Near the forbidden grounds lay a barrier of illusions, with thick mist blanketing the entire mountain. Flying in midair, it was impossible to see anything below.
Out of options, the two of them landed and began feeling their way toward the center.
Though it was called the forbidden grounds, it was actually just a tower where various forbidden items and demons were locked away.
Ordinarily, only Master would cultivate here.
Song Yao used to come here often to flip through forbidden books or break into the tower to pick fights with the demons for fun, so she was highly familiar with the directions.
Before they had walked far, an ancient stone monument engraved with the characters for “No Entry” appeared before them, and a towering pagoda that pierced the clouds stood shrouded in the mist.
A faint golden barrier enveloped the entire forbidden grounds. Song Yao reached out to touch it, her brow furrowing.
—This barrier was set up by Master and several elders. Why was it so weak?
Had someone broken in?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, another deafening explosion boomed directly overhead.
A dark figure, enveloped in a heavy stench of blood, crashed down violently from the layer of mist above.
Quick-eyed and swift-handed, Jiang Jin reached out to catch the falling figure.
Song Yao darted forward a step ahead of him, her arms instinctively reaching out to support the falling figure.
So heavy!
She had overestimated her physical strength. The moment she caught the figure, she tumbled head over heels right along with them.
Jiang Jin hurriedly rushed over, his pupils shrinking. “Second Senior Sister?!”
Zhu Zhao was pinned entirely on top of Song Yao, her face deathly pale and her lips bruised blue. Hot, sticky blood seeped from her arm, staining Song Yao's bamboo-green Daoist robe red.
Song Yao, small and slender as she was, was nearly driven into the mud by the impact, unable to move.
Her arms ached and her legs hurt. With a miserable look on her face, she wailed, “Second Senior Sister, get off me first.”
No one paid her any mind.
Jiang Jin was scared out of his wits. Scrambling in panic, he fumbled through his spatial pouch for an elixir and stuffed it into Zhu Zhao's mouth, his voice cracking. “Second Senior Sister! Hold on! What on earth happened? Who injured you like this?!”
Song Yao struggled with all her might. “I'm the one who can't hold on!”
Still, no one paid her any mind.
As the pill slid down her throat, Zhu Zhao managed to catch a faint breath, her eyelashes trembling.
Bloody froth bubbled up from her throat, her voice so raspy it was barely audible. “The Wen family... It's the Wen family... They want to kill Master...”
Song Yao's body stiffened, her expression freezing, and she instantly went still.
Jiang Jin was still pressing for answers. “The Wen family? Which Wen family?! Why do they want to kill Master?!”
Zhu Zhao parted her lips, but her eyelashes suddenly fluttered shut as she completely lost consciousness.
Flustered and frantic, Jiang Jin reached out to help her up.
From underneath, Song Yao warned weakly, “Don't touch her wounds. The Wen family is highly skilled in using dark poison. Touching it will only make it spread faster.”
Jarred by her warning, Jiang Jin calmed down slightly.
Avoiding her wounds, he carefully lifted her up, supporting her weight as he moved her off Song Yao.
Two sharp sounds of rushing wind suddenly pierced the thick fog. The Ninth Elder and the Twelfth Elder landed gracefully before them, their toes lightly touching the ground.
Both of their robes were shredded by sharp blades, dark red blood seeping from their shoulders and waists. Their breathing was ragged and unstable, clear signs that they had just fought a fierce battle.
Their gazes swept over the unconscious Zhu Zhao. Exchanging a look, their faces grew so grim they looked ready to rain.
The Twelfth Elder spoke first, his voice as heavy as a thousand-ton mountain. “We didn't catch them. They escaped, but they probably won't survive anyway.”
Jiang Jin's eyes filled with shock.
The two elders were at least in the mid-to-late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Who could possibly escape from their grasp?!
He had never seen such a grand and terrifying scene before, yet he managed to remain relatively calm, stammering out, “What on earth is going on?”
The two elders were clearly reluctant to elaborate. They only said solemnly, “The barrier has just been repaired, and the Second Elder has already come to guard it. Take Ah Zhao back first...”
They suddenly paused mid-sentence, looking down at the ground. “Why is there a beggar lying here?”
Song Yao: “?”
...
What are the odds of a hundred-pound person falling from a height of a hundred meters and crushing someone to death?
After taking two pills to catch her breath, Song Yao followed behind them, groaning and grumbling.
Her newly changed Daoist robe was completely covered in mud and blood. Her casually tied hair was now lopsided, a messy tangle plastered across her face, with broken leaves and clumps of dirt stuck in between.
She truly looked like a pathetic little beggar who had rolled through the mud three times.
She had said from the start that they shouldn't get involved in this!
Talk about bad luck.
Jiang Jin glanced back at her. “We can't get into Second Senior Sister's courtyard. Let's have her stay in my room first.”
Fuming with anger, Song Yao glared at him coldly. “I am the medical cultivator. Naturally, she should stay in my room.”
Jiang Jin: “...”
He finally understood.
This girl only used her title as a medical cultivator when it suited her.
By the time Song Yao finished bathing and came out in a fresh Daoist robe, the Sixth Elder had just finished treating Zhu Zhao's injuries.
Her brow was deeply furrowed as she shook her head and said, “The Wen family's dark poison is incredibly vicious. It was meant to kill. I can only temporarily delay its onset, but it won't last very long...”
Jiang Jin hurriedly asked, “What happens if the poison takes full effect?”
The Sixth Elder let out a long, heavy sigh. “This dark poison technique of the Wen family specifically uses a living person's soul energy as a medium. Once the poison takes effect, they will first lose their five senses. Then, they will gradually lose their memory and sanity, unable to recognize their closest kin or distinguish right from wrong, until they are left hanging on by a mere thread of breath.”
Jiang Jin sucked in a sharp breath. “How can such a cruel poison exist?! Where on earth does this Wen family come from? What right do they have to run amok in Nine Saints Hall?!”
The Sixth Elder's expression grew even more complex.
She hesitated to speak, her gaze drifting over the two before her. After a long silence, she finally said, “Your Fifth Senior Sister, Wen Tang, is the young mistress of the Wen family.”
Jiang Jin was stunned. “What?! Fifth... Fifth Senior Sister is the young mistress of the Wen family? Then why... why did she defect from Nine Saints Hall?”
“Mind your words.”
The Sixth Elder's face immediately darkened upon hearing this. “Tangtang is not that kind of child. Something must have happened to the Wen family.”
Jiang Jin shrank back under her glare and meekly lowered his head. “This disciple misspoke.”
“The Wen family is a reclusive family of poison arts that has existed for thousands of years, and they have held an alliance with Nine Saints Hall for generations. That child was sent to our sect when she was young. Although she was a hostage sent by the Wen family, she was clever, sensible, and kind, treating this place as her home just like you do. How could she possibly strike at the Hall Master?”
The Sixth Elder sighed heavily, her tone filled with affection and helplessness. “But I don't know if this is related to what happened a year ago...”
“A year ago?”
Jiang Jin had actually heard some rumors about this. “You mean the matter of Fifth Senior Sister's fiancé breaking off their engagement to seek the hand of Third Senior Sister instead?”
The cultivation world was rife with gossip, and since the main characters were the favored geniuses of major sects, the rumors had spread like wildfire overnight.
They claimed that Nine Saints Hall's highly renowned number-one sword cultivator had turned against her own junior sister behind closed doors over Ye Chang'an, the young master of the Taiqing Pavilion.
As it turned out, this Ye Chang'an's heart had indeed been captured by Song Yao, and he stubbornly broke off his engagement with Wen Tang.
In the end, before their love story could reach its happy ending, Song Yao had died in the Earth Realm.
The Sixth Elder nodded. “Indeed. However, after Song Yao's accident back then, Ye Chang'an returned to Nine Saints Hall to beg Tangtang's forgiveness, hoping to resume their engagement. Not only did Tangtang refuse him, but she also fought him.”
“Ye Chang'an suffered significant injuries, which infuriated the Taiqing Pavilion. To avoid dragging Nine Saints Hall into the conflict, and because the head of the Wen family had passed away, Tangtang fled back to the Wen family alone. She hasn't returned since.”
Jiang Jin had not known about the aftermath of those events, and his brow furrowed slightly. “So, is this all Song Yao's fault after all?”
Rate on N.U.
