyes as if it offended him. “Where did you send her?”
Azure Profound’s chief disciple wasn’t peerlessly stunning in appearance, but he was handsome and refined.
As he spoke, poisonous needles flickered at the man’s fingertips. The sharp killing intent was no bluff—he seemed intent on dosing this young, handsome male cultivator with another dose of poison.
After sending the girl away, he had released tracking gu insects but hadn’t forgotten to interrogate the youth about her origins.
Ji Lingyao smiled thinly. “I don’t cultivate the emotionless dao. What’s wrong with getting intimate with a female cultivator I fancy? Rather, why is Senior so interested in my companion?”
“Your companion?” Ci Yuan sneered. He struck again with the same trick, releasing gu insects that once more detected a wisp of demonic qi—identical to the aura previously found in Elder Fu’s cave abode.
“Young Friend Ji, is the demonic cultivator here your companion? Colluding with demonic cultivators and letting one escape is a grave crime.”
He stated coldly that since it was a grave crime, his punishment was entirely justified.
With a flick of his finger, a poison needle shot out, striking the back of the youth’s hand.
This poison differed from the one that paralyzed spiritual power. The toxic qi invaded instantly, searing his meridians. The youth’s fingers twitched in pain as he lowered his head to examine the discoloring skin.
The toxin seeped into the meridians of his arm. Now his meridians were truly laid bare. With his experience, he could tell it was a potent poison.
It would likely leave scars.
Ji Lingyao stared at the mark where the toxin had entered his body, lost in thought.
“Who was that female cultivator?” Ci Yuan demanded again.
At this point, it was no different from coercing an answer through force.
Ji Lingyao’s expression darkened. “In any case, she’s no demonic cultivator. I hope Valley Master will watch his words. Dao and demonic paths cannot coexist. Who knows where this demonic qi came from? Perhaps a demonic cultivator planted it on me deliberately to frame me.”
“Moreover, Valley Master should have heard of my master’s character. I study under Azure Profound and have been taught by my master to show no mercy to demonic cultivators, let alone collude with them or help them escape. I hope Valley Master will retract his earlier words.”
He circled around with his words, left and right, but never revealed the female cultivator’s origins.
Before another poison needle could strike, the tracking gu insects returned with news.
They had found traces, but there was too much interference. Someone was deliberately concealing the female cultivator’s trail.
Hiding the head but exposing the tail.
Ci Yuan knew exactly what he was searching for.
What did some random demonic cultivator have to do with him? What mattered was that fleetingly familiar silhouette he’d glimpsed—like an old acquaintance—which was enough to make him dig three feet into the ground.
Once he caught that female cultivator, everything would become clear.
With no desire to tangle further with the youth, the man flicked his hand, dispersing the mist binding his opponent, and turned to leave.
Seeing him about to depart, Ji Lingyao spoke up: “I’ve heard that Senior’s dao companion perished a hundred years ago. They say Senior remains devoted to the deceased without faltering. I never imagined Senior would take such an interest in someone else’s love interest.”
These words were anything but pleasant to hear.
Ji Lingyao smiled on the surface, but he said it deliberately—to buy time, and out of no small personal malice.
“As long as she sees you, you’ll willingly become a cauldron,” as the Jade Ecstasy Palace Lord had put it. Whether that worked on others was unknown.
Could it be that this old widower was eager to throw himself into the role of a cauldron?
Cultivators’ instincts were keen, and Ci Yuan’s especially so.
At those words, he whipped his hand back. Condensed mist formed a lash that cracked directly across the youth’s face, striking his mouth.
“Brat, do you think your master can protect you?”
The blow wouldn’t kill him, but it held no mercy. Blood immediately seeped from the corner of the youth’s mouth, and some latent poison seeped in along with it, as if intent on poisoning him mute.
It didn’t feel good, but Ji Lingyao’s chest heaved—as if he’d coughed, or perhaps let out a muffled laugh.
Having disciplined the loose-tongued junior, Ci Yuan departed without another glance.
A Mahayana cultivator was indeed extraordinary.
Ji Lingyao licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. After a moment, he’d recovered a bit more strength. He took a pill on his own to regulate his breathing and forced out some of the toxin.
The delay he’d bought was enough time for his little junior sister to board the sect-returning boat and head back to the sect.
He wasn’t worried about any demonic cultivator. He was only concerned for his little junior sister’s safety.
Ji Lingyao glanced down at his hand. The poison from a Mahayana cultivator couldn’t be fully purged in a short time. Plenty of residual toxin lingered in his meridians.
If it scarred, it probably wouldn’t look good. Ji Lingyao touched his wrist, then thought that a scar might not be so bad. He could show it to his little junior sister later.
His expression turned cold again as he mentally tallied up the numbers.
The rumors swirling around Pill Cauldron Sect seemed to hold water after all. Elder Fu had likely truly been supplemented by a demonic cultivator.
The little demonic cultivator doing the supplementing here—aside from his little junior sister—there was probably no one else.
Besides Pill Cauldron Sect’s Elder Fu, there was Myriad Beasts Sect’s Elder Yaoguang. But beyond those two, there were surely others.
He was just one of them.
–
Meanwhile, Yao Guanheng received the girl who had been sent out.
The moment Li Yin heard that familiar yet ominous bell sound, she was badly startled.
Fortunately, Ji Lingyao had acted quickly. Before she could even use her item, the youth had sent her out first.
“Valley Master Ci Yuan probably won’t be easy to deal with. I wonder if Little Dao Lord Ji will be alright,” she said worriedly.
The player had firsthand experience of how difficult her former capture target could be.
Yao Guanheng reassured her: “No matter. Valley Master Ci Yuan’s character… he’s ruthless, but he won’t casually take the life of a Dao Sect disciple.”
As he spoke, he cast several more spells, leaving false trails along the way to mislead the tracking gu insects and spiritual power.
“We’ll set off back to the sect right away. He shouldn’t catch up,” Yao Guanheng said. He reached out and made minor adjustments to his little disciple’s disguise art, ensuring nothing was amiss.
Li Yin nodded and patted her chest. Little Dao Lord Ji might be a bit prickly, but she didn’t want him to die either.
Of course, she also didn’t want her poison husband to catch up to her.
Moments later, Myriad Beasts Sect’s spirit boat slowly set off back to the sect. Li Yin was in her disguised form—different from the one she’d arrived in—and blended in among the crowd of disciples.
Her disguised identity didn’t know Elder Yaoguang, all for caution’s sake. She kept a certain distance from her master, pretending not to know him.
A long while passed, and the journey remained uneventful. Li Yin gradually lowered her guard.
She’d probably shaken him off.
She thought to herself, leaning against the spirit boat’s railing as if admiring the scenery while actually scanning her surroundings warily, half-expecting some tiny venomous bug to dart out from a corner.
No venomous bugs appeared, nor did she see those purple little butterflies. Li Yin finally relaxed.
She eased her mind a little, but as her gaze shifted, she suddenly spotted faint distortions high in the sky.
With another blink, that distorted space abruptly tore open into a rift. A deep blue robe hem fluttered in the wind, whipping fiercely.
This technique felt familiar, and that robe hem even more so. Soon, Li Yin shuddered in realization and retreated repeatedly.
At the same time, an alert bell rang out on the spirit boat. The Dao Sect elder guarding the boat and disciples stepped out into the air, gazing up at the uninvited guest.
It was a demonic cultivator.