Chapter 125

Chapter 125: Heretic Cultivators Return?

“Is this the work of a Heretic Cultivator?” Shen Sang Ruo murmured, thinking.

She had heard there was a kind of Heretic Cultivator who raised their strength by devouring the souls of cultivators and demonic beasts. Such arts were twisted and evil. Even among Heretic Cultivators, few could control them.

“Heretic Cultivator? How dare he act so bold?” Fang Yu blurted in shock. In his eyes, Heretic Cultivators were like maggots hiding in the gutter, sneaking in the dark to do small, nasty things and never daring to be this wild.

It wasn’t just Fang Yu. That was almost everyone’s view in the Cultivation World.

Years ago, when the Ninghua Sect was at its peak, Heretic Cultivators ran rampant and shadowy arts kept popping up. The great disaster that struck the Ninghua Sect came from fighting them. Everyone in the sect fought to the death, paying almost the whole sect’s life to crush the Heretic forces and leave them badly hurt.

After that, the once huge number of Heretic Cultivators in the Cultivation World slowly disappeared. If any showed up, they were only scattered and weak.

Daoist Wu Wei had told her all this. It was also why she dared to use the Linglong Pavilion to bring the Ninghua Sect’s name back into people’s sight.

Yet now a high-level Heretic Cultivator had appeared using this kind of art. It wasn’t hard to see the plan: use eerie aura as a carrier to keep devouring the souls of demonic beasts. Wherever the aura spread, the beasts would be doomed.

Doing this so openly inside the Phantom Mirage Domain and targeting a large number of demonic beasts showed the other side’s ambition. For now the victims were only beasts, but once he had eaten enough souls, would he turn to cultivators? Shen Sang Ruo looked at the black spirit core and pondered: “Could a Heretic Cultivator be trying to make a comeback?”

“Ah?” Fang Yu’s face tightened with even greater shock. He had not expected his first training trip outside the sect to crash into something this big.

“No need to panic,” Shen Sang Ruo said coolly. “We killed the Black Bear, so his plan here is ruined. He must be afraid of drawing attention, which is why he chose a place where few people come. And setting this up took a lot of work—he had to pick a strong demonic beast and infect it with the eerie aura. He shouldn’t act again in the short term.”

She added, steady and practical: “When you go back, tell the others in the Joyous Union Sect to raise their guard.” [If Heretic Cultivators really mean to return, the two of us are too small to stop it. Spreading the news is the best move.]

“I understand,” Fang Yu said with a nod.

His worry faded, and pride took its place. He had done something big today.

Shen Sang Ruo sealed the beast core with a tool and put it into her Cosmos Pouch, planning to take it back to the Ninghua Sect. The two of them also went to the collapsed cave and cleared out the treasures inside as their spoils.

Though Fang Yu had been the one shouting about beating the Black Bear to find treasure, he didn’t rush to grab anything now. He took a small share and pushed most of it to Shen Sang Ruo. She didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted it all.

With the incident over, she packed up and set out again toward Wuqing Stockade to look for Protean Wood. After this fight, she wanted the Heart Core of Myriad-Change Wood even more, so she could refit the Luan Feather Fan and raise her close-combat ability. Fang Yu wanted to travel with her, but she refused him firmly.

His plan to latch on to her fell through, and he looked a bit down, but he didn’t argue. He just said: “Thank you, Sister Sang Ruo. If it were only me, even if I found this anomaly, I couldn’t have done anything.” He cupped his hands and added, bright again: “Let’s part here. I’ll keep training. If I get the chance, I’ll visit the Ninghua Sect to see you.”

Shen Sang Ruo gladly agreed. [When I return to the Ninghua Sect this time, I should consider moving the sect out into the open.]

After saying goodbye to Fang Yu, she followed the path onward.

Two days later, rain began to fall. The miasma in the deep forest spread fast and grew thicker. Using her memory, she headed to a nearby small village to take shelter. The villages and stockades in the Phantom Mirage Domain seemed to have special formations that blocked the miasma.

The village was small, but the people were warm. After she explained why she had come, they welcomed her in. She took the chance to rest and tried the local food. Even though someone at her realm no longer needed to eat, a good meal could still lift the mood. She found a herb called fish mint especially new and interesting, and she ate a bit more of it.

Back in her room, as she checked the items in her Cosmos Pouch, her eyes fell on a handkerchief. Ye Huai had given it to her before she set out. It was the same kind he once used to wipe his sword, but this one had a small mulberry leaf embroidered on it.

Ye Huai had sewn it himself. People even said the pink dress You You wore had been cut by his own hands. Shen Sang Ruo had never expected her cool, distant Senior Brother to have this skill. Overnight, the quiet swordsman had turned into someone holding a needle and thread. Shen Sang Ruo smiled, holding the handkerchief and looking at it carefully.

Elsewhere, Feng He Yun and Lu Shi Qing, who were also heading to Wuqing Stockade, ran into the same heavy rain. All they had was the route Master Ling Xiao had given them. They stumbled around a long time in the rain and miasma before finding a village.

By then the two of them were soaked. Worse was the miasma’s effect. Lu Shi Qing had already been in great pain from his Gu insect’s backlash. Now, after breathing in too much miasma, he was half-delirious, and even his lips had turned dark purple. Feng He Yun was a bit better, but after days of rushing while carrying Lu Shi Qing, he looked haggard.

“Third junior brother, we found a village to hide from the rain; hang on,” Feng He Yun said, carrying Lu Shi Qing as he rode his sword above the trees. The man on his back didn’t answer, and Feng He Yun sighed. Muttering as he flew, he complained: “You shut yourself in every day to refine Gu, and look what happened—backlash. Now I have to bring you to this middle-of-nowhere place to save your life. With that time, wouldn’t it be better to go find Shen Sang Ruo? Sigh.”

At the sound of Shen Sang Ruo’s name, the nearly lifeless Lu Shi Qing moved the slightest bit.

They drew near the village. The people there took one look at them and said: “Here to hide from the rain again?” Then they welcomed them in.

Feng He Yun thanked them, puzzled by the word “again.” Did that mean someone else had already come to take shelter? He didn’t think about it long. Stabilizing Lu Shi Qing came first, so he hurried into a house.

He bumped into the person inside head-on, and right away he understood what that “again” meant.