CHAPTER 169: CHAPTER 37: AFTERMATH

Appearing in front of Rong Ye and the others was an adult demon beast with a body like a tiger or leopard, and a single horn on its head!

"Little Yu?" Rong Ye cried out uncertainly.

Upon hearing Rong Ye’s voice, the Piqiu in mid-air blinked its eyes, its gaze falling on Rong Ye. It immediately let out a happy roar, and just as it was about to rush toward Rong Ye as it used to, it suddenly saw Gu Qingqing, who was being held in Mu Chen’s arms, and its body halted abruptly.

The wings on its shoulders flapped gently as it landed in front of Mu Chen, gently rubbing Gu Qingqing’s hand with the horn on its head, but upon noticing no response from Gu Qingqing, it raised its head to look at Mu Chen.

"What’s wrong with Geng Geng?" It suddenly spoke human language, its voice clear and youthful, carrying an unmistakable worry.

A flash of surprise flickered in Mu Chen’s eyes, and when his gaze fell on Gu Qingqing, it turned into tender care.

"Geng Geng is injured!" he said softly.

"Who?" Little Yu became agitated, "Who hurt her?"

It never had a good temperament as a beast, and if not for worrying about Gu Qingqing’s safety, it might have directly destroyed this place.

"It was a Demon Clan member whose cultivation was at Half-step Immortal Rank," Mu Chen said in a low tone, glancing at the large pit previously smashed by the Demon Clan.

"Where’s that guy?" Little Yu’s front hoof pawed at the ground, "Tell me where that guy is!"

"He was already killed by Geng Geng, and it’s because of killing him that Geng Geng got injured." Rong Ye frowned as he spoke by the side.

Upon hearing this, Little Yu paused, its body stilled, and when it finally reacted, it could only nudge Gu Qingqing’s hand with its head.

"We need to take Geng Geng back to the place we stay and treat her wounds," Mu Chen said to Little Yu after glancing at the sky.

"I’ll go with you." As Little Yu spoke, its body was enveloped in a mass of blue light, and when the light faded, it reverted to its previous cub form, leaping onto Gu Qingqing’s stomach with a gentle hop, "Let’s go."

Mu Chen was too worried about Gu Qingqing to even inquire why Little Yu could change its size so freely, holding Gu Qingqing with light toe-taps as he flew toward the inn.

Rong Ye accompanied Mu Chen, leaving together. His injuries were not too severe, and he could still protect their safety.

Si Lin stayed behind. The elixir provided by Mu Chen worked well; he felt much better now, at least not hindered in movement. He first administered healing elixirs to the injured Yue Zhao and others, and when he reached the side of the Soul-devouring Beast, he discovered the beast had lost its breath sometime ago.

Thinking for a moment, he reacted quickly. The Soul-devouring Beast was contracted with the Demon Clan; its master died, so it naturally couldn’t live!

He frowned briefly, then quickly relaxed, pulling out two True Fire Talismans from the Qiankun Ring, crushing them, and throwing them onto the Soul-devouring Beast. Instantly, the beast was consumed by flames, leaving only ashes like its master.

Yue Zhao’s injuries were slightly more severe than Si Lin’s. Originally wanting to find Gu Qingqing, he was helpless as moving made him cough up blood. Only after taking the elixir did he feel more improved.

Previously, Nan Hua was more severely injured. Although Mu Chen’s treatment made it a bit better, he was still healing himself, sitting still.

The others had no severe external injuries, and after taking the elixir, their internal injuries improved somewhat, though some could not awaken immediately, especially Jun Wu. Previously, to shield Gu Qingqing from the Demon Clan’s attack, he was severely injured, but Gu Qingqing had previously set an Array Plate beside him for protection. This Array Plate can only be unsealed by Gu Qingqing and Nan Hua, so Si Lin couldn’t help him recover for the time being.

Once Si Lin had settled everyone, Nan Hua also emerged from his cultivation, his complexion slightly flushed, and paused upon seeing the chaotic scene before him.

"Where’s that Demon Clan member?" he asked Si Lin.

"Killed by Geng Geng!" Si Lin responded, glancing at the large pit in the clearing.

Surprise flickered in Nan Hua’s eyes as he looked around, unable to find Gu Qingqing, "Where’s Geng Geng?"

"Geng Geng was injured, Mu Chen and Rong Ye took her back to the inn." When mentioning Gu Qingqing’s injury, Si Lin’s voice instantly turned somber.

Upon hearing this, Nan Hua also fell silent, "What exactly happened just now?"

"The Demon Clan member’s actual cultivation was at Half-step Immortal Rank. We all got injured. Geng Geng used the Power of Word Spirit to merely take away one of its arms, but eventually, to save us, she probably used the force of Heavenly Dao to kill the Demon Clan member, severely injuring herself." Thinking back to how Gu Qingqing looked earlier, Si Lin realized she must have borrowed the force of Heavenly Dao; otherwise, it would have been impossible to increase her cultivation so much in such a short time!

Although Si Lin’s description was simple, Nan Hua could already imagine how urgent the situation had been. Remembering how Gu Qingqing once again helped them, he fell silent for a moment.

"Those missing people are likely inside the fake mountain. I saw City Lord Lou, who was disguised as a member of the Demon Clan, enter the fake mountain when I was tracking him with Jun Wu. There should be a secret chamber inside," Nan Hua suddenly said after glancing at the fake mountain.

Si Lin looked at the fake mountain and nodded, "Jun Wu fainted from injuries while saving Geng Geng, and to protect him, she placed an Array Plate by his side. You retrieve the Array Plate, and I will heal Jun Wu."

Nan Hua nodded, walked over to where Jun Wu was, and quickly formed seals with his hands. The Array Plate, which Gu Qingqing had thrown out, flew up instantly and returned to his hand.

Si Lin quickly bandaged Jun Wu, then fed him an elixir, and placed him in a clean spot before heading with Nan Hua to investigate the fake mountain.

They explored the surface of the fake mountain for a while. Nan Hua found a mechanism, and upon pressing it, a passageway wide enough for one person appeared on the mountain. Nan Hua and Si Lin exchanged a glance, and Si Lin led the way inside, with Nan Hua following closely behind.

The passage was somewhat dark. Si Lin took out a Luminous Pearl, holding it in his hand as they continued walking. He could feel they were descending, and soon they arrived at a vast underground plaza-like area.

In the center of the plaza was a pool about ten meters in diameter, filled with blood, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of blood.

Bodies lay around the blood pool. A quick glance from Si Lin revealed disciples from the Lingxi Sacred Land among them. Rushing to their side, he checked and found them alive, and sighed in relief.

"They probably fainted because of the Soul-devouring Beast. We need to wake them up," Nan Hua said, having nudged the people beneath him only to discover they were unresponsive, then looking up at Si Lin.

"The Soul-devouring Beast is already dead. They must have been hit by a spiritual attack, which is why they’re still unconscious. Let’s have Azhao play a tune for them later," Si Lin said after pondering the situation.

"Should we take them out?" Nan Hua asked, glancing at the people on the ground, apparently reluctant.

"No need," Si Lin shook his head. "Since we’ve found them, we just need Azhao to come down and play the tune."

"Alright, let’s head back up for now." Nan Hua readily agreed, taking stock of the surroundings and finding nothing out of the ordinary, he turned and said to Si Lin.

"Wait." Si Lin walked to the edge of the blood pool, "We need to destroy this."

Saying this, he took out over a dozen True Samadhi Fire Talismans, crushed them, and tossed them into the blood pool. Flames erupted from the blood pool and evaporated it under the watchful eyes of Nan Hua and Si Lin.

Only then did the two leave the underground area and return above ground. They informed Yue Zhao about the plan for playing music. Yue Zhao nodded; his body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and he had no intention of moving immediately. Since they had found the people and the Demon Clan was defeated, there was no rush to wake the people up; it was just a matter of time.

Back at the City Lord Mansion, they waited a while as more people awoke. Seeing the surroundings, they were momentarily stunned. Facing inquiries from Qin An and others, Si Lin did not reveal that Gu Qingqing had defeated the Demon Clan. Instead, he claimed that he, Yue Zhao, and the others had used a Secret Technique and the Immortal Artifact Wen Guiyun had given them beforehand.

Although Qi Yu and others belonged to the Lingxi Sacred Land, the fact that Gu Qingqing could use the Word Spirit Technique and was the Heavenly Dao of Xuantian Continent was too significant to be widely known.

"Senior Brother Si, where is Geng Geng?" Yun Ran asked anxiously after hearing Si Lin’s explanation and failing to spot Gu Qingqing after searching for a long time.

"Geng Geng was injured and Mu Chen took her away," Si Lin explained briefly, glancing at her.

"Is Geng Geng’s injury serious?" Yun Ran asked with concern, sharing a glance with Zhuo Tingqiu.

"Yes." Si Lin nodded, unwilling to elaborate.

Ignoring Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu’s reactions, Si Lin walked over to check on Jun Wu, who was the only one not yet awake.

Thankfully, after taking the elixir, Jun Wu’s internal injuries had healed significantly, and it was only a matter of time before he awoke, easing Si Lin’s worries considerably.

Sure enough, in less than a quarter of an hour, Jun Wu regained consciousness.

Like Yun Ran and the others, he was momentarily stunned by the pockmarked ground and the dilapidated buildings. Then he instinctively searched for Gu Qingqing but couldn’t find her, which made him anxious. Having fainted later than Yun Ran and the others, he could only guess some of the circumstances and was acutely aware that Gu Qingqing might have used the Power of Word Spirit, making him deeply concerned.

"Senior Brother Si, where is Geng Geng now?" he asked, struggling to stand and moving to Si Lin’s side in a low voice.

"She was seriously injured. Mu Chen has already taken her back to the inn for healing," Si Lin replied, his attitude toward Jun Wu favorable because he had taken an attack meant for Gu Qingqing.

Hearing this, Si Lin grew anxious and, disregarding his own injuries, immediately propelled himself toward the inn with a tap of his toes, drawing silent glances from Si Lin and Yue Zhao.

The others, unable to leave immediately, stayed at the City Lord Mansion to recover. They would return to the inn once their injuries healed. Yue Zhao also focused intently on healing, and after half an hour, sufficiently recovered, he joined Si Lin in exploring inside the fake mountain.