Ye Ling looked deeply at Ji Xue and said softly, "What has happened has happened. The two thousand years you were sealed have passed, and you will never get them back."
"Since the past cannot be mended, I think what you should focus on now is the present and the future."
"Thank you, Master, for your guidance. Ji Xue will remember it in her heart." Ji Xue bowed to Ye Ling again, with utmost respect.
As for what she truly thought, only she knew.
Seeing Ji Xue's current demeanor, Ye Ling knew she still harbored great hatred for the Immortal Realm. However, this hatred was buried deep within her heart due to her own lack of strength.
Of course, Ye Ling did not expect to be able to enlighten Ji Xue in a short period.
Ji Xue's self-awareness was one thing, but the feud she had with the Queen Mother of the West was another matter entirely.
She had been treated as a chess piece and unjustly suppressed in Fulong Mountain for over two thousand years. The hatred accumulated during this time was enough to drive her to the demonic path!
Naturally, Ye Ling did not intend to persuade Ji Xue to abandon her revenge.
As long as Ji Xue obeyed him, he would not concern himself with the path she ultimately chose.
Whether she became an immortal or a demon, as long as Ji Xue became strong enough to do more for him, that would suffice.
If Ji Xue's future actions proved truly meritorious, it was not impossible for Ye Ling himself to go to the Immortal Realm and help her exact revenge.
As Ji Xue calmed down, Ye Ling refocused his attention on the fake Ji Xue.
The treasures in this demi-spirit realm had already been taken. The fake Ji Xue was the guardian spirit responsible for guarding this place. Logically, with the treasure gone, she had no reason to continue guarding it.
However, over seventy years had passed since the battle at Fulong Mountain, and this energy aggregate had remained guarding the empty lotus, showing no signs of dissipation…
Energy aggregates of this kind could not cultivate and possessed only the most basic instincts.
To maintain their normal existence, they required a constant influx of spiritual energy from external sources.
In other words, within this cave dwelling, there should be a spiritual item that sustained the fake Ji Xue's existence.
Whether the person who took the treasure back then had missed it, or whether the treasure had been newly generated within the last seventy years, regardless, Ye Ling could at least glean something from this fake Ji Xue.
"Master, look at that lotus quickly!"
At this moment, Ji Xue's exclamation drew Ye Ling's attention.
Ye Ling shifted his gaze to the gray lotus. He saw that the area around the gray lotus began to glow with a dark green fluorescence, its aura identical to the poisonous spiritual energy he had extracted from the fake Ji Xue.
"Could it be that the pathogenic spiritual energy was not emitted by the treasure that Ye Feng took away, but by this lotus itself?"
Seeing the lotus's transformation, Ye Ling's heart stirred. He quickly used his demonic energy to completely bind the fake Ji Xue and tossed her before Ji Xue, "Ji Xue, keep an eye on it here. I'll go take a look first."
"Master?"
Looking at the fake Ji Xue bound tightly by demonic energy before her, Ji Xue was stunned and did not react.
However, Ye Ling did not linger to speak further with Ji Xue. He stepped onto the water and approached the gray lotus.
The moment he drew near, the faint fluorescence around the gray lotus drifted towards him. A great deal of poisonous spiritual energy emanated from within the gray lotus, entwining around him!
"What is this?"
Seeing the poisonous spiritual energy attempting to invade his body, Ye Ling instinctively wanted to repel it.
However, just as he was about to act, he suddenly thought of something and abandoned the idea of repelling it, allowing the poisonous spiritual energy to flow into his meridians.
This poisonous spiritual energy was considered highly toxic to others.
For any cultivator, demon, or monster, absorbing even a trace of this poisonous spiritual energy would lead to the complete ruin of their cultivation and subsequent death!
But for Ye Ling, both his physique and meridians had undergone countless trials. Being impervious to poison was his normal state.
Even if the power of this poisonous spiritual energy were amplified ten thousand times, it would not affect him in the slightest.
"Master…"
Ji Xue, standing by the spring, watched Ye Ling enveloped by a large amount of poisonous spiritual energy, her eyes filled with worry.
Back then, she had accidentally come into contact with just a tiny bit of poisonous spiritual energy in Fulong Mountain, and it had troubled her greatly, forcing her to seek help from the Queen Mother of the West's divine stone to survive.
Yet now, the concentration of poisonous spiritual energy swirling around Ye Ling was worlds apart from what she had experienced within her!
Even a mortal immortal standing where Ye Ling was now would instantly perish!
"This poisonous spiritual energy seems to be deliberately guiding the flow of spiritual energy within my body…" Ye Ling perceived the poisonous spiritual energy emanating from the gray lotus causing a stir within him, his gaze slightly narrowing. "Very well, let this poisonous spiritual energy guide me this once and see what this thing is up to!"
Soon, Ye Ling decided to let the poisonous spiritual energy run wild within him. He relaxed completely, allowing the poisonous spiritual energy to draw his own spiritual energy and circulate it through his meridians.
"What is he doing?"
Ji Xue watched as Ye Ling sat down cross-legged before the gray lotus. The surrounding poisonous spiritual energy transformed into a dense, impenetrable mist, leaving her utterly bewildered.
She couldn't even see Ye Ling's figure clearly!
Not long after, the energy aggregate lying beside Ji Xue suddenly began to struggle violently, creating a great commotion.
Ji Xue, who had been worried about Ye Ling, was taken aback by this sudden disturbance. She quickly looked towards the energy aggregate, trying to understand what was happening.
However, before she could react, the struggling energy aggregate suddenly exploded, transforming into several powerful forces that surged towards her!
Seeing this, Ji Xue dared not touch those energies lightly. She rapidly retreated, dodging their impact.
"Come over here." Ye Ling's voice reached Ji Xue's ears, causing her to freeze for a moment.
Ji Xue glanced at the highly toxic spiritual energy surrounding Ye Ling, then at the energies relentlessly pursuing her. Without hesitation, she rushed towards Ye Ling.
The poisonous mist automatically parted, clearing a path for her to reach Ye Ling.
Meanwhile, the energies chasing Ji Xue, at that moment, directly pierced through the poisonous mist and entered her body.
"Master, this!"
Ji Xue exclaimed, startled by the spiritual energy rampaging within her. She quickly looked at Ye Ling, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
"Sink your qi to your dan tian, stabilize your mind, and let your internal spiritual energy follow my guidance."
Ye Ling said calmly. The demonic energy swirling around him extended towards Ji Xue, infiltrating her body and guiding the flow of her spiritual energy.
Although Ji Xue did not know what had happened, she did not dare to hesitate. She quickly did as Ye Ling instructed.
The cave suddenly fell silent.
Ye Ling and Ji Xue were both enveloped by the poisonous spiritual energy.
The energy aggregate was actually released intentionally by Ye Ling, with the purpose of allowing the poisonous spiritual energy within it to enter Ji Xue's body and fuse with her own spiritual energy.
Not long after the poisonous spiritual energy from the gray lotus entered Ye Ling's body, Ye Ling realized that the gray lotus in the center of the spring was imparting a cultivation technique to him through the poisonous spiritual energy!
Although Ye Ling was surprised by the gray lotus's act of imparting a cultivation technique, no matter how advanced it was, it was of little use to him.
The cultivation technique required the gray lotus to be perfected, and it was likely that only one person could master it.
Furthermore, this cultivation technique might be the key to unlocking the gray lotus, and Ye Ling did not want to waste it.
Therefore, he simply had Ji Xue come over, artificially simulating the way the poisonous spiritual energy flowed within his body, and replicated this cultivation technique for Ji Xue!
And so…
A spiritual energy imbued with supreme poison gradually emerged within Ji Xue's body.