Chapter 148: Present

Jiang Yu looked again at Min Chi Yuan: "Senior sister, this person is a disciple of the Ten Thousand Immortal Sect; he should decide."

Whether it's Qi Haohao or Daoist friend Xing, they are both disciples of the Ten Thousand Immortal Sect.

Min Chi Yuan surprisingly didn't mention Young Master Hong; could he have secretly killed the person?

Better to kill him; that person is no good. A Daoist disciple colluding with a Demon sect to kill us—if we meet him again, find a place where no one is around and eliminate him.

"Brother Xing must be taken away." Min Chi Yuan has known Brother Xing since childhood; both are descendants of the Cloud Mist Sect and are innately close.

Thinking of Brother Xing, he gave Jiang Yu a deep look; according to Brother Xing, this girl is likely also a true member of the Xing sect, a descendant of the Xun family.

He ranks low among the Cloud Mist descendants, so he doesn't know that Jiang Yu is accompanied by Thus: Xuantang Xingjun.

Xia Bing noticed his gaze, whizzed to block him, and said, "Jiang Yu, have you ever seen any other members of the sect?"

Jiang Yu naturally hadn't seen any; the communication jade in Great Luo Cave Heaven is now just a decoration, and because the entry time was suddenly moved up, she and sixty‑three fellow disciples didn't wear the positioning artifacts for fellow sect members.

And those sixty people, including other Foundation Establishment cultivators on the Tianyuan Continent—now roughly three hundred plus—are scattered across various corners of the Cave Heaven, encountering different people and events, and casualties have already occurred.

There's no other reason: others have teammates; if you are alone and meet other Xianrealm cultivators, the upright ones may ignore you, but the crooked ones will definitely kill and loot.

Seeing Wen Xin being chased makes it clear that even a fine outfit can attract envious raiding cultivators.

Most cultivators who have been training outside for years, the moment they entered, already changed into low‑profile attire.

Even Demon sect disciples don't want to be attacked by crowds at the start; most clever ones also change clothes and deliberately seek Daoist disciples to form teams.

The reason they avoid Demon sect disciples is that, as demon cultivators, they fear being back‑stabbed by fellow demon cultivators.

But people like Wan Xiyue and Gu Wenbing, once they enter the Cave Heaven, first disguise themselves as ordinary, don low‑grade Daoist robes, hide a storage jade bracelet to avoid attracting murderous raiders, at least temporarily.

Wan Xiyue was fortunate; she first met Wen Qian, and the two did not fight each other, and after discovering they were trapped in some wood‑type formation, they cooperated to break through.

In the meantime, they also encountered Gu Bingwen of the Grand Void Sect, and Ye Lian.

Now the four formed a team, but Wen Qian was quietly looking for a chance to retreat, after all the other three belong to the same sect.

Yet after a short time, they heard Gu Bingwen say, "I don't know where Jiang Yu is."

"Jiang Yu?" Wen Qian was puzzled; had she encountered someone with the same name? That renting‑room Jiang Yu hadn't really lived there and had disappeared for a long time, but she wasn't a Tianyuan cultivator.

"What, Daoist friend Wen, have you seen Jiang Yu?" Ye Lian heard her barely audible exclamation.

Wen Qian immediately shook her head; she isn't used to speaking Tianyuan speech, she just wants to find senior brother Cheng Ziguai quickly.

And she couldn't possibly know that senior brother Cheng Ziguai is currently trapped in a village with Jiang Yu.

As for Jiang Yu, she didn't rush to find Qi Haohao, but waited with everyone until night fell before taking action.

The so‑called action emphasizes the unity of time, command, and objective.

Jiang Yu could ignore Qi Haohao, but she must rescue the Tianyuan cultivators, so a few left Gu Jue's fruit enterprise by the river to treat injuries, and they slipped into the village residential area.

After a short while, the few reached the village and began searching house by house.

Whenever they saw one of their own, they immediately knocked them out and carried them away; after a night of hustle, by early dawn they had brought all the people they could find to the riverbank.

Jiang Yu's flying sword was not found; she didn't know who had taken it. She lamented that several thousand spirit stones were gone, and then, looking at the unconscious bodies on the ground, asked, "How can we restore their memories?"

"Awakening Pills, Ice Dew Pills, that sort of thing—some benefactors might have them," Gu Jue said. The storage bag that the senior brother had been stripped of was also recovered, but without spiritual power or divine sense they can't open it now.

He does have a Treasure‑holding bag, but it contains no Awakening Pills; he gave the senior brother a small restorative pill, and the wound improved greatly, yet the spirit remains in a lost state.

"Here." Jiang Yu had both items; she gave Gu Jue one portion, gave Xia Bing another, and kept one for Daoist friend Ma of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to take.

Meanwhile, Min Chi Yuan, knowing Jiang Yu wouldn't give him anything, whispered to Cheng Ziguai, "If you want to buy from Jiang Yu, I didn't bring a Treasure‑holding ring."

Treasure‑holding bags, beads, rings, jade pendants, etc., can be used with ordinary mortal spiritual power; their internal storage is much smaller than that of a proper storage bag.

But keeping some pills and artifacts on hand can save lives when encountering a forbidden spirit land.

Cheng Ziguai didn't want to listen; he is a lone cultivator, there are no junior sisters here, and the quality of those sect disciples is irrelevant to him.

Min Chi Yuan saw the guy turn his head and ignore him, made another note in his little notebook, but still urged, "Even if not for others, you must do it for Brother Xing. Don't forget, he was originally a Xun family descendant, and Thus: Xuantang Xingjun is likely still alive."

Cheng Ziguai stared back at him, his eyes seeming to ask, "Are you sure?"

After Min Chi Yuan gave a firm nod, he then approached Jiang Yu to buy Awakening Pills.

However, Jiang Yu only had a few spare pills left outside; after giving some to a few Tianyuan cultivators, there were hardly any left.

She told Cheng Ziguai not to take spirit stones, just give a few to Qi Haohao and Ouyang Nian to eat first; she doesn't know anyone else.

But after feeding the Awakening Pills, the person woke up but couldn't move their body.

Fortunately, the cultivator from Danxia Mountain knows alchemy and has studied various injuries and illnesses.

He said, "It's because the medicinal potency is insufficient, not because it's a specially tailored remedy."

The demonic sound that pierced our ears earlier was roughly the lowest‑grade extraterritorial heavenly demon.

For them to appear in large numbers, there must be a formation sacrificing the Demon Race nearby; locating and destroying the altar might lift the symptoms."

"Who is proficient in formations?" Though Jiang Yu handles the formation board skillfully, her formation knowledge is only rudimentary; unlike talisman drawing, which she has a talent for, and the two are related, she hasn't had much time to study them before.

Xia Bing scanned the few who were awake; all lay on the ground, able only to turn their heads, their limbs unable to move at all.

Those who understand formations might, even for a moment, worry excessively and be unable to judge spontaneously.

She couldn't help sighing, "Daoist friend Gu Jue, could you help watch over a few? Jiang Yu and I will go look. Before dawn, let's move everyone to a safe area, okay?"

"Junior sister Xia, what safety is there in this village?" Deng Yuanwu felt embarrassed; after years of cultivation he still fell into the hands of a petty heavenly demon.

"Not necessarily; does the village have any vacant houses? When moving villages, it's more accurate to call this place a town rather than a village."

"With many people, the area is large; there should be empty courtyards or rooms, right?" Jiang Yu couldn't find a cave or anything in the bustling village; once they reached the village entrance they couldn't get out.

The group recalled, and Gu Jue spoke first: "I haven't seen any empty courtyards, but at the western edge of the village there's an orchard that could roughly hide people."

Min Chi Yuan objected: "Too far; moving there would take until dawn."

"Daoist friend Jiang, do you still have any hypnotic pills on you?"

Xia Bing's expression instantly turned cold: "What do you mean?"

Jiang Daoyou, do you still have any hypnotic pills on you?

Xia Bing's expression immediately turned cold: "What do you mean?"