Battle Through the Heavens: Reap the Red Lotus Karmic Flame at the Start

Xiao Yan and Wei Jiangyuan looked over and saw that the one speaking was Yao Qingyu, who had already made the blush disappear from her face.

Yao Qingyu said, "The third batch of Misty Mountains will appear. We can then go into the Misty Mountains and ambush them!"

Then Wei Jiangyuan asked, "Qingyu, isn't this Misty Mountain supposed to appear randomly?"

Xiao Yan recalled the jade tablet he had obtained from Mu Gu, which could guide him, and shook his head: "Ling Zhuo and the others seem to have a way to know the location of the Mist Mountain in advance."

Yao Qingyu nodded in agreement: "Yes, and there's only one final misty mountain, and that medicinal mountain has the most herbs of all in the entire Pill Gathering. Ling Zhuo will definitely not give it up!"

"How would we know? They have ways to cheat, but we can only rely on luck," Wei Jiangyuan said, shrugging.

"My mother gave me this." Yao Qingyu took out a jade tablet from her storage ring. "It contains information about the appearance of the last misty mountain. Why didn't she give it to you?"

Xiao Yan and Wei Jiangyuan exchanged a glance. They naturally recognized the jade token; it was exactly the same as the jade token that Xuan Kongzi had prepared for them before, but the two of them hadn't wanted it then.

"No, we had no idea! It seems that President Xuan Yi still only favors your daughter. Even Old Xiao, a disciple of the Medicine Venerable, didn't get one. Tsk tsk tsk..."

"Stop trying to sow discord," Yao Qingyu replied.

Xiao Yan was speechless as he watched Wei Jiangyuan lie without batting an eye. However, he could see that Yao Qingyu was somewhat proud of it. Since saying that would help ease the tension between Yao Qingyu and Xuan Yi, Xiao Yan naturally wouldn't expose him.

"Then we can intercept them and give Qingyu a good beating!"

During the discussion, Xiao Yan remembered something else and asked Yao Qingyu, "Speaking of which, Junior Sister Qingyu, how did Ling Zhuo and the others find out your identity?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Qingyu realized that the previous situation had been too urgent for her to investigate further. She shook her head in confusion and said, "I don't know either. Ling Zhuo just called me over and immediately exposed my identity."

"So direct?" Xiao Yan understood that Xuan Yi had hidden Yao Qingyu's identity very well. It was only because of her body that the absolute higher-ups of the Pill Tower knew about it. A few people in the Flower Sect probably knew as well, but no one else knew.

Wei Jiangyuan put his hands behind his head and analyzed casually, "In my opinion, there are two possibilities. First, the Spirit Clan has done a lot for this Pill Gathering. They have been planning for many years. With their strength, they may have had a plan against President Xuan Yi a long time ago. The matter of Sister Qingyu was probably discovered during the search."

Xiao Yan touched his chin and agreed, "That probability is quite high. What about the second one?"

"The second possibility," Wei Jiangyuan said with a playful smile, "There are probably quite a few people in the Pill Tower who know about Sister Qingyu. If some of these people have defected to the Spirit Clan..."

Upon hearing this, both Xiao Yan and Yao Qingyu were startled, but in the end Yao Qingyu shook her head: "It shouldn't be the second one. Those who know my identity are all at the very top of the Pill Tower."

Wei Jiangyuan shrugged: "That would be the best outcome. If all the high-ranking members of the Pill Tower defected to the Pill Tower, it would be truly disadvantageous for us."

"As long as we capture Ling Zhuo in the Misty Mountains, we'll definitely be able to get everything out of him," Xiao Yan said.

"Then remember to bring your hot-tempered little brother along," Wei Jiangyuan reminded Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan knew he was referring to Lei Jingxiao. His location wasn't difficult to find, and Xiao Yan also noticed that the Spirit Clan greatly feared his identity. Lei Jingxiao was no ordinary person; whether it was his Dou Zun strength or his Spirit Realm soul, capturing Ling Zhuo would be impossible without him.

"Let's confirm the location of Fog Mountain first, then go and meet up with Lei Jingxiao."

Yao Qingyu nodded and was about to activate the information in the jade tablet when, just as she used her battle qi, a wave of weakness rushed into her mind, and she fainted.

"Little sister Qingyu!"

"Junior sister."

Xiao Yan and Wei Jiangyuan reacted immediately and rushed over to support Yao Qingyu as she fell.

Instantly, the Crimson Lotus Heart Flame ignited in Xiao Yan's palm. The flames, like silk threads, probed into her wrist, but abruptly froze upon touching her meridians—the girl's Dou Qi within her body swayed erratically like a kite with a broken string, her innate, fragile power now even weaker. Yao Qingyu's body was already fragile, and the claw marks on the back of her neck were now continuously oozing blood.

After a brief attempt, Xiao Yan found that Yao Qingyu's body had very poor self-healing ability, and Xiao Yan could only temporarily stop the outflow of blood and qi, but could not fully recover.

"Old Xiao, her pulse..." Wei Jiangyuan rarely suppressed his playful expression, placing three fingers on Yao Qingyu's wrist meridians: "Her qi and blood are so depleted that her life is in danger. That bastard Ling Zhuo actually used such a heavy-handed method?"

Xiao Yan gently stroked Yao Qingyu's nape with his right hand, shook his head and said, "Junior Sister Qingyu's body is weaker than the average person's, and Ling Zhuo's methods were only a contributing factor."

"Use this!" Wei Jiangyuan immediately took out a pill from his storage ring. It shimmered with a blood-red light and emitted a rich medicinal fragrance.

Xiao Yan looked at the pills in front of him and shook his head, saying, "Although the Matsutake Blood-Generating Pill can replenish Junior Sister's blood and qi, its medicinal properties are too strong. Her body is more fragile than we imagined. Although this medicine can save her temporarily, it will affect her cultivation level."

"Where is Gan Yuanlu?"

"This won't work either. It only replenishes what's lost, not the vital energy, so it can't slow down the situation." Xiao Yan shook his head again.

"Why not just send her away? After all, there are quite a few eighth-grade alchemists in the Pill Tower, so dealing with her shouldn't be too difficult."

"It still doesn't work. Not to mention that none of us are sure if the people outside can solve it, there could be problems during the teleportation process itself. Right now, I dare not remove my battle aura protection."

"So, do you have any ideas?"

"Xinzhudan, what do you think?"

Wei Jiangyuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head as well: "Putting aside where to find a thousand-year-old nine-section green bamboo heart, the medicinal effect of wood clashes with her fire attribute, and it cannot solve the biggest problem of her original blood and qi."

"Regarding the attribute issue, increasing the age of the three core medicinal herbs with the attribute of wood should be enough to compensate for the loss caused by the attribute conflict."

"I don't have a thousand-year-old nine-section green bamboo heart," Wei Jiangyuan said helplessly.

"I don't have any either, but in the Misty Mountains, I saw an area that seemed to be planted with Nine-Jointed Green Bamboo, so I think it exists in the Pill Realm," Xiao Yan said.

"You mean it's in someone else's hands, and we're going to trade for it?"

Xiao Yan nodded: "Be prepared for both possibilities. Spread the word that I'll buy it at any price. We absolutely cannot let the last Fog Mountain slip by!"