As the group ventured deeper, Cang Dongqing finally realized where her inexplicable unease had come from!
They reached a precipice. Below them churned the spirit-eroding black water, with only a few floating stones serving as footholds. Li Nanyi accidentally lost his footing and nearly fell into the black water!
"Fifth Senior Brother!" Cang Dongqing cried out in alarm.
Rong Yuying, however, spoke even faster than her. "Junior Sister Cang, didn't Mu Zeting give you a wind-riding talisman? If not now, when?"
Cang Dongqing’s face turned pale. That wind-riding talisman was her ultimate trump card for saving her own life! But under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she had no way to refuse.
"I..." She gripped the talisman tightly, her eyes turning red.
"Little Junior Sister!" Pei Ji shouted anxiously. "We can't fly with swords here! Hurry!"
Deep in her heart, she felt a surge of hatred. 'Rong Yuying! You’re heartless!'
Despite her inner turmoil, her movements did not hesitate for a second. The talisman flashed with light, and a gentle breeze lifted Li Nanyi, carrying him back to safety. Still shaken, he looked at Cang Dongqing with eyes full of gratitude. "Little Junior Sister, thanks to you..."
Cang Dongqing forced a smile. "As long as Fifth Senior Brother is safe."
Rong Yuying chuckled from the side. "Junior Sister Cang truly is decisive."
The deeper they went, the more dangers they encountered.
When the sudden arrival of baleful energy snared Daoist Master Xuan Shuang's legs, Rong Yuying "concernedly" reminded her: "Junior Sister Cang, I remember you still have an evil-breaking talisman?"
When Pei Ji was splashed and wounded by spirit-eroding liquid while protecting the group, Rong Yuying "anxiously" urged: "Quickly, use an exorcism talisman! It will be disastrous if the evil energy enters his body!"
Every time, Cang Dongqing was forced to hand over those precious talismans under the expectant gazes of the crowd. Every talisman used felt like a knife cutting into her heart.
She could only comfort herself: 'At least... the elders and my senior brothers will trust me more...'
But whenever she looked at Rong Yuying, the other woman's smiling eyes seemed to say: 'Did you think this was over?'
Cang Dongqing’s storage bag was getting lighter and lighter.
Every talisman spent made her heart sink further. Rong Yuying’s "thoughtfulness" was like a blunt knife, carving away her path of retreat inch by inch. Yet, to maintain her persona, she had to walk step by step into the traps Rong Yuying had set for her.
Finally, after half a day of traveling, just as they were about to reach the core of the evil energy outbreak, only one talisman remained in Cang Dongqing’s storage bag—a void-escape talisman, capable of instantly teleporting her to a designated location in a crisis.
This was her final means of saving her life.
She gripped her storage bag so tightly her knuckles turned white, as if she could prevent it from being taken away.
"Junior Sister Cang seems very nervous?" Rong Yuying’s round fan lightly tapped her shoulder, making her whole body stiffen. The woman's crimson lips curled into a meaningful arc. "Everyone, look—"
Her hand pointed toward a crumbling stone bridge in the distance. "That might be the only path to the underground. However, the bridge is fragile; someone needs to scout the way first—"
Before she could finish, Cang Dongqing suddenly felt a gentle force push her from behind! She stumbled forward half a step, and Rong Yuying’s voice reached her ears.
"Junior Sister Cang is light on her feet and has talismans for protection. She’s the most suitable candidate, wouldn't you agree?"
The moment Rong Yuying spoke, the expressions of those from the Sword Heart Sect changed.
"Absurd!" Pei Ji stepped forward, blocking Cang Dongqing. "Since when is it your turn to command a disciple of the Sword Heart Sect? Besides, my Little Junior Sister is only at Foundation Establishment. How could she lead the way?"
Daoist Master Xuan Shuang let out a cold snort and swept her sleeve, her thick spiritual energy forcing Rong Yuying back half a step. "Young friend Rong, do not go too far."
Rong Yuying was shaken back, but she wasn't annoyed. Instead, she chuckled. "Why are you all so angry? It was merely a suggestion."
She waved her round fan, her gaze flickering. "Since the Sword Heart Sect is unwilling to let Junior Sister Cang take the risk, then why don't we—"
She intentionally elongated her tone, her gaze scanning the crowd. "Let my Hehuan Sect lead the way?"
Everyone was stunned by her words.
Daoist Master Yu Heng frowned. "Ying'er, don't be reckless."
But Rong Yuying had already stepped forward, a smile on her lips. "No matter, I know what I’m doing."
She glanced at the stone bridge. It was crumbling, with spirit-eroding black water churning below; a single mistake would mean certain death. However, this was no challenge for her.
Rong Yuying tapped her toes and moved like a butterfly, landing gracefully in the middle of the bridge.
"Senior Sister, be careful!" Yu'er cried out nervously.
Rong Yuying turned back with a smile, but her fingers secretly formed a seal, and an invisible strand of spiritual energy quietly seeped into the bridge—
Crack.
A faint sound of fracturing echoed, and the bridge surface suddenly collapsed!
"Not good!" Pei Ji’s expression changed drastically, and he lunged forward to save her.
However, Rong Yuying had already leaped into the air. With a wave of her round fan, a pink spiritual light wrapped around a rock on the opposite shore, allowing her to land steadily.
She turned around, looking at Cang Dongqing with a beaming smile. "Junior Sister Cang, it seems the bridge is no longer passable. How about—"
"Using your void-escape talisman to send everyone across?"
Cang Dongqing’s entire body froze.
'She knows I have a void-escape talisman?!'
Hearing this, everyone from the Sword Heart Sect turned to look at Cang Dongqing.
"Little Junior Sister, you have a void-escape talisman?" Li Nanyi asked in surprise.
Cang Dongqing’s fingertips trembled, and she forced a smile. "I... I do have one, but..."
"In that case, use it," Daoist Master Xuan Shuang said indifferently. "Saving people is the priority."
Cang Dongqing bit her lip, her eyes brimming with tears. "But this was given to me by Senior Brother Mu to save my life..."
"Dongqing," Pei Ji said deeply. "If the disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect are truly trapped underground, every moment of delay increases the danger."
He sighed inwardly. 'Little Junior Sister is usually so sensible. Why is she so hesitant today?'
Seeing the burning gazes of the crowd, Cang Dongqing knew she could no longer refuse and tremblingly took out the talisman.
The Hehuan flower mark on the talisman paper was incredibly eyesore, as if mocking her pathetic state.
'Rong Yuying... you really are ruthless!' she thought with hidden hatred.
The talisman flashed, and the group was teleported to the opposite shore one after another.
When Cang Dongqing was the last to land, Rong Yuying was leaning against the rock wall, a mysterious smile playing on her lips behind her half-hidden round fan. "Junior Sister Cang truly is magnanimous."
Cang Dongqing bowed, her stray hairs falling to hide the gloom in her eyes.
"Senior Sister Rong overpraises me. Although I previously had some friction with the people from the Five Elements Dao Sect, in matters of great importance, I, Dongqing, naturally know what is right!"
Daoist Master Xuan Shuang nodded upon hearing this. "This is the proper conduct of a Sword Heart Sect disciple."
Yu'er curled her lip and whispered into Rong Yuying’s ear, "She's so good at putting on an act."
"Since we're all across, let's keep moving," Pei Ji said sternly. "Don't forget the purpose of our journey."
They continued forward, but as they went deeper, something even more bizarre happened. The dense evil energy that they could feel even in Chishui City, which had been thick enough to almost turn solid, had unexpectedly dissipated by more than half.
"Something's wrong." Daoist Master Yu Heng stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowed. "The evil energy deep inside shouldn't be this thin!"
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