Fairy, help me cultivate.

Chen Yao led Jiang Bailian into the left fork in the road.

Jiang Bailian glanced at Chen Yao, her gaze distant and unfocused, lost in thought.

Soon, the two entered Yun Li's boudoir.

Chen Yao glanced around secretly and found that the young brute's boudoir was as simple as a cave, with only a few tiger skin cushions, a jade bed, and a simple dressing table.

He couldn't help but rub his forehead. Was this really the behavior of a ruthless bandit?

"Senior sister, Senior Sister Jiang has arrived."

Chen Yao stood to one side and gestured for the white jade monkey serving Yun Li to bring tea.

Yun Li, unusually dressed in a light yellow Taoist robe, sat upright on a futon without moving.

Jiang Bailian bowed and said, "Jiang Bailian of the Second Branch of the Pill Refining Hall pays respects to Senior Sister Yun Li of Hanyu Peak."

Yun Li lowered her eyes slightly, and after a long while, she said, "What wind blew Junior Sister Jiang to my little desolate mountain?"

The tone was very unpleasant.

Jiang Bailian was not offended. She took out a large pile of pills from her storage ring as a gift and explained her purpose. She was there to apologize for Chen Yao's injury after breaking the fog array. She said she had only just heard about it and was therefore unaware of the situation.

Chen Yao and Yun Li exchanged a glance, neither believing her explanation. Clearly, it was the two branches of the Pill Refining Hall that couldn't withstand Yun Li's covert counterattack, which was why they came begging for mercy.

Yun Li simply gave a faint "hmm" and left Jiang Bailian aside, turning to chat with Chen Yao.

Taking the opportunity, Chen Yao revealed his intention to take on the task of dealing with the evil spirits of Jiulan Village.

Yun Li thought for a moment: "Although Jiulan Village is not close to the sect, it is well protected by the sect because it has contributed many outer disciples. It is indeed suitable for Junior Brother to go and investigate."

She frowned slightly: "But after all, this involves evil spirits... This task is too simple, the senior sisters cannot accept it to accompany you..."

"I can manage on my own..."

"No!" Yun Li refused decisively, "You've just recovered, you can't be careless..."

She frowned and pondered who could accompany Chen Yao, but couldn't think of anyone else suitable.

In front of outsiders, he couldn't say that he simply accompanied his junior brother down the mountain, otherwise it would be considered cheating and would affect Chen Yao's evaluation after completing the mission.

I'll just wait until Jiang Bailian leaves before discussing it with my junior brother...

She was just about to give Jiang Bailian another talking-to before sending her away.

Jiang Bailian spoke first: "Senior Sister, are you talking about the mission to ward off evil spirits in Jiulan Village?"

Yun Li frowned and said coldly, "Yes."

Jiang Bailian glanced at Chen Yao, her cheeks slightly flushed: "Senior Sister, Junior Brother Chen, I'm sorry... I've already taken this mission first..."

Yun Li was taken aback, and Chen Yao narrowed his eyes.

What does she mean by this? Could it be that she already knew in advance that Chen Yao needed a demon soul to stabilize his demonic energy, and guessed that he would accept this task?

Otherwise, the disciples of the alchemy room would be protected by the sect. As long as they contribute a fixed number of pills each month, they would be exempt from going out to exorcise demons. Why would she take on a mission so casually?

Yun Li and Chen Yao both looked rather pale.

Jiang Bailian quickly said, "I was just feeling bored with alchemy, so I wanted to go down the mountain to relax. Since you need it, Junior Brother, I'll give it to you. However, my combat strength is not as good as the senior sisters of Hanyu Peak, so even though I can take on this mission, I could actually accompany you..."

She looked at Yun Li and said sincerely, "The two branches of the Pill Refining Hall would never dare to provoke Hanyu Peak. My visit to apologize this time is full of sincerity. Senior Sister, rest assured, I would never dare to have any other thoughts."

Yun Li sneered: "You dare to have any ideas?"

Jiang Bailian lowered her head: "I wouldn't dare."

Yun Li glared at her, then looked at Chen Yao. She certainly didn't think Jiang Bailian would have any tricks up her sleeve; after all, if she dared to harm her junior brother, the two lineages of the Pill Refining Sect could forget about refining pills properly. Even if she had come prepared, it was only to do someone a favor.

She was worried about the girl's strength. Looking at her weak and frail appearance, how could she possibly protect her junior brother?

Just as she was about to refuse, she heard Chen Yao's silly voice agreeing.

"Great! With Senior Sister Jiang by my side, you can finally rest assured, right?"

Chen Yao was just worried about not having time to spend with Jiang Bailian when she delivered herself to his doorstep, killing two birds with one stone.

He didn't think Jiang Bailian would dare to have any other ideas after Yun Li put pressure on the alchemy room.

Yun Li simply opened her beautiful eyes wide and stared at Chen Yao.

This kid is usually so lazy and unambitious, so why is he so eager to go with Jiang Bailian?

She felt very uncomfortable.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Natural Dullness of Underpants

Even though Yun Li was unwilling, the two parties involved had already reached an agreement.

Especially in front of outsiders, she couldn't appear too domineering towards her junior brother, so she could only silently see him off.

Before leaving, Jiang Bailian made an appointment with Chen Yao to meet at Taoranting at the foot of the mountain the next day.

Chen Yao excitedly returned to the attic to prepare.

The little snake is now in the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and its body has become much thicker. Even though it has shrunk, it still wraps around Chen Yao's wrist like a bracelet. The temperature of its flames has also increased significantly, making it more effective for sneak attacks.

He spread out the ink and brush, took out talisman paper, and wrote ten talismans for each of the five elements and yin-yang.

Despite practicing for so many days, Chen Yao still felt extremely tired after drawing so many talismans in one go. His temples throbbed with a sharp, stabbing pain.

He quickly sat down on the stool, and the little monkey tenderly offered him some spiritual tea and massaged his temples.

After a while, Chen Yao breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

He glanced at the pattern on the celadon teacup and froze.

A deep fear welled up in his eyes, and his back felt as if it had sunk into a deep, icy pool.

He suddenly sat up from the small stool, looked around, and communicated with the spirit beasts of Little Bamboo Peak, instructing them to scatter and search.

Nothing was gained.

How...how is this possible?

Chen Yao looked at the teacup in his hand, a look of disbelief on his face.

Several cryptic characters were clearly engraved on it.

The cipher used by the contact person of the Demon Gate.

Right under Ling Ning's nose, in her home where only Yun Li and she were present, the Demonic Sect unknowingly inscribed secret text on the cup.

Chen Yao felt a chill run down his spine.

The newcomer was definitely not a low-level disciple, but perhaps someone at the same level as Ling Ning or even stronger...

How strong must the contact person be to command such a powerful individual?

After a long moment of stunned silence, he finally focused his attention on the ciphertext itself.

On May 23rd, we will meet under the paulownia tree south of Xiaosang Village.

Four days left.

Xiaosang Village... is thirty miles away from Jiulan Village, so we can make it.

However, we'll have to find a way to get Jiang Bailian away then... But it's not a big deal, we can just use tracking down evil spirits as an excuse.

Chen Yao took a deep breath, feeling the demonic marks on his back that were stirring but unable to move. Looking at the sea of ​​clouds and green mountains, he felt that the beautiful scenery before him was shrouded in a bleak and eerie atmosphere.

Could our sect have been completely infiltrated by the demonic sect?

Who exactly is this person who left the coded message? Does he even know me...? If I can truly break free from the demonic sect in the future, will he become a hindrance to me?

The thought of the demonic mark between his brows deepened the gloom in Chen Yao's heart.

Why is it getting deeper and deeper?

Chen Yao felt extremely tired. He dragged himself across the plank road and soaked in the spiritual spring of Xiaozhu Peak.

Soon, the spring water was filled with the fragrance of sweat flowing down from above.

It seems Yun Li has just finished her body tempering.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, a system notification appeared in his head.

[Congratulations, host! You have randomly shared the cultivation level of a female cultivator, advancing your Body Refinement to the third level and increasing your Physique by 10.]

[Body Refinement Level 3 (2/600)]

[Constitution (540)]

Please select the area to enhance.

Chen Yao was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "After Jiang Bai left, Yun Li, how intense have you been training? You've already maxed out the second level of Body Refinement..."

He figured that his two advanced Songyang Finger techniques were barely enough for attack, so he might as well focus on defense first!

So he focused his gaze on the chest, where the muscles on the left side of the chest emitted a white light.

[Enhancing...Enhancing complete]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Heart Protection Mantra]

The Heart Protection Mantra... is quite a vivid description.

Chen Yao tried to use it, and his left chest quickly turned into jade. He poked it with his middle finger, and it made a faint metallic sound.

Not bad.

I haven't made any progress in Qi Refining for a while. This time, after coming down the mountain, I'll go discuss the Great Dao with Senior Sister Yuanhe again and make a big leap forward.

However, we first need to deal with the contact person from the Demonic Sect...

Chen Yao began to recall the process of being treated by Ling Ning after he was injured... When he licked her feet, he seemed to feel her body changing from hot to cold.

This could barely be considered intelligence...

Yes, that's it! How could an ordinary person possibly touch Ling Ning Zhenren's feet!

On the other side, Yun Li was panting as she washed her delicate body, her lips pursed as she murmured to herself.

"As soon as they heard they were going with Jiang Bailian, they agreed so quickly..."

She was in a bad mood, and naturally the demons suffered greatly in the Blood Prison Illusion Mirror just now...