After a moment of thought, Jiang Lan gave his sleeve a gentle shake. A crystal-clear Moon Pearl instantly appeared in his palm.

A soft yet brilliant light radiated outward, illuminating everything within a hundred-foot radius.

"Young Master Jiang?"

Xiao Yingyue’s voice came from nearby.

’Is it just my imagination,’ Jiang Lan wondered, ’or does her voice sound like it’s... trembling slightly?’

’She’s bold enough to follow me all the way down here, yet she’s scared?’

’Or is she just trying to fool me?’

"I’m over here," Jiang Lan replied.

After a moment’s thought, he sat cross-legged on the ground. He circulated his Magical Power and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. It trickled from the corner of his mouth, staining his collar and making his face appear even paler.

His white robes, already stained with blood, now looked even more sinister.

Jiang Lan naturally didn’t trust Xiao Yingyue, so he wanted to test her.

When Xiao Yingyue had treated Lin Fan, she had left a hidden measure in place, which proved how meticulous and cautious she was.

After personally witnessing his power, she still dared to follow him. There was no guarantee she didn’t have other intentions.

If she proved trustworthy, Jiang Lan naturally wouldn’t do anything to her. At most, he’d place a Restriction on her or make her swear a Heart Demon Oath.

Otherwise, he would never allow someone he couldn’t trust to learn his current secrets.

Hearing the response from the distance, Xiao Yingyue felt a sense of relief, and the heart that had been caught in her throat finally settled.

In truth, she couldn’t even see clearly if it was Jiang Lan.

The poisonous miasma was too thick, too dense. She could only make out a blurry silhouette. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Her cultivation was gone, leaving her nearly blind. After riding her Cyan Jade Deer down into the Abyss of Despair, she had begun to regret it.

She didn’t know why she had acted so impulsively and followed him down.

After calming down, she sighed to herself. Jiang Lan, at least, was incredibly secretive, his strength unfathomable.

But now, she was practically no different from an ordinary, weak woman.

In the past, with her profound cultivation and immense strength, she had traversed many perilous lands. She could face all sorts of dangers without batting an eye, handling them with composure.

But this was the first time she had to carefully grope her way forward as an ordinary person, in a place so deep and dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

A faint sense of fear still crept into her heart.

Boundless, profound darkness always magnified the fear of the unknown buried in one’s heart. And she was, after all, a woman...

Especially here at the bottom of the abyss, with the poisonous miasma, the ground littered with skeletons and rubble, and teeming with venomous insects, snakes, and ants.

After the Cyan Jade Deer reached this place, it refused to take another step forward, no matter how she urged it.

Helpless, Xiao Yingyue could only lead it by the reins, slowly advancing deeper into the abyss.

The cliffs on both sides were deathly silent. The roars of Demon Beasts that usually rose and fell were now as quiet as if they were all dead.

Only the occasional flash of eerie green pupils in the darkness, accompanied by a nauseating, foul-smelling demonic wind, broke the stillness.

Xiao Yingyue forced herself to remain calm and groped her way forward, not knowing where Jiang Lan was at the time.

She just thought that if he had really ended up in the belly of that Demon King, then her following him would only serve as an extra meal for it.

’For a grand Seventh-Realm Dharma Realm cultivator like me to die in such a place,’ she thought, ’how ridiculous that would be.’

"Young Master Jiang, what about the assassin Lin Fan and the Demon King?"

The light of the Moon Pearl was exceptionally gentle, creating a small, reassuring area in the darkness.

When Xiao Yingyue led her Cyan Jade Deer to Jiang Lan’s side, he was sitting cross-legged on a block of green stone with his eyes slightly closed. Wisps of blood-red mist rose from his body, as if he were healing.

A thick, metallic smell of blood filled the air, but there was no sign of the Celestial Cyan Nether Python or Lin Fan.

"They’re both dead," Jiang Lan said, opening his eyes to look at her.

Xiao Yingyue let out a small sigh of relief. Looking at Jiang Lan’s pale yet calm face, her heart stirred slightly.

She had been so focused on following him that she had forgotten something extremely important.

Jiang Lan was hiding far too much.

In all of Great Xia today, the number of people who knew his secrets could probably be counted on one hand.

’Will he allow me to know his secrets?’

’But... no matter how talented and brilliant he is, to kill a Sixth-Realm Demon King and the unpredictable Lin Fan at such a young age, his injuries must be serious...’

’Although he is indeed a bit ruthless, he probably isn’t the type to discard someone after they’ve served their purpose.’

Just as these thoughts flashed through Xiao Yingyue’s mind...

Jiang Lan seemed to have aggravated his injuries. Another trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, his face grew a few shades paler, and his seated body swayed, about to topple over.

Seeing this, Xiao Yingyue took a step forward to support him, asking softly, "Young Master Jiang, how are your injuries?"

Jiang Lan shook his head slightly, saying calmly, "It’s nothing serious. I’ll be fine after a short rest."

Xiao Yingyue’s gaze lowered in her limpid, autumn-water eyes, and she let go of Jiang Lan.

She hesitated for a moment. Then, with an almost inaudible sigh, she decided to take a gamble. "Young Master Jiang," she began, "I have many Healing Elixirs with wonderful effects in my Sumeru Ring. However, with my cultivation gone, I can’t open it..."

"The elixirs are in a Purple Jade Bottle in the corner."

As she spoke, a faintly glowing Sumeru Ring appeared in her fair, jade-like hand.

Jiang Lan glanced at her, slightly surprised. He concealed the strange look in his eyes and accepted it impassively. "Thank you, Miss Xiao."

To be safe, he wrapped his Divine Sense in Magical Power and sent it inside, only to be taken aback.

Noticing the expression on Jiang Lan’s face, Xiao Yingyue also froze for a second. Then, as if remembering something, a rosy blush appeared at the base of her fair, crystalline ears.

However, her face remained composed, and she appeared perfectly calm and collected.

"I didn’t realize Miss Xiao also liked these Jueqiao garments. As thin as a cicada’s wing, like mist and morning clouds... they are indeed cool and breathable. When we get back, I’ll have someone send some new styles to you."

Jiang Lan chuckled softly. His eyes swept over Xiao Yingyue’s tightly wrapped figure, finally landing on her exceptionally long, straight legs.

He honestly hadn’t expected to find so many of a woman’s personal garments set aside in a corner of the Sumeru Ring’s space.

There were even silk socks, as fine as misty gauze, though they seemed a bit too long... ’Stockings?’

The base of Xiao Yingyue’s ears turned red, but her face remained stern as she said, "Has Young Master Jiang forgotten what’s important?"

With that, she snatched the Sumeru Ring back.

In truth, she had only seen the female disciples of Medicine King Valley wearing them before. Out of curiosity, she had ordered someone to buy a few from the Merfolk Race’s emporium. But she had never tried them on, thinking them too daring, and had just left them in a corner.

She never expected Jiang Lan to stumble upon them today.

"Compared to that, I think *this* is what’s important."

Jiang Lan shook his head gently. He took out the Purple Jade Bottle, tipped out a fragrant elixir pill, and put it in his mouth. However, he wrapped it in Magical Power and didn’t swallow it immediately.

A clear fragrance wafted from the elixir, and a dense life aura emanated from it. It was indeed a Healing Holy Medicine.

It seemed Xiao Yingyue hadn’t tampered with it.

Seeing Jiang Lan swallow the elixir pill without suspicion, Xiao Yingyue also breathed a small sigh of relief. Still, his words made her feel an urge to shoot him a glare.

She then looked around, feeling a bit of a headache coming on.

The bodies of Lin Fan and the Demon Python were gone. Jiang Lan must have destroyed the evidence.

But how was she supposed to solve her own problems now? And the trail of information about the Rouge Rest Grass was now completely cold.

"Miss Xiao, you gave me a healing elixir just like that. Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn on you after I recover?" As Jiang Lan spoke, his body trembled slightly, and his tattered, bloodstained robes instantly turned to dust.

While speaking, he unhurriedly took a clean set of white robes from his Sumeru Ring and put them on.

Xiao Yingyue’s gaze shifted, and she started to turn her head away. But after a moment’s thought, she stopped herself.

’What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s all open and aboveboard.’

Jiang Lan’s seemingly lean and slender torso had skin as smooth as jade, yet it possessed an unnatural pallor.

If she hadn’t personally witnessed him catch Lin Fan’s sword strike with his bare hands, Xiao Yingyue would never have guessed his physical strength was so formidable.

"Would you, Young Master Jiang?" she simply asked in return.

"Of course not. After all, Miss Xiao has shared hardships with me and helped me stall Lin Fan. How could I be so ungrateful?" Jiang Lan smiled faintly.

Xiao Yingyue snorted dismissively in her heart. ’Shared hardships? *I* was the one getting beaten while he stood by and watched the show.’

Speaking of which, Jiang Lan seemed to recall something. He paused and said, "However, there is one matter I’d like to ask of you, Miss Xiao."

Xiao Yingyue was taken aback. Suspicion flickered in her beautiful eyes as she asked, "What is it?"

"Take the blame."

"???"