Jiang Ye picked his ear with a look of disdain.
Baihu gazed at the figure on the high platform, a determined glint in his eyes. "No matter what, I have to give it a try."
Zhu Que rubbed his forehead, knowing Baihu was referring to the competition for the Holy Lord position. "Go ahead then. Since the master isn't here, no one can control you..."
...
Upper Realm, Medicine Valley—
"This place is uninhabitable..." Long Yu looked at the ruins before him and shook his head. "Junior Brother Qinghong, why don't you move to our Demon Realm?"
Xuan Qinghong lowered his head and shook it slightly. "No, thank you."
From the crowd, Zhu Shu hurried over, bowed to Xuan Qinghong, and said excitedly, "Valley Master! Let's move to Senior Sister Bai's place!"
Bai Ran? Xuan Qinghong furrowed his brows. Long Yu, however, immediately rejoiced. "Yes, that's an excellent idea."
Now that Medicine Valley had been ravaged by the demonized humans, it was temporarily uninhabitable. It would be better to move to the Nine Heavens.
"If not my Demon Realm, then Bai Xiaotou's place is fine too."
However, Xuan Qinghong sighed, looking somewhat helpless. "It's not that I'm being stubborn, but not all disciples of Medicine Valley can enter the Nine Heavens."
Although the disciples of Medicine Valley were all outstanding among their peers, some of them were unable to enter the Nine Heavens, as they had not reached the required strength.
"Are you suggesting I abandon these disciples and lead the rest into the Nine Heavens?"
That's true... Long Yu scratched his cheek, his brows knitted together.
But then, as if he had thought of a solution, his face instantly brightened. "Junior Brother Qinghong, there is a place in the Nine Heavens that might not require such immense strength to reach."
Xuan Qinghong couldn't help but ask, "Where?"
Long Yu smiled mysteriously and pointed to the sky. "Ren Zhi Zhong (Tomb of Humans)."
Although Ren Zhi Zhong's environment was somewhat lacking, it was indeed not bound by the laws of heaven.
"Where is this place? How have I never heard of it?" Xuan Qinghong recalled, he truly had not heard of this place.
Long Yu pouted. "This place doesn't belong to any faction in the Nine Heavens. It's a unique existence for the Four Great Powers."
"You guys can move there, and perhaps you can become the fifth great power of the Nine Heavens," Long Yu said with a smile, but his eyes were filled with seriousness.
Ren Zhi Zhong... Xuan Qinghong looked at the ravaged Medicine Valley, his heart filled with indecision.
For the past few hundred years, Medicine Valley had lived in seclusion, but hiding forever was not a viable option.
Xuan Qinghong sighed deeply and finally agreed. "Alright, then we'll go to Ren Zhi Zhong."
At the same time, within the Demon Realm, the person on the bed slowly opened his eyes.
"Your Majesty! You're awake!"
Dongfang Wuji cried out excitedly, and Long Jinhan sat up, rubbing his temples.
Before he lost consciousness, he seemed to have seen the little girl... Could it have been a dream?
A bowl of medicinal soup suddenly appeared before him. Long Jinhan was startled, then looked up to see Bai Ran standing before him.
"Take it and drink it all at once."
She looked at Long Jinhan helplessly, a hint of blame in her eyes.
Long Jinhan stared at her, his heart involuntarily softening. He chuckled deeply and took the soup. "Are you angry with me?"
"Yes." Bai Ran stared at the person before her, as if she could bore a hole through him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
The others in the room, seeing this, wisely withdrew, leaving the two of them alone.
In fact, even if Long Jinhan hadn't said anything, Bai Ran knew it was because he didn't want her to worry, to have gone to the Demon Realm through hardships, and possibly even get implicated.
But that wasn't what she wanted to hear. She wanted Long Jinhan to learn to ask for help, to know that there was someone by his side.
Long Jinhan lowered his gaze, picked up the bowl of soup, and drank it all in one gulp.
The bowl was gently placed on the table, and the man looked up, a trace of helplessness in his eyes.
"Girl, I was wrong."
Meeting Long Jinhan's gaze, Bai Ran's long-suppressed anger vanished completely.
Bai Ran sighed, utterly helpless. "Wait for me for another six months."
"Within six months, I will refine the Three-Striped Clear Spirit Pill to cure your cold ailment permanently."
The cold ailment's episodes were becoming longer and the intervals shorter. She needed to speed up her progress in advancing her Alchemist level.
"No rush, I'm fine," Long Jinhan said with a deep smile.
Bai Ran didn't reply. Instead, she walked to Jing Yun, who lay not far away, and checked his condition.
"How are his injuries?" Long Jinhan turned his head, looking at the still unconscious Jing Yun with a hint of self-reproach.
Bai Ran moistened a cloth and gently wiped him. To her surprise, the cloth was snatched away by Long Jinhan, who had approached at some point.
"Let me do it. You can rest."
Bai Ran smiled helplessly and glared at him. "Where is this sourness coming from? It's so strong."
Long Jinhan smiled and changed the subject. "How much longer until Jing Yun wakes up?"
"Likely soon."
As soon as Bai Ran finished speaking, Jing Yun on the bed slowly opened his eyes.
His vision cleared, and he felt a pair of hands gently wiping his forehead.
The next moment, Jing Yun saw the scene before him and nearly fainted again.
Who wouldn't be scared? He saw the Demon Lord personally holding a cloth and wiping the sweat from his forehead, startling him so much that he almost jumped up.
"Your... Your Majesty!"
"What Your Majesty, rest well." Seeing that he was awake, Long Jinhan finally put down the cloth.
Bai Ran chuckled. "Shall I call Jing Feng?"
Jing Yun's emotions gradually stabilized. Hearing this, he frowned, appearing somewhat hesitant.
But before he could speak, Bai Ran opened the door, said something, and Jing Feng, who was outside, immediately rushed in.
"Thump!" Jing Feng pounced and landed directly in Jing Yun's arms.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Jing Yun's wounds were pressed, and he felt intense stabbing pain.
Jing Feng buried his head in Jing Yun's shoulder. Dongfang Wuji, watching from the doorway, whistled with interest.
"It's good that you're okay... it's good that you're okay..."
A muffled voice came through, and Jing Yun stiffened. He no longer cared about his injuries and let Jing Feng hug him.
"How could I be in trouble?"
Hearing this, Jing Feng sat up and glared at Jing Yun. "Do you know how badly injured you are? If Miss Bai hadn't been here, you would be a corpse right now!"
Jing Yun chuckled sheepishly. "What about the Demon Realm? Did we win?"
"Of course," Dongfang Wuji said proudly, leaning against the door. "Those heavenly soldiers and demonized people were beaten until they ran away in disarray."
Jing Feng nodded, his face serious. "Now, you just need to recover from your injuries."