Chapter Seventy-One: Gravely Wounded by Cultivating the Heart Technique (Part Two)

A quarter of an hour earlier, at the entrance to the Demonic Sect.

Ning Qingqing had been waiting anxiously outside for Bai Shengyun, but he never came out. Her heart was filled with unease. If he failed to emerge, she might once again encounter that group of ghosts on the way back, and then…

Her face turned deathly pale, and she dared not let her thoughts wander further. Gazing at the thick black mist, she hesitated for a long time before finally steeling herself and deciding to venture inside for a look.

Yet she forgot to use a Concealment Talisman. From the moment she stepped into the black fog, she was immediately watched by several probing senses.

No sooner had she entered than she found herself in a corridor shrouded in chaotic energy. Panic seized her; unfamiliar with this place, she began to wander aimlessly. She hadn’t gone far before a burst of white light shone before her, dazzling like the sun.

However, the white light was veiled by a shadowy figure in the distance. She couldn’t make out who it was until she drew closer—then, horrified, she turned to flee, murmuring to herself, “I have an Invisibility Talisman. It’s fine. I’m not afraid…”

But she didn’t know that several arrays had been set in the corridor. Even with a Concealment Talisman, she was utterly exposed, seen as clearly as day.

Ning Qingqing tried to retrace her steps, but she’d already lost her sense of direction and could not tell east from west. She took out her compass, only to find the needle spinning madly without pause.

Fear tightened her chest. She glanced behind her and saw the figure following at an unhurried pace, always maintaining the same distance.

Noticing her look, the figure laughed, a low, husky voice echoing through the corridor. If not for the blatant scorn and mockery in his tone, that voice could have been enticing enough to make one blush.

“All right, stop running.” In an instant, the man appeared before her and with a flick of his sleeve, burned her Concealment Talisman to ashes.

This man was none other than Huo Tianqing.

His features betrayed no emotion. Upon seeing Ning Qingqing, he raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through her to someone else beyond. His tone softened a little, “The corridors here have long been sealed by me. You can’t escape now, even if you wish to.”

Ning Qingqing noticed this subtle change, quickly putting on a pitiful expression as tears brimmed in her eyes. “Senior… I entered by mistake. Please, spare me.”

“Mistakenly entered?” Huo Tianqing’s face was full of disbelief. “My Demonic Sect is shrouded inside and out with enchantments, and there are arrays to detect intruders as well. You obviously came here on purpose.”

His expression turned stern and menacing. With an evil smile, he asked, “You’re from the Immortal Sect. What are you really doing here?”

Ning Qingqing’s eyes widened in surprise before she quickly masked her reaction and forced a helpless laugh. “I’m not from the Immortal Sect, truly. Won’t you believe me?”

“Tch.” Huo Tianqing, seeing she still wouldn’t tell the truth, thought of the intruder and Xie Yingying in the rear mountains, growing more uneasy. He looked at Ning Qingqing with increasing impatience.

Ning Qingqing tried to beg for mercy with her beauty, but as soon as she opened her mouth, he thrust his sword forward, piercing her shoulder through.

“Senior…” she whimpered in pain, staring at Huo Tianqing in bewilderment. “Why did you hurt me?”

“Still pretending?” Huo Tianqing snorted coldly. “I have no time to waste on your nonsense. Answer me properly—why have you people come to the Demonic Sect?”

At the mention of “you people,” Ning Qingqing’s expression changed drastically. That meant Bai Shengyun had indeed been discovered and was likely in grave danger. A complicated, indescribable feeling welled up inside her.

Biting her lip, Ning Qingqing knew that if she faced Huo Tianqing head-on, she stood no chance. It would be better to wait for Shen Ruru and have her come as well.

She suddenly looked up, seized the sword before her, and the sharp blade instantly cut deep into her palm, exposing bone. Without hesitation, she turned and fled, every movement wrenching her wounded shoulder, blood welling and soaking her sleeve.

Huo Tianqing had expected her to resist, but to his surprise, she turned tail and ran. He flung his sword after her.

Ning Qingqing heard the whistle of wind behind her and spun around just in time to see a three-foot-long sword hurtling toward her. She tried to dodge, but the sword seemed to have a will of its own, relentlessly chasing her, faster than before.

As fate would have it, her leg cramped at that moment; her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground. With her strength gone, she could do nothing as the sword stabbed another bloody hole in her body.

Face ashen, Ning Qingqing clutched her new wound, channeling spiritual energy to heal, but the wound was tainted by baleful energy, impossible to close. Old and new blood seeped through her fingers, trickling down her hand in crimson streaks.

Huo Tianqing strode forward, hands clasped behind his back, and with a single palm, he swept her out of the corridor, then sealed it completely.

“That’s how it happened,” Ning Qingqing concluded, the pain in her wound intensifying.

Shen Ruru stood nearby, arms folded, looking down on Ning Qingqing. “Serves you right.”

Meanwhile, Huo Tianqing was barely suppressing his anxiety. Someone had broken into the Demonic Sect, and now an Immortal Sect disciple was outside—clearly, they were all after Xie Yingying. The moment he discovered the intruder, he wanted to check on Xie Yingying, but the reclusive elders forced him to deal with the nuisance of Ning Qingqing first.

He frowned, a note of impatience in his voice, but thoughts of Ning Qingqing brought a flicker of doubt. She seemed so familiar, and yet he couldn’t recall where he’d seen her before.

Upon seeing Ning Qingqing, Huo Tianqing had immediately thought she resembled Xie Yingying. Their features were similar, but their expressions, bearing, and mannerisms were entirely different—so different, in fact, that it was easy to overlook the resemblance.

He moved quickly, soon arriving at the cave where Xie Yingying was secluded in cultivation.

He had personally set every formation in the Demonic Sect, so it was easy to locate her. Yet in his haste, he failed to notice the faint, nearly imperceptible familiar aura in the air.

Huo Tianqing stepped into the formation. The array offered no resistance, and as soon as he entered, he saw Xie Yingying clutching her chest and coughing up blood.

His expression grew grave as he rushed to check on her, immediately sensing the familiar chilling energy—together with an even stronger primordial force of the Celestial Fox.

The two powers were locked in fierce combat within Xie Yingying’s core, neither yielding nor gaining ground. Their battle brought them satisfaction, but left Xie Yingying in terrible agony—her body alternated between burning and freezing, her face as pale as paper. Worse still, a tiny crack had appeared in her golden core.