Gong Xiaoran blinked, looked at the mess on the ground and the scarf on Chu Yao's body, then realized that she should be refining equipment.

"What kind of magic weapon is this?"

"Chu Yaoyao's secret little scarf... No kidding, I just made it randomly and didn't know how powerful it was, so I asked you to try it." Chu Yao tugged at the scarf and felt that it was strong enough, but she didn't know if its effect would be what she expected.

"Okay, then I'll do it?"

"Don't hold back, I can handle it."

Gong Xiaoran nodded, she staggered her steps, one hand in front and the other behind, and a water-blue light began to emanate from her body.

Spiritual light continued to gather in her hands, and countless water droplets with gurgling bubbles instantly condensed in her palms, and finally turned into a slender water sword.

"Stab!" Gong Xiaoran shouted softly, and his body suddenly jumped up, with an indomitable momentum, holding the water sword and heading straight for Chu Yao's chest.

Chu Yao infused a trace of spiritual power into the silver-gray scarf and observed its changes with anticipation.

She wasn't worried that Gong Xiaoran's cultivation was not enough, after all, the gap between their cultivation levels was there. She was just afraid that after refining the scarf for a long time, it would just be a mere decoration.

The scarf was activated by Chu Yao's spiritual power. After sensing the approaching attack, red and purple smoke suddenly appeared on its surface, like two long eels swaying in the water.

Two streams of smoke expanded in an instant, and the scarf danced in the wind, becoming half a person's height, like a piece of silk, blocking Chu Yao in front of him.

Ghostly figures were still floating on the silk, and if you listened carefully, you could even hear a sharp whistling sound. Gong Xiaoran's water sword struck its surface, but it was unable to shake it at all. The two smoke streams even circled and climbed towards the water sword.

Gong Xiaoran's face changed and he immediately stopped the spell. The scarf returned to its original shape and was wrapped around Chu Yao's neck.

"How much effort did you use?"

"Eighty percent."

Chu Yao took off the scarf, held it in her hand, looked at it left and right, and nodded with satisfaction.

It looks pretty good. Judging from the way it looks, it can probably at least withstand a full-strength attack from a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator. Even if it encounters a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it can serve as a backup to prevent a sneak attack.

She was just about to chat with Gong Xiaoran for a few more words, but her expression suddenly changed. Without saying anything, she sat cross-legged on the ground and began to regulate her breathing. Chu Yao was shocked to see black smoke coming out of her arm.

"What's wrong? What's the problem?"

"Your scarf... is poisonous!" Gong Xiaoran gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words, sweat already on his forehead.

"Ah, Xiaoran, hold on!" Chu Yao immediately took out the detoxification pill from the storage bag and stuffed it into Gong Xiaoran's mouth, then pressed a few acupoints on her body and used spiritual power to guide and comb her meridians.

After working for a long time, they finally eliminated the poison from Gong Xiaoran's body, and he fell limply to the ground.

She glanced at Chu Yao with resentment in her eyes: "If you want to kill me, just say so."

"Mistake, mistake! Xiaoran, don't be angry..." Chu Yao patted Gong Xiaoran's back and smoothed his hair.

"If this continues, I will be killed by the things you two sisters refine sooner or later...Your Tianyin Sect is really too evil."

——

After everything was ready, Chu Yao set out again to find his disciples.

She arrived at Lian Jining's manor a day in advance and waited until the next morning. After seeing him drive out, she used invisibility to sneak into his villa.

In fact, there was no need for invisibility, because Chu Yao found that there was no one else in his house except him.

Originally, Chu Yao was thinking of sending two younger sisters to keep an eye on the association, but after learning that this person had some cultivation skills, she gave up the idea.

It's not easy for ordinary people to follow monks. The slightest mistake will bring disaster upon themselves.

The villa had three floors, and Chu Yao quickly toured it. Aside from the somewhat plain decor, it seemed no different from other villas and manors.

But she didn't believe it was that simple.

Standing in the center of the reception room on the first floor, he made hand gestures, filled his eyes with spiritual energy, and his foundation-building consciousness instantly spread across the entire manor with Chu Yao as the center.

The ripples of the fountain pool, the fluttering butterflies in the courtyard, the dew dripping from the branches and leaves... everything in the manor was within her field of vision, every detail clearly visible.

After careful investigation, I found something strange.

When Chu Yao wanted to send his spiritual consciousness deeper into the ground, he felt considerable resistance, like a paper knife hitting a hard wall, unable to advance at all.

Sure enough, there is something strange underground!

There are many ways to block the invasion of spiritual consciousness, but this is the first time I have encountered such a method in the Tianren City where spiritual practice is not popular!

What secrets does Professor Lian hide?

Chu Yao was not in a hurry to find the underground entrance, but instead set up some small restrictions at the gate of the manor and the main entrance of the villa.

These restrictions are not meant to hurt people, but to serve as a reminder, to ensure that if someone suddenly breaks in, you will be aware.

The grass outside the house was natural, with no signs of a well or anything like that. There was no entrance to the house either. Since we've confirmed there's something underground, there must be a secret passage inside the villa!

She conducted a quick and thorough carpet search on the first floor and finally found something unusual in the second room on the west corridor.

This seems to be a study, with the door and window facing each other and bookshelves on both sides.

The bookshelf is filled with various miscellaneous books, as well as some antiques and collectibles.

What is strange is that there is thick dust on the bookshelves on both sides, but there is only a small vase on the second layer of the bookshelf on the right side without any dust at all, and the area around the vase is as clean as new.

Chu Yao thought for a moment, but didn't act rashly. Instead, he used the wall-walking technique and took a tentative walk on the floor of the study—his body suddenly became shorter.

Humph, there is indeed a way.

If she guessed correctly, the vase was the mechanism to open the secret passage on the ground.

But she still chose to go through the wall because she didn't know whether opening the mechanism without permission would trigger any alarm.

Chu Yao slowly and tentatively moved forward, and one of her feet touched another lower level of ground. It seemed that this was a step leading downwards.

With continuous exploration, Chu Yao's entire body dived into the underground secret passage. After his entire body was in the new space, he lifted the spell.

The stairs were long, narrow on both sides, and the environment was extremely dark, without even a light. However, Chu Yao could still see clearly.

This was actually a spiral staircase that spiraled downwards. The further Chu Yao went down, the brighter the scene seemed to become. It seemed that there was a light source at the bottom.

Finally she reached a door.

It was a very ordinary security door, the kind that opened with a key. On either side of the door hung short white wall lamps, their pale glow adding a touch of chill to the underground.

Chu Yao frowned, she smelled a familiar scent.

It was the same smell she'd often smelled while in the hospital. Like disinfectant, but much stronger, with a hint of decay and sourness.

These smells rushed into Chu Yao's nose through the crack in the door, giving her a bad feeling.

(End of this chapter)