Cong Yue retracted her hand sheepishly, muttering softly, “It’s swollen.”

Si Fanqing finally remembered this incident. He had no intention of using force to teach the younger generation a lesson; he had only used a little strength to touch Cong Yue, teaching her to put down the hand she had shoved into someone’s face.

“Don’t be angry. My tone was too harsh, it was my fault.” He had always been harsh to others. Usually, the younger generation respected and feared him, even avoiding him.  He had never done anything like coaxing someone before.

Si Fanqing racked his brains, but couldn’t think of a few comforting words.

“He spoke badly and cursed. I’m not wrong,” Cong Yue insisted, sticking to her own statement.

They were back to square one. Si Fanqing felt helpless. He didn’t have a silver tongue, “It’s not right to resort to violence first. You just need to remember this. As for the rest, the elders will judge.”

“You still blame me.”

Cong Yue was stubborn, and Si Fanqing couldn’t do anything about her. He kept repeating the same few comforting words, and even he was tired of saying them.

“I’m not blaming you. You couldn’t bear to see your Sixth Senior Sister being criticized and bullied, you couldn’t bear others insulting the sect, you’re not wrong…”

I don’t know which sentence touched her heart, but the grievance in her heart gradually dissipated. Cong Yue wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Before she could speak, she suddenly heard her junior uncle continue, “Remember, you must be cautious in everything, resorting to violence can’t solve the fundamental problem.”

“Junior Uncle!” Cong Yue was both anxious and annoyed, quickly stopping him from continuing.

Her junior uncle kept bringing up the matter of her resorting to violence first, using it as an opportunity to lecture her every time. He truly wouldn’t miss any chance to teach her a lesson.

Cong Yue and her Sixth Senior Sister followed their junior uncle back to the hunting ground. Other disciples had already entered to hunt.

According to the head of Qingyun Sect, Master Chu, most of the creatures in the hunting ground were common low-level demonic beasts, but there were also high-level demonic beasts that had escaped from the Demon Clan. Master Chu had led people to capture them all and provided them for the disciples to practice hunting.

Low-level demonic beasts were common, and ordinary weapons could kill them. Si Fanqing usually led the younger generation to hunt, and most of the beasts they hunted were of this type. The high-level demonic beasts from the Demon Clan were relatively tricky, requiring cultivators to use spiritual energy, along with weapons, to injure their vital points.

The Sixth Senior Sister’s mood had obviously eased, and she chatted and laughed with Cong Yue as they went to the hunting ground, “Little Cong Yue, let’s find Third Senior Sister and the others first, we can’t be alone.”

This time to Qingyun Sect to study, the eldest and second senior brothers did not come along, choosing to stay in the sect to help their master.

The two of them were on guard against demonic beasts while searching for the others. A sudden commotion came from the bottom of the cliff ahead. Looking down towards the cliff, they saw a few vaguely familiar figures.

More than ten disciples were gathered together, and several demonic beast corpses lay in the center of the crowd, with black blood gushing out, almost soaking the soft soil under their feet.

A voice insisted, “We were the first to discover these demonic beasts, why are you forcibly taking them?”

“You discovered them, but you didn’t kill them,” retorted He Yan, the Qingyun Sect disciple who had clashed with Cong Yue and her Sixth Senior Sister. “If we hadn’t arrived in time, who knows who would be lying on the ground now.”

“You…watch your words!”

He Yan brushed off the demonic beast blood on his robe, sneered, “If you lack skill, it’s embarrassing enough, but if you lose your life, it’s not worth it.”

A leopard can’t change its spots.

Cong Yue glanced at He Yan, whose arrogance was still sky-high, and muttered, “What a coincidence.”

The Sixth Senior Sister pulled her wrist and turned to leave, “Let’s just forget it. Little Cong Yue, let’s go somewhere else.”

As soon as they left, someone behind them started wailing, as if they had been greatly frightened.  Cong Yue, still uneasy, patted her Sixth Senior Sister’s hand reassuringly and quietly walked back.

More than ten disciples scattered, but the demonic beast corpses were gone. Following the panicked gazes of the crowd, a blood mist spread out, and within it, a demonic beast as long as a giant python, blood-red all over, opened and closed its mouth, spraying viscous liquid.

“Death Worm.” Cong Yue pulled her Sixth Senior Sister and quickly hid. She had read about this kind of demonic beast in ancient books.  Logically, such a beast shouldn’t appear in Qingyun Sect’s hunting ground.

The Sixth Senior Sister was shocked, her legs trembling uncontrollably. Although she didn’t like reading ancient books, she had heard the eldest senior sister mention that the Death Worm had a huge head and wide mouth, sharp fangs, could spray venom, or use its long tongue to stick to living creatures, sucking their souls and taking their lives, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

If they were unfortunate enough to encounter it, escape was the priority.

“Little Cong Yue, run!” The Sixth Senior Sister’s voice trembled, fearing that if they were even a step slower, they would be swallowed by the demonic beast.

Cong Yue didn’t move, her eyes fixed on the beast’s movements. The disciples at the bottom of the cliff were very close to the Death Worm.  A slight misstep would certainly lead to death.

“Sixth Senior Sister, wait a little longer,” Cong Yue said in a low voice.

As the Death Worm charged through the blood mist, it was suddenly before them, and the group who had just been arguing over the ownership of the demonic beasts huddled together.

Cong Yue shouted towards the bottom of the cliff, “Run, the Death Worm is extremely difficult to deal with.” Then, she pulled her Sixth Senior Sister into the bushes to hide.

Hearing this, all the disciples were startled. He Yan looked up and around, but saw no one, yet he recognized the voice.

He had never seen a Death Worm, but he had heard of it. If it was really this kind of demonic beast, they might all die here today.

Without hearing a response, Cong Yue cautiously poked her head out.  At a glance, she was so shocked that she stood up straight from the bushes.

He Yan was holding his sword in one hand and pulling the disciple who had argued with him earlier with the other hand, trying to use him as a human shield.

The others were already terrified and running in all directions; even those who still had their wits about them were only looking out for themselves.

“Sixth Senior Sister, help me.” Cong Yue clenched her fists and turned to run to the bottom of the cliff. The two of them had grown up together and often cooperated during hunts, and the Sixth Senior Sister understood what she meant.

The power of illusion couldn’t affect the Death Worm, so the Sixth Senior Sister cast a spell on the disciples who were running around, controlling them so they wouldn’t cause trouble.

He Yan, as a direct disciple of Master Chu, had his own abilities and was not affected by the illusion. Seeing Cong Yue standing in front of everyone, trying to stop the beast’s attack, he turned and hurriedly ran away with the human shield.

Ancient demonic beasts earned their name not just because they lived long.

Cong Yue, a young cultivator who had just entered the world, dared to charge forward alone, relying on the fearlessness of a young calf, but it wouldn’t last long.

The viscous liquid sprayed by the demonic beast was like a torrential rain, sticky and wet, clinging to people, smelly and wet, and corrosive.

Seeing that the disciples had retreated to a safe area under the Sixth Senior Sister’s guidance, Cong Yue stopped attacking.

She never expected to kill the Death Worm, so she immediately retracted her Yanling Dao, wiped the smelly viscous liquid off her body and face, and ran away quickly.

The demonic beast pursued relentlessly, and in the blink of an eye, it was only half a step away from Cong Yue, its long tongue as fast as an arrow striking at her.

Fearing that her efforts would be in vain, Cong Yue turned and fled in the opposite direction of the others.  Coincidentally, she ran into He Yan hiding in the bushes, with the terrified and unconscious human shield lying at his feet.

Cong Yue immediately signaled him to be silent. He Yan stared at her with a complex expression, as if he hadn’t heard.  Without thinking, Cong Yue ducked past him.

The demonic beast pressed on, its scarlet tail sweeping past the bushes where they were hiding. He Yan didn’t dare to breathe, staring intently at the gradually departing beast.  Thinking he was safe, he stood up carrying the human shield.

He was already so scared that his legs were weak, and carrying an immobile person while escaping made things even worse.  For a moment, he was careless, his sword slipped from his hand, and with a “clanging” sound, it hit a stone, successfully attracting the beast’s attention.

Hearing the noise, Cong Yue cursed the useless man in her heart.

The demonic beast turned, its scarlet long tongue striking directly at He Yan and the other. He violently threw the person in his arms backward, the long tongue firmly attached to the human shield’s back, causing both of them to convulse.

He Yan hurriedly let go, kicking his legs back forcefully, rolling and crawling, fearing that he would be the next victim.

The Sixth Senior Sister desperately tried to control He Yan, who seemed to be in a state of frenzy, but could only knock him to the ground when his hands grabbed Cong Yue’s ankles.

Killing the Death Worm was hopeless, now the only thing was to save their lives.

Cong Yue tried her best to snatch the human shield from the beast’s bloodthirsty fangs, turned around, stepped on He Yan’s leg, stumbled, and the three of them almost fell together, making her want to kick him into the beast’s mouth.

She wasn’t He Yan, she couldn’t empathize with him.

“Save me!” He Yan, sweating profusely, lay on the ground with disheveled hair, reaching out to grab her ankles.

Forcing herself to suppress her disgust, Cong Yue reached out to lift him by the shoulders. As soon as she touched him, He Yan let out a shrill scream, suddenly grabbing her arm and pulling her backward.

Before she could look back, a piercing pain suddenly came from her shoulder and neck. Sharp fangs tore through her clothes, pierced her flesh, and bit into Cong Yue’s tender shoulder.

When she opened her eyes again, Cong Yue was lying on a bed, her vision blurred, her throat burning as if it had been scorched by flames, dry and about to smoke.

A figure in white clothes swayed slightly nearby. Cong Yue blinked and saw the person in front of her, “Junior Uncle?” Her voice was hoarse, as if she was a different person, “What…what happened to me?”

Her mind was in a daze, she suddenly sat up, causing the wound to ache, and her body suddenly fell forward.

Si Fanqing quickly reached out to catch her, and Cong Yue fell into his arms.

“Be…careful.” After Cong Yue sat up again, Si Fanqing hurriedly let go of her, his anxious look as if Cong Yue’s warm body temperature had burned his palm through her clothes.