Chapter 116

The symptoms are exactly the same as Wen Hemian’s.

Ning Ning’s heart stirred. “Miss Qiao, do you know the solution to this illness?”

“I’ve only heard that there are several extremely precious medicinal herbs that can cure it, but—”

Before Qiao Yan could finish her sentence, she paused slightly, then furrowed her brows and muttered, “Mother, why did you come out?”

Ning Ning looked up in response and saw a figure sitting in a wheelchair in front of one of the houses.

She was a woman of extreme beauty, with skin like jade and clouds of hair scattered around her. Even in complete stillness, she exuded a natural and gentle temperament.

Unfortunately, she was incredibly weak, perhaps due to the depletion of her spiritual energy and excessive fatigue. Her long hair was tinged with a frosty gray, and her pupils were dull and lifeless, like jade covered in dust.

“Mother is worried about my safety and never allows me to seek the Sun Blaze Bow.”

Qiao Yan lowered her voice as if whispering, “Don’t let anything slip.”

Ning Ning nodded obediently.

“I heard there are new guests.”

The woman coughed lightly, being carefully pushed forward by the boy behind her. The closer they got, the clearer Ning Ning could see the woman’s emaciated body, tortured by illness.

She was much gentler in temperament than her daughter. When she spoke softly, every word was accompanied by a gentle smile: “I am Xiao Yan’s mother. You may call me Qin Niang.”

After the woman finished speaking, she looked up at Qiao Yan and coughed again. “Xiao Yan, go make tea for our guests.”

Qiao Yan was always obedient to her mother. Although she was worried that their plan might be exposed, she still obediently agreed in a low voice. Before leaving, she hastily exchanged a glance with Ning Ning; the implication in her eyes couldn’t be more obvious.

Ning Ning never easily betrayed her teammates. She had intended to keep silent but immediately heard Qin Niang’s voice: “That girl must have begged you to fetch the Sun Blaze Bow for her, right?”

Ning Ning was instantly tongue-tied, casting a guilty glance at Pei Ji beside her.

“I am her mother; how could I not understand Xiao Yan’s intentions?”

Qin Niang chuckled softly, covering her lips. “You two don’t need to hide anything deliberately. Setting aside the matter of obtaining the Sun Blaze Bow, which requires defeating the giant beast, Fire Phoenix, even if you manage to obtain the bow, what then? With that child’s strength, how could she possibly repel the hundreds of demon clan members, including the demon in the Nascent Soul and Golden Core stages, within the formation?”

She chuckled softly, her voice weak. “With me and the other clan members suffering severe injuries, not to mention leaving this secret realm, even walking is no easy task. Although Xiao Yan had the opportunity to leave, she chose to stay here for us. I wonder when the trial will end for you two?”

Ning Ning answered honestly, “In three days.”

“Three days…”

Qin Niang lowered her eyes, murmuring softly, “I hope you won’t do anything foolish with Xiao Yan. Although the Sun Blaze Bow is an ancient artifact, it’s powerless against the invasion of so many demon clan members. After three days, when the gates of the secret realm open, I will persuade her to leave this place.”

Ning Ning was slightly stunned. “But what about you—”

“We are already dying demons.”

Qin Mother raised her cloudy eyes, a faint smile in her brows. “Sealing the demon clan has already consumed most of our cultivation. Coupled with the old injuries that cannot heal in our bodies… maintaining the formation is already extremely difficult.”

Pei Ji spoke up for the first time: “Maintaining the formation?”

“Yes.”

The woman glanced at him, a hint of helplessness in her eyes. “Xiao Yan doesn’t know, so she won’t tell you. The reason the formation can still be sustained is that I and the other clan members are using the remnants of our spiritual energy to maintain it. In recent days, the spiritual energy has become weaker and weaker, and it’s already difficult to control… I believe ten days will be the limit. Even if the spiritual energy doesn’t deplete and kill me, the old illnesses in this body might.”

Because they were using their lives every day to support the formation, even though Qiao Yan searched the secret realm for peerless medicinal herbs, she couldn’t improve the situation of the clan members in the slightest.

She would never have thought that while she was giving her all for her clan members, they were also silently sacrificing their lives, pooling the strength of the entire clan just to keep her alive.

And ten days later, when the secret realm closed and the formation collapsed, the trapped fox clan would inevitably be devoured by the demons.

“I’ve waited so many years, hoping for the day when the secret realm opens wide, so that I can send Xiao Yan away.”

Qin Niang said, “It’s also not in vain for us to support it so hard with our broken bodies for so many years… The outside world is strange and wonderful, and that child will surely like it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the unreserved footsteps of the girl sounded behind her.

The withered woman placed her index finger on her lips, smiling as she made a shushing gesture towards them. “This is our secret, please don’t tell her… at least for the last three days, let me and that child have a good time together.”