"There's no need to trouble yourself. You, who are solely concerned with lecherous men, are no longer a disciple of our Qingfeng Sect. I cannot accept this favor."
"Senior Disciple Sister! You~"
"Don't call me Senior Disciple Sister," the Senior Disciple Sister channeled her energy for a long time, finally gathering her strength to break through the acupoint. "Our Qingfeng Sect has no disciples like you who turn their elbows outward!"
Ying Caiwei had no time to explain. Her mind was consumed with worry for Ren Yuanhao.
Meanwhile, the bandit leader, having consumed the pills that enhanced his cultivation, found his internal energy running wild and uncontrollably. The black蛊 (gǔ) poison, which he could have controlled, had already spread to his heart. The chilling energy felt like countless sharp blades tearing at his internal organs.
He rolled around in the mud. Each clap of thunder felt like a knife cutting into his chest. The pain wasn't like that of a sharp blade on skin, but rather a cold, sawing sensation caused by a blade forged from ice. Amidst the pain, there was a bone-chilling cold, making him wish for death.
He crawled towards the Senior Disciple Sister's feet, repeatedly kowtowing. "Immortal sister, Bodhisattva Guanyin who saves people from suffering! Please, have pity on me and bestow the antidote! I, I can't hold on any longer. I'll kowtow to you now~ kowtow!"
"Didn't you want to kill us to silence us?" The Senior Disciple Sister stepped on the bandit leader's mud-caked hand that had reached out, her expression chilling. Ying Tiande, watching from the side, felt a tremor of fear.
The disciples of so-called righteous sects had eyes that held a chilling light. Had the world turned upside down?
He mused to himself. In his distraction, he heard a sudden splash from the cold pool, followed by a plop. When he looked back, his daughter was nowhere to be seen!
"Caiwei!"
"Hmph, see? Your daughter has been bewitched by that lecherous man and doesn't even care about her own life."
The Senior Disciple Sister wore a look of schadenfreude. She recalled the moment their master had rescued the junior disciple from the jaws of a beast and brought her to the sect. Their master's doting affection and gentleness towards the junior disciple were greater than that shown to his own daughter. This was something the competitive and possessive Senior Disciple Sister could not accept. This hatred had been buried in her heart for a long time, and today, she could finally end this overwhelming hatred with the junior disciple's death!
"I think you are the pitiable one, blinded by hatred and jealousy."
Ying Tiande's voice was low but struck the Senior Disciple Sister's chest like a heavy hammer!
"What did you say!"
The short sword suddenly flew from her sleeve, resting precisely on Ying Tiande's neck.
"Sister, no!"
Zhi Xuan instinctively grabbed the Senior Disciple Sister's hand.
"Are you also going to oppose me?"
"No, no, but, but this senior..." Zhi Xuan stammered, while Zhi Ran behind her kept pulling at her, signaling her not to speak carelessly.
At this moment, Ying Tiande laughed heartily. "Fang Muyan, oh Fang Muyan, your eldest disciple has become a demon, yet you remain in seclusion in the cold palace, cultivating. Even if you achieve foundation building and enlightenment, what of it? If you abandon the Great Dao and speak of immortality, what meaning does it hold?"
Fang Muyan was the Sect Master of the Qingfeng Sect. Few dared to call her by her name nowadays. Most disciples only knew the Sect Master as True Person Qingyu. Therefore, when Ying Tiande uttered the Sect Master's name, the Zhi Ran sisters were momentarily stunned.
"I, I have become a demon? How could I become a demon? My heart is clear, and I understand the precepts perfectly. How could I become a demon!"
"There are three poisons in the world: greed, anger, and delusion. My daughter received the Sect Master's doting affection, and you, unable to bear it and feeling resentful, committed the poison of greed. To regain the Sect Master's favor, you have made things difficult for my daughter more than once. This is the poison of anger. You receive favors but do not repay them, are ignorant of reason, cannot distinguish good from evil, pervert truth, and engage in all sorts of evil practices. This is the poison of delusion. Greed, anger, and delusion have already penetrated your heart. If this is not becoming a demon, what is!"
The Senior Disciple Sister was so shocked by Ying Tiande's string of accusations that she staggered backward, her face flushed. The hand holding the sword trembled inexplicably!
"My daughter's life is now unknown, yet you, to taunt your opponent, are not thinking of rescuing your fellow disciples. You are even making things difficult for me. Is this what you, as the Senior Disciple of the Qingfeng Sect, should be doing?"
Ying Tiande suddenly turned her head, her eyes filled with infinite disdain. She had seen this same look in her master's occasional glances.
So her master had already been disappointed in her, hadn't he?
The Senior Disciple Sister stumbled back several steps. Her heel was suddenly clamped by a pair of mud-covered hands. For some reason, she was terrified and let out a wail, raising her sword to stab at the bandit leader who had come seeking medicine!
*Shriiiiiik!*
Blood splattered onto her green robe from the torn flesh. The smell of blood surged violently. The sword blade landed on the bandit leader's shoulder, pinning him forcefully to the ground!
"Heh heh, weren't you going to sacrifice swords? Use him. He's going to die anyway. What do you say? Huh? What do you say!"
The Senior Disciple Sister looked deranged. Ying Tiande didn't look at her again, her eyes fixed on the churning Sword Washing Pool (cold pool).
"Water floods the Sword Washing Pool, resentment rises for three autumns. This world will undergo great changes within three years. Alas, my daughter and that brother have become the first souls to perish beneath the malevolent swords."
The mountain wind roared, and the pool water cascaded backward. Under the rain, the waterfall streamed down like a silken curtain. Dry grass drooped, pine and bamboo danced wildly. A hint of light appeared in the east. The north-facing mountainside, devoid of vegetation, suddenly collapsed, rocks rumbling down, mud and water splashing, crushing the tall grass in the gullies below. A colorful snake writhed out from the rock face, as if sensing human presence, and immediately swam towards the Sword Washing Pool!
Everyone's expression darkened. Suddenly, a rotten bamboo pole stood up in the Sword Washing Pool, and a string of bubbles surged upwards!
At this moment, Ren Yuanhao no longer knew if he was alive or dead. The poison of the black蛊 (gǔ)噬心 (shì xīn) pill was yin in nature. Coupled with the stimulation of the cold pool water, it felt as if countless sharp blades were cutting him from both inside and out, causing unbearable pain.
However, what he found rather strange was that he had clearly sunk into the cold pool, and the surging water should have been forcing its way into his nostrils and mouth. Yet, he felt his lips pressed against something soft and smooth. Fresh oxygen continuously flowed into his lungs, making his consciousness clearer and clearer!
He slowly opened his eyes. In a daze, he felt a fairy dressed in white gauze before him, with bright eyes, pearly teeth, skin as white as flowing snow, and black hair like cascading silk. Her fragrance was slowly drawing closer to him!
—Damn, I must be dead. I'm so bold, even a fairy~
As his thoughts swirled, the fairy's fragrance pressed closer.
—If I die like this, will it be okay? Shen Lan Ni, Ye Lan, Yang Ling Xue, Zhang Ying Fang, these guys will probably shed tears for me, right? What else can I hope for?