Chapter 82 - A Girl Dies Every Day in Her Dream Life

What's the meaning of "all go back"? Does it imply they want us to give up just like that? The Tianhai Gang and the Medicine Sect are already at odds because of this, not to mention the two high-ranking bloodline geniuses from the Ghost City are practically sitting ducks, restrained and helpless. Setting plots and masterminds aside, for the cultivators from the Immortal Region, capturing these two geniuses from the Demon Abyss would be quite the accolade. Returning with them to the sect would surely earn considerable rewards. "Finally catching the source of the plot..." Wu Hai couldn't resign himself to letting go so easily, his gaze towards Si Maye and Shangguan Lengyan dark and intense, like ink. Perhaps, he should risk it all? After all, the Lyric Demoness had already left without declaring any intention to spare the Ghost City geniuses, and she hadn't intervened during the entire conflict. They were probably... not on the same side. If that's the case, this would be an opportunity. An opportunity to return to the Iron Sea Sect. If it hadn't been for a mistake in the sect, with Wu Hai's talents, he wouldn't have been exiled to the Demon Ghost Pass to serve as an elder of the Tianhai Gang. The gang leader Yu Haoxiang was in a similar situation, as were several elders of the Medicine Sect, all of them essentially sent away from their sect due to past transgressions. "Returning to the sect, where I've been stuck at mid-Foundation Establishment stage for years, will allow me to progress further, perhaps even seize the chance to advance to Nascent Soul stage!" Wu Hai clenched his teeth, the opportunity was right in front of him, and such chances don't come by often. Hence, he placed his right hand on his sword's hilt, getting ready to attack the struggling Si Maye and Shangguan Lengyan. At that moment, another hand pressed down on Wu Hai's sword sheath, slightly suppressing it, "They told us to go back, didn't you hear?" Wu Hai looked up in shock to see Yu Haoxiang's stern and icy expression. Yu Haoxiang rarely showed such expressions, and whenever he did, it meant anger was boiling beneath his composed exterior. "...Yes, Master." Wu Hai lowered his head and sheathed his sword. Yu Haoxiang glanced at the Ghost City geniuses, then turned to the furious members of the Medicine Sect, and said indifferently, "Don't overthink things. With your feeble strength, even if ten Foundation Establishment elders came, they wouldn't be enough for me alone." "Yu Haoxiang, you..." Rao Weiyi murmured in a low, angry voice, yet deep inside, he was uneasy. The combat strength of the Tianhai Gang was indeed formidable. Wu Hai alone could suppress two other Foundation Establishment elders besides Rao, and even stand on par with him. And Wu Hai was only mid-Foundation Establishment stage, while Rao was late-Foundation Establishment stage! The cultivation method from the Longevity Palace was truly not geared towards combat... Should fighting break out here, Rao Weiyi held little confidence in defeating the Tianhai Gang. "Oh, and the thief you mentioned, the one who robbed our alchemy shop—is she the girl in the pink dress who appeared in the private room earlier?" Yu Haoxiang crossed his arms, speaking in an even tone. Yet for some reason, Wu Hai sensed a layer of inexplicable emotion in the master’s words. "Yes... Where did she go?" Wu Hai looked around, only to find Nangong Mengxiang had disappeared. He felt suddenly flustered, hurriedly bowing his head, intending to plead for forgiveness from Yu Haoxiang. But Yu Haoxiang said, "Never mind then." "Never mind?" Wu Hai was stunned. "Master, what do you mean by this?" "Exactly what it sounds like, forget it, let it go, part ways, don't pursue this further," Yu Haoxiang gave Wu Hai a side glance, "Did I make myself clear enough?" "Yes, yes... but I still don't understand..." "If I made everything crystal clear to you, would you like to take over as master?" "...I understand my mistake." Yu Haoxiang turned to the Ghost City's innkeeper, who had come out to smooth things over, and said aloud, "Today's wine bill will be evenly split by the Medicine Sect and Tianhai Gang." "Very well, Master, very well." The innkeeper replied with a genial smile, like wearing a mask. Finally, Yu Haoxiang cast his gaze at the wary and on-guard Si Maye and Shangguan Lengyan next to him, a barely decipherable smile played on his lips. "As for you two... in light of the Lyric Demoness, let's pretend today's events never happened, shall we?" Although the Lyric Demoness had not intervened directly, her words had implied a level of protection for Si Maye and Shangguan Lengyan. This was not unusual, regardless of the dynamics between the Ghost City's Spirit Temple and the Demonic Ghosts. They all belonged to the Four Devils of the Demon Abyss. The Lyric Demoness, a guardian, was not influenced by the positions of the Spirit Temple's various branches and was accountable only to the holy sons and saints. In this context, she naturally would not want the geniuses from the Demon Abyss to fall into the hands of the Immortal Region. Yu Haoxiang was also willing to give the Lyric Demoness this face and temporarily spare the two Ghost City demonic geniuses. Si Maye looked bewildered, suddenly at a loss as to what to do. “Or perhaps,” Yu Haoxiang smiled insincerely, and a chill seeped from his expression, “would you like me to personally see you back?” Upon hearing this, Si Maye had no choice but to suppress his doubts and, nursing his injuries, help the nearly unconscious Shangguan Lengyan as they fled. It seemed they could no longer remain in the Demon Ghost Pass. Despair welled up within Si Maye. “Is this the calculation of Master No-Sight... nowhere to run...” After tidying the chaotic situation to some extent, Yu Haoxiang returned to his earlier nonchalant demeanor. He twisted his neck slightly and set off in the direction of the Tianhai Gang’s headquarters, lazily saying, "Wu Hai, Li Heliu, you can handle the rest with the Medicine Sect yourselves." "...Understood, Master." ...... "We can stop here, Nangong, let me down," Luo Xue said. Nangong Mengxiang's physical prowess was astonishing. Using only her body’s explosive speed, she could rival the usual Foundation Establishment escape techniques. This was a technique that didn’t rely on any spiritual power, leaving no trace of spiritual energy, making it difficult to track, and the limitless physical strength of a body cultivator meant exerting it was almost effortless. However, there was a downside. It's easy to get dizzy... Luo Xue fought the urge to vomit, taking a while to regain her composure. The Sha sisters on her back weren't so lucky; from that whirlwind "escape technique," their eyes rolled back. They probably felt like they were slipping into the cycle of reincarnation, as even the younger sister Sha Keke began mumbling about things that didn’t exist... If they continued escaping, the Sha sisters might end up in the Netherworld meeting their deceased parents. "Little Martial Aunt, your body's a bit weak, how about learning 'Basics of Body Refinement' with me?" Nangong Mengxiang lightly patted Luo Xue's back, "I’ve got the manuscript from our master's time." "No, no, I always thought the reason you’re a bit scatterbrained is because of this practice..." Luo Xue exhaled heavily, checking herself internally to ensure there were no significant problems. She hadn’t sustained many injuries in the previous fight, while Nangong Mengxiang had taken two soul-killing moves. Yet seeing her vibrant and lively state now, it was hard to say how effective those soul-killing moves really were on her. "I wonder how Sha Yiyi and Sha Keke are faring..." Luo Xue found a quiet corner, propping the Sha sisters against the wall, but they remained unconscious. It seemed there were no external injuries, likely affected by the souls during the earlier battle, or perhaps just dizzy from the escape... "Little Martial Aunt, do you want to wake them up?" Nangong Mengxiang, noticing Luo Xue's pensive state, asked, "I’ve got some old tricks to treat unconsciousness, want to try?" "Old tricks?" Luo Xue was momentarily caught off guard. "Yeah, yeah," Nangong Mengxiang pulled out a water canteen from somewhere, "just splash water on their faces. I always do this to wake people I knock out; it works wonders." "...What a simple and effective old method." Luo Xue struggled to hold back her laughter, yet stopped Nangong Mengxiang; after all, this method was somewhat disrespectful. There was no rush for now; they still needed to evade the pursuit from Tianhai and the Medicine Sect. If the sisters weren't severely harmed, they should wake up soon. Luo Xue's judgment was spot on; the Sha sisters had not been injured, merely frightened faint by the earlier battle. Later, their prolonged unconsciousness was due to Nangong Mengxiang's rather violent escape technique. While waiting for the Sha sisters to regain consciousness, Luo Xue took a moment to check the system panel. A lot had happened since coming to the Demon Ghost Pass, and she'd never had the time to sort out survival points. [Surviving pursuit by a Foundation Establishment sword cultivator +50] This probably referred to the encounter with Elder Wu in the alchemy shop, and most of the credit likely belonged to Nangong Mengxiang, hence fewer survival points for her. [Surviving pursuit by Foundation Establishment cultivators +40] They had just been pushed to the brink by two Ghost City geniuses—lucky for them, the Lyric Demoness stepped in at a crucial moment, and Nangong Mengxiang arrived. It was evident that as Luo Xue's cultivation level increased, the threat posed by Foundation Establishment cultivators to her diminished, resulting in fewer survival points. [Surviving a three-way battle and escaping +20] ...This one wasn't particularly difficult. The opposing parties didn't pay much attention to Luo Xue and her group. As long as they timed it right and stayed unnoticed, they could escape. [Current Survival Points: 350] [Poison Resistance: 100] [Strength: 100] [Cultivation Aptitude: Barely Passable] [Supernatural Aptitude: Almost None] She needed 650 more points to advance her cultivation aptitude to the next tier, so it was better to allocate some points to her supernatural aptitude for now. Furthermore... Luo Xue looked toward her basic attributes, opened the detailed panel, and found the attribute she required. [Soul: 0] Her recent perilous experiences made Luo Xue acutely aware that she had almost no means of defense against direct soul-targeted attacks. If she could train the Juexiao Sect's techniques to a high level, where the sword intent was awe-inspiring, she could cut through such attacks. Unfortunately, she no longer had the luxury of time for that. So Luo Xue decided to... activate it. [Soul: 0 => 100] Chapter 95: A New Talent - "Heavy Pupils," and the New Use of the Malignant Poison Body