Chapter 25

Such a tragic outcome both surprised Chun Chou and yet felt somewhat expected.

However, since both of them were injured, Chun Chou immediately stepped forward and pushed Ling Wuji’s wheelchair inside, while also calling out to Liu Ting’er beside them.

“Miss Liu, you should come in as well. When it gets light tomorrow, you can go back to your… your residence.”

Liu Ting’er subconsciously stepped back. She forced a smile, but in the end said, “No need. Canglan City is much safer than the Ten Thousand Demon Forest. I—I’ll return home.”

After saying this, she turned and left.

Chun Chou had already pushed Ling Wuji through the gate. Hearing this, he turned his head, but only saw the young girl’s departing figure.

He frowned slightly.

Ling Wuji held Chun Chou’s hand and said, “No need to worry about her. She is not an ordinary child.”

The meaning was obvious.

Chun Chou understood this as well. Qiao Linglong had been a clever and perceptive person, yet she had died in the Ten Thousand Demon Forest. Liu Ting’er, on the other hand, was only twelve years old and had still survived. How could she possibly be a simple child?

Chun Chou therefore stopped worrying about Liu Ting’er and closed the gate, pushing Ling Wuji into the bedroom on the first floor.

He directly lifted Ling Wuji horizontally and placed him onto the bed.

Ling Wuji: “……”

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Chun Chou’s hand reaching toward his belt!

Ling Wuji immediately grabbed Chun Chou’s hand and pretended to remain calm.

“Chun Chou, don’t worry. My injuries aren’t too serious, and they’re all on my chest. I’ll undo my clothes myself and show you.”

Only then did Chun Chou release his hand and watch Ling Wuji loosen his own robes.

The young man’s originally firm and smooth chest now bore a deep saber wound, along with two claw marks. There were also injuries on both of his arms, though those were not very serious.

Chun Chou frowned when he saw them.

“You ran into demon beasts as well?”

He then personally cleaned, disinfected, applied medicine to, and rebandaged Ling Wuji’s wounds.

Ling Wuji’s expression was somewhat complicated. But the memory of Chun Chou’s anger from several days earlier was still fresh in his mind, so he did not dare conceal too much this time and tried to speak as truthfully as possible.

Seven days earlier, when Ling Wuji, Liu Ting’er, and Qiao Linglong had just left the city, they had already been followed.

Qiao Linglong had been correct. Of the four people who had previously ambushed them, the remaining two—a female cultivator in red and a male cultivator in blue who favored women—had left something on Qiao Linglong and Liu Ting’er. Perhaps a restriction spell, or perhaps tracking powder. Fighting was forbidden inside Canglan City, but once they left the city, the two naturally followed.

At first they merely followed from afar, seemingly trying to intimidate the three of them.

Only after the three had separated somewhat from other cultivators at the outer area of the Ten Thousand Demon Forest did the two suddenly appear and begin fighting them.

The battle was not as dangerous as Ling Wuji had imagined beforehand.

Although the female cultivator had reached the tenth level of Qi Refining and the male cultivator the ninth level, and their methods were both vicious and tricky with many artifacts in use, Ling Wuji possessed the jade flute and the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles. He could also throw talismans whenever he had the chance.

Liu Ting’er fought just as ruthlessly and even had a spirit beast assisting her.

Meanwhile, Qiao Linglong was intelligent and cautious.

For a time, the five of them were evenly matched.

Seeing this, a trace of ruthlessness flashed in the female cultivator’s eyes. She immediately took out a whistle from her sleeve and blew it.

Soon, a cultivator at the early stage of Foundation Establishment arrived laughing to assist them.

Ling Wuji and the other two immediately realized things were going badly and turned to flee.

It was at that moment that Qiao Linglong was struck across the neck by the Foundation Establishment cultivator’s blade and died instantly.

When Ling Wuji and Liu Ting’er later found the place again, they encountered only several vultures feeding.

At that moment, Ling Wuji had a slight chance to save her.

But Liu Ting’er was also in danger at the same time. Her spirit beast had been killed by the red-robed female cultivator, and she was ambushed by the blue-robed male cultivator.

Ling Wuji chose without hesitation to save Liu Ting’er.

There was no other reason—he still needed Liu Ting’er to reveal the remaining parts of the Blood Servant Technique.

Thus he abandoned Qiao Linglong, who had actually been closer to him at that moment, and instead rushed to save Liu Ting’er. At the same time he fired the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles that Chun Chou had soaked in fish-stunning vine poison.

The blue-robed male cultivator’s movements paused slightly. Seizing the opportunity, Liu Ting’er thrust her sword through him and killed him.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator and the red-robed woman immediately flew into a rage and relentlessly pursued the fleeing Ling Wuji and Liu Ting’er.

During the chase, Ling Wuji and Liu Ting’er first used clever tactics to heavily injure the red-robed woman.

Only then did the two of them face the Foundation Establishment cultivator together.

Two Qi Refining cultivators fighting a Foundation Establishment cultivator naturally suffered greatly.

Liu Ting’er nearly died, and even Ling Wuji was unable to save her in time, barely able to protect himself.

But Liu Ting’er seemed to possess some valuable treasures. After taking a pill, she rose again. Using the blood from the tip of her heart, she forcibly contracted a demon beast in the Ten Thousand Demon Forest and fought alongside it against the Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In the end, after a perilous battle, the two of them and the beast finally killed the Foundation Establishment cultivator and finished off the red-robed woman.

However, Liu Ting’er had forcibly contracted a leopard from the Ten Thousand Demon Forest. The beast had strong attack power but a wild temperament and was already fully grown.

After the Foundation Establishment cultivator died, the leopard turned on Liu Ting’er, attempting to kill the cultivator who had dared contract it.

Ling Wuji took two claw strikes while rescuing Liu Ting’er.

But at the same time, he killed the leopard.

Within a single day, Liu Ting’er had faced life-and-death danger several times. Her spirit beast and the temporarily contracted demon beast had both died, and she herself was severely injured.

She immediately fainted.

Ling Wuji stored the bodies of all the people and demon beasts at the scene in a storage talisman, took Liu Ting’er away from the area, hid for another two or three days, and only then left the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Demon Forest.

…

While listening, Chun Chou noticed that Ling Wuji avoided mentioning how many times he himself had been injured.

He instead looked at Ling Wuji’s robe.

It was the ordinary defensive robe issued to employees of the Canglan City Lord’s Manor, now somewhat damaged.

Chun Chou owned two such robes. At the time, feeling uneasy, he had given one to Ling Wuji.

However, Ling Wuji also possessed another defensive robe worth eight hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Yet Ling Wuji had not worn that one—he wore this one instead.

Clearly, that robe worth eight hundred spirit stones, capable of blocking three attacks from a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, had already been destroyed beyond use.

It must have been so.

Otherwise Ling Wuji’s chest would not have been injured so severely.

But since Ling Wuji refused to say how many times he had nearly died escaping danger, Chun Chou did not press further.

After giving him a pill to restore vitality, Chun Chou stood up and told him to rest for several days.

Suddenly, Ling Wuji grabbed Chun Chou’s hand.

Chun Chou felt something placed in his palm.

Opening his hand, he saw a blood-red seed the size of a peanut.

Ling Wuji said,

“This is the seed of a man-eating flower.”

The Blood Servant Technique recorded that the seeds of man-eating flowers were extremely rare and also among the most suitable attack seeds for beginners learning the technique.

Chun Chou immediately understood that Ling Wuji must have hidden something from him before.

Ling Wuji then took several sheets of paper from his storage ring.

They were written in the same handwriting and on the same paper as the Blood Servant Technique.

“Liu Ting’er gave them to me.”

He did not say how he had obtained them.

For a moment, Chun Chou felt both angry and annoyed.

In the end he could only accept the items and sigh.

“Rest properly for a few days.”

Then he muttered,

“If you keep this up, I’ll go ask Liu Ting’er what exactly happened to you two.”

Ling Wuji smiled.

“I’m afraid she’ll leave Canglan City early tomorrow morning.”

Chun Chou: “???”

He tucked the blanket around Ling Wuji.

“You’re home now. Sleep well. Don’t think about anything else.”

Seeing Ling Wuji still unwilling to close his eyes, Chun Chou added,

“I’ll put the seed away and activate the house’s defensive formation. Then I’ll come keep you company.”

Only then did Ling Wuji close his eyes.

When Chun Chou returned, Ling Wuji was already sleeping deeply.

He climbed onto the inner side of the bed beside Ling Wuji.

After a moment, he too fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Liu Ting’er cautiously returned to the residence she had shared with Qiao Linglong.

After activating the defensive formation, she sat down on a meditation cushion and gave a bitter smile while pouring out pills for herself.

She had truly thought things too simply—and had greatly overestimated the advantage of her rebirth.

Since being reborn, everything had gone smoothly for her. She had not encountered any great dangers.

But this time she had never expected that the enemy, though rogue cultivators, could actually hire a Foundation Establishment cultivator to assist them.

Moreover, the red-robed female cultivator and blue-robed male cultivator had spent the time while following her and Qiao Linglong learning nearly everything about their abilities.

Thus, when the battle began and the Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived, she and Qiao Linglong had nearly died immediately.

Fortunately, she was still useful to Ling Wuji.

Ling Wuji had risked taking a strike from the Foundation Establishment cultivator in order to save her.

Later he had even saved her again from the claws of the demon leopard she had temporarily contracted.

However, Ling Wuji had not saved her out of kindness.

Liu Ting’er understood this clearly.

At that time in the Ten Thousand Demon Forest, she had been severely injured, while Ling Wuji—protected by that obviously expensive defensive robe—had suffered serious injuries but could still move with relative ease in the outer forest.

Seeing this, Liu Ting’er, as soon as she woke up and before even swallowing a pill, handed Ling Wuji the pages of the Blood Servant Technique that she had secretly kept.

She also told him the location of the spirit seed she knew about and offered to personally lead him there.

In Liu Ting’er’s view, she and Ling Wuji had both come from the Immortal-Mortal Realm.

Five of them had arrived together, and now only three remained.

Even if they had no particular friendship, there was no real enmity either.

Surely he would not do anything to her.

Besides, Ling Wuji was only an eighteen-year-old boy.

With the experience of an extra lifetime, Liu Ting’er believed that leaving the forest alive and unharmed should not have been difficult.

However, she was still careless.

After she brought Ling Wuji to find the seeds of the man-eating flower, Liu Ting’er suddenly felt a chill at the back of her neck. At that moment, Ling Wuji began playing his jade flute.

Liu Ting’er immediately realized that Ling Wuji intended to kill her.

She could not understand why. In the cultivation world, many rogue cultivators killed others to seize their treasures—it was common enough. But this boy who had only recently entered the cultivation world, a boy who in her eyes was only obsessed with the person he loved—why would he suddenly want to kill her?

Enduring the stabbing pain in her divine sense, she shouted loudly, questioning Ling Wuji.

Ling Wuji’s face remained expressionless. He paid no attention to Liu Ting’er’s shouting. Only when the pain in her divine sense became so intense that she collapsed to the ground, unable to crawl back up, did he lower the jade flute. Then he released eighteen Storm Pear Blossom Needles at her.

Liu Ting’er could no longer move. Leaning against the tree, she looked at Ling Wuji in disbelief.

“W-why?”

In her mind, Ling Wuji had absolutely no reason or need to kill her.

Sliding his wheelchair forward, Ling Wuji slowly approached her and said coldly,

“The way you looked at him was wrong.”

Liu Ting’er froze for a moment, then immediately understood who the “him” Ling Wuji referred to was.

“If there had been no opportunity, that would be one thing. But now that the perfect chance has appeared, why should I keep you alive? Don’t talk about grand principles. In the cultivation world, the strong are respected. And since it is for him, there is nothing I wouldn’t do—and I would never regret it.”

As he spoke, a fireball talisman appeared between his slender fingers.

Liu Ting’er immediately shouted, “I know where Xie Youyou is right now!”

Hearing this, Ling Wuji gave a soft laugh and took out another fireball talisman.

Liu Ting’er: “……”

She could hardly believe it. But her mind raced, and she shouted again,

“Chun Chou! I know how Chun Chou’s spiritual roots can be improved. And his space-type spiritual root—I know of a treasure that can allow his space spiritual root to be used!”

Only then did Ling Wuji withdraw the fireball talisman between his fingers.

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