Chapter 7 Punishment "Senior brother, you don't need to avoid me anymore."...

He moved extremely fast.

When the sword formation was set up, the ice-blue array crisscrossed the land, clashing with the blood-red array on the stone wall that was used by the demonic land to trap the cultivators.

The light shone brightly, and Zhou Fuling squinted her eyes.

The demonic creatures surged forth like a dark, surging tide, their chilling cries and sinister eyes fixed on their prey. Zhou Fuling had witnessed thousands of cultivators perish instantly in such a situation.

But Xu Qingning, wielding his longsword, cleaved through the demonic currents as if entering an empty field.

But for some reason, he shook his head, as if his spiritual energy was unstable.

Zhou Fuling: What's wrong with you?

"Minor injury. It's nothing serious."

Zhou Fuling squinted. It was definitely not harmless.

In her memory, Xu Qingning was the kind of person who would pretend to be perfectly fine even when he was covered in wounds. When she first took him in, he walked with her in the snow with a cold face, seemingly unaffected. However, he fell into a coma as soon as they returned to their shelter.

Zhou Fuling lifted his clothes, revealing that his wounds had reopened and were festering. She was so disgusted that she almost left.

If Xu Qingning can show it, he must be seriously injured.

But who could possibly hurt Xu Qingning?

Xu Qingning has now reached the first rank again.

Suddenly, a furious roar, like a mountain collapsing or a tsunami, erupted as the demonic tide opened its blood-red maw and lunged at the two of them.

Bang!

At the critical moment, a formation appeared at the tip of Xu Qingning's sword, and Zhou Fuling was thrown out.

...

Monsters are a scourge upon this world.

The origin of this calamity lies in the chaotic world three thousand years ago.

In chaotic times, some go mad, some become selfish. A madman who lost his power turned into a selfish person, despicably opening a well in the human world that connected him to demons, in exchange for three thousand years of bloodshed and struggle for the human race.

Zhou Fuling, however, was not among them. She did not struggle.

Her fingers pressed against the ground, dust clinging to her cheeks, and she slowly rose to her feet.

The hills were green, and the sky was blue. She looked up and realized she was outside the cave. Due to the limitations of the formation, she couldn't be teleported too far. She was right above the cave where Xu Qingning was fighting.

The eerie mist swirled and lingered everywhere, like the walls of a prison, making it impossible to escape, but it wasn't as dangerous as before.

Zhou Fuling looked down through the crack in the rock.

Xu Qingning is slaying demons.

Zhou Fuling whispered, "[Come here.]"

The eerie sounds were the hissing of snakes.

The word "come here" was not spoken to Xu Qingning, but to all the demons of Kang Huangzhai.

[come over. ]

She led all the demons of Kanghuangzhai over.

The demonic tide surged like a flood.

Xu Qingning's eyebrows were stained with blood as he frowned and stared at the demonic tide. He was still coughing due to injuries of unknown cause.

Zhou Fuling always enjoyed seeing Xu Qingning in a sorry state, so she stood with her hands behind her back, observing coldly.

Xu Qingning was indeed a born demon slayer. He possessed two bloodlines: one from the powerful demon-slaying Xu family, and the other from the proud and arrogant Xia family of the Western Continent.

A little blood was visible on Xu Qingning's sword. His shoulder blades bulged, his hands were taut, and he would occasionally close his eyes. His face was pale, but his gaze was sharp as a sword.

Another loud bang!

As the metal and stone clashed, Xu Qingning's sword pierced through the great demon's armor-like scales, tearing apart its demonic aura.

He escaped!

Zhou Fuling stepped onto the stones.

However, he seemed to be in great pain, and the sword remained stuck in the ground.

He seems to have been poisoned.

Taking advantage of Xu Qingning's weakness, Zhou Fuling's demonic energy burrowed towards him—

Like a hook or a thorn, yet silent.

Xu Qingning was already injured and had just exhausted her spiritual energy, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Zhou Fuling's demonic aura had also successfully penetrated deep into her divine consciousness.

But then she suddenly opened her eyes wide.

How could that be?

Deep within Xu Qingning's consciousness, a cold, dark magic seal was etched.

The continuous light of the spiritual veins obscured the mark like mist, but the character "囚" (prisoner) could be vaguely seen engraved on it.

But Zhou Fuling was extremely familiar with the aura emanating from it!

...

"Why do you want to become stronger?" she asked.

“Because you become stronger, you have privileges.” Her loved one hugged her with a smile, and the snowflakes gradually stopped. “People without privileges live a miserable life. It’s better for them to be dead than alive. The ideas of those Han Party members are ridiculous.”

Who is Han Gang?

"A bunch of 'kind-hearted' fools whose arrogance has faded and who are struggling to survive. They will soon disappear."

Soon after, her relatives served her warm soup, and her father brought out a bright rabbit lantern.

Her older sister pulled her along, running through the snow. Amidst the fiery red glow of the snow-covered trees, they left a trail of footprints.

Suddenly, the older sister turned on the lamp that the servant had brought.

"I will not use things that lowly commoners use!"

The golden knife in my sister's hand gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

...

Towering trees and drifting green clouds.

Xu Qingning vomited, her lips trembling.

He was teleported out as well, arriving next to Zhou Fuling. He was clearly unwell, but he managed to get out in time.

Zhou Fuling tried to help Xu Qingning up, but Xu Qingning said, "No need."

He seemed to sense that something was wrong.

Demonic energy spread out all around, enveloping the entire mountain like a cage.

The jade tablet has also become invalid. This is common in demonic lands. Demonic lands use esoteric arts as their basic techniques to trap cultivators.

Seeing that they could not contact the outside world, Xu Qingning whispered, "Use talismans to protect us. Go to the mountains to hide."

After saying this, he continued coughing, but eventually the longsword fell to the ground, and he fainted.

In front of Zhou Fuling, he closed his eyes, his face pale, like a sleeping child.

As instructed by Xu Qingning, she dragged him to a cave to hide.

After she went in, she used a cleansing talisman, placed Xu Qingning on a rock, and then lowered her head.

She planned to invade his consciousness.

Find out what he's thinking.

They also investigated the origin of that strange talisman.

...

A moment later, Zhou Fuling suddenly froze.

The girl's entire body was stiff, as if she had encountered something incomprehensible.

She blinked, and the demonic energy between her brows connected with Xu Qingning's sea of ​​consciousness.

"poison?"

Just now, as she delved deeper into Xu Qingning's consciousness, Zhou Fuling unearthed a thorn within it.

The thorn was buried very deep, but even from a distance, one could sense its malevolent aura.

Get closer, and its golden light shines brightly, its surface covered with sharp barbs that can pierce anything that comes near.

Zhou Fuling frowned.

She recognized the thorn.

It is usually associated with "soul poison," which is the opposite of "body poison." It is a strange poison used to restrain the mind of cultivators and is not easy to cure.

Zhou Fuling also recognized the poison.

—"Soul Piercer".

This is a restriction and curse targeting the Lord of Consciousness.

The restriction on this poison concerns Xu Qingning and those who become his partners. If Xu Qingning becomes a partner, his partner will suffer excruciating pain of having their bones shattered and their soul torn apart, before dying a gruesome death.

But one person is excluded from this list—

Ning Chaoxue.

...It is obvious who planted the thorn.

Zhou Fuling's gaze was blank; she couldn't untie it, but she didn't intend to do so immediately.

She seemed to have encountered an insurmountable problem.

She stared silently at the soul poison for a long time, then stammered:

"Why is it my father's scent?"

...

That night, in the cave, Xu Qingning developed a fever.

He woke up in a half-dream state, his eyes veiled in a cold mist.

Upon seeing Zhou Fuling, his pupils contracted, and he sat up against the stone wall, sword in hand: "Where is this?"

Zhou Fuling replied, "Kanghuang Mountain is far from the demon cave."

Xu Qingning nodded, and as the demonic mist dissipated, someone would come to meet them.

Zhou Fuling said, "Alright... Senior Brother, it's time for you to take your medicine. Just now, I found some medicine in my mustard seed talisman, please take it."

Zhou Fuling handed the medicine to Xu Qingning, intending to feed it to him.

Xu Qingning instinctively wanted to open his mouth, but he shook his head and took it himself:

"No need, I can do it myself."

His hands trembled as he lifted the bowl and slowly drank the contents.

There was a moment of silence between the two, and the atmosphere became quite awkward.

"A little, you must finish taking the medicine." After a long silence, he said in a cold voice again:

"By the way, the Ten Thousand Mountains Banquet is in twelve days. At that time, martial artists from the eight major sects of the mortal race will come to the Dragon Pool of the Immortal Realm. I have already found a Venerable from the mortal realm to be your master, the master of Yu Miao Mountain. You cannot cultivate the immortal path, but cultivating martial arts is not bad either."

Zhou Fuling frowned: "Senior brother, we clearly discussed this before... I don't need any other teachers. I just want to stay in Tianji Sect."

"No. You should have a skill, otherwise you won't be able to survive in this world."

"...Are you pushing me away?"

Xu Qingning avoided answering and lowered her head again:

"No, I am seriously discussing this matter with you. At the Wanshan Banquet, many talented individuals from the mortal races will be present. Once you have seen enough, you will know that you do not necessarily need me."

His long eyelashes drooped as he spoke.

However, the tone of his voice left no room for argument, clearly indicating that he had already made his decision.

Zhou Fuling pursed her lips.

She disliked being told what to do, but Xu Qingning was just that autocratic.

A sinister glint rose in her heart, but she suppressed the gloom in her eyes.

She thought for a moment and said, "Alright. Senior brother, you should rest well first. We can talk about the apprenticeship later. But I promise you, I will never bother you again."

After learning about the existence of the Soul Thorn, she was no longer in such a hurry to become Xu Qingning's partner.

She was thinking about her father.

Father... Zhou Fuling hadn't seen her father for a long time either.

...

An hour later, the demonic mist dissipated, and Zhou Fuling and Xu Qingning walked outside.

Xu Qingning insisted on not letting Zhou Fuling walk by herself, fearing that she, being a mortal, would be disturbed by the demonic aura. With a pale face, he carried her on his back along the dirt path.

As the demonic aura dissipated, the people from Tianji Sect arrived to meet them.

Many people were surprised by Zhou Fuling's appearance, including He Yin.

"Junior Sister Zhou, your sudden disappearance really worried us to death!"

Xu Qingning's trusted officials all arrived, as did many of Zhou Fuling's subordinates. He Yin was one of them.

He Yin also came from Bingjian Peak and was "close" with Zhou Fuling (Zhou Fuling didn't think much of others, so it was a one-sided friendship).

When he saw Fuling, he looked anxious and asked her how she dared to come to such a dangerous place alone.

Zhou Fuling: "I, I...I came to find my senior brother..."

“Miss Zhou, this isn’t appropriate…” another cultivator said.

Xu Qingning started coughing, and many people took back what they had said.

However, most people had reservations.

This week, the young lady likes the young sect leader, and they have a good relationship. But how can someone of no character arbitrarily trespass into a disaster-stricken, sealed-off mountain?

This can be dangerous!

Miss Zhou used to be fairly lucid, so why is she like this now...?

But because of Xu Qingning, they suppressed their complaints.

Xu Qingning sat on the mountain rock with a cold gaze, talking to the celestial officials about the plan to purify the remaining poison in the demon land.

Then, he suddenly said, "Bring me the golden book."

"Also, Zhou Fuling, come here."

The air around us seemed to freeze instantly.

His voice was cold, and he lowered his voice.

Many cultivators' expressions changed slightly as they cautiously looked at Xu Qingning, wondering what he was planning to do.

Seeing his gloomy expression, he glanced at Zhou Fuling.

"Young Master, are you going to punish Junior Sister Zhou?"

A note from the author:

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