As the Sunset Sect Disciple Advancement Grand Competition approaches, the disciples within the sect have begun intensifying their training. The Elixir Workshop is the most bustling and noisy, with a constant stream of visitors. Most disciples take this opportunity to exchange the Spirit Stone Vouchers they obtained from the Bounty Office for elixirs, hoping to make some last-minute progress.
Amidst this, there are more whispered discussions—about the time Xu Lin brutally beat Liu Mo here not long ago. Although Xu Lin’s identity remains questionable, hearing that Liu Mo, who relied on his elder’s backing and acted arrogantly, was beaten to the point of barely getting out of bed was actually a welcome piece of news. Previously, Liu Mo’s elder father would have stepped in long ago, but this time there was no reaction at all.
Such an anomaly made Xu Lin’s identity all the more mysterious and intriguing.
Xi Ranchen drifted down from above, watching the scene in front of the Elixir Workshop, and gave a slight nod. As the Sect Master, she naturally liked to see such a sight. Moreover, other Demon Sects would be visiting for this Grand Competition, so at the very least, they couldn’t lose face.
“Good thing I kept an eye on that brat this time,” Xi Ranchen said helplessly. “If he were to come to the Elixir Workshop again, given this situation, the workshop’s elixirs would probably be nearly gone.”
She wasn’t worried about the disciples converging to exchange for elixirs at this time; rather, Xu Lin had become something of a rogue. Yang Yao had given him the Sect Leader Token with her own intentions—to make it convenient for Xu Lin to get medicine. Who would have thought he went with the intention to loot?
“How did Wang Lingcang manage to teach such an oddball?”
Xi Ranchen wondered curiously.
As an old rival, she knew Wang Lingcang well. It could be said that Wang Lingcang carried himself with integrity, looking every bit a righteous cultivator—so righteous it was almost eerie. But how could he have a disciple like Xu Lin, with such a willful and carefree temperament?
For a moment, Xi Ranchen really wondered if Xu Lin hadn’t left the Vast Dao Sect willingly, but had actually been expelled. However, the latter possibility was slim, since Xu Lin did have some skills. Not looking any further, Xi Ranchen took a detour to check on the preparation of the competition grounds, then quickly headed toward the residence to see how Yang Yao’s medicated bath was going.
Inside the room, Xu Lin, as promised, performed another cleansing of Yang Yao’s Root Bone. Compared to the previous time, this one was noticeably easier. However, during the process of the medicinal strength washing the Root Bone, sealing the meridians to allow the medicine to work still made Yang Yao uncomfortable.
And since she had to face Xu Lin naked, she simply closed her eyes—out of sight, out of mind—and preserved her last shred of dignity. Judging the time was right, Xu Lin walked over to Yang Yao again. With what happened before, he didn’t dare be careless this time.
He raised his hand and pushed a palm toward Yang Yao, using his own Spiritual Energy to expel the silver needles inserted into her body. With the medicinal strength washing and external force driving, strands of black oozed out from Yang Yao’s skin, causing a few streaks of black to appear in the bathwater, which were quickly dissolved and diluted by the medicine.
Yang Yao furrowed her brows slightly. Despite her inner resistance, the process was indescribably soothing. Not only was the Remnant Poison in her Root Bone being expelled, but she could also feel impurities in her body slowly being forced out.
‘The Dark Lotus Mysterious Body is quite interesting,’ Xu Lin murmured to himself. ‘Come to think of it, how terrifying would this physique be when it truly matures? Could it really stand on equal footing with the protagonist? Wouldn’t that make me an accomplice to evil?’
Logically, even the slightest remnant of poison shouldn’t be so easy to expel, but this time it went surprisingly smoothly. This was most likely related to Yang Yao’s physique. No wonder the poisoner didn’t dare act too blatantly and adopted this gradual method.
If it were too obvious, not to mention whether Yang Yao would notice, the Dark Lotus Mysterious Body might instinctively resist. Yang Yao slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling completely at ease, and then slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Xu Lin’s face.
Xu Lin maintained his posture, wearing a slightly contemplative expression.
Yang Yao paused, feeling something was off. She lowered her gaze and saw that Xu Lin’s hand was still pressed against her chest, and whether due to absentmindedness or intent, it was slowly sliding downward with the slippery medicinal bath.
Just as Yang Yao was about to speak up to stop him, Xu Lin snapped out of it. Before he could look closely, he felt that his hand, soaked in the medicated bath, had made contact with a soft mass. He subconsciously squeezed it, and that soft mass immediately reacted.
To be precise, Yang Yao’s body jerked, and she quickly stepped back in the bath to avoid Xu Lin’s move. Before he could react, Xu Lin’s entire body tilted forward, and he tumbled headfirst into the medicated bath.
Once underwater, his vision became blurry, and Xu Lin had no choice but to flail around randomly.
“I’m going to die—I didn’t cast the Water Avoidance Spell!”
He grabbed onto something, and not caring too much, he hugged it and used it to climb out of the water, gasping for air. After calming down, Xu Lin looked ahead and saw Yang Yao staring at him in disbelief. Even Yang Yao didn’t react to what had just happened.
The scene fell into a brief silence, the room deadly quiet.
“…” Xu Lin pursed his lips, extremely embarrassed. Finally, he could only force a smile—awkward but polite. He looked at the bath. Under the cover of the medicinal water, he could barely see Yang Yao’s slender waist and the partially exposed… outline.
Xu Lin moved his gaze back to his own hand. That’s right—the sensation just now must have been that. In just an instant, the commotion caused by the fall subsided, and ripples slowly spread across the bathwater. Yang Yao’s chest heaved heavily, her eyes wide, her fury almost palpable, like a volcano about to erupt.
Seeing it wasn’t good, Xu Lin quickly tried to escape.
“I have things to do—I’m leaving!”
The moment he stepped out of the tub, Yang Yao jumped out as well, grabbed a nearby blanket from the bed to cover herself, and then drew her sword.
“Rude scoundrel! I’ll kill you today!”
Over these visits, she had been accumulating resentment. If not for her Master’s advice, she would have already acted against Xu Lin. Last time, seeing that he was genuinely putting effort into removing her poison, Yang Yao had talked herself into accepting that Xu Lin did have some merits.
But what just happened ignited all of Yang Yao’s anger. Xu Lin knew he was in the wrong and didn’t think of fighting back, so he could only dodge using movement techniques. In an instant, sword shadows flickered around the room.
As Xi Ranchen approached, she heard sounds of fighting and shouting from within. She frowned, reached out, and pushed the door open with a gesture, revealing the scene inside.
“Hey, you’re going too far now! That was completely an accident! Don’t think I won’t fight back just because this is your Master’s place!”
Xu Lin moved like a ghost, dodging back and forth in the room, and shouting at Yang Yao.
Not far away, Yang Yao held a blanket over herself with one hand and chased after him with a sword in the other, her demonic aura surging, murderous intent unmistakable.