Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

"Sigh... I knew Senior Sister Zhang would say that."

Fan Luokui sighed with sorrow, for she could understand Zhang Ruoxue's feelings.

On the contrary, Fan Luokui, who once trusted her father to the point of regarding everything he did as an inviolable command, clearly understood the feeling of being betrayed by her closest relatives, and also understood the confusion of being lost in the fog and afraid to face reality.

"That makes sense. Gu worms disappeared almost entirely during the Hundred Saints period, and those who manipulated them were almost all demons. Zhang Xiaohan... no matter how you look at it, doesn't seem like a demon."

Zhang Ruoxue's tightly furrowed brows did not relax; she knew that Fan Luokui's words were not finished.

as predicted--

Fan Luokui lowered her head and pondered for a few seconds, her voice steady: "But only in this way can we explain the villagers who have not changed in the past two years... The Gu worms have seeped into their souls, and under the manipulation of the Gu worms, everyone in the village can survive. That old lady is probably one of them."

"Since he controlled the entire village, the insect manipulator's energy would not be focused on each individual, or rather... he might be too lazy to bother with their clothes and appearance."

After speaking, she pointed to the pile of scattered white bones on the ground, her gaze chilling.

"These villagers are probably not just food rations, but also people who failed to implant Gu worms, or people who discovered the secrets of Gu worms... in other words... pure test subjects."

Zhang Ruoxue's gaze trembled slightly as she stared intently at the piles of white bones, imagining the unbearable suffering they must have endured in life. She closed her eyes tightly, unwilling to look any longer.

Seeing that Zhang Ruoxue was clearly wavering, Fan Luokui then connected all the things she could think of.

She pointed to the enormous, twisted monster's corpse not far away. "This monster... has obviously been entrenched here for a long time. The insect manipulator has probably been raising it for some time. Your brother deliberately led us here, hoping to use this monster to kill us."

"And he can continue to do whatever he wants in the village."

At this point, all the clues point to one person.

That 18-year-old boy with a silly smile, who kept calling her "Fairy Sister," seemed so innocent and naive—Zhang Xiaohan.

Zhang Ruoxue clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost dug into her flesh. She stared wide-eyed at Fan Luokui.

He asked, word by word, "If that's the case, why is he in the village? There's nothing of value in this village that would make him stop here."

...This is indeed a problem.

Unless Jingyuan Village possesses some exceptionally precious treasure that requires a significant amount of time to find, the insect manipulator would not need to go to such lengths to implant every Gu worm into the villagers' bodies, nor would they need to raise such enormous demonic creatures.

Fan Luo Kui took a deep breath, just as she was about to confess—

"Sister! Fairy sister! Are you two inside?"

A boy's voice suddenly came through.

Zhang Ruoxue and Fan Luokui exchanged a glance, and then Zhang Ruoxue turned around and walked towards the cave entrance.

She had barely taken a step when Fan Luokui grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Senior Sister Zhang!"

Zhang Ruoxue turned around, her face bearing a heavy, bleak expression.

"I need to find out!"

"Even if you ask, he can't answer you, and approaching him rashly without knowing if he's a bug manipulator might..."

"He is my younger brother."

Zhang Ruoxue stood still, her determined gaze fixed on Fan Luokui.

Fan Luokui's gaze was equally unwavering, "But he could also be the mastermind behind everything."

……

Zhang Ruoxue tried to shake off Fan Luokui's hand with a cold face, but the latter's stubborn personality made it impossible for her to break free.

Just as Zhang Ruoxue was about to say something, a man's rough, hoarse voice, as if he had sand in his mouth, came from outside the cave.

"Xue'er, your father is here to call you. Are you inside?"

At that moment, Zhang Ruoxue trembled, and Fan Luokui knew that she probably couldn't stop her.

Because the boy and her parents came.

At the cave entrance, a woman's voice came again, her tone tinged with anxiety and worry, "Xue'er, you and that immortal, come out quickly! Your mother is so worried about you, you haven't come back for so long."

Father... Mother...

Zhang Ruoxue's eyes gleamed as she looked again at Fan Luokui, whose face was full of helplessness.

"Junior Sister Luo Kui, let me go."

This time, Fan Luokui didn't directly deny it. Instead, she sighed silently and asked hesitantly, "Are you really going?"

“Those are my family…” Zhang Ruoxue began, then, seemingly feeling that this wasn’t enough to change Fan Luokui’s mind, added, “I will be careful.”

Fan Luokui's expression was still somewhat unpleasant; she ultimately didn't want Zhang Ruoxue to take this risk.

But now, Zhang Ruoxue is clearly determined to leave.

“Alright, but I must tell you that if possible, you’d better not have any contact with your family—until we rule out the possibility that Zhang Xiaohan is a manipulator.”

"can."

Zhang Ruoxue understood Fan Luokui's caution. After nodding in acknowledgment, she deliberately retrieved the white bandage and wrapped it around Hanbing's arm so as not to worry her family. Then, the two of them walked out of the cave one after the other.

Outside, the sky was already darkening, and the setting sun cast a dim yet heavy pale red glow into the valley. Under the twilight, the two young girls met with the three mortals.

Upon seeing Zhang Ruoxue emerge unharmed from the cave, the woman, who had been worried for a long time, ran up to her with tears in her eyes, wanting to hug her beloved daughter.

But before that, Fan Luokui stood in front of the woman.

She smiled and said to the puzzled woman, "I'm sorry, Auntie, Senior Sister Zhang is very tired and needs to rest."

"Ah...are you very tired?" The woman suddenly panicked and looked with concern at the girl not far away who was hanging her head and had an unreadable smile on her face. "Xue'er, what were you doing earlier?"

Zhang Ruoxue's reply sounded somewhat weak, "It's nothing, just some sect matters."

Seeing that the woman was about to say something, the man put his hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, Xue'er is already so tired, and besides, it's a matter for the sect, so it's best if we don't get involved."

"Then..." The woman hesitated for a second, then looked at Zhang Ruoxue again and asked patiently, "Xue'er, are you alright? You don't look well..."

"No, I'm just a little tired."

Zhang Ruoxue forced a smile, raising the corners of her mouth.

Zhang Xiaohan also came over, looking at Zhang Ruoxue with some curiosity, "Sister... are you really alright? What... is in this cave?"

"Some... random monsters, nothing much to say."

Zhang Xiaohan's eyes suddenly brightened, and she looked very excited. "So, did you go in to exorcise the demon just now, sister?"

Before Zhang Ruoxue could answer, the man interrupted the excited Zhang Xiaohan.

"Xiao Han, this is an internal matter of their sect, you shouldn't ask too much."

"I was just a little curious..." Zhang Xiaohan pouted, her voice full of grievance, "And I just wanted to ask if my sister had exorcised a demon. I thought that cultivator was acting strangely before, he must have some kind of problem."

This couple, and Zhang Xiaohan... no matter how you look at it, don't seem like what Fan Luokui described.

Especially Zhang Xiaohan. Even though Fan Luokui had used her divine sense, no matter how she explored, Zhang Xiaohan was just a simple, ordinary person.

Could it be that I guessed wrong?

Zhang Xiaohan is actually just an ordinary person. Is the cultivator the real culprit behind all this?

If that's the case, then what happened during those two years?

Just as Fan Luokui was beginning to doubt her own speculation and was in a daze, Zhang Xiaohan suddenly moved closer to her.

His cheeks flushed slightly, and he lowered his voice shyly.

"That fairy sister..." Zhang Xiaohan hesitated a little, "Um... I want to ask you something."

"Ask me?"

Fan Luokui stared at Zhang Xiaohan. She was already wary of Zhang Xiaohan, and now that he was suddenly so close, her right hand was almost touching the hilt of her knife.

If the other party makes any strange moves, she will take action without hesitation.

However, Zhang Xiaohan maintained a simple and honest demeanor throughout, and said calmly.

"Fairy Sister, you..."

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohan's lips curled up in a smile.

"How about you die right now?"

"!!!"

The next second, Zhang Xiaohan did not move.

It was the woman beside him whose face suddenly darkened that moved!

Earlier, Zhang Ruoxue's mother tried to approach Zhang Ruoxue but was stopped by Fan Luokui. At this moment, she is next to Fan Luokui, while everyone's attention is focused on Zhang Xiaohan.

They were completely unaware of the sharp blade hidden in Zhang's mother's arms!

A flash of silver light pierced towards Fan Luokui's heart—

Zhang Ruoxue's eyes narrowed sharply. She couldn't believe the sudden turn of events. Even with her cultivation level, though she could see it, she couldn't react in time.

Not to mention her, even Fan Luokui was unable to react. By the time she tried to dodge, the sharp blade had already touched her snow-white skin.

--clang!

However, the blade remained frozen in place.

At the same time, a powerful red and white spiritual energy barrier appeared out of thin air, forcefully blocking the sharp blade from entering the body just before it was about to pierce through flesh.

Fan Luo Kui stared in astonishment at the radiance surrounding her body; she immediately recognized it as an array...

Moreover, it's a formation with an extremely demanding triggering mechanism—hidden inside her red and white shrine maiden outfit!

Shocking! That old rogue actually incorporated such a formation into that incredibly shameful and revealing Taoist robe!

At this moment, Fan Luokui was actually quite glad that she had put on this shameful shrine maiden outfit.

This piece of clothing actually saved me at the last minute!

At the same time—

The young man, who was sitting cross-legged beside the scorching volcano, suddenly opened his eyes, and his lips twitched—

"Damn it, it's one thing for Yu Chan to cause trouble, but how come Luo Kui and Ruoxue are in trouble too?!"