Chapter 12: The Eerie Formation
The puppets, who had been following Luo Xue since she left the courtyard, had vanished without a trace.
Since Luo Xue had been focused on the tracks on the ground, she hadn’t noticed when the footsteps had disappeared.
Had they gone to report to Daoist Ziyang?
Or had they exceeded their range and returned to the courtyard on their own?
A breeze blew past, and Luo Xue felt a chill on her skin, her heart pounding in her chest.
If she continued further, there would be no turning back…
Perhaps, she should wait for another opportunity?
Wait for Huang Xinya or Yu Yiling to break through, for another chance when Daoist Ziyang would make his move?
Although those little girls were indeed annoying, Luo Xue still felt a bit reluctant to use them like this.
After all, they were just children, their taunts merely words.
Just as Luo Xue hesitated, she suddenly sensed a familiar aura.
Cold and bone-chilling…
“Yin Breath Poison?”
Luo Xue twitched her nose. A chill permeated her body, then vanished in an instant.
This was the value of 40 Yin Poison Resistance. A trace of Yin Breath Poison, enough to kill an ordinary adult, could be neutralized by Luo Xue with a single breath.
But why was there Yin Breath Poison deep within Mount Ziyang?
Luo Xue examined her surroundings again. The seemingly sinister grass and trees were all tainted with the aura of Yin Breath Poison.
Even the soil…
“It seems the Yin Breath Poison here hasn’t been around for just a day or two.”
Luo Xue knew she was very close to the truth.
The method Daoist Ziyang used for selection was Yin Breath Poison, and Yin Breath Poison permeated the depths of Mount Ziyang. If there was no connection between the two, Luo Xue wouldn’t believe it.
Luo Xue continued forward. The lingering Yin Breath Poison filled the surrounding air, but this deadly place had no effect on Luo Xue.
Having reached this point, Luo Xue no longer needed to pay attention to the path underfoot.
Because in this desolate mountain forest, there was only one path to take, and its end was also boundless darkness.
Withered, sinister branches blocked out the sky, the bright moonlight unable to penetrate this land eroded by Yin Breath Poison. A cold, eerie wind blew around her, and a sickly sweet, strange smell lingered at the tip of her nose.
Even with the mental fortitude of several lifetimes, Luo Xue felt a chill down her spine.
“Having come this far, I can’t give up now…”
Luo Xue gently pressed her right hand against her chest. She could feel her heart beating faster than ever before, the tension almost overwhelming her.
But she quickly regained her composure and continued to move forward.
An eerie silence filled the surroundings. Luo Xue didn’t know how long she had walked before she finally saw a few glimmers of light in the boundless darkness.
A few steps further, she could see that these glimmers came from a courtyard ahead—deep within Mount Ziyang, there was actually a courtyard identical to the one outside!
Luo Xue couldn’t help but hold her breath, slowing her pace.
A cold sweat seeped from her palms. Ahead lay the truth and the answers, but along with them came danger and death.
“…”
A little closer… just a little closer…
Luo Xue tensed her entire body, inching towards the courtyard as quietly as possible, afraid of making any noise that might alert Daoist Ziyang.
However, Daoist Ziyang didn’t seem to be in the courtyard.
When Luo Xue got close enough to see inside the courtyard, she didn’t see the figure she had been dreading.
There was only a small figure lying in the center of the courtyard.
It was… Li Zining!
Li Zining’s eyes were tightly closed, her body covered in runes that Luo Xue couldn’t understand, seemingly forming some kind of formation.
More importantly, Li Zining seemed to have undergone some kind of transformation. When Luo Xue looked at her, she could vaguely sense a pressure on a life level.
Could she have already stepped into the Innate Realm…
From the time Li Zining was taken away until now, it had probably been less than two hours. Even a genius had to follow the basic laws, right?
Or perhaps…
This was Daoist Ziyang’s doing.
Daoist Ziyang had helped Li Zining break through, instantly reaching the Innate Realm.
“Probably even immortal methods can’t help much with Post-Heaven cultivation, so Daoist Ziyang tricked us into cultivating diligently.”
Combining her thoughts from these past few days, Luo Xue frowned and began to speculate,
“Only after reaching the Spiritual Insight stage can immortal methods be used. That’s why Daoist Ziyang was so eager to take Li Zining away… He’s running out of time.”
If not for his impatience, Daoist Ziyang wouldn’t have left such an obvious opening, giving Luo Xue the opportunity to witness this scene she shouldn’t have seen.
However, what was the purpose of the formation beneath Li Zining?
Luo Xue could only sense the surrounding Yin Breath Poison faintly converging towards the center of the formation, but this didn’t seem to be its true purpose.
It was more like Li Zining was actively absorbing the Yin Breath Poison…
What a joke, this was a deadly poison!
Although Luo Xue had Yin Poison Resistance, it didn’t mean she was completely immune, let alone that she would actively absorb such a potent toxin.
Unless…
Luo Xue recalled Daoist Ziyang’s method of selecting five little girls from dozens, and his special treatment of her during these days.
Her long-standing doubts were finally resolved.
“Daoist Ziyang isn’t looking for a constitution with Yin Poison Resistance, but a constitution that can absorb Yin Breath Poison for cultivation!”
Once Luo Xue realized this, many of her questions were answered.
For example, his attention to her and his indifference to Su Yiyao.
Daoist Ziyang thought Su Yiyao’s late awakening after being poisoned was due to her poor constitution and aptitude, so he hadn’t paid much attention to her.
In reality, it was because Su Yiyao had been awake for too long in the dim carriage, her mind severely damaged, which was why she had remained unconscious for so long.
Her slow cultivation speed afterward was due to Luo Xue’s instructions to deliberately neglect her practice. But even so, Su Yiyao was still constantly breaking through.
In other words… perhaps Su Yiyao’s aptitude was the strongest among them.
As for Luo Xue, it was even simpler.
“Daoist Ziyang must be wondering why I can withstand the Yin Breath Poison without a special constitution…”
A bitter smile appeared on Luo Xue’s lips. No wonder Daoist Ziyang had inexplicably given her a Yin Breath Poison pill; he was probably waiting to see her die from the poison.
There was one last question.
Where… was Daoist Ziyang?
Luo Xue was only a few steps away from the courtyard, yet there was still no movement around her.
Only the formation beneath Li Zining flickered faintly, seemingly in operation.
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