"He Zhiqiu, Shi Ying, He Su, Lan Yin... you are in my group."

"Senior Sister Su, Senior Brother Chun, Junior Sister Wei, the three of you will lead the other disciples in one group."

"Though the Red Flame Fox is injured, it still possesses Nascent Soul Realm strength and is crafty and deceitful. Everyone must be careful and not act recklessly!"

"Yes!"

The night was deep, and the starlight couldn’t illuminate the darkness covering Qilian Mountain.

Jian Yue stood on a massive rock, emitting a faint glow that illuminated the pale faces of every Zhenyang Sect disciple and calmed their minds significantly.

Once Jian Yue had arranged everything properly, everyone cupped their hands and responded affirmatively.

Qin Gengyun suddenly spoke up, "Senior Martial Sister, which group is Junior Sister Ruo in?"

Only then did everyone notice that Ruo Mei was standing alone between the two groups, as if her senior martial sister had forgotten her.

Jian Yue said calmly, "Junior Sister Ruo is responsible for escorting Junior Sister Lin back to Zhenlian City."

Under countless gazes, Ruo Mei shyly cupped her hands, "Yes."

"We will head east and south, Senior Sister Suxin, you head west and north. Be careful."

"Junior Sister Ye, you be careful too."

At this moment, Jian Yue’s expression was cold, yet in Qiu Zhihe’s ear, a bewitching and disgraceful voice sounded:

"Giggle, Madam, are you satisfied with this arrangement?"

Qiu Zhihe’s face showed the timid and adorable appearance of Junior Sister Ruo, as she coldly sent a voice transmission back:

"You’ve done very well."

When Jian Yue was arranging personnel just now, Qiu Zhihe sent a voice transmission instructing her to assign herself to escort Lin Qingchou back to Zhenlian City, and Jian Yue complied immediately.

Before leading the group to depart, Jian Yue casually glanced at "Junior Sister Ruo" and sent a voice transmission, asking:

"Madam, was Zheng Shengmo really killed by the Red Flame Fox? Or perhaps I should ask: is there really a Red Flame Fox?"

As soon as Jian Yue finished speaking, a cold voice transmission immediately came to her ear:

"Since the Soul-devouring Pill was given to Qin Gengyun by me, I can make you suffer even more."

"Giggle, Madam, rest assured, both you and Master are the owners of this servant, this servant won’t speak carelessly."

Jian Yue’s voice transmission was seductive and shameless, yet outwardly she remained as cold as frost, saying indifferently:

"Let’s go."

The two groups departed to search for traces of the Red Flame Fox, while the guards and cultivators from Zhenlian City also entered Qilian Mountain. Upon discovering the Red Flame Fox, they would immediately send smoke signals, and everyone would quickly converge to slay it!

Once everyone had left, only Ruo Mei and Lin Qingchou remained.

Silently, they exited the section of the forest that had been leveled. In the distance, they could faintly see the lights of Zhenlian City, like an array summoning spirits in the dark.

Lin Qingchou suddenly spoke, "Saintess, I have done as you instructed. Can you give me the antidote for the Heart-devouring Pill?"

Indeed, those words were required by Xia Qinglian to be said by her.

Actually, apart from the claim that the Red Flame Fox had killed Zheng Shengmo, everything else was true.

Yet Xia Qinglian needed this victim to speak out these facts to ruin Zheng Shengmo and tarnish the reputation of the Zhenyang Sect’s so-called righteous path.

Five hundred years ago, the Cyan Lotus Sect was forcibly turned into the Demon Sect and expelled from the Eastern Cultivation Land, forced to hide in the resource-poor southern region.

Since then, they were hunted and reviled.

Now, she would make the Zhenyang Sect suffer the same fate.

She would ruin the reputation of the Zhenyang Sect, and then annihilate the Zhenyang Sect completely!

Just like Zheng Shengmo, who died a disgraceful death.

This was the best form of revenge.

Of course, in the process, she would also help Qin Gengyun ascend to a higher position.

Thus, even if she met an untimely end, her husband could still safely seek the Dao.

The Red Flame Fox was her husband’s stepping stone.

Upon hearing Lin Qingchou’s words, Qiu Zhihe did not reply, but silently ran ahead, and Lin Qingchou dared not ask further, following closely.

Soon, the two returned to Zhenlian City, where Qiu Zhihe dutifully escorted the injured Lin Qingchou to a room and then coldly told her:

"Though you harbor the toxins of the Heart-devouring Pill and the Seven Extremes Celestial Spirit Pill within, your Spirit Root has indeed been transformed into a Top-grade Spirit Root. As long as you heed my words, I guarantee you’ll attain the position of elder."

"Once you climb to high ranks and obtain everything, you will stand above thousands, needing only to obey me."

"If you are unwilling, I have a method to help you detoxify."

Lin Qingchou was taken aback, instinctively asking, "What method?"

Qiu Zhihe looked at her indifferently, and the air around started to alternate between scorching heat and icy cold:

"Death."

Lin Qingchou shivered, hurriedly kneeling, "I admit my mistake, I will never dare again. Saintess, please calm your anger."

Qiu Zhihe gazed at her indifferently, Lin Qingchou knelt for a moment, hesitatingly raising her head to ask:

"Saintess, I have poison inside me, if I were to engage in dual cultivation with Senior Brother Chun, he would be poisoned too, right?"

Qiu Zhihe suddenly laughed, "You’ve already been tainted by his master; do you think Chun Ningzhi will still accept you now?"

Lin Qingchou’s body stiffened, her face going pale, Qiu Zhihe leaned down and whispered softly in her ear:

"Forget those unreasonable desires and focus on serving me, it might not be such a bad thing."

"Sleep now, when you wake tomorrow, you will sever ties of passion and love."

With that said, in a flash, she disappeared.

Leaving only Lin Qingchou with a vacant expression, she slowly collapsed onto the ground, tears streaming down her face, trembling in fear.

The Demon Sect Saintess, not only has she killed countless, but her manipulation of people is equally terrifying.

Such a woman, no man in the world could possibly subdue her, could he?

...

Late night.

Qilian Mountain.

"Senior Martial Sister, we’ve searched for so long, and not only have we found no Red Flame Fox, but even low-level demonic beasts have eluded us. Have the demonic beasts fled?"

"Don’t be careless, continue searching!"

The team led by Jian Yue had already searched the south side of Qilian Mountain thoroughly without any findings.

Communication with Suxin’s side revealed the same situation.

The entire Qilian Mountain had no trace of a single demonic beast.

"Has the beast tide truly ended?"

"Could it be that Junior Martial Uncle Zheng killed his comrade, and so the Red Flame Fox took revenge on him by killing him?"

"What nonsense! Junior Martial Uncle Zheng never killed a Seventh Grade demonic beast, he’s lying!"

"You’re still calling him Junior Martial Uncle? Soon the entire Eastern Cultivation Land will know about his disgrace, and our Zhenyang Sect will also be humiliated!"

"In half a year, there’s the Ascension Competition. Do we still dare to send participants?"

The disciples gradually let down their guard, unable to hold back whispers.

Judging by the current situation, the Red Flame Fox likely fled after killing Zheng Shengmo.

The beast tide also showed signs of retreating, probably making it unnecessary to fight the demonic beasts anymore.

It may be wiser to consider how to face the laughter and doubts from the Eastern Cultivation Land, or even the entire Hongzhou Continent, towards the Zhenyang Sect.

"Qin Gengyun, something feels odd about this matter."

"I feel that way too. Susu, what do you think?"

"Huh? No, I don’t think there’s anything odd, haha!"

Qin Gengyun, Liu Su, and Mo Xiaolan were walking together, discussing the matter quietly through voice transmission, but failing to find any solid reasoning. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Liu Su seemed preoccupied, as if burdened by private thoughts.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, someone exclaimed in shock ahead, pointing at a mountain peak, and everyone’s breath went still:

"The Red Flame Fox?!"