The next morning, Huo Lei found Xiao Man's room empty. On the table lay a pile of items: spirit stones and elixirs. He hurried out to search for her, but after scouring White Wolf Village from end to end, he could not find any trace of Xiao Man.
"Huo Lei, why do you look so distraught first thing in the morning?" a friend from the village asked, patting Huo Lei's shoulder, his face full of confusion. "Did that outsider bully you?"
Huo Lei shook his head without answering. He knew Xiao Man and her companions would leave, but he hadn't expected them to depart so soon. He then thought that perhaps Xiao Man had returned to Sun Village, and he hurried towards it.
However, the people of Sun Village had not seen Xiao Man. Upon hearing this, Huo Lei immediately understood that Xiao Man had truly left, departing without bidding farewell to anyone.
"Grandpa, what's wrong with Brother Huo Lei?"
"He's just unhappy," Old Shi said, rubbing his grandson's head. "Did you watch the divine maiden treat the sacred tree yesterday? How is it?"
"The sacred tree has come back to life!" Little Stone exclaimed excitedly. "Sister Xiao Man is amazing. She said the sacred tree could be healed, and she actually healed it."
"Yes, she is truly remarkable," Old Shi said, gazing up at the sky. "So many years have passed, and she is still the same as before."
"Grandpa, have you met Sister Xiao Man before?"
"No," Old Shi replied with a smile. "But Grandpa has heard many things about her."
"Grandpa, you've heard stories about the Heavenly God Xuan Xin, not Sister Xiao Man. But I've truly heard a lot about Sister Xiao Man. I heard people say she was once an empress of a country..."
The grandfather and grandson walked back towards the village, chatting and laughing. Huo Lei, on the other hand, returned to White Wolf Village dejectedly. Since they were gone, he presumed he wouldn't find them. He wondered if he would ever have the chance to see her again in this lifetime.
Xiao Man and her group departed the barren land through a spatial portal. Xiao Man, having mastered the laws of space and time in the barren land, could leave. However, the others could not, so Xiao Man brought them into the Sky-Reaching Pagoda.
Looking at the spiritual springs and herbs within the Sky-Reaching Pagoda, Taotie gasped, "I finally understand why those people wanted to kill her. With so many secret treasures, any one of them could make others green with envy!"
"What, are you envious too?" Old Qin floated out, startling Taotie so much that it jumped three feet into the air. "There's a ghost!"
"You're the ghost!" Old Qin huffed, stroking his beard. "I am the artifact spirit of this Sky-Reaching Pagoda."
Nangong Yu appeared unfazed, as if he had long witnessed the might of the Sky-Reaching Pagoda. However, he had been very surprised at first. He understood why Yue Tianxia was so insistent on obtaining the Sky-Reaching Pagoda. Who wouldn't desire such a heaven-defying artifact?
"Jun Ru, it's understandable that you're not surprised, but why aren't you surprised either?"
"Have you forgotten? I once followed Xuan Xin. What kind of good things haven't I seen?" Jun Ru said indifferently. "The Sky-Reaching Pagoda might be considered a divine artifact in the eyes of ordinary mortals, but in my eyes, it's nothing special."
"Nothing special!" Old Qin was indignant. This pagoda was made with his lifeblood. In the end, to complete it, he had sacrificed himself, willingly becoming its artifact spirit. This seemingly frail person dared to call the Sky-Reaching Pagoda nothing special.
"Indeed, it's nothing special. You must know that the former Xuan Xin could create a small world with a flick of his finger, a world where all things existed. Compared to a small world, your Sky-Reaching Pagoda is insignificant."
Old Qin pursed his lips, unable to refute, because compared to a small world, the Sky-Reaching Pagoda truly was insignificant.
Zhu Qing, who was closest to Old Qin, could not allow an outsider to bully him and immediately jumped up, "The one who could create a small world with a flick of a finger was Xuan Xin, not you. What are you so proud of? If you're so capable, create one!"
Jun Ru paused, not refuting, as he truly couldn't create a small world at the moment. However, it was only for now. Once his strength recovered, creating a small world wouldn't be too difficult.
Seeing Jun Ru's silence, Zhu Qing swam to Nangong Yu's shoulder and coiled around it, "Who is that person? So arrogant?"
"The Sea Emperor."
Zhu Qing let out a soft thud as it fell to the ground from Nangong Yu's shoulder, its body going limp. It looked at Nangong Yu sideways, "The Sea Emperor?"
"Yes, Sea Emperor Jun Ru."
Zhu Qing immediately hid in Nangong Yu's sleeve, trembling violently, refusing to come out. How could it not have realized that this seemingly frail scholar was such a terrifying being? How had it not sensed the Sea Emperor's pressure emanating from him?
Seeing Zhu Qing hide, Taotie couldn't help but grin, "Jun Ru, you've truly fallen. Now even a small snake dares to challenge you."
"It is qualified to challenge me, for its master is Xiao Man," Jun Ru said nonchalantly. He suddenly noticed furry heads emerging from the Ice-Fire Spring. "What are those?"
"People from the Heavenly Shield Sect," Nangong Yu explained. "The Heavenly Shield Sect was annihilated for resisting the Pseudo-God tribe. The survivors turned into the hundred zombies, neither human nor ghost. Man'er brought them all back, intending to use the medicinal properties of the Ice-Fire Spring to remove the curse poison from their bodies."
Jun Ru walked forward, looking at the people writhing in pain in the Ice-Fire Spring. A flicker of pity crossed his eyes. "They are undergoing demonization."
"Man'er also suspects it's demonization, but she hasn't found a cure yet. Do you have any ideas?" Nangong Yu asked. They had spent time hiding with the remnants of the Heavenly Shield Sect and had tried every method, but they couldn't remove the poison from their bodies.
"The cause of demonization is blood," Jun Ru explained. "And not ordinary demon blood, but..."
"Heavenly Demon Clan," Taotie chimed in. "That is, the Pseudo-God tribe in your words."
"What? The Pseudo-God tribe are the Heavenly Demon Clan now?" Nangong Yu had considered the Pseudo-God tribe to be former subordinates of Xuan Xin, but he had never imagined them to be demons.
"The blood of the Heavenly Demon Clan possesses immense power. If humans drink it, they can gain unexpected abilities, but the consequences are endless," Jun Ru said slowly. "Under normal circumstances, there are no problems. However, once they come into contact with Meteor Fire Stone, it will trigger the hidden poison within the Heavenly Demon Clan blood. At best, it results in demonization; at worst, it causes immediate death."
"It is said that Meteor Fire Stone is the nemesis of Cang Xuan cultivators. Could it be that Cang Xuan cultivators are all more or less infected with the demon poison of the Heavenly Demon Clan?"
"The Heavenly Demon Clan has difficulty reproducing. To control Cang Xuan, it is highly probable they used demon poison to control Cang Xuan's cultivators. If this is the case, then..." Jun Ru's brow furrowed tightly. The situation seemed more dangerous than he had imagined. Once the Heavenly Demon Clan launched their counterattack, all the cultivators of Cang Xuan would become Xiao Man's enemies!