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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
The cave was not very deep, and the light inside was dim, with a faint scent of wild beasts lingering in the air.
I laid Yunxi on the ground and untied the Crimson Silk from my arm. Her arm had turned purple; if I continued to tighten it, it could lead to necrosis, leaving her a cripple. I used Dao Qi to expel the fire poison from her arm, retrieving the Millennium Medicine King Ointment from my Qi Sea. I fed half of it into Yunxi's mouth and applied the other half to her arm.
As the Dao Qi entered her body and flowed along Yunxi's Meridians, I discovered that fire poison had also invaded her heart pulse and major acupoints.
The Millennium Medicine King Ointment was a slow-acting antidote and would not yield immediate results. Looking at the empty medicine bottles scattered around, I placed Yunxi on the ground, took off my clothes to cover her, and then stepped out of the cave.
It had been an unknown amount of time since Azure Cloud Mountain was bombed. As I passed by the riverbank, I saw corpses floating downstream.
I found some detoxifying herbs in the forest and scanned the mountaintop, but there were no signs of human presence anywhere.
Upon returning to the cave, I saw a white tiger crouching beside Yunxi, sniffing her. It seemed to know that she had been poisoned and did not attempt to eat her.
When the white tiger spotted me, its expression turned fierce, and it lunged at me.
This tiger was massive, about the size of an ox; a single swipe could break a tree branch. I dodged to the side and said to the white tiger, "I'm just temporarily borrowing your cave. If you can understand me, stay put. If you dare disturb me again, don't blame me for killing you; I'm quite hungry myself."
The white tiger roared angrily and lunged at me again. I shouted back and punched it squarely on the head. The tiger stumbled and fell to the ground, blood streaming from its mouth and nose. It staggered back up but collapsed again shortly after, dying within moments.
It is rare for living beings to become spirits; this white tiger could not understand human speech, leaving me no choice but to kill it.
I skinned the enormous white tiger and laid Yunxi on its pelt. Then I chewed the detoxifying herbs into a paste and applied it to her arm, using Dao Qi to infuse the medicinal properties into her arm before circulating it throughout her body.
That night, Yunxi woke up and saw me sitting cross-legged at the cave entrance. She softly called out, "Yang Hao."
I quickly turned around to help her sit up. "Yunxi, you're awake."
Yunxi nodded and asked, "How did we end up here?"
I recounted the events following the explosion at Azure Cloud Mountain to Yunxi. Her expression darkened as she said, "The Azure Cloud Sect has been destroyed, but it's a pity that the culprit remains unknown."
I replied, "Once your injuries heal, we will investigate together."
Yunxi nodded. Noticing the scattered medicine bottles on the ground, she asked, "Are these your miraculous potions?"
I confirmed, "These are the Stalactite Ointment cultivated by Medicine King Senior for a thousand years. It can heal both internal and external injuries and also detoxify."
Yunxi remarked, "It's a shame to use it on me; the poison of True Fire of Taiyi cannot be cured, not even by Holy Medicine. Otherwise, the Underworld Sect wouldn't have allied to attack the Five Poisons Cult and bring about its downfall."
I assured her, "It is possible. The effect of Medicine King's ointment is somewhat slow, but if that doesn't work, my blood has detoxifying properties as well. I once consumed a Human Pill crafted by Medicine King Senior over his lifetime; it made me immune to all poisons, and my blood can counteract fire poison."
Yunxi looked at me with weary eyes, her face pale as death. I fed her some water and watched her drift off to sleep. Only after she was fully asleep did I step out of the cave, feeling a deep sorrow in my heart.
Yunxi's poison had already seeped into her bloodstream; her internal organs were deeply affected. Although Daoists can cultivate abilities to transcend earthly limitations and concoct miraculous pills, the fire poison of True Fire of Taiyi was too tyrannical. It infected her blood and spread through every vein; as long as Yunxi's blood circulated, there was no way to expel the Poison Fire.
I ventured into the nearby woods to gather some sweet wild fruits. When Yunxi awoke, I fed her a few pieces, but she vomited them back up almost immediately. After that, she mumbled a few words to me before slipping back into unconsciousness.
As night fell, I gazed at the bright moon in the sky while hearing Yunxi's murmurs from within the cave.
In this world, there is no strong-willed woman who does not need care from others. Yunxi had witnessed her respected master being injured by her father and the Elders working together, forced to pass on his powers to her. She had also seen her parents separated by distance, living out their days without contact until they passed away in despair.
She closed off her heart and froze her emotions; since then, she rarely smiled or spoke.
As a guardian of Azure Cloud Mountain and the foremost expert of Azure Cloud Sect, she stood out too much and seldom interacted with anyone.
Yunxi called out various names in her sleep, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Eventually, she began to repeatedly murmur one name: Yang Hao.
The Crimson Silk on Yunxi's body occasionally fluttered, and stones around her would rise intermittently. I recalled reading a Dao Book in the Inner Sect Scripture Repository at Azure Cloud Mountain that mentioned how Daoists might experience a phenomenon of dispersing their powers before death; those whose Dao Qi was uncontrolled could even harm those around them.
I stood at the entrance of the cave when I suddenly heard footsteps approaching. I opened my eyes and looked out into the night; the figure appeared to be badly injured and unsteady on his feet. As he came into view, I recognized him as the Third Elder.
I walked over to the Third Elder, standing on the treetop, and said, "Your bones are quite tough; it seems that even this couldn't kill you."
Upon seeing me in the moonlight, the Third Elder squinted and said, "You little bastard! You really choose to wander into a place where you don't belong! With your mere Foundation Establishment Realm, I see you..."
Just then, his expression changed. He furrowed his brow and asked, "How have your skills grown so quickly? Divine Transformation Realm?"
I replied, "There are many ways to disguise one's cultivation level. The more books you read, the more you learn."
The Third Elder snorted and said, "So what if you're in the Divine Transformation Realm? I'm an Old Man at the Core Formation Stage; killing you is no different from killing a baby. Hand over that Zhou Compass on you, and I might consider leaving your corpse intact."
I shook my head and said, "You're quite confident, aren't you, Third Elder? Just open your eyes and see how your power pales in comparison to mine!"
With that, I leaped down from the treetop and threw a punch aimed at the Third Elder's face. He grunted and gathered his energy in both palms to push against me. My fist pierced through his palms and struck him down, sending a gust of wind that shattered a thick tree behind him.
The Third Elder's eyes widened as he knelt on the ground in pain, veins bulging on his forehead.
I grabbed his hair and dragged him toward the cave.
I pressed my hand against my chest, grimacing in pain. Earlier, Nangong had shattered my ribs; although I possessed a Taoist Sacred Body that allowed for rapid healing, it wasn't enough to fully recover in such a short time. Using all my strength had broken through the Third Elder's protective Dao Qi but had inevitably torn open my chest again, causing old wounds to flare up.
When we returned to the cave, Yunxi had just woken up. I tossed the Third Elder at the entrance and helped Yunxi sit up. "Yunxi, look who I've brought."
Yunxi looked coldly at the Third Elder and said, "I never expected you, as an elder of discipline, would stoop so low as to join the Serpent Cult and become their lapdog."
The Third Elder replied, "Yunxi, I had no choice. The Azure Cloud Sect is declining under Yun Donglai's leadership. The Serpent Cult is powerful and has long intended to swallow up our sect. Your internal fire poison has already invaded your heart veins; if you come with me to find Nangong now, there may still be hope for you."
Yunxi responded sharply, "Back then, you conspired to kill the Old Sect Leader because he wanted to sell out the Azure Cloud Sect to the Serpent Cult. Now that the Serpent Cult has grown powerful, you're trying to kill Yun Donglai for opposing that betrayal? Don't you think that's hypocritical?"
"I..." The Third Elder was at a loss for words, giving himself two slaps across the face. "Yunxi, for the sake of your Uncle who has watched you grow up, spare my life. I am tired of the deceit in the Daoist World. Let me go, and I won't join the Serpent Cult. I will settle down in the countryside and live a quiet life for a few years."
"Get lost!" Yunxi closed her eyes, her voice slightly breathless.
The Third Elder thanked her and walked out of the cave.
Yunxi turned to me and said, "Aren't you going to ask why I let him go?"
I shook my head. "As long as you're happy."
Yunxi's face was pale. She smiled at me and said, "Thank you."
I patted Yunxi's head, noticing her weary expression. I knew she had been suppressing the poison within her; otherwise, with the True Fire of Taiyi's toxicity, she would have been dead by now.
After Yunxi fell asleep, I vanished from the cave. At that moment, the Third Elder had already escaped to another mountain forest when a shadow appeared before him. "Third Elder, you run pretty fast."
Seeing it was me, the Third Elder said, "Yang Hao, what do you mean? Yunxi has already let me go; what do you want?"
I replied, "You think I can let you off after your betrayal against Qingyun and your attempt to kill me? You were responsible for isolating Yunxi as well. After all, Yunxi is a woman; she spared you for being the last elder of Azure Cloud Sect, but I'm not a living Buddha."
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