Qi Yan had exhausted his Law Power and could no longer keep chatting. The call had ended at some point.
He had no idea whether the girl had heard those last words. Qi Yan himself was dumbfounded. "I haven't even asked about curing my poison..."
These days, a low cultivation level didn't just mean losing fights-even your phone battery only lasted three minutes... It was enough to kill a man.
A clamor came from the distance; the searchers had already reached the vicinity. With no other choice, Qi Yan quickly sat cross-legged in meditation, hoping to recover a little Law Power as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the girl had clearly heard his final words. Their devilish allure left her little mouth hanging open, and for a long while, she had no idea what to say. She clutched the now-silent jade pendant so tightly that her palm grew sweaty.
Once something beneficial exceeded the proper dose, was it still beneficial? So breaking the Essence-Draining Incantation was actually this easy.
But this was murder. Murdering a fellow disciple.
Still, she had to admit that at least she no longer wanted to cry...
All that remained was the pounding in her heart, though she couldn't tell whether it was fear or worry.
Somewhat wearily, she rose from the edge of the bed and walked to a corner of the room. A few bottles and jars stood there, holding the resources she had collected over the past few years.
Of these, she had barely any Qi-Replenishing Pills left-only seven or eight, not even enough to support a month of cultivation.
Cultivation was like rowing against the current.
Over the past six months, she had endured countless hardships and suffered wounds all over, yet made no progress at all. She had clearly been one of the promising seeds among her generation in the sect, but now she was stuck, almost falling below average. If this continued, never mind her parents' dying wishes or her pursuit of the Dao Path-she probably wouldn't even have much lifespan left.
Meanwhile, her fellow disciple, who had always been mediocre, cutting corners and shirking work, had sucked her blood and become a rapidly rising "genius." Why?
The girl clutched the medicine bottle, her slender hand trembling slightly.
If the sect won't uphold justice, I'll uphold it myself...
The words of the man on the other end of the jade pendant flashed through her mind again. Gritting her teeth, the girl pulled out the stopper and tipped out three pills.
Since this connection came through the jade pendant Mother left behind, I'll take it as Mother's guidance from the Unseen.
They can harm me, but I'm not allowed to fight back?
The girl popped the pills. Spiritual Qi beyond what she could withstand battered her Dantian and meridians wildly, her blood surging throughout her body. In an instant, cold sweat covered her little face. But it quickly vanished as all the power was transferred away by the Essence-Draining Incantation.
Of course she wouldn't die. She had only had time to suffer the slightest internal injury.
"Seventh Senior Sister! Seventh Senior Sister, something terrible's happened!" A terrified, half-grown child's voice came from outside. "Sixth Senior Brother suddenly started bleeding from all seven orifices during the meeting! Eldest Senior Brother wants you in the meeting hall immediately!"
Sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, the girl savored the relief of feeling the cultivation stolen from her over the past six months return, thread by thread. Her heart pounded. "All right. I'm coming."
Once the incantation was broken, its previous effects would naturally return to their original owner. Nor would everything be crammed back in at once; it would return slowly and be absorbed slowly.
The thing that had left her crying in misery late at night for half a year had actually been this simple to resolve.
What the girl wanted most right now was to thank the man on the other end of the jade pendant, but she couldn't get through, so she could only head to the meeting hall first.
-If Qi Yan and the girl could see each other's circumstances, they would have realized that something wasn't quite right about the space-times connected by this "phone call." It was already the dead of night on Qi Yan's side, while sunset clouds still hung in the girl's sky; the sun had only just set. Even if the world was a sphere, these were definitely different time zones. And if it wasn't a sphere, then what?
Several men and women were in the meeting hall when she entered. One young man lay slumped in a chair, bleeding from all seven orifices, his breath faint as a thread. Others crowded around him, administering emergency treatment.
The girl still hadn't managed to overcome the mental hurdle of "murdering a fellow disciple," and had shown mercy. Had she increased the dose even a tiny bit more, he might have died violently on the spot, leaving nothing to treat.
Seeing her enter, the young man in the seat of honor fixed her with a sharp gaze. "Mu Xunzhen, do you have anything to say?"
Having attacked a fellow disciple for the first time, the honest girl's heart was still thumping so hard that it felt ready to leap out of her throat. Her gaze wandered. "Little Seven doesn't understand what Eldest Senior Brother means... Ah, what happened to Sixth Senior Brother? Did he suffer Qi Deviation while cultivating?"
"You..." One look told Eldest Senior Brother that her acting was off, but he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, unsure what to say.
Just half an hour ago, their seventh junior sister, Mu Xunzhen, had complained that someone had placed an Essence-Draining Incantation on her. Her fellow disciples had actually sensed, vaguely, that it was true, but for various reasons, they had all called it nonsense and instead rebuked her for slander. Their master was in seclusion this year, and Eldest Senior Brother was temporarily managing the main peak's affairs. With none of her fellow disciples willing to uphold justice, Mu Xunzhen had been forced to go back nursing her grievances.
Now that something had gone wrong with Sixth, everyone naturally knew it had to be because of the Essence-Draining Incantation. But they had personally denied it just half an hour ago, and the echoes of their words still lingered among the rafters. How could they slap their own faces now?
Looking at the girl's unusually evasive eyes, he found it so strange. How could an honest little fool like Junior Sister Mu do something like this?
He held back and held back, until all he could say was, "I hear you have a stalk of Essence-Nurturing Grass?"
Mu Xunzhen pressed her lips together and said quietly, "We gathered it together during that trial. Eldest Senior Brother has some too."
Eldest Senior Brother ignored that and said slowly, "Sixth's meridians have ruptured. He urgently needs an Essence-Nurturing Pill to rebuild them. Hand over your Essence-Nurturing Grass."
Mu Xunzhen took half a step back and repeated, "Eldest Senior Brother has some too."
Eldest Senior Brother said coolly, "You know why we're asking you to provide the ingredient. We aren't spelling it out, but you should know when to advance and when to retreat."
Mu Xunzhen opened her mouth. The girl, always so honest, truly had no idea how to respond to such words, and felt like crying again.
Her first reaction was still to sacrifice her wealth to avert disaster, but suddenly she thought, I have the senior in the jade pendant to guide me. Why not ask him?
So she said, "Then let me go back and look for it."
With that, she took her leave.
The people in the hall finally managed to stabilize Sixth Senior Brother's condition, then exchanged looks, all frowning slightly. "The way Little Seven's behaving... someone needs to rein her in. What kind of conduct is this? Her senior brother is injured, and she didn't even ask after him."
Eldest Senior Brother remained silent, a faint unease in his heart. He kept feeling that something was slipping out of control.
Mu Xunzhen dashed back to her cave abode. The moment she shut the door, she pulled out the jade pendant. "Senior! Senior! Are you still there?"
By now, the girl was certain the person on the other end was an elder who had weathered all the affairs of the world. It never occurred to her that he could be a novice whose Law Power couldn't even sustain a short chat. The connection had broken earlier because the senior must have thought she should resolve such a trivial matter herself and couldn't be bothered with it...
The girl didn't know whether calling like this would work. After she waited anxiously for a few breaths, an extremely urgent voice quickly came from the other end. "Don't say anything else yet. Tell me how to perform the Tribulation-Transferring Incantation."
Mu Xunzhen had no idea why a senior like him would want such impractical, low-level incantations. Perhaps he was testing her cultivation?
So she obediently recited the incantation's method of operation and mnemonic, then added, "Originally, the Tribulation-Transferring Incantation required the other person's hair or nails as a medium. This junior modified it a little. Now, if you can touch the opponent directly for a while, it will generally work as long as they aren't more than a major realm stronger than you. I don't know whether my unauthorized changes introduced any flaws. This junior can't see any. Please advise me, Senior."
The connection cut off again as soon as she finished.
Qi Yan had only just recovered a tiny bit of Law Power. Afraid to exhaust it, he had to end the call early, but he was still full of speechless ellipses.
She modified an incantation herself... Could this girl who only knows how to sob really be a big shot?
Whatever. I'll try it first.
"Someone's over there!" Torchlight flickered nearby. Someone had already drawn close.
"It really is Qi Yan! I told you he couldn't have gone far. He had to be hiding here." A young man who bore a strong resemblance to Qi Zhi advanced with his sword raised. "Die, traitor!"
Clang! Qi Yan swiftly twisted aside. The sword struck a rock beside him, sending up a spark.
Enduring the pain in his abdomen, Qi Yan swiftly reached out and seized the other man's wrist, silently reciting the incantation.
The incantation wasn't long, taking probably less than ten seconds. If he really had the other person's hair or nails beforehand and cast it from a distant hiding place, this would be a very easy incantation to pull off. But with direct contact, ten seconds was rather deadly.
With his belly wracked by pain and his Law Power nearly exhausted, how long could he hold on to that wrist?
The young man jerked his wrist, nearly breaking Qi Yan's grip. His sword already slashed diagonally toward Qi Yan's lower abdomen, opening a cut.
Qi Yan gave a muffled grunt and rammed his shoulder into the young man, pushing him back slightly. Ahead, countless indistinct figures were already closing in.
The young man sneered. "Everyone says Qi Yan is the greatest threat among the younger generation. Turns out you're nothing special."
Qi Yan said nothing, secretly continuing the incantation.
That's right. Just like that. Say a little more... just a tiny bit longer.
The young man glanced at his wrist, which was still being held, and barked, "What are you standing around for? All of you, get-"
Before he could say "him," his words suddenly turned into a groan of pain.
For some reason, his lower abdomen hurt unbearably, and his strength drained away.
Qi Yan, on the other hand, was free of pain. It was as though he had revived on the spot; even his complexion had grown much rosier.
The Tribulation-Transferring Incantation really worked! It really transferred all the poison in my body to him! Not only did this resolve the problem of having just two days left to live, it also instantly reversed the battle before him.
Before the young man even knew what had happened, Qi Yan had swiftly snatched his sword and laid it across his neck.
The Lineage guards who had just rushed forward were all dumbfounded.
The second young master had held the upper hand just a moment ago. How had things turned out like this in the blink of an eye?
Holding him hostage, Qi Yan slowly walked out, smiling. "You really are Qi Zhi's own little brother. Even your uses are exactly the same. If you don't want your Household's last surviving son to die here, get out of my way!"
The guards dared not stop him and parted to make a path, each wearing a strange expression.
Why did it feel as though these people from the main branch were lining up to serve themselves up on a platter...?
The young man also gritted his teeth and said, "Qi Yan, aren't you afraid of retribution for doing something so utterly deranged?"
"Ha... What a shame, then. You won't live to see that day." Qi Yan leisurely held him at swordpoint and slowly left the mountain hollow. Only after they reached the main road outside did he suddenly draw the blade across.
"..." The young man toppled backward, his eyes open in death.
Even in death, he had no idea why his stomach had suddenly hurt back then, causing everything to fall apart.
Qi Yan dropped the corpse, used a Divine Movement Instruction, and raced into the boundless night.
The guards were all mortals. How could they possibly catch him? They could only watch helplessly as Qi Yan disappeared.
In truth, Qi Yan barely had any Law Power left. Not long after putting some distance between them, he slowed to an ordinary person's jog, panting for breath. What he wanted most now was to recover his Law Power as soon as possible and contact the girl on the other end of the jade pendant to properly thank her.
Mu Xunzhen looked at the jade pendant, which gave no response no matter how she called. What she wanted most was also for the senior on the other end to say something. She hadn't thanked him yet...
PS: Three chapters on the first day. After this, it'll be the usual schedule: two chapters a day, at 12:00 and 18:00.