Chapter 44

In the end, Lin Du was indeed given a few acupuncture treatments. On the plus side, the heart pain she had been feeling earlier, caused by her anger, was now noticeably relieved.

However, after administering the needles, Du Shao’s expression was filled with concern.

Lin Du’s heart condition was in really poor shape.

But Lin Du herself didn’t seem worried at all. The ancient city had been almost completely scavenged, and more and more people were arriving. Seeing that she was now encountering someone every few steps, Lin Du decided to head in a different direction.

It seemed she was naturally unlucky and had no affinity with spiritual plants.

Even though there were only two paths to choose from, whichever one Lin Du took would definitely be devoid of spiritual plants, while the direction Du Shao chose would always yield one or two useful items.

Lin Du felt that this was pure malice from the heavens.

It seemed she was destined not to be able to gather the spiritual plants that the system claimed could cure her. At most, she could find materials that could be used for crafting or engraving formations, such as resin or deer antlers.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. The gate to the realm slowly began to open, and the cultivators scattered throughout the small world simultaneously stopped what they were doing.

Lin Du stared fixedly at the golden gate appearing in the sky. Once, millions of people had sacrificed their lives and spiritual power just to open that gate.

A gate is something that those inside long to exit, while those outside desperately wish to enter.

“What are you daydreaming about? Aren’t you leaving?” Du Shao called out softly to her. “Is your heart acting up again?”

Lin Du reflexively stepped away from Du Shao’s outstretched hand. “No, I’m perfectly healthy. I don’t need any more needles.”

She summoned her flying weapon and lightly jumped onto it. “Let’s go.”

Hundreds of figures, each trailing arcs of spiritual energy, headed in the same direction. From a distance, they looked like countless rising stars, their spiritual light varying in colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Hundreds of light trails swept across the vast sky, resembling intertwined ribbons of brilliance, dazzling yet mysterious.

The elders of the various sects had already left the tea room and were outside, waiting for their disciples.

Behind Ju Yuan stood a female cultivator in white, cold and aloof, with only a red mole at the corner of her eye adding a touch of allure.

From a distance, Lin Du glanced at Xia Tianwu and immediately thought of Wu Xi, whom she had punched in the face. Wu Xi wasn’t supposed to be here today—why did she come anyway? What kind of twisted fate was this?

“Senior Brother Ju Yuan,” Lin Du landed in front of Ju Yuan, but her gaze passed over him to look at Xia Tianwu. “Why is Tianwu here?”

Ju Yuan coughed lightly. “What do you think? When you were fighting that willow demon, you used the Yang Soul Technique, which took a lot out of you, didn’t it? Your Fifth Senior Brother told me that regular yang-boosting pills would be too strong for you, so he specially prepared a milder one, and Tianwu brought it over.”

“It would only take a few hours to return; there was no need for her to come all this way.”

Lin Du’s eyes scanned the crowd for Wu Xi and saw that her punch had been too heavy—Wu Xi’s face was still swollen, making half of it look particularly ridiculous.

It seemed Xia Tianwu’s presence was quite fitting.

“I was worried about you. Let me take your pulse.” Xia Tianwu reached out and took Lin Du’s wrist, skillfully checking her pulse. Her fingertips felt as cold as ice, and a slight frown appeared on her brow.

“Junior master, you…”

“You’re actually still alive.”

Ordinary people who had been dead for seven days would probably be warmer than Lin Du was now.

If one were to say Lin Du had a short life, she was still able to walk around and live just fine despite having barely any yang energy left. But if one were to say she had a good life, the Yang Soul Technique had already drained nearly all of her yang energy. Based on her internal condition, even entering the Underworld wouldn’t make a ghost suspect she was still alive.

Lin Du looked innocently at her Second Nephew. This child really took after her master in not knowing how to talk properly.

“I’m alive; don’t worry.”

Xia Tianwu rarely showed much expression, and aside from the slight frown and the worry in her eyes, her face was as cold as Lin Du’s body temperature.

She took out a jade bottle. “Junior master, these are yang-boosting pills. Take two and see how you feel.”

Lin Du looked suspiciously at the pills, which were larger than usual. “Are you trying to make things difficult for me?”

“I added some extra ingredients to slow down the release of the medicinal power for a gentler effect. You don’t have to worry; these pills were made by my master, not me.”

“Oh.” Lin Du reluctantly swallowed the pills, and the cold that constantly flowed through her bones slowly began to dissipate.

The other three also came out one after another. Their condition was clearly much better than Lin Du’s. Each of them was forced to take a regular yang-boosting pill, and soon, wisps of white steam started rising from their heads.

Lin Du blinked, thinking she was seeing things. “Even though it’s winter, isn’t it a bit much for you all to be steaming like that?”

The three human teapots looked innocently at their Junior master. “We didn’t want this either.”

After taking the yang-boosting pills, their internal yang energy surged, making them feel hot all over, and soon they started steaming as if they were boiling kettles.

A few large words floated through Lin Du’s mind: *I have seen the light.*

Xia Tianwu’s expression remained unchanged, but her fluttering eyelashes revealed her guilt. “Sorry, those yang-boosting pills were made by me. Maybe I overdid it a bit; they’re a bit too concentrated, so the medicinal power is a bit too strong.”

Ju Yuan and Lin Du both raised their hands to press on their temples, conveniently covering their eyes.

The three little boiling kettles, with steam rising from their heads, were especially conspicuous in the sunlight.

Yan Qing felt a bit embarrassed and tried to cover the steam with his hand, but when he saw that his hand was also steaming, he gave up.

Lin Du didn’t forget the important matter. “Senior Brother Ju Yuan, I need to talk to you about something.”

Ju Yuan lowered his hand and glanced at the elders nearby. “They’re about to evaluate the disciples’ gains. Is it urgent?”

Lin Du thought for a moment. “Not particularly.”

“Then we can talk later.”

“Since it’s already happened, fixing it will take time and effort. An extra hour won’t make much difference.”

Ju Yuan: … That doesn’t sound like a small matter.

“Tell me now. They won’t dare make any judgments without me.”

Lin Du pointed to her ear. “Please, Senior Brother, set up a barrier so that no one else can hear.”

Ju Yuan hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to create a barrier. “You can speak freely.”

“The willow demon devoured a total of 197 people. I examined the bones, and the earliest one died about 600 years ago. In that ancient city, there was a sacrificial gathering and a Yin-converging formation, with the remains of 217 high-level cultivators. Of these, 197 have no remaining souls.”

Lin Du succinctly explained the situation. “So, I suspect that out of those who entered this secret realm, around 197 people are no longer the same disciples of the Zhong Zhou who originally entered.”

Ju Yuan’s expression grew increasingly serious. “Junior Sister, you realize that this speculation is bold and could stir up a storm among the sects of the Zhong Zhou.”

Lin Du nodded. “I know, but this isn’t just speculation—I have evidence.”

As she spoke, she produced two bones.

Ju Yuan: … When did she pick up bones?

Wait, why did she even bring bones out with her in the first place?

The bones elegantly twirled in the young man’s right hand as Lin Du spoke in an extremely calm voice, “This one is from the oldest corpse.”

Ju Yuan’s gaze fell on her right hand, then shifted to the bone in her left hand, which also twirled.

“And this one is from a high-level cultivator in the Lan Ju Realm Formation.”

“Of course, I have another piece of evidence, but the remnant soul’s strength is probably only enough for one communication.”

“Senior Brother, you need to make sure that the sect elders who hear what this remnant soul says are completely trustworthy.”

Ju Yuan’s eyes lifted to Lin Du’s face.

It was clearly the face of a young person, with eyes clouded by a misty gloom. Due to having little rest over the past seven days, there were faint shadows under her eyes. She still wore the casual, slightly roguish smile she typically had when talking with her own people, but her words had already arranged everything clearly regarding the elders of all the sects in the Zhong Zhou.

Suppressing the astonishment and surprise in his heart, Ju Yuan solemnly nodded, “Don’t worry, I understand.”