631: Chapter 42 Obsession, Coincidence

After Meng Li left, Zi Xuan and Wan Yuzhi walked up to the Holy Maiden one after the other.

Zi Xuan asked curiously, "Holy Maiden, who was that Daoist Lord?"

The Holy Maiden glanced at her faintly and replied, "I am also unclear about his origin. However, he cultivates the ancient True Immortal Dao, which is Heaven-Defying. This Dao has long been lost in the Six Realms, yet he can cultivate it and achieve success, meaning he must possess great fortune."

"Furthermore, I cannot see through his strength or foundation. It is best if you provoke him less in the future."

Saying this, she turned to look at Wan Yuzhi, "Your husband is afflicted with Water Poison. As far as I know, this poison can only be cured with the aid of the earth spirit pearl."

"Without the earth spirit pearl, even if I were willing to act, I could not save your husband."

"Therefore, you may return now."

Wan Yuzhi knew the Holy Maiden spoke the truth, so she bowed in thanks, "This humble one takes her leave."

After speaking, she turned and left the tavern.

After Wan Yuzhi departed, the Holy Maiden looked back at Zi Xuan and said in a deep voice, "That Daoist Lord just now told me something. He said that his journey with Xu Changqing and the others is to collect the five spirit orbs to reinforce the Seal on the Lock Demon Tower."

Zi Xuan was slightly stunned, then said, "I already guessed that."

She was also aware of Chonglou destroying the Lock Demon Tower, and since Meng Li and Jing Tian had already obtained the earth spirit pearl, this was not hard to guess.

But what the Holy Maiden said next made her heart leap: "That Daoist Lord knows the water spirit pearl is inside Qing'er."

Zi Xuan's expression stiffened, and her hands subconsciously clenched into fists.

When she regained her senses, she asked nervously, "Does he want to take the water spirit pearl?!"

The Holy Maiden shook her head, "From what I heard, he probably won't interfere regarding the water spirit pearl."

Hearing this, Zi Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"However..."

"However, what?" Seeing a turn in events, the heart Zi Xuan had just settled rose again.

The Holy Maiden replied, "However, don't forget—Xu Changqing!"

"He is a Disciple of Shushan. Collecting the five spirit orbs to reinforce the Seal of the Lock Demon Tower is his mission for this journey. This matter benefits both Shushan and all living beings in the world. Do you think he will take out the water spirit pearl if he knows it is on Lin Qinger?"

Hearing this, Zi Xuan's heart tightened, and she froze completely.

Because, based on her understanding of Xu Changqing in this lifetime, the answer was certainly yes.

If that happened, Lin Qinger would be affected.

She would also find it difficult to maintain her youth and would gradually age and die.

Thus, her hope of rekindling her romance with Xu Changqing would become even more difficult.

After all, Xu Changqing was young, while she was already over two hundred years old. If she couldn't maintain her youth...

Let alone Xu Changqing, she herself would find it hard to accept.

For a moment, Zi Xuan's sense of urgency greatly increased.

She had to find a way to continue maintaining her youth before Xu Changqing discovered the matter of the water spirit pearl, and there was currently one method available.

Thinking of this, Zi Xuan said to the Holy Maiden, "Holy Maiden, is it truly impossible to cure Wan Yuzhi's husband without the earth spirit pearl?"

The Holy Maiden was momentarily stunned, then reacted instantly, frowning, "That's right."

Afterward, she seemed to recall something and added, "At least, as far as I know, the Water Poison can only be resolved with the aid of the earth spirit pearl."

Immediately after, the Holy Maiden pointed out Zi Xuan's intention: "You still want to use Wan Yuzhi's heart to maintain your appearance and youth?"

Zi Xuan remained silent, which served as tacit agreement.

The Holy Maiden snorted coldly, "I advise you to drop that idea! Forget that saving Gao Yong is hopeless right now, and Wan Yuzhi is unwilling to trade her heart. Even if you truly obtained her heart, it wouldn't last long. Although she has some cultivation, she is merely a demon."

"A demon heart is not inherently yours; its power is limited and cannot keep you eternally young for long."

As soon as she finished speaking, her body transformed into a stream of light and vanished.

Zi Xuan remained where she was, her gaze flickering, unsure of what she was thinking.

...

On the other side, after Meng Li left the tavern, he returned the way he came and soon saw Hong Kui, Lan Kui, Hua Ying, and Xu Maoshan.

Xu Changqing, Jing Tian, and Tang Xuejian were not there.

"Chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

As soon as she saw Meng Li, Hua Ying flew up from Lan Kui's hand, greeted him, and then landed on his shoulder.

Lan Kui and Xu Maoshan came over to greet him as well.

"Elder Brother Meng."

"Grandmaster Meng."

Hong Kui asked directly, "Didn't you say you were just going and coming back? Why did it take so long?"

"Ran into something."

Meng Li teased Hua Ying for a moment, nodded to Lan Kui and Xu Maoshan, gave a brief reply, and then asked doubtfully, "Where are Jing Tian, Xue Jian, and Daoist Xu?"

Xu Maoshan replied, "Boss and the others saw you hadn't returned for a long time and went looking for you."

"Didn't you run into them?" Hong Kui asked Meng Li.

She had originally intended to go look for Meng Li, but Jing Tian said Meng Li might return halfway, so someone needed to stay put and wait. Since Xu Maoshan and Lan Kui had difficulty protecting themselves, someone needed to watch over them, so she was asked to wait there.

Unexpectedly, Meng Li had returned, but Jing Tian, Tang Xuejian, and Xu Changqing, who went to find him, had not returned.

Hearing Hong Kui's words, Meng Li shook his head.

The tavern where Zi Xuan was located had a secret mechanism, similar to an alternate dimension.

If one was unaware beforehand, it was difficult for others to find it when concealed, and there was an isolating effect between the inside and outside of the tavern.

Even if Jing Tian, Xu Changqing, and Tang Xuejian followed the trace to the location, they would only see an empty space.

Under these circumstances, they must have gone searching elsewhere.

Just as this thought formed, movement was heard not far away.

Meng Li, Hua Ying, Hong Kui, Lan Kui, and Xu Maoshan turned their heads toward the sound and saw Jing Tian, Tang Xuejian, and Xu Changqing returning.

Jing Tian was carrying someone on his back.

When the two groups met, there was a slight surprise on both sides.

"Elder Brother Meng, you're back."

"Brother, you're back."

...

After exchanging brief greetings, Xu Maoshan subconsciously went to help Jing Tian. He glanced at the person on Jing Tian's back, saw that their eyes were tightly shut, their face was pale, and they had blisters on their body, causing him to startle. He quickly asked Jing Tian, "Boss, who is this?"

Jing Tian put the person down, gently massaging his shoulders and back as he replied, "Don't know. We rescued him from a fox demon's lair."

"Fox demon's lair? Brother, didn't you go look for Elder Brother Meng?" Lan Kui looked puzzled.

Jing Tian explained, "We were indeed looking for Elder Brother Meng at first, but we followed the direction he left and couldn't find him, so we thought we were going the wrong way. At that time, White Tofu used a Magical Artifact to detect the trace of a fox demon. We thought it was Wan Yuzhi, so we chased directly after it."

"As a result, we chased to a villager's house and saw this person."

"White Tofu said he looked like someone whose vital energy had been drained, probably the work of a fox demon."

"We searched the area and unexpectedly discovered a fox demon nest underground in that household, with several fox demons hidden inside."

"So I displayed my Divine Might and took care of those fox demons in a few moves, saving this person along the way."

"You displayed your Divine Might? Clearly, this young lady and Grandmaster Changqing contributed more, alright?" Tang Xuejian retorted irritably.

"Who says? I clearly contributed more," Jing Tian argued back.

Then, the two began to bicker.

Xu Changqing looked somewhat helpless and turned to Hua Ying, who was sitting on Meng Li's shoulder, "Miss Hua Ying, this person looks poisoned, but his internal organs are intact. Only his vital energy is severely depleted. It's truly strange. I am powerless to help. Would you trouble yourself to take a look?"

"Chirp chirp." Hua Ying looked toward Meng Li.

Meng Li nodded.

Hua Ying immediately flew above the person and fanned her wings to cast a spell.

After a while, she withdrew her magic and flew back to Meng Li's shoulder: "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp..."

After a round of speech, Meng Li smiled, "I know, thank you for your trouble. Go back and rest."

Saying that, he took out a storage pouch and opened it.

Hua Ying flew inside.

"Elder Brother Meng, what did Miss Hua Ying say?"