Chapter 143

Chapter 143: Bai Ruo An’s Recovery

Bai Ruo An answered lightly, “All right,” then did as she said. The Firefly Gu Worm sank into his flesh, crawled along to his eye sockets, burrowed into his eyeballs, and began to gnaw.

Because the Firefly Gu Worm was extremely sensitive, he could not take any pain-killing pills. He had to endure it. Even though he tried his best to endure, his face twisted with pain. He had always been as gentle as warm jade, and he had never lost his composure like this.

Everyone watched him with tight, worried eyes. Shen Sang Ruo pressed her lips together and studied his every small movement.

The process lasted about two hours. No one spoke, afraid to disturb him. When the throbbing veins on his forehead slowly relaxed, they finally let out a breath, only for a new worry to rise.

“Third Senior Brother, how do you feel?” Shen Sang Ruo asked in a very soft voice.

Bai Ruo An did not answer at once. Instead, he slowly opened his eyes.

They were just as she had guessed before, a gentleness that words could hardly describe. It was like peach blossoms drifting in the wind in early spring, floating quietly on clear water. The water seemed to shimmer even more, perhaps because the Firefly Gu Worm glowed.

It was a different kind of gentleness than Wen Xuan’s. If Bai Ruo An and Wen Xuan stood side by side, Wen Xuan would fade into the background.

Song Wei Yan waved five fingers in front of him and asked with a grin: “So it worked? Third Junior Brother, how many is this?”

Bai Ruo An only rolled his eyes at Song Wei Yan acting silly and said dryly: “Second Senior Brother, compared to my eyes, it seems your head needs treatment more.”

Even before, when his eyes were damaged, the Spiritual Power left in his body let him sense rough shapes. After throwing that jab at Song Wei Yan, he turned and smiled at Shen Sang Ruo.

He had known Ye Huai and the others for years, so even a rough outline in his mind gave them shape. But Shen Sang Ruo was someone he had truly never seen. The blurry shadow finally became clear in his gaze. He first noticed her bright eyes, which were fixed on him without looking away.

Counting properly, today was really the first time they met face to face. Bai Ruo An smiled and asked her: “So this is our Junior Sister?”

Shen Sang Ruo understood his meaning and returned the smile with a light bow, saying: “Greetings, Third Senior Brother.”

That alone was enough to show his recovery. Ye Huai and the other three crowded in, and the five fellow disciples stood together with open smiles. The four who had been bound by all kinds of chains had, one by one, been freed by Shen Sang Ruo, and now they welcomed a new life.

Watching from the side, Daoist Wu Wei’s old eyes shone with many feelings. Who could have guessed that the girl they picked up with Darkwood years ago would form such a deep bond with them and bring such a great change to them and to Ninghua Sect?

He had once thought Ninghua Sect would be trapped in this small place, staying silent until it vanished from the Cultivation World. He stroked his beard, felt the rising fortune tied to himself and to Ninghua Sect, and laughed heartily, saying: “It seems this old man is not fated to die here after all, hahaha.”

Shen Sang Ruo’s arrival had truly reversed Ninghua Sect’s fate. Daoist Wu Wei shook his head with a touch of regret and said: “It is a pity Chang Li is not here to share this joy.”

If Immortal Lord Chang Li were not at a critical point in Closed-Door Cultivation, Daoist Wu Wei would have dragged that kid over like last time. If he saw this scene, he would praise himself for taking Shen Sang Ruo as a Disciple, and be even more grateful that she chose them and chose to become one of Ninghua Sect.

Daoist Wu Wei beamed and said: “We picked up a treasure. Truly a treasure.” In his heart he also thought that her former sect had lost big. He wondered what the scene would be when they met at the next Sect Grand Tournament. Just imagining the faces of those people filled him with comfort and pride. This was what it meant to be blind to what is right in front of them.

He strolled over to the five of them. Su Xi Yu said sincerely: “Junior Sister, you worked so hard this trip.”

They had already thanked Shen Sang Ruo many times for pulling them out of the mud. She waved it off and said warmly: “We are fellow disciples, one family. There is no need to say this.”

Back then, it was also Daoist Wu Wei who pulled those emotions out of her and saved her life. She looked around at them and said, clear and firm: “If Senior Brothers and Senior Sister really want to thank me, then prepare well for the upcoming sect tournament. If we can make the Cultivation World remember us, that will be the best thanks.”

She looked at the faces of her Senior Brothers and Senior Sister and could not help but imagine how bright and fearless they had been back then. It was time to amaze the Cultivation World again. Next, they would rebuild Ninghua Sect. She kept her role as Ninghua Sect’s Young Sect Master in her heart and was truly planning for their return.

Ye Huai and the others also knew how important this Sect Grand Tournament was to Ninghua Sect. They had been silent for so many years. They had waited too long for this day. In this period, except for the not-yet-recovered Bai Ruo An, they had trained with all their strength.

They answered together, voices steady: “We will give it our all.”

Song Wei Yan cracked his knuckles, eyes bright with fighting spirit, and said: “I have wanted to go out and fight to my heart’s content for a long time.”

Shen Sang Ruo curved her lips and said: “I believe in you, Senior Brothers and Senior Sister.”

Then she remembered another matter and brought it up: “On this trip to the Phantom Mirage Domain, I ran into something else.” She told them slowly about the Heretic Cultivators.

“This concerns the whole Cultivation World,” she said, “and Sect Master and you Senior Brothers and Senior Sister have fought Heretic Cultivators before. You know them better than I do. Do you think they have made all their preparations and are ready to charge back into the Cultivation World at any moment?”

She went on, thoughtful: “On the way back, I kept thinking. The Heretic Cultivators currently moving around the Cultivation World number only a few hundred at most. With just that many, how can they stage a comeback?”

Finally she asked, eyes steady: “Can you tell what those Heretic Cultivators are really signaling?”