Chapter 241

“Bone Demon… it’s gone just like that?”

Xu Ye was stunned by the swift and fierce operation: “This, this is too—”

To be honest, Ning Ning’s strategy wasn’t particularly high-end or classy. In fact, it was almost too simple and straightforward.

Who would have thought that an evil demon with a nascent soul stage cultivation would be defeated by the ice?

But not only did she come up with this method, she executed it meticulously and methodically. It was the simplest, yet the most effective approach.

As expected of the woman who once played Niguang Island around, she still follows an unconventional path as always.

Xu Ye took a breath of cold air and secretly thanked God that he was not standing against her.

“The cliff below is bottomless. It just slid down, so it’s probably gone.”

This overly cautious Ning Ning, despite the high probability that the Bone Demon met its end after free-falling, was still staring intently at the end of the river, as if not fully reassured: “I’ll go check by the cliff.”

Xu Ye nodded dumbly.

As Ning Ning walked further away, Xu Ye was still in a daze when he suddenly heard the rustling of clothes beside him. Following the sound, he realized that the young man on He Zhizhou’s back had opened his eyes at some point.

Their eyes met.

The young man’s face gradually twisted, his features contorting into a grimace as he forced out three hoarse words from deep in his throat: “Xu—Ye—uh—”

Xu Ye was so scared he almost trembled: “Senior Brother Zhou, spare my life!”

“Well done! Zhou Zhao is finally awake!”

Outside the Mystic Mirror, not far from the Xuanxu Sword Sect’s encampment, an elder of the Wanjian Swords Sect slapped his thigh hard, his words carrying a hint of meaning.

“This kid has been resilient since he was young. Now that he’s about to breakthrough from the Golden Core stage, his strength is naturally extraordinary. What’s the use of clever tricks? It’s time for certain people to see what a true sword cultivator is!”

Tian Xianzi, while cracking melon seeds, let out a dry laugh: “Oh, so Brother Bamboo Pipe is awake, huh? I hope using that bamboo tube with Xu Ye didn’t suffocate him.”

The elder of the Wanjian Swords Sect, already accustomed to the rivalry between the two great sects, snorted at this: “All that talk is useless. Elder Tian Xianzi, you’d better keep your eyes open—”

He was suddenly interrupted as his expression stiffened and he closed his mouth.

Before Tian Xianzi could react, the elder’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

In the Mystic Mirror, Zhou Zhao had swiftly dismounted from He Zhizhou’s back, barely containing his anger as he confronted Xu Ye: “Tell me, what kind of bad idea did you come up with? If I hadn’t been disturbed by that bamboo tube, I might have fought the bone demon for three hundred rounds—huh? Where’s the bone demon?”

Xu Ye, who had screwed this guy badly enough, could only look pitifully speechless at this point.

Pouting, he extended his right hand and pointed toward the end of the river.

Zhou Zhao, not seeing any trace of the Bone Demon, gave Xu Ye a puzzled look before stepping forward without thinking.

He stepped right onto the ice.

Xu Ye: “Wait—!”

He Zhizhou: “No—!”

Both voices got stuck in their throats. Before the two could finish speaking, the white-clad sword cultivator with an icy temperament had already taken the first step onto the ice.

Before He Zhizhou had carried him on his back, his feet had collected quite a bit of snow.

And as everyone knows, snow melts into water.

The moment Zhou Zhao turned his head at the sound, the plum blossoms bloomed a second time.

At that very moment, Ning Ning, who had finished her investigation at the edge of the cliff, turned back, relieved.

Then her smile instantly froze.

Could someone please tell her why that unfamiliar disciple she had never met before was suddenly lying in the river, spinning around like a bowling ball and repeating the same…flipping like a carp?

Zhou Zhao’s hands and feet were slipping everywhere. As he flailed wildly, he inadvertently performed a breakdancing move, extending his legs into a 720-degree Thomas flair.

Xu Ye was terrified and quickly rushed forward to help. But as soon as he extended his right hand, it was grabbed firmly by Zhou Zhao, causing Xu Ye to lose control and fall forward.

Thus, the two of them, hand in hand, slid back and forth, grimacing as they wobbled and inadvertently performed a two-person tap dance.

Tian Xianzi watched, snorting with laughter, sounding like a little piglet struggling to breathe: “Oh my god, what a dance-off. Is this what sword cultivators are?”

Elder of the Wanjian Sect: …

The elder of the Wanjian Sect pressed hard on his philtrum and patted his colleague on the shoulder: “Water… get me a glass of water.”

=====

“This is Senior Brother Zhou Zhao, at the peak of the Golden Core stage.”

Finally off the ice, Xu Ye walked ahead, head down and looking pitiful, as he introduced everyone present. When he caught sight of Zhou Zhao’s lifeless, dull eyes, he reflexively shrank back.

“So it’s Taoist Ning Ning.”

Zhou Zhao looked like he had suffered a severe blow.

His eyes were lifeless and his face was expressionless, just like the robot male lead with poor acting skills in youth idol dramas: “I have heard a lot about Taoist Ning’s deeds, and I have always wanted to compete with you. Heh..heh.””

Those two dry “heh heh” laughs carried no warmth, sending chills down Ning Ning’s spine.

She felt they were entirely out of place.

If Senior Brother Zhou were attending a rival’s funeral one day, this tone would be quite fitting.

She forced a polite smile and curiously asked, “You two arrived before us. Did you discover anything?”

Xu Ye, looking as wilted as a delicate flower, replied, “Senior Brother Zhou and I traveled together, but apart from a few orchids, we found nothing useful.”

According to Xu Ye, they had been fortunate enough to discover a rare spiritual plant, the blood-drinking orchid, at the foot of a mountain.

They had planned to take it with them but unexpectedly ran into the Bone Demon. After a fierce battle, knowing they were outmatched, they had no choice but to flee in panic.

Now, Xu Ye was leading everyone to the location of the blood-drinking orchid.

“Taoist Ning Ning, Taoist He.”

Zhou Zhao said, “I won’t partake in dividing the blood-drinking orchid. I only ask that you forget what happened on the ice just now. If you can keep it a secret, I’ll consider you my second parents.”

Ning Ning choked.

You recognize new parents so easily? How spineless.

“The Blood-drinking Orchid.”

He Zhizhou stroked his chin.

“I’ve heard this flower is extremely rare, only growing in places steeped in deep resentment, nourished by the blood of hundreds or thousands of people. What kind of tragedy must have occurred here for such an evil thing to grow?”

“Judging by the environment, something doesn’t seem right.”

Ning Ning looked up and frowned, disturbed by the deathly aura gathering all around.

The deeper they went, the darker the sky became.

At first, the clouds were just light, cotton-like wisps, pressing heavily against the sky. Faint sunlight filtered through the gaps, resembling inconspicuous golden dust, shattering into a very pale halo as it touched the ground.

Then, black ink gradually seeped into the clouds. As far as the eye could see, everything was a gloomy dark gray. The clouds’ contours blurred, merging with the layered, indistinguishable mountains, all hanging low under the sky.

The surrounding old trees, with their various twisted shapes, looked like countless claws waiting to snatch souls. In the increasingly dark environment, these trees, bathed in the black mist of death, appeared even more unsettling.

The mountain foot that Xu Ye mentioned was not far from the river. The group soon reached their destination.