Yue Mengting

Although Jiang Lu did not know why they were here, it could not be anything good.

Thinking of how a whim had led her into the space before, Jiang Lu once again placed firm trust in her powerful sixth sense.

A green figure continually darted through the forest, its movements producing bursts of friction against the air.

Whoosh—

A wind blade swept out, and the demonic beast in the distance immediately collapsed.

Jiang Lu grabbed its two ears and swallowed.

Bewildering Rabbit. Its flesh was delicious; it was an oddity among demonic beasts, gentle by nature, and both humans and demonic beasts loved to eat it.

Fortunately, they reproduced quickly. Otherwise, how could there possibly be enough to eat?

The three little beasts in her pouch immediately poked out their heads as well, their claws hooked over the edge of the cloth bag. They stared unblinkingly at the rabbit in Jiang Lu's hand, drooling profusely.

They could eat something delicious again!

Cangchen had awakened a few days ago and, unsurprisingly, had successfully advanced to a second-rank spirit beast. The scales on his body had become much brighter.

Hearing that Chi Li and Cutie had followed their master in eating so many delicious things had made him terribly envious. Today, he could finally feast to his heart's content.

Cutie was the Treasure-Seeking Mouse. Since it was adorable and well-behaved, Jiang Lu had given it this name.

Though Jiang Lu had rarely entered the kitchen in her previous life, her cooking skills were beyond reproach. Though she could not compare to Master Wen, she still counted as a master chef.

"Wuwuwu~ So delicious!"

"Exactly! Exactly!"

"Stinking dragon, don't fight me for it!"

"You've eaten it so many times already. What's wrong with me eating more this time?"

"Who told you to sleep for so long!"

"I don't care. I want to eat it."

"..."

Cutie clutched a piece of rabbit meat in its paws, its cheeks stuffed round and full. Its big, round eyes looked at Chi Li for a moment, then at Cangchen the next.

Why were the two of them fighting over it? Wasn't there still plenty in the bowl?

Then it shook its head. Sure enough, it still had much to learn. As expected of Boss Chi Li—she knew so much.

Seeing this, Jiang Lu shook her head helplessly. Those two were still as noisy as ever.

After eating, she cleaned up the scene and headed south beneath the moonlight.

There was Black Mystic Iron there, a supreme material for forging magical artifacts.

Though she had quite a few magical treasures in hand, the spirit sword she used was rather ordinary.

She planned to forge a natal spirit sword. Only by nurturing it with her current spiritual power could it produce a sword spirit in the future, one connected to her heart and mind.

Jiang Lu looked at the Majianci before her. With a sweep of the blade in her hand, she cut down a swath of them. Looking into the deep, shadowy forest, the corner of her lips curled upward.

Majianci was not poisonous, but it liked to entangle living creatures until they died. Its leaves were huge and covered in barbs.

If one was scratched by those barbs, the droplets on its leaves would absorb the spiritual power from the wound. If the creature could not quickly recover and escape, it would be trapped within until death.

Thus, neither cultivators nor demonic beasts liked approaching it.

Yet it happened to love growing atop Black Mystic Iron. Therefore, Black Mystic Iron was surely present near its roots.

However, vines covered the entire area. Everywhere she looked was vines, making the roots difficult to find.

She continued forward, but suddenly sensed something amiss around her and stopped.

The Majianci she had just cut down fell to the ground and immediately formed new plants, rapidly spreading outward.

Her brows rose. Something was wrong.

She was certain there was no Black Mystic Iron here, yet those new plants were able to grow so swiftly.

Then there was only one possibility: either a vast supply of spiritual power was nourishing this place, or countless living beings had fallen here, their bodies turning into nutrients that fed this land.

The surroundings suddenly fell silent, leaving only the rustling sounds of the vines moving.

Interwoven with those sounds were weak cries for help.

"S-Save me~"

Jiang Lu stopped and listened carefully. Someone really was calling for help.

She looked around. Why would there be anyone here? She had come this way precisely because she had seen that there was no one around.

Standing some distance away, she extended her Divine Sense. She saw a cultivator whose lower body was wrapped in vines. Her face was deathly pale, her body covered in wounds, and her breath was as thin as a thread.

Jiang Lu's brows furrowed slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she thought, This person's character is unknown. If I rashly save her...

She hesitated.

Then she noticed the clothing the woman wore. She looked like someone from a hermit Lineage.

Jiang Lu took two steps back, intending to leave. What a joke. Even people from a hermit Lineage could not defeat it—could a Qi Refinement weakling like her possibly handle it?

In an instant, the surrounding vines encircled her.

Not good!

The vines had deliberately left one survivor alive as bait!

She swore that if she escaped this time, she would never be curious again!

Curiosity killed the cat!

Chi Li and Cangchen also leaped out of the cloth pouch, and three streams of magical power continuously struck out in every direction.

Only after quite some time did the vines throughout the area shrink back, revealing the figure in the distance.

Jiang Lu waved her spiritual power, rolling the woman up and setting her aside. She did not know whether the woman was dead or alive. Shaking her head, she could only leave it to the woman's luck.

She inspected the surroundings. No Black Mystic Iron was exposed aboveground; if she wanted any, she would have to mine it herself.

But she did not currently have the strength for that.

The cultivator groaned a few times and slowly opened her eyes.

She was still alive!?

She had been saved!?

She saw a blurry figure in the distance. Blinking, she sat up from the ground. Feeling the numbness in her limbs, she used all her strength to take out a medicinal Dan and swallow it.

In just a few breaths, color returned to her face.

"Th... thank you."

She spoke to Jiang Lu with sincere gratitude.

Jiang Lu turned around and only then realized that she had awakened. She nodded and gave her a few appraising glances. She did not seem like a bad person, but Jiang Lu remained vigilant as she asked,

"Who are you? How were you injured here? Had you not encountered me, you likely would have perished here."

The cultivator sighed.

"My name is Mengting. I am a collateral disciple of the Yue Clan. I came here to train with members of the clan, but fled when we encountered danger. Who knew I would mistakenly enter this place? I was careless and was injured by it."

The Yue Clan?

"The hermit Lineage, the Yue Clan?"

Yue Mengting froze. After a moment of slight hesitation, she nodded.

"I heard that you rarely leave your clan. Why have you come here this time? This place is not close to your clan, and your strength is also so..."

Yue Mengting smiled awkwardly. Sensing the affinity emanating from Jiang Lu, she sighed and said,

"Benefactor, do you know which divine ability our clan is best known for in the outside world?"

Jiang Lu thought for a moment before answering, "First, poison arts. Second, divination."

Yue Mengting nodded.

"That's right. Our Grand Elder divined that the Immortal Cultivation Realm is about to fall into great turmoil, so he sent us out to investigate the cause."

"What great turmoil? Could an age of chaos be about to rise?"

At this, Jiang Lu became even more curious. Turmoil in the Immortal Cultivation Realm was no simple contest of heroes—it meant war after war.

Yue Mengting shook her head.

"No. The Grand Elder divined that a great era is about to arrive. Heavenly geniuses will emerge in droves, and fate will fall into chaos. If no intervention is made, the Immortal Cultivation Realm will collapse because of it."

Jiang Lu's eyes widened. No...

And you call that great turmoil?

That was world destruction, all right?

"Is there a sliver of hope?"

Jiang Lu was slightly dazed, but then thought of something and immediately asked.

"Benefactor, how did you know?"

Yue Mengting was somewhat surprised. She had not even mentioned it yet, and only disciples within the clan knew of this matter.

Jiang Lu felt embarrassed. Wasn't it simply experience accumulated over many years?

"There is. The Grand Elder divined that there was an anomaly within the mass of fate. That wisp of Chaos Qi would stir the winds and clouds, returning those fates to their proper places."

"Then you came out this time to search for the owner of that Chaos Qi?"

Jiang Lu asked.

Yue Mengting nodded, then looked somewhat despondent. They had been out for several months without gaining a single clue, and now they had nearly lost their lives.

As for that sliver of hope, she was merely from a collateral branch. Presumably, only the main branch would have the chance to find it.

Then she rummaged through her storage pouch, took out a large chunk of Black Mystic Iron, and held it out to Jiang Lu.

"This is for you. You came here to look for it, didn't you?"