Not long after leaving the cave, Gu Qingyuan saw Ye Chuxue lying on the ground, barely breathing.
Seeing her collapsed with such a weak breath, Gu Qingyuan's mind went blank for a moment. He instantly teleported over and quickly cradled her in his arms.
"Chuxue, what happened to you?"
He anxiously turned her over but was shocked by the bloody sight. Her face was covered in fresh blood, her eyes hollow—every detail told him she had suffered inhuman torment. Even more terrifying was that her dantian had been shattered, years of cultivation destroyed in an instant.
"How could this happen?"
At that moment, Gu Qingyuan felt as if the sky had collapsed.
A black mist flickered in his eyes as he tightened his grip on Ye Chuxue, veins bulging on his hands.
"Who? Who dared to do this to you? I will tear them to pieces!!!"
…
At the Song family, Song Wanníng's clone had already returned.
Both the clone and the original were in the training room, studying how to awaken the Dragon Vein.
The Song family was flourishing, and the entire human race was working hard to cultivate. For a while, the outside world seemed calm and harmonious.
After long research, Song Wanníng still had no breakthrough and decided to go out for a walk.
But shortly after stepping out, she suddenly received a communication talisman.
Her brow lifted slightly as she opened it, hearing Li Ruo's voice.
"Master, I found a monster sneaking around in the Song family territory. Should we send someone to check it out?"
In the talisman, Li Ruo's voice was serious, as if she had encountered something very important.
She even said she found a monster—in Song family territory...
Song Wanníng's expression darkened. She immediately replied to ask for details.
However, the talisman was one-way; no response came.
Several messages sent after that fell into silence, as if the person sending them was no longer Li Ruo.
This was bad—Li Ruo must be in trouble!
Song Wanníng's heart sank.
Though young, Li Ruo's aptitude had improved, but her cultivation was still low. If she had really been discovered by a monster, she was definitely in danger.
Song Wanníng quickly took out Li Ruo's soul lantern and followed its guidance toward her location. Meanwhile, her clone stayed in the training room, continuing the study of the Dragon Vein.
Thanks to the fast transmission of the teleportation array, Song Wanníng finally arrived at a large mountain outside a city under Song family jurisdiction.
But at the mountain, the soul lantern suddenly pointed elsewhere.
Her finger hesitated slightly; a dark light flickered in her eyes before she continued quickly in the new direction without pause.
After days and nights, Song Wanníng ended up in He family territory. This place was remote, an abandoned mine owned by the He family. Because of the grudge with the He family and their collusion with the Feng family, Song Wanníng was very sensitive about this place.
Even though it was abandoned, she remained wary, her gaze full of caution.
The soul lantern could only roughly indicate direction; finding Li Ruo precisely required effort.
She jumped down from her flying carpet and began searching through the deserted mine. Everywhere were bare rocks and withered plants, barely a living thing in sight. The He family had completely stripped this place of its spiritual veins, leaving it a dead zone. It had never recovered and was left abandoned.
Soon, Song Wanníng reached a mine entrance. She stared into the pitch-black hole and cautiously sent out a communication talisman, then quickly released her divine sense to detect spiritual fluctuations. Sure enough, the talisman's spiritual power led inside the mine.
Li Ruo was very likely inside!
Song Wanníng's eyes changed slightly. She carefully stepped in, sword in hand, ready to attack at any moment. What monster was trapped in Li Ruo's mouth, she did not know. Better to be cautious than reckless; she would not let down her guard.
After some searching, Song Wanníng arrived at a strange spirit spring pool.
Above it, Li Ruo's small body was pinned to the wall. Her hands and feet were nailed with thick spikes. Her head hung weakly, looking very frail.
In front of Li Ruo, a strange beast raised its claw. Its sharp nails aimed for Li Ruo's heart.
Song Wanníng's heart jumped and her face darkened immediately.
Without hesitation, she swung her sword to strike.
At the same time, she leapt forward toward Li Ruo.
"Ji—"
The beast let out a sharp cry and suddenly turned, lunging at Song Wanníng. Only now did she see clearly what the creature was. Pitch black, only palm-sized, it looked like a tiny black hedgehog curled into a ball. But its eyes were blood red, without pupils.
It had no mouth or ears.
Its claws were incredibly sharp; with one swipe, it even left an afterimage in Song Wanníng's sword light.
Her heart tightened.
She swung her sword again.
This time she did not hesitate, attacking with full force.
The sword's light struck the beast, making it scream sharply.
It jumped three feet high and quickly fled.
Within moments, it disappeared without a trace.
Song Wanníng's divine sense could no longer track it.
"Big Sister, what kind of monster is this? I've never seen one before." The golden little sword's expression was serious and full of curiosity. Not only was the beast's appearance strange, but its movement was top-notch. Even with Sister's fast divine sense, it was impossible to catch.
"I've never seen one either."
Song Wanníng shook her head. This creature was truly strange; even in both her lifetimes she had never encountered it. And judging by its attitude just now, it seemed to want to rip Li Ruo's heart out.
Song Wanníng felt uneasy.
She flew forward and forcefully pulled out the spikes pinning Li Ruo, cradling her to fly down.
Li Ruo remained unconscious.
Song Wanníng frowned and fed her a pill. The pill entered her body, and Li Ruo slowly woke. When she saw her master, her eyes brightened sharply. Suddenly, she said urgently, "Master, hurry and leave! There's a monster!!!"
Her face changed drastically.
She quickly looked around, one hand clutching her chest, fear clear in her eyes.
"Don't be afraid. The monster ran away for now. It's safe here."
Song Wanníng gently stroked Li Ruo's head, then grabbed her hand to check the wounds. Claw marks covered Li Ruo's body—from her neck down to her feet, all with varying degrees of scratches.
The worst were on her arms.
All the claw marks radiated a dark energy, matching the beast's aura.
"Master, you're amazing!"
Such a powerful monster was driven away by her master with ease.
Li Ruo looked at Song Wanníng with admiration, her eyes almost overflowing with reverence. To be a disciple of her master was a dream for countless people. She was incredibly lucky, as if she had accumulated the virtue of eight lifetimes.