“Master, aren't you going to do something?” Chen Sha asked, this wasn't the Master's usual behavior.
“As long as they don't cause destruction, let them be,” Ling Luo Yi decided. She no longer wanted to collect spirit vegetables and returned to her room in the small building with Chen Sha, watching the person and the rabbit still chasing each other.
“Master, are you alright now? The spiritual power fed back to you from Wei Yu's advancement should be substantial. Are you okay?” Chen Sha asked, concerned about Ling Luo Yi's current condition.
Ling Luo Yi raised her right hand and circulated some spiritual power. It was her own, imbued with a faint sacred aura.
Upon sensing Ling Luo Yi's spiritual power, Chen Sha prostrated himself on the ground with reverence in his eyes.
Outside, Wei Yu and Guan Yue, who were still chasing, froze and stopped in their tracks, looking towards Ling Luo Yi's direction with awe.
Ling Luo Yi quickly withdrew her spiritual power. Sensing the disappearance of the spiritual power, the three little ones returned to their previous states. Wei Yu and Guan Yue continued their chase, while Chen Sha looked up at Ling Luo Yi.
“Chen Sha, I can feel that the spiritual power fed back to me from Wei Yu’s advancement, combined with the spiritual power I had previously stored, is enough for me to break through to the next major realm. It's a pity I'm currently stuck in a bottleneck.”
“Master, it seems you need to resolve your inner demons to break through this bottleneck.”
“Inner demons?” Ling Luo Yi murmured.
She recalled the words spoken to her by a certain person just before she arrived.
Ling Luo Yi sighed and sat down on the lounge chair.
Perhaps her inability to break through wasn't due to inner demons, but rather karma.
Ling Luo Yi shook her head, casting aside extraneous thoughts, and decided to rest for a while.
“Master, Master!”
While Ling Luo Yi was resting, the two little ones had finished their play and ran over.
Guan Yue, feeling down, lay down to the side and closed her eyes to rest.
Wei Yu ran in, saw Ling Luo Yi resting, and quietly began fanning her.
Ling Luo Yi wasn't asleep. Feeling the cool breeze on her face, she chuckled softly.
Seeing Ling Luo Yi smile, Wei Yu seized the opportunity and said, “Master, can you take me with you when you go out?”
Ling Luo Yi smiled, then sighed.
As expected, she couldn't place any hope on this girl.
Chen Sha, standing nearby, thought this girl had finally changed her ways, only to realize she was still the same.
Wei Yu understood Ling Luo Yi's thoughts and gave an embarrassed chuckle.
“Master, it's not that I don't care about you, but Feng Xi Realm is just too boring. It's not fun at all.”
Wei Yu appeared quite old, but among the beast race, she was still a child. Children naturally preferred excitement.
“Wei Yu, I can't take you out right now. The Heavenly Dao is watching me closely. Once the Heavenly Dao is less vigilant after some time, I'll let you out for some fresh air.”
Even though she couldn't go out now, Wei Yu was still very happy. She smiled and said, “Thank you, Master. Don't forget, Master.”
“I know.”
Having received her answer, Wei Yu fanned with even more vigor.
In truth, she didn't necessarily have to go out. It was just that among the few who could speak in Feng Xi Realm, one was in secluded cultivation, two were dormant and their awakening times were unknown, one disliked talking, and the other was irritating when they did speak. Hence, she was truly bored.
Nothing much was happening in the Ling family recently; everything was running smoothly. Ling Luo Yi found herself idle again, occasionally refining items to pass the time.
Until one day, as Ling Luo Yi was discussing the Heavenly Selection matters with several elders, she suddenly saw a signal flare launched from outside the city.
The appearance of that signal was very familiar to Ling Luo Yi.
No, it was very familiar to the original owner!
“That’s the Ling family's distress signal!”
The Fifth Elder, standing under the eaves, confirmed it several times.
“Recently, all Ling family disciples have been cultivating within the manor and haven't left. Who is outside the city?” the Sixth Elder asked.
Considering the possibility, the First and Second Elders exchanged glances, their faces instantly lighting up with joy, followed by concern.
Ling Luo Yi had the same thoughts as the two elders.
“I'll go first.”
With her words, Ling Luo Yi vanished, leaving traces of spiritual power in her wake.
The surrounding elders had heard disciples mention Ling Luo Yi's ability to disappear instantly, but having witnessed it firsthand, they were all somewhat astonished.
It was Ling Qi who recovered first, saying, “This is not the time to dwell on that. Elders, quickly head out of the city!”
“Right, right!”
The elders rose with great momentum, leading their men towards the direction outside the city.
*
Outside the city, a group of masked figures was ambushing a weathered old man. The old man possessed high cultivation, but among the masked figures were individuals of similar prowess. The old man fought three opponents simultaneously, and the battle was not easy.
Accompanying the old man were nine individuals, each facing several attackers. All were struggling.
Although the masked figures were more numerous and possessed higher cultivation, the nine individuals fought with excellent coordination, making it difficult for the attackers to gain a decisive advantage, though they couldn't hold out indefinitely.
Seizing an opportune moment, the youngest among the nine fired a signal flare. Given the distance between the Ling family and their current location, help would arrive within another two hours if they could hold out.
Upon seeing the signal flare, the nine individuals shifted to a defensive stance.
The masked figures, upon seeing the signal flare, had their leader order, “Make haste! We absolutely cannot let them enter the city alive!”
The masked figures' attacks intensified, and the nine struggled to defend themselves, while the old man seemed to be faltering.
The two groups fought fiercely, unaware of another group lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity.
The three groups, focused on their respective objectives, failed to notice the sudden appearance of someone on the battlefield.
Those ambushing in the woods finally found their chance and shot a poisoned needle towards the old man's back.
By the time Ling Luo Yi understood the situation, the poisoned needle had already been fired.
Ling Luo Yi reacted in time, and the poisoned needle struck a transparent defensive shield with a faint 'ding'.
The old man immediately turned around, seeing the needle, as fine as a cow's hair, being deflected.
The old man frowned, wondering who was helping him.
Ling Luo Yi did not approach immediately. Instead, she looked at the still-lingering distress signal above their heads, her thoughts drifting back to that night in the Ling family, a night akin to hell.
That night, the entire Ling family was covered by this signal. Even after the original owner had fled the city, the deep crimson image of the signal flare remained imprinted in her eyes, refusing to dissipate.
Even when the original owner eventually fell off a cliff, at the moment before death, this crimson signal flare was deeply etched into her memory. When Ling Luo Yi's soul merged with the original owner's body, she had subconsciously skipped over this memory.
Ling Luo Yi stared at the signal flare, lost in thought, unaware that her left eye had begun to glow with a faint crimson hue, and a sense of malevolence was filling her body.
Ling Luo Yi lowered her head, fighting back nausea, and tried hard to calm herself, but it was no use.
Her heart pounded harder and harder, her eyes not only filled with disgust but also a hint of fear.
She detested the color red the most!
A Su, who was still in secluded cultivation, sensed Ling Luo Yi's sudden deterioration in mood and transmitted a message through the bone jade: “Luo Luo, what's wrong?”
A Su's voice carried an unknown power, easily smoothing the restlessness in Ling Luo Yi's heart.
Receiving no response from Ling Luo Yi, A Su prepared to break his cultivation, saying, “Luo Luo! Luo Luo, can you hear me?!”
Hearing the urgency in A Su's voice, Ling Luo Yi finally regained her composure. The malevolence that had filled her body vanished, leaving only the crimson in her eyes, a testament that her emotions had not fully recovered.
Just as A Su was about to break his cultivation, he finally heard Ling Luo Yi's voice.
“A Su, I'm fine.”
A Su felt something was off with her, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
“Luo Luo, if anything is wrong, you must tell me. Don't bear it alone.”
“A Su, I know, but you must also trust me.”
“Mm.”
A Su was very worried, but he also knew he had to break through as quickly as possible to find her.