Chapter 413
When Yun Qingyue also emerged from her cultivation, the sky outside had not yet brightened. Fortunately, the Crimson Blood Sect disciples who had been busy earlier had already dispersed, and beyond the water mirror, everything had returned to deep darkness.
"Let's go, let's head back," Yun Qingyue said after glancing at the water mirror.
Jiang Mo agreed, and the scene before them immediately changed as they returned to the quiet town outside—walking through the town under the night sky this time, the two clearly felt the atmosphere had changed. Earlier, when they were chased out by the worms, the town seemed completely deserted, but this time, they quickly discovered people patrolling.
Of course, given the difference in cultivation levels, when Jiang Mo noticed those Crimson Blood Sect disciples patrolling in the shadows, the latter had no awareness of their presence. Jiang Mo clearly had no intention of greeting these patrolling disciples, so they circumvented them and returned to the mansion.
The mansion was spacious, housing more than just the two of them, but they had been assigned an independent courtyard.
After half a night away, the black line worms that had seemed to blanket everything earlier had vanished without a trace. Aside from the window Jiang Mo had broken when escaping, the place looked almost identical to when they had checked in yesterday.
Although the current scene appeared normal, the previous memory had left a deep shadow—Jiang Mo stepped through the courtyard gate but didn't want to move any further forward, especially into the previous room, which she didn't want to enter at all. She felt that if she stepped inside, the terrifying sensation of being surrounded by black line worms would return, making her scalp tingle just thinking about it.
Yun Qingyue noticed Jiang Mo's hesitation and this time proactively suggested: "Never mind, let's not go inside. Waiting outside is just as good. By my calculation, dawn shouldn't be far off."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo felt as if granted a great pardon and agreed, visibly relaxing.
However, Yun Qingyue had miscalculated this time. She said dawn wasn't far, but that wasn't actually the case... They waited for one quarter-hour, then two, then three, followed by one hour, two hours, three hours. The sky finally began to brighten, yet it remained in that liminal state between night and day. The overcast sky continually gave the impression that daybreak hadn't fully arrived, but calculating the time, this night had been unexpectedly long.
Fortunately, after daybreak, they didn't have to wait much longer before someone came looking for them. It was none other than the medicine-stealing Elder who had traveled with them. Unable to find the two last night, he was especially pleased to see them today: "Young Sect Leader, you've returned?!"
Yun Qingyue no longer quibbled over his form of address and instead asked: "You came looking for us—has my mother improved after taking the medicine?"
After asking this, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on his face, but his expression revealed no flaws: "Ah, well, she should have improved, right? After I returned, I handed over the Spirit Nourishing Pill. However, given the Sect Leader's esteemed status and my relatively low position, I cannot remain by the Sect Leader's side at all times. Therefore, I'm not entirely clear about the Sect Leader's current condition."
Yun Qingyue withdrew her gaze without further inquiry and asked: "Can we go see her now?"
The Elder smiled, his fierce face somehow displaying a hint of honesty as he extended his hand in a gesture of invitation: "I'm not sure about the Sect Leader's condition, but yesterday I reported the Young Sect Leader's situation, and the Sect Leader specifically instructed me to invite you both aboard the demonic vessel."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue responded straightforwardly: "Then let's go."
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The demonic vessels of the Demonic Path and the spirit boats of the Righteous Path were essentially the same thing—treasures crafted by artifact refiners. However, compared to Xuanqing Sect's spirit boats used merely for transportation, the demonic sects' vessels were far more ostentatious, surpassing the Xuanqing Sect vessels Jiang Mo had previously ridden in terms of both size and decoration.
This wasn't the first time Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had boarded a demonic vessel. Many years ago, they had set foot on Nine Abyss Sect's vessel, which was equally magnificent, though Nine Abyss Sect's vessel had a predominantly black color scheme, while Crimson Blood Sect's was red.
"The Sect Leader is in seclusion on the highest level. First, follow me to request an audience," the Elder said, pointing to the top of the tower ship.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue instinctively looked up and saw the towering vessel before them. Roughly counting the windows, not including the lower hold, the high tower alone had nine levels. The vessel was enormous on the outside, with expanded space inside, potentially accommodating half of the sect's elite members. It wasn't impossible that the entire Crimson Blood Sect's forces were gathered here.
In the cultivation world, class distinctions were clear, with everything determined by strength. Given Sect Leader Zhu's status, her exclusive occupation of the high tower on this vessel was entirely reasonable. The only issue was that it was conspicuous, easily making her a target...
Of course, Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo didn't say anything, merely glancing upward before obediently following the Elder toward the cabin. Occasionally encountering disciples along the way who recognized the medicine-stealing Elder, they conscientiously made way and bowed.
The medicine-stealing Elder's attitude toward the disciples was somewhat arrogant. Facing disciples who bowed to him, he merely nodded slightly in response. But if any disciple failed to bow or didn't make way in time, he would frown... Heaven knows if he would hold a grudge or seek revenge for such trivial matters in the future.
Naturally, with Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo accompanying him today, his behavior was much more restrained. Had Yun Qingyue not been carefully observing him the entire way, she wouldn't have noticed his petty thoughts.
The three continued forward until they reached the stairs at the center of the tower ship and began ascending level by level.
The Crimson Blood Sect's demonic vessel was enormous and towering, with nine levels. The bottom three levels housed the sect's ordinary elite members, the middle three levels were for direct disciples, and above that, one level was for true disciples, one level for the Elders' residences, and the highest level was occupied solely by the Sect Leader.
With such an arrangement, the medicine-stealing Elder naturally encountered no obstacles on the first eight levels, and even Jiang Mo, whom he was escorting, wasn't questioned—the Young Sect Leader was currently just a bird, albeit a beautiful one, so others would simply assume she was Jiang Mo's spirit pet. This meant there was only one unfamiliar face—Jiang Mo's—but she looked young and could easily be mistaken for the Elder's junior.
Jiang Mo also didn't want to create unnecessary trouble, so she barely spoke the entire way. It wasn't until they reached the eighth level and looked toward the staircase leading to the ninth level, sealed by formation energy, that the Elder's expression revealed a hint of ambiguity.
Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo naturally noticed the seal as well and both turned their gaze toward the Elder guiding them—hadn't he said the Sect Leader had summoned them? Why hadn't the seal been removed? Were they expected to break through forcibly?!
The Elder remained calm and composed, forming a hand seal that sent a sound transmission talisman flying toward the barrier.
The barrier wasn't a true seal but a simple measure to keep people out. Something as spiritually insignificant as a sound transmission talisman was almost beyond the barrier's scope, so the talisman easily penetrated the seal and passed through.
Jiang Mo thought that after the message was delivered, Sect Leader Zhu would quickly open the barrier to let them in. However, the three stood before the sealed staircase, waiting and waiting without seeing the slightest relaxation of the restriction. The message the Elder had sent earlier seemed to have vanished like a stone in the sea, receiving no response whatsoever.
After waiting for a long time, Jiang Mo stared at the unchanging barrier and grew anxious: "Why hasn't the Sect Leader responded yet? Could something have happened?"
Her concern was genuine, her confusion real, with her full attention on what lay before them. Consequently, she failed to notice that the Elder beside her, upon hearing her words, had a flicker in his eyes. Thus, the sudden attack that followed was completely beyond her expectations—the Elder who had traveled with them, helped transmit messages, and guided the way suddenly struck like lightning, aiming directly at Jiang Mo's vital point on her back.
This attack was truly unexpected. Despite Jiang Mo's cultivation being higher than the Elder's, the sneak attack gave him an advantage. She only managed to shift slightly to avoid the vital point, but the palm strike was about to land on her body.
At this critical moment, a strand of ice-blue flame suddenly appeared out of nowhere, silently wrapping around the attacking hand.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Agonized screams immediately echoed throughout the cabin. The hand that had lunged with tremendous force was instantly enveloped by Ice Flame and began to burn. Though others perceived it as extreme cold, the hand wrapped in Ice Flame visibly blackened, clearly being rapidly incinerated.
Jiang Mo was startled, both by the sneak attack and by the man's agonizing screams. When she turned around, still shaken, she was further shocked by the horrifying sight of flesh burned down to white bone.
Before Jiang Mo could compose herself, the next wave of shock struck...
The Ice Flame destroyed the enemy's hand in an instant, its power undiminished and threatening to spread up the arm. The attacker decisively severed his own arm—the pain of amputation apparently far less severe than the Ice Flame's burning. With a moment to spare, he immediately shouted: "Help! Enemy attack! Someone is attempting to harm the Sect Leader!"
The eighth level of the tower ship was the residence of Crimson Blood Sect's Elders, and those who lived there generally possessed high cultivation. Hearing the cry, they all rushed out immediately. In an instant, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue were surrounded.