Chapter 119: Towards the Mortal World
“How are you going to punish me?”
When a demonic beast invaded, Ning Ruoque’s hand immediately rested on her sword.
But Chu Xuan just stood up and stretched. “It seems that not many have come. There’s no need for you.”
“You guys eat slowly. I’ll be back after I take a look.” She took two skewers of meat when she left, as if she were already used to this kind of small interlude.
Watching Chu Xuan go, Ning Ruoque still gathered all her spirits, paying attention to the movements around her while busy feeding Yin Buran.
She feels that Yin Buran has lost weight again!
A certain person ate slowly. With one bite, the fruit was only scratched a little, and Ning Ruoque was anxious as she watched.
When she tried to hand a skewer of meat to Yin Buran for the second time, the latter finally looked up. “Has your cultivation recovered?”
Ning Ruoque was stunned for a moment, then answered, “It’s still a little short, but I’m making progress every day.”
In fact, even if she did nothing, her cultivation was also slowly rising, but Ning Ruoque was used to practicing her sword and cultivating every day, and she wished her cultivation could be even higher.
She thought that Yin Buran was worried, so she promised with great solemnity, “No matter what, I will protect you.”
It should have been a very touching sentence, but Ning Ruoque was holding a skewer of meat in one hand and a roasted steamed bun in the other, looking both simple and dull.
Yin Buran sized her up and down, then suddenly pinched Ning Ruoque’s face and rubbed it a few times unceremoniously.
Ning Ruoque wanted to dodge, but she heard Yin Buran say, “I suspect that the demon race wants to destroy the formation eye of the grand formation.”
Ning Ruoque nodded. “Mm.”
Yin Buran got even closer, her face full of seriousness. “The most direct way is to attack Chu Xuan, or to destroy the anchor.”
Ning Ruoque tried to struggle, and she also leaned back. “I know… you let go first… ah—”
Seeing that Yin Buran was pouncing on her, in order not to let the steamed bun in her hand fall into the fire, and also in order not to let Yin Buran fall, Ning Ruoque fell to the ground in a comical posture.
Her fine white hair brushed past her neck, and it was very itchy.
But when she met Yin Buran’s eyes, she was as if she had been hit by a spell, unable to move.
She heard Yin Buran say, “You also have to protect yourself, no matter what.”
Ning Ruoque directly circled her, and used this to respond.
The water was gurgling, and the bonfire was crackling. The night was dark, but a clamor suddenly sounded.
“Fellow Daoist, Fellow Daoist? Where are you going?”
“Quick… stop him! There’s something wrong with him!”
Ning Ruoque quickly sat up, stuffed the steamed bun and the meat skewer into Yin Buran’s hand, and looked for the source of the chaos.
A shadow swept over from not far away. No matter how the cultivators behind her chased and intercepted, they all rushed towards Ning Ruoque without any hesitation.
The other’s motive might not be pure. Ning Ruoque drew her sword without any hesitation, and the sword light drew several afterimages, and like a flying arrow and a meteor, it cut off that person’s path.
The sword went first, and it was in front of the person. It was just a line away from cutting his throat.
That person retreated to dodge, but he didn’t expect the long sword to have a spirit. The blade of the sword circled around his neck, cutting a bloody gash.
Ning Ruoque just happened to catch up at this time.
She had not had time to look closely, but the other had turned his head with a stiff movement and had crashed into the blade of the sword without any warning.
Someone cried out in alarm.
Fresh blood splattered, but there was no scene of a head being separated from the body as she had imagined. Ning Ruoque was a step ahead of him and directly pinned him to the ground with her long sword.
With the Nameless sword suppressing him, and with all sorts of messy spells added later, that person seemed to have lost the ability to resist.
His eyes were wide, and the veins on his forehead were bulging. He could only make a hoarse and slurred sound from his throat, “Escape…”
Ning Ruoque frowned.
The crisis seemed to be resolved, and the crowd immediately gathered around, discussing the situation.
“This state is not right. He must have been bewitched by a monster.”
“It’s also possible that he’s under an illusion. Does any fellow Daoist know him?”
Through the crowded shoulders, Ning Ruoque saw a white shadow moving on the riverbank.
She was so lazy that she didn’t even want to walk, and she was still holding a skewer of roasted steamed bun.
Without even caring that she was still standing in a pool of blood, Ning Ruoque said in a loud voice, “Please make way.”
The crowd was suddenly silent. They watched as she inexplicably laughed, and then they all made way, and all looked at Yin Buran.
“Divine Pivot Lord.”
Yin Buran nodded and casually stuffed the roasted steamed bun back to Ning Ruoque. This thing would be burnt if it were roasted any longer.
She didn’t rush to stop the bleeding. She first lowered her eyes and stared at the man on the ground, then rolled up her sleeves and placed the back of her hand on his forehead.
Ning Ruoque was afraid that the man would suddenly attack and hurt someone, so she also stared at him intently.
A cultivator was discussing in a low voice, “Is this a person from the Tianyin Sect? I remember that he wasn’t at the sentry post, was he?”
Her companion shook his head, also very bewildered.
After a moment, Yin Buran sighed softly. “His spiritual soul has been taken. I can only save his life. As for how much of his mind can be restored, it all depends on his own fortune.”
She flipped her hand, and a lotus flower condensed from spiritual energy floated into the man’s brow. Only when he finally closed his eyes did Yin Buran signal for Ning Ruoque to draw her sword.
Having one’s spiritual soul taken was much more serious than being under an illusion, and the conditions for treatment related to the spiritual soul were harsh, and for a medical cultivator, it required great caution.
In the eyes of others, to be able to save his life at this moment was already a great fortune.
But after Yin Buran had healed the man’s external injuries, she did not write a prescription as usual.
Instead, she paused for a moment, and before Ning Ruoque could speak, she pointed her finger at the man’s brow.
An invisible thread appeared from her fingertip. Even though it was as thin as a spider’s silk, Ning Ruoque could feel the powerful force contained within.
Her intuition told her that this was not a good thing, not to mention that the change had happened in an instant, and Yin Buran’s face had already turned pale.
The thread broke, and Yin Buran staggered a little, and was caught by Ning Ruoque.
Ning Ruoque’s face was even more unsightly.
She carried Yin Buran away from the crowd, returned to the campfire, and said in a low voice, “You wanted to probe his memory?”
Yin Buran did not answer, so Ning Ruoque took it as a tacit admission.
To rashly enter a stranger’s sea of consciousness, and even a sea of consciousness that had been invaded by a demonic beast, was simply to disregard one’s own safety.
Ning Ruoque pressed her lips together, and she suddenly felt a wave of anger rise, and even the Nameless sword in its scabbard trembled slightly.
“Yin Buran, you clearly know that this is very dangerous.”
Yin Buran met Ning Ruoque’s gaze with a blank expression, as if she didn’t know what she was talking about.
Seeing that she seemed not to care, Ning Ruoque was both anxious and annoyed. “Even if you have a reason, I can’t accept it.”
She had experienced the pain of her spiritual soul being torn apart, so she could not tolerate Yin Buran’s behavior even more.
So Yin Buran turned her head away, and her eyes squinted slightly, and there was even a hint of grievance.
Ning Ruoque almost laughed out of anger.
It was clear that a certain person also understood that her behavior was improper, but she did not want to admit it and was even trying to play the victim to get away with it.
Ning Ruoque couldn’t help but have some firm thoughts in her mind, wanting to teach her a lesson.
“You’re so strict with me, but why are you so different with yourself?”
“…”
Perhaps because Ning Ruoque was unwilling to give in, after a long while, Yin Buran tugged on Ning Ruoque’s sleeve. “Alright, then how are you going to punish me?”
Ning Ruoque did not speak, and on the surface, she was unmoved, but in reality, she had already begun to plan in her heart.
She had originally wanted to deduct today’s maltose, but when she thought of Yin Buran’s listless look from the bitterness, her heart softened.
With her like this, she couldn’t be fierce, and she didn’t even dare to touch her.
In the end, she really couldn’t think of any suitable means to make Yin Buran realize the seriousness of this matter, so she could only sulk on her own.
Ning Ruoque took out a pill that could calm the mind and replenish the spirit and brought it to Yin Buran’s lips.
She said in a dejected voice, “I haven’t thought of it yet. I’ll remember it for now.”
Yin Buran opened her mouth and even bit Ning Ruoque’s finger, and stared at her with slightly moist eyes.
Ning Ruoque: “……”
Her fingers were wet, and she was licked a few times by Yin Buran as a sign of goodwill.
She tried hard to put on a straight face and emphasized, “You can’t do this again next time. At least, you have to discuss it with me!”
And Yin Buran directly hugged her softly. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”
After a few rounds of acting cute, even though Ning Ruoque did not want to let it go easily, she had to admit that she fell for this.
After struggling for a few breaths, she compromised and rubbed Yin Buran’s hair.
She had been fierce just now, but now her features had softened without her realizing it, and she let out a long sigh. “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Yin Buran shook her head. “I couldn’t see his memory.”
She chose her words and said, “But it’s very strange. There are no traces of any spells in his sea of consciousness, and no demonic aura can be detected. I’ve never heard of this kind of method. What on earth could it be…”
While Yin Buran was fiddling with the bonfire and lost in thought, Ning Ruoque wrapped her in a cloak.
Before long, the sound of the fight in the distance also quieted down, and Chu Xuan’s figure could be vaguely seen.
She had a few words with her subordinates, and then the people on the riverbank gradually dispersed, and after the wounded were also carried to a safer place to recuperate, she finally came back in a hurry.
Before she had even gotten close, her voice came first. “Is there anything hot? Let me have a few bites!”
Yin Buran instantly took out many skewers of roasted steamed buns. They were all steaming hot, but they looked a little overcooked.
Half black, half white, it could be said that both the texture and the taste were very rich.
Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow.
Yin Buran said calmly, “I put it on the fire before and forgot.”
She had originally wanted to wait for Ning Ruoque to come back to eat, but later she had to rush to save someone. Who would have thought that in such a short period of time, it would become like this.
“That’s fine too. It’s all edible,” Chu Xuan said without any disgust, sat down with a plop, and broke off the burnt part. “Oh my, I’m so tired.”
She swallowed it whole and began to laugh and talk about how she had outwitted the demonic beasts these past few days.
As Ning Ruoque listened, she would glance at the roasted skewer in Yin Buran’s hand from time to time.
It was just that before she could rest for long, that life-threatening bell sound rang again, making one’s heart tighten.
A few streaks of light flashed by, and the entire camp became busy again.
Chu Xuan let out a long hiss and also stopped chattering.
She turned her head several times, as if at a time like this, watching Yin Buran roast skewers was more interesting than fighting and killing.
After all, they were friends for many years. Ning Ruoque couldn’t bear to see her like this and took the initiative to say, “I’ll go this time. You help me look after Ranran.”
As soon as her voice fell, Chu Xuan’s face instantly lit up with a smile, and she nodded like a pecking chicken. “Alright, thank you, thank you!”
Ning Ruoque stepped on her sword and, before long, she had flown to the edge of the camp.
The sound of the waterfall could no longer be heard, and only the light of the formation was still clear.
When she had come, a few spell cultivators were entangled with a three-tailed li, and they seemed to be at ease. The others had also prepared their defenses.
Ning Ruoque’s steps hesitated for a few moments.
She turned around, but it was in the direction of the waterfall’s formation eye. Her figure, like ink, disappeared into the night, and she disappeared completely.
