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

Both sides then came to their senses.

Chen He hurriedly reached out to tug at the hem of her robe: "Seventh, Seventh Senior Sister, why are you here! Don't worry about me, hurry up and leave!"

Lu Mingxuan and the others also realized what was happening.

The girl was so calm that they couldn't immediately remember who she was.

And they didn't even take them seriously.

His gentle smile froze almost imperceptibly for a moment.

He then resumed his calm demeanor, even nodding slightly to Song Yao: "This must be Junior Sister Lin from the Nine Saints Hall, right? I've heard she's a rare alchemist with a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Meeting her today, I can confirm her extraordinary bearing."

"However, the secret realm is teeming with monsters and is fraught with unpredictable dangers. As a pill cultivator, it is not appropriate for you to be here alone. Just now, Junior Brother Chen was unable to protect the Spirit Stone. If you were to get caught in the crossfire, it would be a great loss."

Song Yao raised her eyelids and glanced at him.

"But junior sister, you don't need to worry."

He changed the subject, continuing, "Our Northern Shaking Sect has never made things difficult for our fellow practitioners. If Junior Sister is willing to hand over the Spirit-Gathering Stone to us, we will definitely protect you both and ensure your safe departure from the secret realm. What do you say?"

"Don't even think about it!"

Chen He immediately gritted his teeth, braced himself against the rock wall, and staggered to his feet.

Without a second thought, he stepped in front of Song Yao, lowering his voice, his tone urgent and hoarse, "Seventh Senior Sister, don't worry about me! I'll hold them off for a bit, you find a chance to run deeper into the forest! They won't dare to really kill me."

Song Yao nodded: "Okay."

Lu Mingxuan's smile faded slightly: "It seems that Junior Sister is not willing to give me this face."

He took a half step back, gave the disciple behind him a look, and said casually, "In that case, we'll have to search them ourselves."

The disciples of the Northern Shaking Sect understood immediately and their faces turned fierce.

Just as the cold light began to illuminate the shadows of the trees, a soft rustling sound suddenly came from the woods.

The group instinctively turned around, and two gaunt figures, stuck together, suddenly sprang out from behind the tree, bringing with them a thick, fishy smell.

With its sharp teeth bared, it pounced on the nearest disciple with lightning speed, its withered claws, reeking of decay, grabbing at the disciple's neck and biting down hard on his shoulder.

The disciple let out a scream.

The Northern Shaking Sect members hurriedly swung their swords to block, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

Chen He froze, only realizing he was covered in a cold sweat after Song Yao pulled him behind a tree trunk: "Twin...twin ghosts? How could there be twin ghosts here?"

Song Yao leaned against the stone wall, still feeling cold.

She put on the hood of her cloak: "I don't know, it's scary."

Chen He then remembered that she was just a pill cultivator and probably hadn't seen many demons before, so he quickly reassured her, "They are indeed a bit scary, but they're targeting the people of the Northern Shaking Sect right now. We'll find a chance to escape later."

Song Yao: "Okay~"

The situation on the field, however, left them no room to escape.

The Northern Shaking Sect members only managed to hold out for a short while before being overwhelmed by the twin ghosts.

Lu Mingxuan's previous gentle demeanor had completely crumbled. He was now desperately defending himself, his brocade robe torn to shreds, and several bloody scratches on his shoulders and neck.

The other disciples fared even worse, their bodies covered in blood from the withered claws, screaming and dodging as their swordplay became chaotic and disorganized.

Song Yao frowned deeply as she looked at him.

I thought they could at least hold their own for a couple of moves, but they were defeated so quickly.

Did the Northern Shaking Sect actually teach them swordsmanship properly?

What is all this stuff?

Monkey show?

The twin demons didn't kill them, only scratching a few bloody marks on their bodies.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he snatched the mustard pouches from their waists, shrieked, and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, leaving behind only a mess.

Only when the forest returned to deathly silence, with only the cries of pain from the disciples of the Northern Shaking Sect remaining, did Chen He and Song Yao emerge from behind the tree.

Lu Mingxuan, clutching his bleeding arm, glared at them with a livid face. His voice was both angry and urgent, devoid of any politeness: "You guys were quick to hide! Why didn't you lend a hand earlier!"

Song Yao shook her head seriously: "How can you say that? My junior brother was injured by you, and I am a pill cultivator. It wouldn't be good if I got caught in the crossfire."

These were the words Lu Mingxuan had used to stab her earlier, but now that she had pushed them back, the group was speechless with anger.

Seeing that the two were about to leave, the disciples of the Northern Shaking Sect panicked.

Just now, in order to make a move against Chen He, I deliberately chose a place without any surveillance from the sky.

They can't see what's happening here from the outside, and they're injured like this. If the twin ghosts return, or if other demons smell the blood and come over, they're likely doomed.

To make matters worse, the mustard seed pouch was stolen, leaving not even half a healing pill.

If this drags on, even without any monsters, the blood loss and the miasma in the secret realm alone will wear them down.

Lu Mingxuan gritted his teeth, suppressing the surging resentment, took a deep breath, and forced a gentle smile onto his face. He called out to Song Yao's retreating figure, "Junior Sister Lin, Junior Brother Jiang, please wait!"

Song Yao paused, but didn't turn around.

Lu Mingxuan, supporting his bleeding arm, tried his best to sound sincere: "I was in a hurry just now, and my words were quite offensive. I hope you can forgive me, Junior Sister. Our storage pouches were just stolen by the demon, and we have no healing pills on us. I wonder if you could do us a favor and give us a few pills to tide us over?"

Song Yao finally turned around, her cloak hood pulled low, most of her face hidden in shadow.

Her soft, smiling voice drifted over: "Didn't we just say that in the secret realm, everyone relies on their own abilities?"

Lu Mingxuan's smile froze for a moment, then quickly regained its composure, lowering his posture even further: "Junior sister is too kind. I was ignorant before, but the situation is special now. I hope that you will help me out for the sake of our shared path. I will definitely come to thank you in person afterward."

Chen He was about to say that we didn't need to worry about them.

This is, after all, the territory of the Northern Shaking Sect, so they certainly won't let any of the Northern Shaking Sect disciples get into real trouble.

Before he could speak, the person beside him brightened up, quickly walked over to Lu Mingxuan, squatted down, and asked, "I only have Qi-replenishing pills. Will they work?"

How could a cultivator specializing in alchemy only possess basic pills like Qi-replenishing pills?

But in the current situation, something is better than nothing.

Lu Mingxuan gritted his teeth and nodded, handing over several porcelain bottles.

Song Yao kindly reminded her, "There might be side effects."

Without thinking, the group popped a few into their mouths.

What are the side effects of Qi-boosting pills?

Most likely it's because they can't bear to feed them too much.

Song Yao hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

No one has ever dared to eat so much at once like this before. Won't the side effects accumulate?

She silently stepped back a few paces and took out her notebook.

-

Observe from the platform.

Because there were few clouds, there weren't many scenes to see, and everyone was getting a little tired.

Feng Qing waved his hand, ordering someone to bring out wine and water: "Nothing will happen anyway. It's rare for us all to get together, so why not have a drink?"

The leaders of several minor sects accepted the cups and immediately flattered with smiles, "So much time has passed, and we haven't seen any disciples from the Northern Shaking Sect or the Taiqing Pavilion in the clouds. They must have already reached the depths of the secret realm by now, right?"