The black mist around them had mostly dispersed, but the resentful spirits were still shrieking.
The cultivators looked at each other in dismay.
Every single one of them had been locked in this purgatory, tortured within an inch of their lives, nearly dying.
It was only when the young prince of the mermen race broke through to gather them together that they finally managed to catch their breath.
But even then, they had been completely powerless against the faceless demon.
This faceless demon had come from the depths of the Earth Realm and was absurdly powerful, far exceeding their understanding of most demons in the Tianshu Realm.
Yet this minor cultivator before them had easily wiped her out.
And to make matters more complicated, this minor cultivator was from the Nine Saints Hall.
The Nine Saints Hall.
A personal disciple.
And a sword technique so terrifyingly strong it defied belief.
When these factors were stacked together, it was hard not to let one's imagination run wild.
After a long moment, a cultivator was the first to sheathe his sword. Brushing the thick dirt off his robes and hiding the probing look in his eyes, he walked toward Song Yao.
The others also snapped out of their daze.
It might not be what they were thinking.
The Nine Saints Hall had always been a breeding ground for monsters.
Perhaps she was just another monster.
They followed suit and gathered around, bowing and cupping their hands in respect. “Thank you, Fellow Daoist Lin, for lending a hand. Otherwise, we wouldn't have kept our lives.”
“The personal disciples of the Nine Saints Hall truly live up to their reputation. To possess such cultivation at such a young age, you truly carry the demeanor of your predecessors...”
“Indeed, indeed. We owe it all to Fellow Daoist Lin this time. Without you, we would likely have been buried here today.”
“...”
As the waves of flattery grew louder, Ning Zhou couldn't help but feel something was off.
These cultivators all looked older than him and Song Yao, so they should be seniors.
Yet every single one of them was inexplicably... cautious and obsequious.
Had they also realized that Lin Mu was Song Yao?
Hiss—
That would be rather troublesome.
He stealthily threw a few meaningful glances at Song Yao, but unfortunately, she had no intention of paying attention to them. Her gaze remained fixed on the depths of the black mist, seemingly probing the situation inside.
A brief silence ensued, and everyone felt a bit awkward.
Ning Zhou had no choice but to take half a step forward to smooth things over. “Seniors, may I ask when you entered the demon realm? What is the situation here now?”
A cultivator in the center quickly answered, “I entered the demon realm about two days ago. I was tricked by a villager into staying at his home, but then my demon toxin flared up, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was already in this place.”
The surrounding cultivators chimed in agreement. Almost all of them had been sold by the local people after falling victim to the demon toxin.
Song Yao snapped out of her thoughts at this moment and asked in confusion, “Since you were paralyzed by the demon toxin before, why are you fine now?”
“This is all thanks to the young prince!”
The cultivators looked toward Jingyu, who was standing nearby. “The mermen race possesses a secret art that protects them from demon toxins and miasma. The young prince cast a Heart-Clearing Spell on us, which is why we can stand here completely fine.”
Ning Zhou said, “I see. But if the young prince has a secret art, why was he locked up here too? Was he also sold into this place?”
There were two mermen guards standing beside Jingyu.
One of them said, “We entered Frost Flower Palace on our own to seek out that demon. However, we were... captured by other fellow cultivators and thrown in here.”
Just now, everyone had been too busy fleeing for their lives to exchange information. Hearing this, someone cried out in shock, “Captured by fellow cultivators?!”
The guard nodded. “Yes. According to what we gathered earlier, the demons in this demon realm shut all captured cultivators in this place. Once they are tortured to the point of losing their will to live, their love threads are extracted, turning them into walking corpses.
“If they catch the eye of that Immortal Venerable, they will be taken in as his adoptive children to be used by him. If not, they will remain in purgatory forever.”
She paused, then looked at Song Yao and Ning Zhou. “As for you people from the Nine Saints Hall, you will be tortured until they get information on Song Yao's whereabouts. They might even extract your love threads to make you answer obediently.”
Ning Zhou hurriedly asked, “Are there still other people from our Nine Saints Hall in this purgatory?”
The guard hesitated for a moment and frowned. “Possibly. We saw the flashes of sword energy in the deepest depths, so someone should be trapped there. However, there are too many resentful spirits and the demon toxin is too heavy. Since there were so many of us, we were worried about being wiped out, so we didn't go over.”
Song Yao's downcast eyelashes trembled slightly. She gripped the Bishui Sword with a backhand, and the blade let out a soft hum as it left its sheath. “I'll go take a look.”
Everyone was startled upon hearing this and immediately tried to stop her. “How can you do that? There is likely more than just the faceless demon in this purgatory!”
“And there are quite a few minor demons there too. It's too dangerous!”
“If you must go, we should go together as a group!”
These orthodox cultivators were truly the most troublesome.
Song Yao cast a sideways glance at them. “If you follow and something goes wrong, I'll have to rescue you. Just stay put.”
“...”
What an incredibly blunt young person.
The crowd was momentarily left speechless, completely at a loss for how to retort.
Seeing her continue to walk inward, Ning Zhou grew a bit anxious. Forgetting his fear of her, he quickly stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and lowered his voice. “Are you crazy? Look how pale your face is. Besides... you don't have your past cultivation anymore. Charging into the depths is just seeking death!”
Forced to turn her head to look at him, a trace of a lazy smile appeared in Song Yao's eyes. “Then will you go?”
Ning Zhou paused and rubbed the tip of his nose. “Uh, I... I suppose I could go. But can you give me a few more of those pills that suppress the demon toxin? They're Qi-Replenishing Pills, right?”
“I was just joking.”
Song Yao laughed again and shook off his hand. “You would die too quickly in there, and retrieving your corpse would be too much of a hassle.”
Ning Zhou: “...I wouldn't die that quickly. I could probably hold out for a bit, okay?”
“Alright.”
Song Yao patted his shoulder. “I'll just take a quick look and come back. Nothing will happen. You guys stay here and look for another way out.”
After saying this, she stepped forward into the black mist. Before long, her figure dissolved into the thick, dark fog.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from beside her.
The voice of the young prince of the mermen race then rang out beside her ear, “I'll go with you.”
Song Yao couldn't help but curve her eyes into a smile.
This young prince was indeed much more mature and steady than before.
She still remembered how incredibly timid he used to be. Even her running off to the caves of the North Sea Gulf to catch clam spirits for fun would scare him into a cold sweat.
She particularly remembered him hesitating outside the cave for the longest time, absolutely refusing to step inside just because it was too dark.
When she came out clutching two pearls she had snatched, she had seen him with red eyes, on the verge of tears. He had even stomped his foot, saying she shouldn't be so reckless and shouldn't bully others like that.
For such a pampered person who was afraid of the dark to actually dare to run into a demon realm all by himself and even save so many cultivators...
The mermen said he had come for her sake.
For her sake?
He didn't even know she would be here. Could he have predicted it in advance?
That was simply absurd.
In the pitch-black darkness where she couldn't even see her own fingers, she pulled out a folding fan and offered him one end of it, speaking lazily, “Young prince, don't get lost, or else I'll have to go looking for you.”
Rate on N.U.
