When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Chu Xianlan suddenly opened her eyes.

"She's given birth! Oh wait, she's awake!"

Yan Ling shouted loudly.

"Xianlan, you and your master scared us to death! Oh dear, I thought you two had committed suicide together at the altar."

Her little mouth was smeared with honey; this was Hua Ling.

Xue Ling reached out a small hand and touched the boy's cheek, as if to confirm that he was really awake.

Chu Xianlan rolled her eyes, sat up, and said in disbelief, "I...I'm back?"

My thoughts were in complete disarray, and the visions from the illusions were still vivid in my mind.

The Crown Prince, the Grandmaster, the Black Serpent, and those incongruous half-demons in the dungeon...

Violence!

The first trace of hostility in the world did not arise out of thin air.

That was an evil spirit that the Demon King of a thousand years ago had painstakingly created by defying the laws of nature. In Chu Xianlan's eyes, this was nothing short of a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

The demon king from a thousand years ago probably didn't know that his relentless pursuit of transforming into a dragon would sow the seeds of future disaster, causing countless bloodshed and turmoil. He only wanted to pursue the true dragon, disregarding the safety of both realms and regarding countless living beings as mere straw dogs.

Such foolish behavior caused the half-demons of later generations to suffer a lifetime of prejudice and hardship, and to hate their own bloodline from the bottom of their hearts.

What happened after that?

Chu Xianlan opened her mouth; the feeling of "to be continued" was truly infuriating.

Perhaps he was just a hair's breadth away from seeing the truth behind the chaos of the half-demons back then, so why did he have to wake up at such a crucial moment?

With only three small spirits flying around her, Chu Xianlan asked without hesitation, "Where is the Earth Spirit?"

Hua Ling felt a little jealous when she heard that his first question after waking up was about another spirit, and she pouted, "Hmph~"

Yan Ling glanced at Chu Xianlan a few times, her face sour, arms crossed, and she didn't say a word.

There was a slightly sour smell in the air.

In the end, Xue Ling led Chu Xianlan to the window.

The little spirit was curled up in a ball, his eyes closed as he slept, his face pale and his breathing very light.

Seeing his fragile appearance, Chu Xianlan wanted to touch him but dared not, and asked anxiously, "What's wrong with him? Can you wake him up?"

Hua Ling and Yan Ling were unaware that Chu Xianlan had been pulled into an illusion. Seeing him wake up in such a panic, they were also confused. Hua Ling muttered, "He must have exhausted too much spiritual energy and fainted. Let him rest for a while and he'll probably wake up."

"How long does it take for spiritual energy to recover?"

"It's hard to say. It could be a few days or a few years," Yan Ling said with a smile. "If you're really in a hurry, just dig a hole and bury him in the ground. Maybe it will have some unexpected use."

Chu Xianlan: "..." This is definitely not a good idea.

Just then, a slight sound of a door being pushed open came from behind.

Although Hua Ling tried her best to persuade everyone to let the master and disciple rest in the same bed and treat each other with respect, she was ultimately outnumbered and Yi Chen was arranged to stay in the next room.

When Yi Chen entered, his expression was normal, and he appeared much calmer than Chu Xianlan. He first asked his disciple a few questions about her condition after waking up. Chu Xianlan had just finished saying "I'm fine" when, the next second, blood gushed from her nose.

Several spirits of heaven and earth were all stunned.

Chu Xianlan was stunned. She wiped her nose and found her hand covered in blood.

The blood flowed endlessly, dripping onto the clothes and staining them crimson.

"Hey hey hey! Why are you having a nosebleed all of a sudden?!" Hua Ling exclaimed in a flustered manner.

Cultivators refine their bodies year-round, resulting in stable physical constitutions and blood circulation. Unless they've been brutally beaten, minor incidents like nosebleeds are almost unheard of. Moreover, Chu Xianlan had just woken up, barely moved, and wasn't injured. How could she suddenly be bleeding so much?

"I..." Chu Xianlan felt the warmth in her nasal cavity continuing to flow out, and even her throat had a faint, sweet, and metallic taste. Her head also felt slightly heavy.

Even more intense than these sensations was a strange, sharp pain emanating from my lower abdomen.

Like countless living things churning and tearing apart, it was excruciating and piercing.

Yi Chen's pupils contracted sharply. He quickly stepped forward and put one arm around the boy's shoulder, allowing him to lean steadily against him. With his other hand, he channeled spiritual energy into the boy to seal the overflowing blood energy.

However, it was no use.

The blood smeared on Yi Chen's sleeves and hem, staining his pristine white clothes in a mess, but Yi Chen paid no attention to it, his eyes never leaving the boy's face.

The other spirits of heaven and earth also realized that something was wrong and rushed over, completely panicked.

"Master...

Before losing consciousness, Chu Xianlan instinctively grabbed Yi Chen's hand, and Yi Chen gripped it tightly, never having felt the boy's palms so cold.

She was even colder than him.

-

The Zen temple is secluded and deep.

The wind rustles through the trees, and the compassionate Buddha statue sits serenely on its lotus throne, gazing upon the world.

The Buddha's face is compassionate, with lowered eyes, as if looking down upon all living beings in the world, or as if showing compassion for the suffering of all things.

Ji Ran knelt before the Buddha statue.

Beneath him, golden array light flowed, and five-colored spiritual energy continuously poured into his dantian.

A few days ago, Ji Ran was supposed to go out to chant sutras and pray for the people who were suffering from the evil spirits, but she suddenly fell into a coma in the main hall and did not wake up for five days.

Ji Ran slowly bent down, put her hands together and pressed them against her forehead, gently tapping her forehead on the prayer mat.

"Master, please help me."