Chapter 126 As Her Heart is Serene and Hazy_1
The azure sky was vast, the misty sunlight cold. Chilly winds howled across Mount Danxia!
Absolute silence prevailed; not a single voice could be heard. At this moment, everyone held their breath, gazing transfixed at the Huge Demon Pill in Xiao Ruoching's hand, an orb that shone brilliantly atop Mount Danxia!
Mo Xingjian felt his heart skip a beat. He swallowed hard, staring dumbfounded at the scene before him! He even forgot to reach out and take it.
Then, trembling, he extended his hand. He incredulously took the head-sized Demon Core, feeling the enormous and pure Demonic Qi emanating from it. Looking at Xiao Ruoching, his voice trembled as he said, "This is really... truly a Dao Integration Demon Pill? Was it Elder Su who got it?"
"..."
As Mo Xingjian finished speaking, the whole area beneath Mount Danxia immediately erupted. Discussions, exclamations of shock, and excited shouts rose and fell in waves:
"RAH! RAH! RAH!"
"It's really a Dao Integration Demon Pill!!! Heavens, does this mean Elder Su actually slew a Dao Integration Great Demon?!"
"Is that even a question? If Elder Su didn't kill it, who else could have? Do you think Elder Su just found it lying around?"
"This... does that mean everything Mo Youqian and the others said was true? That Elder Su really fought that Dao Integration Monster Beast beneath Unrepentant Cliff for eighty-one rounds? And then slew the Dao Integration Great Demon with a single strike!"
"Doesn't that mean Elder Su's strength could be on par with Dao Integration?!"
"..."
After a brief period of shock, the voices gradually died down. Then, all eyes unanimously shifted to the Fourth Elder, who still hadn't recovered from his astonishment.
All the Sword Sect Disciples looked at Li Ziyu with strange expressions, watching as his healthy complexion gradually turned a dark, mottled crimson.
Someone in the crowd couldn't hold it in and let out a 'PFFT'.
Though quickly stifled, it was still exceptionally clear in the unusual silence beneath Mount Danxia!
That laugh was like a fuse, instantly igniting the Sword Sect Disciples, who immediately began to whisper amongst themselves:
"Didn't the Fourth Elder say it was absolutely impossible for Elder Su?"
"I wonder what grudge he has against Elder Su..."
"What else could it be? Jealousy, of course! Elder Su is handsome, has many admirers, is popular in the Sword Sect, doesn't put on airs, and is also gentle..."
Hearing the murmurs below, Li Ziyu felt his face burn hotly. His eyes were fixed on the Demon Core, and he felt an uncontrollable anger with nowhere to vent. Seeing the Sword Sect Disciples below looking at him as if he were a laughingstock, he exclaimed loudly, "No... Impossible!"
"What realm is Su Bei in? How could he possibly have slain a Dao Integration Great Demon?"
"It's absolutely fake! Impossible!! How could there really be a Dao Integration Great Demon?"
The words slipped out before he could stop them. The next moment, Li Ziyu inwardly cursed his blunder! How could I say such things? Still, I harbor a sliver of hope that the Demon Core in Mo Xingjian's hands is indeed fake!
Mo Xingjian was joyfully contemplating using Su Bei's Demon Core to refine a batch of Creation Pills. When he heard Li Ziyu's words, his brows instantly knitted. He glanced coldly at Li Ziyu, who was in the sky, and scoffed, "Fourth Junior Brother, I know you don't like Fifth Junior Brother, but what do you mean by that?"
"Are you questioning my eye for these things? Could I possibly be mistaken about whether this is a Dao Integration Demon Pill or not?"
"..."
Li Ziyu was at a loss for words, his hands fidgeting nervously, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Seeing his prestige about to plummet, he could only brace himself and say, "Even if... even if it's a Dao Integration Demon Pill, so what? It doesn't necessarily mean he killed it..."
Suddenly, the sound of something slicing through the air came from afar.
Then, a short-haired woman approached. Her hair was tied in twin buns, each adorned with a swaying snow lotus hairpin. She glanced at Li Ziyu, then at the immense Demon Core. A metaphorical lightbulb suddenly lit up over her head. She tilted her head and said, "Fourth Senior Brother, are you jealous of Fifth Senior Brother?"
"..."
At her words, the entire scene momentarily fell into awkwardness.
Li Ziyu's face turned beet-red. Looking at Dan Wuque, who had rushed to the scene upon hearing the commotion, he defended himself, "Eighth Junior Sister... you, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"How could I be jealous of Su Bei? What... what does he have that I could possibly be jealous of? All those years of cultivation and he's just at Divinity Transformation..."
"..."
Mo Xingjian also looked at Dan Wuque with a peculiar expression, pursing his lips before glancing again at Li Ziyu. This Eighth Junior Sister is too blunt! Although it's obvious to anyone with eyes, saying it so blatantly... is really something else.
Dan Wuque looked around, bewildered by the strange stares. She nevertheless methodically counted on her fingers as she spoke, word by word, "But it's true! All the Sword Sect Disciples said before that Fifth Senior Brother went down Unrepentant Cliff to save them and killed that Dao Integration Great Demon. And now the Demon Core is right here. Doesn't that make it perfectly clear? Am I wrong?"
Dan Wuque rubbed her small hands together, blinking as she looked at Mo Youqian, who stood dazed in the crowd.
At this moment, Mo Youqian felt as though his entire worldview had collapsed. Staring at the Huge Demon Pill, he slapped himself hard across the face. After confirming he wasn't dreaming, he swallowed and exchanged glances with Zhen Jianting, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
What's happening to the world? I just made up a wild story... and it turned out to be true?!
Li Ziyu was so tongue-tied he stumbled over his words. As the crowd stared at him with inexplicable looks, he wished he could dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
Yet in my heart, I clenched my teeth with resentment—Su Bei! Always Su Bei! Why is everyone siding with Su Bei?!
...
Having been silent all this while, Xiao Ruoching quietly observed everything, her small hands clenched tightly as she watched Li Ziyu's eyes flickering with changing emotions.
For some reason, a subtle and indescribable sense of grievance welled up in her heart.
All along, their only concern was how this Dao Integration Demon Pill came to be. Not a single person asked about Ninth Uncle's injuries! Was Master severely hurt? Why didn't Master deliver it personally?
Even though I don't like Ninth Uncle—she's been monopolizing Master these days—I still feel a twinge of sadness for her.
Indeed, only Master's gentle affection makes my world complete.
Other people don't care about these things; they only care about what interests them. Only Master would shield me with his strong hands when I'm doubted, protect me, and give me all the best opportunities...
How laughable that I once wanted to kill Master! Little did I know, the Master of this life is already the best in my heart!
Then she lifted her head, looking at Li Ziyu, at the murmuring Sword Sect Disciples, and at Mo Xingjian, who was still immersed in the joy of having obtained the Dao Integration Demon Pill. Taking a deep breath, she said in the loudest voice she could muster, a voice that could be heard all over Mount Danxia:
"Ninth Uncle is injured! Seriously injured!"
"Master is injured too! Teetering on the brink of death beneath Unrepentant Cliff! We were so close, just a hair's breadth away, from the Sword Sect losing Ninth Uncle and Master forever!"
"Master ordered me to bring the Demon Core to find Third Elder to refine a pill for Ninth Uncle, but all you care about is who killed the Dao Integration Great Demon..."
"Who killed it, does that really matter?"
"Shouldn't the first concern have been Ninth Uncle's injuries?"
"..."
Xiao Ruoching's face was somewhat flushed, her chest rising and falling gently as she looked at the people before her.
Then, turning to Mo Xingjian, she bowed lightly and said softly, "Third Elder, I entrust this to you!"
With that, she turned and ran down Mount Danxia...
Everyone was stunned, blankly watching Xiao Ruoching's receding figure.
Dan Wuque's mouth fell open, her expression instantly turning anxious. She had just arrived and didn't know her younger sister was injured. In a flash, her figure vanished...
Faint, indistinct whispers drifted on the wind behind her:
"Fifth Elder and Ninth Elder are injured?"
"That was a Dao Integration Great Demon!"
"Fifth Elder must have fought an incredibly hard battle..."
"..."
...
「At No-Sword Peak, in the thatched cottage.」
The bamboo forest was deep and tranquil, with scattered sunlight dappling the small path within.
Su Bei gently placed Dan Wulan on his straw bed. After a moment's thought, he took a pillow from his storage ring and propped her head up.
Gazing at the cool, aloof figure on the bed, he couldn't help but recall her as she once was in his eyes: so proud, her gaze frosty, looking down on everyone and everything.
This woman, so arrogant and cold in his eyes, had somehow started to exude an air of gentle vulnerability and quiet grace. It was just that her already pale face now looked even thinner.
As Su Bei gazed at her gently, Dan Wulan felt her ears flush red. She spoke softly, "What are you looking at?"
In truth, my heart is brimming with happiness, as this injury has unwittingly narrowed the distance between me and Senior Brother so much...
Su Bei smiled and took her wrist, channeling spiritual energy to check her condition.
Clusters of tenacious Evil Qi were tangled in her meridians. If, as Nan Ji had said, she were left to recover naturally, it would likely take far too long.
With this Evil Qi eroding her system, not only would her cultivation be unable to advance an inch, but prolonged exposure would also damage her meridians.
If Mo Xingjian could refine a First Grade Great Return Qi and Blood Pill, perhaps it could temporarily suppress this weakened state within her body.
Dan Wulan turned her head away, not looking at Su Bei, but she didn't withdraw her wrist from his grasp, her face impassive as if nothing were amiss.
Su Bei looked at Dan Wulan. Through the bamboo bed, he gazed at the deep bamboo forest not far away. It seemed as tranquil and enigmatic as her heart, impossible to fully grasp.
"Has Junior Sister always been this icy?"
"..."
A gust of wind carried snowflakes and plum petals in through the bamboo window. Dan Wulan lay quietly on the bed as a shower of petals rained down, an unbelievably beautiful sight.
Dan Wulan did not reply, seemingly pondering what to say.
But Su Bei could clearly feel that even though her expression remained faint and cool, her pulse was gradually becoming irregular.
Then, Dan Wulan gently turned her head to look into Su Bei's eyes and softly parted her lips, as if about to speak.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind was heard, carrying a woman's panicked cry:
"Little sister, how are you?"
"..."
Dan Wulan: "Damn it!"