I courted death and then tried to escape, so the whole sect wants to get rid of me.

"And mine is too, this one's pure gold!"

"My earrings are nice, but they're worth much more!"

Song Yao's bundles were taken away, so she could only stuff them into her bosom one by one. After glancing at them a few times, she was still not satisfied: "Is that all? You can take some more from home. This little bit of fate isn't enough."

"It would be even better if we had some kind of magical artifact or a magic pouch."

The villagers, as if waking from a dream, scattered like a tide: "Taoist priest, wait for me, I'll go get it!"

"You must wait for me!"

"I have a really wonderful baby at home!"

"..."

Mingran and Cheng Yue rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

After the twin vengeful spirits were killed by the second senior sister, the demon realm not only did not break, but continued to expand. Everyone was scattered by the mist, leaving only the two of them together.

The two were unsure of the situation and were somewhat panicked, so they came to check it out.

They never expected that Song Yao would be the center of the villagers' gathering.

To their surprise, while chaos reigned on their end, Song Yao was comfortably reclining on a soft couch, her arms brimming with gold and silver jewels and her hair adorned with gold, silver, and jade hairpins, swinging her legs with obvious enjoyment: "Is that all? That's it? You're not sincere enough."

He looked exactly like a young, incompetent ruler.

Mingran: "..."

Cheng Yue: "..."

Is something wrong?

Weren't they here to hunt demons?

Why does it feel like a robbery is coming?

and......

Junior Sister Lin is usually quiet and composed, how could she be such a villain?

Song Yao saw the two of them through the crowd, waved her hand, and put everything into the mustard seed bag that had just been offered. She stood up and said, "Alright, let's leave it at that for today. I'll discuss it with my fellow disciple."

Three prey.

Greed gleamed in the villagers' eyes.

Mingran and Cheng Yue watched helplessly as Song Yao walked towards them under the spotlight.

Then--

"Run! What are you standing there for?!"

Like a gust of wind, the boy's figure passed between the two in an instant.

Cheng Yuemingran was stunned. She saw the villagers, who had been scrambling to stuff things into Song Yao's arms, suddenly realize something, turn their heads sharply, their faces contorted in a grotesque way, and scream, "Grab them!!!"

All the villagers moved at the same time.

Those elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people who were limping just moments ago now moved so fast they were just blurs, grabbing at them with both hands and feet.

"What is this thing?!"

Ming Ran's voice changed tone, but Cheng Yue reacted even faster, pulling her away while throwing a talisman from her sleeve. The talisman exploded into a wall of fire behind them.

The firelight illuminated the entire village road and the figures chasing after it.

Their shadows twisted, stretched, and split on the ground, growing slender limbs.

The firewall couldn't stop them.

The first person to pass through the wall of fire was an old man.

Its clothes were burned away, revealing a grayish-white hard shell. Its head was still human-shaped, but its body below the neck had completely changed. Eight legs emerged from under its ribs and crawled rapidly on the ground.

As she crawled, she cried out, "Taoist Master! Taoist Master, don't go! My son's leg isn't healed yet!!"

The shrieking sound was ear-piercing. Ming Ran and Cheng Yue had never seen such a scene before, and their legs went weak from running.

As they passed through a narrow alley, a hand reached out and suddenly pulled the two of them inside.

Mingran nearly screamed, but someone quickly covered her mouth.

Song Yao pinned her against the wall, her long eyelashes framed by icy eyes, and whispered, "Shut up."

Mingran didn't dare to move again, and even her breathing became soft.

The hissing sound at the alley entrance grew louder and louder. Something crawled over, its eight legs thumping on the dirt road, making the ground tremble slightly.

A grayish-white limb reached in, only half an inch away from Song Yao's cheek, before retracting.

I don't know how much time passed before the sound gradually faded away.

Song Yao released her grip and smiled at Ming Ran and Cheng Yue, who were both drenched in sweat, "Were you startled?"

His tone was languid, not at all like someone who had just survived a life-or-death battle.

Mingran opened her mouth, her voice a little hoarse: "Come on, what exactly happened? Aren't they...aren't they from this village?"

Cheng Yue frowned and spoke first: "So they are the real demons in this demon realm?"

Song Yao: "Mm."

"No wonder the demon realm has never been broken."

Cheng Yue glanced outside. "So what do we do now? Should we try to go out and find reinforcements?"

Mingran had recovered by now and shook her head: "No, we won't be able to find the exit unless we kill the evil spirits, or they will open it for us willingly."

After she finished speaking, she snapped out of her daze and glared at Song Yao: "It's all your fault! Did you anger them?!"

Song Yao gave a helpless twitch of her lips: "Little sister, how can you blame my head for this?"

She took the sword from behind her back, put it in her bosom, and walked out without turning her head: "Fine, it's all my fault. You two stay here and don't run around."

Mingran watched her back and felt her cheeks inexplicably flush.

Little sister?

She's a year younger than me, right?

How could they take advantage of themselves like that?

Mingran gripped her longsword tightly, stomped her foot, and chased after him: "I'm not waiting here! Don't even think about making a name for yourself!"

Before she finished speaking, she had already taken off after him.

Cheng Yue had no choice but to follow behind the two.

Just as they reached the alley entrance, a scream ripped through the oppressive air of the demon realm, carrying with it a heavy stench of blood.

Song Yao paused in her steps.

Oops.

Originally, she thought she could attract all the villagers by herself and skip the plot, but the appearance of Ming Ran and Cheng Yue completely disrupted her plan.

Since these demons can't find her, they must be heading in Zhu Zhao's direction.

She gripped the sword hilt with her fingertips, and before Mingran could react, she lightly touched the ground with her toes and soared into the air on her sword.

Mingran and Cheng Yue were left behind, exchanging bewildered glances: "Wait, how can she fly on a sword in the demon realm?"

This demonic realm suppresses one's spiritual power, making it extremely difficult to take flight on a sword.

Besides the second senior sister, who else among them could fly?

Cheng Yue frowned: "Never mind, let's go and take a look."

-

In the center of the village, several disciples lay slumped on the ground.

The area was surrounded by the haphazardly laid corpses of spider demons, their severed claws still twitching slightly.

Zhu Zhao leaned on his sword, his dark outfit stained with a faint dark red. His sleeves were completely torn, and deep wounds that revealed the bone were still oozing blackish blood.

She gasped for breath, and the next instant she fell backward, crashing into a pool of blood.

The male disciple who caused the trouble crawled over on all fours, tears mixed with dust streaming down his face: "Second Senior Sister, are you alright! I didn't mean to. I was caught in their illusion, and I don't know how I ended up in it. If you hadn't shielded me, you wouldn't have gotten hurt..."

Zhu Zhao's face was flushed an abnormally, and every breath was accompanied by a sharp pain.

She struggled to sit up, gritted her teeth, and shoved the disciple away sharply, her gaze piercing: "What are you crying for? If you're not going to die, get up and figure out how to break through to the next realm!"

Before she could finish speaking, the black toxin spread along her arm, leaving terrifying marks on her neck.

She swayed, the sword slipped from her hand, and she leaned back again.

"Second Senior Sister!"

Jiang Jin rushed over, steadily supporting her shoulders and lifting her up in his arms. His tone was cold and serious, "Second Senior Sister, don't worry, the evil spirit has been eliminated. Let me take you inside to rest for a while, and I'll try to find a way to neutralize the poison!"