Chapter 70 Rescue
Seeing them come out, Ning Qi blocked the female cultivator's path: "My mission is complete. Give me the antidote pill first."
The female cultivator hesitated for a moment, then took out a reddish-brown pill from her bosom. "Actually, I should have given it to you after completing the mission, but you did well, so take it first."
Ning Xi received the pill, but because she had tricked her before, she didn't swallow it directly. Instead, she cautiously called the system to check the authenticity of the pill.
The system said "Wait a moment" and then went silent.
Ning Qi sighed.
She had originally planned to sneak out of the Demon Palace by herself, since these people together would be too conspicuous, and she might get caught soon.
However, the system was slow to provide a result, so she could only follow behind the female cultivator and walk with her deeper into the dungeon.
As the female cultivator walked, she told her, "You have rendered a great service by saving the sect leader this time. The sect leader will definitely agree to let you join the Huaguang Sect."
Ning Qi was dumbfounded: "I'm not even a disciple of the Huaguang Sect?"
No wonder they made her do the most dangerous work!
The female cultivator gave her a strange look. "Why... never mind."
Perhaps due to time constraints, she didn't say anything more. The group quickly arrived at the door of another cell, where the female nun tossed the key to her companion, asking him to unlock it for them.
The cultivators in the cell were extremely excited, shouting, "Senior Sister!"
Someone else cried out indignantly, "Brother Zhao, quickly untie us! I want to kill those demonic scoundrels! To avenge my family and fellow disciples!"
The locksmith said, "Keep your voices down. Everyone, don't act rashly. Rescuing the sect leader is the most important thing. Everyone, pretend you're locked up. When the demon guards come to search, kill them one by one by surprise. Understand?"
Those people nodded reluctantly, their faces filled with deep hatred for the demons.
Ning Qi continued to follow the female cultivator inside, and soon they reached the end of the passage. A set of steps appeared before them. The steps were dark and bottomless, and it was impossible to know where they led. Only a few lamps on both sides emitted a faint light.
The female cultivator went in without hesitation, and the other person followed her.
Ning Qi was still waiting for the system results, observing the environment of the dungeon, and walking down the steps.
The steps were steep, and the stairwell was extremely quiet, with only the soft footsteps of three people tapping on the ground. Huge shadows were cast on the walls, and the candlelight flickered, closely following them as if demons were catching up with them, making people inexplicably nervous.
Unconsciously, she held her breath and climbed 236 steps. Another passage appeared before her, but this passage was completely dark.
The two cultivators lit their tinderboxes and continued walking inside. Ning Qi turned around, and the steps she had just walked up were now hidden in the darkness. There was nowhere to hide.
She called out to the system twice more and finally heard an echo.
"Host, I just scanned your pill. Based on its color and smell, I compared it with my database. It should be the Soul Elimination Pill."
"This name doesn't sound like a good thing," Ning Qi said, looking at the female cultivator's retreating figure.
"Yes! It's a highly poisonous pill that will kill you instantly. Even those at the Mahayana stage can't withstand it, let alone someone like you who's only at the Nascent Soul stage."
"Okay, I understand." Ning Xi pinched the pill and sneered. Sure enough, she was being tricked. If she had swallowed it directly, she would be dead by now.
Is this the kind of trash left in the Huaguang Sect?
At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded on the stairs, startling them so much that they immediately drew their swords in alertness.
Ning Qi had no weapon, so she stepped back.
The monks who had just unlocked the passage appeared inside, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
He said in a panic, "We need to speed things up! Our people are fighting the demons!"
The female cultivator scolded, "Didn't I tell you to tell them not to act impulsively?"
The man said, "Everyone has been imprisoned for too long, and we all have an irreconcilable hatred for the demons. Some people inevitably can't help but act impulsively..."
"More trouble than good," the female cultivator commented. "You and Tian Fu are here on lookout duty."
He then said to Ningxi, "You stay with me and don't waste any time."
The two nodded and remained on the stairs.
Upon hearing that a fight had broken out up there, Ning Qi realized there was no way to go back. She could only continue walking with the female cultivator, secretly planning that if they were captured by the demons, she would reveal their entire plan. After all, she had no allies or sects at the moment, so saving her life was the priority.
After another cup of tea's time, she heard the sound of dripping water. The female cultivator rushed over, calling out "Sect Master," and knelt on the ground.
With the faint light of the tinderbox, Ningqi saw a large iron fence on the ground, and the dripping sound was coming from there.
"Why are you here?" A slightly weak voice came from below; it was Yan Chongyan's voice.
"I'm here to save you." The female cultivator choked back tears as she pulled out the keychain from earlier and began trying each key one by one, her hands trembling so much that she couldn't align it with the holes several times.
Ning Qi walked to the fence and looked down. She saw a huge pool where Yan Chongyan's entire body was submerged, with only his chest and above exposed. His hands were suspended high above the ground.
Ten years have made his features more rugged, and he has a righteous look, the typical face of a leading man. However, now his hair is messy and stuck to his face, making him look extremely disheveled.
He looked up at them, his face stern, and told the female cultivator to leave immediately. But when he saw Ning Qi, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Princess?"
The female cultivator smiled. "You think it looks like her too? She's the one we found who looks the most like her. She's the one who successfully stole the key. It seems that the demon really does have a thing for this kind of thing."
"Why drag innocent people into doing such a dangerous thing?" Yan Chongyan said with a frown. "How have I been teaching you all?"
The female cultivator shrank back. "She wanted to join the Huaguang Sect herself, so she should at least show us her strength."
"Our Huaguang Sect is a sanctuary for cultivators, not a place to train assassins," Yan Chongyan said sternly. "All of you must protect her and ensure her safe passage out."
Ning Qi raised her eyebrows. That made sense. She immediately replied, "Sect Leader Yan, not only do your disciples make me risk my life, but they also don't trust me and feed me poison to control me."
The female cultivator immediately said, "Didn't I give you the antidote?"
"Oh." Ning Qi held up the pill in front of Yan Chongyan's eyes. "Sect Leader should know whether this is an antidote or poison."
The female cultivator's expression immediately changed.
Yan Chongyan stared at the female cultivator with a solemn expression, "Give the antidote pill to this cultivator."
"I'll get you out of here first, then we'll talk about everything else." The female cultivator looked down and realized she had tried all her keys, muttering, "Why can't any of them open this door?"
Ning Qi smiled leisurely, "How could the key to the VIP cell be kept together with the key to the ordinary cell? Doesn't this Huaguang Sect cultivator even have this much common sense?"
The female cultivator's face turned pale. "You still have the key? Give it to me now!"
A rhythmic "thump-thump" sound came from the other end of the passage, which was probably a secret signal from their Huaguang Sect.
The female cultivator reached out to grab Ning Qi, saying, "The demons are coming soon, you'd better hand over the key right now."
Ning Qi held out her hand, "Anti-poison pill."
Yan Chongyan said in a deep voice, "Wu Lingshuang, give the antidote pill to this cultivator, and you all leave immediately. Don't worry about me!"
The female cultivator gritted her teeth and finally took out a brown pill, which emitted a faint spiritual energy, completely different from the poison from before.
Ning Qi took it, held it in her hand, and asked Yan Chongyan, "Is this one real?"
Yan Chongyan nodded, "You can take it without worry."
Ning Xi felt that this one was about right, so she carefully put it in her bosom and still insisted that the system check it for her.
She then took out the storage bag, opened it leisurely, and slowly rummaged through it.
The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside. The female cultivator couldn't wait any longer and reached out to snatch it.
The system then said, "There's no problem with this one; you can take it without worry."
Ning Qi then took out a pure black key, which was icy cold to the touch, and she didn't know what material it was made of.
"Give it to me quickly!" The female cultivator was so anxious that she almost threw herself at her.
Ning Qi found it amusing, nimbly dodging the attack. She looked around and realized that apart from underwater, there was nowhere else to hide. Once the demons entered, they would be trapped like turtles in a jar.
She looked down at the keyhole on the fence, deciding to let the male protagonist out to fight the demons while she found another chance to escape.
With the male lead's strength, he should be able to hold out for a while.
She stopped smiling, inserted the key into the lock on the ground, and it matched perfectly—this was the one.
Wu Ling Shuang's voice suddenly stopped. Before Ning Qi could react, she saw Yan Chong Yan's expression change drastically, and he shouted, "Watch out behind you!"
Ning Qi sensed danger and dodged instantly. Turning around, she suddenly saw the black mass she had seen in the cave.
This thing came with Xiao Sui!
How could that be? Didn't she drug Xiao Sui?
Wu Ling Shuang lunged forward and grabbed the key, trying to unlock the door and release Yan Chong Yan. However, the black mass gripped her tightly like a giant hand, lifted her off the ground, and slammed her against the wall. She didn't have the strength to fight back at all.
Before the black group could attack her, Ning Qi asked the system in her mind, "Can Yan Chongyan defeat this black group?"
"That should buy us some time."
"Can Xiao Sui beat Yan Chongyan?" she asked again.
"You can barely win," the system said. "The villains at this stage are very strong."
As long as she can win, she just needs Yan Chongyan to buy her some time.
Footsteps began to sound slowly, and Ning Qi walked towards the ground lock.
Yan Chongyan said urgently, "Go quickly, don't worry about me!"
Ningqi placed her hand on the key.
In the blink of an eye, a surge of demonic energy rushed in, entangled Ning Qi's fingers, and pulled her up as if it were a tangible thing.
Caught off guard, Ning Qi lost her footing due to the force and almost fell. Turning around, she stumbled into a familiar embrace, her hands instinctively wrapping around the person's waist.
She immediately tried to stand up straight, but someone pressed down on her lower back.
She had no choice but to raise her head and meet Xiao Sui's deep, dark eyes.
Ning Qi's heart was pounding, whether from fright or nervousness, she didn't know. How could he have gotten here so quickly?!
Wu Ling Shuang had already gotten up from the ground and exclaimed in disbelief, "Demon, you took the Demon-Slaying Powder and you're still alright? How is that possible!"
Ning Qi screamed inwardly, "This person is trying to kill me!"
"So what you gave me was the Demon-Slaying Powder," Xiao Sui said, lowering his head.
“No, I can explain…” she struggled to say, looking at his cold face.
Actually, she didn't use the love potion at all; she used a non-toxic and harmless sleeping pill that she got from the system.
It now appears to be a fake drug!
"Xiao Sui, the person you hate is me. Torture me, that's enough. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Release them immediately!" Yan Chongyan shouted in the water dungeon.
"Ugh, can they just shut up?" Ning Qi wailed inwardly.
Xiao Sui's chest trembled. She heard his contemptuous laughter, and then saw him pull out the key with his demonic energy and put it back in his hand.
However, in the next instant, the key turned into black powder and flowed through his fingers.
Ning Xi was stunned.
With red eyes, Wu Ling Shuang shouted, "Demon, I'll kill you!"
Xiao Sui glanced at her, and the black mass immediately wrapped around her body, gagged her, and threw her away.
"Xiao Sui!" Yan Chongyan shouted through gritted teeth, "Have you forgotten that these people's lives were exchanged for the princess's? If you had any regard for the princess, if you remembered how good she was to you, you shouldn't have treated them like this!"
These words should have been ignored, because they caused Xiao Sui's expression to completely change.
He glared fiercely at Yan Chongyan, raised his hand, and the water in the water dungeon instantly surged, submerging his mouth and nose.
Yan Chongyan was able to remain calm at first, glaring at Xiao Sui, but as he held his breath for longer, he instinctively struggled, trying to surface for air. However, the water in the water prison was overflowing, leaving no air at all.
The chains binding Yan Chongyan's arms shook violently. He opened his mouth, exhaled several bubbles, and looked extremely pained.
"Warning! Warning! The male protagonist's life is at a critical point, and the small world is about to collapse. Please take immediate action!" The system's alarm bells rang loudly in his mind.
Although the tasks given by the system weren't particularly important, Ning Qi didn't want to leave so soon after arriving.
She grabbed Xiao Sui's sleeve and asked in a pleading tone, "Could we not kill him yet?"
Xiao Sui paused for a moment, then lowered his head and lowered his arm. The water level in the water prison dropped rapidly, and Yan Chongyan gasped for breath as if he had been reborn from the ashes.
He stared intently at Ning Qi and slowly asked, "You care about him that much?"
As he spoke, he seemed to be clenching his back teeth, and his dark pupils revealed a hint of madness that wanted to destroy everything.
Ning Xi thought there was something wrong with her ears; how could she detect a hint of sorrow in Xiao Sui's tone?
“She’s not a princess,” Yan Chongyan said, his breathing uneven. “She’s just an innocent cultivator who was dragged into this. She’s not even from the Huaguang Sect. She had no choice but to drug you. Please let her go.”
"Is that so?" Xiao Sui's gaze never left Ning Qi, the emotions in his eyes swallowed by his dark pupils.
She felt his demonic energy fall on her face again, carefully tracing her features.
The next moment, everything went black before her eyes. When she could see her surroundings again, she was surprised to find that she had left the dungeon and was in a magnificent palace.
The furnishings inside were almost exactly the same as her old room.
"What is this for?" Ning Qi asked, puzzled.
She stole the key and broke into the dungeon, releasing people and rescuing Yan Chongyan. Xiao Sui didn't lock her up in prison, so how did he bring her here?
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