Chapter 142: Qianxun Steps In to Help

In fact, even without Ji Yao’s reminder, Mu Baiyun had already noticed everyone’s strange state. If he failed to blend in, his anomaly would be exposed very soon.

"You..." Shielding Ji Yao, Mu Baiyun collapsed to the side as well, using his wide sleeves to partially cover both of their faces.

The throbbing headache continued in waves, and Ji Yao seized a fleeting moment to explain via voice transmission.

"Don't worry, I'm not like them; my condition is different. I'll explain later. Just make sure they don't notice anything unusual about you!"

The facial features on the sacrificial altar, where a mouth should have been, stretched into an unnatural arc that no normal human could manage. Meanwhile, Xuansi’s expression seemed to mirror that terrifying face, perfectly displaying a look of satisfaction.

Xuansi did not explain the cause of this phenomenon; instead, he kept emitting harsh, grating screeches that sounded to everyone like a death knell.

A sudden, terrifying surge of energy rushed through their meridians, feeling as though it would tear their bodies apart in the next second.

Among the demonic cultivators collapsed on the ground, many with weaker cultivation bases were already bleeding from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses, their faces pale as gold foil.

When that face on the altar seemed to have had its fill of watching everyone’s agony, Xuansi finally waved his hand. A squad of figures entirely shrouded in black robes appeared. Each of them held a small black tripod in one hand and a bone-white medicinal phial in the other.

"Now, it is time for you to show your stance. Those willing to unconditionally and absolutely submit must offer a drop of your vital blood. Naturally, you will be able to leave safely today, and you may even receive great benefits in the future.

If any are unwilling, or harbor other improper intentions, then I'm afraid you can only remain upon this sacrificial altar today..."

As Xuansi's words fell, the black-robed figures holding the small tripods walked up to the cultivators in the very first row, placing the tripods right before their eyes, giving them no intention of allowing much time for consideration.

Whether due to absolute confidence in the previous sudden outbreak or for some other reason, the area surrounding this gathering place was completely undefended. There were no restrictive barriers set up, nor were any guards in sight.

"Junior Sister, are you all right? The situation has changed; we must figure out a way to leave this place early."

Mu Baiyun observed the movements of the crowd around him and secretly transmitted his voice to Ji Yao.

Yet under the current circumstances, most of the people around them were collapsed on the ground. Those who had not fallen were either meditating or frozen in place, not daring to act rashly, lest their injured meridians become extremely difficult to heal.

If anyone were to leave at this moment, it would be easily detected. Mu Baiyun considered several plans, but all of them seemed unfeasible.

Seeing that some people at the front had resigned themselves to their fate, forcing out a drop of vital blood to cast into the tripod, and were subsequently bestowed with something from the bone phials that greatly improved their symptoms and showed signs of full recovery, even Mu Baiyun, who was usually steady and composed, inevitably grew somewhat anxious, fearing they would eventually have to fight their way out through sheer force and injuries.

"Senior Brother Yun, don't panic. I'm fine now. Give me a moment, I might have a way."

Just then, unusual sounds echoed through the surroundings—suppressed groans of agony breaking through the release. Mu Baiyun was calmed by Ji Yao’s clear tone and thus had the leisure to search for the source of the noise.

The images transmitted through his divine sense were decadent and cruel: a male cultivator was using the dual cultivation method of yin and yang to force all the uncontainable, bizarre energy within his body out and drive it completely into the female cultivator beneath him.

That male cultivator looked much more relaxed now, but the female cultivator used as his vessel had long since bled from her seven orifices, her breath entirely gone, appearing thoroughly dead.

Mu Baiyun was certainly not the only one observing this scene. Furthermore, this was the territory of demonic cultivators, so naturally there were no taboos. Once one person succeeded and those around them discovered the method was effective, they too began to grow restless.

Glances and divine senses secretly searched through the crowd, eager to imitate the act.

These painful groans gradually grew more frequent. Even Ji Yao, who had been concentrating on communicating secretly with Qianxun, had to turn her head toward the source of the noise, only to have her eyes covered in time by a pair of large hands.

"Junior Sister, don't look!" Mu Baiyun's voice sounded somewhat unnatural.

This action could only block her vision, but it could not block the divine sense of a cultivation practitioner. The moment Ji Yao turned her head, her divine sense also swept outward, naturally witnessing a scene even more unbearable than what Mu Baiyun had seen.

Stunned for a moment, Ji Yao could not help feeling a chill run through her entire body, freezing up momentarily.

"Junior Sister Yao, don't be afraid. I will protect you." Mu Baiyun’s voice was firm, as if he had made some sort of resolve, while he simultaneously pressed Ji Yao into his embrace.

Upon seeing those sights, Ji Yao remained frozen for only a second before sweeping her divine sense toward the waist-high patch of bushes not far away that she had already marked out earlier.

Paying no mind to Mu Baiyun's tone or what he had said, the moment she was pressed into his arms, she quickly transmitted her voice.

"Senior Brother Yun, do you see that patch of bushes to your right rear? A moment from now, no matter what happens or what you hear, your task is to hold me and roll into those bushes as quickly as possible, acting as panicked as you can. Leave the rest to me."

Ji Yao had been fretting over how to retreat into those bushes without alerting anyone else, and now she had found a way. Though this method chilled the heart, she could only look out for herself right now, pretending not to see those female cultivators with their eyes wide open in death.

Having finalized the feasibility of the plan with Qianxun, Ji Yao transmitted her message to Mu Baiyun.

"Junior Sister, you..." Mu Baiyun was somewhat at a loss for words. He was now one hundred percent certain that Ji Yao had seen and knew what those people were doing, yet she still intended to use such a method to divert attention.

Knowing what Mu Baiyun was worried about, Ji Yao patted his chest and said with a sly smile:

"Here, only you and I know. They don't recognize who we are, so how could it affect anyone's reputation? In times of emergency, one must be expedient, and besides, this is the best method right now. I'll let out a cry, and then you move, okay?"

Mu Baiyun estimated the distance to the bushes. Though he felt extremely awkward inside, he still nodded.

Shortly after, the group of people where Ji Yao was located heard a terrified, muffled scream. Even Mu Baiyun, who had been mentally prepared, almost believed that the person crying out was genuinely terrified.

Even so, the plan had to proceed. The exact moment Ji Yao voiced the cry, Mu Baiyun scooped her up and sprinted into the bushes like the wind, rather than rolling into them as Ji Yao had initially suggested.

Ji Yao desperately wanted to complain about Mu Baiyun failing to follow their previously planned action, but the second after entering the bushes, she had to quickly clean up after his arbitrary improvisation.

Quickly tearing off the lower hem of her own outer garment, Ji Yao hurled it out of the bushes, followed by a miserable shriek: "Let me go! I don't want to die!"

Mu Baiyun felt a flash of green light before his eyes, and the next moment, both he and Ji Yao—whom he was still holding—found themselves inside a verdant, glowing world. Near the center of a decayed wooden stump not far away stood a tiny sapling that did not grow in soil.

Before Mu Baiyun could react, Ji Yao pressed her hands against his arms, bounced out of his embrace, and dashed directly toward the strange little sapling.

"Qianxun, I haven't seen you in a while. I've only heard your voice until now, but seeing you in person, you've grown quite a bit taller!"

Mu Baiyun found it truly unimaginable how one was supposed to communicate with a sapling, and judging by her tone, his junior sister was actually very familiar with it—clearly not her first time here.

An even more unimaginable sight followed: the branches and leaves on both sides of the sapling curled forward, while the tender bud at the center tilted aside. A voice belonging to a young boy of only a few years old rang out within the verdant space.

"If it weren't for this, I wouldn't be helping you this time! Are you certain your senior brother will help me keep this a secret and never tell a soul?"