One by one, the disciples trapped in the cocoons were rescued. Tantai Jin collapsed heavily to the ground, and Cang Hai rushed over in panic, calling out, "Junior Brother!"
Emerging from the Cangyuan Secret Realm, Tantai Jin was already injured. After battling the purple-robed demonic cultivator, he had lost too much blood and could no longer maintain consciousness.
Su Su's feet involuntarily took a few steps forward, but she halted abruptly as she drew near Tantai Jin.
What was she doing? Was she about to return to the entanglement she had with him five hundred years ago? Since she had chosen to cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness, she should have severed all ties with the past long ago.
Yaoguang watched them with concern. After a moment of silence, Su Su crouched down.
Tantai Jin lay with his eyes closed, his youthful face deathly pale and devoid of color. When awake, he was cold and perverse, but now, gravely injured, he appeared frail and utterly non-threatening.
Anyone present could easily kill him.
Tantai Jin had never allowed himself to fall into such a dire situation before—this was the first time.
Cang Hai eyed her warily. "Junior Sister Li, what are you planning?"
He did hold some fondness for this fairy, but to Cang Hai, his junior brother represented the future of the entire Carefree Sect. He would never allow anyone to harm the young disciple.
Given the previous conflicts between Li Susu and his junior brother, Cang Hai feared that this fairy might seize the moment to strike Tantai Jin down.
The immortal artifact around her neck was far too powerful—it had enabled her to battle a demonic cultivator at the Unity stage. If she intended to kill his junior brother, he knew he wouldn't be able to protect him.
Su Su turned her head and said, "Senior Sister Yaoguang, please assist me."
Yaoguang hurried over. She understood Su Su's intention—one of the tenets of the Hengyang Sect's teachings was "Life Flourishes Unceasingly," so every disciple possessed some skill in healing techniques.
As the direct disciple of Elder Qingqian, Yaoguang excelled in the art of healing.
With a twist of their wrists, their fingertips brushed over Tantai Jin's wounds, and a shower of green fluorescent light cascaded down like scattered stars.
Cang Hai breathed a quiet sigh of relief, realizing he had misjudged her intentions. He quickly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, both fairies."
The shallower wounds on Tantai Jin's body healed visibly, while the deeper ones only managed to stop bleeding.
Yaoguang withdrew her hand, her face pale.
The essence of healing immortal techniques lay in channeling one's own abundant spiritual energy to repair injuries. Although Yaoguang's cultivation was slightly higher than Su Su's, the difference was minimal. After barely managing to mend Tantai Jin's wounds, her spiritual power was nearly depleted.
Su Su also retracted her hand.
Yaoguang sighed and said to Cang Hai, "Your junior brother is too severely injured. He needs to return and recuperate for a while. My junior sister and I have done all we can—only the superficial wounds have healed. Some of his injuries are tainted with demonic energy. After you return, you must ensure he expels it."
Cang Hai replied, "Understood. I will remember."
As the rescued disciples from the demonic cocoons gradually awoke, Yaoguang's thoughts remained fixated on Gongye Jiewu, who had been taken by the Demon Emperor.
She urged Su Su, "Junior Sister, we must return to the Hengyang Sect quickly and ask our master and the sect leader to rescue Senior Brother Gongye."
Su Su stood up and walked with Yaoguang toward the exit of the secret chamber. At the entrance, she paused.
Noticing Su Su's pale lips, Yaoguang asked, "Junior Sister, are you alright?"
Su Su shook her head. "Senior Sister Yaoguang, please return to the sect first. There's something I forgot to say to Cang Hai. I'll catch up with you right after."
Yaoguang said, "Then I'll head back to the Hengyang Sect first. Be careful."
Su Su turned and went back inside, where Cang Hai looked at her in surprise.Su Su glanced at the unconscious Tantai Jin. "Senior Brother Cang Hai, I'd like to ask you a favor."
Cang Hai said, "Please speak, Junior Sister Li."
"If he asks about his wounds, how will you respond, Senior Brother Cang Hai?"
Cang Hai replied, "Fairy Li and your senior sister treated his injuries?"
Su Su pursed her lips slightly. "No, only Senior Sister Yaoguang, moved by his rescue of the Immortal Sect members, exhausted her spiritual power to heal him."
Cang Hai looked at her in surprise. "Junior Sister Li, you're..."
No wonder he was suspicious—he couldn't help but feel his junior brother and this noble Fairy had something going on. What kind of person was his junior brother? Usually a solitary youth who avoided involvement in anything, yet he'd charged out to clash with that Demonic Cultivator just to save this beautiful maiden.
And this Fairy, though clearly moved to save him, didn't want him to know.
Su Su said, "Please say it like that, Senior Brother. I don't like him and don't wish to have any connection with him."
Cang Hai awkwardly replied, "A-Alright."
Fortunately, his junior brother was unconscious. If he heard her personally return just to say she didn't like him, it would be hard to bear, both for his pride and his heart.
Su Su bowed to Cang Hai and turned to chase after Yaoguang.
She wasn't worried about Cang Hai revealing the truth. Most cultivators valued their promises, and since she'd asked, Cang Hai shouldn't tell Tantai Jin.
The grievances between them were already too tangled to sort out, and Su Su didn't want to add another entry.
Even if they crossed blades next time.
After walking several dozen steps, Su Su coughed softly and opened her hand, revealing it full of blood. Her internal organs were still injured...
Chongyu looked at the blood in Su Su's palm. "You... you're injured too?" Injured, yet she'd exhausted her spiritual power to heal someone else.
At that time, Chongyu had just been born, unfamiliar with human affairs and how to interact with people. It only felt that in that moment, the entire konghou felt distressed.
"S-Sorry, Chongyu didn't know using the Heavy Feather Konghou would hurt Su Su. Chongyu won't be impulsive anymore."
Its voice was milky and young. Originally the last Divine Artifact forged by the Demon King using all the world's treasures to protect his daughter, its voice now sounded dejected, as if crying.
Su Su had indeed suffered backlash from the Chongyu Qin, but she didn't blame it—she simply wasn't strong enough.
She stroked the pendant formed by the Chongyu Qin. "It's not your fault."
Chongyu stared blankly at her gentle expression.
It enlarged, transforming into a flying artifact, and landed beside Su Su. "Chongyu will take Su Su to catch up with Senior Sister Yaoguang!"
Tantai Jin remained injured until Cang Hai brought him back to the Hengyang Sect before he woke up.
Cang Hai held a bowl of medicine brewed from spiritual herbs and helped Tantai Jin sit up.
Tantai Jin sniffed the medicine in the bowl and drank it in one gulp. Moving his wrist, he found his external injuries had improved significantly.
Tantai Jin looked up at Cang Hai, his voice hoarse. "Who treated my wounds?"
Under his gaze, Cang Hai felt immense pressure. Following Su Su's instructions, he said, "Who else? After you saved so many people, that Fairy Yaoguang from Hengyang Sect couldn't stand by. Afraid you'd die in the secret chamber, she quickly treated your wounds."
Tantai Jin remained silent, his hand gripping the medicine bowl tightening.
Cang Hai, unable to retrieve the bowl, felt somewhat guilty. Was it wrong to side with an outsider Fairy over his own junior brother?
Tantai Jin said, "Senior Brother, when you lie and feel guilty, your eyes look to the left, and your right hand reaches for the wine gourd at your waist."Cang Hai: "..." D-Did I?
He scratched his head, finally unable to hold back. Who was Cang Hai? The entire Carefree Sect knew him as the gossip master with a silver tongue!
Cang Hai decided to spill the beans: "Since you've seen through it, I won't hide it from you anymore. It was Fairy Li who asked Fairy Yaoguang to help treat your injuries together."
Sorry, Fairy Li—even if he could keep his mouth shut, his facial expressions were beyond his control. This junior brother was as sharp as they come.
Cang Hai looked at Tantai Jin. So, junior brother, now that you know, what are you going to do?
The young man let out a cold laugh and muttered to himself, "Is she pitying me? Or does she feel guilty because I saved those worthless scum, going against her impartial and selfless path..."
Though Tantai Jin spoke with sarcasm, the corners of his lips involuntarily lifted, and even his eyes brightened slightly.
Cang Hai thought to himself, No matter how harsh the words, he's clearly cheered up.
It took him a moment to react: "Junior brother, what did you say... worthless scum?"
Tantai Jin handed the bowl back to him and calmly explained, "You misheard. I said 'fellow immortals.'"
Cang Hai: "?"
He couldn't resist touching his gourd of wine. Could it be that he wasn't sober yet?
During his recovery, Tantai Jin learned that his master, Immortal Lord Zhao You, had also gone missing.
Cang Hai had kept it from him, fearing he would worry, but in a small place like the Carefree Sect, secrets were hard to keep.
Tantai Jin gazed at the Primordial Chaos Sword by his pillow and recalled the white-haired, white-bearded old man with kind eyes and a benevolent expression.
Zhao You was over three thousand years old this year. His cultivation had stagnated, and his appearance had gradually aged.
When Immortal Lord Zhao You found Tantai Jin, it was autumn. Everything was bleak, and even the ginkgo trees of the Carefree Sect had turned golden. Zhao You conjured a donkey to carry him back to the sect.
At that time, Tantai Jin was covered in blood, with bones visible in many places. Zhao You exhausted his treasured collection to nurse him back to health, and Cang Hai tirelessly cared for Tantai Jin for a long time before his body fully healed.
Zhao You asked him, "What is your name?"
"I don't remember," Tantai Jin replied, looking out the window as disciples flew past on their swords, painting vibrant colors in his eyes. Is this... the Immortal Path?
Zhao You then said, "Whether you don't remember or don't want to recall, it doesn't matter. Since fate has brought you to the Carefree Sect, it proves you belong on the Immortal Path. Would you like to cultivate with me?"
Tantai Jin turned back. He had always been adaptable, with little reverence in his heart, but he spoke respectfully, "Master."
Delighted, Zhao You beamed and had him take his mortal surname, Cang, bestowing upon him the courtesy name Jiumin (pronounced like "min").
It meant "autumn," with another obscure meaning: the highest heavens. Zhao You poured all his efforts into teaching Tantai Jin, hoping his extraordinarily gifted junior disciple would glimpse the path of the Gods.
But now, not only Zhao You, but many from the Immortal Sects had gone missing in the Void. The recently emerged Demon Emperor had thrown the cultivation world into turmoil.
Cang Hai said gloomily, "I heard Gongye Jiewu of the Hengyang Sect was taken by the Demon Emperor. These days, the Hengyang Sect has been searching everywhere for a token to the demon realm to rescue him. Where is our master? Is he safe?"
Tantai Jin watched the herbs swirling in the jade bowl, his gaze darkening as he said, "I'll go find him."
He had to bring that old man back. At his age, letting him die miserably out there would make people think Zhao You's disciples were all dead.
For the Hengyang Sect, recent days had also been clouded in gloom.The sect leader is in seclusion, and whether he can achieve a breakthrough remains unknown. Of Qu Xuanzi's three disciples, the eldest was taken away by the Demon Emperor, and the youngest was severely injured.
Upon hearing that a male disciple from the Carefree Sect had injured Yue Fuyai, Qing Qian, as the law enforcement elder, naturally took charge of the matter in the sect leader's absence. He personally wrote a letter to the Carefree Sect, urging them to severely punish the disciple responsible and seek justice for Fuyai.
Before any response arrived, Su Su and Yaoguang had already left the Hengyang Sect to search for the token to the Demon Realm.
Yaoguang looked haggard: "It's been so long. Could the Demon Emperor have implanted a Demon Core in Gongye Jiewu, turning him into a demon? Or... perhaps he couldn't refine the Demon Core and has already..."
Su Su shared the same worries. She knew that, compared to herself, Yaoguang carried an additional burden of guilt. Su Su comforted her, saying, "Since the Demon Emperor personally took him away, it means he must be of great use to them. They won't harm his life."
Yaoguang choked back tears: "We must find the token quickly to save him."
Su Su nodded.
Yet, saying it was one thing—actually finding the token was far from easy. After the War of Immortals and Demons ten thousand years ago, the Demonic Beasts were forced to retreat into the barren Demon Realm, where the air is foul and cultivation is arduous. Compared to the vast and beautiful realms of immortals and mortals, the Demon Realm is a filthy, cramped existence.
Precisely because of this, the Demon Emperor was able to seal off this small realm. While they could emerge from the Demon Realm, the immortal realm had never ventured there. It was said that only with a Demon Realm token could one enter.
Yaoguang had set out without hesitation, and Su Su, fearing she might do something reckless and also worried about Gongye Jiewu, accompanied her.
"Where could we find a token? Could we capture a Demonic Beast and force it to talk?" Yaoguang asked.
The Demon Emperor had only recently emerged, and the Demonic Beasts were not yet running rampant in the immortal realm. Where could they find a great demon who knew about the Demon Realm token?
Su Su paused, then said softly, "The mortal realm."
It was the place she least wanted to go.
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