Chapter 38 Times Have Changed

“…Alright,” Qingjue nodded in agreement, but in his heart he was thinking that this was a sacrifice plot no matter how he thought about it, and he was very conflicted. However, he couldn’t make the choice for others, so he could only believe that they could solve it. He said, “Let’s go help Tianyu and the others now.”

So they reluctantly reached an agreement. They first took Mu Yuan back to the Yun family, where the Yun family disciples watched as Mu Yuan slowly removed the black veins from a person's body.

“Then we…” Qingjue got up halfway, just about to leave, when suddenly his expression changed.

Jie Zhoujian: "Master, what's wrong?"

"Unable to contact..."

Yun Yuelin: "With whom?"

“The wild geese have lost their flock, the heavens are filled with whispers, Ruan Linglai, Aju…” Qingjue felt his heart stop beating: “They’re all broken.”

This news also dealt a heavy blow to Jie Zhoujian.

But he calmed down and said, "Master, don't worry. The connection has just been lost, not that they have died. Just like you have many ways to break spirit stones and interfere with the transmission of spiritual energy, they still have your life-saving talisman on them."

"Yes, that's right." Qingjue didn't know why, but he felt very flustered.

That's right, at the very least, he'll know when the life-saving charm is activated.

"Young Master," Yun Xiang said as Mu Yuan was healing her injuries, seeing them about to leave, "Please make sure nothing happens to you."

From their perspective, the old patriarch is already dead, and if something happens to the young patriarch... wouldn't the Yun family be in even greater chaos?

Yun Yue turned around and looked at the Yun family disciples who were looking at her, and said, "I promise, I will definitely come back."

But before he could even leave the Yun family's house, he suddenly coughed up blood and knelt on one knee.

"Young Master Yun!"

"The moon and clouds descend!"

Qingjue and Xie Zhoujian helped him up. Qingjue glanced at the blood he had vomited; it was black.

"Quick..." He turned around to call out to Mu Yuan, but found that everyone in the Yun family who had been infected with the Gu poison had started vomiting blood.

This includes Qing family disciples who were not severely poisoned.

An hour ago.

At the bottom of the valley, Yan Shiqun and Wen Tianyu leaned against the wall, wary of their surroundings.

"Step back behind me, there are people here."

Wen Tianyu also drew his Jiwu, ready to fight at any moment.

Then a black object fell from above. Upon closer inspection in the dim light of the rock wall, it was revealed to be a small demon with a completely black body and two bloody holes in its eyes.

It is crawling towards us in a twisted and bizarre posture.

Just as Yan Shiqun was about to make a move, a sword light flashed, slicing the little black ghost in two. The disgusting body continued to writhe after being split, then turned back into black mist and headed towards one side of the valley.

Before they even had a chance to feel nauseous, they looked toward the direction of the sword light and saw a tall man emerge from the shadows.

Yan Shiqun had seen him before: "...Patriarch Yun?"

Wen Tianyu secretly took off the pendant and put it back on, nodding: "...It's real."

The wild goose whispered, "Don't just pick them all the time."

"It's just to see if it's real or fake, it doesn't matter."

"You two..." The Yun family head had seen them before; they were disciples of Immortal Lord Wuqing. "I thought they were just ordinary people who had wandered in by mistake, but what are Immortal Lord Wuqing's disciples doing here?"

"And why are you here?" Wen Tianyu asked. "Something has happened to the Yun family."

In theory, the head of the household should not be alone in such a place.

“I know. I withdrew my consciousness and feigned death, and used an Earth Travel Talisman to get here. Otherwise, if I hadn’t followed the aura of the Gu poison, I wouldn’t have been able to find this place. So how did you find it?”

Wen Tianyu said, "I am Wen Tianyu. This is my junior brother Yan Shiqun. We are investigating this matter on the orders of our master."

He changed the subject, and the Yun family head didn't ask any further questions, only wondering if the descendants of the Heavenly Eye had truly retained the ability to see.

He only knew that this was the first time they had worked together so closely. Wen Tianyu looked no different from an ordinary cultivator, except for having a white eye, but most people wouldn't associate him with a hundred years ago.

Moreover, each of Wu Qingxianjun's disciples is the subject of much gossip among the common people. There are even rumors that Wu Qingxianjun took a demon full of evil energy as his disciple. Such rumors are bound to contain some fabrication. The common people just spread them for fun, and very few people actually believe them.

“Since we’ve run into each other,” Yan Shiqun said, “let’s go together. Master and the others are still waiting.”

He hates people who dawdle and procrastinate.

“Young friend Yan is right,” the Yun family head sheathed his sword and said, “Since you are Immortal Lord Wu Qing’s disciple, you must also be an outstanding cultivator. I am too old to fight as well as you. I’m sorry to trouble you.”

As Wen Tianyu walked, he scattered talismans, saying, "You flatter me. Thank you for your help earlier."

Yan Shiqun walked at the front. Along the way, the three of them encountered many small black devils like the ones from before. The devils were not strong, and there were not many of them, so they were easy to fight.

After walking a while, the head of the Yun family wanted to say something, but Wen Tianyu stopped him.

He stretched out his hand and clenched his fist, and the talismans he had laid out along the way suddenly exploded.

After a cloud of thick smoke cleared, the mountain remained completely still.

"I cleared away the remaining spiritual energy of others at the bottom of the valley to prevent an ambush. Patriarch Yun, what were you trying to say just now?"

“…Oh,” the Yun family head gave Wen Tianyu an admiring look, then came to his senses and said, “The culprits must know about my faked death. The fact that they let me come here proves that there must be many dangers here. What happened just now was just a small skirmish. I think you two young friends are still very young, so why don’t you go back first…”

“I’m here to complete a mission,” Yan Shiqun stopped ahead, turned around, and gave the Yun family head a rather unfriendly look, but he didn’t lose his temper either. “We will not go back until our objective is achieved.”

Wen Tianyu agreed with this statement and nodded: "Patriarch Yun, there is no need to worry. I set up an array outside before I came, so it will be very convenient to go out. Moreover, Master can sense if anything happens to us."

Seeing this, the head of the Yun family could only nod and say nothing more.

He was only puzzled as to why this young friend Yan had such a strange self-designation.

The further you go in, the hotter and more unbearable it becomes, and the thinner the surrounding air becomes, making it difficult to breathe.

The malevolent aura inside intensified, and danger was slowly approaching.

Upon reaching a circular underground palace, Wen Tianyu stopped in his tracks: "This is it, just like the place I saw before."

However, the stone that Wen Tianyu mentioned was nowhere to be seen, and the place was empty, with nothing but walls.

Wen Tianyu gripped the pendant at her waist tightly and said, "Patriarch Yun, be careful..."

Before he finished speaking, black mist filled the stone wall above his head, and the little devils he had just fought gathered from the black mud on the ground, densely covering the entire ground, layer upon layer, like the bumps on the back of that monster.

"The black aura contains a Gu poison!" The Yun family head deployed a protective barrier in front of the three: "They must not be directly touched!"

"Step back," Yan Shiqun snapped his fingers, and a ring of blazing fire erupted around them, red and hot. "The barrier won't hold for long."

The Yun family head was taken aback, glanced at Yan Shiqun a couple more times, and then dispelled the barrier.

"Leave it to me."

Yan Shiqun stepped forward, and the Blood Lotus reappeared on his forehead, while the baleful aura around him grew wildly.

The Yun family head murmured in surprise, "He..."

Looking at the raging flames before him, Wen Tianyu calmly said, "Junior Brother Ayan's Burning Fire has a remarkable effect on Gu. Master, you can rest assured to leave it to us. You don't need to worry."

Burning Fire is recorded in ancient books. Decades ago, only the Demon Lord of the Demonic Sect successfully cultivated it, and very few people have actually witnessed it.

The next second, flames and black mist clashed, heat against heat, and the wild goose, having lost its flock, burned the entire space, instantly clearing away the imp and black mist before withdrawing its flames.

Yan Shiqun withdrew his hand and clenched his fist, the evil aura dissipating: "Hmph."

It was as ordinary as eating a meal.

The Yun family head had heard from his son that the youngest disciple under the Mist Immortal Lord was too troublesome and couldn't even write properly.

He had always thought that apart from Wen Tianyu's special identity, the others were at most just ordinary children with some talent.

...Excuse me, did you just call this Fire user who burned down the entire valley floor "Junior Brother"?

"A mere trick," Yan Shiqun said, taking two more steps forward with a menacing air, "Why don't you reveal your true form?"

The black mist on the stone wall fell downwards, but this time it did not attack.

A man in black stood calmly in the black mist; only when the black mist dissipated could his true face be seen.

Who is it?

I don't know him.

"Hahaha," the man in black laughed three times, saying, "You've really barged into the gates of hell—I am..."

Wen Tianyu took out a string of Buddhist beads, drew several talismans in the air, and the beads spread out to form an array around the black-clad man in the middle.

At the same time, Yan Shiqun drew his sword and stepped forward, attacking without saying a word.

"I am……"

"I……"

"%……￥# Can't you listen to people...!"

Yan Shiqun sent him flying with a single sword strike, and a burst of fire engulfed him. Had the opponent not dodged quickly enough, he would have been burned to ashes.

Wen Tianyu seized the opportunity to lock onto him, and with a flick of her wrist, the Buddhist beads gathered around him and exploded.

The Yun family head even considered putting away his sword: "..."

Actually, what he said before was all flattery. Ever since he sensed something was wrong, he came here prepared to die. He even left his will for Yun Yuelin. He never thought about going back alive.

...It seems we won't need it anymore.

Wen Tianyu sealed the formation and said, "Alright, junior brother, leave him a breath."

With a snort, Yan Shiqun withdrew and retreated.

The prayer beads fell around and transformed into a small protective barrier, completely enveloping the people.

The man in black stood up in pain, wiped the dust and wounds from his face, and smiled eerily despite his bruised and swollen face.

"Alright...you two brats..."

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, then continue,” Yan Shiqun said fearlessly, turning his sword to point in that direction. “Otherwise, I don’t mind burning you along with me.”

“If he refuses to yield and we can’t get any information out of him,” Wen Tianyu nodded, “there’s really no use keeping him around—but there’s a forbidden formation that can force him to talk, though the method is a bit cruel.”

"..." The man in black's lips twitched.

He miscalculated.

He never expected that the era of cultivation had changed.

What the hell are these monsters?

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Author's note: I forgot to set the timer, uh... (slides to his knees)