Chapter Thirteen: The Second Senior Brother's Entanglement

Fang Li turned to head towards the back mountain when Xie Chen's voice rang out again from behind: "Junior Sister, wait a moment. The market I'm going to is on the same route as the back mountain you've been exploring. In that case, why don't we travel together? It would be good to help each other out, and as fellow disciples, you wouldn't refuse again, would you?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Li couldn't refuse any longer and could only agree to go along.

So the two of them set off one after the other toward the abandoned earth god temple on the back mountain, as the villagers had pointed out.

Xie Chen appeared to be strolling leisurely, waving his jade fan and admiring the mountain scenery, but in reality, his eyes were sharp, subtly scanning the grass, trees, rocks, and soil along the way.

"Huh?" He suddenly stopped by a bush.

Gently parting a few leaves with the tip of a fan, one could see tufts of grayish-black hairs and claw marks almost completely covered by mud.

They were clearer and thicker than the ones we had seen in the village before: "Judging from these marks, these beasts are quite large, and they seem to have been corrupted by some kind of sinister energy, making them extremely restless. Their nest is probably not far from here."

Fang Li glanced at it and confirmed it was true.

She naturally noticed it as well, but Xie Chen's mention of "yin and evil aura" stirred something within her, as it vaguely matched a certain guess in her hazy memory.

"Junior sister, look," Xie Chen had already walked to her side, lightly waving his jade fan, and a few strands of light blue spiritual energy landed on the mouse fur on the ground.

When the spiritual energy touched the mouse fur, it produced tiny specks of light that drifted slowly along the direction of the bamboo forest.

"My 'Demon-Chasing Powder' is useless against formations, but it's convenient for tracking the aura of low-level demons." Xie Chen's fingertip followed the movement of the light spot: "Look, the aura is heading southeast, where the demonic energy is strongest."

Fang Li looked at those drifting points of light, which was indeed much less effort than using her divine sense to search aimlessly.

She didn't say anything more, only saying, "Thank you, senior brother," before turning and following the direction of the light.

Xie Chen followed closely beside him, occasionally tapping the tip of his fan to adjust the trajectory of the light spots. It seemed casual, but he always managed to avoid the thorns and vines in the forest.

Following the guidance of the demonic aura, the two quickly found a hidden cave entrance located under a pile of rocks behind the local temple.

A stench filled the air, and from the dark cave entrance came rustling, teeth-grinding gnawing sounds and violent, squeaking noises.

Xie Chen covered his nose with his fan, took a half step back, and laughed, "When it comes to eliminating demons, it's still more efficient for Junior Sister to take action. I'll stay here to support Junior Sister in case of any unforeseen circumstances."

Fang Li ignored his thoughts, drew her long sword, and without hesitation bent down and crawled into the cave.

The cave was narrow and dark, and the stench was even stronger.

Just as expected, seven or eight large rats, as big as kittens and with red eyes, pounced on them with speed and strength far exceeding that of ordinary wild beasts.

Fang Li was prepared; her sword flashed, and she unleashed her movement technique.

Although her cultivation level was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, her fighting spirit far surpassed that of her peers, and her swordsmanship abandoned all frills, seeking only simplicity and lethality.

The sword's edge slashed precisely across the rat demon's throat, eyes, and other vulnerable areas, accompanied by a piercing scream and the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Xie Chen stood at the cave entrance, his divine sense penetrating into the cave to perceive the battle inside.

His gentle smile remained unchanged, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Fang Li's combat skills, especially his grasp of timing and his ruthlessness, once again exceeded his expectations.

Interesting, really interesting.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the ground was covered with the corpses of the rat demons. The remaining few, seeing that things were not going well, shrieked and scurried towards the cave entrance.

"Trying to run?" Fang Li lightly touched the ground with her toes, chased to the cave entrance, and swept her longsword horizontally, killing the last few rat demons.

Fang Li walked out carrying a blood-dripping longsword. A few drops of blood splattered on her pale blue outfit, and she had a few beads of sweat on her forehead and was breathing slightly short.

She casually flicked the blood off her sword and sheathed it: "It's resolved. There are no more demon rats deep inside the nest, only some gnawed bones and some unusually concentrated yin energy. The source seems to be further down."

She briefly explained the situation inside the cave, her gaze falling on the dark entrance: "This cave doesn't look shallow; there might be a nest inside."

Xie Chen raised an eyebrow: "It's good to go in and take a look, just to avoid future troubles." He took out a luminous pearl, and with the activation of his spiritual power, its light illuminated the cave entrance: "Shall I go down first?"

"No need, I can do it." Fang Li took the luminous pearl and leaped into the cave.

The passage was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. It extended downwards for about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) before suddenly opening up into a naturally formed cellar, about half the size of a room.

The cellar was filled with gnawed bones and chaff, and a few rat nests were scattered in the corners, covered with soft hay.

Fang Li held up the luminous pearl and looked around. The cellar walls were damp and covered with moss.

As you reach the deepest part, the light from the luminous pearl shines on the corner of the stone wall, reflecting a faint glow.

As she approached, she saw that the glowing light came from a crevice in the stone wall, where a piece of mineral the size of a pigeon egg was embedded. It was pale purple in color and covered with fine patterns on its surface.

She had never seen this ore before. It was neither a common spirit stone nor a material for refining weapons. It felt warm to the touch and had faint fluctuations of spiritual energy, but they were extremely weak.

Fang Li was surprised. How could such a thing be hidden in such a remote rat demon's nest?

She carefully used the tip of her sword to pick the ore out of the crack in the rock, held it in her palm, and the warmth spread from her fingertips, calming her spiritual energy, which had become somewhat agitated from the battle.

"What are you looking at, Junior Sister?" Xie Chen's voice came from the entrance of the cave passage, and he followed her down into the cellar.

Fang Li gripped the ore tightly, turning around with a calm expression. "It's nothing, just a strange stone I found on the rock face." She didn't show it directly, but asked casually, "Senior brother, you are very knowledgeable. Do you know of any special minerals near Black Wind Village?"

Xie Chen's gaze lingered for a moment on her tightly clenched hand before shifting away, his smile unchanged: "Black Wind Village is located in a remote area, and I've never heard of any rare mineral deposits. Perhaps it's just an ordinary companion spirit stone that the rat demon accidentally dragged here." He took a few steps closer, his gaze sweeping over the cellar: "The rat demon has been wiped out, so the mission is complete. If Junior Sister finds this stone interesting, feel free to keep it."

Fang Li nodded and put the ore into her storage bag. Indeed, whatever the stone was, the mission was complete, and there was no need to delve into it further.

She turned and walked towards the cave passage: "This place is not safe to stay for long, let's go out first."

Xie Chen followed behind her, gently tapping his palm with his jade fan, his gaze falling on her back, his eyes deepening.

The faint glow emitted by that ore just now was not the aura that ordinary associated spirit stones should have.

This girl is quite lucky.

The two left the cellar and sealed the entrance with rubble.

The villagers were overjoyed to see the rat demon vanquished and wanted to invite them to stay for a meal, but Fang Li declined. She only took the rat demon's inner core, which was needed for the mission, as proof, and then walked back with Xie Chen.