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

Her expression darkened slightly, and she continued:

"Then you may not be able to see your maternal grandfather. He has gone into seclusion and will not see anyone for the time being."

"Seclusion?" Ren Yao tilted her head. "Why?"

The woman's answer surprised Ren Yao—

"Because my maternal grandfather was poisoned."

3. Qin and Li and the Demon Dynasty

Poisoned?

This is no joke.

Once Ren Yao made up her mind, her cherry lips parted slightly, her face showing shock. She stared helplessly at Senior Sister Li: "Poisoned...poisoned? How could this be...Didn't Grandfather go to the secret realm outside the city with Elder Jiu? Was he injured by the poisonous creatures in the secret realm?"

"Was he infected by poisonous plants...or...or...Sister Li, how could Grandfather have been poisoned?!"

Ren Yao spoke rapidly and anxiously, bombarding the woman with a series of questions.

She had always had a good relationship with her maternal grandfather, and within the entire Ranshan Sect, her affection for him was even greater than that for the sect leader.

Now that news of her maternal grandfather's sudden poisoning has arrived, it's impossible for Ren Yao to remain unaffected.

Seeing the girl's anxious appearance, Yunping couldn't help but sigh:

"I already said I was poisoned... so I must have been harmed by a villain."

"A bad guy?"

Ren Yao turned around blankly, then hurriedly turned back to look at the woman: "Sister Li, has Grandfather really been poisoned by villains?"

Seeing Ren Yao's anxious and uneasy appearance, Li Junxiao, as Ren Yao's senior sister, first comforted her, "Don't panic. Although our maternal grandfather has been poisoned, his condition has stabilized. He just needs to go into seclusion to circulate his internal energy to expel the toxins."

"I thought... I thought..."

Upon hearing that her maternal grandfather's condition had stabilized, Ren Yao felt a huge weight lifted from her heart. She quickly patted her chest to calm her anxious heart.

But Yunping stepped forward, seemingly quite interested in it.

He looked at Li Junxiao and asked softly, "Have you found the person who poisoned us? Is it a force that is hostile to the Ranshan Sect?"

Li Junxiao gave Yun Ping a strange look, then lowered his head, patted his junior sister Ren Yao's head, and looked around.

Many outer disciples of the Ranshan Sect had already noticed this place, and Li Junxiao's reputation seemed to be even greater than Ren Yao's, which immediately attracted a lot of people to watch from afar.

Li Junxiao sighed and said to Yun Ping:

"It's not convenient to talk about this here. Let's go into my cave."

……

This was the first time Li Junxiao had ever invited a man into her cave.

Although it sounds strange, she really didn't feel good and could only try to comfort herself internally.

—This is Ren Yao's junior sister's uncle, not a man, not a man.

Even so, her movements were still somewhat stiff when she stepped forward to serve tea to Ren Yao and Yun Ping.

Li Junxiao's cave dwelling was more magnificent than I had imagined. Putting aside the precious spiritual plants that surrounded the entire cave dwelling, the silver blood-red light bed alone was enough to be considered luxurious.

Simply lying on it, whether sleeping or cultivating, will have the effect of promoting blood circulation and clearing the meridians, which can help cultivators break through their cultivation levels more effectively in many situations.

After brewing tea for Yunping and Renyao, Li Junxiao sat on the silver-stained bed, trying his best to keep his expression calm.

"then--"

The young man took a casual sip of tea, showing no sign of politeness. After savoring the bitterness and sweetness of the tea, he cut straight to the point:

"What happened with the poisoning?"

"To be honest, on the surface it doesn't really count as poisoning at all..."

"What do you mean?" Ren Yao raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'on the surface'..."

"It means... that my maternal grandfather was indeed poisoned, but it happened within the secret realm, where he was injured by a poisonous creature. As you know, Junior Sister Ren, the secret realm the elders went to this time was an unexplored one, so it's not surprising that it contained demonic creatures."

Ren Yao nodded; she was indeed aware of the matter.

The secret realm suddenly appeared three days ago. A disciple from the outer sect of Ranshan Sect discovered it, mistakenly thinking it was just an ordinary secret realm, and went in. He never came out again.

Upon learning of this, the Ranshan Sect decided to send the Nine Peak Elders directly. However, one of the elders went in and soon escaped covered in wounds.

It was an uncharted secret realm, a place where no one had ever set foot before, and it seemed to contain a vast number of demonic creatures.

Therefore, in order to explore the secret realm, the Ranshan Sect sent all nine peak elders and the maternal grandfather to investigate, which led to today's events.

"Being injured by a monster means... not that you were poisoned?"

Faced with Ren Yao's question, Li Junxiao rolled his eyes helplessly, "Junior Sister Ren, you really should develop your brain."

"What is this..." Ren Yao scratched her head blankly, "We can't develop anything new even if we keep trying."

"In short—" Li Junxiao didn't want to continue discussing this matter with his junior sister, so he said seriously, "Although our maternal grandfather was indeed poisoned by that demon, in reality... he was ultimately harmed by evil people."

Although Li Junxiao's words were somewhat ambiguous, Yunping could still understand the meaning behind them.

He put down the warm teacup, looked at the light brown tea leaves slowly sinking inside, and said in a deep voice, "So... someone deliberately used some means to make your maternal grandfather injured by poison—that's the gist of it, right?"

"Yes."

Li Junxiao glanced at Yun Ping with slight surprise, because the latter was not talkative, and she thought he was the type who didn't think much, like Ren Yao.

After all, according to the character settings, Yunping is Ren Yao's relative.

But let's leave those aside for now—

"Although it was well hidden, I and several others who went to the secret realm with my maternal grandfather at the time could see it clearly. There were several very shallow palm prints on the monster's body."

"Most of the monsters in that secret realm are in a dormant state. As long as you don't get too close or provoke them, or make too much noise, they generally won't attack you."

"But the three demonic snakes that attacked us were different from the ones that attacked my maternal grandfather. When we saw them, they were in a state of extreme rage, and there were still several palm prints on their seven-inch spots that had not completely faded—"

"My maternal grandfather fought fiercely against the three demonic snakes to protect us. Although he eventually killed the snakes, his right arm was bitten through by their venomous fangs..."

At this point, Li Junxiao's expression darkened slightly, his eyes filled with indignation.

Her maternal grandfather had always treated her well, but he was poisoned because of the despicable means of some villains. How could she not be angry about such an experience?

Ren Yao's face flushed with anger, and she jumped up from the stool. "Senior Sister Li, who lured that demonic snake to attack Grandfather? And whose palm print was that?"

"If I'm not mistaken..."

Just as Li Junxiao was about to utter a certain name, the barrier outside the cave suddenly shook.

"Tsk."

Her clear eyes suddenly filled with disgust. She slowly stood up, unconsciously gripping the scabbard and hanging it at her waist.

She pursed her lips, her face extremely gloomy.

Seeing Li Junxiao's appearance, Ren Yao couldn't help but ask, "Senior Sister, what's wrong...?"

"A problem."

Li Junxiao replied coldly, and then waved his right hand. As the hand seals flashed, the restrictive formation outside the cave was submerged in a colorless ripple.

next second.

A pair of white jade shoes stepped into the cave.

The long sword sheath was wrapped in gold thread at the waist, with a gilded tiger carved on it. A majestic aura emanated from the hilt, as if a strong wind was swirling around it, and a strong pressure emanated from the sheath.

The one who entered the cave was a man.

However, he was dressed in a Taoist robe, and beneath his neat short black hair was a face that held both a hint of a smile and a touch of coldness.

Upon entering the cave, he looked at Li Junxiao.

"Junior Sister Li, it's been a long time."

“It won’t take that long.” Li Junxiao glanced coldly at the man, immediately adopting an attitude of seeing him off: “Senior Brother Qin Guang, is there anything important? If not, please leave.”

"Can't you come to see Junior Sister Li unless it's something important?"

Li Junxiao's lips twitched, and he looked at him coldly: "I want to cultivate."

"There's no need to rush cultivation. If Junior Sister Li truly wishes to improve her cultivation level, wouldn't it be more effective to spar with Senior Brother?"

"I'm busy."

"As indifferent as ever..."

Qin Guang smiled faintly, showing no displeasure at Li Junxiao's indifference.

But immediately, the smile on his face vanished, replaced by an indescribable chill.

Because he saw a man inside Li Junxiao's cave.

An ordinary, unremarkable man.

Who is that mortal?

Qin Guang's gaze fell on the young man who was drinking tea and crossing his legs, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Li Junxiao immediately stepped to the side, blocking Qin Guang's view.

He certainly didn't want Yunping, a mere mortal, to be targeted by a cultivator.

There's no doubt that they won't get away with it.

"He's just a relative of Junior Sister Ren, and he came to the sect to deliver some daily necessities to her."

"So she's a relative of Junior Sister Ren..."

Qin Guang's smile gradually returned, and he glanced at Yun Ping with a strange and cold look before turning around and speaking to Li Junxiao.

"Let's get back to business—don't forget about the sect competition in half a month."

Upon hearing the words "Sect Grand Competition," Li Junxiao's hand gripping the sword sheath trembled violently.

She glared at Qin Guang with eyes sharp enough to pierce his soul, then turned around and spoke, each word carefully enunciated, in a voice that seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth—

"I won't forget."