Upon realizing that Tian Ling'er hadn't appeared at all, Zhang Xiaofan turned to look at Li Ling, who chuckled, "I was just worried that you'd forget about your senior sister the moment you saw a pretty girl. Looks like I'm feeling guilty..."
As he spoke, he also revealed an expression of anticipation for a good show.
"I, no... that's not how it is, I..." Zhang Xiaofan stammered, completely losing his appetite for looking at the beautiful woman!
After Zhang Xiaofan's antics, Zeng Shushu and Lu Xueqi both looked away.
Li Ling laughed and said, "Alright, let others talk. Let's just eat and do what we need to do. Don't pay any attention to them!"
Judging from the group's attire, Li Ling confirmed that they were from the Ghost King Sect and that the girl was Bi Yao.
Li Ling had no intention of clashing with the other party in Heyang City, nor did he intend to get to know them, so he treated it as a misunderstanding.
The other party clearly did not want to cause trouble at the foot of Qingyun Mountain, but did not provoke further.
After the meal, Li Ling went to Lu Xueqi's room and took out a Zhu Rong Pill to heal her injuries.
To be honest, Lu Xueqi was valued by Shuiyue. After Lu Xueqi was injured, Shuiyue naturally did not hesitate to use spiritual medicine and personally used her internal energy to heal Lu Xueqi.
However, the backlash from forcibly using the Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique is not easy to bear, so he has not yet fully recovered.
The healing methods Li Ling had weren't much better in comparison, but the Zhu Rong Pill was definitely a rare elixir that Shui Yue couldn't obtain.
After taking the medicine, Lu Xueqi only needed to rest for a day. Not only did her injuries recover quickly, but she also entered the eighth level of the Taiji Xuanqing Dao.
With such miraculous healing effects, Lu Xueqi knew that what Li Ling had brought out must be something good. After all, Shuiyue had said that her injuries would require at least another month of rest to fully heal.
If it weren't for her insistence, Shuiyue wouldn't have allowed her to participate in this operation, which made Lu Xueqi even more curious and concerned about Li Ling. (The remaining text appears to be unrelated and likely refers to a separate entity or event.)
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Chapter 349: Outwardly Harmonious, Inwardly Discord
Just as Li Ling was healing Lu Xueqi's injuries, the garden in the courtyard was full of blooming flowers, and among them, a touch of green was particularly eye-catching.
Biyao held a delicate flower in her hand, gently sniffed it, and revealed a breathtakingly beautiful smile on her face. Unfortunately, even though the smile was exquisite, it could not hide the sorrow and melancholy on her face.
At this time, Zhang Xiaofan's Soul-Devouring Staff was still thrown into the fire room on Dazhu Peak, so it was no coincidence that it appeared here.
Biyao quietly admired the flowers. After a while, she saw Youji coming over. Biyao smiled and asked, "Aunt You, you're back. Did you find out anything?"
Youji said, "Those four people are from the Qingyun Sect, but I haven't seen any of them before. They must be recent outstanding disciples, but one of them needs to be watched."
"Is it that woman?" Biyao thought of the bright, piercing eyes the other woman had given her during the day.
"No, it's that boy in white!"
"Oh? It's him?" Biyao sneered, disdainfully saying, "He's just a coward, why bother with him!"
“No, he actually…” Youji sighed and whispered, “That young man shouldn’t be that kind of person, and what he’s carrying on his back is clearly the Dragon Slayer Sword! The Dragon Slayer Sword that has been lost for hundreds of years!”
"Dragon-Slaying Sword!" A murderous glint flashed in Biyao's eyes, and the flowers in her hand were instantly crushed into powder.
Her tone carried a hint of gloom: "So, that young man in white is the successor of the heartless man who betrayed you, Aunt You?"
Youji sighed silently, her tone tinged with desolation, "Yao'er, you're wrong. He has never let me down. After all, it was only me who loved him from beginning to end!"
"He is on the righteous path, I am on the demonic path. Putting aside the fact that he has no feelings for me, even if we truly love each other, what difference would it make? So..."
Faced with You Ji's sigh, Bi Yao remained indifferent, thinking to herself, "Dragon-Slaying Sword?! I'll remember you! Your master owed my Aunt You a debt back then, and now I'll make you pay it back, bit by bit!"
...
The next day, after having breakfast at Shanhaiyuan, Li Ling and his group did not meet with Biyao and the others again, indicating that they had already left overnight.
However, Li Ling wasn't the kind of person who would be unable to resist the allure of beautiful women. Although Bi Yao was extremely beautiful, Li Ling only admired her for her resolute and tragic beauty—her willingness to sacrifice her soul for her beloved—because he had read the original novel.
Now that the 'Spell of Devotion' has been destroyed by Li Ling, regardless of whether she will have any further involvement with Zhang Xiaofan, her fate has actually changed. Li Ling has also fulfilled one of his wishes from reading the book.
After settling their bills, the four of them left Heyang City and, without lingering, flew directly on their swords towards Kongsang Mountain!
With Li Ling leading the way, the four of them didn't waste much time and soon arrived at Kongsang Mountain, a barren place full of rocks and reefs.
Li Ling introduced, "This is Kongsang Mountain. I came here once when I was traveling. Luckily it is daytime now, otherwise tens of millions of bats would probably rush out and devour people."
"These bats were originally raised by the demonic cultists, but now, with the destruction of the Blood Refining Hall, they have multiplied on their own, and their numbers have accumulated to the point that there are probably millions!"
Zeng Shushu laughed and said, "But thanks to you, Junior Brother, you know the way. It seems we arrived earlier than the people from Tianyin Temple and Fenxiang Valley!"
"I'm afraid that's not necessarily true."
Li Ling glanced around and spotted a large pool of blood in the distance. He went over to check it out and then said, "They arrived a while ago, but they were attacked by bats. Because there were too many bats, they had no choice but to retreat temporarily. Let's search the area!"
Fearing an attack from members of the Demonic Sect, the four did not split up to search. However, based on some clues, Li Ling quickly found the people from Fenxiang Valley and Tianyin Temple.
The two people in Fenxiang Valley were a man and a woman. The man was handsome, and the woman had delicate features; they were like a perfect couple. Behind them, two monks dressed in moon-white robes stood holding prayer beads.
Li Ling's gaze swept across the tall, burly monk and landed on the fairer-skinned one.
Li Ling knew that this was 'Faxiang', hailed as a peerless genius, a talent rarely seen in a thousand years at Tianyin Temple! He was also an insider of the massacre that wiped out the entire Caomiao Village family years ago!
"Amitabha, may I ask if the four of you are disciples of the Qingyun Sect?" Faxiang greeted them with a kind expression, and upon noticing that Li Ling seemed to be the leader of the four, he turned to face him.
Li Xun and Yan Hong from Fenxiang Valley, who were standing at the front, both had arrogant expressions. They simply nodded to indicate that they were greeting each other. In particular, when Li Xun saw Lu Xueqi, whose features were as beautiful as a painting, his eyes suddenly burst out with an extremely ardent light!
Lu Xueqi's face turned cold, and she turned her head away, refusing to look at the four people anymore!
Li Ling was quite displeased. He had long considered Lu Xueqi his woman and naturally wouldn't tolerate others spying on her like this. He stepped forward, blocking Li Xun's view, and laughed: