"The work of an evil cultivator?" Shen Sanruo murmured thoughtfully.

She had heard of a type of evil cultivator who would increase their strength by absorbing the souls of cultivators and demonic beasts.

These techniques are extremely dark and evil, and even among evil cultivators, very few can master them.

"An evil cultivator? How dare he be so presumptuous?" Fang Yu asked in surprise.

In his eyes, evil cultivators were a group of maggots hiding in the gutter, only daring to do small things in secret and would never dare to be so rampant.

This is a consensus held by almost everyone in the cultivation world, not just Fang Yu.

Many years ago, during the heyday of Ninghua Sect, evil cultivators ran rampant in the cultivation world, and all sorts of dark and sinister techniques emerged one after another.

The great upheaval in Ninghua Sect was precisely because of its struggle against the evil cultivators. All members of Ninghua Sect fought to the death against the evil cultivators, almost losing the entire sect and severely damaging the evil cultivators' strength.

Since then, the originally large number of evil cultivators in the cultivation world have gradually disappeared. When they do appear, it is only a few here and there, and they are not a significant force.

These were the things that the Taoist Master Wuwei told her, and this is why she dared to use the Linglong Pavilion to bring the name of Ninghua Sect back into the public eye.

However, at this moment, a high-level evil cultivator using this technique appeared. It is not difficult to see that the other party's intention is to use the strange aura as a medium to continuously absorb the souls of demonic beasts.

Wherever the eerie aura spread, no monster could escape its fate.

The fact that they dared to openly attack so many demonic beasts in the Illusory Realm clearly demonstrates their ambition.

At this point, he is only targeting demonic beasts. Once he has absorbed enough divine souls, will he then turn his attention to cultivators?

"Could it be that the evil cultivators want to make a comeback?" Shen Sanruo pondered, looking at the black spirit core in her hand.

"Huh?" Fang Yu's expression was even more shocked.

He never expected that his first time away from the sect for training would lead him to witness such a major event.

"No need to rush, we have already killed the black bear, and the evil cultivator's plan has been ruined."

"He must have been afraid of something, which is why he chose to take action in a place where few people are around, and it must have taken a lot of effort to arrange all of this."

Choose a powerful monster and let its eerie aura infect it.

"He probably won't make any more moves anytime soon," Shen Sangruo said calmly.

"After you go back, tell the others in the Hehuan Sect to be on high alert."

If it is indeed a large-scale attack by evil cultivators attempting a comeback, the two of them alone are far too insignificant; spreading the news is the best course of action.

"I understand," Fang Yu nodded.

His worries dissipated, and his expression turned to smugness.

He's really accomplished something big!

Shen Sangruo sealed the spirit core with a magic artifact, put it in her Qiankun bag, and prepared to take it back to Ninghua Sect.

The two then went to the collapsed black bear cave and retrieved the treasures inside, which became their spoils.

Although Fang Yu initially claimed to be there to defeat the black bear and find treasure, he wasn't in a hurry to seize it now. Instead, he took a small portion and gave the majority to Chen Sangruo.

Shen Sanruo, of course, did not stand on ceremony and pocketed all those treasures.

After this interlude ended, she packed up and prepared to continue her journey to Wuqing Village and to find the Myriad Transformation Wood.

After this battle, she became even more eager to obtain the Myriad Transformation Wood Core, modify the Feather Fan, and improve her close combat abilities.

Fang Yu wanted to travel with her, but she resolutely refused.

Fang Yu looked somewhat dejected as his plan to curry favor with someone back failed, but he didn't say anything more, only saying, "Thank you for your help, Sister Sang Ruo. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to do anything if I had only discovered this anomaly on my own."

"Then we shall part ways here. I must continue my training. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will come to Ninghua Sect to find Sister Sang Ruo."

Shen Sangruo readily agreed.

She was also thinking that after she returned to Ninghua Sect this time, she should consider having Ninghua Sect move outside.

After bidding farewell to Fang Yu, Chen Sanruo continued along the path.

Two more days passed, and rain began to fall. The miasma in the dense forest suddenly spread and became even more intense.

She then used her memory to find refuge in a nearby village. It seemed that all the villages and settlements in the Misty Realm were equipped with special formations that could block the miasma.

The village was small, but the people were very hospitable. After she explained her purpose, they welcomed her inside.

Taking this opportunity, she also relaxed and rested, and tried the local delicacies.

Although at her level of cultivation, she no longer needs to eat, occasionally indulging in delicious food can still bring her joy.

She found one ingredient, houttuynia cordata, particularly interesting and ate a few more bites.

When she returned to her temporary room and was taking stock of the items in her Qiankun bag, her eyes fell on a handkerchief.

That was a gift from Ye Huai before she set off on this journey. It was the same handkerchief he used to wipe his sword, but this one had a small mulberry leaf embroidered on it.

Yes, Ye Huai embroidered it himself. It's said that the pink dress Youyou is wearing was also cut by him.

She never expected that her senior brother would have such a skill. Overnight, the aloof senior brother turned into a tailor holding an embroidery needle.

A smile spread across Shen Sanruo's lips as she held the handkerchief in her hand and examined it carefully.

On the other side, Feng Heyun and Lu Shiqing, who were also heading to Wuqing Village, naturally encountered this heavy rain.

However, they only had the route to Wuqing Village given to them by Lingxiao Zhenren. They wandered around in the heavy rain and miasma for a long time before finally finding a village to take shelter from the rain.

By this time, the two were soaked to the bone by the heavy rain, but the effects of the miasma were even more serious.

Lu Shiqing was already in great pain from the backlash of the Gu worms, and now he was even more delirious from inhaling too much miasma, and his lips had turned purplish-black.

Feng Heyun is in a better position, but she has been traveling with Lu Shiqing for the past few days and has become quite haggard.

"Third junior brother, we've found a village to take shelter from the rain. Hang in there a little longer!" Feng Heyun carried Lu Shiqing on his back, flying on his sword above the trees.

There was no response from the person behind him, and he sighed again.

She rambled on, saying, "You always locked yourself in your room practicing Gu, and now look what's happened! You've been devoured by the Gu worms, and I have to bring you to this godforsaken place to save your life."

"If only I had this time to go find Chen Sangruo, sigh."

Upon hearing Shen Sangruo's name, the half-dead Lu Shiqing moved almost imperceptibly.

The two gradually closed the distance between themselves and the village.

When the villagers saw the two, they only said one thing: "Looking for shelter from the rain again?"

They then welcomed the person inside.

Feng Heyun thanked him, but was also surprised. What did he mean by "again"? Did other people come to take shelter from the rain?

However, he didn't think too much about it. The most important thing at the moment was to stabilize Lu Shiqing's condition, so he hurriedly went into the house.

After bumping into the person inside the house, he understood what the person meant by "again".