"Don't pay attention to him," I said, "Let him stir on his own. I don't believe that with his little recovery, he can come up from Xiyue Peak to kill the demon cultivators."
"We can't let him come up!" Zhiyan's eyes turned red, "What if he dies... what should I do?"
I looked at her coldly, "That's fate."
Zhiyan bit her lip tightly, "But I... don't want him to die." She stared at me with watery eyes, full of distress and pity, "Great Demon King..."
I clenched my fist, gritted my teeth... so I said, these righteous sects are really troublesome!
"Listen, this is the last time..."
"Great Demon King, you are truly a good person!" She wanted to hug me, but I shouted, "Stand properly." She stood straight in a disciplined manner. I sat on the bed, crossed my legs, folded my hands, and asked her, "Tell me the details."
"I go to deliver spirit pills to him every day during the day, and then yesterday I gave him all the spirit pills, and told him that I won't come anymore, and that he should heal and escape on his own. But he... still wants me to go with him. Last night, I went to see him in the dungeon with my soul, but I saw that he... had eaten all the spirit pills..."
"Eating so many spirit pills in one day, be careful of reversed meridians."
"When I left, he was still fine. I know him, he must think that I am tempted by the demonic path and wants to take me away as soon as possible."
I rubbed my chin and thought, "You might as well fight fire with fire. After eating so many spirit pills, it's not something that can be healed quickly with just a few moments of meditation. You go find Liu Cangling first, help him guard the dungeon, don't let others disturb him, to avoid increasing the risk of demonic possession. When Liu Cangling has recovered, get him to assist you in staging a play, let him take you hostage and take you out of the valley."
"Let him take me hostage?"
"Yes, otherwise, if you go see Liu Cangling every day and he escapes later, the first one to suspect would be you. The most unforgivable thing in Wanlumen is betrayal and being a traitor."
Zhiyan weakly said, "But you are teaching me to do this now..."
Who am I doing this for!
I glanced at her sideways, and she sensibly kept quiet.
I continued, "When he threatens you, as a disciple of the school, the guards in the Xiyue Peak dungeon certainly wouldn't dare to act recklessly. They will definitely report it upwards. During this time, you must escape from the Wanlu Gate and find a place to hide. Let's arrange a meeting place, and in the evening I will come to find you. Then, you seduce Liumang Ridge and drive him back to the Jiaxin Gate. This way, you will have saved him, and I will be rid of this trouble."
Zhiyan nodded repeatedly as she listened. When I finished speaking, she got up and ran outside, saying, "Then I'll leave first."
Watching her run out the door, I slowly got up and moved around a bit. Then I lowered my head and burrowed into the ground. After descending vertically, in just a short while, I reached the lower level of the mountain dungeon.
At this time, Liumang Ridge was meditating and recuperating in the cell across from mine. His complexion did not look good; he seemed to be in considerable pain.
Before long, I heard footsteps running in. Zhiyan burst into the cell, saw me, gasped in surprise, and looked shocked. Before she could speak, I said, "I bought the Divine Agility Pill yesterday and took it. It can make me faster than running for a month. If we stay here together, if something happens, I can still give you some advice."
Zhiyan nodded and quietly walked over, squatting in front of Liumang Ridge's cell, watching him with a worried expression.
"Do you really like him? In the future, will you really be able to kill his father and take his head?"
Zhiyan hung her head and did not speak. I didn't say anything else.
We waited like this until the afternoon. There was no daylight in the dungeon, but I felt that the time was almost sunset.
Liumang Ridge's expression gradually softened, and he finally slowly opened his eyes. As soon as he did, he saw Zhiyan in front of him. This upright and honest young man, in an instant, softened his gaze and said, "Zhiyan."
But at this moment, Zhiyan withdrew her concern, wiped away the emotion from her eyes, and pretended to be indifferent, saying, "I came to help you only because we grew up together."
Liumang Ridge was stunned. "Help me?"
"Now I am a member of the Wanlu Gate. Later, you can pretend to threaten me, and we can take the opportunity to escape from Chenji Mountain."
Liumang Ridge's face lit up. "Are you willing to leave Chenji Mountain with me?"
"I just..."
"Enough." I interrupted Zhiyan's attempt to explain, "Just confuse him with some excuse and quickly get him out."
Zhiyan did as I said, raised her energy, and slashed the cell door with a sword energy, but the door didn't budge.
Zhiyan looked a bit embarrassed.
I raised my eyebrows. It seemed that in my absence, they couldn't handle even their own disciples properly in the Ten Immortal Gates.
Seeing this, Liumang Ridge reached for the sword by his side. However, his sword had been taken by me to block Mo Qing's attack when he was unconscious, and it had turned into a lump of scrap metal in the valley. Liumang Ridge could only use his energy to create a makeshift sword with his fingers and cut open the cell door, which shattered.
He did have some real talent.
However, there was a seal on the cell door, and after it was opened, the outside guards quickly noticed and rushed in.
By now, Zhiyan had already cooperated with Liumang Ridge, allowing Liumang Ridge to hold her by the neck.
"Step back," Liumang Ridge said.
The guards, seeing that it was Zhiyan, hesitated for a moment.
I was getting anxious beside them: "You need to set the atmosphere!" I instructed Zhiyan, "Say you are really scared and tell them to make way quickly, say this guy is really hurting your neck! Can you act a little bit better?"
Only then did Zhiyan wake up as if scolded by me, murmuring hastily, "I'm so scared, it hurts so much... Please move away quickly, he's going to kill me ..." As she spoke, Liang Canling hesitated for a moment and slightly moved his hand away, thinking that he had really hurt her.
I felt that these disciples of Xianmen were simply beyond help...
"Cover his hand, press it down! Force him a little, why aren't you both putting in any effort?"
I guided them all the way, and finally managed to get them out of the dungeon.
There were not many guards at the dungeon of Xiyue Peak, only about ten of them in a circle. As I pondered, I thought that with just these people, it would be easy for Liang Canling to bully them with his recent skills, but I hoped no more would come...
"Beishan Lord is nearby, go and call him."
I suddenly heard a guard say this to another. My heart skipped a beat and I immediately told Zhiyan, "The one who's about to turn around and report, let Liang Canling immediately knock him out, and knock out all the guards in this circle."
Zhiyan and Liang Canling were indeed childhood friends who had grown up together and had even been engaged. I don't know how she communicated with Liang Canling, but in the next moment, as soon as Liang Canling made a move, the guard who had turned around was instantly knocked down, and despite struggling for a long time, he couldn't get up again.
Seeing this, the others intended to attack, but at this moment, Zhiyan finally found some feeling and shouted, "Ah, don't, please don't."
The guards had to step back, and taking advantage of this, Liang Canling circulated energy all over his body, about to make his move, when suddenly a thunderous sound echoed from the sky, and a blue steel cane hit the ground. "Cough, cough," Beishan Lord coughed twice, "I had no idea that in the Dusty Ji Mountain, there's still room for such petty acts of rebellion from the likes of you."
Beishan Lord... I admit that it does give off the imposing aura of our Wanlumen... but now, I finally understand how shattered one's heart can be when standing against Wanlumen and having no strength to resist.
Beishan Lord is famously disdainful of cultivating immortals, and now one cultivator has kidnapped another cultivator. I saw the sinister look in his eyes, remembering the last time I was seen by him using Zhiyan's body in the side hall of the Niee Hall, his cold snort...
Hmm, he probably intends to kill both Zhiyan and Liang Canling here, and in the end, he can simply say it was an accident to Moqing.
Would Moqing really confront Beishan Lord because of Zhiyan's body?
I looked up and gazed into the distance from the foot of the Xiyue Peak, the setting sun was declining slowly, there was no escaping, but we could give it a try.
"Buy time." I said, "Buy time with Beishan Lord."
When Zhiyan heard that the old man in front of her was Beishan Lord, she looked a little relieved without having to put on a fake expression. Seeing Beishan Lord take a step forward, she immediately said, "Beishan Lord, please save me. I am the main disciple... "
Yuan Jie chuckled, "Little girl, since you are the main disciple, and also my spy for Wanlumen, helping me with Wanlumen's work, I naturally have to save you."
Having said that, Yuan Jie tapped his blue steel cane on the ground, and the pressure in the air surged. As a ghost, I couldn't feel the pressure, but the nearby vegetation was crushed. The guards next to Yuan Jie immediately showed signs of pain, and Zhiyan, who was directly facing him, spat out blood.
Seeing this, Liang Canling was shocked and was about to protect Zhiyan, when Yuan Jie reached out into thin air and instantly grabbed Zhiyan's body.
Yuan Jie held Zhiyan by the throat, then threw her aside, and she fell to the ground, panting incessantly. The guards nearby were even more nervous, asking anxiously, "Miss, are you okay? Do you need any help?" They were trying their best to please her, seizing every moment.
Yuan Jie coldly smiled without even looking back, "Thank you for your hard work, I'll take care of this fleeing thief."
As soon as he finished speaking, killing intent came towards Liang Canling.
Liang Canling was worried about Zhiyan, but he also knew it was better for her not to be near him at this time, so he focused all his attention on dealing with Yuan Jie. Yuan Jie's blue steel cane was not the attack of an old man at all, it was much more powerful than five years ago when I last saw him.
The old man, probably refers to such a person.
There was a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, and Liang Cangling was sent flying without even putting up a fight. He spun in mid-air to land firmly on his feet, his expression showing no signs of weakness. However, blood was already flowing uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth.
"Hmph, a disciple of the Jianxin Sect," Yuan Jie sneered, "The Sect Leader and the top ten immortal swordsmen fought, and you must have used a lot of effort. Today, I will help the Sect Leader and vent this anger!"
Oh... old man...
You suddenly said that, making me feel a bit... complicated... I have no idea whether to be happy or sad.
As the steel cane of Liang Cangling swept through the air, a strong killing intent emerged, blowing him into a stone pillar near the prison gate, hitting it hard and falling down like a puppet.
As Yuan Jie was about to approach, he was stopped by someone tugging at his sleeve. It was Zhiyan, her mouth still not completely wiped clean of blood, staring straight at the Northern Mountain Master. Though usually a timid girl, she stood firm like a nail at that moment. "Stop."
Yuan Jie coldly snorted, straightened his sleeve, and pushed her away. "Disciple of the Sect Leader, are you speaking up for the hostage-taker?"
Zhiyan grabbed his leg, tears in her eyes. "Please don't hit Brother Cangling. I beg you!"
Hearing this, Liang Cangling, with a mouthful of blood, looked up at her, his gaze deeply moved.
With cold eyes, Yuan Jie kicked Zhiyan aside, angering Liang Cangling. He shouted and rushed forward, but before he could get close to Yuan Jie, he was hit hard and fell to the ground, vomiting blood and struggling to get up.
Another blow would kill him.
Suddenly, Zhiyan, seemingly with inexplicable strength, broke free from the guards and threw herself in front of Liang Cangling. "Don't hit him!" She knelt down, her fragile arms open as if protecting a chick.
But in the eyes of the killer, she was nothing more than a mother hen.
Yuan Jie, with his footsteps unceasing, raised his arm, and his steel cane came down fiercely! The guards behind him shouted.
I caught a glimpse of the setting sun sinking into the horizon, the last glimmer disappearing behind the mountain. My eyes narrowed, and I moved, crashing into Zhiyan's body. In an instant, the pain in her body swept over my soul.
The pressure from Yuan Jie's steel cane above my head felt like it was going to split my skull, causing a buzzing in my ears.
I gritted my teeth, suppressing the surging smell of blood in my chest, swiftly summoning all the power in my body. With a deep shout, the surrounding area went silent, and the steel cane stopped just above my head.
I lifted my head, my neck making a cracking sound, and my eyes filled with killing intent locked onto the fierce eyes of the Northern Mountain Master:
"I told you to stop, can't you hear?"
With the force of my words, a powerful explosion occurred at the point of contact between my power and Yuan Jie's steel cane, sweeping through the surroundings with tremendous force, like a round giant blade, cutting deep into the surrounding rocks and the prison gate.
The rocks collapsed, dust filled the air, and a dozen guards nearby stood in shock and silence.
Zhiyan wailed beside me with her soul body.
And the Northern Mountain Master looked at me, his expression very surprised: "You..."
As the deadlock continued, a cold voice suddenly came from the side: "Stop."
Yuan Jie looked to the side, retracted his cane, took a step back, and all the guards immediately knelt down and saluted, "Chief."
As I turned my head, I saw the figure in black standing in front of me.
The blow just now had exhausted all the strength in my body. I could only kneel on the ground, barely holding myself up. I looked at the figure in front of me as he squatted down, his exquisite black robe spreading on the ground, stained with dust.
But he simply stared at me, his eyes, transparent yet full of secrets, reflecting my figure. It seemed like a momentary quiver at the corner of his lips, as he raised his hand and lightly traced my face with his fingertips. The rough feel of his fingers made me feel as if I had seen the jester who suddenly appeared by my side in the Sword Tomb that day.
I asked him to lure the disciples outside, and I planned to trade his life for mine.
He said to me, "I can give up everything for you, as long as you are safe."
Humph, nonsense.
Look at me now, besides my safety, you have everything else.