Chapter 24: Yuling Sect

"Get lost!" Mo Qianqian shouted angrily, striding right up to Shi Muyao.

"You!" Yang Lan was startled.

"Don’t force my hand!" Mo Qianqian said coldly, his eyes flashing with a chilling light.

"Lanlan, give Yaoyao to him first. Let him take care of her. He’s the only one who can give Yaoyao a glimmer of hope," Shi Ping persuaded from the side. He might be cowardly, but he wasn’t stupid.

Intimidated by Mo Qianqian’s outburst, Yang Lan quickly and gently set Shi Muyao down, stepping aside.

Mo Qianqian gathered Shi Muyao into his arms. He materialized his Spirit Body and pushed his spiritual essence to its limits, continuously channeling it into her body. As a result, his own Spirit was severely drained.

By this point, the Wanling Pavilion Master had already realized that the Spirit Master was none other than Mo Qianqian. Confirming this fact left him utterly shocked. At such a young age, to be both a Body Cultivator and a Spirit Master—Mo Qianqian’s talent could only be described as monstrous!

"Pavilion Master, thank you. I, Mo Qianqian, will remember this favor!" Mo Qianqian said to him. With that, he cast a glance at Kong Ren and the Chen family members before preparing to leave.

Right now, his Spirit was utterly depleted to the point of passing out. He simply didn’t have the strength to deal with the Chen family, Kong Mingcheng, and the rest. He had to leave quickly.

"I will escort you out!"

With those words, the Pavilion Master reached out, grabbed Mo Qianqian, and soared into the air, gliding away at a low altitude. Kong Ren and the others exchanged bewildered looks, not daring to give chase.

Before long, the Pavilion Master brought Mo Qianqian to a dense woodland. This was the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest.

"This is a First-Grade Upper-Level Spirit Replenishing Pill. Your Spirit is currently very weak, and you could pass out at any moment!" The Pavilion Master took out a transparent pill.

"You saw through it, Pavilion Master?" Mo Qianqian asked.

"Naturally. But don’t worry. As the Pavilion Master of the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, I am well aware of the immense value of a Spirit Master, especially a young one. I won’t do anything to harm you, and I will keep your secret," the Pavilion Master replied.

"Thank you!" Mo Qianqian accepted the pill and swallowed it directly.

If the Pavilion Master truly wanted to harm him, he would undoubtedly die no matter what he did. Besides, the Pavilion Master had already stepped in to help, sacrificing so much in the process. It would be a massive loss for him to kill Mo Qianqian now. Keeping him alive, on the other hand, would bring enormous benefits to the Pavilion Master.

"It’s just business. I’m still waiting for you to cooperate with me and upgrade my pills." The Pavilion Master looked at Shi Muyao. "Her life should be stabilized now."

He then added solemnly, "You killed Shi Yunhai, so the Cloud Void Sect definitely won’t let you off. The Shi family, the Chen family, and Kong Mingcheng will also be hunting you down. If the Ling family finds out you’ve become a Body Cultivator, they probably won’t spare you either. Your current situation is extremely precarious."

At this moment, the Pavilion Master took out a Token. "This is a special Token granted by the former Sect Leader of the Yuling Sect. Taking this will allow you to become disciples of the Yuling Sect."

"The Yuling Sect?" Mo Qianqian was puzzled. He had never heard of this faction before.

"It’s a unique faction in the Southern Wilderness. On the surface, they are about on par with the Cloud Void Sect, and their overall strength isn’t as great as the Ling family’s. However, don’t underestimate the Yuling Sect. Even if the Ling family went all out, they might not be able to conquer it." The Pavilion Master looked at Shi Muyao again. "At the very least, getting her into the Yuling Sect shouldn’t be an issue."

"I understand. Thank you, Pavilion Master. In the future, if you need anything, just give the word!" Mo Qianqian accepted the Token, etching this great kindness from the Pavilion Master into his memory.

He himself didn’t necessarily have to join the Yuling Sect. After all, he had incredibly powerful enemies gunning for him. But for Shi Muyao, it was a viable option. If she stayed by his side, she would be in grave danger.

The Pavilion Master then took out a map and handed it to Mo Qianqian. "You two should set off as soon as possible."

Mo Qianqian felt his Spiritual Power beginning to recover. Not wasting any more words, he nodded. "Once she joins the Yuling Sect, I will come find you, Pavilion Master!"

With that said, Mo Qianqian held Shi Muyao securely and hurried off in the direction indicated on the map.

After the Pavilion Master returned to the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, the Shi family, the Chen family, Kong Ren, and others all dispatched their men into the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest to hunt down Mo Qianqian. Kong Ren and the Chen family even issued a Bounty Order.

The news that Mo Qianqian was a Body Cultivator, that he had killed Shi Yunhai at the Shi family estate, and that Patriarch Shi had perished rapidly spread throughout all of Qingcheng and even beyond.

The Shi family sent envoys to the Cloud Void Sect to report the news. Meanwhile, the Chen family dispatched their own messengers to their backing faction, the Qin family, to deliver the report.

During the ensuing time, Mo Qianqian continued to carry Shi Muyao forward, constantly infusing her with his spiritual essence. In a mere three days, Shi Muyao’s injuries were completely healed, leaving her looking as if she had never been hurt in the first place.

At Noon on this third day, Shi Muyao suddenly opened her eyes slowly and regained consciousness.

Seeing this, Mo Qianqian was instantly overjoyed. "Yaoyao, you’re finally awake!"

"I’m not dead?" Shi Muyao stared blankly at Mo Qianqian.

"With me here, you won’t die!" Mo Qianqian let out a long sigh of relief and smiled brightly.

"You saved me?" Shi Muyao muttered to herself, taking a moment to feel her own body.

"You could say that, along with the Pavilion Master’s pill." Mo Qianqian gave a slight nod and chuckled. "You won’t have to wait until your next life to marry me!"

"Who said I wanted to marry you?" Shi Muyao shot back, though a blissful smile crept onto her face as she spoke. She didn’t know why, but resting in Mo Qianqian’s arms right now made her feel incredibly safe and secure.

WHOOSH!

At that exact moment, as Shi Muyao moved her body, the power within her surged violently, and a formidable aura emanated from her form.

"Huh? A breakthrough?" Mo Qianqian was astounded.

Instead of being weakened after suffering such severe injuries, she had actually broken through to the next level of cultivation? What was going on? Did she break through because she took the Pavilion Master’s Life-extending Pill, or was it because he had infused her with so much spiritual essence? Could spiritual essence actually trigger breakthroughs in others?

If that were the case, once he became powerful enough, couldn’t he just mass-produce experts by directly infusing them with his spiritual essence? Of course, he also felt that was highly unlikely. Shi Muyao’s breakthrough was probably just a coincidence. Even if spiritual essence could help someone break through, it certainly wasn’t something that worked on everyone.

"I’ve already broken through, so aren’t you going to let go?" Shi Muyao asked, looking up at Mo Qianqian.

"I don’t want to..."

With a swift movement, Shi Muyao flipped out of his arms and landed gracefully on her feet. She looked at Mo Qianqian and said, "If you want to marry me, wait for your next life!"

Mo Qianqian spread his hands in surrender. "I never said I wanted to marry you. You were the one who said you’d marry me in your next life."

"You!" Shi Muyao stomped her foot in anger. What, was she not good enough for him now?

"What’s the situation back in Qingcheng? And where are we heading now?" Shi Muyao dropped the subject, pivoting to more pressing matters.

"It’s exactly as you saw before you almost died. Patriarch Shi is dead, and Shi Yunhai is dead, too. Right now, I’m afraid the Shi family, the Cloud Void Sect, the Chen family, Kong Mingcheng, and Kong Ren are all hunting me down everywhere," Mo Qianqian explained. "Right now, we are heading to the Yuling Sect."

"The Yuling Sect?" Shi Muyao was confused.

Regarding her grandfather’s death, she felt an inexplicable sense of loss in her heart. Sadness aside, she didn’t blame Mo Qianqian in the slightest for what had happened at the Shi family estate.

"We’ll talk as we walk," Mo Qianqian said.

Along the way, Mo Qianqian gave her a rough summary of the situation. As for the matter regarding him being a Spirit Master, he kept that a secret.

Nearly another day passed. By the time early morning arrived the following day, Mo Qianqian and Shi Muyao had reached the outskirts of the Yuling Sect.

This was a unique mountain range. The peaks here were peculiar; the exposed rocks were completely white, as pristine as pure jade. Many areas were densely packed with trees, mostly white birches, creating a vast expanse of white.

Looking from afar, Mo Qianqian spotted numerous buildings nestled atop one of the peaks, along with a grand mountain gate archway. He led Shi Muyao up the mountain, and they soon arrived in front of the archway.

At that moment, a group of disciples was walking down from inside the gate. There were exactly six of them—all female disciples, and all strikingly beautiful. The one leading them was a young woman around twenty years old, dressed in a white skirt. With a face as luminous as the moon and fair as jade, her temperament was the most outstanding of the bunch.

"Senior Sister Sun, congratulations on breaking through another level of cultivation recently!"

"Senior Sister Sun truly is a genius among geniuses! Combined with your beauty, there are probably very few in the Yuling Sect who can steal your spotlight."

"Exactly! On this experiential journey, who knows how many men will fall head over heels for Senior Sister Sun."

"What do those men matter? Aside from Senior Brother Wu Yubai, who else is worthy of Senior Sister Sun?"

"That’s right! Only Senior Brother Wu Yubai can be considered a truly handsome man. Other men are nothing in front of him."

"Senior Brother Wu Yubai has been showing Senior Sister Sun a lot of favor lately!"

"Senior Brother Wu Yubai will end up with Senior Sister Sun in the end."

The group of women chimed in one after another, endlessly flattering her. In the center, that stunningly beautiful woman, Sun Yuerong, couldn’t hide the smile on her face. She was thoroughly enjoying the praise and felt elated.

But just then, she noticed Mo Qianqian and Shi Muyao walking up the mountain. Her eyes immediately locked onto Shi Muyao, who stood tall and graceful with a breathtaking figure. She possessed an incredibly pristine and delicate beauty, tinged with a naturally adorable and endearing charm.

Sun Yuerong’s expression immediately darkened. A thick sense of vigilance and displeasure involuntarily swelled within her heart.

Staring at the duo, Sun Yuerong demanded coldly, "Who are you? What is your business at the Yuling Sect?"