Are you really trying to cultivate immortality? Something feels off.

Even though she was thousands of miles away in the Feng Hua Sect, the pain extended along with the invisible blood ties, constantly reminding her that the pain was unbearable.

And what about Nie Shiyun? What kind of excruciating grievances and heart-wrenching torment must she have to endure?

At this thought, the familiar throbbing pain in my chest surged up again, more intense than ever before.

His fingertips pressed tightly against his chest, his back trembled slightly, and tears quickly welled up in his eyes.

"How dare he!" Nie Zhao gritted her teeth, "How dare he take advantage of my mother and me being away..."

"Not only that, but since two years ago, things have become very strange in the manor. Outsiders often come and go, and letters to you, Miss, are strictly guarded by the master and the elders, so no news can get through," the maid said in a trembling voice. "Many people in Chidi have been killed. They say there are some kind of... corpses. Those things are extremely strange. They look like living people, but they have no consciousness or mind. They only know how to tear and kill. All this information is controlled within Chidi. Even I was only able to come out because I saw Miss when I was delivering food and got the invisibility artifact."

Nie Zhao stood up, his eyes cold and sharp, his fingers clenched tightly together, and he exhaled a breath of turbid air with a trembling chin: "My mother has been in seclusion for many years, and only recently did she show some signs of internal energy backlash. They couldn't sit still and couldn't wait to seize power."

She scoffed, "How could the bloodline of the Phoenix Maiden of my Nanchuan Nie family possibly satisfy such a scoundrel's desires?"

It was probably for this reason that Nie Shiyun was thrown into the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons.

Thinking of this, a surge of bitterness and heartache overwhelmed her, and her throat tightened.

"Currently, the elders in the manor are divided into two factions. One faction insists on waiting for the patriarch to emerge from seclusion or for you, the eldest young lady, to return and take control of the situation. The other faction is the husband's side, which wants to recommend the second young lady to succeed as the patriarch."

It is clear that the second faction has gained an absolute advantage; otherwise, they wouldn't have been unable to send out a single message for two years.

Even if Nie Shiyun is put on the position of family head, he will undoubtedly be a puppet. The real power behind him will undoubtedly be the husband and elders of the Nie family in Nanchuan.

Nie Zhao flipped his fingers.

"Master, I am going back to Nanchuan. I will burn one longevity talisman every day at midnight. If I fail to keep my promise, it means my life is about to end. Please come quickly to save me."

A communication talisman flew up to the mountaintop and headed towards the Hall of Longevity.

"Senior sister," Yu Xintang spoke first, "we'll go with you."

"This is a matter for Nanchuan; you are outsiders," Nie Zhao said coldly. "Don't interfere."

Tan Suiting held her hand tightly, not letting her leave, his eyes cold: "We, Yu Nanchuan, are outsiders, and so are you, Senior Sister Yu?"

"Yes, we're from the same sect, we're family," Shen Chunri said, holding her arm tightly. "We'll go with you!"

"Let go," Nie Zhao said coldly, steeling his resolve. "What can a mere Nascent Soul Realm cultivator like you do to help me? Go do your own thing!"

"Senior sister, you did it on purpose! You deliberately said hurtful things to try and make me leave, didn't you?" Shen Chunri hugged her tightly, her chin buried in her sleeve. "I won't leave! I won't fall for your trick!"

Nie Zhao was furious, and felt a tightness in his chest.

"Wait, wait a minute," Xie Weixing reached out to stop him. "There's no need for us to be here, with you helping me and me not wanting your help, insisting on helping your sadistic love affair for so long."

Nie Zhao looked up.

"Senior sister, think about it, it's better for the five of us to go than for you to go alone, right?" Xie Weixing blinked. "Think about it again, if you get injured in Nanchuan, Master and we will go to rescue you anyway, so why bother? Let's go together now."

"Besides, that corpse sounds so sinister. You have absolutely no idea what's going on, so you can't possibly handle it."

Nie Zhao was about to speak.

"Don't argue with me. You're indeed good at fighting, but what about medical knowledge?" Xie Weixing raised an eyebrow. "Come on, answer me in three seconds what ailment Yun Sheng Hua and Fu Gu Cao are used to treat when combined. If you answer correctly, I won't stop you from saying a word. I'll beat up anyone who wants to come with you."

Nie Zhao's lips parted slightly, and after a long pause, he uttered uncertainly, "Internal injuries to the lungs and internal organs?"

"You big idiot!" Xie Weixing laughed in exasperation, a smirk playing on his lips. "These two together are extremely poisonous. One bite and you'll be on your way to heaven. I told you you were dozing off during your senior uncle's pill-making class."

Nie Zhao glared at him, and after a long while, she snapped, "You set me up?"

Xie Weixing raised an eyebrow slightly, as if to say, "What can you do to me?"

"Senior brother is right," Tan Suiting said, glancing at Nie Zhao while secretly gripping Xie Weixing's wrist. "Even if you can kill everyone in the Nie family of Nanchuan, what about the corpses? What will you do with them?"

Xie Weixing instinctively wanted to grab her wrist back, but then stopped himself and pulled his wrist away after a while.

Tan Suiting looked down at his fingertips and froze.

I smiled with relief; it felt like I was back to square one.

[Just kidding. We were much closer when we first met. Back then, I would even tease the Dragon King by asking how old he was.]

[Sleepyhead, you're so smart, how could you not figure it out?]

Xie Weixing lowered his eyes.

Even the smartest person can become foolish when it comes to emotions.

Because liking something is irrational; it cannot be weighed or considered.

The saying "concern leads to confusion" is precisely about the word "confusion." It's not that he's not smart, but that he can't yet ascertain Tan Suiting's feelings, nor can he confirm his own.

"Xiaolong and Kunkun are both right," Yu Xintang said. "In short, we want to be with you, if you don't allow it—"

Nie Zhao raised his eyes, his cold gaze sweeping over them: "So what if they don't allow it?"

Yu Xintang's tough words caught in her throat. After a long while, she stammered, "Then, then I'll beg you."

Nie Zhao:

After fooling around for a while, Nie Zhao finally couldn't resist the persistent pleading of his junior brothers and sisters and reluctantly agreed.

The group handed over communication talismans to the Hall of Longevity.

A moment later, a talisman was placed in front of Xie Weixing's eyes, and exploded with a soft sound.

Shen Chunri asked curiously, "What did Master say?"

Xie Weixing quickly translated: "Be careful, if you can't handle it, remember to call for help. He'll send Junior Uncle to save our lives."

Everyone: ...

Shen Chunri's lips twitched: "Could you speak any more politely?"

"Forget it," Yu Xintang hugged her and advised, "He's uncultured, what kind of ivory can you expect from his dog mouth?"

Nie Zhao crossed her arms, gave him a disappointed look, and sighed: "Illiterate."

Xie Weixing was furious: "That's exactly what the old man meant!"

*

"We'll go through Yangzhi Pass," Yu Xintang said. Born in Penglai and skilled in formations, studying maps was a piece of cake for her. "I've seen this route before. It's the closest to Nanchuan Chidi. Let's go."

"Can't we just fly on the sword?" Shen Chunri tilted his head.

"The Chidi is protected by a barrier set up by our mother and the elders and ancestors, so it won't be easy to pass through," Nie Zhao said. "Besides, aren't we going to investigate the specific situation of the corpse people?"

---

New chapter! So tired, I'll see if I can add an extra chapter tomorrow, lol.