Yue Mengting

Although Yue Mengting did not know why they were here, it could not be anything good.

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

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

Whoosh—

A wind blade shot out, and the demonic beast in the distance immediately collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Lu grabbed its two ears and swallowed.

Bewildering Rabbit—its flesh was delicious, an oddity among demonic beasts. Gentle by nature, it was loved as food by both humans and demonic beasts.

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

The three little beasts in her pocket immediately poked out their heads as well, their claws hooked over the edge of the cloth pouch. They stared without blinking at the rabbit in Jiang Lu's hands, drool streaming from their mouths.

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 as well.

When he heard that Chi Li and Cutie had eaten so many delicious things with their master, he had been green with envy. Today, he could finally eat his fill.

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

Although 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 could still be considered a master chef.

"Wuwuwu~ So delicious!"

"Exactly! Exactly!"

"Stupid dragon, don't steal from me!"

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

"Who told you to stay asleep for so long!"

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

"..."

Cutie clutched a piece of rabbit meat in its claws, its cheeks stuffed round and bulging. Its large, round eyes flicked from Chi Li to Cangchen, then back again.

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 area. Following the moonlight, Jiang Lu headed south.

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

Although she possessed quite a few magical treasures, the spirit sword in her hand was rather ordinary.

She planned to forge a natal spirit sword. Only by nurturing it with her current spiritual power could it eventually produce a sword spirit and become 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 it, then looked into the deep, shadowy forest and curled her lips.

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

If someone 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 from its injuries and escape, it would remain trapped 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 bound to lie around its roots.

But vines covered the entire area. As far as the eye could see, there were only vines, making the roots difficult to find.

She continued forward, but suddenly sensed something strange in her surroundings and stopped.

The Majianci she had cut down earlier 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 quickly.

There could only be one possibility: this place had an abundant supply of spiritual power, or countless living beings had perished here, their bodies turning into nourishment that fed this land.

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

Interwoven with those sounds were faint, weak cries.

"Save... save me..."

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

She looked around. Why would anyone be here? She had clearly come this way only after seeing that there were hardly any people around.

Standing some distance away, she sent out 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 faint as a thread.

Jiang Lu frowned slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she thought, I don't know whether this person is good or evil. If I rashly save her...

She was somewhat hesitant.

Suddenly, she noticed the clothes the woman wore. They looked like the attire of someone from a hidden Lineage.

She took two steps back, intending to leave. What a joke. Even people from a hidden Lineage could not defeat this thing—could a tiny Qi Refinement cultivator like her possibly do 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 managed to escape 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 a while did the vines throughout the area retreat, revealing the figure in the distance.

Jiang Lu flicked the spiritual power in her hand, wrapping the woman up and placing her to one side. She did not know whether the woman was dead or alive. Jiang Lu shook her head; it could only depend on the woman's luck.

She inspected the surroundings. There was no exposed Black Mystic Iron nearby. If she wanted any, she would have to mine it herself.

But she did not have the strength to do that now.

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. She blinked, then sat up from the ground. Feeling the numbness in her limbs, she used all her strength to take out a medicinal pill and swallow it.

In only 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, gave her a few glances, and found that she did not seem like a bad person. Still, Jiang Lu remained wary as she asked,

"Who are you? How did you get injured here? If you had 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 gain experience with the clan's other disciples. We encountered danger and fled, but who would have thought that I would accidentally enter this place? I was careless and was injured by it."

The Yue Clan?

"The hidden Lineage, the Yue Clan?"

Yue Mengting froze. After hesitating slightly, 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 rather..."

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

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

Jiang Lu thought for a moment and answered, "First, Poison Arts. Second, Divination Art."

Yue Mengting nodded.

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

"What great turmoil? Could it be that troubled times are about to rise?"

At that, Jiang Lu became even more curious. Turmoil in the Immortal Cultivation Realm was no simple struggle among heroes—it meant one battle after another.

Yue Mengting shook her head.

"No. The Grand Elder divined that a great age was about to arrive. Heavenly geniuses would emerge one after another, fate would fall into chaos, and if no intervention was made, the Immortal Cultivation Realm would collapse because of it."

Jiang Lu's eyes widened. No...

You called this great turmoil?

This was world destruction, all right?

"Is there a sliver of hope?"

Jiang Lu was somewhat dazed, then immediately thought of something and 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 about this matter.

Jiang Lu felt embarrassed. Wasn't it just based on years of experience?

"There is. The Grand Elder divined that there was an anomaly within the cluster of fate. That wisp of Chaos Qi would stir the winds and clouds, returning those strands of fate 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, but then her expression turned somewhat dejected. They had been out for several months without the slightest gain, 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 opportunity to find it.

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

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