The only reason why Ye Xiuwen had detected something amiss before Qin Shanshan"s shriek rang out was that his sensitive divine sense had picked up a faint ripple in the energy of his surroundings.The ripple was faint, slow and protracted. In fact, it was barely discernable at all. If not for the fact that Ye Xiuwen had shut his eyes and been adjusting his temperament and collecting his thoughts, he might well have glossed over the faint s.h.i.+ft in the energy of his surroundings.Could this have been caused by the person who had been observing us in the dark? A point of interest crossed Ye Xiuwen"s mind. He was curious about that person"s ident.i.ty and intentions.As for Qin Shanshan"s safety, that was well outside of the considerations of his heart.The other disciples sped towards the source of Qin Shanshan"s voice with chaotic, roiling emotions in their hearts.Qin Shanshan"s earlier shriek had been far too shrill and grave, and the disciples couldn"t help but think the worst of what could have happened.These disciples weren"t afraid of the prospects that something might have happened to Qin Shanshan. Rather, they were afraid of how they were going to answer to Qin Lingyu afterwards and face his overbearing wrath and ire.Then, in the moment that everyone finally saw Qin Shanshan, they immediately stopped in their steps and paused where they were.They had expected to see a b.l.o.o.d.y, gory sight in front of them, but the sight that they were greeted by was something quite different from their expectations. In the narrow path that was surrounded by trees and thick shrubbery on both sides, the only thing they saw was Qin Shanshan scrambling and floundering in the mud on the floor, completely disheveled. As she crawled backwards, she stammered to something in front of her, “It"s got nothing to do with me…it"s got nothing to do with me…don"t come near me. Everything was Yu Wanrou"s idea. It"s got nothing to do with me…”The reason why Qin Shanshan had been described to be addressing a “thing” was because the disciples could not see anything apart from air that was in front of Qin Shanshan.Everyone exchanged peculiar glances, and they were at a complete loss as to whether they should make their way forward and help the insane-looking Qin Shanshan back up onto her feet.“Ahh!”It was another shrill shriek. Just as everyone was hesitating, Qin Shanshan suddenly retrieved a short sword from her Interspatial Ring and menacingly slashed at her own arm!Fresh blood immediately spurted out, and a gaping wound opened up on Qin Shanshan"s arm. Her flesh and blood began to mix with the thick layer of dirt and mud on her body, turning her into a red-and-black being that was caked in mud. It was a disgusting and horrific sight.Yet perhaps the most terrifying part of this all was how Qin Shanshan didn"t even appear to feel any pain at all. A twisted expression filled with delight and pleasure was plastered all over her face as she stared vacantly into the open s.p.a.ce in front of her and barked, “I"ve told you that I was going to have my revenge. Qin Shanshan, whatever you did to me back then, I"m going to pay it back to you right this moment. I"m going to have you experience what a life worse than death feels like!”As she said that, Qin Shanshan gripped her short sword tightly and plunged it straight into her abdomen.Shk! The sickening sound of metal slicing through flesh rang out into the surroundings. Qin Shanshan"s eyes widened once more. The immense, excruciating pain from her fresh wounds had wiped off the earlier glazed and vacant look over her eyes, as she slowly looked down at her abdomen with disbelief. As soon as she realized that the arm gripping the short sword was her very own, her pupils constricted immediately, and an abject fear filled the depths of her eyes.“Help…help me…” Qin Shanshan"s spirits slackened. She noticed that there were some people standing in the distance, and they appeared to be the fellow martial brothers who had accompanied her on these travels.It was only at this moment that the Dawn Sect disciples were jolted back to their senses, and they immediately scrambled towards where Qin Shanshan was as they attempted to help her.Everyone had been completely stunned and dazed by the sight of what had just happened. For that brief moment, it had completely slipped their mind what they had earlier rushed over for to begin with – they could not let Qin Shanshan die. At the very least, they could not let Qin Shanshan perish under their very eyes. Otherwise, if Qin Lingyu were to press the issue and hold them accountable, not a single one of them would be able to escape unscathed.“d.a.m.n! It seems like this short sword is imbued with the ability to suck blood from its victim!” One of the Dawn Sect disciples discovered the peculiar attributes of this short sword.Even though cultivators possessed a far stronger const.i.tution than mere mortals, they would still perish and die if they lost a critical amount of blood. This was particularly the case when it came to cultivators with a low cultivation level like Qin Shanshan.“Let"s pull it out, then.” Another disciple who appeared to be slightly older furrowed his brows as he suggested with a heavy heart.This was the only reasonable option they had left. He placed his quivering hands on the hilt of the short sword and drew a deep breath. Then, in the next moment, he pulled!A shower of blood sprayed from the fresh, gaping wound that was on Qin Shanshan"s abdomen. Another disciple who had been squatting just beside Qin Shanshan immediately pressed his palm over Qin Shanshan"s wound, applying pressure and stifling the flow of blood. Then, yet another disciple picked up the recovery medicines that they had earlier prepared and stuffed it all straight into Qin Shanshan"s mouth.The quality of these recovery medicines was not low at all. Truth be told, it was impossible not to feel a tinge of heartache feeding all of these medicinal pills to Qin Shanshan. However, they all knew that the usage of these pills was far better than allowing Qin Shanshan to perish before their very eyes. After all, the resultant wrath from Qin Lingyu would be far, far worse than the prospects of simply losing a few high-quality medicinal pills.Clang. The short sword was tossed aside to the ground a distance away, and the other disciples all huddled around Qin Shanshan as they examined the extent of her injuries.The medicinal pills that they had fed to Qin Shanshan were incredibly effective, and they could see how the wound on Qin Shanshan"s body was closing up at a speed that was apparent to the naked eye. Within just one incense stick of time, the entire gaping would had completely closed up and mended itself.“Whew…that"s fortunate. I didn"t think we"d make it.” The disciple squatting beside Qin Shanshan patted his chest as he exclaimed. He was evidently rather astonished by what had happened.“Isn"t that so? Had we known that this was going to happen, we would"ve simply bound and tied her up so that she can"t run off all on her own.” Another Dawn Sect disciple chimed in with some measure of displeasure in his voice. It couldn"t be helped. Everyone was already vexed and frustrated by the fact that they were trapped in the vicinity of this part of the wilderness to begin with. Then, to make things worse, Qin Shanshan had in her tantrum willfully run off on her own and got herself into a terrifying mess. How could any of the disciples simply suppress the anger and indignation in their hearts?On the other hand, the original leader of this entourage had a far more holistic a.s.sessment of the situation. That Dawn Sect disciple instructed, “I think it would be better if we left this place quickly. Qin Shanshan"s condition earlier was far too peculiar, and it makes me wonder whether there"s anything dirty and unwholesome around these parts.”Everyone immediately thought about the earlier scene when Qin Shanshan was continually apologizing to something in the air, and they immediately shuddered as a frigid chill washed over their hearts. It was as though they could sense countless pairs of eyes staring at them from out of nowhere.“That"s right, we"d best leave this place quickly.”“Yeah, let"s leave right now.”“This place is too scary.”All of the other disciples began to chime in with complete support of their leader"s suggestion. Within moments, one disciple took charge of carrying, while another disciple took charge of lifting, and yet another disciple took charge of pulling – each and everyone scrambled to help as they began to carry Qin Shanshan and left behind the place where the horrific incident took place. The only trace of the incident which they left behind was the short sword that was imbued with the ability to absorb its victim"s blood.Ye Xiuwen did not immediately leave together with the rest of the disciples. Instead, he walked over to where the pool of blood lay and picked up the short sword.He lifted the short sword and took a closer examination of it, and he soon discovered that there were three small words inscribed on the hilt of the sword – Song Xiaoqing.Ye Xiuwen had some vague recollection of who Song Xiaoqing was. He recalled that this female cultivator was rather talented, but she had always been extremely introverted, and she enjoyed keeping to herself. As to how this female cultivator looked, Ye Xiuwen could not recall that much. After all, Song Xiaoqing was not a fellow martial sister of the Heavenly Peak.From Qin Shanshan"s earlier words, Ye Xiuwen guessed that Song Xiaoqing must have fallen to an evil scheme against her, and the culprits could very well have been both Qin Shanshan and Yu Wanrou. Not only had she fallen to an evil scheme, even her personal weapon was robbed and taken away by Qin Shanshan.It was not uncommon to hear of people murdering others and taking their loot and treasures for themselves. That said, Ye Xiuwen sincerely disagreed with the morality of such actions, particularly when the victim was a fellow member of the same sect.He sighed in his heart. Ye Xiuwen unsheathed his own sword and swung it in the air. Instantly, a large crevice opened up on the ground in the direction where he had slashed.Ye Xiuwen gingerly placed the short sword into the crevice in the ground, before waving his sleeves. In the blink of an eye, the crevice was filled with a fresh layer of mud.It wouldn"t take too long for gra.s.s and wildflowers to grow over this patch of mud. At that time, the short sword that had lost its master would forever be lost to this world. Ye Xiuwen sincerely felt that this would probably be the best and most appropriate resting place for the short sword.After doing all these things, Ye Xiuwen lifted his head once more, and he glanced about at his surroundings. As soon as he ascertained that there was n.o.body else around, he took his leave from this place.Shortly after Ye Xiuwen departed, the air suddenly rippled as though a stone had just landed in a lake of still waters. Then, a graceful and svelte figure stepped out into the world out of nowhere.The black figure was completely clothed in black, and n.o.body could see her true appearances. The only part of her features that were revealed comprised a beautiful pair of striking eyes and her fair, jade-like skin. The extrapolation of these perfect features would most certainly leave others with an impression that this lady was a beauty through and through.She walked over to where Ye Xiuwen had just buried the short sword and looked down at the ground. Moments later, she chuckled to herself.“I"d never thought that Qin Shanshan would manage to retain such a kindhearted person around her. That"s such a rarity. Since that"s the case, I"ll make an exception and spare your life when I take care of these disgusting dregs and sc.u.m of the earth later on. I just hope you know what"s best for you, and you don"t interfere with the things that I"m trying to achieve here.”The female"s voice was tactile and musical, and it was incredibly pleasant to the ears. At the same time, the words that flowed from her mouth seemed to be laced with an icy, frigid intent.She looked int the direction where Ye Xiuwen had departed in, and a bright gleam flickered across her eyes. Even though her eyes were cold and frigid, they strangely also possessed some level of charm to them.Moments later, she waved her hands slightly, and a translucent formation array revealed itself in the air. Under the effects of this formation array, her body and aura once again vanished from thin air.As Ye Xiuwen continued to walk on in the distance, he suddenly paused in his steps and turned back to look at where he came from.He could no longer see with his naked eyes the place where the incident with Qin Shanshan had taken place, but he could nevertheless feel the slight ripple of energy emanating from that location.Is it that person again? Whoever it is, I wonder what his motive is for trapping all of us here?-------------------------------------------------As soon as they returned to their earlier resting place, the Dawn Sect disciples quickly set Qin Shanshan back down onto the floor, and they had the disciple with the highest cultivation level among all of them check on Qin Shanshan"s condition once more.Naturally, everyone had thought about asking Ye Xiuwen for his a.s.sistance in this regard. After all, Ye Xiuwen"s abilities were the strongest among everyone present. However, it was evident that Ye Xiuwen would not be willing to help them in this regard.Truth be told, they believed that Jun Ziwen did not have a favourable impression of Qin Shanshan to begin with. They knew that he was only travelling together with them because Qin Shanshan had so eagerly adhered herself to him.In this regard, they sincerely hoped that Qin Shanshan had not invited a wolf into their home. Otherwise, even they might end up being implicated by her folly.“Martial sister Qin should be fine now. Her earlier injuries had been nothing more than flesh wounds that can recover over time. However, martial sister Qin would most certainly have been frightened by the earlier incident. I think it would be best not to let her run about on her own in the near future.” The disciple checking on Qin Shanshan"s condition concluded.The other disciples nodded their heads eagerly with some measure of lingering fear from the earlier incident. They exclaimed in their hearts – We most certainly won"t let her run about even if we have to tie her up!However, would things really be resolved as easily as they thought? Over the next few days, the Dawn Sect disciples would thoroughly experience the true meaning of helplessness. Qin Shanshan appeared to have become possessed by something, and she would break out into a spate of insanity every now and then. Furthermore, every time her insanity manifested itself, Qin Shanshan would start to empty the contents of her Interspatial Ring. Then, as soon as she was done emptying its contents, she would then pick up a weapon of choice and cut and abuse herself as she spoke to an invisible ent.i.ty before her. It was as though Qin Shanshan were facing a vengeful spirit that had come back from the dead to haunt her.As time wore on, everyone began to notice a common thread among these incidents – the things that Qin Shanshan had emptied from her Interspatial Ring had all been s.n.a.t.c.hed and obtained from somebody else. Some objects bore the ident.i.ty seals of their true owners, while other objects appeared familiar to the other disciples, yet they just couldn"t place a finger where exactly they had come across these artefacts.It had to be said that the number of artefacts that Qin Shanshan had seized from others was not few in number. As she began to take out artefact after artefact, the Dawn Sect disciples" eyes began to widen as they grew dazzled by the sheer magnitude of what she had done over the years.In fact, there were a few covetous Dawn Sect disciples who had thought to steal those items from under Qin Shanshan"s nose as soon as her insanity manifested itself. At that time, it was Ye Xiuwen who calmly reminded them, “These treasures might all have been cursed. Whoever takes them might end up with the same fate as Qin Shanshan. If you guys want to experience this for yourselves, then go on ahead.”As soon as Ye Xiuwen dropped this bombsh.e.l.l on them, the covetous Dawn Sect disciples immediately retracted their outstretched arms.What a joke! Who would want to risk heaping such trouble onto himself for these treasures that aren"t even particularly valuable? Just look at Qin Shanshan right now – she looks like a complete madwoman. I don"t want to become a second Qin Shanshan! Heaven forbid!Since n.o.body dared to seize possession of these treasures, they remained exposed to the air on the ground where they were. Ye Xiuwen recognized that some of these valuables belonged to the disciples of the Heavenly Peak, and he began to stash them into his own Interspatial Ring with a heavy heart. Then, he buried the rest of the items in the ground where the incident took place.It would be befitting if these items should accompany each their respective masters and vanish off the face of their world.It was incredibly frightening whenever Qin Shanshan"s insanity manifested itself. That said, whenever she regained her senses later on, she would have absolutely no recollection whatsoever about the things that happened during the time that she went mad.Thus, she was simply under the impression that for some strange reason, her body was getting weaker and weaker and she was getting more easily tired than she had been before. She couldn"t understand why this was happening, while none of the other Dawn Sect disciples were willing to apprise her of exactly what had occurred either.Furthermore, Qin Shanshan discovered over the next few days that the Dawn Sect disciples had begun to look at her with a different kind of gaze in their eyes, including that of contempt, disgust, vigilance, disbelief. Yet when she attempted to get a closer look and examination at these glances, they all seemed to be nothing more than an illusion to her.She never would have thought that her deepest, darkest secret pertaining to her propensity to murder and seize treasures from other disciples had already been exposed to the world. As members of the same sect, her martial brother would most certainly develop their own judgment and contempt for her character and personality.Previously, they had despised the fact that Qin Shanshan would ride on her brother"s coattails and act all unruly and headstrong within the Sect. Yet, who could"ve thought that Qin Shanshan possessed such a devious heart like that of a poisonous snake, and that she would even resort to murdering her own martial brothers and sisters just to seize their personal belongings?This woman is far too fearsome. The Dawn Sect disciples thought in their hearts, as they resolved to keep Qin Shanshan at an arm"s length.Qin Shanshan couldn"t understand what was going on. Furthermore, the fact that they continued to be trapped in this area made the vexation in her heart continue to burgeon with each day that pa.s.sed. At this point in time, she no longer had the patience to even cajole and curry favour with Ye Xiuwen any longer.Just as everyone thought that Qin Shanshan"s insanity was going to continue indefinitely, a new development suddenly occurred.That night, while everyone was sound asleep, several faint waves of energy rippled through the air. A black figure appeared out of nowhere and stepped out amidst the resting bodies where all the disciples were.This black figure walked slowly among the disciples who were soundly asleep until the black figure finally arrived beside Qin Shanshan.A fair hand with a jade-like l.u.s.ter stretched out from the black garments. With a graceful flick of the wrist, Qin Shanshan appeared to have been “hooked” and “lifted” up in tandem with the movement of the wrist. At the same time, Qin Shanshan remained deep in slumber, without showing any signs of awakening at all.“Let"s go.” The black figure whispered lightly. Then, the black figure turned around and left together with Qin Shanshan who appeared like a fish that clung tightly to its bait, and they disappeared into the dark of the night.Sleeping a short distance away, Ye Xiuwen immediately opened his eyes wide and looked at the direction where the black figure had vanished together with Qin Shanshan. Then, he squinted his eyes – there was not a trace of weariness in his eyes at this moment.Ye Xiuwen immediately got to his feet and applied an Invisibility Talisman on himself. Finally, he imbued himself with his wind-based spells and made haste after the black figure.
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