Perhaps it was because Xiao Dao usually handled such meticulous tasks single-handedly, or maybe it was due to the numerous wounds on Chen Weichen's hand - when Wen Hui opened the package and took out the medicine and soft, fine cloth, he was at a loss for what to do.

Short but deep cuts covered his entire right hand, as if it had been hacked by thousands of chaotic blades.

Just as he was about to crudely wrap the whole hand, Lu Hongyan handed over a small, jade-green bottle with an expressionless face: "Use this."

Wen Hui took it and poured some on the back of his own hand. Feeling no abnormalities, only a hint of coolness, he then felt reassured to apply it to his young master's hand.

After application, the bleeding almost stopped immediately. The slightly everted, bleeding wounds even showed signs of healing.

Chen Weichen said, "Thank you, Lady Lu."

Seeing Ye Jiuya's indifferent attitude towards his young master, Wen Hui petulantly said, "Young Master, I think you shouldn't be so eager to treat Swordmaster Ye so well in the future—these immortal families have such useful spiritual medicine, yet they didn't give it to you. Instead, it's Lady Lu who's kindhearted."

Unfortunately, the clever servant's words neither moved his master nor pleased the lady.

Lu Hongyan glanced at him indifferently: "Why would Ye Jiuya carry medicine when going out?"

Wen Hui was a bit puzzled.

"In the world, there are few things that can hurt him, few people who can hurt him," Lu Hongyan said. "If there are, at their realm, the differences in moves and techniques no longer exist. With one sword strike, victory and defeat, life and death are determined. What use are miraculous elixirs then?"

Although they were talking while applying the medicine, due to the urgency of the situation, only a moment had passed.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom was heard from the west. The echoes reverberated endlessly through the mountains. Before it completely subsided, another one struck.

By the time the few of them arrived, the thunderbolts had already fallen seven times.

The deep purple lightning illuminated the back of the young Daoist priest in gray robes. He was holding something unknown in his arms. The snow-white duster was spotless. At first glance, he truly seemed to have an immortal aura.

However, after a while, he broke his composure. With his left hand that wasn't holding the duster, he scratched his head. His immortal demeanor completely dissipated as he spoke in a puzzled voice, "How did it disappear? Could it be that it vanished into thin air under this Daoist's heavenly thunder? That doesn't seem right either."

Then he put down the plump black cat in his arms: "Qingyuan, quickly help your brother find it!"

The black cat meowed and climbed back onto the Daoist priest in a few swift movements. Its sharp claws must have caused quite a bit of suffering to the priest who was unwilling to use his true qi to protect his body, afraid of hurting his junior sister.

Seeing the black cat's lack of response, Xie Lang was even more perplexed: "Is it really gone?"

Hearing the sound of the group's arrival, he said with a bitter face, "Swordmaster Ye, Lord Canlong, it's not that I didn't try to stop it. I really couldn't - that thing seemed to have form yet no form. When a piece was struck off by the heavenly thunder, it could regenerate. It was simply indestructible. Now, I don't know if it's dead or alive. It seems to have escaped using some strange method."

Lu Hongyan frowned, "What exactly was that thing?"

"It feels a bit familiar to me." Xie Lang stroked the black cat in his arms as he paced back and forth. "It's like a person!"

"A person?" Lu Hongyan said, "How could a person look like that?"

"Not the appearance, but the aura," Xie Lang seemed to have finally remembered something. "Qi deviation!"

"Lord Canlong, you entered the Dao through martial arts, with a pure heart. The people of the Sword Pavilion enter the Dao through the sword. Moreover, with Swordmaster Ye's heartless sword Dao, severing the seven emotions and six desires, naturally you have never seen the appearance of qi deviation," Xie Lang explained to them. "Our Daoist sect is different. When the senior and junior brothers in the sect sit in meditation to observe the underworld, they occasionally encounter heart demons. Once they can't overcome them, they will experience qi deviation. Even if they can regain clarity, their cultivation will greatly decline - at that time, the aura on their bodies is somewhat similar to the present situation."

The well-informed young Daoist priest's eyes darted around as he recalled something else: "It is said that in the South Sea Sword Platform, there is a Heart Tempering Mirror dozens of feet long and wide. Disciples visualize in front of the mirror every morning at dawn and can see their heart demons in it. Day after day, facing their heart demons and immersing themselves in delusion, they eventually reach a state of ease. With this excellent opportunity to gradually purify their state of mind, their heart demons can become increasingly faint. Therefore, the Southern Sea Sword Platform is praised as having the 'Buddha's intent' and is known alongside the Northern Sword Pavilion. Although this Daoist has not personally seen the scenes reflected in the Heart Tempering Mirror, I have heard that the heart demons projected in the mirror are indeed similar to that thing - but can heart demons actually escape from the mirror?"

"That thing was indeed extremely fearful of Swordmaster Ye." Lu Hongyan nodded.

They slowly returned, gazing at the magnificent Buddha's light shining brilliantly above the gorgeous Ghost City. The ghostly and demonic aura had completely vanished, and the city had returned to tranquility.

A monk in white robes stepped out of the city gate, his voice gentle: "Benefactors, thank you."

Xie Lang returned a salute in a proper manner: "May I ask if the venerable monk is the Master Kong Shan of Zhichen Temple?"

The monk's face was full of compassionate smiles as he bowed to him with palms together: "With matters settled here, this poor monk shall return to the temple."

The monk's figure disappeared into the endless night mist among the vast mountains. The mountains were silent, with only the sound of horses neighing.

Xie Lang muttered to himself, "This year, it really is..."

Wen Hui, talkative as always, asked, "What is it?"

"You see, Swordmaster Ye and Lord Canlong have entered the world, and now even the Master Kong Shan from a hundred years ago has appeared."

Chen Weichen coolly said, "And Marquis Langran has descended the mountain with a cat."

Xie Lang said with a bitter face, "I'm just a nameless minor figure. It's all my master's fault for wanting to travel the four seas and pushing this title onto me, making me rank at the bottom among the Fourteen Marquises."

"The lords and marquises all made their own names. You guys are really something, actually inheriting the titles." Chen Weichen finally caught the Daoist priest's weakness.

"Young Master Chen, this is not unique to our abbey," Xie Lang tried his best to clarify. "In recent years, the immortal Dao has declined, with few fresh figures gaining fame. If a celestial marquis is approaching the end of his lifespan and no one challenges him, he can only pass it on to his own disciple."

"The decline is in the titles, not the Dao itself," Young Master Chen couldn't use his fan with his right hand, feeling very uncomfortable, and even his tone became ten times lazier. "You immortal families originally had some liveliness, until you saw Emperor Yan enter the third level of the heavenly realm through the Dao of Heartlessness, and one by one you competed to imitate him. You originally cried out that heaven and earth were heartless, and now you have even more justification. As you cultivate, do you even care about the empty fame of being a lord or marquis? Even if there are formidable figures, who knows which deep mountains and old forests they've gone to for enlightenment, too lazy to take those titles."

Xie Lang pouted, not wanting to pay him any attention.

Chen Weichen asked Ye Jiuya, "Swordmaster Ye, now that the Jinxiu Ashes has been obtained, where are you heading?"

"What a coincidence," Lu Hongyan replied with her arms crossed, "It's the South Sea Sword Platform that Marquis Langran just mentioned."

Young Master Chen looked very tired and mumbled, "We just went north, and now we have to go to the South Sea - it's all about swords, really nothing interesting to see."

He raised his hand to rub his forehead, "Swordmaster Ye, I'm tired."

After days of traveling, finally pushing his realm to the limit and fighting a battle, he was quite exhausted.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt the world spinning, his vision went black, and he fell straight forward.

His last thought before passing out was - fortunately it was Ye Jiuya in front of him, so he probably wouldn't fall to the ground.

Fainting in front of a beauty is really unseemly, unseemly.

But if he fainted onto the beauty, that's a different story.